I’ll let the pics speak for themselves – with added comments. Here we are, 14 years after I acquired the bike… So much scheming, brain-storming, scouring for parts and information… So many lines of enquiry that ended in vain – but so much fortune and luck too! The realisation of many many years of hard …
The brake drums fitted to the bike had been incorrectly painted grey. Stripping off the grey paint was a laborious process; between the fins being particularly time consuming. The drums are probably the first parts of this restoration that are finished and ready to fit. Once dry, they will be stored away until re-assembly.
Much debate has ensued about the finishes racing Vincents left The Works with, and no more so than that of the brake drums and especially the brake plates. The consensus is that GFs left Stevenage with drums and plates painted/enameled black (as per BL) or grey but I would like to challenge this latter notion. …
The rear brake plates are the original magnesium racing items. The sprocket is a lightened item and will be left. The original finned drums disappeared when the bike was in bits ‘n’ pieces many years ago – it is suggested that someone who went to look at the project took them away with them as …
The front brake plates of the Grey Flash were the same as those fitted to the Black Lightning models. They were made from Elektron magnesium alloy with a detachable air scoop and a neat mesh screen to prevent grit ingress. A solid axle featured a waisted bolt, for lightness and ribbed Black Shadow drums were …
Grey Flash 2751 