Well, here we are, some 13 years after acquisition and 2751 breathes fire once again! And running on methanol – as last raced – what a sound… Bert booked an airfield and rode up and down the runway, gradually unwinding the motor as his confidence grew with each run. With many decades of riding and …
After much careful preparation the engine has been induced – a major moment! Running on methanol, 2751 sounds like it means serous business…
Firstly I would like to apologise to all followers of this blog for the recent interruption in service. I briefly took the website out of the public domain with the intention of keeping it private, with access only by invitation. Unfortunately I encountered some complications with this format and, try as I might, I was …
There’s a little more work to do: a stripped thread needs repairing, some adjustments have to be made and pipes re-routed. But for all intents and purposes the restoration of Grey Flash 2751 is at an end, some 14 years after originally acquired. It’s been a long journey that’s required much focus in order to …
This plate is undoubtedly original to the bike and would probably have been anodised. On other GFs these plates were usually left polished. I thought I’d take the opportunity to “show a bit o’ leg” here. Finishing off is underway and Bert is busy snagging.
Finally, finally the platers called Bert and told him the exhaust pipe was ready to come and collect. Vernon Moss had done a top job; well up to their usual high standards. Bert had schemed-up a jig to hold the pipe, whilst he peened over the exhaust port end, to trap the nut. The pipe …
This has been a giant faff!! Much more than was anticipated… The Grey Flash exhaust pipe is just a 2″ straight-through racing pipe, right? Well, there were several types employed and there is very little data out there. The period shots we had of 2751 were as good as any a place to start. Bert …
Whilst we are waiting for the exhaust pipe to be made I thought I’d post a bit about the seat we will be using. Early Vincent HRD racers came fitted with a trimmed version of the standard road-going seat. I believe these were a Feridax product that featured a Dunlopillo foam with “cells” cast into …
In this post I will give instructions on how to mate with a 1940s Smiths chronometric tachometer… 🧑🏻🏫 Okay, that was a lame joke BUT such is the patinated beauty of this instrument that just looking at it positively generates an erection… The bracket was re-profiled as outlined in a previous post. It was then …
A correct pattern tacho drive gearbox was sourced and fitted replacing the incorrect unit fitted to the bike as acquired. Sorting out the tachometer wasn’t quite so easy though… 2751, being an early bike, wasn’t ever fitted with the rare racing “yellow number” tachos. Using what came with the bike + another head, Bert assembled …
Grey Flash 2751 