Sunny days & signwriting at the mono motorcycles workshop this week

March 18, 2022

Blog

As we head towards the weekend, the sun is shining & we’ve already seen lot’s of bikers our & about enjoying the warmer weather. What are your plans for the weekend?

Here’s a sneeky peek at what we had in at the mono motorcycles workshop this week.

Monday

On Monday, Daniel was bringing the final parts of the Norton Commando 750 back together & still found little things which would have added to the poor performance before we began the mini resto.

When Daniel originally removed the clutch plates, he found one plate with no teeth & two small holes drilled around the circumference amongst the other clutch plates.

Having now replaced the plates with the genuine Andover Norton fibre plates, the toothless plate was not listed on any of the engine diagrams of the clutch assembly.

A quick call to Norman White & he advised that the toothless plate was meant to be held in the back of the clutch basket by two small dowels (hence the drilled holes) Clearly at some point in it’s history, the Norton has lost the dowels & the toothless plate has been simply nestled in the clutch basket, rather than actually secured.

Daniel has now repaired this & the toothless plate has been secured, in advance of the new clutch plates being fitted.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we felt very privileged to welcome Terry Smith ‘SignsSmith’ to the mono motorcycles workshop.

Terry has been a professional sign writer for 40 years, keeping the deep rooted traditions of this precise craft alive.

Now settling in Nutbourne, West Sussex, you can find Terry’s studio open on Saturday mornings where you can find out more about his work, mooch around his shop & discover more about his Signwriting courses.

Daniel was determined to customise his Triumph Bobber Black subtly, but also making it very much his own. Having always wanted to keep with a retro look, he knew the tank would need something very special but not garish to complete the look.

Therefore, after a conversation with Terry, it was decided to go with a simple but incredibly effective ‘72’ on the tank (Daniel’s birth year) in a true retro old white/grey finish.

Terry uses traditional methods, including using chalk lines to mark up height & width & then the designs are hand drawn using chalk. Each colour is mixed specifically for each task & applied with exact precision using a variety of different brushes & mesmerizing brush strokes. During the morning, an incredible calm came over the mono motorcycles workshop while Terry worked on the Bobber & time seemed to slow down with each brush stroke.

It was such a privilege to be in the presence of such a craftsman, a man with a small van, box of paints & a stool, making his mark on generations of signs, trucks & now motorcycles.

If you are interested in undertaking a course with Terry & learning this incredible craft; then please do call him on T: 01243 377948

Wednesday

On Wednesday we welcomed one of our regular customers beautiful Suzuki GSXR1000 K9 to the workshop for Major Servicing & arranging an MOT.

All valve clearances were within tolerance & the bike, which is very well looked after by it’s owner, sailed through the MOT ready for a good year of riding ahead.

Thursday

On Thursday we welcomed another Triumph Bobber to the mono motorcycles workshop. The Bobber joined us for servicing & to address a bogging & stalling issue which manifested itself when the Bobber got hot.

Our customer noted that the Bobber began bogging when accelerating & when she was stationary, she had to keep the throttle open to avoid the bike stalling. What was also noted was that when the bike had been hot & running, if it was switched off & then tried to start again within a few moments of ignition off, it would not start. Our customer was finding she would have to wait a good few minutes before the bike would start up.

Upon arrival at the mono motorcycles workshop, Daniel plugged the Bobber into the TEXA & performed an Adaption Reset. Following this, the bike started first time, even when hot.

Daniel then took the Bobber for a test ride & upon return the bike started again.

During the process of servicing the Bobber, Daniel also balanced the throttle bodies & completed a series of tests using the TEXA Diagnostic to remove any niggling fault codes & or any bad habits the Bobber may have developed during the bogging/non start scenario.

Friday

It was a super busy sunny Friday at the mono motorcycles workshop. First up we welcomed a Triumph Thunderbird for pre-sales service & switch gear replacement. Next up, Nathan serviced & replaced the chain/sprockets on a Keeway RKF 125 & then up on the ramp we welcomed a KTM RC8 for pre-sales servicing & safety checks. All three bikes are sold by DJK Motorcycles Ltd

The Triumph Speed Triple Jack Lilley Special is finally coming back together. Having been waiting for anodising, cerakoting & other components; we are now in the process of fitting the new Hel brake calipers, awaiting the brake lines & undertaking a Major Service.