Bringin' it Home

I finally brought my Kook home from the shop. It's been two and a half years since I have experienced the joy of riding my Triumph. When building these old bikes there's a long list of things to do when you first get them running. I got through my head torques, timing checks, oil checks...basically all the non-glorious parts of chopperin'.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a freeway blast on this bike. I don't ride all that fast, but I don't need to. It makes 65 feel like warp 9. She's low to the ground, narrow, naked, and loud. I'll have to post a pic that shows the scale, but imagine this...I'm 5'9", and the handle bars are barely at my hips when I stand next to her.

Her last day at the shop. Blue paper towel is an attempt to chase down a tricky oil leak...which I think I did. It's hard to not have at least a little leak somewhere.

WAR PAINT! Made a vinyl Triumph logo some time ago, finally stuck it on.

After a test ride to check the clutch...and my nerves. I'm still pretty freaked about about riding.

At her summer home. I had to change the headlamp out to a standard round lamp. I think it threw off my look just a bit. Everything looked more proportional with the rectangular lamp. Without dropping a load of cash on the bay, it's going to be hard to find another rectangular Aris lamp.

In the time since I last rode her, I nearly forgot about just how much fun I have with this bike. She does demand that you pay attention to what you're doing. It's a very active experience. You don't just cruise, first because this bike is kind of small, you have to make sure you are very aware of your surroundings. If people refuse to see larger bikes, they sure as hell ain't going to see this tiny one. Second, you have to use all of your senses to feel the bike out. There are a lot of little noises (lots normal, some not), you have to check oil pressure from time to time, and feel for vibrations that don't belong. Busy, but rewarding.
Oh, how I've missed this!
Love Love Love!!!