The Project - II

The project continued - never mind the dates, this blogg is a bit stuffed. Part one is above here somewhere....

All the parts were fixed / painted / pre assembled, and looking great.













Some of the resprayed parts.

The rims were white. Now black, like the rest of the bike, with an Aprilia red pin stripe.













This is looking really good.













75% complete. This is looking even better than I expected!

All that was needed now was for a wiring check and cleanup, new battery to be fitted, footpegs and exhaust. Tank filler cap needs a respray and 2 stroke oil must be topped up. Then drain the engine oil, and refill with new,and we can test ride it, polish it, and deliver.

So, the final product is this














This is the best I could do, and at the price paid I think it's magnificent.

The Princess had seen some of the pics as I did the assembly, but I think even she will be impressed. What I do know for sure is that should GMan decide he would rather have a bike with all the fairings and stuff, LuckyL will lay immediate claim to this one.

We now have a naked 125cc super bike, capable of doing 160.4km/h! It's got a brand new, modern facelift, even the saddle has been recovered and the stiching done in blood red to match the Aprilia name on the tank.

So far I've spent about ZAR9,000 on this project. Not bad, considering it's now worth between ZAR20k and ZAR25k!!

Anyway, had some really cool stickers made to finish it off, and to break some of the black, and that's it.

All that remains now is for you critics to make your comments on this project!!!


Salagatle!

The forest - NOT

On the Fiday (29th Dec) my brother decided to go and see if he can find the "new" dirt track which leads to the beach about 25km north of Richards Bay. It's not a proper road, but rather an access road for the RBM mining trucks (look it up - Richards Bay Mining). Some of the more ardent fishermen had scouted around, and found that some of these roads led to the top of the last / seafacing dunes, which meant access, by foot, to the remote deserted stretch of beach.

Well, we must have covered about 50 km on these little paths / roads, in some of the most beautiful natural coastal bush area, and never found the right path. We did get to the beach though, along some treacherous roads, which had not been in use for some considerable time. Anyway, much fun was had by all.

But I raised a concern. The agreement with RBM is that they can mine the dunes, as long as they rebuild them afterwards, which they are doing very well. However, revegetating them is another matter. I was under the impression that they would be planting the same type of flora that originally existed on the dunes, thereby creating a natural forest again. I realise that this would take many (hundreds?) of years to grow back into its original look, but was happy with this status.
They are not planting the original flora. Instead they are planting a type of pine tree, a la forest style. Straight lines, for kilometers, in geomertically correct patterns. Just more forestry if you ask me. And it can and will never look anything like the original forestation. It's sad, and disgusting, and maybe a rethink / relook is required. Anyone out there have the time to take up the challenge?
Salagatle!

2006 vacation

Xmas 2005 - Came and went with the usual "extended family" related stuff. And I was not having anymore of it. So plans were put in place for us to be away on vacation for Xmas 2006.

Richards Bay - Industrial city - home to some major industry, the biggest coal export harbour in the southern hemisphere (if not the world now, with their latest extension), fishermans paradise, what with access to the waters further up the North coast, with an average temperature of 35deg C in summer, and a discomfort factor (humidity) of anything upto 7deg C!

Oh, and as it happens, where my brother lives!!!!!

So, 21st Dec we are off to the Bay. 700km, and it was a doddle. The new (secondhand like new) VW Kombi TDI is a pleasure to drive on the long road, and the Princess even chips in for a couple of hundred kilos. We are there by midday.

On the Saturday my bro had arranged for me and him to go deep sea fishing with a mate of his from work. What a blast. Didn't catch any big one's on the trawl, but hammered the fish on bottom fishing. We got our bag quota in about 20 minutes of bottom fishing. Then back on the trawl again, upto 25 km off shore (damn that's far), but no luck. By 12.30 (midday) we were back on shore, and washing the boat and cleaning fish. Great morning!

Much time was spent in his pool, and taking the kids to the beach, and just resting and not doing much, and playing poker at night. Bliss, no work, sleep whan you want to, get up if you want to, eat whenever. A real holiday for a change.

Xmas came and went, but was a more fun event this time round. It's just like that when you are in the right company.

A week before we went down I had found a cheap second hand on/off road scrambler for sale down in his area, so he'd gone out to look at it, and bought it as a surprise for my kids (from me). Xmas morning, after church, we assembled the whole family in front of the garage, on the pretence of having a surprise gift in there for the Princess, and then opened the doors. Their jaws almost fell off!!!!

Later that day, for an hour or more they rode around the circle in front of my bro's home, staying in first and second gear. They had quickly learned to pull away without stalling. An hour of this, coupled with the 40 deg C heat, and the bike had a heat sieze!!! That was that. Park it. We'll get it to a shop for repairs when we get back to JHB. Shame, pity.

Anyway, as usual, all good things come to an end, and on the 30th we drove back home. Sorry to be going back cause it means the vacation is just about done, but also glad to be going to cooler climates. We were really spoilt by my brother and his family. A great time was had by all.
I will relate some of our other experiances in other bloggs.
Salagatle!

SA v India - Dec 2006

Sunday, 17 Dec, and the boys are planning what to do this coming week till both I and the Princess are also on vacation. There's a 5 day test match on the go at Wanderers (look it up) between South Africa (Proteas) and India. Monday is day 4, and the South Africans are in for their second innings, chasing a big, big score.
They decide that if I am willing to drop them off at the stadium, they would like to invite some friends to go with them. No problem, and 20 minutes later there are a total of 7 boys and 1 girl going, including my two. And then the boys decide they are going in skirts and bra's!!

Monday morning. All the kids are dropped off by their parents by 7.30 am Monday morning. The boys go and get "dressed". It's the funniest sight, and photos are required. So attached is the photo of how the kids looked when I dropped them off at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium!
Soon after going in, GMan, and two of his friends decide they have had enough of this, and get changed into their "normal" clothes. I wasn't surprised. Always the big mouth, but not too good on "delivery"!

Anyway, the other four held out, and later in the morning a "best dressed" contest was held. All four of them won a copy of the DVD which was made of the one day international when South Africa made 438, chasing 434 against Australia!!! Great prize!

So, to those four who had the commitment, well done. To the other 3 stooges, tough takkie! Next time you might consider actually doing the things as planned!!
Salagatle!
PS - SA lost. It's the first time ever that India have won a test match in South Africa! Two games to go. Lets hope the Proteas can pull it together!
PPS - By the time I posted this, the second test game was finished and we had managed to win it. One to go...

Soppy New Years messages

So, it's December 31st, and everyone is SMS'sing soppy messages for New Years wishes. Crappy good luck, well being, debtless, useless nonsense.

My reply SMS was:-

"Let's hope 2007 isn't as fucked up as 2006 was."

(SMS - cellphone text message)

Salagatle!