A fellow blogger asked a simple question about fitting a Suzuki V-strom DL1000 with a sidecar . Of course the V-strom has a great reputation for rock solid reliability with simple maintenance. I mean why didn`t I think of this being a Stromtrooper myself. Anyway, I remembered seeing a V-Strom DL1000 a couple of summers ago in Kelowna during the Scooter Rally. Kelowna is just over 4 hours East of Vancouver on the other side of the Coquihalla mountain highway.
(Suzuki DL1000 Hack parked in Kelowna, BC)
I remembered talking to the owner and was even offered a ride during the weekend where he was going to `Fly the Wheel`. Anyway the ride never happened but I was sure that I could contact the owner again asCharlie6 wanted to contact him to discuss how to mount the sidecar to the `Strom and to get other set up tips. After a few days of attempting to contact this owner, he told me that I was mistaken as he had never owned a Hack.
(Suzuki DL1000 hack, in Vancouver, summer of 2010)
Last Summer I saw this Hack again during the Vancouver Scooter Rally, and also at some of the venues. For some reason I don`t recall ever seeing the owner but he must have been in close proximity.
I think my memory is going. Must be old age settling in. I mean one day I will probably go for a ride and forget how to get home. Now I have lost touch with the Scooter Scene in Vancouver as they all migrated to FaceBook . Since I don`t do FaceBook I don`t know where the meetings are, nor where they ride otherwise I could spread the word and someone will know who this person is.
The next time I see this unit I will be sure to take more detailed photos of the mounting points and make of sidecar.
I had high hopes of helping Charlie6 but right now I am more of a hinderance as I know nothing of the mounting hardware, where to purchase it or even the make of the SideCar. At least I have an excuse. I am old and I forget easily
As much as I had wanted to ride on Saturday, it was not to be. I had made an appointment to bring my Honda commuter into the dealer for service. There is a service indicator on the dash which flashes Yellow when your oil interval is below a certain threshold which necessitates having to push the reset button everytime you start the car. Also the transmission was getting notchy and I wanted them to replace the transmission fluid. For simple stuff like this I usually wait until the service is finished.
After I checked the car into the dealer I walked around the corner to EMS where I get my V-Strom serviced. Ted is laid back and doesn`t mind me asking a ton of questions
(Honda ST1300, valve cover removed)
This is a view from the left side, cylinders 1 & 3. It is a double overhead cam and he was checking the valve clearance and shims. Factory specs is .022-.028
The cylinders are timed 180 degrees as you will notice from the cam lobe. The cylinder on the right is at Top Dead Centre. Ted was checking the shims for wear and possibly replacement when they hit the low limit. He was pushing his feeler gauge to check the clearances.
Sometimes you wonder about a bikes history as this was a 2001 model
and the Made in China sticker on the wiring harness has a date of 2002-02 which I would presume meant 2005 February (2nd month), so how did a 2005 wiring harness get installed on a 2001 model bike.
No new shims today, all was within specs and the bike was re-assembled and ready to be picked up
It`s a good day when you are able to learn something new
Finally the weekend had arrived. We had torrential rains all week but now the tables have turned. On Saturday morning we awoke to sunshine and clear skies. It was early but only 2ºC . I checked the windshields and roadway for frost and there was none so I hoped onto my V-strom and headed for breakfast with the "guys" down to the Flying Swan Motorcycle Cafe. After breakfast I had some errands to run, well . . . not actually errands but some window shopping.
I was very lucky to find a parking spot right outside the entrance at an Asian Mall down in Richmond. I wanted to check out NCIX.com to see some Asus computers. I actually had two Acer netbooks, a first generation one which was over 3+ years old and it finally displayed the dreaded black screen and would not boot up. I have a newer one I purchased before Christmas but I thought it would be better to have a full computer with me when I go away on my motorcycle. Because of the screen resolution of only 1200 x 600 I could not install DPP (Canon .CR2 RAW converter) or do any video editing. I wanted a full computer but netbook size something like an i3 minimum. I thought that i3 was a standard but I found many small laptops of 13.3, 12.1 or 11.6 which stated they were i3 only had processor speeds of 1.33 or something in that range while larger laptops were 2.4 ghz.
Everywhere I went parking was at a premium but with Lady Luck on my side I managed to squeeze into a parking spot labelled "small car" and I had room to spare.
I actually rode to a few more stores and got a headache looking at all the laptops and decided to go for a ride but where to go, which direction to take. I started to head south towards Steveston but midway I diverted and headed out on Westminster Highway towards Queensboro.
With my newly acquired prime lenses my secondary plan was to find some places to take a few photos. I have been having some fun using alternative lenses on my Digital Canon T2i. On Friday, thanks to Craigslist I metup with a seller and purchased a Super Multi Coated Takumar 28mm 3.5 wide angle lens
I mount this on my T2i using an M42 to EF adapter. Metering is by stop down mode in Aperature priority. As I am shooting in bright sun there is no problem focusing at F8 . Currently you will find SMC Takumars to be very desirable for use on EF Canon mounts or on the popular Lumix M43rds cameras. I have ordered two more adapters from China for my LTM M39 lenses and another Y/C: Yashica Contax adapter for my Zeiss 25mm *Distagon.
I am so grateful that my inadvertent purchase of the Canon T2i led me in this direction as I am now able to use my legacy lenses on my Canon body, which includes my Nikon Ai collection.
(Super Takumar: 35mm F3.5)
I now have 4 Pentax manual focus Takumar lenses. The Super lenses have 7 coatings while the SMC: Super Multi Coated have 9 layers of coating. They produce a sharp image and focusing is very smooth which make them very desirable for people using dSLRs for HD video.
(Super Takumar 50mm F1.4)
This 50mm is an effective portrait lens at approx 80mm (1.6x crop factor on APS-c sensor) with shallow DOP.
(Super Multi Coated Takumar: 200mm F4)
With my camera and lenses in my sidecases it felt so great to be out on two wheels and twisting the throttle, I forgot to take any photos during my travels. It felt like Spring and my Thermometer registered a high of 14.9ºC . The sunshine felt so warm. I am glad that winter is nearly over.
Time flies when you are having fun and soon enough 3-1/2 hours have elapsed and time to head home but first to the petrol station to refuel. I like to keep the fuel tank over 50% to minimize condensation problems
(Regular $1.289/ litre = $4.87 / US Gallon)
now this is $4.87 per US Gallon for Regular. If you require higher octane such as our WRX or "Vette we have to use 92 octane minimum, but we economize a little and use 91 octane as the Supreme grade of 94 octane sells for $1.449 / litre ($5.48 /US gallon)
The Supreme plus grade is dispensed from another pump, so for those of you in the USA are very lucky to have such cheap gas that costs under $4.00/ US gallon
Yesterday was Mrs Skoots BD, and our daughter invited us over for dinner and for dessert where was an assortment of cakes and pastries
The pastries come from a local french bakery where we have been customers for decades
I love the chocolate coated cream puffs. Real whipped cream and real chocolate too.
I purchased the M42 SMC Takumar 28mm to use as a prime lens for digital panoramic stitching. I notice from the photog forums that a lot of people complain of having problems stitching their photos because they are using UWA, or WA lenses. If wide angle lenses are skewed from horizontal they create distortion along the horizons by either being concave or convex depending whether your lens is pointed down or up. Imagine that if you point your lens downward your horizon would be curved downward and the overlapping image would also have a downward curve. This makes it a problem to correctly stitch without some ghosting where images overlap. I read somewhere many years ago that the ideal focal length is that which approximates normal vision which happens to be around 44mm but 50mm would also be okay. Early cameras originally had lenses with FL (Focal lengths) around 45mm but for some reason they adopted the 50mm as being standard, which in reality is slightly telephoto. For a crop sensor of 1.6x the 28mm is effectively 44.8mm which is perfect for my use.
I have been taking quality photos for many years and never really embraced the digital age until the recent past. I considered digital as used mostly for snapshots with my professional film cameras for large prints. My standard size is 16x20 and I discovered many years ago that size does matter when it comes to film. I have mainly used MF (Medium Format cameras) or larger. I have a few 4x5 sheet film cameras and I love how it slows you down and makes you think about things before pushing the shutter cable. It would not be unusual to take half an hour setting up your LF camera, taking numerous light readings, composing on the ground glass and not bother taking a photo. It used to cost $6. per exposure 10 years ago and now it costs more. I have a few camera systems and to keep them in top shape you have to be friends with your camera technician. I dislike taking them to a specialist camera shop and have them "send your camera out" for maintenance. I deal directly with the source, the person who actually works on your camera.
I met Horst many years ago when he ran his own camera repair business. He has since sold his business and retired, well . . . not actually retired, he is busier than ever with all his former customers bringing their cameras to him for `service` directly to his home.
This is his workbench, the place where it happens. He has his tools scattered about his work area. When I mean service, I do not mean your cameras are broken, rather lot of professionals would bring in their equipment for cleaning and adjustment, called CLA in the industry. CLA = Clean Lube and Adjust. Lenses are cleaned of dust and disassembled and the focusing mechanisms within are lubricated and checked for focus accuracy. Most photographers would have a certain Kit, a set of focal lengths and a body. The body would be checked for flange to film plane accuracy and lens would be culminated back to factory tolerances. Some Pros would do this yearly during the slow Christmas season, and some every two years depending upon usage or their usuage conditions.
Here is Horst in action. He is authorized to work on most of the premier brands such as; Leica, Hasselblad, Nikon, Canon and most anything. I have decided to dust off a couple of cameras and shoot some film again. I have always been interested in Panoramic Cameras and I have a few . One camera that I wanted serviced was my Noblex 6/150F rotating lens 6x12 format. It shoots 6 shots on a roll of 120 film. I noticed that the rotating lens was not parking as it should. It turns out that this camera has an achilles heel and needed the wheel replaced. Easier said than done as the Noblex factory closed down years ago and Horst purchased all the parts that were in the Factory at that time. I paid a huge amount of money for this camera over 15 years ago and I wanted it working to spec. Horst is probably only one of two people in North America trained in the Noblex factory and he has the parts on hand make it work like new.
Here is what the achilles heel looks like. It is a simple wheel where an electric motor spins the large diameter circle and the lower one rotates the drum. Shutter speeds are achieved by the speed of the rotating drum. Faster for 250/sec and slower for 1/15 /sec. I have other rotating lens panoramic cameras; Horizon 202 and Russian FT-2 but these are spun by a mechanical spring drive which could create a banding problem due to stuttering of the drum during rotation.
These wheels have a rubber compound around its circumference which have dried out necessitating wheels with new rubber to be installed.
Here is the master at work and explaining what had to be done to my camera
This is the base of another Noblex in for repair showing the control module and rheostat which controls the shutter speed. Aperatures are controlled by an aperature ring on the lens. There is no actual shutter on these cameras. The rotating lens has a slit from which the lens points out and scans the image onto the curved film plane. The slit is normally parked behind the baffles and spins half a revolution before it enters the light and `makes` an exposure. After it has scanned the scene 140 degrees it then hides behind the baffle on the other side.
Another view of the base with wheel installed. Horst has also cleaned the interior of the camera and all the pivot points and did a quick structural fix to the shaft on the rheostat as this part is often broken as it had no support from the factory.
With a thinner wallet, my Noblex 6/150F has a new outlook on life.
If you want more information on Noblex cameras here is a link to Noblex Canada
http://www.noblexcanada.com/ and you can speak to my friend Siggi whom I have known for many years
Before I picked up my camera I asked Horst if he would also check out my 4x5 system so I brought my Toyo 45A 4x5 field camera kit. He has all the testing equipment in his home shop but I was interested in checking the shutter speeds on my LF lenses. He showed me how his shutter tester worked. There is a light source and you use your lens to block the light and hit the shutter. There is an LED digital timer which displays the actual shutter speed and a chart on the workbench which shows factory tolerances. My lenses were within spec. On 4x5 lenses you actually focus yourself on the ground glass so you don`t have to worry about culmination but if you had a regular lens he has a culminating machine to adjust your lens if necessary. I don`t know many other places you could go and have your equipment checked, while you wait.
Being on the Wet Coast of British Columbia we seldom get snow. Perhaps once in a 5 or 7 year cycle it would be bad with most years receiving none. By bad we mean a snowfall may remain on the ground for a few weeks. Mostly it goes away in a day or so
(This place is known across North America for their . . .)
with temperatures hovering just above and below freezing which means frost every morning and melted before noon. Not good conditions for riding my 'Strom when I leave for work around 7am
I think I am more suited for the warmer temperatures of NZ or KW but for now I must tend to my chores which were to shovel the snow from my walkway
my walkway is fairly long and wide so I had to rest a few times and try not to aggravate my back . One thing about getting old is to take things a bit easier and lift less weight so I shovelled with less gusto and made sure my snow shovel had less snow as I tossed it over to the side.
I finally make it to my curb and find that our road is covered with snow with an ice layer below, which makes it very slippery
I've noticed something else about the aging process, food input and lack of exercise. I find that it is exceedingly difficult to lose weight. I try to eat in moderation and choose healthy food groups but still I could stand to lose a few pounds. I don't know how Jackie does it but he has a system and has shed many pounds.
On Saturday mornings I meet the guys for an early breakfast. I try not to have anything until dinner which is normally around 7pm but that is a long period without nourishment so I have my usual snack in the early afternoon, not a meal but something to "tide me over" .
This particular day found me in a line up at a fast food restaurant. I was going to order my usual value menu double cheese burger, or chicken wrap, or both depending upon my mood and how much change I had in my pocket. There were two elderly ladies in front of me sort of in line but with a big gap to the customer in front. They appeared affluent but were struggling to figure out what they wanted to order. It was as if they had never been in a Golden Arches Cabaret before. They motioned me to go ahead of them, which I promptly did comply.
I turned around and asked what they wanted. They were unsure. They were struggling to make sense of why they had stopped here in the first place. I decided to treat them to a beverage and a snack and they seemed very appreciative. They couldn't believe that a stranger would pick up the tab. They ordered two coffees and two banana pies. I paid for my meal and theirs and wished them a good day, and left.
Later, I got to thinking about this scenario . I have been doing a lot of thinking how my life would change when I retired. I would be watching every penny and account for all my purchases, no different from these two ladies who were obviously struggling to make sense of this frivilous purchase, but it gave me a good feeling to be able to help them today.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about things, and aging gracefully. Then wham-O, Geoff puts up a post about elderly people riding motorcycles and when to know when to quit, or rather . . . to downsize to something more easily handled. There has been a lot of talk by others who take the more mature, “smell the roses” approach, slow down and enjoy the scenery rather than blast through the twisties at supersonic speeds. During our youth, we were invincible. It couldn’t happen to us. We try our best to take care of ourselves, eat healthy food, sneak in a hamburger and soda once in a while and be more aware whilst riding.
Then, without warning, another one of us (cpa3485) was stricken with a dreaded old age malady and this got me to thinking how fragile we are, after all, Jimbo was in the best of health and in his prime. I was just thinking how it would be to lose a few years and be like him, but alas, it is not to be unless I can find a time machine to turn my clock back a decade. I used to cycle a lot. I even purchased a new bike which is now sitting with flat tyres. I overdid it and wrecked my knees. I now prefer machines which move by themselves with a slight twist of the right wrist.
The other day I did something stupid that an old man shouldn’t have done. Yes, that is what I am thinking that I am now officially an ‘old man . We had decided to get rid of our old monster of a CRT TV and our new LED state of the art flat screen has been taking space in our hallway since Christmas. No rush, it’s only been two months since we purchased it and factory sealed. Our CRT tv has no handles or indents with which to grab hold of it and when I tried to maneuver it onto the floor I must have contorted myself and strained my back. Will help I managed to get it propped onto two folding chairs so now it sits in the middle of the living room until I can garner help from someone to help remove it.
Ever since the lifting event I have been feeling more pains everywhere, everything seems to hurt a bit and I have been taking it slower. On my way home yesterday I had to go through the mall to Safeway (grocery store) to pick up a few things and I noticed these old guys sitting on some chairs. It would appear that they are friends with nothing to do except to go to the mall and people watch. I imagined that I was sitting there with them doing the same thing. After all, what else do you do when you are old and retired with limited income to do anything else.
I have been riding motorcycles since the mid 1960’s. While Doug has owned over 45 bikes during his riding career, I have only had the pleasure of owning about 15 or so. I have nearly owned as many cars
For the past few years I have analogized my life as similar to a gas gauge. We all start out with a full tank and as life progresses the needle goes lower. Unfortunately it is a tank which cannot be refilled. If I were a car I would have filled up long ago but I am probably down to quarter tank . I hope the gas fumes last a long, long, long time.
Whilst I have been riding for many years I have only endured the challenges of urban riding and hardly any touring except for a few weekends during the recent past. I don’t have a great network of similarly minded riders here which share my same interests but I decided a couple of years ago to purchase a bike worthy for touring, with secure hard cases to carry my valuables
I am trying to make up for lost time and build up some memories for when I can look back and smile at the good times I had with great people I have met (or plan to) within our blogging community
While archiving my photos onto DVD I noticed some photos from our recent Oregon trip with SonjaM. This is what I am talking about. Photos bring back memories of good times. One day, many years from now, if we still have the capacity to remember, we can smile at our good fortune that we did something we loved, rather than to just exist and think “if only . . .” or “wished we could have . . .” Our road only goes forward in one direction and we have to choose our turns carefully
It was not just another day in Paradise. Under the hazy cloud cover and sputtering rain it promised to be another sunny day. We heard a rumour that Oregon had the best roads in the country so we had to check them out. We, my riding buddy SonjaM and myself were on our final leg of our short mini-vacation. It was our last day in Lincoln City with accommodations overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I woke up early and walked about the beach taking a few photos while I waited for SonjaM to catch a few more beauty winks. It’s not what you think. Even though we were together, we were not Technically together. We were travelling solo but in each other’s company. We had separate meals, separate bikes, separate rooms and separate significant others at home which approved the fact that we would be in close proximity for a few days.
Today was not just any Tuesday, but it was also Tuesday, July 20th a special day in Sonja’s young life. I think she told me she was 27 today, if I remember correctly. There was no need to hurry today as we were just heading home, back to Vancouver. We had a leisurely hotel supplied continental breakfast, checked and loaded up our bikes. She on her BMW F650GS and myself on my mighty Suzuki V-strom. I had planned an intimate brunch at my favourite place in Oceanside, OR and garnered a window spot overlooking the ocean. It has a sort of Morro Bay look to it with those large rocks planted on the beach. The waitress was accommodating and brought out a candle-lit muffin for this special occasion.
She thought that we were a “couple” and offered to snap a photo of the both of us, but I politely declined and told her we didn’t want any evidence, I mean what would Roland (Mrs SonjaM) say if he saw it ?
Even though we had planned a long day we started out trying to do too much. We took the 3 Cape Loop to Cape Meares to Tillamook. Then we got caught up with road construction. Hwy 101 was crawling at a snail’s pace and we tried to take an alternate more twisty road but saw signs that it was closed so we had no choice but to continue north to Astoria where we also stopped for a rest and nourishment break.
Again the waitress thought that we were a couple and offered to snap a photo of the two of us. I politely declined. I told her I didn’t want any evidence. After all, what would Mrs SonjaM say if he saw it. I mean, this was her special day and she was with me . . . plutonically I must add.
soon our tummies were full and we had to continue on our way
I even got the waitress to sing Happy Birthday to her. Here is a short video of SonjaM , from the rear, err , I really mean . . . with her leading . . .
Good memories for me and I hope for her too. I look forward to gathering more memories for 2011
It was Friday as I was on my way to work in the early darkness. I take the northern route to work and noticed the snow clad mountains of the north shore. The sun was just starting to come alive and with the ambient light, and lights of the city blending together to form the most perfect scene for which I only had my P&S, not high enough quality for a large print. Overnight there was a slight dusting of snow which came halfway down the mountain. The light was perfect. I decided that on Saturday I would bring my dSLR and try and capture the scene. All day while at work I am trying to determine the best spot to take my photo.
My alarm goes off as usual around 5:30am and I get my camera gear ready. It is still an hour and a half before sunrise, dark and below freezing at around -2c . With frost on the windshields I decide to leave my bike at home and head down to false creek. I thought that I would get a city scene with a mountain backdrop. The light was a disappointment with the heavy cloud cover and the snow had melted from the spring-like temperatures of the previous afternoon. With my plans thwarted I thought I would just walk over the Cambie Street bridge and head downtown . I look over at Science World and capture a hint of sun coming over the horizon .
(aperature priority, 0 ExP compensation)
This weekend I wanted to experiment with HDR photos. I am not sure whether any of you have tried to do HDR: High Dynamic Range photos. The human eye has a dynamic range of approx 15. A digital camera sensor can capture anywhere from 4-6 . From bright sun to dark shadows, your scene may have a dynamic range greater than what can be resolved from your camera's digital sensor. If you expose for the bright sun then you may not have enough detail in the shadows, from a single exposure.
(aperature priority, -1 ExP compensation)
By bracketing your exposures you can take a series of photos above and below "normal" to get properly exposed pixels in differing light
(aperature priority, +1 Exp compensation)
In this third photo it is overexposed to blow out the highs but get more detail in the shadow area.
For HDR it is recommended that you take a minimum of 3 exposures. Unfortunately for me, the Canon can only be set to take 3 shots in AEB mode. I did this series handheld in Continuous shooting mode, which means when set to AEB I click the shutter once, and it will fire 3 times, set to the range selected. I believe that my D80 can be set to take 3, 5, 7 or 9 shots in a sequence. My Manfrotto tripod is fairly heavy and since I was walking I decided to leave it behind. If I had my tripod with me I could have skewed the AEB in both directions and get 6 (or more) shots, but as I was shooting hand held there was no way I could get exactly the same perspective as I have to move the camera from my eyes to skew the AEB range.
Now here is the final result of blending these 3 exposures together to achieve a higher dynamic range that the sensor could natively capture. Of course, since this is my first attempt at HDR I tweaked the curves a bit, bumped up the contrast, played with the tint, and also altered the light balance and increased the saturation to about 120% . It is the first time I have used this software so I wanted to see its capabilities
(HDR: overtweaked and oversaturated)
There were so many sliders and options so I just had to try them all to see what would happen.
Later in the day after brunch I headed down to the harbour in the industrial area. I was walking over an overpass with train tracks below and noticed a scene brightly lit with deep shadows from the low sun angle of winter . It was just perfect for another HDR
(perfectly exposed as viewed from histogram, Zero ExP compensation)
This is how most cameras would expose for this scene. Notice it is hard to see details in the shadows.
(minus -1 ExP compensation)
Underexposure keeps the bright area from clipping and provides more accurate colour for the red buildings
(plus +1 ExP compensation)
Overexposing blows out all the bright areas of this scene, but provides more details in the dark areas along the railway tracks.
The HDR merged image is below. Only slightly tweaked with; curves, slight oversaturation which made the red buildings "more" red, and a slight colour temperature change to a warmer tone, approximating late summer.
It was around 1981, my riding buddy Jim and I were riding around Vancouver and generally enjoying our day on two wheels. The previous year we both purchased matching bikes, brand new Suzuki GS1000L's, mine in Burgundy and his was Blue. Back then we mainly rode around the lower mainland. Riding consisted of merely commuting to work and weekend excursions to Harrison, Horseshoe Bay or perhaps Bellingham. Two years earlier I purchased a new GS400L, then the next year I upgraded to the 4 cylinder GS550L, and then I traded for the GS1000L. Of course, all these bikes were the same colour, burgundy. I also had a matching burgundy helmet with gold stripes. I don't know what happened but the dealer had just received a new shipment of Suzuki's which included the GS1100L which was the fastest production bike of the year with TSCC and 4 valves per cyclinder. I had to have it and what good fortune that it arrived in burgundy, my preferred colour. So with the GS1000L not even two months old I rode away with another new bike. I sucessfully upgraded to my 4th bike without the CEO knowing. It sort of looked something like this . . .
(facsimilie taken from the internet)
Mine had engine case covers, slipsteamer windscreen, oil cooler, throttle lock and sissy bar. It also came standard with tachometer and GPI: gear position indicator. It had more than enough power for me.
We had just finished breakfast and decided to visit the local BMW dealer who was having a clearance sale. This was Phillip Funnel who had moved from their long time East Hastings Street location to Victoria Drive just north of Hastings Street.
This was where I bought my first riding jacket, a Belstaff Trialmaster professional
(faded white tag is still affixed)
There was nothing special about riding apparel back then, no armour in the elbows or shoulders, nothing but a waxed cotton jacket which had to be oiled in order to make it waterproof. The jacket was fine when it was new but as it accumulated road grime it had a distinctive smell. Because of the smell I didn't really use it that much as I must have had other leather jackets to wear. I even had a favourite blue jean type denim jacket
There was a Belstaff logo on the right pocket, and also on the left shoulder
My jacket is in very good condition considering that it is over 30 years old. There are virtually no wear marks, all buttons are there, including the original zipper, but some stitching on the lower part of the zipper needs re-inforcement .
My style has a corduroy type of neck liner which snaps around your neck to keep the wind out
The liner is not removeable and has a checkered pattern
I am a hoarder and in the midst of trying to get rid of stuff I no longer need . I find that it's difficult to dispose of stuff that may have value but I was thinking of going through my closet and culling things that I have not worn for a year or so, which included this jacket, until I saw this . . .
I had no idea that people were looking for vintage motorcyle attire. I did a quick search on eBay and found a couple of listings
Here is a new reproduction, Made in Italy
and here is an original used one from the 70's
I had no idea i was sitting on a gold mine. Better than RED fishing shorts, EH ?
Also Geoff down in Coromandel was interested in photos of the Caterham Lotus 7 . The only Caterham, Lotus Super 7 facility outside of the UK is in Duncan, BC. The car is handbuilt by David Saville Peck. Duncan is located about an hour north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. I have had the pleasure of visiting the factory a few years ago and watched a car under construction. Recently (during August 2010) there was a Lotus 7 gathering at a private residence in North Vancouver where I presumed that David Saville Peck would be in attendance. I was hoping to find him there so I could snap a few photos, as I am not a Lotus owner and probably be kicked out. He was there and I asked permission from the host so all was okay. Here is the website for David's facility
http://www.7cars.ca/
I also have another friend who is currently building a Lotus 7 replicar so maybe by the time Geoff gets here we could go over and see his progress. I believe that the chassis' have already been welded up. By chassis' I mean that he and his friends are building 3 at the same time, and they are going to use them for slaloming.
Here is a teaser photo of a yellow Lotus Super 7, for my buddy Geoff in NZ
