Well....it's been a while. Happy New Year to all. Little to no activity from me so far as bike building is concerned. A second round of Covid in November didn't help and the long Covid symptoms of breathlessness after even the least physical effort have wore me down. Felt the best I've been for a long time pre-Christmas, so now I'm looking to get back to some kind of worthwhile activity instead of lounging on the sofa all day. Right now I'm cracking on with fitting the ACE's wiring loom and getting its headlight properly installed. Slow progress - but at least somethin's happenin'!
With a view to my next build, I've begun stashing a few parts aside for future use. Recently snagged a very low mileage 50cc, 4-speed Ace motor (same but smaller capacity as the 125cc motor in my current ACE build). Also couldn't resist pulling the trigger on a set of these leaf-sprung forks I saw on AliExpress a couple of weeks ago. Intended for use with 26" x 3" or 4" wheels/tyres and supplied disc brake ready. I plan on mating these with another drop loop frame when the time comes.
The last few years of being stuck indoors due to my late wife Jen's care requirements and Covid lock-downs has rendered my car use to an absolute minimum. It's convinced me that my Citroen DS5 daily driver, in which I've covered less than 3K miles during the 4 years since I purchased it in 2019 is, if I'm being honest, surplus to requirements. That being the case, back in mid-December I decided I'd really rather go back to being caretaker of another 'classic'. The plan is to part ways with my DS5 in Spring and rely on enjoying another 'classic' as my daily driver. Bearing in mind that 'daily driver' in my case involves driving to the local supermarket in town for the weekly shop... So with that plan cemented in early December, I embarked on a plan to import a beautifully restored/rebuilt 1977 Saab 96 V4 into the UK - from Finland, of all places. Having already imported both a car and motorcycle in recent years, the import process wasn't at all daunting, so a deal was struck for the right car and importation went smoothly every step of the way. The Saab's voyage from Helsinki to Harwich in the UK took 4 days, after which the car was delivered to my doorstep in Northumberland on Dec 18th, making Christmas extra special this year. The 60 photos I received from the seller had already convinced me of the extremely high standard of the Saab's resto, but seeing it in the flesh was truly a great surprise. It's flawless. Like a new car. The connection for me is that this 96 takes me right back to being a teenager in the '70s, when my Dad's youngest brother bought the first new car ever owned by someone in our family. And that Saab 96 was the car in which I had my first driving lessons - column shift and all. Looking forward to driving it after I go through the UK registration process. After which, installing a bicycle hauler to the Saab's tow bar will be my first priority.
