Ed's Blackbird moved from intensive care to transplant team

[John Ranalletta]

The Bird is on the operating table, waiting for the transplant procedures to begin:

 

 

Engine internals are fine and motor spun up on first go after 8 months idle.

 

Header and pipes cleaned an re-painted.

Battery/tail light tray replaced.

Forks repainted. (Needs fork internals upgraded w/ shocks)

 

Original throttle & brake lever:

 

 

Replaced with new grips & used throttle:

 

 

Hashed cowl/headlight surround:

 

 

Repainted:

 

 

Hashed fender:

 

 

Repainted, used replacement:

 

 

Repainted replacement fairings:

 

 

[sebjones906]

I had a Blackbird. The fastest machine I will ever own. It was spooky smooth at full tilt boogie.

[bobmorris]

Nice red but should not a Blackbird be a mat black paint job for stealth reasons?

 

Bob

[David]

Did you do the painting, John?

[John Ranalletta]

No. I did some of the prep and crack bonding, but realized very quickly that painting requires more patience and skill than I possess. The painter runs a collision shop in Noblesville, IN and paints many show bikes for shops and individuals.

[smiller]

Nice red but should not a Blackbird be a mat black paint job for stealth reasons?

Yes, as it's well known that LEOs cannot see flat black.

[John Ranalletta]

Nice red but should not a Blackbird be a mat black paint job for stealth reasons?

 

Bob

Thought about a glossy black, but decided to keep it stock for re-sale purposes. That said, the paint is a silver base with a candy apple red; and, applying it is an art to get the desired color depth.

 

I like the results a lot.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Looks great John.

 

Traxxion Dynamics, over near Atlanta, sells a really nice fork upgrade kit and Penske shocks. What's another 2 grand at this point?

 

If nothing else, a set of their fork springs (try 0.9 kg) and some new fork oil will help. Most of the guys recommend running the oil about 10mm higher in the legs than the factory as well.

[markgoodrich]

Nice red but should not a Blackbird be a mat black paint job for stealth reasons?

 

Bob

 

Correct:

 

[russell_bynum]

Looking good!

[John Ranalletta]

Little by little, inch by ....

 

I'm learning a lot about re-assembly, principally from a big "OH SH!T" that led to cracking a plastic bit. Likely, I'll get Alzheimer's before I can use the lesson.

 

That said, it's coming together and it even started right up tonight. Having had all the electrical guts out and back in and the tank innards in/out, I was afraid, no, almost sure something would be amiss; but no, the wonderful purr of that motor filled my ears.

 

Here are a few pix of tonight's progress: (the first is w/o flash, the color is much truer)

 

 

W/o flash:

 

 

Two more fairings, a windscreen (where in the hell are those screws?) and the inner cowling and it's ready to ride - ahead of schedule.

 

If you think BMW parts are spendy, each mirror/turn signal w/ stalk and element is about $250. I found a used one for about half that and bought a new lamp unit for it.

 

[David]

John, what's the bike in the background with a blue fender?

[John Ranalletta]

It's the '74 Ducati 750 GT. The "SLX" tag hanging on the wall is South African. The bike's previous owner painted the bike blue before immigrating from SA.

 

Just replaced the front caliper and master cylinder on it, but it starts and runs strong.

 

I'd have a helluva lot more money if I had fewer bikes, but I wouldn't have as much fun.

 

 

 

 

 

[David]

Cool--I just didn't recognize it.

 

I'd like to buy an older BMW some day.

[John Ranalletta]

As you know, I kinda' "fell into" the Duc. I'm not a good vintage bike prospect because I

have neither the patience nor the meticulous nature required to restore and maintain at

prime condition.

 

When something breaks, I'm tempted to place an add on ebay, but on a warm Sunday afternoon

with Ruth aboard, the sound of the bevel gears working the valves, the wind hitting

straight on, the mellow sound of the Conti horns are a treat.

 

The shocks and forks need work and the tires are certainly not competition grade, but the

bike just works and handles really well.

 

The headlight is "Italian moonlight" bright and the electrics are fussy, but who needs a brake light?

 

 

[Tasker]

Stunning transformation! It's good to know I'll have something nice to ride when I'm back in Indy! ;-)

 

Great job, John!

 

 

[LJR]

looking good, John!

 

Nice to have a project that you can take your time on. Work on it when you feel like it, let it sit when you don't.

 

Little by little...

 

 

[John Ranalletta]

Stunning transformation! It's good to know I'll have something nice to ride when I'm back in Indy! ;-)

 

Great job, John!

 

You know you can ride whatever will start whenever you want.

[John Ranalletta]

Good to see, break bread and ride a little ways with you again. It's been too long.

 

This crappy iPhone picture shows all the fairings installed, but I'm having problems with the lower fairing stays. They were folded up when the bike hit something hard, pushing the bottoms of the lower fairings up into the pipes. You can see the hole in the fairing just below and to the left of the clutch cover where a 6mm bolt attaches the fairing to the stay.

 

It'll all work out, but you can't tell if the stay is aligned until you install the fairing which requires it be taken off and replaced introducing the possibility of scratching, etc.