Today was the day for my first run ever on the recently refettled ’47 Flyer; little traffic, a day off work and the missus busy doing whatever she was doing in the garden.
Third kick and we were off, smoking away like a WW1 frigate, but moving at a surprising pace for a somewhat heavy old bike. First impressions were the smoothness plus the way the engine runs better at higher revs, but at least that gave me a reason to wring her neck which probably helped with the removal of the build-up of oily muck in the silencer, courtesy of garage start-ups, etc.
Handles rather nicely though the new brake shoes weren’t too efficient yet, and the clutch will need readjustment fairly soon as it’s disengagement is about 1/2″ from the rest position and a little wear would probably see it slipping. Only did maybe 3 miles but I was surprised how hot the rad became too, still it shows it’s doing it’s job.
As a rider who has always done the traditional thing and gripped the tank with my knees, I see that’s out too, as the top seam is right where my knees are, and no pads plus a tank top seam would mean pain fairly quickly, I would think.
Overall very pleased, and roll on the next ride. 😀
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