Tear Down, Mock Up

Today I picked at the bike a little. I'm actually concerned about the condition of my garage- I've been so careless about using tools, then throwing them into different piles in the heat of the moment, while focusing on one particular area of the bike. I'm constantly having to hunt down the right screwdriver or socket, just to get something done. And piles of old, dirty parts keep multiplying on the garage floor! Oy vey! Maybe I'll start cleaning up tomorrow.

That piece-o-crap seat is always in my way, propped up, so I can get to something else, always on the verge of slamming down only to crush my hand at the most inopportune moment. I relieved him of his duties and he got dismantled. Along with the seat went the inner plastic fender, the scraped up chrome rear fender, tail light and license plate. I found that the plastic tool tray was in very good condition- even the accompanying rubber strap was supple and elastic. Hmm...might be able to sell that on Ebay.

I disassembled the front handlebar controls and removed the handlebar. I put on the new Clubman, just so I could see what it would look like. Very nice, I must say. Since I'm a pretty small guy, I was always wondering how I would fit on a TZ/TD/TR-style bike, with the long fuel tank and all. So I did a little mock-up, placing the old tank on the bike, but way further back to immitate the vintage tanks. I put something down on the dirty frame to sit on and I got on. Amazingly, the motorcycle stand didn't make me fall over! I got all stretched out over the bike and it felt glorious! I felt like I was in a total racing tuck! It wasn't too bad- I could still bend my elbows a bit, but I was really in the fairing zone. That was SO COOL!! Okay...I'm sold. The ergonomics are going to be just fine.