Updates on the local Monkies.

[Manky Monkey]

I've had a few people asking recently what's happened to the Basingstoke Monkey crew. They haven't been here for a while.
No big bust up or anything like that. Not like The Beatles breaking up & going off to persue solo careers, (would that make Tazet my Yoko Ono?).
Just life getting in the way as usual.
Ska Man, (Nigel), was having problems with oil pressurisation. His Reliant was pumping oil out of all sorts of orifices it shouldn't have been. He's also had intermittant cooling problems. So the Blue Job's off the road now for the Winter. He's saving his pennies for a complete engine rebuild -new liners, new rings, new valves etc. Should be as good as a brand new motor by the time he's done. He's also thinking of forsaking the water-in-frame system I used to run on his trike & mounting a standard Reliant rad up front. Nige has also just changed jobs & is temping as a lorry driver, hoping to go full time, so working every hour he can get at the moment.

[Manky Monkey]

Nige's brother in law, Simon, runs the black Reliant featured in the Motors, 3 Wheels, Frame Building Chapters bit of the main site.

http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Tech/Frame/frame1.htm

He's used to sports bikes & spent the Summer haring around on the trike in much the same fashion -which inevitably led to it blowing a head gasket. Not a major problem & sorted now, thanks to SaddleBags, who skimmed the head for him. Si's swapping the big Brit bike headlight for a pair of sportier looking twin black spots. That's led to a major tidy up on the wiring, with several yards of unnecessary wires being removed & everything simplified as much as possible. It's currently sharing garage space with Nige's.
Probably won't be back on the road till the Spring now, when I'll be taking some snaps of it so we can feature it here & maybe send it in to one of the magazines.
Si belongs to a Napoeleonic re-enactment group, (the Highland Regiment), so would be good to get some shots of him in uniform & toting his musket with the trike.

[Manky Monkey]

Flap's spent much of the last year on manouvres with the Territorial Army, which has suprised everybody, cos he's the last person on Earth you'd expect to be following orders & running round the countryside. Far too laid back for that. He took his HGV test with the Army & having passed, managed to escape the drudgery of the Post Office & get himself a lorry driving job. Haven't seen much of him since, as, like Nige, he's working every hour he can.
The orange "Flapster's" MOT's run out so he's taken it off the road for the Winter & plans to fit a pair of rear mudguards. Trikes will pass the MOT without guards, but they're required under the construction & use & MSVA regulations. Being stopped on the road without them is worth 3 points on your licence for each guard plus a fine. He can't afford black marks on his licence now he's driving for a living, so it's time to cover up.
He fully intends to be out & about on the Orange One again in the Spring.

[Manky Monkey]

SaddleBags, (Scott), is the newest addition to the local Triketeers. He's a CNC machinist & has provided quite a few bits & pieces for our trikes, in return for us putting together a trike frame for him. Unlike the Reliants we favour, he's gone for a 1300 Vauxhall Chevette motor with auto box, supplied by his brother CaptainSpannerFingers, (Jason), who runs a car restoration business.
He's now so busy at work that his trike's had to take a bit of a back seat & is currently lurking in the corner of his workshop awaiting further attention.

[Manky Monkey]

Which just leaves me.
Money & time are the main factors stopping me finishing my own ride. I need someone to machine a couple of bits & pieces, then the money to pay for an exhaust system, wiring, brakes etc. I'd hoped to be on the road for the local Christmas toy run in early December, but realistically, it's likely to be the Spring for me too.

[Manky Monkey]

Found out what happened to Flap- I unlocked my garage this morning & there he was. He'd been sat in the corner all the time.
O.K, he hadn't.
Spookily, as I was searching My Pictures for a shot of him on his trike, he texted me. He wanted to borrow my generator so arrived at the lock-up this afternoon. The new job's going well apparently, which is more than can be said for his trike, (off the road with no MOT), or the Landrover, (also off the road with no MOT). In return for borrowing the genny I got him to give me a hand to refit the forks in my trike.

[Manky Monkey]

Fortunately, I built my trike to fit me, not Flap. He's got the biggest feet in the World.

[critch]

us northern monkeys are also making (very) slow but steady progress.......

im now on mark 9 for the bars and footrests....

ill get it right for her someday......

[Manky Monkey]

Show us a piccie then Critchie. I've forgotten what yours looked like. We set the frame up using my rear wheels. I can't even remember what the front end was off.

[critch]

im a step further ive got a digi cam.....

cant suss out how to use it though....


im going to take the full dohicky with us when i meet yodles in november to see if he can enlighten me

[VALLEYSBOY]

hehe if u got probs with a digi cam God help u if u just got a lathe and miller!!