well here we are, some 6 years later and Fred is still on the road and looking the goods ,
 but... with handling issues that have existed since the build was completed some 4 years ago now .
various issues have ensued a steady attention to detail and maintenance  as most will be aware .

as a reminder the frame had been contributed by Rick g , sitting in his shed for years , but a recovered 
part from Al Pennykid , being one used for sidecar operations .


fortunately i have had the opportunity to pick up a wreck , long standing in the rain and weather .
corrosion is evident in  most places , but with a bit (a lot) of work many bits and pieces are recoverable and useful.

our mate (Brickman , Paul ) found somewhere in the hills around Toowoomba 2 wrecks , one in mostly together status the other stripped of most of the hardware a rider would use ...tank seat and all that sort of stuff , throttle bodies uncovered letting water into the cylinders etc ...quite a sight .

so Paul offered the" free to take away" one to me , nice , paul stripped a lot of the cables switches etc off the frame 
 i offered a damaged tank to him for parts like side cover mounts cut off on his and early tank so pump feed in the wrong place etc for him to cut and tig in place .

thank mate !!!
 we disassembled engine etc out of the frame for transport , keeping the load weight pretty low center of gravity .

home now , the parts recovered 

getting the lot home , and spread out 





the engine, water logged into the cylinders and the crank showing signs of low oil supply issues (likely why it was parked up and left for the wolves.)



warning, pictures of corroded frame coming ....

not as bad as some i have seen coming out of sheds near the seaside or the great brisbane mudhole of humidity 

but work to be done none the less









well not to bad , but work to be done .

recently i had found some "kbs Rust blaster " a product for converting and removing rust  with great results , and additional feature of leaving a zinc oxide reminant , which is designed to stop flash rusting after the cleaning - converson process .

so armed with this , a wet and dry clean up of many areas and application of the kbs stuff , it didnt look too bad .






not long after with another wet and dry clean off , i was able to lay down some primer coats ...




and a few days later , some colour coats ....and clearcoat over ...for just a little more protection 



 so now its sitting in the wood shed , waiting to get a start onthe disassembly - swap over .

but the black betty build will take some precedence , as i have now got a tank that will be all good to fire her up pretty soon


tbc

Good to see Charlie.  Looks like you're going to need a bigger shed   

I also know of a K100RT that resurfaced recently and will be put back on the road in due course.  It came out of the north Ipswich area and was a word of mouth discovery and not advertised.  Yes, I was asked but declined.  The new owner is a previous K owner but has other pressing priorities at the moment.

Ah, the retired life. Like you, I know it well. Not a lot of money, but a lot of free time. I like a well done custom job, but in your humble way, by doing it the way you do, it puts the hack job 'builders' to shame. Goodonya for attempting yet another proper 'build'.

Charlie the way you are going you might have to swap and move into the shed and put the bikes into the house.
Regards Martin.

Cheers guys  ....