2016 Gilmore Car Museum Motorcycle Show

Last year I took the 67 BSA Hornet to the Gilmore show although it was not up and running. I was planning to place it in the infield and get feedback from people at the show. A judge requested that I move it to the "Master's Class" which I did as the weather was horrible and entry in the class was low. I received a lot of feedback which I used to improve the Hornet during the following year.

Great weather and a strong showing of bikes. 

Attendance is growing fast for this event.

This year I also attended the Gilmore vintage bike ride which was held the day before the show. It was well planned and covered 70 miles of the nicest roads Michigan has to offer. Great job Wolverine Chapter of the AMCA!  I rode my 1970 BSA Lightning which I had been "trouble shooting" all spring. A new battery and coils seemed to fix my problem,although half way through the ride it started missing at low RPMs. A problem I am still working out. Anyway, I finished the ride and did not have to suffer the humiliation of being the only bike to be hauled home.

Lunch at the halfway point of the ride. The BSA ran great up to this stop but not so well after sitting in the 88 deg F temperature.  Problem finally solved...i think. An overview is on my "70 Lightning page"  

This year I was ready for the show. The Hornet ran great and many upgrades were made; cables taken to the correct length, proper wire ties added, correct foot peg rubbers installed, misc. hardware CAD plated, oil and gas leaks fixed, etc.

The judges giving it the "once over" in this pic. 

The Zundapp on the left with the sidecar stole the class. A real beauty.  

Some of the competition in the "Master's Class" and a great looking lot. 

The Black Shadow won "Best of Show".

An old Zudapp on the infield with a newer Honda(?) motor. Unique and well done. 

Awesome board track racer replica which was displayed in the "Custom Class" Great workmanship, a custom made frame and tank - with hand stitched leather! Driven around the infield by crusty old board track champ "Rusty Balz". 

The weather was excellent and the turnout was impressive. When I saw the quality of the bikes in the Master's Class I was just happy to be considered eligible to be among them. A Vincent Black Shadow, Triumph Hurricane, John Player Norton, 1948 Triumph Tiger and a beautiful 1969 Triumph TR6 Trophy were competing entries. There were also several nice BMW's which ran like watches. The class winner was a 1954 Zundapp KS601 with a sidecar. I took one of two Gilmore awards in my class to place in the top three. The Black Shadow won "Best of Show" and it was well deserved.  I am pleased that my BSA can compete with the other classics and it provides motivation to continue with the Series II Interceptor restoration (not that I need any prodding).

A few post show pics follow.

Chrome & Nickel Plating - PT I

The RE needs to have much of its chrome re-plated as well as nickel for the spoke nipples which I have not sourced in the past. I decided to try Atlas Plating in Houston Texas for this batch of parts. Atlas has two levels of chrome, street and show. Their site does a good job explaining the differences between the two levels. The steel for my parts was in good shape so I selected their "Street" finish. I have found other sources also use similar standards and processes.

The before photo........

The after photo.......

Atlas' price was what I would expect, timing was good, and the quality meets my expectations. I sourced their "Street" level finish. It uses no copper plating below the nickel and chrome. My parts were not pitted so I thought this would work well and it appears to have done so. I will reassess this for my remaining work. You will find Atlas on my supplier list page.