For the year 2022.... 
So, back in March last year, when Tom Calvert and I were sitting in Reds shed, after the Scenic Rim Rally and after getting a good soaking.. again!
I asked Red if he could do a massive favour for me and get rid of the fat crank in the 1200 and replace it with a skinny one?
It had been in the back of my mind for a while and since we had just received a new head as the the original was a bit soft I reckoned it was a good excuse to get them done together.
Red said yes so beers were drunk and a plan was formulated.
The year progressed, there was no hurry , but come November, Red had the Head sorted and the spare 81 crank lightened and balanced.
As neither of us care too much about the Christmas period we settled on the day after Boxing day, the 27th.
Paul Casson had told me on the Broadford run that he would be there to give us a hand, what a legend.
The trip up was uneventful, stopped in at Little Italy of coarse only thing worth mentioning was the traffic, bloody hell,
every roadstop, every servo, packed full of 4WD's and caravans.
Hit the outskirts of Brisbane and traffic came to a standstill, so sent Red a text to say so.
His reply
"We have gone to the pub"
Arrived 4pm QLD time, Paul was there along with Mark Muir, so we unload the 1200, onto the hoist and by 5.30 the engine is out, totally stripped and the cases ready for cleaning tomorrow.
Awesome stuff, time for a beer........
Red and Paul had already put in a big day with a Jota engine going back in the frame and Nick Giles's 1200 motor finished and into the test bed, so we were all pretty thirsty.
Max bought up some nibbles and we all settled in to what was to turn into quite a night
Mark was coaxed into staying for dinner, so the five of us dined out on Max's superb Pork Ribs, wow, thanks Max oh and Red for the BBq action, perfect.
What a great night that was, plenty of belly laughs and a heap of good stories, on until 3 in the morning, or 4 NSW time, but let's not mention that...
At one stage, towards the end, I suggested that it might a be good idea to hit the sack, you know , as we had a big day ahead of us and all that.
Reds reply, spoken with chin down and semi closed eyes....
"You want your engine finished you dont go to bed"....
Next day , was a massive day in the shed.
I was given the job of cleaning the barrels,new head and cases, a messy time consuming job that needs doing.
This was my second time round doing this in Red's shed so I would like to think Im getting better at it.
Richard, who Red has been building a Serb 81 Jota for, turned up and Paul and he began work on the body work of his bike.
They were concentrating on the tail unit, which as anyone who's done one can attest, is a total mind fuck.
It wenk back and forth, again and again, I continued to clean, the short scraper and green scrubber now my new best friends..
Finally they nailed it
everything lined up and it was sorted.
Not sure what was going on here....
I went back to my friends scrubber and scraper.
Anyhow.....
Before long Red had the new crank back in the cases.
I could have sat there and looked at that for ages, but hey there was still plenty to do.
Maxene kept us going with egg and bacon sandwiches, thanks Max, an egg and bacon toasty never ever tasted as good as those.
Once the cases were buttoned up, I swapped over with Paul who had started on Richards fairing, since having just done Pete's fairing a week before I reckoned it was time better spent that getting in Red's way.
Before too long, Red and Paul had the motor back in the frame and engine bolts going in.
And by 5.30 we were good to go with first start.
How bloody good is that, arrive at 4pm day one and by 5 the next day engine back in, new skinny crank, new head and engine running.
All that plus a top night of food, drinks and belly laughs...
Honestly, where else the world can you go and get treated like that, not to mention being in the magical Redax rainforest with its plethora of wildlife.
Bloody hell.
Outstanding.
Anyhow....
So its another night of revelry, although only a midnight one this time.
Maxene had cooked us up some garlic prawns which were again just perfect.
Next day, Paul and Mark had planned to take me out to their favorite pub, about a 200k round trip.
Alas, only 5 k's down the road and I was having trouble, bit of popping and farting, you know the story, but not before I got a taste of the crank.
Yeah baby
So three of us back at Reds, turns out Paul was having trouble on the Jota he was testing too.
So most of the day was spent getting the two bikes sorted.
The 1200 needed a new R/R and eventually a new pickup board, while the Jota had a whole heap of time spent on it and countless test runs up Cairns Rd with multiple ignition settings, only to find the problem was a blocked main jet in the unserviced carbies
Paul then had to leave as skippie time was approaching.
So that left Mark and I to go for a run while Richard continued work on his Jota.
Mark and I set out, heading for somewhere or other, got about 20 ks down the road before poor old Seffie said she had had enough.
bloody hell, cant win a trick with these test rides.
So the usual story, on the side of the road, a long way from home.
Decide I would ride back and pick up my ute and trailer.......
Sure enough, I got lost
No surprises there.
Picked up my ute and trailer and
you guessed it
lost again .... FFS
finally picked up poor Mark
And then back to Marks place, another little part of paradise, with its original old QLD workers cottages, all still standing, just beautiful..
Back to Reds, time for a beer I reckon.
Another massive day.
This time an early night, finally... but not before Max served up another glorious meal of rack of lamb and mushrooms to die for, thanks Max
Next day, up early, Red did the first shim check and re torque and then it was time to start the trip home.
On the way I stopped into to see Cosi in his little slice of paradise next to the Tweed River, just another beautiful property, right on the river.
Nice one Cosi.
And thats about it.
Arrived home 10pm Friday after leaving 5 am Tuesday
Two days traveling and two days working.
Felt like Id been away for a month.
Thank you Max and Red for what was an outstanding holiday.
Max, you truly are the hostess with the mostess.
Red, I cant thank you enough you know that.
Next time Ill see if I can keep the stupid questions to less than 3 ok.
Paul, thanks buddy, owe you big time, watching you and Red work together is just beautiful.
Salt of the earth stuff buddy.
Mark, legend, thanks heaps , its always a pleasure to catch up, and good luck with Seffie.
And that was that.
Reds last engine rebuild for the year 2022 was a skinny crank into my 1200.
Loved it.
Cheers.
Here are a few more pics.
Cheers
Tom
So, back in March last year, when Tom Calvert and I were sitting in Reds shed, after the Scenic Rim Rally and after getting a good soaking.. again!
I asked Red if he could do a massive favour for me and get rid of the fat crank in the 1200 and replace it with a skinny one?
It had been in the back of my mind for a while and since we had just received a new head as the the original was a bit soft I reckoned it was a good excuse to get them done together.
Red said yes so beers were drunk and a plan was formulated.
The year progressed, there was no hurry , but come November, Red had the Head sorted and the spare 81 crank lightened and balanced.
As neither of us care too much about the Christmas period we settled on the day after Boxing day, the 27th.
Paul Casson had told me on the Broadford run that he would be there to give us a hand, what a legend.
The trip up was uneventful, stopped in at Little Italy of coarse
only thing worth mentioning was the traffic, bloody hell,every roadstop, every servo, packed full of 4WD's and caravans.
Hit the outskirts of Brisbane and traffic came to a standstill, so sent Red a text to say so.
His reply
"We have gone to the pub"
Arrived 4pm QLD time, Paul was there along with Mark Muir, so we unload the 1200, onto the hoist and by 5.30 the engine is out, totally stripped and the cases ready for cleaning tomorrow.
Awesome stuff, time for a beer........
Red and Paul had already put in a big day with a Jota engine going back in the frame and Nick Giles's 1200 motor finished and into the test bed, so we were all pretty thirsty.
Max bought up some nibbles and we all settled in to what was to turn into quite a night
Mark was coaxed into staying for dinner, so the five of us dined out on Max's superb Pork Ribs, wow, thanks Max oh and Red for the BBq action, perfect.
What a great night that was, plenty of belly laughs and a heap of good stories, on until 3 in the morning, or 4 NSW time, but let's not mention that...
At one stage, towards the end, I suggested that it might a be good idea to hit the sack, you know , as we had a big day ahead of us and all that.
Reds reply, spoken with chin down and semi closed eyes....
"You want your engine finished you dont go to bed"....
Next day , was a massive day in the shed.
I was given the job of cleaning the barrels,new head and cases, a messy time consuming job that needs doing.
This was my second time round doing this in Red's shed so I would like to think Im getting better at it.
Richard, who Red has been building a Serb 81 Jota for, turned up and Paul and he began work on the body work of his bike.
They were concentrating on the tail unit, which as anyone who's done one can attest, is a total mind fuck.
It wenk back and forth, again and again, I continued to clean, the short scraper and green scrubber now my new best friends..
Finally they nailed it
everything lined up and it was sorted.Not sure what was going on here....
I went back to my friends scrubber and scraper.
Anyhow.....
Before long Red had the new crank back in the cases.
I could have sat there and looked at that for ages, but hey there was still plenty to do.
Maxene kept us going with egg and bacon sandwiches, thanks Max, an egg and bacon toasty never ever tasted as good as those.
Once the cases were buttoned up, I swapped over with Paul who had started on Richards fairing, since having just done Pete's fairing a week before I reckoned it was time better spent that getting in Red's way.
Before too long, Red and Paul had the motor back in the frame and engine bolts going in.
And by 5.30 we were good to go with first start.
How bloody good is that, arrive at 4pm day one and by 5 the next day engine back in, new skinny crank, new head and engine running.
All that plus a top night of food, drinks and belly laughs...
Honestly, where else the world can you go and get treated like that, not to mention being in the magical Redax rainforest with its plethora of wildlife.
Bloody hell.
Outstanding.
Anyhow....
So its another night of revelry, although only a midnight one this time.
Maxene had cooked us up some garlic prawns which were again just perfect.
Next day, Paul and Mark had planned to take me out to their favorite pub, about a 200k round trip.
Alas, only 5 k's down the road and I was having trouble, bit of popping and farting, you know the story, but not before I got a taste of the crank.
Yeah baby
So three of us back at Reds, turns out Paul was having trouble on the Jota he was testing too.
So most of the day was spent getting the two bikes sorted.
The 1200 needed a new R/R and eventually a new pickup board, while the Jota had a whole heap of time spent on it and countless test runs up Cairns Rd with multiple ignition settings, only to find the problem was a blocked main jet in the unserviced carbies
Paul then had to leave as skippie time was approaching.
So that left Mark and I to go for a run while Richard continued work on his Jota.
Mark and I set out, heading for somewhere or other, got about 20 ks down the road before poor old Seffie said she had had enough.
bloody hell, cant win a trick with these test rides.
So the usual story, on the side of the road, a long way from home.
Decide I would ride back and pick up my ute and trailer.......
Sure enough, I got lost
No surprises there.
Picked up my ute and trailer and
you guessed it
lost again .... FFS
finally picked up poor Mark
And then back to Marks place, another little part of paradise, with its original old QLD workers cottages, all still standing, just beautiful..
Back to Reds, time for a beer I reckon.
Another massive day.
This time an early night, finally... but not before Max served up another glorious meal of rack of lamb and mushrooms to die for, thanks Max
Next day, up early, Red did the first shim check and re torque and then it was time to start the trip home.
On the way I stopped into to see Cosi in his little slice of paradise next to the Tweed River, just another beautiful property, right on the river.
Nice one Cosi.
And thats about it.
Arrived home 10pm Friday after leaving 5 am Tuesday
Two days traveling and two days working.
Felt like Id been away for a month.
Thank you Max and Red for what was an outstanding holiday.
Max, you truly are the hostess with the mostess.
Red, I cant thank you enough you know that.
Next time Ill see if I can keep the stupid questions to less than 3 ok.
Paul, thanks buddy, owe you big time, watching you and Red work together is just beautiful.
Salt of the earth stuff buddy.
Mark, legend, thanks heaps , its always a pleasure to catch up, and good luck with Seffie.
And that was that.
Reds last engine rebuild for the year 2022 was a skinny crank into my 1200.
Loved it.
Cheers.
Here are a few more pics.
Cheers
Tom
Last edited:
. So all good noe Mr Needy
