Everyday TR1 - gets a new bench and the Norway-engine is put to good use again

It is said that if a change is just slow enough, you will have great difficulty noticing it, unless then due to some unexpected circumstances you have a direct comparison again. This time: seats. After merely 125,000km and mainly because the leather started to crack I decided to swap out the seat.

I lately toyed around with the idea of making a set of forward- or mid-controls for the old girl, just like the original Faust TR1 had many years ago. Turns out, on a stock seat you sit about 30-40mm higher than on the completely worn out bench that used to be on the Tractor. I might still do it, because Faust was probably the most comfortable bike I ever rode, but I admit it has gone from necessity to nice to have with the new seat. 

And then there was another little project I undertook: The Norway-engine, originally built for my friend Eerik, has sat dormant under the bench since last October. Now the time to shine has come for it. After stripping it of all its heavy and mostly broken internals it will now serve as a jig for making a series of 2in1 inlet manifolds and I hope to find a way to use it for building exhausts again, so the turbo and the Tractor can stay in one piece.

If you wonder why I as a strong proponent of twin-carbs will start (again) to build 2in1-manifolds, the answer is simple: A few friends asked me long enough, whether I could make one for each of them and the turbo might need a new and improved manifold as well. 

And to finish off this post, here's two pictures of the old girl simply looking gorgeous in the late afternoon sun.