The Frankie Build Part 3

Bahhhh is the right way of starting this 3rd part. Remember when I said the seller told me the bike was working and healthy up until the moment he parked it? Well, guess what?! He lied… Yes I know, what a shocking revelation David, a seller that isn’t serious, who would have thought. It all started to add up to a shit storm, firstly the battery was missing and even the cables cut. Then when I wanted to drain the oil nothing came out which is always a good sign on a bike. Me being an optimistic idiot did an oil change put some new spark plugs in it, new battery and I even changed every ring and seal I could find on the carburettor. But before I could even turn the key the next hint of the shit storm hit me when the key I was given didn’t turn when I put it in….I tried to contact the seller at this point to ask if he gave me the wrong keys but Mr. Butthole wasn’t picking up the phone for obvious reasons. I was beyond down with this but I threw some wrenches around, drank some Corona juice and boom, the most obvious solution ever hit me, just take the ignition and the key to a key maker.

Another cool thing I had to learn and take apart…welcome to the world of carburettors

Off I went literally 200 meters down the road to a key maker. It took that man about 2 seconds to look at me and say “well these keys aren’t from this bike, even the length is wrong”. But thankfully that absolute hero amongst men was able to make me a key in about 30 minutes. Rushed home and off I went to the garage to try it out and you probably won’t believe me but he started up, I was happy and so relieved, in my head I was a couple of days off till I would be able to have a perfectly good running bike (guess what buttercup, I didn’t ). The bike was just running rough as hell, I assumed it was the carburettor and set off on the magical journey of trying to set it up properly. It’s actually so interesting to learn all about the fuel and air mixture and the inner workings of a carburettor. I was on it for around 2 to 3 weeks….stock prices of Corona beer went through the roof and my already fatigued braincell (yes singular) was on the brink of jumping ship, I gave up. I had to take a big slice of humble pie and I wheeled him over the street to my Honda dealership to ask for help.

I dropped him off in the morning and by mid-afternoon I got the call…Frankie had a bad heart. I was devastated, the garage owner told me he had a couple of engines he could sell me but I was to irritated to even listen so I pushed him back home with the cylinder head off and bits in a bag…it was horrible. I got him into the garage and I just wanted to get a hammer and break it all, I was so disappointed, after all that hard work, 6 months passed in a garage doing all the tedious little jobs, all the hours spent day dreaming of the day I would take him for his first ride….but it was at this moment of pure anger that I realized I couldn’t give up on Frankie or throw a hammer at him because Frankie became more than a bike, he was family, he was part of me…I was in love.

The look of despair

Frankie’s Heart Transplant

I drove over to the dealership and bought myself a engine - silver lining was it had half the miles on it. I got to the garage and put it on the floor next to Frankie and started pin pointing what screws I needed to take off and how. I was sitting there putting everything in order to start taking it apart but I got hungry because I hadn’t eaten anything so I called a pizza place to order a late lunch whilst I wrenched. Let’s please remember that up until this point I had zero experience and I haven’t changed an engine ever in my life. I started going at it and with some manhandling and some swearing. I took the old engine off and set on putting the new one back, by the time I’d finished putting in the last bolt 40 minutes had passed and the pizza guy arrived. I changed an entire engine in the time it was needed for a pizza to be delivered, I was so proud about that, I even called the pizza guy in to show what I’d done in the time it took him to deliver my feast. He wasn’t as impressed but who cares.

After eating my Pizza which btw was amazing (tasted of victory) I continued attaching every bit I had taken off and I was surprised to discover that the new engine had one extra electrical connection which mine didn’t have. So I did the logical thing and asked a professional about it…..just kidding…..first I attached it all by colour but Frankie didn’t even blink when I turned the key. So I started following every cable and comparing it to the old engine and surprise surprise the colours had to get on all mixed, red with white, blue with green and a spare yellow one which was probably for the model with turbo or something. After tiding everything it was now time to see if the heart transplant for my best friend worked….so I put the key in, I turned it, I moved my finger to the red starter button and as I pressed he complained a bit, coughed, let one rip and boom he was running as if it was nothing. This warrior just went from living in some guys garage being mistreated and getting ready to be scrapped, to coming into my garage where he got some therapy, some love, a fresh hair cut a new heart. Boom! Frankie was ready to hit the roads as if it was April of 1988 and he was being bought somewhere in Switzerland.

If you find a partner that looks at you the same way I look at Frankie never let them go.

So it comes to an end and in my humble opinion it’s a happy one. As I sat there putting the last parts and bits on him I said something out loud that would forever change my original plan with Frankie…I said jokingly that I would ride him to the Stelvio and back to check if I did a good job or not….The thing is that phrase stuck to my brain. So stay tuned because that Ramble is a good one.