As I'm currently going through what is referred to as a "transitional period" I've been struggling to do the stuff I need to do, and that's not left a lot of time for the stuff I want to do. The only saving grace in all that has been that I'm in the midst of all this struggle because I'm rearranging things a little to make my life a little easier.

Since the stuff I have to is indistinguishable from the stuff I want to do to an outside observer, there is a tendency for something to fall by the wayside, and since the best way to make progress, is to make progress, occasionally I have to satisfied with a small victory.

This week's small victories include extracting a solemn promise to deliver a R80 tank to me in the upcoming week, finding the bloody engine mount casting I lost, and trimming one of the engine mount castings (the one I didn't lose) down to usable proportions.

The two lumps of metal in the picture are the rear engine mounts that I cut off of the frame. Originally they were mirror images of each other and were affixed to the bottom of the frame rails. I've cleaned one of them up so it can be attached to the top of the frame rail to act as the front engine mount. Some time in the week, I'll get at the other one and hacksaw, file and sand that to match.

These mounts originally carried the centre stand, and the left hand one of the original front mounts, carried the side stand. Short of leaning the thing against the wall every time I park it, it looks like I'll have to provide for a new stand mount.

The frame itself is going to need drilling for the new, higher, rear engine mounts, and I probably ought to address the lack of stiffness in the frame. While the headstock area is famed for it's lack of rigidity, the swinging arm pivot area leaves a lot to be desired too. I have some sort of a scheme emerging in my brain which involves disposing of the sub-frame and welding on a structure to serve the functions of mounting the seat, attaching the top of the shocks, and stiffening the swing arm pivot area while saving some weight at the same time.

The lack of symmetry in the upper shock mountings is probably the biggest fly in that particular ointment, but if needs must then I expect I can deal with it by making some press tooling to shape the upper shock mounting points. That's something that sounds a lot more exotic than it actually is.

While all of that might sound like I know what I'm going to do, I have to arrange all of it to clear the fuel tank that I don't actually have in my possession yet, but yes, I do have some ideas.

I seem to have run out of 3/4" bar, so I'll have to get some to make the crush tubes for the rear engine mounts, and once I've done those I can use the engine as a jig to affix the cleaned up factory castings as front mounts.

I'd hope to get at least that much done in the course of the next week.