How I came to get Low Flying Brick is a story in itself which can wait for now.

LFB got called that because, surprisingly, it caught me out by easily aviating some of the more nasty humps in the roads around home.  I hadn't expected that because my Bandit 600 won't fly without some serious input.

When I got it two years ago almost the first thing I did was to get rid of the standard BMW touring lunchboxes and replaced them with Givis. Yes, it's an import and that's a Republic of Ireland number plate! 





A close friend gave me an RS fairing because LFB is the daily commuter (50 mile round trip) and I was whinging about how uncomfortable it was. The fairing had been down the road quite badly; the previous owner had done about 95% of the repair job and then stopped. I reinforced what he'd done but didn't have the time to paint it.



I do a minimum of 6000 miles a year at night, so good lighting is a must. I found a 50amp alternator on ebay, used it for a week or so then gutted it and fitted the insides of a 60amp one into it. All the lighting goes through a relay panel and fusebox mounted in the tailpiece.

Other things done: usual problem with corroded brake switches so I replaced them with hydraulic ones. While I was at it I got rid of the hydraulic tube in the headstock and mounted a Kawasaki splitter on the homemade fork brace. I also dumped the original badly-scored stainless steel discs and replaced them with cast iron ones. The suspension got a good seeing-to as well. I replaced the rear shock with a RamShock and fitted progressive springs to the front. I used 10w fork oil; the improvement in handling over the standard setup was unbelievable.

It's an on-going project. Unfortunately I have lost half the movement in both wrists and both thumbs so I find the stretch to the BMW switches highly uncomfortable. The next step is to replace the entire wiring loom with a custom one so that I can use Japanese switches. I'm also no fan of the ratchet throttle (a brand new ratchet and twistgrip only lasted 15000 miles before getting notchy again) so I'll also be putting a Japanese twistgrip and master cylinder on there.

That's LFB as it currently stands.

wow. what a great workhorse you have there. Love that lighting set up!

You have no idea how much satisfaction I got the first time a car driver refused to dip his headlights. Despite his full beam I could still see the road beyond him!!

'Workhorse' is a good description. Last year I clocked 14000-odd miles on LFB - and just 837 on my 600 Bandit.

I use the K for most of my travels too.

Mine is also 84, K100RT.

This year I took off the panniers and picked up Krauser K2 panniers brand new on eBay. They don't fall off and don't leak......I had them on the LT and wanted to stay the same.

You can sort the fairing cosmetics in your own time. In our climate though its possible to stay riding all year round so no one goes off road to do jobs like that. The correct solution is a second K. 

One thing worth doing, an extender for the front mudguard. Keeps the road spray and dirt off the water pump and the electrical connections at the front of the engine. You may in extreme rain conditions get an oil warning light on.

I would suspect for all year round wet weather commuting you would find the RT/LT fairing a great asset. And for the occasional foray south......

I do have a complete body kit from a later 16V RS up in the garage roof ready for refurbishment. Well, almost a complete 16V kit - the tank is from a 4V model (thermistor fuel sensors) and so are the sidepanels. I managed to get a NOS still-in-the-original-wrappings bellypan and mounting bracket for 75 Euro from the same guy - ah! Just remembered; he's been mentioned on here before - John Tilley down in Tullamore, Offaly. LFB came from Birr, originally from London. Ironically enough, I knew John before I knew what he did for a living! We had a mutual friend and would meet up for the Dragon Rally crossings from Dublin.

As for a second K... if you look in the background of the first couple of pictures there's a frame on the bench. Not a K, but a 1978 Moto Guzzi Cali 1 being restored. In addition to LFB and the Bandit I have four Guzzis; apart from the Cali 1 I have a Cali 1100 that's being disguised as a Cali 1 and two that will most likely remain as a spares cache.

A second K isn't off the cards though. My wife has expressed a serious interest in a flying brick trike.

Was that you who was commuting on a Guzzi last year?
Think we may have met a while ago when you mention the Guzzis.
Haven't seen the K around though. It is distinctive!

Not last year but some two years past. A 1978 V1000G5 - sometimes it was all blue and other times blue with a black tank and sidepanels. Three headlights and a Givi topbox. LFB was a hurried replacement for it when the G5 was stolen and torched in Belfast. 25 years and 205,000 miles gone in seconds. Worse still, it was the second Guzzi I've had stolen from work... at least I got the Cali 1100 back despite it being a dented mess. LFB is locked and shackled right outside the office door now.

Does this look familiar?

Yep, that was it.
They do have a certain presence. A friend who lives near the Bloody Bridge outside Newcastle, sold his 1200 Griso last spring.
Very pretty.

Comberjohn wrote:Yep, that was it.
They do have a certain presence. A friend who lives near the Bloody Bridge outside Newcastle, sold his 1200 Griso last spring.
Very pretty.

Wonder is that 'Bjorn's bridge'?