Wednesday 30 September 2020

Nihontō: Enter the Swordsmith

Nihontō: Enter the Swordsmith by Black Math

Image Black Math




#SuzukiKatana #BlackMath  #Cyberpunk #NeonNoir #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 29 September 2020

Alp Racing Vincent 666

Alp Racing & Design Vincent Landspeed Racer at El Mirage, September 2020 - Photo by Derek Althen

Image Derek Althen


#AlpRacing #AlpRacingDesign #LSR #HRD #Vincent #HRDVincent #LandSpeedRacer #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Monday 28 September 2020

Mugen E.Rex

Mugen E.Rex Electric Motocrosser/Dinosaur

Mugen E.Rex Electric Motocrosser/Dinosaur

Images Mugen


#Mugen #MugenERex #ERex #ElectricMotorcycle #Honda #Dinosaur #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sunday 27 September 2020

Superlight Rearsets

So some stuff has been happening in the workshop. The Mk1 Ducati Superlight that I've owned for the last sixteen years, the one that every year since then I've said I'm going to restore, is finally in the process of getting restored.

I blew up the motor a couple of years back but manged to procure a write-off Multistrada 1000DS which donated its fuel injected motor to the cause. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but a little more research would have revealed that the there are two types of swingarm arrangement employed by Ducati, and the Superlight and the Multistrada are different in this respect.

It will take a bit of engineering, but I can modify the 1000DS motor to accept the Superlight Swingarm. But it's a bit like that old joke about a traveler asking a stranger for directions - I wouldn't start from here...

Anyway, the project is underway and the plan is to make the thing as light as possible, hopefully around 160kg, accentuate it's sweet handling and to make it comfortable and easy to ride. To this end I fabricated a set of footrest assemblies that are about 40 mm lower and almost a kilogram lighter than stock.

More to follow.

I made a nice bit! Trick carbon fibre gear shift rod with stainless Heim joints.

New footpegs. These are probably going to get knurled.

Work in progress on the levers.

Work in progress on the hangers.

The finished carbon shift rod weighs 13 grams.

All the parts ready for assembly.

Left hand footrest assembly in situ.

Right hand footrest assembly in situ. The hangers will be powdercoated gloss black. The other bits will be polished.

In the middle of all this, the power switch on the lathe packed in, which caused some consternation. This is the replacement.

Wiring the thing up also caused some consternation.

The workshop, finally tidy for the first time in four or five years.



Images Mercenary


#Ducati900SL #Mk1Superlight #DucatiSuperlight #FootrestAssemblies #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Saturday 26 September 2020

Don't Ride Angry

ONRYŌ by Tonton Revolver

Illustration Tonton Revolver


#TontonRevolver #FantasyMoto #SciFiIllustration #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Friday 25 September 2020

Craft Beer

Craft Beer by Madao on Artstation

Image Madao


#CraftBeer #Madao #TheFutureIsDinosaur #SciFi #SciFiIllustration #HoverBike #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Thursday 24 September 2020

Attack Mode

Abigail by Bekarys Zhabagin


Image Bekarys Zhabagin


#BekarysZhabagin #AtomComics #Cyberpunk #SciFi #SciFiIllustration #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Tech 21

2017, Kenny Roberts rides the 1985 Suzuka 8 Hours Tech 21 Yamaha FZR750

Image Yamaha


#KennyRoberts #Tech21 #Shiseido #Yamaha #FZR #FZR750 #Suzuka8Hours #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 22 September 2020

Chase

Illustration by  Thu Berchs

Illustration Thu Berchs


#ThuBerchs #LeHaitre #SnowBike #SciFiIllustration #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Monday 21 September 2020

Chelyabinsk 1979

Chelyabinsk 1979 - Illustration Андрея Ткаченко

Illustration Андрея Ткаченко


#AndreyTkachenko #SovietSciFi #CCCP #USSR #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sunday 20 September 2020

Lost Kosmonaut

Lost Kosmonaut - Photographer Unknown


Photographer Unknown


#LostKosmonaut #CCCP #USSR #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Saturday 19 September 2020

Tool Chest

MotoReaper Tool Chest by Nelson Tai

MotoReaper Tool Chest by Nelson Tai

MotoReaper Tool Chest by Nelson Tai

MotoReaper Tool Chest by Nelson Tai

Images Nelson Tai


#NelsonTai #MotoReaper #RideDie #Cyberpunk #ToolChest #ToolStack #ToolBox #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Friday 18 September 2020

Bat Out of Hell

Who got Giant Bats on their Apocalypse 2020 bingo card? 

Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell. Album Cover by Richard Corben

Illustration Richard Corben


#RichardCorben #BatOutOfHell #Meatloaf #JimSteinman #Apocalypse2020 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Thursday 17 September 2020

Escape Velocity

Escape Velocity; The Chase - Animation by Andrzej Sykut

Image Andrzej Sykut


#AndrzejSykut #EscapeVelocity #Cyberpunk #SciFiIllustration #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Wednesday 16 September 2020

Weichai

Weichai Ferrari Racer Girl by Louis-Philippe Desjardins


Illustration Louis-Philippe Desjardins


#WeichaiFerrari #Weichai #Ferrari #LouisPhilippeDesjardins #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 15 September 2020

Bosozoku

Akira Character Study by Marco Vergantini

Akira Character Study by Marco Vergantini

Images Marco Vergantini


#MarcoVergantini #Akira #GSXR #Bosozoku #Cyberpunk #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage


Monday 14 September 2020

Kaneda

 

Kaneda on his Powerbike (Akira 1988)

(Akira 1988)


#Akira #KanedaBike #AkiraPowerBike #CapsulesVsClowns #GoodForHealth #GoodForHealthBadForEducation #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sunday 13 September 2020

Kidmograph

 Kidmograph Animation

Image Kidmograph


#Kidmograph #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Saturday 12 September 2020

Kirin

Kirin 5  東本昌平 Halumoto Showhei Young King Comics

Image Halumoto Showhei


#Kirin #Kirin5  #HalumotoShowhei #YoungKingComics #SuzukiKatana #Katana #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Friday 11 September 2020

Paranoia

Paranoia Racing Ducati SSS By Death Spray Custom Photo By Neil Bridge

Paranoia Racing Ducati SSS By Death Spray Custom Photo By Neil Bridge

Images Neil Bridge


#ParanoiaRacing #NeilBridge #DeathSpray #DeathSprayCustoms #Ducati900SS #Ducati900SL #DucatiSupersport #DucatiSuperlight #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Thursday 10 September 2020

Aprilia

 Ahhh... The nineties.


1991 Aprilia AF1


Image Unknown


#Aprilia #ApriliaAF1 #ApriliaFutura #Benetton #TheNineties #The90s #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Wednesday 9 September 2020

Tech 21

1985 Suzuka 8 Hours Shiseido Tech 21 FZR 750 Endurance Racer

1985 Suzuka 8 Hours Shiseido Tech 21 FZR 750 Endurance Racer

Images via Young Machine


#YoungMachine #YamahaFZR #FZR750 #Tech21 #YamahaFZR750 #Shiseido #Suzuka8Hours #EnduranceRacer #TheEighties #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 8 September 2020

Neon

Neon by Mad Dog Jones

Illustration Mad Dog Jones


#NeonNoir #MadDogJones #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Monday 7 September 2020

Akira

 Akira Power Bike by PixelJunkie

Image PixelJunkie


#Akira #AkiraPowerBike #AkiraBike #KanedaBike #CapsulesVsClowns #GoodForHealth #GoodForHealthBadForEducation #Lego #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Sunday 6 September 2020

Time Machine

You may be cool but you'll never be Jumpin' Joe Gerlach in a Flared Leather Safari suit driving a Monowheel Time Machine cool.

Jumpin Joe Gerlach and his Monowheel Time Machine

Image Unknown


#JumpinJoeGerlach #Monowheel #TimeMachine #Discosphere #TimeTravelIsReal #TimeTravel #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Saturday 5 September 2020

Dragon Racer

 

Rudy Siswanto - Big Race Preps Flying Dragon

Illustration Rudy Siswanto


#TheFutureIsDinosaurs #DragonRace #RudySiswanto #FlyingDragon #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Friday 4 September 2020

Stay Away

Stay Away - Photographer Sébastien Nunes

Photographer Sébastien Nunes


#StayAway #Ducati #DucatiSupersport #Ducati900SS #Ducati750SS #Ducati900SL #DucatiSuperlight #900SL #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Thursday 3 September 2020

Slabby

Suzuki GSXR Slabside, Japan

Photographer Unknown


#Suzuki #GSXR #SlabSide #SuzukiSlabSide #Yoshimura #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Wednesday 2 September 2020

Mercenary Social Media

MERCENARY is on Instagram.

That's not really news, MERCENARY has been on Instagram for quite a while but like most other social media, never really took it all that seriously.

But given the way the world has gone in the last couple of years, and the way social media has exacerbated the world's problems, MERCENARY is opting out of some social media platforms. 

In short, fuck Facebook. And fuck Twitter. Every time I go on Facebook there is some bullshit waiting to irritate me so I make changes and it finds new ways to aggravate me. That's not a bug, that's a feature. So fuck you Facebook, I'm out.

MERCENARY has permanently deactivated its Twitter account and will be making a strategic withdrawal from Facebook over the next week or so. 

If you are one of those people who follows us on Facebook and visits this blog by clicking through posts, you won't be able to that soon. We hope you will stay with us here, maybe by bookmarking https://www.mercenary.ie/

Or like I say, MERCENARY is on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mercenary_garage/


I made this simple tool to crimp battery cables in the shop press. Then I decided to paint it to make it more difficult to lose. Then after I used it for the first time I decided to paint eyes on it 'cos sometimes I'm fucking hilarious.

Marking out a regulator/rectifier mount for the Superlight 1000DS project. The regulators on the SL and the DS are the same external dimensions but the SL uses a steel adapter to fix to the frame. The adapter weighs about 100 grams so I thought about remaking the it in aluminium but decided instead to delete it altogether and make a tab to bolt it directly to the frame.

I was gifted this gearknob in the early noughties for a Baja Bug that I was building. The Baja got sold on before it was completed and at some point the gearknob found a new purpose in life. Or death, so to speak.

The collective noun for titanium bolts is a 'Fortune'. This is a fortune of titanium bolts, originally destined for the Fantic project and now redirected to the Superlight 1000 DS. The Fantic project hasn't been abandoned, just postponed.

I found this enormous fuse in the 1000 DS wiring loom and burst out laughing. It reminded me of those giant Smarties and Kit-Kats that appeared a while back.

The throttle bodies off the DS motor. I dismantled and cleaned them and replaced the fasteners with stainless ones. Then subsequently replaced the stainless with titanium and the two threaded bars the hold them together with aluminium ones. I think I saved about 50 grams. Maybe 40.

This was the world's skankiest Superlight 900SL when I bought it in 2004. It almost certainly still is. I've spent the last 16 years making it lighter but never really addressed the skank. It's undergoing a rebuild with a 1000DS motor and another weight loss program. Watch this space...

Ducati Superlight 900SL Mk.I #474 top yoke - The Multistrada igniton barrel bolt's up but is very heavy so it probably won't be there at the other end of this project.

This is where MERCENARY stores its essential fluids. One for petrol, one for diesel and a matte black one for Drakar Noir.

More tool chest stickers.

Vintage African Ivory Lucky Frog has found a new purpose as a tool chest knob.

The workshop empty and (fairly) clean for the first time in about four or five years.


#FuckFacebook #FuckTwitter #SocialMediaPolicy #Apocalypse2020 #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage

Tuesday 1 September 2020

Celsius 13

Celsius13 - Steampunk Ilustration Jan Weßbecher

Ilustration Jan Weßbecher


#JanWessbecher #Ilustration #SciFiIllustration #Steampunk #SteampunkIllustration #Mercenary #MercenaryGarage