PROJECT WORLD BEATER

If you've been following the story these last eight months, hopefully you've been both entertained and also looking forward to seeing how the bike finally turned out. And it kinda turned out like this ...

I chose orange (RAL2004 as it happens) , as it's the traditional Can-Am colour. I had the frame powdercoated. Normally, as a cheapskate, I just plump for painting frames myself but it's hardly durable really, and bright colours like orange can soon look very jaded if they don't hold up well to use. The motor received a coat or three of black Smooth rite, the tank got some rattle-can orange (mixed up to RAL2004 by our local car accessory shop), I threw in some race plates, a bunch of graphics, a pair of

I wheeled it outside the shed to take a few photos. It was the first time I'd seen it all finished from any sort of distance and, though I say it myself, I was kinda impressed. It looked sleek and lean and very purposeful. The old saying 'If something looks right then it usually is right' cropped up in my head. That phrase was repeated several times as other people caught first sight of the bike.

I fired it up, and gave it a quick squirt up and down the drive outside the shed. It seemed to rev crisply and cleanly, but I couldn't really give it any stick. The drive's only about 50 yards long, and as soon as I let out the clutch and opened the throttle, the front wheel shot skywards. Did I