The Quad is on-road after a lengthy interval.
Apparently, the self-starter had died, the battery had died, and the fuel pump had died too. All these parts warranted immediate replacement, along with some drainage/refilling of vital essences. I'm happy to report the Little Phantom is now moving about on its own steam, and the gears, transfer case, and diff locks are working perfectly.
During a test drive today, I did notice some problems...
First off, the alignment is sorely out. The rear brakes are suspicious. The steering isn't very responsive. The clutch pads seem to be thoroughly worn out. The disc brakes need redoing. The tyres need to be rotated (you'll notice the ulta tread pattern on the rear ones!).
In addition, we went through the painstaking job of removing all the nasty-ugly-unwieldy fiberglass panels and pipes that were cluttering up the bike. Even naked, I dare say it looks vastly better than the somewhat clunky beast it was earlier on.
Tomorrow, the Little Phantom goes for some mechanical TLC. I'm going to replace the rings, the piston, the sleeve, the disc brakes, and bring it up to a state of perfection, mechanically. This process is likely to take 3-4 days, and when we're through, we should have a pretty nimble little beastling (presently, because of the worn clutch and worn rings/piston, we have a smoky, slow-moving, unresponsive engine)
Following this, the body mods are going to start.
I want a steel cowl, covering the fuel tank and gear levers...which should extend to the front pillar, and thence, cover up the khappa left from removing the original fiberglass cowl. Instead of the baby headlamps and weird-looking indicators it was wearing, we'll have just one high-intensity beam headlight...of a large, circular diameter. No indicators. The seat is going to be shortened slightly, and the rear of the bike is going to have a pretty-looking box made instead. This box will double as the battery compartment, and also as lumbar support for the rider, in addition to being the mount for the high-visibility, rear light. The ugly looking jangla in the front of the beastling (that currently houses the battery) will have to go, too. The handlebars will be swept out and back, slightly.The rims will be re-chromed, and possibly, ATV tires will be installed. IF I don't opt to change the wheels and tires altogether, that is...which remains a distinct possibility.
Depending on how things turn out with these body mods, the possibility of wheel-arches / mudguards is on the cards, at a later stage (the "denter" is actually the artisan who crafted the roll-cage for my FZJ pickup). When everything is done, the shiny bits should get a buff-polish, the painted bits should get a fresh coat of paint, and the black parts should get a new coat of matte finish. In line with the black and high-contrast-yellow colour scheme that exists...the seat is going to be nicely upholstered in bumblebee yellow-and-black leatherite, rather than the nasty-looking PVC vinyl whatchamacallit it's currently done up in.
Pictures, to tell the tale of today.