Non Porsche - my 1966 Honda Super Cub Hot Rod project

[jamie]

Not a Porsche, but pointlessly old and probably a classic... I thought some of you might be interested to see what I've been up to since selling the 911.

I bought this little bike just before Christmas, browsing the web whilst sat in the departures lounge at Heathrow on the way to a job. The sale of my car was taking ages and getting me down, and I wanted something to keep me occupied.



I picked it up a few days later. I couldn't ride it because I didn't have a bike license. So I renewed my CBT on a Wednesday just after Christmas, then passed my full bike test on Friday after one day of training

So I rode the bike about, but 49ccs wasn't getting me anywhere except inches from the bumper of car behind.

So I ordered a new engine. Whilst I was waiting for it to arrive, I re-painted the number plates as they had been done by billy bodge-it.

Out came the 49, and in went a chinese-made 107cc clone on the Honda bolt-pattern:



I also increased the drive sprocket from 15 to 16 teeth, to stop it throwing me off the back, and increase the top-end speed a bit.

Then came days of mucking-about with electrics. I'm colour-blind, so this bit was really frustrating. As the old engine was 6V, and the new one 12V, I fitted OEM indicators with homebrew LED internals, and an MSA rainlight into the OEM tail light. The headlamp is original, with a 12V bulb.



After a while, success! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbXTRynfyHA

After that, it was a case of removing the ugly double seat (not even correct for the bike anyway), and fitting a single seat from Thailand. All of the parts you'll ever need for these bikes are remanufactured in Thailand, including some cool aftermarket stuff as well.

The single seat required a new bracket to be welded to the tank. I got a pro to do this as I didn't want to die.

And this morning, I took it out for it's first proper run. It's fantastic - tops-out at around 50mph and gets there about the same speed as a small hatchback, so you don't get hassled by other road users. It's a bit noisy - the muffler is designed for a motocross bike and isn't that effective, so I will have to sort that out.

Here it is, pretty-much finished:

[Bertroex]

I'm colour-blind

Jamie,

Being a top photographer with this set back makes me take my hat off even more....

My word...

Bert

[Mitch]

Jamie, is that you? More mods?

[210bhp]

My thoughts too Bert but, you know, a colour defective sees what 'they' see and know nothing else so it is 'normal' to them. They wouldn't recognise your colour appreciation as 'normal' but as 'abnormal'. If you have been told grass is 'green' from the moment you are born then whatever colour you perceive you call that colour green every time you see it again.

It would be interesting to know Jamie, did you perceive your blood orange car as being very similar to, say, Mike Usiskin's Bahia red car when you saw them side by side?
Or,
Can you tell the difference between conda and viper green when they are side by side?

It has not held you back Jamie, your work is better than anything out there that I have seen. I wonder if your sensitivity to hue, contrast and brightness is heightened with your reduced sensitivity to wavelength. It would be possible to test for that. These are important factors in photography along with composition and 'form' and I am sure you will be aware that observers say that you always capture the 'mood' in each image. This is maybe why. You are not distracted as much by 'colour' as much as a colour -normal photographer?


Regards
Mike

[jamie]

Hi Mike,

Nice to hear some questions from someone who knows what they're talking about. Most people's reaction is to point at grass, or the sky, and go 'what colour is that then?', which makes me want to scream.

My colour vision is deuteranomalous (weakeness with red/green). It is the most common form and affects 6% of males. There's loads of good info on it, this being my favourite: http://www.color-blindness.com/2007/04/ ... -blindness

I'd struggle to tell the difference between Conda and Viper, but if they were side-by-side I would see the difference in the tone. Colour-wise, they are pretty much the same to me.

With regards to my work, I do sometimes get caught out with blues and purples, but not really reds and greens. Can't explain that. I tend not to like vibrant greens and yellows in my images - maybe because of this. For colour-balancing, I am normally able to detect an overall white balance / hue shift in other colours that I do not have a problem with. If I get stuck, I simply ramp the saturation up, make my adjustments, then return it to normal (whatever that is!). The beauty of digital imaging...

I am absolutely certain that I am more receptive to shape and contrast because of it. Colour doesn't often come into the decision-making process. Make of that what you will!

For what it's worth, I have two photographer friends who are also colour blind. One is the chief photographer at a big Paris-based news agency, and the other shoots fashion stuff. He has a retoucher handle all the post - never gets involved. Lucky guy.

I had a funny encounter with the problem last week when I was in Beijing. I needed a temporary driving license, so went down to the godforsaken Bureau of Whatever to apply. Part of the process involved an eye test, which went fine. Then the lady then came over with a f***ing Ishihara test book. I shite myself, since I've never been able to do any of them (everyone should see something, whether they're colour blind or not, since that's how the tests are created. I am unable to see anything).

I presume they were doing this to make sure I can see the difference between a red light and a green light, which is nonsense. For the record, a colour-deficient (not 'colour-blind') person is never going to mistake the colours of a traffic light, since they are backlit - really red, really amber or really green. They are also always in order (clever that). There's no colour-vision test for a UK driving license, or any other country I've dealt with.

Anyway, I look blankly at the page she is holding in front of me, and without hesitation say "sixty-seven". She flips the page. "Forty-three". Flip. "Fifty-two".

Turns out she couldn't speak english. She signed the paperwork, and twenty minutes laters I had a Chinese license in my hand. Plonkers.

[964RS]

I knew you were colour blind but find it really interesting.

It does make me want to ask though.......
























Jamie, what colour is this?

[jamie]

Sand Beige

[sladey]

I am absolutely certain that I am more receptive to shape and contrast because of it. Colour doesn't often come into the decision-making process. Make of that what you will!

For what it's worth, I have two photographer friends who are also colour blind. One is the chief photographer at a big Paris-based news agency, and the other shoots fashion stuff. He has a retoucher handle all the post - never gets involved. Lucky guy.

.

Interestingly Paul Ferryman has poor vision in one eye - I can't help thinking it makes you look at stuff in a different way. The end result is some stunning pictures from all concerned.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Darren65]

Well, wasn't expecting that……great bike Jamie and most excellent story!

[jamie]

Interestingly Paul Ferryman has poor vision in one eye - I can't help thinking it makes you look at stuff in a different way. The end result is some stunning pictures from all concerned.

I love Paul's photos - he's my favourite photographer on DDK

Darren - thanks! It was a cool bike, but I had a 'too much stuff, not enough time' moment and sold it on.