Focus st3 & t5.1 day
Well.. ive been meaning to post on here for a while but ive not found the right time.. but anyways, here goes.
On the 3rd of april 2016, my dad lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the (way way) to early age of 58, at home, surrounded by the people who love him the most.
The last year or so has easily been the worst of my entire life so far, from seeing my aunts health deteriorate, and watch her pass away, thinking as a family we would have a little time to grieve for her and relax before carrying on as "normal" until dad being diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in October, starting chemo in late December, radiotherapy in early feb and being told the end of march theres nothing else they can do for him.. seeing his energy slowly waste away to nothing, and finally losing him 5 days before my birthday.. it all seems like it happened so quickly and I'm still struggling to figure out what the actual fuff has happened.. Ups and downs like normal but over all I think we are doing okay :|
So why am I posting this here.. Well.. along with leaving me with a few boxes of tools and books.. he left me his most prized possession (which I haven't actually seen since I was about 6 years old as its been stored in my aunts garage under boxes of my aunts belongings.. until today)
A 1967 Norton 850 Commando.. the first thing my dad ever saved up to buy him self when he turned 17
Now of course, its going to need some TLC but over all its not actually bad, some components will need replacing such as the exhaust and tyres, but most of the rust is only surface and all bar a front indicator lense, its all there
Unfortunately, the seat is not original as my dad had it replaced with a "king and queen" seat for taking my mum on holidays across the country in their late teens, and its not original paint from when he had the bike collected in a van from his family home, to my aunts garage a fair few miles away, and it was dropped in the back of the van which dented the petrol tank, and my dad had it repaired and painted a colour he liked (glittery red.. think its a 70s thing..)
I had spoken to my dad about the bike about 4-5 weeks ago, and he said what ever I choose to do with it, is fine by him, but he'd rather it went to a museum for free, than sold on to a bike dealer who will only want it for profit, having said that, I know he had the bike valued a couple of years ago, between £6.8 and £7.2k
My mum was all for selling it when we discussed it last week, but today, as we saved it from the depths of the garage, her mood about the bike changed completely, she seemed upset with the thought of letting it go after all this time, so we may keep and restore it yet!..
Hope some of you find it interesting and I will be sure to keep an update if any thing does change with it!
Thanks for reading
(Sorry about the crappy phone pictures)
-Dano.
On the 3rd of april 2016, my dad lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the (way way) to early age of 58, at home, surrounded by the people who love him the most.
The last year or so has easily been the worst of my entire life so far, from seeing my aunts health deteriorate, and watch her pass away, thinking as a family we would have a little time to grieve for her and relax before carrying on as "normal" until dad being diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in October, starting chemo in late December, radiotherapy in early feb and being told the end of march theres nothing else they can do for him.. seeing his energy slowly waste away to nothing, and finally losing him 5 days before my birthday.. it all seems like it happened so quickly and I'm still struggling to figure out what the actual fuff has happened.. Ups and downs like normal but over all I think we are doing okay :|
So why am I posting this here.. Well.. along with leaving me with a few boxes of tools and books.. he left me his most prized possession (which I haven't actually seen since I was about 6 years old as its been stored in my aunts garage under boxes of my aunts belongings.. until today)
A 1967 Norton 850 Commando.. the first thing my dad ever saved up to buy him self when he turned 17
Now of course, its going to need some TLC but over all its not actually bad, some components will need replacing such as the exhaust and tyres, but most of the rust is only surface and all bar a front indicator lense, its all there
Unfortunately, the seat is not original as my dad had it replaced with a "king and queen" seat for taking my mum on holidays across the country in their late teens, and its not original paint from when he had the bike collected in a van from his family home, to my aunts garage a fair few miles away, and it was dropped in the back of the van which dented the petrol tank, and my dad had it repaired and painted a colour he liked (glittery red.. think its a 70s thing..)
I had spoken to my dad about the bike about 4-5 weeks ago, and he said what ever I choose to do with it, is fine by him, but he'd rather it went to a museum for free, than sold on to a bike dealer who will only want it for profit, having said that, I know he had the bike valued a couple of years ago, between £6.8 and £7.2k
My mum was all for selling it when we discussed it last week, but today, as we saved it from the depths of the garage, her mood about the bike changed completely, she seemed upset with the thought of letting it go after all this time, so we may keep and restore it yet!..
Hope some of you find it interesting and I will be sure to keep an update if any thing does change with it!
Thanks for reading
(Sorry about the crappy phone pictures)
-Dano.
