condition and I might get some heat from people if I modified it . But I just couldn ’ t leave it like this , I have to create unique bikes . So , my game plan was to show respect to Hans by keeping all the original parts , leaving the frame and forks original by not cutting anything off . Welding new stuff on would work because I could always take it away again and take the Scout back to original in the future if I wanted to .”
As Danny began to disassemble the Scout , he wanted to create a new fuel tank and bought two fuel tanks to use as the base , but they needed a lot of attention due to their age .
“ I hand shaped one new tank out of the parts of the two old ones and it took a lot of sheet metal work because they were in a really bad condition . Then I hand hammered a fender and shaped the bars . It sounds easy but it ’ s a hell of a job , luckily it ’ s one that makes me super happy because I love the work .”
In the middle of the build , Danny had the idea to photograph the bike on the Offene Rennbahn Oerlikon bicycle track in Zürich , Switzerland which was built over 100 years ago and had also hosted flat track races in 1920 .
“ I called up to ask if I could ride there as soon as I finished the bike , and they were onboard immediately . But they let me know that the track would be shut for the year from October 13th . Turning around to see a frame with a big mess of parts all around it , and then seeing that the calendar said it was August 27th , my four-month build plan had to go into overdrive . I forced myself to work 18-hour days to complete the bike in time , I wanted to ride this bike on that track so badly .”
Luckily just days later , Danny ’ s friend Steve Hopkins rang , and Danny told him about the project and the tight timeline . Steve immediately offered to come over to help . Two days later , Steve , a helicopter mechanic , arrived and set to work on all the small , time consuming work like making spacers and fixings for the seat and fenders , plus polishing the engine .
“ Steve really helped me with all this small stuff that takes so much time , and I could concentrate on rebuilding the engine . As soon as the fender , bars and tank were done I had them painted . The first time I hadn ’ t used flakes as I wanted it in an old school traditional look , nothing high gloss . After this I sent the fender and tank out to Japan to Mr . G who does a lot of my artwork for me . In my eyes he is the best and he hand painted them in two days , incredible .”
While waiting for the tins to return from Japan and the tyres to arrive from America , Danny turned his attention to re-building the wheels and completing the engine build .
“ In the meantime , I was thinking about how I wanted to do the pipes . With this engine I ’ d have to do really tight bends to make it fit which would affect the
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