With the completion of The Bride, I took some time to take stock of the various projects and parts I had squirreled away in corners of my basement. I decided I’m not ready to totally give up on the Retroblaster concept: a cruiser-style two-stroke bike born from a late-’70s KTM frame and (potentially) a Yamaha YFS200 Blaster ATV engine. The big, fat Yamaha Venture 1200 wheels I have don’t have a purpose right now, as they don’t really work for my other projects. But since I’ve already mounted new tires on them and sourced a set of forks and front brakes to use with them, perhaps the Retroblaster isn’t dead after all.
One problem with the KTM frame is that I haven’t found a fuel tank that fits it appropriately. That got me wondering if some sort of tank cover or shroud would simplify things. I ordered a dummy tank cover from an early Yamaha XV535 Virago and situated it on the frame. It’s not a bad looking option. With a sprung solo saddle mounted above the frame behind it, it could work!
Don’t expect a whole lot more to develop with this project any time soon. This is fourth in line outside my workshop, after all. But, in the words of Miracle Max, “There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.”
