Rebuilt the Sunburst

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yves norton seeley said:
Hello Steve, we were a neighbours; but Matadi is 1744kms from Lumubashi. Former Elisabethville.
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Yes, just around the corner really :cool:
I've vague memories (and tales from my parents) of the Belgian refugees coming over the border after it all went pear-shaped after independence...

Africa, it will break your heart, but it's difficult to get it out of your system.
 
SteveBorland said:
Yes, just around the corner really :cool:
I've vague memories (and tales from my parents) of the Belgian refugees coming over the border after it all went pear-shaped after independence...

Africa, it will break your heart, but it's difficult to get it out of your system.
Click to expand...
Dear Steve,
those who have not known Africa cannot understand us,
I was ten years old in 1960 and I naively believed that the Congo was Belgian for eternity and one day.
What a shock when the Congolese kicked us out with a big kick in the ass.
All my family is found in Belgium, a country that I did not know, in fact I was never able to adapt to Belgium.
all the Belgians who went to the Congo were adventurers and had a mentality fifty years ahead of the rest of the Belgians.
Sixty-one years ago since then, but I remember everything: the church, the hotel Métropole, the swimming pool, the school, the seaport.
I even found my house on google heart.
The last dream that I want to realize before dying is to return to Matadi to find the places of my childhood
Yves
 
Fast Eddie said:
Hmmm, for some yes... for many no...!
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Yes, that's not a bad summary of the situation. It's a fantastic experience to grow up there, I spent the first 25 years of my life in Northern Rhodesia /Zambia, then South Africa. coming to Europe was quite a change, a very different set of values and lifestyle.
Despite all the problems of Africa (not all of which can be ascribed to the evil colonists!), it still pulls. A continent of great promise, and greater broken promises, of politicians who range from the depths of evil to the merely incompetently, with only a few exceptions.

As Yves says, unless you have lived there and experienced these swings, it's difficult to understand why it exerts this magnetism on people. Karen Blixen, one of the few Danish people to understand this, left Kenya in the 1920's to spend the rest of her life in Denmark. Every evening, she would go to her door and look out at the sky in the direction of her farm in Africa.
 
SteveBorland said:
Yes, that's not a bad summary of the situation. It's a fantastic experience to grow up there, I spent the first 25 years of my life in Northern Rhodesia /Zambia, then South Africa. coming to Europe was quite a change, a very different set of values and lifestyle.
Despite all the problems of Africa (not all of which can be ascribed to the evil colonists!), it still pulls. A continent of great promise, and greater broken promises, of politicians who range from the depths of evil to the merely incompetently, with only a few exceptions.

As Yves says, unless you have lived there and experienced these swings, it's difficult to understand why it exerts this magnetism on people. Karen Blixen, one of the few Danish people to understand this, left Kenya in the 1920's to spend the rest of her life in Denmark. Every evening, she would go to her door and look out at the sky in the direction of her farm in Africa.
Click to expand...
The wonderfull film "out off africa"
 
A Belgian, a Moroccan and a Congolese walks in a park in Brussels.
At a certain point they find a little fairy stuck in a bush.
The three men deliver the fairy, she is so happy that she says:
You saved my life, to reward you you can make a wish.
You, the Moroccan, what is your wish?
Moroccans are not happy in Belgium, Belgians are racist and they eat pork, in fact all Moroccans would like to go back to Morocco, but we don't have the money to pay for the trip.
No problem say the fairy, a wave of the magic wand and all the Moroccans left Belgium.
And you, the Congolese, what do you want?
The Congolese are not happy in Belgium, it is cold, there is no work, in fact all the Congolese would like to return to the Congo, but we do not have the money to pay for the trip.
No problem say the fairy, a magic wand and all the Congolese meet in the Congo.
And you Belgian what is your wish?
For me a beer and it's good
 
Congo's ambassador in Brussels, his Excellency Bamboela Banana, is due to go to New York for an important meeting. the problem is, he doesn't speak a word of English.
On the plane, he asks the hostess in French if there isn't an express method for learning English.
The hostess told her "put on the headphones and plug in to channel eight, it's a great way to learn English in a matter of hours.
Arrived in New York he must go through customs.
The customs officer asks him: nothing to declare?
Bamboela Banana answers: sscritch brrscritch sscritch frrr
 
Hi there,
last friday evening I went down to the center of Brussels to see some friends at Flagey square.
I'll tell you right away: A Seeley with an engine like mine is really not ideal for driving at 50km / h and being stopped every 200 meters by traffic lights.
I noticed that my carburetion is a bit too rich and that the E speedo is not yet right, but I postponed this work until later, I brought in Fabien's bike: A matchless 500 in a rickman frame, the engine has been tuned in england by a specialist, but it has not yet run.
I have a few weeks of work on this machine and I'm not going to do a "rebuilt the Matchless" post
I continue to keep you posted for my Seeley with a little joke every now and then and a bit of nostalgia too.
if you like it of course?
Yves
 
yves norton seeley said:
Hi there,
last friday evening I went down to the center of Brussels to see some friends at Flagey square.
I'll tell you right away: A Seeley with an engine like mine is really not ideal for driving at 50km / h and being stopped every 200 meters by traffic lights.
I noticed that my carburetion is a bit too rich and that the E speedo is not yet right, but I postponed this work until later, I brought in Fabien's bike: A matchless 500 in a rickman frame, the engine has been tuned in england by a specialist, but it has not yet run.
I have a few weeks of work on this machine and I'm not going to do a "rebuilt the Matchless" post
I continue to keep you posted for my Seeley with a little joke every now and then and a bit of nostalgia too.
if you like it of course?
Yves
Click to expand...
Yes please Yves!
 
I, for one, would be interested in at least a few photos and some info about the Matchless. There is a Matchless section here after all...
 
grandpaul said:
I, for one, would be interested in at least a few photos and some info about the Matchless. There is a Matchless section here after all...
Click to expand...
Fabien comes Thursday with photos, I tell you already in advance that this bike is extraordinary, it is a project that the former owner could not finish for health reasons.
Expect the magnificent.
Yves
 
yves norton seeley said:
I tell you already in advance that this bike is extraordinary, it is a project that the former owner could not finish for health reasons.
Expect the magnificent.
Click to expand...
If the "quite nice" gives me a thrill, I can hardly wait for "magnificent"!!

I really do enjoy reading other people's build threads and seeing how they, and others who add tips, deal with so many various typical and even non-typical issues that crop up during a rebuild/restoration.

Then, when it comes to customs, I hang on every detail and try to see how I can apply some special things to one of my future builds.

Of course, there will be no more future builds for me; I really am TRYING to "retire" and enjoy ultralight flying, fishing and water skiing, and just cruising around the hill country. So, all the more I can enjoy other people's builds!
 
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