What did you do over the summer? If you’re Allen Millyard, then you’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on your Kawasaki S1 550 Four build and taking it for test rides. Since we’re not him, though, that means we get to simply watch his videos as he documents the process, Tracy’s baked goods, and his back garden wildlife encounters (hurrah).
In this most recent episode, the S1 550 Four is just about ready to go! To start things off, Millyard goes over some of how he built and welded on the expansion chambers for the exhaust, among other things. Then he takes it out for a test ride, which he’s confident will go well—he's had it running a few times prior, it turns out, so there’s no reason to think that it won’t perform up to snuff. Indeed, as we see (and hear), the bike looks like a proper blast to ride.
Once back in the workshop, we get to see Millyard make a pin from scratch, which he then hand-stamps with his initials and the last two digits of the current year, 22, in his bench vise. (Artists need to sign their work, right? Right.) The last small bits that he’s made—including the kick start and grab rail—are ready to be sent out for chrome-plating before they’re put in their places on the bike.
At the beginning of the video, it’s high summer, and quite hot out—but by the time the box of parts arrives from the chrome platers', it’s now autumn. Leaves are on the ground, but that’s no problem when Millyard happily unboxes his new parts, inspects how the chroming job went, and starts to install them on his bike.
One concept that comes up repeatedly in Millyard’s videos is mentioned here a few times, and it’s his seemingly endless well of chill and patience. Of course, editing can do a lot—but from what we see on camera, the oft-repeated mantra that “you get there in the end” seems to guide a lot of what he does. From fiddly installations of tiny pins, hard-to-access hardware, and other things that might frustrate a lot of people, Millyard simply keeps going.
Indeed, as we’ve seen time and again, he does get there in the end—with stunning results. Tracy’s cakes and the visits from backyard birds and hedgehogs undoubtedly help—but his talent, knowledge, and perseverance consistently carry him through to the ends of projects like these.
Incidentally, if you want to watch the whole series on this bike, there’s a handy playlist that Millyard has assembled on his YouTube channel. Happy viewing!
