They're decals, not stickers!

 "Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor." - Alexis Carrell

 The Merlin Titanium bicycle frame that I recently acquired is a really beautiful mechanical piece of art.  However it has a couple of flaws that need to be addressed.  The first one is the "grease guard" bottom bracket.  I've spun the crank with my fingers, and it's pretty clear that the bearings are spanked - as in the crank turns roughly - you can feel the flat spots on the ball bearings as you spin it slowly.  

Below:  A "grease guard" bottom bracket bearing, which is a bit of an orphan design.

The crank bearings shouldn't be a big deal to fix.  There is a place that specializes in these type of cartridge bearings, so it should not be too difficult to get a replacement set once I get the old ones out and take some measurements.  I'm reasonably certain that I can press the old bearings out, either with a mallet or with the hydraulic press in the shop - after removing the retaining circlips, of course.  

Below:  Using the big upright hydraulic press to install a pilot bearing into the clutch plate of the old Yanmar 155D tractor.  If it's necessary to use the press on the Merlin frame, I'll use a lot of protective cloth or plywood to protect the frame from being scuffed.

Once the process of bearing installation has been completed, it will next be time to take care of some cosmetic issues.  The graphics on this frame have seen better days...

I located a company that makes replacement decals, and placed an order with them.  These decals are beautiful, and are also an identical match!  These are waterslide decals, not stickers - so the sticky side is up, and from this side they appear reversed.  Maybe you remember these things from building aircraft in your plastic modeling days?

I'm looking forward to getting this project moving forward, but it will have to be a 2025 project of course, if not a retirement project.  One never knows what will happen.

Oh yeah - the wife told me it's time to "start adulting" and get a proper vehicle before I retire.  The sad thing about that statement is that she's correct :(  So... probably later this year the S600 V-12 Mercedes, the Subaru Legacy SUS, and the CBR1000RR Fireblade will all be sold off.  

The fast and quirky and dorky vehicles will all be replaced by a modern generic All Wheel Drive SUV.  

...Sigh... 

It'll probably be a Bronco instead of a Jeep, because after the fiasco with the Dodge Journey, I'm done with Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler products forever - and Jeeps share a great deal of platform components (engine, transmission, and electrical) with the Journey.  

The vehicle below has All Wheel Drive, but I suspect she would give it a thumbs-down.