Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Engine Built & Hung

Tonight saw the engine FINALLY built & finished and then hung in the bike.  It feels like real progress, but the work still remaining is quite daunting.  Ahead lies detail, finesse, and design.  And not just torque specs and assembly order...


"In" indeed:



Mike tries the fit w/ an engine in the frame:


I think Mikey likes it!






SUCH a weird carb.  But freakin' beautiful:

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Minor Progress (very minor)

We finally started getting the engine together.  Unfortunately we seem to have misplaced one cir-clip for the piston wrist-pin (you're excused if you have no idea what that means...).  So this is as far as we got:




Then some slight mocking up of the seat.  Whilst watching some hockey.



And that's about all.  What?  I told you it was minor...

Friday, May 4, 2012

Rolling Frame + Design Questions

Mocking up a seat pan and fenders.  Got some changes to make to all...



Mike mocks in the headlight.  Will it work???





Thursday, May 3, 2012

Tire Swaparoo

This marks the third time we have removed and refitted the front wheel on the rim.  The first problem was a tube leak, patched it and replaced.  Next was replacing that tube.  Finally we put the damn tire on the wrong way (against rotation), so Wednesday night I took the tire and tube out and reversed them.  This put a few scratches on the rim but blemishes are welcome on this bike.

I also reversed the front forks to put the brake on the left side.  If it weren't for the speedometer, we could have ran it reversed but alas, it is now changed.

Matt finish sanded the tank's clear coat while I wrenched on the front end.

The shiny bars were rough sanded and then painted with the flat black.  Not sure if we should have given them a coat of primer but it is too late now!


Surprise! Look what spilled out of the headlight bucket!?!  It really is Ol' Stinky.

All the grinding and metal particles in the garage have collected in an outline around the church key.
 
 

Rolling Chassis

Staying positive, we decided to start bolting items to the frame.  It has been more than a week so the paint should be cured enough to not crack with the slightest touch....right?? guys???  Maybe not.

Where the hell are all the bolts?  Note: Organize bolts better next time.   Finally got the swingarm and shocks on,  Forks installed as well.


When in doubt, lube!

First roller!

The Lovely Lauren


Side profile with old seat foam.


So...it looks great! Except the front wheel and tire is on backwards and the forks need to be reversed.  More.  Ctrl-Z.




Stubborn Bolt

On Monday I rode the upper crankcase over to Denis' shop and brought a Grade 8 nut to weld on to the remainder of our stuck bolt.

The nut here is red hot, weld inside.

Each time, the weld didn't take very well to the bolt sticking out of the case so after four attempts of turning it and breaking the weld, we changed course. A bigger bolt was in order.

Snapped that sucker off too but it sheared the remainder of the bolt off at the case edge.  



Okay time to get a new upper crank case.  The cost is about the same as drilling it out and putting in a threadsert.  New case on the way via ebay.  Just another roadblock to getting the engine in the bike.