Taking shape

......she's back from P&D customs.

The tank fits like a dream, I'm over the moon with the look. They had to mod the frame a little, move the seat back a smidge, but the end result is superb! 

The exhausts, although a bargain off eBay didn't fit as well as I'd hoped, however after cutting and welding a new section to each pipe (removing the old lambda ports, which is handy and looks far better than my original idea of blanking them off with some screws) they now look superb. 

The rear fender is now shaped with a pleasing rounded off bottom edge. 

The side stand has been rotated and now the bike sits at a far better and secure angle when on the stand.

Upon reflection of the bike in its current state, I've decided the brake levers have to go. They just look cheap and nasty....which they were really!

Also, now I'm not convinced on the blue flames paint job. Flames won't work.

I've bounced a few ideas around of nickel  plating the frame and tins, however with a chrome front end it would look weird and the engine will be shown up. You'd need a polished engine for that. So.... Right now the intent is for the frame to be black and the tins to be a beautiful orange colour. Metal flake, hotrod style, perhaps with some white pinstriping. A white seat with orange criss-cross stitching. This kinda shade perhaps?

Anyways, here she is as she stands!!

And a thanks to Chris from P&D for dropping her off (pictured below) and both Chris and Dave for all their help so far!

So next jobs are oil lines, electrics, and cables. Find myself some new levers, sort lights and number plate, 

Liking the no indicator / speedo look. Keeps the front end looking clean.

The build really has turned a corner. The winter months are drawing in, perfect time to get the jobs done ready for next summer.

So.....to sum things up...its simple really.... I love it and it's 'effing awesome!

I'm still here!

Its been crazy times lately. Work has been hectic, trips to America, I went to Detroit and Minnesota. 

It was my wife's and my birthdays in July so we took a week off work for days out.

Also I've been decorating the house, and fixing up the car. Rear suspension was shot and replaced the exhaust as was blowing a little and got a good deal on an aftermarket race spec exhaust. Sounds awesome! 

Anyway..... Enough car and house chat and my lame excuses for not cracking on with the bike...... 

The bike! I've had a rough quote from the  metal magicians at P&D customs for them to do the following:

1) manufacture and weld exhaust brackets.

2) weld fuel tank brackets to frame.

3) modify side stand (currently too long as bike is lower now)

4) round-off rear fender as currently too square at the bottom.

I need to phone them back this Friday to book in a time for them to transport the bike to their workshop.

Once these few small jobs are done I can concentrate on the electrics, cables & oil pipes. 

Once the tank is on I will post more photos. I'm hoping the handlebar risers are tall enough for the bars to clear the tank when turning full lock.

New exhaust - eBay win.

I have held out on having the welding done for the tank for now. As I won an exhaust on EBay. They came off a standard sportster so hopefully they will fit ok. I really like the aggressive cut at the end of the pipes.

It makes more sense to have the welding for the tank and exhaust done at the same time. As the bike will need to be transported to the P&D.

I won't need the lambda sensor ports on these new exhausts. Depending on the condition of the chrome I may just buy a chrome plug for them. Or have the ports ground off, filled and the pipes re-chromed.

So the next job is the welding. Then I plan on refurbing the forward controls from the original bike. The chrome looks a little tired. So a good cleanup and re-chrome is in order. New footpegs cost a small fortune for what they are so I'm happy to work with what I have.

Cleaning, sealing and breathing.

After a little fettling of the original upper engine mounts and the arrival of some more suitable fixings I have completed fitting the engine.

I gave the carb a good going over with degreaser and replaced all the seals. Cleaned and replaced all the gaskets on the air cleaner.

Added the additional air scoop I brought a while ago to the hypercharger. I was a little concerned it may be too wide to get my leg passed comfortably while seated, but it's fine. 

Looks pretty knarley I reckon!

I am busy trawling eBay for stylish exhausts. One has caught my eye. 2nd hand from the US.

I have spoken to P&D about welding tank brackets in place. So now the engine is in and carb etc. the tank can be properly spaced from everything.

It would make more sense to get the welding done for the exhaust brackets at the same time. So I'm hoping I will find something soon.

Suns out and Engine's in!

What a beautiful hot weekend! I shunned the temptation to polish up the new car and take it for a spin in the fantastic weather, and was galvanised to get the engine sorted in the frame and to be one step closer to a complete bike. Saturday I had to do some planned building work on the house, leaving me Sunday to get some bike bits done.

With some help from the old man. We got the engine in. Thanks dad!

With the extra weight it was a little tricky getting the forks back in, after stripping the frame down to make it light enough to lift over the engine. (Far easier than lifting the heavy engine into the frame.

My original engine mount screws seem way too long. A legacy from the previous owner. Also only two nutserts were present in the four main engine bolt holes.

I will do some research and track down the correct fixings.

But for now I've fixed it in place with temporary bolts and put the forks, wheels etc back on the frame.

I'm happy to be making progress after a period of the project laying dormant for a while. 

I'm liking the new bike jack too! Just the job and I think a bargain for £70 inc. postage, all shiney and new on eBay.

Next task is to cleanup the carb, replace its seals and mount back on engine with the air cleaner. Then to get the petrol tank brackets welded.

Distractions and delays

Hey folks, 

Been a busy time and not much has changed on the bike. Buying a new house has forced some decorating to take place. So been busy.

Also my old jeep had a long list of jobs requiring fixing, and was pretty long in the tooth so I let her go and sold her. Goodbye trusty old friend.

Hello new friend!

Love my new car, vx220 turbo. Will be interesting to see what is faster the bike or car. Car can do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, will the Harley beat it?

My next job is to knuckle down and get that engine into the frame. 

Been a crazy few weeks with birthdays, wedding anniversary, sorting jeep and car etc. next weekend I plan on doing some more of the build. So watch this space!

Get yourself some of that front end!

Boom! There you go! :) front end in place and I love it! 

And look what else turned up today!

The pop up flush cap is a nice touch.

My frame is nowhere near standard now so the brackets that came with the tank are no good. I will need to get some welding done to fix the tank in place. First I need to get the engine back in so I can space the tank correctly.

Getting the bike to the welding shop should be fun. Looks like more expense and I will have to hire a van.

The front end was a little tricky. Fitting the shock was harder than I though it would be. I had to remove both springs. It's amazing how much force it takes to compress them to fit them again. The shock lower brackets sit under the spring retaining screws. The springs when loosened can shoot out like a crossbow bolt. Thankfully I'd done my home work and used a ratchet strap to lower the force and all went without a hitch.

I'm happy with the bars. I was worried after buying them that they may be too far from the seat. But the seating position is perfect for me.

A little stretched and wide so loads of style but not at all uncomfortable, actually I'd say better than the old doner bikes riding position.

An eventful weekend, now time for a beer!

Minor frustrations

With the frame back from the welders I decide to build up the front end. 

Annoyingly there are some fixings missing from the kit and the included wheel/brake caliper axle spacers are not the right size. Thankfully they are oversize, so I can modify them to suit. I just need to find a lathe I can borrow or someone who will do it cheaply for me.

Happy with the forks though, they look good.

I will give my friends at P&D a call and see if they will do me a favour.

I am very happy with the frame. I located the rear wheel over the weekend.

The fender will need to be modified. I will round the corners at the rear.

I will profile this once I have the front fender located and the tank, giving me a full picture of what is required. 

I do plan on adding a spine to the rear fender to match the gas tank, also a cover for the left rear hub which would normally hold the rear brake disc. As this is redundant due to the brakester setup.

Early shape

I picked up the frame from P&D today.

It's amazing what a seat and mudguard can do to give you a very early sense of shape/form.

I have some jobs to do this weekend and busy with the day job for remainder of this week. However, I am hoping to find some time this weekend to build up the springer forks and create a rolling chassis.

Happy with the brakester/pulley setup. Rear wheel and axle are now correctly spaced. I needed a spacer between the wheel and the pulley due to the width of the tyre.

I am also chuffed with the rear fender. Liking the length of it. Will round off the edges at least, however I will make all decisions on the fender once the tank, bars etc are all assembled. Only then will I get a true idea of the finished product.

The fender struts are made from stainless. So I plan on polishing these up to a chrome like shine for a great contrast against the paint of the fender.

I also like the idea of getting a 'spine' added to both front and rear fenders to match the gas tank........still no sign of the tank though, perhaps I should have paid a little more for air freight. 

The next phase should be a major step forward. Forks, bars, wheels assembled. Exciting times!

Prepping the engine

I have decided to paint the engine. After concentrating on one rocker cover, cleaning and polishing it for what seemed days, I am not happy with the result. To bring the whole engine up to a chrome like shine will take ages. 

The only way to get that shine would be to dismantle the engine and buff and polish on a bench polisher. Not by dremmel and hand. 

So... Onwards and upwards, cleaning and degreasing prep for painting.

I tried gunk ultra first, which I picked up from Halfords.

Don't bother with it. It's useless!

After looking on YouTube I found a gnarly   looking old dude saying 'marvel mystery oil' is the best thing since sliced cheese :)

It's normally used as an engine treatment oil or fuel additive. He was singing its praises as good cleaner and degreaser on external components too so gave it a try. It's good, but was still very labour intensive. My engine has years of grime and oil on it. 

Shame on the previous owner, it's not like it was even a Mad Max-esque 'rat bob' style that you should never clean.

It was just neglected.

Finally I used straight forward brake and clutch cleaner.

Get a spray can or a bottle and fill a pressure sprayer (like the garden sprayer type things) it works wonders!!!

It eats through everything (including paint I'd assume so be careful) has a high alcohol content so dries quickly and turns oil and grease into dust.

Don't bother with expensive degreasers for your engine.

Once the engine is clean I shall pick up some etching primer and then black paint.

I intend to sand the fins of the engine to give it a cool contrasting look.

No sign of the tank yet. Hopefully any day now.

My frame welders, although 'welding royalty' are not the quickest at turning things round which is a bit frustrating. Perhaps it's all the royal galas they attend ? ;) I hope to have the frame back soon.

My upcoming tasks are painting engine and then building my front end components, forks, bars etc.

Picturing the frame

Took a trip to P&D to checkup on the frame. It's been chopped and the new section is now in place.

They have machined me a new wider rear axle to match my wider wheel.

They are also removing the steering lock brackets, to give me a cleaner look.

I decided to reuse my original seat. However the hinge at the front will be modified to allow easy access to the centre filling oil tank underneath.

They have ordered me a rear fender too. The sizes were limited for my rear wheel, so it is a generic blank canvas so I'm not sure how it will look straight out the box. I will review it once the back wheel is on and the pulley spacers/brakester is located and decide whether to modify it.

I'm guessing the kick-stand will need tweaking too due to the new frame geometry.

Still waiting on the gas tank from Oz. 

Clearing engine clutter

Decided to remove the Hypercharger and Carburettor to gain better access to parts while cleaning.

It's surprisingly time consuming to get the original shine back to the casings. Currently only done one top rocker cover.

Took me most of the day!

Depending how this goes I may opt for a painted engine over a polished one.....

I will decide later, in the mean time I will concentrate on cleaning off the grime.

The closest top cover has been cleaned and half polished. A slight improvement from the back one. Plenty left to do!

One oily lump

With the frame being welded, to keep the thumbs from twiddling, I have placed the engine and transmission on my old portable workbench.

It weighs 181lbs, or 82kg in new money (12.9 stone). I was worried the bench would buckle under the weight, so hung it from the ceiling too.

Thanks for the help Terry. Lifting, balancing etc. definitely easier with two of  us!

Now it's sitting in the middle of my garage with good all-round access, so bring on the carple tunnel syndrome!

Time to get busy with the degreaser & polish.

L

Wheelie good news

Dave 'the wheel guy' worked his magic and laced up my wheels for me. 

Got the tyres popped on and here we go!

Front wheel still has the blue powder protecting the white wall, it cleans off.

Very chuffed with the results. Was a little worried about mixing an 80 spoke rear with a 40 spoke front...... I shouldn't have fretted, it looks tasty.

Off to P&D customs tomorrow to get my frame sections sorted along with the rear axle and spacers machined.

Inheriting style

I have just ordered a 'Cole Foster' tank.

Perfect combination of classic lines with a modern twist. Just what I'm aiming towards.

These tanks are as rare as hens teeth!

I tried everywhere. The USA manufacturing depot has just moved apparantly and there is at least a 3 month waiting list to get on the manufacturing list, even then the guy seemed shady about promising even 3 months.

I have been looking for one since November and just found one on a dusty shelf in Australia, the only one in the shop. it's on its way now (by sea - 3 weeks) mighty chuffed!

Here's what they look like. The flush cap and protruded spine drew me to the design.

Anyone who hasn't heard of Cole Foster, go check him out. A modern day legend in hotrod & bike design!

Progress

Beginning of strip down

All tin work removed.

All wiring removed. Was already a simplified loom, however it was a bodge by previous owner.

Prepping for engine removal. Not a bad days work. Happy days!

Engine weighs a ton but managed to get it out complete with gearbox.

Close of play in Sunday, I've got this far

Time for some food and a beer!