Cafe Racer dreams..............rusting wreck rescued from the spiders???

lchris21 · Nov 18, 2015

Got the frame mounted onto the engine.

Was looking at the sad plain old washer sitting under the rear mounts and decided to spice them up a bit. They will be visible when the bike is finished. I remebered seeing something similar on my mates Aprilla superbike, so got out the rotary table and knocked a couple up on the mill.

At this rate the bike will never be finished, hand making washers :whistle:

bc30se · Nov 18, 2015

I recommend UPOL SR (anti scratch) clearcoat, - does a great job and it is quite hard. And now... paint the tank black with the same decals.. will be sweet.

lchris21 · Nov 18, 2015

Tank is already in its lovely new primer...................it won't be Black though, already lots of black on it..................it won't be red either...............went off that colour after I finished it :doh:

chunkolini · Nov 18, 2015

Go on how long did it take to make that washer?
Colour? easy peasy. Red or Black or a combination.
Edit.
Black knee panels with red front and top, arcing over the black to the back of the tank.
or be adventurous and do it the opposite way round on the other side. I saw this done nicely once.

bc30se · Nov 18, 2015

dark grey metallic perhaps??? or the old vw palette - nevada beige or florida blau?
http://www.kephost.com/images4/2012/8/14/d677u2y6gn4d7vnvu8rl.jpg

Blue looks good... old Matra racing scheme.. with the checkered scheme of yours.. hmm
http://www.mrof1engineering.co.uk/images/cars/big cars/Matra MS11.jpg

lchris21 · Nov 18, 2015

chunkolini said:
Go on how long did it take to make that washer?
Colour? easy peasy. Red or Black or a combination.

Hehe chunko........wrong on the colour.............both............Mmm........Beige, now there's a thought :whistle:

That blue would be nice, not on this bike though...

About 20mins for a pair of em

bc30se · Nov 18, 2015

never seen nevada beige on the bike but it's a great colour, my vw has it and I love it..

dobbslc · Nov 18, 2015

Love that washer! I now want to make one for my bike.....
Hmmm eBay > rotary tables > £££!
I also like that plating, the parts have really come out well, do you mind saying who did the work and how much it cost?

CRB · Nov 18, 2015

Nice washer!!!

The only colours available should be green and silver.

Just ask Mr Guzzi and Mr MZ

that red was not nice, so good job you are changing it.

This is looking proper nice though...for a Yamaha.

addjunkie · Nov 19, 2015

Great work, the washer looks great, is it stainless or ali. The things you can do when you have all the toys.

What kind of paint, and what temprature in the oven?

lchris21 · Nov 19, 2015

Thanks for the positive feedback lads, and the suggested colour combos :whistle:

dobbslc said:
Love that washer! I now want to make one for my bike.....
Hmmm eBay > rotary tables > £££!
I also like that plating, the parts have really come out well, do you mind saying who did the work and how much it cost?

Local company http://www.brynolchrome.co.uk/
They did a nice job but you have to chase them.......and a they lost 3 bits!! £100 all in.

addjunkie said:
Great work, the washer looks great, is it stainless or ali. The things you can do when you have all the toys.

What kind of paint, and what temprature in the oven?

Ali washer. The paint is the VHT SP01 wrinkle finish. Quite expensive at £11/can but worth it. Its a bit tricky to apply as you need 3 x real heavy wet on wet coats and trying to get it on without running is a little butt clenching !!! It can be a bit a hit and miss when it cures as the wrinkles sometimes fail to appear, as one cover I had to do 3 times!!!! Its dry after approx 48hrs enough to handle, It will cure when the engine gets to temp or you can pre-cure it in the oven at approx 90deg

Would love a Bridgeport to increase my capability, but limited with space. That washer was done on a small VM30 Boxford, useful but limited..............

Wallace · Nov 19, 2015

lchris21 said:
Tank is already in its lovely new primer...................it won't be Black though, already lots of black on it..................it won't be red either...............went off that colour after I finished it

Kenny Roberts yellow? Excellent attention to detail, those are the bits I like looking at even on bikes I'm not keen on.

lchris21 · Nov 19, 2015

Wallace said:
Kenny Roberts yellow? Excellent attention to detail, those are the bits I like looking at even on bikes I'm not keen on.

Close, but its not Carling.....................

I'm the same as you, its the bits I look at on other builds........just becomes a bit OCD :rolleyes:

dobbslc · Nov 19, 2015

Same here I love the little details.
Some pics from the Bike Shed show in Tobacco Dock this summer.

Wallace · Nov 19, 2015

lchris21 said:
Close, but its not Carling.....................

I'm the same as you, its the bits I look at on other builds........just becomes a bit OCD

Choosing colours is awful, I spent years undecided about a red, white and blue scheme for one of my bikes then went to candy red and silver at the last minute. Subtle changes are also one of my favourites, especially when the purist overlook them.

lchris21 · Nov 19, 2015

sweet.......loving that speedo border...

2nd pic looks a familiar setup

Wallace · Nov 19, 2015

lchris21 said:
sweet.......loving that speedo border...

It's georgeous, I'd spend too much time looking at that and fall off lots.

dobbslc · Nov 19, 2015

Really caught my eye that one.
What about the radial engined cafe racer? That thing was stunning! Engine was from a model airplane!

addjunkie · Nov 20, 2015

lchris21 said:
Would love a Bridgeport to increase my capability, but limited with space. That washer was done on a small VM30 Boxford, useful but limited..............

Sadly machine tools are another example in a mans world where size is important. Though the vm30 is one of the better small machines around......

I lusted after an aciera mill till i sat and looked at it with a tape measure

lchris21 · Nov 20, 2015

Had the week off work this week.........to do some DIY chores :whistle:

........................They can wait

Chopped off the excess brackets on the forks and got them mounted onto the triple clamps.

Made up some new seal retainers for the swing arm mounting pivot, and started bolting stuff on.

Surprising how many boxes I've got to search through for the bits and pieces. They've been scattered to the five corners of the garage during the fabrication and mock-up...........trying to think where the shock mounting pin is????? I'll be searching for that this afternoon...................Probably have to make a new one :rolleyes: