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

[lchris21]

I am getting all excited. It is all the little bits which are thoughtfully done which makes a 'special' rather than an eBay special.

....but.... I also agree that the exhaust should have a welded bracket rather than the two bands. A man of your calibre could make it almost disappear.

....and.....I think the relays might appreciate being turned so the pins face down. Any water, I know you said it is a sunny day bike, WILL find its' way to where it does not belong.

Still excited thoughand it is still raining here too.
Good days = other commitments, inclement days = not doing outside stuff which needs doing.

thanks. might see how much cable I got left and flip em round when the time comes...........no rain will be used in this production

LOL..................those brackets eh...........Funny thing is tho, the can comes with one as standard.....

 

[waldershelf]

Might get rid of the lower one, top one is in for the long run........mechanicalistic eh...............

I disagree, they might not look "as good" but the rubber will help with vibration induced failures with the V twin motor.

 

[cocker]

First update of 2016.............Year 4 on the project..........well 3 x winters anyway

Been working on the hand controls. Picked up some nice neat push-buttons over the summer instead of my original choice. They cost a few ££'s but make the cockpit a bit nicer to look at. Also threw on my CNC levers and the overhauled throttle.

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Nice switches ,where are they from

 

[dobbslc]

I disagree, they might not look "as good" but the rubber will help with vibration induced failures with the V twin motor.

Hey it's not a blooming Harley Davidson!!!

 

[lchris21]

Nice switches ,where are they from

http://www.motone.co.uk/


Harley................Mmm, now there's a thought....Lets play nice here, no arguments.......what I say goes

 

[Chris Stevens]

Hey it's not a blooming Harley Davidson!!!

Heard that the new Donnington Nortons use HD gear boxes, and that they are having big problems with them!................lol

 

[Chris Stevens]

this was after the first quick clean up with a flap disc..............

started off repairing it with the TIG, but was going through an alarming amount of filler rod. Got the big guns out in the end and MIG'd it............lesson learned there. I'll never buy another

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I would have tended to TIG that, as you can be sure of getting a full pen weld with MIG, and nothing worth that crack appearing after paint when you start riding the bike.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I would have tended to TIG that, as you can be sure of getting a full pen weld with MIG, and nothing worth that crack appearing after paint when you start riding the bike.

?????

 

[Kayos]

Been following this for a while, as a lifelong non biker I don't understand all of the words and terms used, but I know a nice looking bike when I see one

 

[lchris21]

Righto, update time...................I have been working on the bike, honest. Not too much revolutionary big stuff going on, just plodding along to the finish line.

Had a rethink about the headlight, was never really 100% happy with it, so decided to change it to a design more in keeping. Preferred the lense pattern, and finish compared to the original one. so few mods to the brackets and on that went.

The the biggest obstacle I've been dreading for months, the wiring!!!!..................Loom from scratch, first build, what could go wrong !!!

The loom duly arrived in 50m coils, so I set about making some colorful spaghetti. Most time consuming bit has been hiding as much of the cabling as I can, running it in the frame, handlebars, routing it neatly, out of harms way etc......

Had to get a new battery as the other one was a little bit too big for the battery box I made. It fitted in OK, but with the heavy cables in there it was getting a bit squashed. I bought a LiPo battery as its got the same Umph, in a smaller case and weighs next to nothing....not too many shots of the wiring as its pretty boring stuff.....and it got a bit wild at points

 

[lchris21]

Few more shots showing the electricity flowing through the veins................

Wrapped the loom in the proper tape, and gently coaxed it into its resting place under the tank.

 

[lchris21]

Enough of that electricity nonsense, back to the engineering bits.............

Made a couple of little detailed brackets to help support the carbs as they do stick out a fair bit, and I was concerned they might start making a break for it.

Found some nice dark heat warp for the rear cylinder. This is to help keep the heat down where the header runs through the frame, as some of the afore mentioned cables run through there. I sheathed them with high temp braiding, but I wanted to belt and braces it so they come to no harm?

Speedo used a magnetic reed switch to pick up magnets from the rear sprocket, so made up a little bracket to hold the sensor in its new home.

 

[lchris21]

Another thing which bugged me was the grips I'd bought a few years back. I wanted a brown set, but struggled to get anything that really floated my boat. I settled for a pair from our mates from the far east, but when they turned up they were horrible!!!

So I set about making my own................courtesy of a nice Italian cow

I might go ahead and anodise the alloy bits as I've been wanting an excuse to have a go for a while.

They might be a bit too blingy for the overall look???

 

[daleyd]

Lovely work Chris !

 

[lchris21]

Whilst I got the mill covered in Ali swarf (horrible stuff!!) I decided to make a new cap for the petrol tank. The 1/4 turn one I've got is a little bit anonymous, so wanted to add a bit of presence to the tank, again I might anodize it when I've got the process sussed....

its more of a cap for the cap, as the original one is a breather type...

 

[Wallace]

All that attention to detail is really coming together, I don't like it any more I'm loving it instead! Certainly worthy of being a magazine feature once finished.

 

[lchris21]

Praise indeed, thanks..............I'm hoping to start doing a few bits for others as a paid hobby when I get it out there this spring summer, so it should be a decent advert??? To be honest I've always been the same with all my projects, enjoy the building more than the riding/driving...!!!

 

[Wallace]

Certainly will be a decent advert, is there anywhere you can hide a pop up business card holder?

 

[Shox Dr]

Praise indeed, thanks..............I'm hoping to start doing a few bits for others as a paid hobby when I get it out there this spring summer, so it should be a decent advert??? To be honest I've always been the same with all my projects, enjoy the building more than the riding/driving...!!!

With you on that one. Everytime I've rebuilt a bike, for some reason I sell it shorty afterwards

I've an '95 Africa twin I'd like to rebuild, but I'm not. It's on the bench at the mo, and it's only getting what it needs.


******, lovely job you are doing there fella,

You best keep hold of your teeth on the first ride, your smile will be that big, they just might fall out

 

[lchris21]

With you on that one. Everytime I've rebuilt a bike, for some reason I sell it shorty afterwards

I've an '95 Africa twin I'd like to rebuild, but I'm not. It's on the bench at the mo, and it's only getting what it needs.


******, lovely job you are doing there fella,

You best keep hold of your teeth on the first ride, your smile will be that big, they just might fall out

Thanks............that made me chuckle