Minor Tweaking and Rough Fabrication…

As lovely as the rearsets are, I have had to make a modification to the brake set up as it appeared that a hole necessary to connect the bottom of the brake rod had been omitted.

Here is the original photo from the suppliers website showing three holes to adjust the brake rod’s position with what I actually received in the correct position.  It’s clear to see that a third hole was needed. 

 

 

If you have read the rest of my blog you will note that I am not particularly adept/confident at mechanical/fabrication type tasks.  So with trepidation I took the brake pedal to a friend of my father’s and drilled a 6mm hole where one was needed using a superb industrial pillar drill with Titanium tipped drill bits.  Hot knife through butter springs to mind…well, after the event at least.  Prior to put the bit through the lovely billet alloy I was a bag of nerves…anyway, I judged it spot on…luck?  judgement?  Who knows!

I have added an extra nut to the outside of the rear brake cylinder mounting bolts to bring it further out in order that the brake rod lines up and doesn’t prevent the brake pedal from returning correctly.  It all works as it should now.  Some of the chrome had peeled on the brake rod so that got a coat of Satin Black.

Some tweaking of the gear linkage was needed to get the pedal in the correct position.  I had originally bought a slightly longer turnbuckle but managed to sort it in the end.  Everything is loosely connected at the moment as final adjustments will only be needed when the tank and seat get put on the bike.

As I think I have previously mentioned I need to fabricate a mount for the rear light/number plate assembly.  So I have purchased a sheet of 1mm aluminium and have started to cut out the required shape.  Originally I was thinking of some simple steel bar to go between the rearmost frame rails that would allow the rear light to be mounted.  However, I think using ally sheet will give a bit of a firmer foundation for the seat which is yet to be purchased.  Plus it will ‘seal’ in the electronics.  Anyway, so I have a roughly cut shape that needs quite a  bit of work to complete.

  

Further work on this next week is planned.

Shiny, Shiny Things…

…are a distraction!  With all the confusion and out of my depth feelings around the wiring I decided to allow myself to be distracted by some wonderful Italian alloy billet artwork. 

Thanks goes to Marco and Remo at Fly Hammer… Fly Hammer Racing Parts.  Prior to my purchase Marco was really helpful via email explaining a number of things and Remo the craftsman that made them.  Utterly brilliant.

…and attached to the bike…brake side.

…gear lever side.

 

I just need to purchase some linkage rods to the brake cylinder and to the gear selector. 

Obviously I couldn’t resist popping the petrol tank on to just to see how it is going to look at some point. 

 

 

Side stand and the fiddly springs was also mounted on the bike today.

With fewer distractions, next week I really do intend to sort the earth connections out and the two points where they will all meet.

Slow Progress…

Only an hour or so spent on the V50 this week.  Motivation is not a problem, I would like to spend most waking hours doing something or other on it.  Family and the notion of ‘work’ means I don’t have as much time as I would like doing the bike, which resides at my father’s house so it’s not a case of nipping out to the garage.  Anyway, contrary to what my wife initially said when I told her about doing a project bike, I am not actually in any rush to get it completed.  It would be nice to have it done for this summer but if it isn’t then that’s fine also.

Well this week I did not attempt to fabricate a rear light mount as first thought even though the rear light and indicators all arrived.  I have to say I am very pleased with how they look and their quality.  Of course I cannot get them lit until the wiring is sorted, but I do like the styling.  Simon at http://www.bikermart.co.uk/, where I got all this from, was very helpful and gave me good advice considering all the indicators and rear light were standard bulb and I wanted LED’s.  Simon was also patient given the fact that he sells plenty of LED versions but I just did not like the style, so he kindly fitted all the products I bought with LED bulbs.

I almost considered getting the longer stem/shorter thread version for the rear but really didn’t want the indicators sticking out too far like the originals did.  The indicators are metal bodied and chromed rather than plastichrome cheap imitations.  I roughly mounted the rear light to get an idea how it’s going to look which will depend upon the seat that I have yet to order and the mount that I have yet to make for the seat/light.  I went for the version that had a clear lens underneath that allows white light to shine on the numberplate as that would be easier than having to mount a separate light for that.

Happy with the way this looked, I decided to fish the petrol tank out with its shiny new petrol cap which I purchased on Saturday.  It’s not flash nor the predictable Monza style that I originally thought about, but think it suits the simplicity of the bike.

Next week will be a little bit of soldering…never done this before…to attach some loose connector blocks and hopefully a bit of a tidy up of the wiring.  There’s still a few things to purchase….digital speedo, Brat Style/Flat Tracker seat, Clutch lever and clamp, bar end mirror and left hand switchgear.  I know this is going to go over budget, but not by too much…depending upon whether I will need to get an expert in to sort the wiring out!