Sunday, March 25, 2012

Number of updates

Okay, so it's early in the morning, I'm sipping coffee, and there are a lot of updates to get everyone up to speed and I don't feel like going into a lot of detail. I'll let the photos and their descriptions do the talking. 
Carb's were overflowing. That brass nut needs to be replaced by a nipple in order to put a clear fuel tube to diagnose certain things.
Take a standard Zirk (spelling?) fitting....
Drill out the retaining lip and take out the spring and ball. Now it's a straight through nipple.
The eyecrometers weren't working so well so I took out the calipers. O.D. of the threads are about 0.005"-.007" too boig. Chuck it up in the drill press and file to get it to fit.
Play with some zip ties, rubber fuel line, a yogurt cup, and some clear tubing and you're all set to dial in the float bowl height. Took me 2.5 hours to figure out I forgot to tighten down the float needle seat.
Prep the rear tire for fiber glassing. Layer of painters tape on the rubber and a layer of aluminum tape over that. In hindsight I should have waxed the aluminum. Took me 1.5 ours to get the glass off after it hardened.
After four layers of fiberglass matt. I hate this shit. Although it was easier to apply in 60 degree temps versus the normal 25 degree I'm used to in the past few months.
Spent about 2 hours sanding it down to a reasonably smooth finish. Need to add more layers or else I'd bring it down all the way smooth.
What it looks like unfinished on the bike. Lots more work to do.
Four more layers of glass applied. At this point I realized I might need to step out for some fresh air. Even wearing a respirator through all of this I got a little loopy. Fender isn't done, but this is about as far as I got before I need to leave for a week long work trip.
Rear brake master cylinder mounted. Not extactic about it, but will have to do.
Rear master cylinder linkage. There's supposed to be a spring from the loop of steel on the cross member to the lever arm so that the brake lever returns when not pressed. Still working on this part too.

That's it for now folks. Will be more to post after my work trip. I'm going to go finish my coffee now.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Decisions, Decisions....

Little bit of an update. I decided to start working on my electrical. Specifically where it's all going to go. This way as I start the endeavor of getting the engine up and running the temporary harness will be a close match to the final one. The first step in was to determine where to put the ignition coil. Do I put it in position one...


Or position two?


The answer is secret position number three that I happened across on a whim.


Here's a close up of the custom brackets I made by hand. Seriously, the most powerful tool I used was a drill press. The rest were just saws and files. I need to get myself some machinery if I want to make another bike.


And here's what it looks like with the tank installed.


Till next time.