TIRES

Yes, my tires finally arrived. Look at these beauties. A new front and rear tire.



So the process begins. I took off the rear tire which is actually pretty involved. There are a lot of nuts and bolts that I had to loosen and then I had to take out the axel rod which holds the tire to the lower swing arm. As you can imagine this was a challenge to take out. Normally you would just take a rubber mallet and hit it out but I forgot to bring mine today, so a foot long 2x4 took it's place. I also had to use my ratchet extender as a punch when the rod got to the hub. Call me Mcguiver, it worked. Here is the tire making it's way off the swing arm.



There is no way I am moving that thing now.



The rear drum brake seemed to work when everything was together but a close look inside showed it to be a little dirty. The pads also had some slight surface rust so I figure way not replace them. I mean the wheel is already off the bike and it's better to be safe then sorry.



Hooray for progress

Mock up 3

So I have been looking for a new tank and a new seat, but I have had a problem finding ones that I like that will work with the bike. Because the frame is so thick and the coils are attached to either side of the frame any tank I get will have to be completely modified. Also I had a hard time finding a cafe seat that will fit the dimensions of the back of the bike. I found two different seats that would work but they would be solo seats and I need that extra seat for my wife. So I am mocking up the bike with the original tank and seat. In my opinion it doesn't look that bad. I have enough room to turn the handle bars, which is key and the tank is still in pretty good condition. The paint on the top of the tank is fading and I want to make it somewhat custom so I'll have to strip it down and paint it. Actually I am going to solicit my friend Tim from Glassic to paint it, he's awesome. The seat is a little thick, but my butt will be happy on those long rides. Looks like I got a seat and a tank.

More Parts

Alright, I got some more parts in the mail this week. New shocks, new turn signals and a new oil filter. It shouldn't be long before they deliver my new tires. Out of all that all I got to do today was install the new shocks. Huh, shocks, no big deal you say. Ever try to give a cat a bath?

Taking the old shocks off was not a big deal, it was putting the new ones on. Actually it was the rubber spacers that were giving me a hard time. First you had to put them into the upper and lower holes of the shock, and they did not want to go. Then put the shock on the bike by getting the shock screw through the rubber spacer. All I have to say is lube. The only thing I had was some left over soapy water that I had used to wipe the bike down. After man-handling one of the shocks on I tried to use the soap water, and boy did it help. Don't underestimate the power of lube. Here are some pictures.

Old shocks.



New shocks.



New shocks installed.



Next I spruced up the front. Originally this wire cradle was silver and black and ugly and chipping. So I painted it and put it back on. Doesn't that look nice.



Next I bled the front brake. Sorry, no pictures, it's kind of hard bleeding brakes and taking pictures at the same time. Normally you are suppose to bleed the old fluid while putting in new fluid but I just drained the whole thing. The reason I did this was because I have to disconnect the brake line and reroute it and trim it down. Right now it's tangled in a mess of wires and it's way too long. I had a problem with getting the mastercylinder resevoir open- I couldn't. So I might need a new master cylinder, I mean when you are dealing with brakes I would assume that a new brake that works is better and a old one with problems. Well, we will see. Hopefully I will be changing some tires soon, see you guys later.

Tips

Alright, the parts are coming in. Here we have the Samson Fishtail exhaust tips that will give the exhaust an old school look. It's been awhile but I braved the eBay market and picked up these beauties at a great price. Thanks P & F cycles for the great deal. All I have to do is order up the mufflers and I'll have all the parts to start on the exhaust. Stay tuned.

Mock up 2

Here is the newest mock up image. The exhaust is the same as the first mock up because that's exactly how I want it to look. The tank is pulled from an old BSA, notice the stamped BSA star on the side. I like this tank because it's a little slimmer than traditional cafe tanks but I also want the knee cut-outs which are also found on these as well. The seat pan is a fiberglass pan made by airtech. I am not sure if the dimensions of the pan will fit the bike though, I still have to measure that. But the curve of the pan follows the curve of the bike and the back is flat so I can mount the tail light and leave off the back fender if I want. My main concern is getting enough room for two to sit down but making it look like it's still a cool single rider cafe. Obviously these are not the colors I am using. You can bet that a bigger part of the bike will be black, but I will make sure to throw in some flavor here and there. Keep dreaming those biker dreams and I will see you later.

Grindin' away

So in the lull of waiting for funds I been cleaning up parts. I have been wiping mud and crud from the bike and from the parts I have taken off. I also took off the front fender and cradle that held the electrical wires in the front (sorry no pictures). There were also a handfull of metal pieces that have accumulated rust over the years. In comes one of my favorite tools- the good ol' bench grinder.

My first task with the bench grinder was cleaning up the header pipes. I am in the process of getting the pieces I need for the exhaust system (see mock up 1 post), so I decided to clean up the parts I did have. Here are what the pipes looked like when I pulled them off of the bike.



Here is my dad and I grinding' away.





The finished product (the picture doesn't do justice to how clean these actually are but I'm happy with it).



I also grinded some rust off of the shift lever and the headlight fork mounts. Here are the rusty mounts.




More action.



Shinier than flava' flave's teeth.



Right now I am in the middle of deciding whether to grind the fenders down or just leave them off the bike. If I get the seat I want I will not need a rear fender and the bike looks a lot tougher without the front one. Looks like I will have to cross that bridge when I get there. Hang tight kiddies, there is more goodness to come.