A little break today to do something I love doing… making things from scratch…. I have always liked the window in the cover on some of the bevel bikes, so I decided to make a window for the desmo valve gear…
One of the things I like to do on any build is to rubber mount any electrical components, it gives them a much easier life. The coils and the rear number plate holder are therefore supported by rubber bushes with collars in them to isolate the components from vibration. The coil rubbers are a standard size, but I needed to have a custom pair for the rear number plate as it was a none standard size. Rubber is almost impossible to turn… I read people put it in the freezer and use a very sharp tool, but in my experience that simply does not work… What does work is grinding it. Here is a 30 second video of widening the groove in a rubber bush in the lathe with a cutting disc in a Dremel.
In an effort to keep the lines of the bike as clean as I can, I have designed the loom to all come together under the tank, which makes it a little messy under there… I also struggled to make a bracket for the fuel tap I am using… I wont divulge how long that little bracket took to make!
into some of the detail jobs now… Somehow I “lost” the brake light switch… I remember taking it off and putting it and the tiny plunger into a plastic bag… after spending a frustrating couple of hours searching (and finding stuff I had forgotten I had!!) I admitted defeat and bought a Hydraulic one, which worked out OK as I needed a new double banjo bolt to fit the brake lines! I took apart the stand switch cleaned and re- assembled and covered the cables with braided sleeving, which I find great. Its important the switch works well as its connected to the ignition… When the stand is down, the engine is limited to 2000 RPM, which prevents you pulling away with it down. Also made up some custom HT leads with copper cores so I can just use resistor plugs. Finally I finished the ignition trigger… I have made a few of these in the past, but this time when I tried to order the Hall Sensors they were out of stock, with a delivery date of sept 22! There are alternatives, but better the devil you know… A good friend managed to find me 5 in Germany though. I held them in place with some hot glue, and then filled the void with potting compound which I have never used before. if anyone wants to make a trigger, the values of the capacitors and resistors are on the diagram. the hall sensors are triggered by tiny magnets ( 3 x 5 mm) The south pole turns it on, north off… which means you have to determine the pole of the magnets! this is easily done by floating them on a piece of wood where they quickly align.
Pro job! Hell of a skill level you have there mate. Some real engineering going on for some of those small parts and the solutions you’re finding
Thanks! Fitted the new cambelts today… I like the Gates carbon Drive app to tension the belts. It measures the frequency of them when you give them a twang, like a guitar string, very sensitive and accurate. I set them to 110 HZ which also “feels” right. I also went to pick up the oil cooler pipes I had dropped off to have the ends crimped on…I just don’t have the tool to do this. The miserable git plonked them on the counter and said £20… I looked and he had fitted different size ferrules on the ends… when I pointed this out he shrugged and told me it didn’t matter… well it does to my OCD… he was not happy when I refused to pay! This is why I hate putting work out.
into the detailed jobs at the moment, in preparation for start up. The oil cooler was pretty tatty so I left it in a container with some thinners in the bottom for a few days, then washed the paint straight off. As its aluminium and I was going to paint it, I grit blasted it before giving a a thin coat of etch primer, followed by a couple of coats of satin black, which I prefer over matt. It came out really well. Then onto the carb installation. The outer diameter of the carb inlets are different to that of the fuel filter, so I needed a “T” piece with different size ends. I made one out of brass and silver soldered the parts together. Finally I needed some cable adjusters. I popped to the cycle shop where I buy my bowden cable to make the throttle cables but they didn’t have any suitable. Again I ended up making these out of brass and a couple of bolts. The yellow tube is Tygon, made for Ethanol fuel. its very flexible and I like the idea I can see through it! It works best with Mikalor clips which are quite neat. Finally I fitted the frame number sticker with the VIN number on, just to keep the MOT man happy. one of the problems with blasting and powder coating the frame is it becomes very difficult to see the frame number.
Hi Tony, I avidly read your threads here and on "Dadsnet" since I sold you the first Multistrada. I'm sure others will also say this, I've picked up many hints & tips from you. Tygon fuel pipe is now on my shopping list.
Thanks! that was a few years ago now! One aspect of a build I like to get right is the throttle action... too quick and action and its jerky to ride and often heavy... too slow an action and it becomes two handfuls to fully open and I hate that... I popped the cable on with the twin pull throttle of the Multistrada and it was just too quick and heavy... I needed to take 1mm off the diameter where the cables run. Of course you cant just pop it in the lathe as the cable boss prevents that... I looked at doing it in the milling machine and couldn't see any way of doing it... so I came up with this!
I just recently finished reading a Biography of Steve Jobs from Apple (good read, driven guy) and one thing he was obsessed by was how things must look well designed, even when you can't see them. I think you have a similar philosophy! Fascinating read and I'm in awe of your skills. ----- This was a story Steve told about his father: He said that his father refused to use poor wood for the back of cabinets, or to build a fence that wasn’t constructed as well on the back side as it was the front. Jobs likened it to using a piece of plywood on the back of a beautiful chest of drawers. “For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”
I do try to design things that look elegant, but often don't archive it and have to go back and do it again... I do get satisfaction from doing things right though... Well I would like to say it started first time… but it didn’t… I would like to say I found the problem in 10 mins… but I spent HOURS looking why it didn’t start. In the end I tracked it down to the fact that I had placed the magnets wrong on the ignition trigger wheel! easily sorted soon as I spotted it.
I wasn’t really in the market for another project just yet… but when this came along VERY cheap, I couldn’t resist! Its tatty but is a runner and sounds sweet! I think it will be a good basis for a project… I have done 9 Ducati’s now, need a change!
I am So SO annoyed with myself… the tank has taken days to get to the right shape… I etch primed it… prefect… 2K primer… perfect… just needed flatting before the base coat. Unfortunately I went through to the bare metal on an edge… Not wanting to have to fill the gun with 2K again I used some 1K primer… As the base coat dried… the 1K primer reacted… lesson learned!
Well the tank is finally finished, bar for a mop and polish. It took a lot of time to rectify the paint reaction... I had to sand back to bare metal, and re primer the lot... I then put the tank above the radiator in the small bathroom and left the radiator on for 2 days to fully harden ...I had complaints about the smell of paint!!!
