That's very kind of you, but it's not all me I have to say, there are some what I would call really talented craftsmen who've had a hand in this too !
Collected my engine yesterday from the dealer. Got in un-packed & up on my bench after a bit of struggling, it's heavy !! Changed the carb fuel pipe fitting to a 6AN type & junked the standard S&S air filter. I'll fit something more in keeping with the style of the bike once the engine is fitted. I've also got to swop a few things round on the oil pump as my pressure gauge needs to go where the oil pressure switch is currently fitted & the oil hose fittings want changing for 6AN type fittings too. That's tomorrows little job
I've re-positioned some of the engine oil pump fittings this morning to suit my oil hose routes & other things. Below is the engine as it came, And this is it now, I've removed the oil pressure switch so I could fit the oil pressure gauge in that position, so it can be seen when sat on the bike. The fitting just below the gauge is the crankcase vent, that hose is routed to the oil tank where it vents into the tank. The oil pressure switch will be re-positioned to the back face of the pump body. On the top of the pump body only one fitting stays, although it had to be removed in order to get the fitting next to it out. Because of the shape of those two hose-tail bodies you can only get a spanner on them in two positions, 180 degrees apart & access is also restricted by the crankcase itself & the other fitting when removing the first one ! The hose-tail with the yellow cap on is for the optional chain oiler, which I'm not using so that gets blanked off too. The thread sealant I had is quite old now, so most likely past it's best so I've ordered a new tube. Once that turns up I'll final fit everything & hopefully get the engine in the frame. I'll need a mate to come round & give me a lift doing that though, it's a bit heavy !! The removed hose fitting nearest the crankcase is for the hose to the oil filter & that will be relocated to the optional port on the bottom of the oil pump body, see picture below.
The oil pump fittings, blanks, gauge & pressure switch are now installed. I then removed the original carb support bracket as it gets in the way of where I want to route my fuel pipe. I made a new bracket with a slight curve in it to give more clearance, plus a small spacer as the two mounting points are slightly off-set between each other. I then moved on to the top engine mount. I can't finish this until the engine is in the frame & aligned, but I made the two cylinder head fixing points & once I've trimmed the curved tube down to fit, I can weld that in place. Eventually it will look much the same as the mount I made for the first bike.
Got the primary drive cover cut out, mounting washers made & the footrest fitted today. Just the gear lever to do now, that needs some more machining doing to fit needle roller bearings on the lever shaft for a smooth operation.
Got a working gear lever now. There's just a temporary support fitted between the motor-plate & the carbon cover, which the gear lever shaft passes through. Eventually there'll be a machined alloy support with a needle roller bearing fitted, but this set-up will do for the time being. I'll be running the bike un-painted for a while just to make sure no major re-working/welding needs doing & plastic spacers will be easier to remove than the bearings when the parts go for anodising, once I'm happy. I also realised, once I'd got the motor in the frame, that my top engine mount wouldn't work quite as planned ! It appears that this frame is slightly different to the first frame so I had to cut out the tube that I'd tacked in position & make another tube, but this time fit it the other way round ! It's all welded up now & allows access to the main frame mount bolt. Once the engine/gearbox/primary are aligned & tightened up I'll be able to fit the two connecting tubes to the mount & get it welded up. The mount to support the fuel pipe is also fitted to this top engine mount & I got the brass spacer made for that too. It's staring to look like a complete bike now the engine is in, but there's still a lot to do !! This is the bike as it stands at the moment.
The simple answer is "no" ! & yes, they are slippery ! However, having said that it has crossed my mind to maybe look at possibly using a pair of Renthal grips to achieve some grip. I can machine steps into the two footrests so that the grips would sit in & prevent them from sliding off. Having said that I made them the way they are for the look & it hasn't really caused me an issue on the other bike, which is exactly the same set-up. But, having said all that I might still go down the Renthal grip route !! Whatever I do it will also have to look "right", which may limit my options somewhat !
makes sense I realise Knurled might not quite match the asthetic ? It's not like you'll be tippy-toe'ing the grips into a corner is it
While I was rooting around for something I found this air filter that I'd bought for the other bike, but never used so I'll use it for this one. Spent the day in the garage making bits & got the generator blank done. Just need to mark the position of the two mounting bolts & drill & tap them. Also got the support for the gear lever done. The fit for the needle roller bearing is a bit loose, but hopefully once the part is anodised it should be OK. If not I'll add a bit of Loctite bearing fit.
Fantastic work ...... stunning ! ..... museum quality On a personal note , for me to be confident and fully in control , I need to feel that my hands , arse and feet are all well planted . Having my feet on slippery pegs just freaks me out , and I can't enjoy the ride . But I do get that this build is not intended to be driven hard . @CAT3 ..... More power to you mate , and I love all the pics ! Thanks for posting .....
Got the oil catch tank mounting bracket finished today & fitted. I know the bike doesn't really need it, but as I had it anyway & I'd used the same part on my other bike I just thought I'd use it up. When I did the first bike I'd positioned the crankcase breather filter under the gearbox to hide it. But it kept dumping oil on the garage floor & my ramp when it was parked up & there was always oil all over the frame when riding it. Initially I put the tank on to see exactly how much oil was coming out, which turned out to be very little, but then I couldn't be bothered to take it off, plus I'd have to have had a small filter higher up the frame somewhere, which I didn't want. Most of it will be hidden by the leather saddlebag anyway, which mounts using the same three M8 screws.
My spark plug connectors arrived this morning so I fitted them, whiled away ten minutes in the garage !! Just need to connect the other ends to the magneto now, when I get one !
Marked the frame down-tube out for the steering damper bracket & then removed the forks so that I could drill the two holes for the threaded inserts that need welding in place. The two inserts are now tacked in place ready for final welding. I'll finish the faces, where the bracket sits, as neat welding will not be an issue there as they'll be hidden as well as having been ground flat ! My welding isn't neat enough, visually, so I'll get my mate to do the final welding. The white arm on the steering damper is just a 3D print of the final version. The damper came with the longest arm GPR do, which is not long enough for my bike so now I know how long it needs to be I can get the final version machined. While the forks were out I also drilled the hole in the headstock to allow the wiring loom to pass though. I'll get a small plastic cover 3D printed to keep any rain out should I get caught out while riding.
The rear master cylinder arrived the other day so I got that mounted today. I've just tacked the bracket in position & I'll get my mate to do the final welding when the bike's stripped down for painting. Having said that I did fully weld the support for the bracket as it's out of sight & with a good layer of powder coating on nobody will be any the wiser !! You never know, by the time it's ready for the final welding I might be able to do good, neat welds ! All that's needed now is to make the operating rod from a piece of stainless steel rod, which will require a kink putting in it to align with the pedal & piston. Then the hose will need cutting to length & a new 90 degree fitting swaging on.
Started mounting the rear mudguard today. Managed to get the middle mounts tacked in place & the rear stays tacked together along with the mounting ears for the two rear indicators. Middle left-hand mount, right-hand is just a mirror of this one. Rear stays with indicator mounts attached. While I had the wheel out I could get access to drill a hole for the brake hose, to fit a P-clip to stop it rubbing on one of the brake torque arm bolts. By the time I'd got all that done I'd had enough & run a bit low on enthusiasm & the Moretti was calling I'll finish the lower mount tomorrow !
Finished the lower mudguard mount today, ended up making a bit of a boss to (a) support the arm of the mount & (b) to spread the load as I had to put it under a slight amount of tension to get the mudguard to clear the chain run. It's starting to look visually finished now with just the exhaust & magneto to be fitted that you can see ! There's still loads to do though, mount the M.Unit & drill holes for the wiring loom & throttle cable. I'll be trying to hide as much of the wiring loom as possible within the frame tubes.
