He is sweet! Do you have to take a lot of care with paint choice on a helmet so that it maintains its structural integrity?
Yes, a good point, the solvents in some paints can weaken plastic (polycarbonate) helmets. There was a scare back in the 80's that petrol and other solvents could weaken the then new style polycarbonate helmets. Modern paints are more often water based / acrylics so shoudn't be a problem. I did my due diligence before starting. While 2K paints such as Spraymax 2K is made from Acrylic resins and isocyanate hardener, so it should be ok to use on the vast majority of helmet material. Its the same essential chemicals as used by professional paintshops. As for Barney, he's 10 1/2 weeks old now, and hard work. Cant take him out until after he's had his second injection at the vets on the 28th. Its now 2:30am and he's just woken up and wants to play...I want to record him as he grows up...here's his latest vid
Its been awhile, so thought I'd update this build. Wasn't happy with the SS seat unit, so made another in alloy.. which I also wasn't happy with. Then a nice chap up in Dundee offered me a seat unit he had made by the Tank shop for a Tonti framed Guzzi.. which I bought. Finally, I liked the way the bike was progressing, so I added a LM1 fairing, a front guard from a Triumph, and replaced all the wiring, using an M-Unit and switchgear, and now it feels like the bike isn't too far from the finish line. I also upgraded the shocks to a custom built pair of Hagon Nitros which I'm very impressed by. Its been a long slow build, but in my defence I have other projects to work on to. Oh and young Barney is now three an a half and weighs 43kg .. he takes me for walks now..
A big day, finally got my paintwork back, been waiting since last August. Very pleased with the end result.. This bike has been by far my longest build, but then its always been a background project. I have a couple of other projects which have been taking up what time I have to spare recently.
This must be the longest running thread ever on the forum,......also looking very tasty in those colours.
That's going to look great MisterB. Very handsome bike and love the colour scheme. Amazing. Nice dog too!
Oh I know, its been like a stone in my shoe at times. Though in my defence I have built two ground up builds in that time, am half way through another, and done some upgrades on another couple of my bikes too. As often is the case, there is only so much money to spend on my projects, that's usually what slows progress down.
I'm not usually into this type of bikes but something on this one looks intriguing. Any more pics/details?
I see you still haven't been to the opticians. Since when did Norton make a V twin and a Harley twin at that ? Andy
People have put a lot of different engines into a wideline featherbed frame but have to say never seen it done with a Harley before. Looks a remarkable marriage but can’t agree with you though, using a renowned 1950’s frame don’t make it a Norton Andy
The Norton/Harley is actually a Norley.. the frame was made for me in Wales, to fit the XL1000 Ironhead engine.. which has been lightly tuned. The engine is the only Harley part on the bike. More pics..
Oh and it used to have a part from a Ducati Monster.. the slave cylinder I used to make a homemade hydraulic clutch.. pity the ratio wasn't quite right and had to change to a bigger slave.
I admire your skills but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of your concept but that's fine, it wasn't built for me Andy
Quick test fit of my new paintwork on the Guzzi. It doesn't fit quite right as I haven't fitted all the mounts yet, as I still have to complete the dreaded electrics.
Fab builds, I love the Norley and Guzzi. I think Classic Bike featured a Norley some years ago and I was very taken by it. I started looking for a Harley engine, but was advised that most HD engines would be too long to fit in the Featherbed’s cradle; eventually my eyes got out of breath and my interest in building my own Norley waned. Many, many congratulations on your achievement. Apologies for the thread hijack, but should anyone want to buy a Wideline Featherbed frame, there’s one getting bored in my basement….
Great thread, only just discovered it... Cracking builds too! - can I just ask if you are ok to change the yellow fuel pipe and battery colours..?! ...they grab the eye in the wrong way... they would be better black or silver.
