I have agonised over the rear light / number plate arrangement… No matter how I plan it, it just does not look right with the number plate on the back, So I am going for a side mounted plate. that leaves the rear light to consider… the rear of the seat is angled (more later) so I needed an angled plinth to mount the light I am using on… here it is, bar a good polish. A new addition to the workshop is a bandsaw... How did I manage without one all these years! I modified the top and bottom guides so they have bearing supports and it works an absolute treat!
One thing I always like on a build is a light throttle… in these days of EFI its easy to forget just how heavy some carb throttles were, always a balance of lightness Vs a throttle spring strong enough to prevent sticking, As I am using flat slides on this build I really wanted to use a pull / pull throttle set up, which would either mean a pair of splitters, or a dual throttle. that way I can retain the light springs. Try as I might I couldn’t find a dual pull / pull one so I have ended up making one! If anyone knows of a company that makes them… DONT TELL ME! here is the story in pictures…
I am amazed by your engineering and ingenuity as always, have you thought of selling any of the kit you make or doing commissions for those of us without your tooling or ability?
to be honest I only do stuff for myself these days, what I do is just not viable as it takes me so long! the wheels are back from the vapour blasters… they have come out FAR better than I expected, and I quite like the finish, so I will be leaving them as they are. just a coat of ACF – 50 should keep them looking good. the spokes are stainless and have also come up well. First time in MANY years I have put my own tyres on! they are tubeless so went on very easily. just got to get them balanced.
seat next… I needed to bend the front to clear the tank bolt… So I made a former to press it into shape. I also made a tool so I could press some dimples where the rivinuts go, to raise the seat a little so the seat doesn’t sit directly on the frame rails… Things don’t always go to plan… I decided to mount the rear light on the frame, and cover with a piece of alloy… which I did, but then realised that on full bump the tyre would hit the plate! I had designed the rear to cater for full bump, but promptly forgot! I realised I needed to mount the light on the seat base, but I hate wires showing… so I decided to make a conduit out of copper tube so the wires can be hidden under the seat cushion. The seat is off to the trimmers today. I have not used this guy before… The girl I used for years to trim my seats left the company she worked for… the last guy I used was OK, but no where near her standard. So lets see what this new guy is like… Oh, and here she is in the daylight for the first time in a while…
no matter how I tried I couldn’t get the number plate to look right on the rear of the bike… so on this build its going on the side, which kind of fits with the look I want to achieve…
I ended up with the same sort of solution on mine, not ideal as I would have liked the option of rear footpegs so I could convert it to a two seater if needed, might have to have another look when I get home! I like the bracket you've made there, another elegant engineering solution!
Its been a while... I tend to have the summer off from garage projects, holidays, days out, bike rides take over! However I had a few spare days and thought I would make use of the warm days and paint the tank. It was badly damaged when I bought it, so I cut some holes in the underside and knocked the dents out. it takes an age to get it to shape, in fact as the metal had stretched, so I cut a 1mm slot in it, planished it, which closed the gap, and then welded the slot up! its nicely to shape, just the decals to put on now Another little job was to redo the speedo… I want to keep this build as clean as I can and wanted a smaller speedo. I decided to use one of the cheap GPS modules which is just 55mm diameter. I made a new housing for it, and will finish the bracket off when I start the assembly. it been in the car for a week on test! the other news is I will be coming back into the fold as the next build will be another Ducati... its already at the back of the garage!
All finished... I always have my heart in my mouth on that last coat of lacquer over the decals! I know a lot of people struggle with paintwork, its not that hard if you follow a process, so I have written a guide on my blog if anyone is interested... https://jtccc.wordpress.com/projects-2/paint-spraying-at-home/
It will be a while... Its going to the back of the garage until October as we have holidays for the remainder of Aug, and most of September. Out in the sunshine for the first time in a while… I am now happy with the look, and it now all needs to come apart for the frame to be tided up and painted silver (matches my other bikes!) I will be doing a mechanical rebuild at the same time.
Here is the speedo and warning lights finished, I am pleased with how this has come out, i wanted this to be as clean as I could… as with all electronic components I like to rubber mount them… so I have used some small grommets and spacers. The GPS speedo has a nice little feature which tells you which direction you are traveling in!
Autumn arrives… Bike rides become less frequent, and the holiday and days out season slows down, so its back in the garage! the bike is now in the stage where all the fabrication is done and it all needs taking apart and cleaning and painting. Engine removal was quite easy with the removable frame rails and it was all soon apart and the engine and gearbox on the bench. I finished off all the welding on the frame and removed all the unused lugs to get that clean look, and sent it off to the powder coaters. I will be doing a full engine gearbox and drive unit rebuild, mainly to vapour blast the cases. This of course means making a few special tools! First off was an extra long 32mm socket. I cut down a standard one and extended it with some thick wall tube. next was a tool to undo the 27mm nut on the gearbox output shaft. you need to hold the shaft as well as turn the but so it needs to accommodate this. I used one of the spare Ducati wheel nut spanners I had laser cut years ago and bored it to shape on my new milling machine. Picture of that to follow! next up took some thought… I needed to hold the shaft while I undid the nut. It would have been Ideal to use an old UJ but I didn’t have one… But what I did have was an old drive shaft. Out of this I made a stepped broach in the the lathe and then hardened it. With this I was able to broach a set of splines in a block of 10mm alloy, cut to fit a large spanner. It worked a treat! finally, I made a tool to remove the castellated nut on the input shaft from an old socket, and a tool to hold the clutch hub from an old clutch plate. I think that may be it as far as special tools go! I have been debating replacing my milling machine for a long time… but I have had it for almost 45 years and its like an old friend! over the years it done a lot of work, but its a 1929 machine and has its limitations! When my wife asked me what I wanted for my Birthday it was an easy answer! The old machine has gone to a good home where I know it will be looked after and used…
Yet more quality work and have to agree the round barrels just look more retro and aesthetically pleasing, I'm guessing the reduction in surface area is minimal and won't affect the cooling? I might just have to steal this idea when I get mine on the bench this winter!
