Electric Ignition

Made a start on fitting the Boyer Branston ignition - lost the instructions which wasnt a good start, but managed to print a step by step with pictures off from the internet.

Got the magnets installed onto the camshaft - my only comment its there doesnt seem to be a good fit on the side of the magnets, I thought there would be a shoulder or something to ensure its centred, however it just seems to fit flat onto the cam shaft.....

more fun today hopefully!

Bolt on bitties

With the engine clamped in place there were loads of little bits and bobs that could be bolted on. oil lines to the head, side casings etc...



Each one of them took me a while having not done it before, and not having stripped the engine. plenty of head scratching, rummaging in various boxes and tins.

The next job was to fit the minkuni carb - again I have never had to do this before - its a push fit to get it into to rubber seals. after trying several ways i finally decided to split the carbs so they could be twisted on. worked well, appart from it was difficult to re-connect what I deduce is the choke bar from between the two bodies.

Also got to fit the metal air filters - they look well smart on there!

Above all yesterday was a great learning curve for me - so many times I looked at a certain part and because of the way it connected or what it connected to it made real sence as to its purpose!

Engine in!

With the frame atop my new workbench it was time to unbolt the engine from the stand its been held on, and get it in the frame.
Looking back at it now, I should have clamped or strapped the frame down, as it wanted to skit about all over the place while I was trying to manouver the engine into place. with plenty of jiggry pokery and a few swear words the engine was finally filling the void that has been in the frame for the last 6 months.

Making Space

Yesterday was a great day on the build - the yokes being delivered has allowed so many things to come together.

The first job I had was to build a second bench to get the bike put together on. As some of you may know I'm pretty tight for space in my shed, but I had worked out I could get the frame and forks into the shed if I built a second bench to work from. Its actually a great idea as it means I've a bench for the bike to be built upon, and another for welding and grinding on.


Here is the frame and forks hoisted up on the bench!

Offering things up.....

Had another go at mocking the bike up today when I got back from work. I tried on the bars in the risers that Toddy turned down for me and the inverted levers etc....

Headlamp doesnt seem to be as big as I initially thought anymore!

Love this shot of it leaning against the wall!

A bit of extra detail of it leant against the wall!

Horn switch

I picked up a morse code switch the other day and thought I'd see if it worked ok with the Klaxxon I have.......

Rolling rolling rolling

For any of you that know me, I want to do everything 10 mins ago, with the light rapidly fading I wrestled with the bike to get the forks roughly in place and the wheels on. This is how she stands - one chunky looking bike!

Yoke arrival

Just been to pick up my new custom made yokes. They may have taken a while, but they are brilliant, and will look so good on the bike!

This means that the weekend will be lost to plenty of mocking up and fabrication as I will now be able to have a rolling frame to work my sizes from!

Plate part 2

This is the bracket as it stands, I was planning to trim the top thinner, but actually really like it as it is!

Numberplate bracket

Had a couple of hours in the shed today, wanted a bit of welding practice so I decided to start thinking of how to attach the number plate to the bike. I had stated the ball rolling previously my making a backing plate that would hold the plate and some LED lights to light it up.

I started playing around with different configurations of 16mm bar and tube (the tube to hide some wires..) but it seemed to be a fairly mundane way to mount the plate.

I started thinkin again about what I could make that would look quite smart and could hold the curved backing plate, and had a play around with the hand roller I got from Toddy a few weeks back..

Go them welded together - althought this is no mean feat with a TIG. finding getting things held together the biggest challenge when using it. I end up making an elaborate set of props from whatever is on the workbench.

once welded up it was looking pretty cool, but the origional holes for the LED's to go in looked rubbish, so a change of tact was needed....

I decided that if I continued the curve round the fron to to the plate i could mount some lights pointing back to the plate, and it would a better looking solution!

I made a centre plate, then welded 2 rolled panels in place to give me the overall shape.

What a Yoke!

Was supposed to have had my Yokes manufactured and on the bike about 6 weeks ago - the man I now know as Mr "it'll be done on Monday" gave me his namesake once again.

Last time I went round about 2 weeks ago I was ready to get my mockups, drawings and take them somewhere elce, however as I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to find progress as below.... However once again they havent been done, and another weekend of not being able to do what I want with the bike!

I guess this is all part of the life of a bike builder, but damn it tries my patience!

Hairbrained scheme number...........

Picked up this morse code key while away in a hotel (ebay is so dangerous while left unattended!), plan is to install it as the horn button on the bike!

a mock up of the bike with its new wheels! mixed response on the NSU tank, but I have a wassell style tank winging its way to me at the moment.
hoping for my bloody yokes to be delivered this week

Tank Buttons - Sketch it up

I Guess everyone has a different way od working - I love to just pick things up and start messing with them to see what comes out. but now and again i do sit and sketch a few things out. Was sat with the good lady last night, and sketched out the new plans for the tank, included a panel I want to install to house all the main switches I need. I think this will involve a bit of cutting and butchery to the tank, but I think it will need a new tunnel anyways.

any who - I put a couple of quick flashes of colour on it and here it is. It helps me to visalise what i want / like and dislike......

Sprung Hubs N Hardtales Etch

Been trying to get the etching a bit more precise, so I asked Rowan over at http://sprunghubsnhardtales.blogspot.com/ if I could have a practice on his logo.

Rowan is a jewelery maker, and for those of you that havent seen his work, both his bikes and "bling" (sorry Rowan - you'll probably murder me for saying that) are done with a real eye for detail.

Anyways heres the plaque / sign effort - it looks wicked!

Etching

In the bits I've missed on the blog I've been playing around with electro-etching. It stemmed from the forward control pedals that i made from an old gas bottle, and i wanted to try and etch them using ferric choldide. suffice to say, after half an hour dipped in the ferric chloride, bugger all had happened, so I opted to stick some electricity through it to see if i could speed things up a bit. it worked, but it got me thinking about the whole process.

I had a bit of a practice with things and was asked to show how I had been doing it - well i did a bit of a how too on Dirty Bobbers - see here:-

http://www.dirtybobbers.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1946.0

I made some dirty bobbers badges :-

cant wait to get my bike together and get it fitted on!

Inverted levers

Havent said much about the inverted levers I got from a guy called Alan Clarke. They were a birthday present to myself back in June.

I like clean looking bars - I'm not a fan of things that are too fussy, especially if its just for the hell of it!

I saw the levers in a classic bike mag when I was in an airport - I think they were being put onto an Ariel that was the mag's renovation project. They have been made to order, and Alan was brilliant with helping me on the phone. I was able to send him my bars and he turned the "lugs" to fit the bars perfectly!

I got some cheapo grips the other day - so here they are this morning on the bars. The white wont stay that colour for long hopefully!

drawing a line....

A lot of what has been posted up to now is me catching up on where I am on the bike to date - and the blog is still a long way short of where I am!

I'm gonna try and keep the blog more current from now, certian things will be caught up with along the way............

Todays playtime consisted of making (or starting the ball rolling) the forward controls. Ive been looking into ones people have made, and they tend to be turned and knurled efforts – nothing wrong with that – ive a little lathe in the shed, but not very fun / dirty bobberish. Instead of neatly turning away at a nice bit of aluminium i reached for the trusted angle grinder and got cracking!!!


So this old gas bottle will make the “pads” for the break and shifter.

Plates cut out, and sized to match

I put some extra supports on the back to add some strength, just some tube i had lying around.



This allowed for a bit of extra detailing on the back – there is always room for some form along with function. I like the spiral detail that this has allowed.

I welded them onto some basic arms – these won’t get finished until later on, and will need a bit more detailing.

Back from a couple of days on the road, and my haul of bike lights arrived – absolute bargain for a fiver!
Had a good look over them, and i think i will be going with this baby for the break light. The only problem being that the internal reflector is smashed.


Split it down – as it was a bike light the front lens is clear


So the huge light i got cheap the other day now becomes cannon fodder to get this one looking good.

I attempted to cut the lens with a piercing saw, but the blade kept jamming up due to the plastic melting.


So in true Dirty bobbers style the good old angle grinder came out to save the day!


Then the grinder used to trim up to the line, and one lens roughed out.


A bit of 600 and then 1200 grit, and the fit test, and I’m a happy boy!

Thinking about sorting the front half of the light out, and leaving the back in its unadulterated state. It’s gonna be the reverse colours of the front light, but it think it should look good.

As for internals, I’ve been toying with the idea of a cluster of superbright LED’s behind the lens – should allow less power draw on the battery, and be nice and bright for when I’m slamming on!