Oil Tank

I got a new toy - A bead roller!!! had it a couple of weeks, so thought i'd spend my afternoon off making an oil bag for the 45....

















The bottom line goes a bit gimpy on this side, but I think I'll be having some sort of a panel in there anyway, so my shoddy work will be suitably hidden!

too cold and dark out there now, in with a seaming mug of coffee and my slippers on......

Mounted!

Sneaked a cheeky hour in tonight, wanted to get the front mount sorted.

It's a pain not having my welder in the same shed as the bike, but alas- we persevere with such things.

I marked up the position, and then used little magnets to hold the tab in place while I tacked it in place....

It worked a treat, and the left side was quickly welded up.....

Drilled the frame through, and did the same on the other side.

Worked really well, and my stress levels went down quite a lot once it was all bolted in place....

I took a bit of time with the old hammer matching the tanks where I welded the lip on. I think the right tank is around 2mm lower than the left, so will need to sort out that before more beating and then filling...

Get on a diet fat boy

Ahh, a nice afternoon spent a-fettling!

Had a general tidy up, made a shelf for my new bead blasting cabinet, chopped up an old autocycle, and picked up some gas for my welder...

Decided that I needed to have a look at the rear muddy for the 45. This is the muddy I decided to use. The ribbed and the plain one just didn't work with the bike, soo skinny, and not right....

Even though this was the muddy to use, it wasn't right, far too wide for the tyre, and the "depth" of it hid far too much of that lovely Firestone.....

I measured up, and decided that an inch makes the difference... The myth is that extra inches count, well old housewives, in this case, it's an inch too big!!!

Pinstripe tape used after plenty of measuring....

Next up- get the grinder out on a perfectly good muddy......

You never have enough hands for these things, so it's magnets and clamps ahoy!!!!

Really starting to feel comfortable with my welder now. Something seems to have clicked with me and my welder and I'm whacking up the amps, and getting stuck in...

Also decided to sort out the depth issues, and trim the muddy down to just below the rib.... This is it on the bike....

Much much better!

The kick is too much, so that will need sorting, but I'm well pleased with it!

Tank mounting - Sunday fettle

Busy times at the moment, far too much work and not enough play!

Sneaked a couple of hours in today on the 45.

Started cleaning up the tanks....



After Indi asking about the integrity of tanks that have been chopped I had a run over the welds to make doubly sure...



I've been putting off doing anything to the frame, the fear of buggering up Toddy's hard work, but thought it best to man up and take my time to get the tanks mounted. Turned up some stainless bungs to weld into the frame, then set a string line up to ensure the bike was vertical. Plenty of marking and measuring, then time to drill....



Happy with that effort, I used some laser cut tabs (well worth buying in IMO) for the base tab...





That allowed me to have just one tank mounted, so I could check clearances.... The tank was sitting too high, and there was plenty of room for me to drop it, so I trimmed the front of the lip....





I had a little play with bars for 5 mins, and these bars were shovel bars until mr grinder had his way... Contemplating some of cro's handlebar clamps if I go down this route....



Matched the second tank to the first, and they are beginning to look how I want! Still the front mounts to figure out, which will also even the spacing out between the 2. The plan is for a 5mm gap down the middle of the 2, a bit of metal beating, and I'm afraid some filler before that looks right though...







Oh, and the seat came with an xs650 project I bought to sell on. It's comfy as hell!

Sunday fettle...

Started to do a bit of poking about on the 45 motor on Sunday  I've had an old ropey looking mag on the shelf for a while, so decided it would be better placed on the bike. I don't know why, but it felt massive on the shelf, but now its on the engine it seems fine.

I'm really pleased, looks like the internals have all been re-built recently! maybe someone just ratted up the case with a grinder on purpose?!?

Took the timing case off for a good look inside, all looks in great condition, no visible wear on any of the timing gears, just needs a good clean from sitting in dust grime and grinder shrapnel infested workshops for a while...

 

I fired up the parts cleaner to give the timing case a good scrub - its come up a treat. I don't want the engine to look new - just nice and clean, so it shows off its age...

Had a little look at the tanks - Gonna take them down to London on Thursday - James from the Kingdom of Kicks wants to see what they look like on a triumph T140 - a tad big maybe - but worth a try...

Lost my way

I've lost my way a bit.... time to fess up - put things straight, and get myself together.... this might be a long rant.....

I've been trying for months to buy a barn - well more of an old stable and workshop - its been eating away at me - I lost it once to a higher bidder, then it came back on the market and I had an offer accepted.

The banks decided not to lend me what they agreed to - no idea why just "company policy on lending changed" surely we keep hearing shit about the government releasing cash for start up businesses and the like. Nah - you need to find 35% not 20% for the deposit...

So - the knuckle engine went - got good cash for it - and was the right time for it to go...

next the bank undervalue the unit - you need another £5k up front..... Great.....

I get an offer on my Indian (which I wasn't selling), so had to consider it.... next the bank say it needs an asbestos survey - no problem, I have good contacts and could call a favour in - oh no it has to be one of the "banks" suppliers, and paid for through them - just to pull some more cash out of me....

Anyway - it got silly - I would have to pay for half the unit up front, and still owe then for 75% 'cos of their stupid rules - Time to cut out and say balls to it. Weirdly the family Solicitor was the sound one - and didn't charge me for his time spent - top man!

So after much soul searching, and pontification I pulled out of the Indian deal, and put it aside for another day. 

Work is crazy, and i'm all over the country, but that means pennies in the bank I guess

oh, and not only that - I've got hooked on Instagram

All is now well and i'm back to myself - I've just bought another xs650 project that I don't need, but may be parting on!