Saturday, December 11, 2010

The best laid plans of mice.

It's not a bad idea to have a build plan and at the same time make peace with the fact that you'll probably have to adapt and change several times along the way.
So far, this is my plan:

first, the rear wheel hub and brake plate get sandblasted, I can then assemble the brake, replace the bearings and spacer in the hub and then hand it all over to Peppe (he already has rim, spokes and nipples at the workshop) so he can actually build the wheel. I'll need to start thinking about getting tire and tube pretty frakking soon.
Next we'll focus on the front end. The fork has to be cleaned and overhauled, the yokes will be marginally cleaned but not overly polished.
At that point I can open up the front brake and check everything is in good condition (and actually, you know, there). We might decide to change the front tire if by this point I've gotten around to getting the new ones.
After the front and rear cycle parts are assembled and put aside we'll finish the engine rebuild.
Once the engine is complete we'll fit the frame over it sideways, then lift it up straight, insert the steering stem with the entire front end (the top yoke will lock it all in place and will already have the handlebar fully assembled) and finally the rear wheel. It's possible that it will be easier to leave the front wheel aside until the fork is fully bolted on the frame.
This will give us a free-rolling bike that can easily be moved in and out of the workshop depending on what needs to be done. One critical component to be added at this point is the side stand!
I'll bolt it down nice and tight for now, but when the frame is eventually painted and the bike is assembled again (after the mock-up phase) I might decide to weld it or tack it in place to make it more secure. We'll see about that.
Anyway, now that the bike moves on its own wheels we can tackle other, trickier components. The area to focus on is where the oil tank will go and then the mudguard. The oil tank is fairly straightforward in that all it needs is an extra mounting brace to be welded to the frame.



The mudguard needs to be positioned correctly in relation to several different points: the rear tip's position, the radius of the tire, the distance from the tire, etc.
It will need a pair of struts to support it at the back (these will be easy to take off and replace with a sissy bar when I need to carry some luggage) and some sort of attachment points at the front, underneath the oil tank area.
After all of that is taken care of - and believe me this will be one of the toughest jobs on the whole build - we can figure out how to mount the footrests and the rear brake pedal, the main caveat being the exhaust pipes. I reckon the footrests are going to be a total pain: I not only need to figure out which ones will fit, but they will also need a lot of welding to find their place on the bike.
Then comes the battery box, which will also house the Powerbox. This will be the start of the electrics/avionics chapter. We need to figure out where and how to mount the coil (ideally a single Dyna-type coil with twin leads) as well as the ignition module for the Boyer (this will probably fit under the fuel tank).
The final layer to be assembled is the top one, namely the fuel tank and the seat. The latter is a relatively simple matter, which involves welding a hinge to the rear of the frame's backbone and, crucially, two bungs (get these from Lowbrow)on the short crossmember between the rear top rails.


These provide an attachment point for the seat springs and must be properly positioned so the springs aren't subject to any lateral stress.
Fitting jobs such as the oil tank and mudguard, fuel tank and seat hinge all need to happen side by side, to make sure there is enough room for everything.
Hmm... let's seeeee..... anything else left to do? bit of petrol, kick it and off you go!

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