TOPIC:

So,the levers are back together.I cant fit the handelbars yet though as I want to anodize the mount I made a few weeks ago.Ive spent the last couple of weeks collecting all the stuff I need for anodising.Im pretty much there now I think,so,hopefully I can have a crack at it next weekend.
Yesterday was a frustrating day. I decided to do a bit of painting,,side stand,side panels and exhaust hanger.Everything went wrong. Patches,drips,bubbles. A real mess. Something that should have taken half an hour,now is going to take a few days. (drying,cleaning,repainting!!).
Today was better. I flipped the bike over and got the sump gasket fitted.
I noticed a strange bulge though.I dont know if its meant to be there or not??


Anybody know if this is normal?

I also got the brackets for the tail piece drilled out and tapped. Took me ages and I broke 2 drill bits. I made up some rubber spacers similar to what I did on the front mudguard to stop the fiberglass cracking when I tighten it all down.


That was it. Not a lot,I know but I can scratch them off the list.

Lookin' good!
Every day, another step closer. At least that's been my mantra lately. So long as I get just one thing more done, I feel good.

That case bulge. I think you'll find that is manufactured into the part for clearance of some other mating surface/part. Otherwise, it's been my experience when a depression that size is made into cast alloy/AL, it doesn't end up looking so smooth with edges so nice and the case will show signs of hairline cracks from being distorted by interference of another part.
Guess, I'm thinking that's one "issue" you don't have to worry about.

Painting is such a double-edged sword. I love it. I hate it. I've been delayed by all the rain and humid weather lately. Fingers crossed your next attempt is smooth sailing man. At least with paint there's always a bail-out - paint stripper and try again.

Digging that look davido! Is that a stock duck tail or you fab it up entirely? Going to be sweet!

Love the progress David, looking really good and I agree with Wrench, that ducktail will look killer when it is all said and done! Keep it up you are getting so close to the finish line buddy!

Brett

Just a simple thought on your turns if they are still not working. If you have two wire lamps you will need to ground the stem for them to flash. Some bikes have ground grommets in the headlight as the third wire that goes to the bk/y ground junction. My ST had a vetter so no ground grommets. When I put the inner rubber dampers in the ears it isolated the ground and wouldn't flash. Took the rubber out and they work fine. I was thinking with your loom out you may not have ground on the front turns. Great work BTW. R

Thanks for the input boys. Im relieved that the bulge isnt a problem,though it is a bit weird.
I sanded and repainted the panels today (with the same crap paint) I dont have very high hopes for the finished result. I think I will strip them and take them to the blasters before repainting with a different paint. What a pain!
The electrics are pretty much sorted for now (fingers crossed) I did solder a couple of earth wires on the indicator bulb holders and found a double earth feed into the loom,that took them. So that was ok. Im going to ditch that though and go for 2wire aftermarket indicators.No running lights or hazard lights. I got the european switches wired in,which Im happy about and it all seems to work.Im waiting now for a load of electrickery stuff from these people;
www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/?jssCart=...bb90a1514c1ec50a81f3
Multi connectors,bullet connectors and some fresh wire (in the right colours!!) and I think I also ordered a blade fuse box.Should arrive this week sometime.
The 'Ducktail'. Yes,Im well chuffed with that. It was a fiberglass Z1 repro from ebay..It was too narrow for the frame so I had to slice it down the middle and re-fiberglass it. The whole process is earlier in the thread somewhere.(my first time fiberglassing!).I still have to sand it and fill some small holes before painting.Thatll come later.
Thats it for now.

So,I finally got all the lotions and potions together for my first attempt at anodising aluminium.Many hours of research on the interweb gave me a basic idea of how to go about it,
All the bits and more

The first attempt was very patchy and I could scrape it off with my fingernail.Not good.Second attempt was an offcut from a CBR footrest.
First stage after a good cleaning,was a dip in drain cleaner (couldnt find proper caustic soda.)

The pot was too small for the whole piece,so I just dipped half of it to see what happens.Follow that with a Nitric acid dip and then into the
anodising bath

Finding pure Sulphuric acid hasntbeen possible so far,so I ended up using battery acid (only37% Sulphuric acid).
Then 20 minutes in the dye bath and half an hour sealing in simmering water and here you have it.

Result.
This is just my second attempt,so I have a long way to go. A better acid/water mix. I need to sort out the Volts/Amps on the tank as well
and maybe be a bit more accurate with the timing and the temperatures.
But its a start.Chuffed!

A curious thing,as a side note. The CBR piece was sandblasted on one side only,and as you saw in the photo,only half of it was dipped in the caustic and nitric pots.Yet the result was a uniform matt coating all over.Front and back dipped and undipped ends! Not sure whats going on there.

P.S. Let it be known,I am not a chemist and am kicking myself yet again for not paying attention during chemistry class in school!!!

Another busy weekend playing with chemicals and things are improving.
The bracket for the clocks and ignition switch came out nicely. A bit of a shine on it.

and the sanding marks give a nice effect

The top yoke was a bit duller.Dont know why as I polished the bollocks out of it


It still looks good though and they work well together


So,im well happy with that little lot. I can start getting the steering together now. Finally.
Ive also anodised the rearset mounting plates that I made a while ago.I havent polished them yet,so Im not sure how they came out.(gloss or matt) and I did want to do the rearsets themselves but the brake side has a steel shaft in it (which wont come out) so Ill have to think around that. Or maybe Ill just paint them.
Im also thinking about anodising the engine cases. But Ill need a bigger boat for that.

Last of the anodising today.Mixed results overall.Cant say that I cracked it and now know everything about it but Im reasonably happy with what I did and it was a good experience. All being well,I can start putting some things together tomorrow.Ill post some photos then.

Way to go David!
Did you ever dream working on motorcycles would find you wearing a lab coat and being concerned about anodes and cathodes?
Great looking results. After spending a week trying my hand at electrolysis rust removable I certainly know what you mean by attention in Chemistry class.

Yes,the whole build has been a learning experience.A load of new skills.I was thinking that I could maybe take on a bit of anodising for other people for some spare cash but after going through it,reality kicked in.Theres no way I could make it worthwhile. Its way too labour intensive.Especially the preperation. I think Ill just stash the gear and keep it for special occasions!!
Today, a bit more painting. Some assembling and a lot of going through boxes trying to find odd small parts that I put away somewhere 2 and a half years ago!!!
Heres the FOP all put together.Its been a long time coming.


and I finally got a good finish on the side panels



Thats it for this weekend.I also got the rearsets painted,though theyre not dry yet.I was hoping to anodise them but the gearshift side has a steel insert in it which I just could not get out,so no way I could put that in the anodising tank.Ill maybe get the chance to put them together and fit them sometime this week. Ive also got to get the brake/clutch M/Cs back together.
Im now starting to think on a colour scheme and whatever go faster stripes etc. So I took a couple of side-on pics to play with in photoshop.

really frreakin cool lookin man !

leon

Shithot mate, I love this build!