cheers Paul ...

its a little different eh ?

Okay Charlie, I've got to ask.
Just how many original K bikes do you think have contributed parts to this labour of love? Not just the big bits; I mean right down to the rubber grommets and bracketry.

It's weird to think that they all left the factory at different times, in different directions, on different bikes, and did different things for a few decades before being tossed aside and, then....

Or is that just me?

crikey Chris ,  almost impossible to calculate

ill have to think on that for a while - no not "think big"  or "deep thought " a while ...hmmmm

took a trip over to Inverell today looking for some bits, and called into the spares place for some stainless screws - washers etc

Bill had mentioned interest in the braided brake lines,  and I found the range of colours for the ferules that fit into the glands at both ends of the cables



heres a pic of the ferules but missing the black - available but not pictured at this moment




so that's
blue
aluminium
purple
green
yellow - gold
red
black


reminder of what mine looked like after being made



but still to make up one from the master cylinder to fork yolk down tube ...(to come )

reworked a couple of right hand switch mechanisms last night

declared the one I had to hand as fritzed , with a melt event on the main beam cable termination - contact point ..(plastic mounting distorted and no - poor plastic behind it ....) will keep for parts .....but reworked another I had on hand
fixed start button (broken off ) kill mechanism , and reworked some of the internals , swapped button plastics  from parts to make a working unit

now cleaned, tested and lubricated , with some position spring action on the main light slider switch

rejected one



and ready to go



reminder to all ,
disassemble inside a plastic bag ...those tiny spring leap for freedom at the first chance ....giggle

I have restored a few in my time but not to these very high standards. Most interesting.
                                                Ajays

been a rough couple of weeks .."off the net " but did some reworks to some parts for the build

repainted and installed the right hand switch gear




rebuilt a front brake master cylinder  from parts of 3 others to make one good one (without too many pits along the cylinder bore )  many thanks to Matt Leitch





some bracketry  with that low temp solderable aluminium weld stuff , (still to do a protective aluminium boxing around the switch gear ) and some rubber type coatings to finish it off somewhat ....but you get the idea ...fan over ride , switches for drl running lights and some other treats ..








received a good left hand switch gear (Thursday ) from "Frank the Rat " in blighty   now repainted and installed (Friday )  thanks mate



and you might notice all cables heat shrunk with white stuff....giggles .....   hey, its a theme ...ok ????




installed the pockets to the main fairing and trialling the look ,  some work to do "vents " to make them hinged and sealed

and installed the main fairing internal plastics for an overall look and see of a possible outcome








currently have built a bit of a frame stand so I can assemble the "front end" gear ,(forks ,front wheel , brakes etc ) at engine height , and move the whole assembly around a bit .. 
the saga continues

Keep at it Charlie. I have worked out why your new bike is white. It needs to be to fit in with the climate of your new place. Minus 12.5 C the other week...everything would have been white.

Heatshrink on wiring looms and cables I can guarantee that it will split sooner or later, which is why I stopped using it twenty five years ago and switched to PVC tubing. The problem is that it simply doesn't have the required flexibility in it. OTOH if the bike isn't going to be a daily abuse victim (as mine tend to be) then it probably won't give you any stick.

most of the heat shrink is not a tight finish Dai ...with it fully "shrunk " there is still a little wiggle room on just about the lot of it .... also the heat shrink fomulas has changed in the last 5 years or so   so fingers crossed ol mate
and no it wont be a daily ...likely to end up on "club rego " $90 a year versus about $570 a year ...and 60 days free ride events outside of club activities  so likely under 90 rides a year  or something like that ..but that whole 60 days free riding is up for review in the coming months

fortunately I now have a garage of sorts  so not so much  direct sunlight , on this one ...gerty has suffered from 9 years of sunblasting ...that seat I recovered about 5-6 years ago is now starting to crack ...have ordered some "marine grade " vynal for her and the red frame ...in an aluminium type colour ...

good heads up all the same mate ...

yes Stan   I went out to the shed ...ice stuck to my shoes , I picked up a front axle ...it nearly stuck to my hands ...or felt like it was going to ...so put it down and came back 4 hours later ....giggles


thanks for the comments guys

Whatever else you do, Charlie, in those temperatures DON'T try to lick the fork tubes with your tongue!!!

pulling out Gertys old springs and installing progressive versions ...something I purchased quite a few years ago now

reduced the spacer length by nearly 30 mm as the new springs have a lot more length and compression ...which makes sense actually - 30 something years old for the old ones ?

Hi Charlie,

Many years ago I fitted some progressive springs to my solo and found that the spacers were far too long, I chopped them down to about 30mm but only recently I've reduced them to about 15mm, so you may find that you'll need to do some experimenting to get them right for you (assuming the springs are similar to the ones I bought!).

Still keeping tabs on your progress,

Cheers,

Paul.

cheers Paul

yes I think your right , some trialling to happen



this morning , thanks to a local friend (Andrew ) I was able to move the project onto a temporary frame , somewhere close to finished ride height as far as the engine mount points are concerned
which let me start assembling the front end , so heres just a teaser to some of the stuff happening at that end of the redframe , brake lines pads etc etc to fit yet ... but getting there .....what do you think ?

Riding that would have a very wooden feel to it. At least you may be trying to nail it.

Next step is to replace the wood for a roo

Charlie would be hopping mad if that happened.

brake lines ...hmmm  not too bad

Charlie I know where you can get a Perspex case built to put it in. Are you going to want to ride it when you get it finished. It's turning into a work of art.
Regards Martin.

some new to me bits arrived this week , although there are more on order from the uk  (things like el cheapo brake pads for both bikes , a sump oil window and some preparatory bits for gertys output shaft pull down , later this year ...after this project gets on the road )

from grahame jays , kbikebeemerbits with many thanks

as they arrived



afterwards that day , now cleaned up , ie washed , and prepared for paint with plastic primer , etch primer etc ,  the Charlie treatment ,



all in a hurry as we are suffering snow fall predictions tomorrow .....

a quick dash outside to the little wood shed ( prepped for painting purpose , ie sheets hanging from the roof to minimise dust etc ) during the heat of the day ( well best that it gets around here during august  perhaps 12 deg C- 2 deg c overnight )  , allowed me to keep the parts and paint more or less pretty warm  well somewhat consistent at least .  some colour applied , then back inside as the propellant vapours dissipate ...to cure in the fire place warmed living room .



looking promising with a few layers of clear coat too come

also working on the dash pad thingy , 

after suffering a failure to bond, aluminium solder bond stuff  to weather protective box of sorts under the dash pad with some 1.2mm sheet  , I figured that the sheet was probably finished with some form of anodising ...wtf ?  , anyhow remade similar with some 2mm raw sheet , which worked well , and now with a bit more experience in the process , came out looking ok , for what I want to do .

now finishing off the remainder of the metal works before fitting indicating leds to the panel , im about to play with some liquid silicone to seal them off on the facia ...could turn out ok I guess (in a raw type finish that im looking for ).

some more work achieved

seat rework , ready for cover to be fitted







and rear cowl and guards work ...now ...all good to go

Are you going to change the tail lights to LEDs?

I do have spare lenses stan , and if I was going to do it , I would be taking the lens apart to put a decent quantity in there , for the moment just so I don't confuse the restoration club chappies (for club rego checks )  they will be the standard globes .

cheers

Hiya Charlie
I've used that aluminium 'brazing' stuff too. I'm happy enough with it, but I've found that it eventually oxidises to a flat grey colour that won't polish (or at least I can't get it to shine) Just a tip that's all - I'd bear in mind how much of the 'weld' will be on show on the finished article and alter the design/dress the 'weld' accordingly.



Love the attention to detail btw, and the fact that amongst all the nth degree polishing and painting, you then go and chuck some left field ideas in too.

@Chris: What brand did you use? I made up four 'canisters' to mount projector headlights in (for the Bandit) and two years later, the Duraweld braze is still ally-coloured. Not shiny, but nowhere near the dark grey of yours.


@Charlie: In case you haven't tried it yet, you'll need an Xacto blade or similar to separate the lense from the "reflector". A Stanley blade is too thick and you can't get in under the sides. Also, a lot of patience is required to go down through the glue bit-by-bit. I've taken three apart and resprayed the "reflector" bit with chrome spray. It still isn't the best. My final attempt - and the most successful - was to

1. junk the standard bulbs
2. drill 12mm holes to the side of the original holes
3. fit grommets into the 12mm holes
4. Drill three 6mm holes directly down from the top through to the tail light area for heat dispersal
5. pushfit BA9 bulb holders into the grommets
6. Fit 10watt bulbs (not halides - they get too hot)
7. make an adaptor to take a third 10watt bulb into the original bulb holder

Rinse and repeat for the stop light, but also add to the stoplight circuit two 10watt halides (one each side) on a bracket where Duck mounted his LEDs. No problem with ventilation there. The wiring is a bit of a rat's nest because there's so much of it, but the end result is something that can be seen from a decent distance. I stopped using those LED strips because they fade badly, very quickly.

HTS-2000. They are supposedly 'next generation' and certainly seem easier to use than Lumiweld, to me anyway. Not cheap though.

good heads up guys , thanks for the comments

chris , I notice that if I work the pool of molten metal  the discolouration does as you have demonstrated , but if I wait a tad longer and reapply new rod to the previously wetted (tinned ?) area,  the  surface of the join is far clearer in appearance , or alternatively over fill and then cut back the quantity  , it does produce a fairly clean looking joint.

I actually have cut back a section on the dash pad  and it doesn't look too bad after a little polishing , even without the polish  appears ok .





I guess we're all learning new stuff , thankfully . will take preventative measures and see what happens , with this new information


good tip on the lens stuff Dai , cheers

o/s order came in from blighty for some much needed parts for the build , and some preparity stuff for old Gerty rebuild of the output shaft

ordered just a week ago , and both orders came in on the same mail dump  thanks to motobins and motorworks , stunning stuff




elcheapo pads for brakes (finally to rid gerty of a sintered squeeling pad ), rear calliper pins , and a good looking sight-glass for the sump




for gerty, output shaft rubbers and  a chain tensioner (of the k75 variety ) to finally stop that slap I hear now and again


oh ! and a proper 27 mm wheel hub - axle spindle for the front ...somehow I had ended up with a spare that I sent to Tom for chromeing,    turns out that one of the bunch ended up being 24mm instead of 27mm  ...whoops ?  where did that come from ?

oh well, ill hopefully get this one cleaned up bright and glossy , ready for the change over ...

Stan wrote:Riding that would have a very wooden feel to it. At least you may be trying to nail it.

It would be ok for trips to the beech.

Guys guys,
we've had all this 'wooden' stuff before, on a different thread.

Oakay?

so spent a couple of days fighting with the gearbox , something like, not quite the right tools for the job , but its a rare event , so persist I will

roller bearing on the input shaft were the worst part , with help , success

a little tug of war ensued reassembling the gear selectors etc , but happy with the result , so buttoned it up a little while ago





that gave me the opportunity to fit some more bits , to observe the "look" ive created











ill move the motor - drive line away from the wall soon  to finish off the right hand side ,  no big hurry

She’s shaping up really nicely Charlie - can’t be too much longer until she emerges from the shed surely...perhaps in time for the forthcoming Aussie Spring? 

Does she have a name yet?

hi paul , name ? perhaps not yet

although, if you look at past history , we have done some good naming challenges


I mean , to all aussies , a guy with red hair , and I guess complexion to match , he would be known as "blue "


and to be honest made from many generous contributions from so many folks across the globe ,,   perhaps "bitsa "  as in bits and pieces

hmm    is that an idea ?

open to suggestions

Don't you mean bitsa this and bitsa that?

yes Dai , exactly


assembled the right hand side

still to do something with the crank cover  (paint and stuff)

centre stand going on....



and a bit of alloy around the master cylinder ... a bit of protection and a nice place to rest ? ...ill fit a bit of rubber before the second spring goes on



bugga , I could have wiped the grease off the circlip region eh ?

Are you going to put red rubber plugs into the ends of the centre stand? Why isn't the grease red?

I've got some Brembo red brake grease if that would help?

omg ...hahahhaha 

thanks dai ....needed a laugh

slowly but surely





just a little more to do on this

and some colour to that crank cover   , and a bit more light this time , (rather than sunlight streaming in from the backyard only )

How many litres of that paint have you got left?

the red ?
all additional bits are with just one paint pen . besides the 2 cans of red used on the frame and rear master cylinder stan

The silver Charlie.

lol ...figures I got it wrong ...

think I used about 3 cans total Stan

might be time to move on to a different colour ?