Getting The Horn

Needed to get a hooter on the A7, funny thing really, the law demands that one is fitted and yet it is virtually illegal to sound it ????????
Anyways up, I went on to the Bay of Fools and saw a funky little number, small and black, that'll do. With the postage it was eight and a half quid by the time it was in my hand, and what a result it was when it was there.

No-one said anything about the free stash tin that it comes in! rather than the bubble pack thing or the universal white box with a hand stamped description on it.

The horn itself is a decent looking piece of kit and should tuck away somewhere nicely. On their UK website they are listed at a tenner, if they are same folks that are on the bay then a phone call could nail one cheaper.

Starting to Stop

The brakes are pretty much the biggest thing left to sort out, other than the paint and pipes but they are dependent on other's time scales. Got the caliper back with the polished stuff from Paul, and a fine job he's made of it. The original plan was to add some black areas on the alloy to tie it all in with the rest. Now however that has changed, leaving it as it is has the effect of visually hiding the caliper amongst the spokes, leaving the black finish of the slider unadulterated by another lump hanging off of it, there by detracting the eye.

Master Bates and Mini Me

Spent about 6 hours yesterday going through the tank sealing process, there's about four stages involved prior to the FOUR! day wait for it to cure. Nipped up to see Paul the polisher to pick up a few bits during one of the several periods of waiting involved in the process.
Along with some polishing was the rear lamp rim, it has been gold plated to match the front as it is, for all intents and purposes, a scale model of the headlight. May turn out to look a bit gay and show boaty when it's on, dunno, we'll have to wait and see.

Good VFM

Well worth a look...................

................ if you live in central England.

Bobbed Bonnie

What does the man with a fistful of Harleys ride for pleasure...........
...........I rest my case!

Show Class

Another new mag has just hit the street, well hit my door mat any ways up. Falling somewhere in between GK and the sometimes surreal DiCe with regards content, it's a good read, even if you don't really need tips on post-apocalyptic survival. Checking the site shows the first issue has sold out as of last Thursday, but if you're in England some copies may still be available from Benny at Boneshakers if you're quick.

l'etat d'etante cordial

Another of those little jobs, finishing off the rear number plate assembly by bunging up the hole in the supporting tube. Sent this drawing over to Roland at Outta Control on Monday, asking if it was possible to make it..........

............ and on Friday a package turned up. It's difficult to see on the photo, but the way the radius on the bolt head has been detailed is superb, as is the overall piece. I'm lost for words really, what a top man! This will be going on later and that will be another tick on the list. Pix to follow.
..............Merci Beaucoup mon ami................

Priming The Painter

Arranged with Pete to lay some colour down on the sheet metal, so the bits were put back on hand tight, so he could take a look at what we are after.

As Pete is a lifelong Rockabilly and Hot Rod freak, it didn't need a lot of explaining, looking for a '50s style paint job, he was straight on the case coming up with some good ideas and nice touches. Having said that, he did insist that the tank be sealed before he paints it, see the sense in that and, if it arrives that will be the big job for the coming weekend.

Good to see the sheet metal work all the same colour, even in primer it gives a bit of an idea what the finished article will look like.

Keeping a steady head..............

Another of those ten minute jobs that had to be nailed. This time the ten minutes was only a little over an hour so not bad. Made out of 12 mm Hydraulic Tube, they were as simple as they look to make, but they look right and are correct for the year.

More Charging Around Action

Got the engine plates fitted, finally. All painted up and looking fine, the original Beezer plates have return edges that touch together along the centre line of the motor. These, as you can see, don't have these, no great loss though as it exposes the dynamo to anybody who may be interested.

The original parts list shows a spacer between the two lugs on the frame, almost definitely to stop the two frame rails being squeezed in. Probably end up cutting a short length of tube to replicate this,

State of Charge Monitor Takes Position

This is where the Ammeter is going, in the right hand pocket, the cup is recessed about 5/16" (6 mm) so it will sit below the level. Seem to remember this was called "Frenching in" back in the mists of time.

The tools to do the job, punches are always the best option when available, they give a much cleaner and far more accurate result than hole saws. The smaller punch is there solely to cut the pilot hole for larger 40 mm punch.

Bit of a moment of panic when it was thought that the female part of the punch would be too big to fit in the cup. Damn close, but close is far enough and it sneaked in with a mil to spare.

The Ammeter dropped into place, gonna need somebody with small hands to get the lock nuts on the back of it though.

Spaced Out...................................Man!!!!

Another of those little ten minute jobs that needs to be nailed, a couple of spacers on the nod drive side of the back wheel. Had a couple in there for a while now, right length but the diameters were all wrong, so Rear Wheel Spacers was another item on the list. Sent a rough sketch to Shaun up in Barnsley on Monday evening, he sent me this picture of the finished articles on Wednesday, thanks mate IOU big time. Can't wait to hear 'em hitting the old door mat tomorrow or Saturday.

Alf Hagon wins a Tenner

British Iron ya say ...... ?

Flat Out For Paint

Had a word with The Armatoid about laying some colour on the tank and muddies over the weekend, bit touch and go as he has to uproot and move premises over the next couple of months. All cool though as he says he can do it, but time is of the essence so to speak. With that in mind the tins have pretty much been prepped, the straps were fitted beneath the rear guard to support the wiring, another 10 minute job that's been allowed to slide fo too long. He's gonna have the seat over there tonight to match the colour of the leather, so that will be "tied in" with the paint scheme.
As Steve Miller said, "Time keeps on slipping into the future", every day is becoming more and more precious.

Only suitable for the older British Gent.

This sign has been on my shed wall for ages, always took the meaning for granted, then it struck me that it is becoming very much a limited and exclusive League of Gentlemen that understand it any more.

Charge - Discharge - No Charge

Got a sweet spot to fit an ammeter on the A7, so one of these was scored. Catalogue, well web page, dimensions said it should fit the restricted space available, and.........you've guessed it!.......no it don't. A bit of a pisser because white faced meters with a one and three quarter inch body (the next size down) don't seem to be available any more. Beginning to get resigned to the fact that a standard run of the mill black faced Lucas number would have to do!

Then the karma kicked in, the good lady was tidying up her shed, well she's got to have somewhere to keep her lawn mower and other DIY crap, and came out with an old AJS stock headlight shell that's been knocking around for years. "What are you doing with this ?" she says, handing it over. And there, almost mockingly, sat the ammeter above! All covered in shit, and the nickel plated bezel partially painted over it was the right size and colour, with a bonus feature, the movement was still working fine. Worth a little time with the Scotch-Brite and metal polish to see if it was redeemable, and as you can see above it repaid the effort with a solid brass bezel under the nickel, time well spent then.
GET IN!

Wes White, top bloke!

A few posts ago I had a bit of a whine about the Four Aces Bonneville support shirt getting mashed in the machinery of the US Postal service. Let Wes know by e-mail that it was wrecked. He said slip him a few bucks to cover postage and he'd replace it, and voila, it arrived today, in a box this time.
Good Man!!!
So, support the 2011 salt assault, and more to the point, support one of the good people in the industry, right here.

Milwaukee Blow Out!!!!!

If you're an H-D fan or not it don't matter, if it's cool bikes yer after get on Issue 21 of GKM. Landed on the mat this morning, H-D's or derivations there of throughout, it's of no matter, lovely bikes and a good read, Guy's raised the bar yet again. Get yer hands on a copy here.