The weather was a bit overcast and not too warm this morning when I went out to the garage to make a start on the rear indicators.
That made me feel a bit better about not getting out and riding.
I started by removing the screen from the front fairing and sprayed the inside with a satin black paint. I wanted to get away from the opaque look that it had and try for a solid colour. My thinking was that if I sprayed the inside it would be protected from scratches and leave the finish matching the rest of the fairing.
Hopefully it will work but I won't really know until tomorrow when the paint is dry and I can refit it.
In between coats I made a start on relocating the indicators.
All went well - at first.
I removed the indicators then realised that it wasn't going to be quite as straightforward as I had hoped. The hollow mounting bolt wasn't threaded all the way to the head. That meant I would have to cut a new thread on the portion that went through the mudguard. So, I cut the heads off the bolts, got out my tap and die set then ran into the next problem. I haven't got a work bench in my garage therefore don't have a vice to hold the bolt steady while I made the thread.
This gave me a worrying time as I got on with deciding what die to use for the nuts I've got available. The front mounting bolts are 8mm but with two different pitched threads on the ends that go to the indicator body and into the fork bracket. As I've only got an imperial die set, I couldn't do them to match the front or even have both threads metric. (not that it matters as they can't be seen).
With the problem of holding the bolt while I made the thread still going through my mind I carried on and drilled holes in the mudguard. I was committed to finishing the job because cutting the bolt heads off at the start meant I couldn't put things back the way they were. So, a solution had to be found.
Eventually I had a light bulb moment! I held the bolt in the chuck of my power drill. Holding that between my knees gave me the purchase to start off the die.
The rest went fairly smoothly.
Tomorrow is for eating burgers at WCHD and riding!
As an aside, I had been thinking about buying a Nelson Rigg luggage pack for when I go camping this summer (I WILL get to at least one rally this summer) but have decided that it's an extravagance. Any bag will bungee on and I've ordered some more waterproof bag liners, so it wont even matter if it's a weatherproof one. I may put the money I would have spent on that towards a new leather jacket. The one I bought from e-bay last year is great quality but is not getting any more comfortable as I wear it. Maybe it has done its fitting to the previous owner!
That made me feel a bit better about not getting out and riding.
I started by removing the screen from the front fairing and sprayed the inside with a satin black paint. I wanted to get away from the opaque look that it had and try for a solid colour. My thinking was that if I sprayed the inside it would be protected from scratches and leave the finish matching the rest of the fairing.
Hopefully it will work but I won't really know until tomorrow when the paint is dry and I can refit it.
In between coats I made a start on relocating the indicators.
All went well - at first.
I removed the indicators then realised that it wasn't going to be quite as straightforward as I had hoped. The hollow mounting bolt wasn't threaded all the way to the head. That meant I would have to cut a new thread on the portion that went through the mudguard. So, I cut the heads off the bolts, got out my tap and die set then ran into the next problem. I haven't got a work bench in my garage therefore don't have a vice to hold the bolt steady while I made the thread.
This gave me a worrying time as I got on with deciding what die to use for the nuts I've got available. The front mounting bolts are 8mm but with two different pitched threads on the ends that go to the indicator body and into the fork bracket. As I've only got an imperial die set, I couldn't do them to match the front or even have both threads metric. (not that it matters as they can't be seen).
With the problem of holding the bolt while I made the thread still going through my mind I carried on and drilled holes in the mudguard. I was committed to finishing the job because cutting the bolt heads off at the start meant I couldn't put things back the way they were. So, a solution had to be found.
Eventually I had a light bulb moment! I held the bolt in the chuck of my power drill. Holding that between my knees gave me the purchase to start off the die.
The rest went fairly smoothly.
Tomorrow is for eating burgers at WCHD and riding!
As an aside, I had been thinking about buying a Nelson Rigg luggage pack for when I go camping this summer (I WILL get to at least one rally this summer) but have decided that it's an extravagance. Any bag will bungee on and I've ordered some more waterproof bag liners, so it wont even matter if it's a weatherproof one. I may put the money I would have spent on that towards a new leather jacket. The one I bought from e-bay last year is great quality but is not getting any more comfortable as I wear it. Maybe it has done its fitting to the previous owner!
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