Hogmanay message

It's the final day of 2014 and when I look back on my riding year it can only be described as quiet.

I got one rally and a camping weekend in, a couple of thousand miles here and there and received a pleasant surprise in the refund of the interest I paid when I took out finance to buy the bike in '09.

That will help me finish the jobs I started and get a bit more of the bike the way I want it.

The new year will have plans to be put in place and things to make and fit but what I really want to do is keep things simple. I don't want to be overstretching myself.

"Keep the bike on the road" is the mantra for 2015.

the next steps

That's the bike SORN'd and officially off the road from next weekend

Now I've got to start thinking about what work I'm going to do over this winter. Once again there will be a few factors which will determine what I can do. Money is probably the big one although daylight and weather will also cause delays.

I would like to change the tank (again) for a dished five gallon one. I would also like to match the rear wheel with the front. 

Those are the expensive things but also the ones which are not entirely necessary. There are a few jobs which are more pressing.

I need to design and fabricate a box to cover the ignition unit which sits beneath the seat on the rear mudguard. I want to make this out of sheet brass and hopefully will begin that soon. If that goes OK I will think about fabricating some brass covers for the wiring loom under the tank. At present the wires are hidden by the tank and a plastic cover. If I go for the "Indian Larry" bobber look the fuel tank will sit on the frame backbone therefore the wiring will be exposed so some form of cover will be needed. The brass look is something that I really want but will need to be careful that I don't overdo it. If I do the paintwork gloss black then I'd like a brass fuel cap, the brass electrics cover and a couple of nuts. That should be enough to look good without being overpowering or tacky. (I hope!)
Then, there's the wiring which needs tidied up and in some places re-done completely. Part of that is fitting the black headlight which will be fitted using the stock wiring. I also must re-do the ignition switch which is currently wired incorrectly as the bike will start in both positions although the lights, indicators and horn will not function in the first position. Don't ask how I found that out!
To make a start I have bought some teardrop mirrors which I will try on the bike this weekend though I'm not going to fit them until the spring.

I'm beginning to think that this is one bike which will never be actually finished, but isn't that the way with customising.

season's end

October is nearly halfway gone. I've received the renewal for the bike's road-tax through the post so it's time to think about the approaching winter.

I took a run down to West Coast Harley yesterday to have a look at the 2015 offerings from the MoCo. Wasn't too impressed to be honest. They are all singing and dancing and covered in loads of shiny black bits but unless you were in the market for a huge over-designed tourer there's really not much on offer.

The Harleys of today are just too expensive to buy and start stripping them of all the extraneous bits that no-one really needs and I certainly wouldn't want.

So, it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do with mine while it's off the road. Got some ideas, mainly involving brass sheet and got a front right fork slider to replace but the rest will depend on finances.

Would love a different tank and a rear wheel to match the front but that may need to wait.

Hard and comfy or comfy but hard?

I've just come back from a fifty mile "short" run. This was my first real ride since I replaced the seat springs with a couple of rubber doorstops.It has really made a big difference to the ride. I deliberately followed some narrow country roads which, to put it mildly, do not have the best of surfaces.

I originally tried it as I wanted the seat back a few inches. The cover for the ignition unit which sits on the rear mudguard was stopping the seat from being adjusted. So I had the idea that maybe dropping it two or three inches would maybe have the same effect.

It did but it has also had the consequence of making the ride much smoother. I still get jarred over bumps but nowhere nearly so much as when the springs were fitted. 

It may have something to do with not having a double bounce effect from the suspension and the seat spring which I'm sure were working together to exaggerate the movement going over bumps. I think that the seat springs were also bottoming out which was causing an even greater jarring than the seat riding on the softail suspension.

Whatever the theory behind it is the seat is much better now and it has given me some more ideas for this winter!

movement

After I got back from a run yesterday I noticed that my bars had moved. I had them set up in line with the rake of the forks and when I got back to the garage they were ever so slightly out of line. It's not much and there is no movement when I pull on them but over the last few months they have moved about an eighth of an inch. The risers have tapped holes in them so I'll pin the bars and replace the riser bolts. At the moment I've got domed hex bolts and will replace them with hex socket bolts as they will give me more purchase when tightening them up.
I've also decided to take off the springs on the seat and replace them with rubber bosses. This will lower the seat a bit and will reduce the double bounce effect that I'm getting from having both the softail suspension and seat springs. At the weekend I saw a bike which the owner had used rubber door stops which worked perfectly.

check

Went out for a short run of about fifteen miles yesterday just to see if all was OK. I've fitted the new pannier supports, this time the other way round with the open end of the top bracket to the rear. That way when the bungees are fitted to take my tent they wont be pulling the bracket in a way which will take it off.

The speedo seems to be working OK as the odometer was registering about the right miles, although that's pure guess work.

The oil on the left fork seems to have stopped leaking. I read a tip involving running a piece of photographic negative round the inside of the seal to dislodge any trapped grit  which seems to have worked.

All I need to do now is try to work out how many miles I get to the new tank. May be able to do that with a good run coming up next weekend to Kirby Lonsdale for the Lakes Rally.

I'm so glad I'm going to make it this year.

speedy

I spent a couple hours yesterday fitting the old speed sensor. It's really awkward to get to. I had to remove the mudguard and the splash plate then disconnect and move the turn signal unit just to get access to the sensor which sits on top of the gearbox.

After that it was just a case of splicing and soldering in the connector, plugging it in to the stock sensor, putting everything back together again and firing it up. I actually started the engine with the muduard off and sitting on the seat just to see if the unit was getting a signal.

It was, so I tightened everything back up and drove round the area where my lock-up is. I went about ten meters and got up to 210 miles an hour. Weee!

So, first thing this morning I rode along the road to where I have measured a mile and set the calibration.

It seems to have worked OK although I've no idea how accurate it is. The mile I measured was by the car's speedo so that could be out too.

Next time I'm riding with some one I'll test the speed by getting them to ride for a distance at a steady rate.

At least I have some idea how fast and far I'm going!

speed sensations

Well I've got a run of a couple of hundred miles under my belt and apart from one or two issues I'm happy with the bike in its latest incarnation. The first thirty or forty miles were particularly uncomfortable and I was thinking that I'd gone too far with the height of the apes and the seat position. But, after that I settled down and by the end of the weekend was relaxing into the bike. I'd have probably been as tense and pained with any set up as it was over a year since I'd done any riding to speak of.

I had a bit of a mishap on the way back from the camping weekend in Berwick. One of my pannier supports detached itself and disappeared somewhere on the road. I didn't even notice it until I was home and removing the bags. Luckily, the bungee hooks had caught on the mudguard so none of my luggage went roadside. There is a line scored around one side of the tyre but the position it's in shouldn't be too problematical for a while. The foam interior of the left hand pannier was slightly warped from the heat of the tyre but that's nothing. So it's only cost me the price of a new set of supports. Anyone need a left side support bracket?

All in all a lucky outcome!

The other issue is the lack of a speedo and odometer. Not only is it jeopardising my license I have no idea how far I'm traveling and therefore don't know when to refuel. Last weekend I was  over estimating how much fuel I was using and filled up when I didn't really need to.

I'll spend some time over this weekend fitting the stock VSS and see if that works.

Then it's down to the Lakes at the beginning of July for the first rally for ages!

better

Took a better picture today. Shows the pannier supports fitted.

sunny

The weather was so summery today it probably was summer.

I headed up towards Stirling and then over to Callender to meet up with another two riders club members who were on a run through from the east.

It was the first real ride I've had on the bike and the new seat and riding set up took a bit of getting used to. Theres almost no padding at all on the seat but hopefully it will break into the shape of my bum over time and will become easier to settle down for longer distances.

The hardest thing was riding with no speedo. Not only do I have no idea if I'm breaking the limit, I hadn't a clue how many miles I had gone. At least I have a half decent reserve on the fuel cock.

I had no idea how difficult it is to try to judge speed. I can tell if I'm going really slow as the bike starts to wobble! I also know if I'm going really fast as other vehicles get tiny very quickly in the wing mirror.

Apart from that I'll just have to go along with the flow.

 

riding in Scotland

I spent a bit of time checking the wiring to the ignition unit and found the problem was a wire which wasn't held into unit properly and was causing the problem starting. So I fitted the saddle, put on my jacket and helmet and set off. That was when the sky dumped a whole weekend's worth of rain on me before I had got to the end of the street. I was going to persevere but it wasn't easing off so I headed back to the garage and got under cover.
From the distance I did go everything feels OK though I will need to spend a bit more time in the saddle before I can decide if it's going to be comfortable.
As I was back I decided to fit the rack. That took a bit of trimming of the electrics cover and a few dropped circlips before I finally got it all together. I then tried out the luggage. It al fits but I will need to fit the panniers back to front to get them to fit.
At least I'm ready to go camping at the end of the month.

Here's a photo but as it's taken on my phone it isn't that good.

nearly done

I spent a good few hours today fitting the rear mudguard.

That sounds simple but it also meant wiring in the sparto tail-light, trimming and fitting the cover for the electrics box, wiring in the light for the side-mount plate and lining up the sprung seat.

It all went remarkably well! Wiring the lights and indicator took a bit of guess-work but I managed to get it right at the second go. I only needed to reverse the wires to the indicators as the wiring diagram I've got shows both indicators to have the same colour wiring. This is because the indicators and taillight have their own mini loom. I then spliced in the wires to the LED on the side plate.
I fitted the brackets for the panniers and lined up the bags. I think I may need to use them reversed from their normal way in order for them to fit. There is just enough space between the electrics cover and the sparto to take the connecting strap. I was thinking it may need a bit of trimming but with a bit of luck it will do. Tomorrow I'll drill a final hole in the top of the mudguard to fit the cut-down rack which I have painted and should be ready to fit tomorrow.

The only trouble came when I tried to turn the bike over and it wouldn't start! It could be the battery has been drained too much with all my trials of the lights that it just doesn't have enough juice left to turn the engine over.

Whatever, I've lifted the battery out and put it on charge and will try again tomorrow. Then I can get the seat fitted and see what it's like to ride under its latest incarnation.

rack and not ruin

I have been in two minds about finishing off the rear mudguard. I almost decided to leave it for a while and get some miles under my belt.

Then a work-mate's son offered to cut and weld my luggage rack for me. That would mean I wouldn't have any way to strap on my camping gear if I kept the stock guard. As I'm heading off for a weekend at the beginning of June, I could do with it.

So, I'm going to bite the bullet and spend some time next weekend wiring the rear lights and fitting the guard.

Hopefully it will get done reasonably quickly as I'm pretty sure about what's needed.

back on the road

The bike's passed its MOT and is displaying a brand new tax disc. (the last one ever, due to the change in the law after October this year!) So now all is legal and I can get out and ride.

Apart from the ride to and from the MOT station, I've only been around the block a few times So, today I'm going to take a longer run to see if there are any problems needing sorted. One I do know about is the speedometer. The sender does not seem to be sending any info to the unit so I don't know how fast I'm going! I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the VSS on the gear-box to work so I may need to but a different type and mount it to read the wheel studs.

Apart fom that I've still to fit the read mudguafd, side-mount number-plate and the sprung seat.

I'm hesitating to begin that job as I don't really want the bike off the road any longer.

I'll decide soon, but for now, I'm off to ride.

it's really difficult

To resist the temptation to take the bike for a bit of a spin but I have managed. Just as well as there seems to be a lot of traffic cops on the road this Easter Weekend.

I'll just have to be patient and wait until a week on Wednesday which was the first day I could get a day off work and get a MOT booked.

Yesterday and today I spent painting the rear mudguard. That's finished apart from under sealing it with the waxoyl I did the front one with. So, I'll give it a few days before fitting the light and getting that wired up.

I've also been round all the fasteners, tightening and making sure everything is torqued up. I even put a bit of wax polish on the paintwork although it's not the best paint job in the world. (more likely to be the worst!!)

ready at last

The bike's not finished, but as I've arranged a day's holiday and booked a MOT, I can look forward to getting myself back on the road.
Even if it is still a week away!

checking, checking, checking

I've checked the wheel alignment, taken the battery out and put it on the optimate to charge it up, refitted the LePera seat and checked the brakes.

Tomorrow I'll re-fit the battery and adjust the headlight. Then I can spend a couple of hours checking fasteners and then all should be OK for the MOT. So, as soon as I can arrange a day off work I'll get a test booked then it's fingers crossed. I'm probably worry a bit more than is necessary about the bike failing the MOT but even if it does it won't be on anything serious that I can put right.

I'm also going to start painting the rear mudguard and wiring up the side mount number plate bracket. I will order a standard size number plate as the one I've got is smaller than the bracket and doesn't look right when it is fitted. The seat brackets are all ready for fitting and the plate that the ignition and indicator relays are fitted to should bolt straight on the the new mudguard.

Once I've got the MOT I can get that all fitted. Then I can think about wiring in the new headlight.

broooom ...

It was really good to hear the engine running again.

I thought I had screwed things up for another few weeks when I stupidly put the wrong green spacer into the connector. It was a bugger to get out and pulled out half the pins with it. I was thinking I would need to buy another connector and finish it next week. I did manage to get it finished and as it was the female side the green bit wasn't quite so important as it would have been for the other connector.

I fitted the tank. filled it up with fuel and the bike started almost first time.

All I need to do now is check a few things like the wheel and headlight alignment, tighten a few fasteners and get a MOT booked!

found the problem ...

 ... but not fixed it!

I eventually worked out which of the connectors was causing the fault with the headlight. Well at least I hope I did. I tried taking it apart and connected it up without the connector body and it worked. Then it didn't! Rebuilding the connector didn't seem to help any so I've ordered a new Deutsch connector and will fit that.

The wiring is getting so bitty, I really should rewire the bike completely next winter. If I do I'll replace all the connectors with appropriate Deutsch ones. They are much easier to work with than the AMP multi-lock which Harley also use. God knows why they used a mixture on the one bike. Cost no doubt.

After things had come to a halt with the wiring, I decided to adapt the seat bracket. I sawed off the seat posts which were angled to take the Harley specific springs which sit at an angle. I then drilled and tapped new holes to take the spring mounting bolts. It's all together but I've decided that I want to use a deeper bolt for security so will buy a helicoil kit and use inserts. That will save me from having to use my tap set which, being a cheepo, was extremely difficult to use as the handle for the taps kept slipping and I eventually had to improvise with a 1/4" ratchet handle. 

See buying cheap tools! It's never a good idea.

someone switched the light off at the end of the tunnel!

I went out today and bought a new headlight bulb. Then I came home and stripped down the headlight and looked at the old one. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it and when I fitted the new one and wired up the lamp again, there was nothing. The side light, or running light as Harley probably call it, is on but there's no full beam or dip. I checked the fuses and they are all intact. Everything else, indicators, horn and starter are working so the fault is just with the headlight wiring. The main beam lamp on the speedo isn't coming on either so I'll need to go through and check all the connections.

This will be a pain and means I cannot re-fit the tank 'till I've sorted it out.

on the home straight

I mocked up the side-mount plate this afternoon and didn't like it at all!

I was intending to mount the LED light to the bracket and then sit the number-plate below that but the bit of the bracket sitting above the plate just didn't look right.

So, what I've decided to do is make a backing plate from 2mm aluminium sheet, the shape of the light and mount the light on that. That will then be mounted onto the bracket using countersunk screws from the back. I will sandwich the cable between the plate and the bracket and out of the bottom near the swinging arm and from there to the electrical junctions under the seat. The only problem with that is, because I've got a slightly less than standard sized number-plate, it wont cover the whole bracket. I can't trim down the bracket so it looks like I will be buying a road-legal plate!

I finished painting the lacquer coat on the tank so will leave it a few days to cure then get it fitted. Just as I thought, the flame design hasn't stood up to covering in gloss lacquer so it will just have to do as it is. I've also started to spray the gloss coats on the rear mudguard so that shouldn't be too long before it's ready to get the tail-light fitted.

feels like standing still

I am getting a few bits done here and there but until I've finished painting the tank there's going to be no real progress. I've got the final gloss coat done. It's looking a bit rough where the contrasting bits are. The edges of the matt black flames are ropey where the gloss paint has seeped through a bit. Sanding it down for the lacquer coat should fix that though. I'm not even sure if it will work once the lacquer is on. I may well lose the contrast but if that happens - oh well. I'll know for the future, even though I doubt if I'll ever try something like this again. At least not under the conditions I have in my garage. 

the flames are not as grey as the photo suggests

I received a new number-plate in the post today so I'm going to have a go at mounting that, with a LED light on the side plate bracket.

 I had laid out the seat pan cover and the cover which will go over the electric box. It's actually where the engine management unit would be if I was still running EFI, but I'm going to mount the ignition unit and the LED control unit on it. I had a thought that I would need access to these components but the way I was going to set them up, I'd need to remove the mudguard to get to them. So what I did was to drill a hole with a slot to take one of the seat mounting fasteners which I had been using for the luggage rack on the old set-up.  This is a handy little threaded nut that is held on with a cir-clip to the mudguard. That will give me the ability to remove the electric box cover without having to fiddle underneath with a nut. I've also primed the rear mudguard and once that is dry and lightly sanded I'll give it the gloss treatment.
I'm going to use the wiring from the stock mudguard, so can't (as I had hoped) have it all ready to fit once the bike's been MOTd.

Can I finally see the end approaching?

ups and downs

I've managed to get the seat fitted. I don't want to tighten it all up before I connect the battery as that would mean having to dismantle it all once the tanks fitted. It's only a temporary solution I've come up with but will do for now. I used the silver coloured springs which came with the Harley seat kit and I don't particularly like them as they are extremely bulky. I'm going to order some two inch black springs from a company in Germany and when they arrive I'll take it from there.

There are a couple of options. One is to cut the the seat posts down. At the moment they are angled to take the shape of the Harley spring. I would need to cut the angled section off, drill and tap the hole again to enable it to support a spring which lies more parallel to the frame.

As this is all more than I had bargained for, I may leave things as they are for a while.

I also started to paint the gloss coat on the tank this morning. The rattle-can I'm using has developed a faulty nozzle and paint was dripping out of the base of the spray workings. So, I've now got black hands and spots of paint all over the floor of the garage.

And, besides that, I've got to stop and go buy some more paint!

P.S. It's five years today since I picked my bike up from the dealers. Another Happy St. Patrick's day!

seat woes

Like every custom build this one keeps throwing up new problems.

I finished drilling the strap for the seat mounts and tried to fit the whole thing to the frame. I am positive it lined up before, only needing the mounting bolts for the springs to be set wider than the ones for the underside of the seat.

Well, when I put it all together there's something just not right.

As it's raining again today and I doubt if I will get much painting done I'm going to spend a bit of time scratching my head and trying out different permutations but it looks like I may have to make another front bracket!

Is the end in sight?

I had to rub down and re-clearcoat the front mudguard as I had laid it down on the painted side before it had fully cured and ended up with a pattern from the towel it was lying on on the gloss. That's been re-sprayed and wont be touched for as long as I can leave it.

I bought a cobalt drill bit yesterday and it is amazing how easily it went through the stainless strap compared to the HSS ones. I've ordered a couple more from flea-bay and should be able to finish drilling and mount the seat next weekend. 

I should also get the tank painted and hopefully fitted. Then it's just a few little things to be sorted and a final check done before booking a MOT.  I may have to re-bleed the front brakes as they seem a little spongy. I'll do that before I fit the front mudguard.

Talking about mudguards, the rear one is coming on. I need to keep recharging my batteries for my drill as making the holes for the pannier supports takes more than one charge. As soon as that's done I'll take the guard off (once more) and start prepping for painting.

getting there

I've got the front mudguard finished, or at least the gloss coats on. All it needs now is sanded back, one final time and a couple of lacquer coats applied before I paint the underside with waxoyl coating. Then that can be fitted.

I still haven't started doing the colour on the tank and , as we're now into March I may have to put off the MOT. I've got a week off work later in March and was hoping to get it done then but if all the painting isn't finished by then I may just delay it by a week or two.

I got the rear indicators through the post this weekend and now I've drilled and attached the brackets the tail light unit is looking good. The only thing that I've realised I should have done and forgot, was to line up the pannier supports when I had the new rear guard fitted. It's going to need doing before I paint the rear guard but I don't know if I can be bothered doing it before the MOT as that will mean stripping it down and rebuilding yet again!

More steps

I got a few things done today, though not as much as I had hoped. After a while my back started playing up and I had to call it a day, early when the pain became too much.

What I did manage though was to drill the holes in the rear mudguard for the light, so now that's ready to prep for painting. I also re-fitted the stock guard and will re-connect the wiring next time I'm out. The bracket for the seat is, like I had thought, going to take ages to drill four holes in. Progress is extremely slow but I should get there eventually. I fitted the front bracket and it all seems to line up just as I had hoped.

The front mudguard had been given a couple of final top-coats and was ready for the lacquer coat, when I decided to move it to take a photo. That's when disaster struck! My grip slipped and I took hold of the painted side leaving a thumb-print in the dry but not hard paint. Oh well next week I'll need to go over it with some emery cloth and do the final coats again. Wont do it any harm having extra coats of paint. I can make a start on the tank's top coat too as well as priming the rear guard.

Before then I am going to drill the holes to mount the indicator brackets onto the rear light housing. As I've got to drill into the blind side of the plate I'll need to spend some time working out where the holes need to go as they will have to be precise. At least I can do that in the house and don't need to wait for a bright day. I'll probably route the indicator wires up one side of the guard and the brake/tail light cable up the other. that can all be done before I fit the guard and then just plugged in once it's all been fitted.

That's still a few weeks away though but the end does feel in reach!

seat's sorted!

I was looking at my seat as I fitted the painted front bracket. The fact that the distance between the mounting holes on the underside of the seat and the ones on the frame bracket didn't match up was giving me headaches.

My answer was to fabricate a bar which would bolt on the the two posts on the frame bracket and then have two holes in that which the springs would screw into. My dilemma was that the top of the posts are angled to take the springs which come off the seat at an angle. I couldn't see any easy way to do this as the bolts would need to go through the bar at an angle too, or else the tension, when I torqued up the spring bolts would be trying to twist the bar. I just couldn't be sure that the whole thing would be strong enough to take the stresses and for a seat I'd hate to have the worry that it could come apart at any time.

The answer was staring me in the face and only became apparent when I was playing with the front bracket and screwed that on to one of the rear mounting posts.

All I need is a bar which I will screw on the the base of the seat. This will have holes in it to line up with the top end of the springs and I'll use a lock nut to attach the springs to the bar.

I've ordered a stainless bar as I don't really think an alloy one will be strong enough, especially as I don't want it too bulky.

Sometimes the right answer just takes a bit of waiting for.

Now I don't need to use the chrome springs I can go back to the coiled, black ones. Although, I have got my eye on a pair of 2" black scissor ones which are left and right sided and should look even better.

dry build

I got a fair bit of the primer done this afternoon. The bracket is ready for the top coat and the front mudguard is covered. I'm going to sand it down and do a couple more coats of primer on that tomorrow. That way I can see how the gloss paint goes on to the bracket before I try it on the showy bits.

I also fitted the rear mudguard and lined up the tail light and sat the seat on it. Looks as though I may be able to use the rack I had fitted to the old fender. I was thinking I may need to get it cut down but if I fit it the reverse of way it was on before it may just fit.

One thing though, the black coiled springs I bought wont fit as the mounting holes don't match up exactly. I'll need to use the scissor type springs that came with the kit. I don't really want to use them as they're chrome so I'll see if I can get a set of black powder-coated ones on e-bay.

I'm beginning to believe I just may get it all to come together. Some time!

sorted

..... well in my head at least!

I made a decision about how I want things to be, bought a sparto tail light and am waiting for the side-mount number-plate bracket to arrive. The sparto has a small plate attached to it for a number-plate but I will use that to attach the rear indicators. I've found a pair of brackets which are designed for the Kellermann indicators. They're fairly expensive but that will be offset by not having to fork out for the stop/tail/turn signals. They should also look good and as if they're meant to be as opposed to something which just fits!

I'll be able to paint and put together the rear mudguard then have it ready to fit after I get the bike MOT'd. That way I can take my time and make sure it's exactly the way I want it.

So, this weekend I'm going to paint the front mudguard, have a go at wiring in the stock VSS and fit the seat brackets. While I'm at that I will dry fit the rear guard to get everything aligned correctly before I start drilling holes.

Fingers crossed it's dry (or at least, bright)

bracket

I spent a  couple of hours cutting and filing and eventually ended up with a new bracket for the seat. One which fits the front mount.

All I need to do is prime and paint it.

fitted to the mount

the bare bracket

it even swivels up

ready for the bike

fitted to the seat

a pile of bits

I'm beginning to gather box loads of stuff waiting to get fitted on the the bike.

At least they're waiting to get painted before getting fitted. I've primed the tank but will wait for a couple of dry days before attempting the top coats. The front mudguard will be next. The rear can wait as I've decided to get the bike MOT'd before I fit that and the new headlight.

I finally bit the bullet and made a decision on the rear mudguard. I was tempted to go for the Zassell's fender as I could get that in a longer style and fit a numberplate on the rear. In the end the price won out and I ordered a NCC flat fender without cut outs. As it saved me about £500 there wasn't really a contest in the end. I'll fit the guard on soon to see how it lines up and then make a decision on whether I'll fit a side-mount number-plate. I would rather fit a centre one as that way I'll be able to mount the rear indicators to the plate. Otherwise I'll need to use all in one light/indicators and either drill holes in the strut part of the guard or get a tab welded on to mount them to. As I'm going to drill holes for the pannier supports I don't really want to have two holes on either side.

I'm also considering an alternative to using the stock speed sensor as finding somewhere inconspicuous for the step down transformer is not presenting itself as easy. This is just another of those things that have to be re-visited. I'm about to start making another bracket for the seat as the one I've already fabricated proved to make the whole front mount too wide to fit in the space between the frame rails and would have meant me packing the underneath and raising the front of the seat by about two inches.

Oh the joys of customising!

moving

The first dry day for weeks saw me spend most of it in the garage.

I made a bracket for the new seat and as soon as I sort out the speed sensor I'll get that fitted. Re-fitting the stock VSS is one of those jobs I've been putting off as I've got a funny feeling that the rear wheel will have to be removed to get at it. Working out the wiring for the step down resistor will also take a bit of pouring over manuals before I'm confident. It's one of those things that can't be tested without putting every thing back together again.

As I've got lots of other things to do, like painting the tank, fitting the front indicators and fitting the brackets for the seat, I'll be able to put it off for just a bit longer without putting the rebuild back too far.

I've ordered the front and rear mudguards. They'll probably take a bit of time to come so I can't really plan for the rear indicators or number-plate 'till then.

time slip

It's now the middle of January and what have I done?

Not a lot really. 

I've got the tank filled and sanded and now just need a brighter weekend, than we've had here in Glasgow recently, to get the primer done.  I've bought some sheet aluminium and am going to make a bracket for the seat. I got brackets with the mounting kit I bought but they are completely different from the "universal" one I bought which fits the seat. Before I fit the seat I'm going to take the battery out to re-wire the speed sensor and fit the stock one. Hopefully I'll be able to do that without the need to remove the rear wheel.

I've also bought front indicators and Rebuffini mounts so they'll be fitted this weekend. I need to remove the front wheel and drop the forks to fit them but it will be worth it as they're much neater than the ones in two parts.

I'm going to order front and rear mudguards this week too. I've almost decided on which rear one I want. There's a choice between flat and rounded. As I probably wont be fitting the rear one right away. I will take my time to decide. Once I've got it I will then make a decision on whether to have aside or rear mounted number-plate. That will then settle which rear indicators I need. If it's a side mount I'll fit stop/tail indicators and if its a rear one then I'll fit a separate tail light.
So, still a lot to be done but I'm still looking towards March for a MOT.
Just need to get my arse in gear and hope for some fair weather,