Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 13, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2015 I meant to log this build while it was happening, but life sort of got in the way. Still, it’s a work in progress, so all is not lost… I bought an old ironhead sporty a couple of years ago, just because it was local, the numbers matched and it had live plates. No real attraction for the things, more a case of buy it, patch it up and see how it goes. If it was as horrible as they say, I’d just flick it on… Then I thought of Café’ing it, for a laugh, as it seemed the most unsuitable bike as a base, so I chiselled off all the eagles, dropped the front end 8” and fabricated a few bits and pieces while sorting out decades of neglect. A year or two later and I’ve fallen for the oily old thing, and now she’s 40 and rego is a realistic cost I’m using her more often, so some more work is on the cards… As I got her, mercifully there were no tassels… Front end drop… Tank mock-up… Seat and tail piece trial… Mechanical/wiring work… Getting there… And pretty much in current form… 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Quick summary of work done: Fitted shortened front end from an 85 FXR-P - and progressive springs Fitted taper roller steering head bearings. 84-99 front brake caliper fitted, original master cylinder sleeved and rekitted Clip-ons made Umpteen stripped threads fixed. New rubber, rear shocks, brake shoes and wheel/swingarm bearings, Seat frame made out of decrepit Honda CBX550, sportster rear fender struts removed Suzuki T500 tank patched up, Monza style filler brazed on and mounts fabricated Oil filter mount fabricated and installed, copper oil line sections made Rear guard modified, seat base and rear hump made out of MDF and fibreglass Completely rewired, electronic flasher unit fitted, H4 headlamp and LED tail light LED idiot lamp panel made, Stainless dash instrument panel made Rebuilt Generator, starter motor and solenoid Keihin (non-butterfly) carb stripped and sorted (because every bugger told me to chuck it) Painted Ford Nightmist Blue and Wimbledon White (I have a thing for Ford paint colours of the 60’s) So she is an amalgam of Harley, Suzuki, Honda, Lawnmower (really) and other parts, that surprisingly doesn’t look as cobbled together as it is… Think it came out looking all right. I was planning on replacing the side-mounted oil tank with an in-board unit under the seat but it’s sort of grown on me. Should mention all mods are bolt-on, so it could be returned to stock if I ever felt the need… I’ve been using it for a while now, but really need to do the following: Fit electronic igntn (although points going ok) Fix oil issues, leaks externally and into the primary Needs rearsets, will convert to RH shift reverse pattern Kicker kit to install, just for fun Twin disc front (Tokico calipers) New switchgear/ controls – I like the original Harley gear to look at, but it has let me down too often. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I didn't think it was possible for an old sporty to look that good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Value Buddy Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Gidday. I've been reading all the bikes you've brought to the forum and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.QCR Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Awesome work mate ! Well impressed when I seen it a few years ago ! Really works well with everything you have done ! Are this original forks longer than stock ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Yeah forks on it were longer than stock, and new fork legs were 2" under. Got some comparison pics on the puter, will look out any of interest and chuck them on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 I didn't think it was possible for an old sporty to look that good!That is the comment I get most often. That or 'I don't like Harleys, but...'Confuses a lot of people, see them looking at rego tag and shaking their heads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Gidday. I've been reading all the bikes you've brought to the forum and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!Cheers. Wish the wife shared your enthusiasm for me mucking around in th'shed... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOHC Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Dynatec do a single fire ignition system for the iron head witch dose away with the points, I fitted one to my bike and found it made the engine run much nicer and its more simple to set the timing You should find another front cylinder head and fit that to the rear cylinder so you can have twin carbs and both exhaust ports facing fward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Font end... This shows the difference in fork lengths before and after. About to pull them and replace the bushes and seals as last check showed one was full of dirty oil. Had a bit of trial and error getting the level right... You can buy Timken roller bearing kits cheap enough, just have to make sure you've got the right sizes if swapping bits, the centre stem changes dimensions depending on the model/year. I used the FXR yoke as the original was bent, just had to remove some metal and weld on some stops to fit... And a view of how she sits down the beach, gaiters from GB500 fit perfectly. Unfortunately some dirty girl was rubbing herself on it. I shooed her off and wiped the poor old thing down with dettol. An ongoing problem, sadly... 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.QCR Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Oh that's nasty ! It's a damn good looking bike dude . Have you still got your long fork legs ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Yeah think so, will have a look tomorrow. [edit] Didn't look - hungover. Pretty sure they are in my bin of bits, will let you know how they look when i find 'em... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Found some build pics, something in here might be of use to others. CarbCleaned out the old Keihin, Had a bit of trouble tuning her till I fished out a mystery spring washer that was stuck in the pilot jet hole, preventing the needle from seating. Once that was sorted and I fitted a knurled pilot screw I could adjust on the fly it all came together (had to take tank off to get thin screwdriver in previously). Not a rocketship but she starts easy and doesn't 'sneeze' like Keihins are supposed to, saved a bit of coin here... Dash Made up a mounting plate out of stainless for the clocks. The pushbutton in the middle is an illuminated headlamp switch, operates a relay in the headlamp shell for operating the main beam. Given I am running a genny, I wanted the option to run on running lights only if necessary... Made a small plate with LED indicator idiot lamps (Generator, Oil, Hi beam and L and R indicators). These were fairly expensive but are industrial quality and bright enough to be seen in daytime, sort of wanted to modernise the old sporty 'eyebrow' housing... And how she looks all together... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Front wheel repair. There was a hose clamp around the hub bearing, concealing this... So I spun up a bearing retainer and screwed it to the hub... Came out all right, I like this factory alloy Borrani deep dish rim. Next stage is lacing a twin disc hub to this - would like a matching rear at some stage... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Made the decision early on to re-wire the entire thing. Pretty simple system, I drew up a wiring diagram on CAD, and just made up a loom from trailer cable and heat shrink tubing. Pulled the cable through the top frame member and fitted a mounting plate for components where the old breakers sat... And mounted most bits under the seat/above the rear guard, where they should be out of the weather. Used a Badlands flasher unit, generic 12V start relay, a small fuse block and tied things up as I went... Mounted electronic regulator where the original was, and made a snug fitting base for the Motobatt glass mat battery... And most of the wiring is done in the headlamp shell, pretty tight in there but if you route things right it comes together... Also reconditioned the starter motor and generator. Machined new insulated bushings, rewired where necessary and new brushes etc. These things are fairly well made and decent manintenance should keep them operating ok... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Seat Made a bolt-on seat frame out of an old Honda I had taking up space. As I don't have a pipe bender I made the rear hoop out of a lawn mower handle, just cut and welded to suit, and cost $2 down at the recyclers... Made the seat base from MDF. The rear hump was scored for $30 off tardme, I just cut it so the angles mimic the shape of the rear of the tank... Sandwiched some layers of MDF for strength, cutout sections fitted other parts... And bought a gel insert from ProPad as I wasn't sure about sitting on a plank on top of a shaky old iron... Glassed up the MDF for strength and waterproofing reasons, added some black to the resin to see how it went. Looked ok till I sanded it down... So painted it once done. Underneath there are metal locating plates that slot into recesses I cut in the steel frame, these are screwed in and glassed over as well... And just cut closed cell foam to suit, glued with contact adhesive and left recess for the gel pad... And topped with finishing foam to smooth out... Sanded foam to nice contour and took to upholsterer... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 16, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 16, 2015 Tank I scored a Suzuki T500 tank off tardme for $50. Wasn't in bad shape but full of rusty scale so I bodged together a death trap tumbler to shake around a load of square brass nuts to clean it up. This worked really well, surprisingly, for something made up of junk I had lying round - just had the tank wrapped in towels and cardboard and taped to the centre post... It was all exposed belts, noise, sharp edges and dubious build quality, so I kept an eye on my apprentices as it rumbled away. Seemed to work ok, tipped piles of rusty scale out and internal surface looked pretty good... I cut out and brazed a cap over the old petcock hole, think I used a brass frost plug... and relocated the petcock, brazed in a new bung from lowbrow customs... and fitted a monza-style filler cap. Think this was designed for cars, just brazed the brass threaded section onto the filler neck after I had beaten it slightly thinner to fit on... After all brazing done, I washed it out and coated in POR15 tank sealer... Painting in progess (had this done for me, my painting skills are pretty average)... And the tank mount I made for the frame. I wanted to use the original tank mounting tabs so just made this unit up that holds suzuki tank rubbers, took a couple of goes to get the postions right... and how she came out in the end. These tanks look similar to the old Norton Atlas in shape (always thought the Atlas was under-rated as a classic)... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Oil Filter There was no filter on this when I got it, I could have used the drop-in type that sits in the oil tank, but I prefer the automotive style spin-on jobs, plus at the time I was looking at making a new oil tank... I bought a 3/4" x 19 tpi bolt and some BSP connectors and spun up a mount that would bolt up to the front engine plate, just turned a lump of 100 x 10mm m/s plate... And drilled and tapped the 3/4" bolt, and turned the barbs off the hose-type connectors... There was no easy way round this, just used cutoff discs and files to shape the thing... And finished the surfaces on the old Myford... Welded in the centre piece, tapped the inlet/outlet connector tubes, and cut some recesses to fit around the engine plate bolts... and painted... I use a Bosch 3300 filter, has the right pressure settings for the old ironhead (a low pressure, high flow system). Pretty pleased how this turned out, but took a bit of effort... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.QCR Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Loving your build thread and the story behind all the details ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Nice work man. Looking pretty darn sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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