Vintage Grumble

Barrie's on bikes parade 2019

i dont.have.the.money for a new bike each year like.some.of you lot.with.her indoors not being well and all so i'll.be.piloting.mytrusty old steed once again.for.the.third.time.running did you get the news.paper.clipping i sent you about george and his bowls results?

Got a little bit more done. Got an out of date unused 6 point harness, modified it to be 5 point, and fitted that. Just had to make a mounting bar for behind the seat. Then I got a small car battery (will have electric reverse + winch + lights in the future, so didn't use motorbike spec battery) and set about making a shitty mount for it. It used to be in the nose, but got the bash, so I've mounted it on the side. I might have to make a cover to stop it getting owned by debris in the future. I recycled a bit of seat belt and buckles, but couldn't get it tight, so changed it to good old fashioned rods N nuts. I also put a speed sensor on the front wheel for the trailtech dash. I just have to reroute some wiring and mount the magic electrical boxes, and it's ready for a gentle shake down run, hopefully this weekend weather permitting. If all goes well, I'll make a new front bash plate thing, as the old ones a bit rooted, Then paint all the bits that need painting (probably just rattle can it, as shit will keep getting modified) then start fitting all the alloy panels. I also have to make a dash that the bonnet will join up to. Hopefully the next post will have evidence of a successful test run. Regards, VG. XOXOX

Progression. I drilled the steering knuckles out on a 20 deg angle, and then fucked around for aaaaaagggggggeeeeeees playing with different hights and angles on the struts, trying to get the best all-round set up. Once decided, I welded the piss out of them with Mr Miggins, and then put the front end together. It's got some decent steering angle, I just hope the racks quick enough. It's 3 turns lock to lock, and the steering is nice and light. Looking more like an offroader, I also did some highly scientific suspension testing, It's got about 5 inches of travel in the front, and 7 in the back, which is not too bad really. I started it last weekend and managed to free up the clutch (was seized from sitting so long) by standing on the brake while powering on in first gear, so pretty stoked that worked. Excellent. Regards, VG.

BIG DICK SWINGING

So I've done a bit more on this dirty Berty. I flipped it over to finish off the frame extension, and cut off a few unneeded bits. Seeing as it wouldn't rev or idle with no choke, I cleaned the carbs out, they had sea weed growing on the float needle things. I also welded up the plenum, and played around with restricter sizing (had to go down to a 35mm opening) this resulted in it running waaaaay better, and revving out like it should. I also removed all the washers that had been put under the needles (they were trying to make up for them not lifting due to lack of vacuum) and it ran even betterer again! I needed some way of mounting the air filter, and remembered I still had some silicon left over from the hektik Hilux, it was perfect, and pretty! Little vid of it running betterer, the linkage was a bit sticky, hence the high idle then dieing out at the end. Then I took the wrap off the headers as it was fucked, and cleaned the headers up a bit. Then I changed the muffler out for a prettier one, it's from a GSX1200, so even though it has one chamber (the other was straight through) it has a larger outlet than the original, so should flow well. I had a sprocket that needed boring and keying, but decided to go with a plate wheel and bolt it to the original sprocket hub. Bit bigger than the OG one. I then put the back end together, and ran a brake line up to the slave cylinder. Got a few hoses from the wreckers, this female - female clutch line from an AE100 Corolla made life easy, used the mounts and all. Then I made a new gear shifter linkage, as the old one was fucking rank. I also moved it forward a bit to suit me. Next was sorting the steering wheel/shaft/rack. This was a bit of a mission, but it worked out well. Managed to mount the wheel on top of the bar it used to be below, and move it forward a bit, so I can pilot the vehicle, with the added bonus of being able to get in and out of it. Also put the front suspension back together, so I could work out the pedal position, and the position of the bar that mounts the steering bearing, clutch and gas cable mounts, and the brake master thing. The brake master has to be in this funny frame thing to miss your legs and still fit under the hood. Once all that was done, I crimped the cables, but they were too short due to me lengthening the frame, so I made little extension doofers out of D shackles. Now the back ends done, all the controls are pretty much done, and it's running better, I'm getting onto doing the front steering knuckles and tie rod ends. Still much to do, but progress is being made! Regards, VG.

Woo I wonder if they will have twister in their games selection.

I wish I had a lathe, but unfortunately I do not. Yeh that's how I have been doing it, but trying to set up some angles is near on impossible. Also the chuck has a tiny bit of play, which reeks havoc on the holesaws with certain cuts. Yeh I think that's what I will get, well the HAFCO version, its exactly the same but cheaper. We get a small discount from MH, https://www.machineryhouse.co.nz/P090 I wont use it a lot, but will be super handy. I want to get more accurate cuts so I can tig things, as mig can be a bit/lot messy on tight tube bends. Thank you gentlemen.

Good day gents, I would quite like to acquire a small tube notcher, has anyone got one they can recommend, or any info or ideas on what to look for or avoid whence purchasing one? Thank you. Regards, VG.

Goooood ol adventure NBC again for me. But without panniers this time. Them big ol boxes too heavy, made gravel riding grotesque.

BORT REPELLENT??

Not too late at all. I'm sure someone can accommodate you, as long as you like snuggling.

I need to flip this thing on it's lid, so I can finish welding up the frame. I got it running, to heat up the oil pre draining, it was running like a hat full of vagina's, but It's probably only run like 5 times in the last 18 years, so that's understandable. When I drained the oil it seemed to be mostly petrol, so I guess a float is stuck. Whipped the carbs off for a clean, hopefully that will help it run better. Regards, VG.

As long as he's dressed as a power ranger, it's acceptable.

That thing is amazing at climbing insanely steep shit with that gearing, blew my mind.

/unless you actually managed to talk @stillway into coming?

@johnnyfive I guess we have one bed free too?

So I fixed the main problem, I now fit in it. I made up little 120mm extensions, with a bit of tube hammed into them, to add a bit of strength. Welded them into the frame, and then added side and bottom cross braces. I just have to sort out the top pipes now. A few of the problems this thing had, that Dave sorted out, were the steering rack that kept snapping rack ends due to bung geometry. It had a rack out of some grotty old english car originally, so Dave shortened a KP60 starlet rack to suit, He also made new knuckles to fix the bung geometry. The next big problem was it was way over geared. Apparently they hardly ever got out of second. So we got a big ass sprocket for the back, which should cause it to top out at 140ish kmh. It also used to have a motorcycle brake disc and calliper, which didn't work so well, so Dave made a hub to take a car disc, and calliper to suit. Apparently it also never quite ran right, which they put down to it not having an air box. They made up a plenum, with little trumpets inside. Another thing Dave made, was a double layer heat shed with an air gap, to stop the exhaust melting the seat. I'll probably make a top shield to protect the driver from the fuel tank, thats located behind your head. I'll start putting the front end together next, so I can finish off the steering gubbins. Regards, VG.

Niiiiiiiice. Are they the factory wheels? Keen to hear the intake/exhaust noises.

You can talk propeller boy, puhuhuhu.

So they don't fall off the trailer?

Some of those look pretty tempting actually/good enough for this basic old heap. The cheapest option I've found in a known brand would be these fox air shocks https://www.ridefox.com/filter.php?m=offroad&t=shocks&f1=type&v1=Air Shock Not cheap, but not crazy. Well until you add freight I guess.

Aww chur, I'll have to look up the edge mini Sprint. Yeh, they shocks are on my list of things to replace (along with a bit of the rear end framing) but not sure I can be arsed changing the rear to IRS. I'll see how shit it is to drive, and decide from there. The main problem with shocks is they are so friggin expensive!

These have plastic front guards don't they? Sad to say, but I remember smashing a few up in my days at a Honda wrecker. My brother had one of these when they were only a few years old, he told me the ladies loved it. Good to see one being saved, I haven't seen one on the road for many years.

I considered this, but thought the chassis would get too skinny when I pulled it longer.