Got the tank mounts sorted properly today and resited the coils to give a little more clearance. Started on the seat mount but ran out of daylight.- curse these UK winters While I was in there I deleted the redundant third coil mounting ...... excuse the welding - not pretty but very functional
Just spent a rewarding couple of hours cleaning the exhaust system - 25 years of crud was surprisingly easy to clean off using the 'Harpic' method . They look like new pipes again! Here is a 'before & after' shot
Sorted the frame now - welded up a new seat frame made up from all the bits that I cut off so nothing was wasted. Sorry about the naff pic - my phone got a bit dirty after the welding Managed to get the engine out on my own with the help of my trusty jack platform - one hell of a lump though. Whipped off the forks and swing arm and moved the frame into the workshop for prepping. Had to get the heaters going as it was only 4 degrees in there this morning! and then I started to paint the frame 3 good coats of satin black should do it. Then I can get it outside again to make room for the rest of the painting next week.
Stripped the rear suspension over the weekend ...... Yuk! And after a bit of a make over ..... Better!
A bit cold and wet today but I sorted out the electrics tray under the seat. I also managed to incorporate the original seat lock too! The battery box is slung underneath, housing the (very light) lithium battery and starter solenoid. Its all going to be a bit snug under there but hopefully everything will fit in. In the pic you can see the Motogadget Unit. This is a real bonus for new builds and simplifies the wiring enormously, replacing all of the relays and fuses. Just one main fuse need now. Another feature is all the handle bar switches 'talk' to the unit on only one wire! The ECU/Ignitor Unit is now hidden behind the number plate - LED rear light has integral indicators so keep the wiring to an absolute minimum.
Some more progress - painted the engine satin black and got it back in its rightful place, then mocked up the final shape to get an idea of how it will look. Not sure about the silencer angle at the moment so that might change but it will mean a 'cut n shut' with the pipes.
Another milestone passed! I have always intended to move the footrests forward to the classic 'chopper' position. I decided to buy a set of aftermarket footrests originally intended for a Harley Softail - this meant that most of the fiddly stuff like the hydraulics and levers were already taken care of and I just needed to adapt them in some way. The biggest challenge was to find a way to 'hang' the footrests from the top engine mount and then stabilise them somehow with brackets to the engine. As I had already removed the oil cooler, its mounting frame was free to be butchered ... erm .... modified to use as the stabiliser. It is only made of very thin tube so I beefed it up by welding on a length of 20mm tube which connects the new footrests. This made a very strong bracket ideal for the task and when the heavyweight 'verticals' were added, the whole setup was super-strong. A simple gear link was made from 10mm stainless tube and a new brake line under the engine to the rear caliper and voila!
Progress has been a bit slow lately mainly because I have been a bit distracted by my latest acquisition - I am sure you will understand I also sold my last project, the Yamaha Bobber (in background) as I was running out of space! Most of the mechanics are sorted now so its time to start the wiring. I am using the Motogadget Blue on this one Wheels are now powder coated in Satin black with new bearings, seals and Avon Cobra tyres. I have gone for the chunky look with fat tyres and huggers front and rear. Forks and brakes have been rebuilt and painted. I installed 4" risers topped off with Renthal Fat Bars and used the original master cylinders and levers. Silencers have been angled down a bit now. Carbs rebuilt and re-jetted to suit the new pod filters. New chain and sprockets waiting to be installed. Really starting to take shape now
You gonna make a scrambler out of the Rocket??? “Scracket” or “Rombler”??? Trospeed is looking great!
Or bearing in mind my current interest in bobbers how about a Rocker or maybe a Robber? I must confess to being a bit distracted by the Rocket recently so progress on the Trospeed has been a bit slow. The Rocket has started to evolve a little bit (new seat, rear fender, shocks, side mounted number plate, exhaust and LEDs everywhere) but I have now started to look at the Trospeed's wiring again. I have put in a Lithium battery, Motogadget M Unit Blue, and getting to grips with the loom now. I sold the Yamaha a couple of weeks ago and I am already getting people asking about the Trospeed's price and timescales so the pressure is on - won't be much longer now.
She's finished! Well I am a happy bunny indeed! The bike passed the MOT with no problems at all and it rides beautifully – much lighter and agile than my Rocket. There was a small issue with the speedo which I quickly sorted. Meanwhile, here are a few more pictures which I took today just before the MOT. It now has 8 miles on the clock and is now sold to a buyer who has been waiting for it since he missed my last Bobber build.
