Wheel was a bit rusty internally so went to work with the wire brush, treated with some rust converter Same treatment to the rim lock, put in a rubber band (originally no band in place) And lots of puffing and panting, new tyre in place. Sounds easy, but it wasn't as I pinched the inner tube. Blast and more sweat to get the blimmin tyre off again. And again struggle getting the bloody valve through the rim. (My hands just don't fit between the rim and the tyre so I have to do it by catching the valve from the wrong side with needle nosed pliers and feeding it that way - it's a bit fiddly so don't get anywhere near the garage while I'm doing it ).
The tyre is a 120/80 - 18 on a WM3 rim. Not recommended by suppliers but we used to tear round on these back in the boonies. But still not happy, looks a bit better but on these rims the tyre actually measures about 113mm wide when it's 120 off of the rim. As it happens, I visited Cold Steel Customs the other day for a cup of tea and look what he gave me: An original ally Akront 40 spoke 18" by 3.00 rim. So, given that I've never laced a wheel before (something I should learn I think) it looks like fortune may have shown me the way. I think I'm gonna have a go at getting this in there. I'll have a little measure on the wheel offset (different length spokes) and think about chain alignment, engine spacing and all that later. Well, the existing rim is a bit rusty along with the spokes and the hub could do with a polish. Fatter tyre here we come, I hope
I'm really enjoying this thread, @Iron! I saw it at the beginning then lost track. Got back up to speed on your wizardry this evening and am loving both the photos and the narrative along with the "mystery". I'm also getting a kick out of some of your tool descriptions which sound uncannily like mine--because I actually DON'T know what they're called. Two in particular that stood out and made me laugh were "various size whacking things" and "sliding hammer thingy". Thanks for keeping us guessing, entertaining us, and teaching us things (well, me at least).
Thanks @Sandi T, I'm glad you, and others, are enjoying this. And even, may I say, learning from my mistakes or finding that getting the spanners out can be just as much fun as riding the things. Ah yes, the mystery, I'd forgotten about that. Guesses are still welcome and the clues are still applicable - it's a thing, not things, it's not soft and it's free if you pay the postage or come and collect. Might be just the thing one needs. I need to go do some measuring and thinking about the back wheel. I can't have too wide a tyre or the chain will hit it. If I move the wheel chain sprocket out with a spacer to miss the tyre it will not line up with the engine sprocket. I can't move the sprocket in these unit engines without some serious engineering skills. (My hammers and a file won't hack it). I could move the engine over to the left by changing the spacers that are on each side of these engines. But then I'd only get a little due to the frame being what it is. I don't want to do any frame work on this and I really don't want to be getting into jack shafts. The zorsts would need to be changed then as well or they'd look weird. Sorry, thinking aloud, best get me measuring stick out. Is 10mm of extra tyre worth the work? Or, more like it, is the enjoyment and learning in doing the work worth 10mm of tyre. Confused? You soon will be....over...
Triumph offset the engine on the T140 TSX so they could fit that fat Dunlop in the rear from the factory
Cor, thanks for that. I had to look it up, they used a MT90 V16 tyre, which, I think, is a 140 wide tyre. I might be able to squeeze one of those on a 3.00 by 18 rim.
It's just miserable today. One of those English grey rainy cold days. Went down the garage and couldn't be arsed to take the back wheel out to measure stuff. I'd bought a Nissin rear brake master cylinder off of a Yamaha to try to make work for this build. I'm waiting for seals etc for the brake calipers and this so thought I'd have a look how it goes together. It's been a while since I dipped into the metric spanners. Blimey, look how full of brown slimey stuff this thing is! Then I looked up what bike it had been on. Maybe I should've checked that before I bought it.
An anvil… you have an anvil int box! I’d rather it was a welder, ‘cos I don’t have one of them! Would an ultrasonic bath clean up the crap from inside those brake components?
Oooooohhhh .... the Secret Santa Box - does it contain a portable generator? (He said with an unrealistically optimistic but eternally hopeful excitement in the fingers dancing lightly over the crumb encrusted keyboard.)
No sorry, not an anvil or a welder. Do anvil's come in boxes? "I'll have that anvil please". "Yes Sir, I'll get that boxed up for you." No need for anything complicated to clean these master cylinders. They are basically a piston with a couple of o rings at each end, in a pipe. A quick pull through with a rag and it's all shiny. Good guess though, but no cigar......ooops
Ha, I've got one of those keyboards, the toast is a bit overdone this morning. And, no sorry, unlucky not a portable genny. (Not an unportable one either.)
Ohhh, you’re not a guitar builder too are you? I made my own cigar box guitar a couple of years ago... it’s a hellava crate for one of those though! Maybe it’s a coffin (coughing) tank, or a helmet but you have a West Country accent and pronounce it hamlet...
HAH! I took all the keys off my keyboard last week to get rid of the crumbs - it's a pity that keyboards don't have crumb trays like electric toasters .... my keyboard had enough crumbs in there to potentially reconstruct about two slices of wholemeal and a slice of Lidl's fruit loaf! It took me the best part of a day to clean and re-assemble the bloody thing. Then another half day to work out why some keys weren't working, and I'm even now suffering with a space bar that no longer likes to be gently caressed into action ..... oh, OK, yeah - too much information. To matters much more appealing - THE MYSTERY BOX! So, we know what it's not, viz :- 63 SC motor; gearbox; 5ml. washer; inspection table; custom fuel tank; chopper top yolk; used 650 u/c motor; Welbike; anvil; portable genny. We can reasonably deduce from the photo it appears in, that the box occupies a space substantially about the size of a late Triumph twin OIF frame cubed; that the contents probably require(s) more protection than a simple cardboard box, hence the wooden framing and that it's something that you've probably already got, and, hence,don't need another. I was thinking maybe one of those little mechanics padded stools with the underseat storage tray but the crate would be worth more than the contents so I blew that one out. Given all that, and assuming I'm allowed multiple guesses in one post, I'm going with :- a small air compressor a small arc welder a space heater a self contained HV water pump I'm not hanging with any excitement here but every wrong guess is an elimination point so we're all a random step closer, right?
Now, would I? I'd have used the @ prefix if I were to be so downright rude, Helmet. Sorry, Hell Mutt. No, wait, sorry HELMUT!
@DCS900 I've painted a few guitars but not built any. Coffin tank - nope Helmet - nope Only moved to the SW to escape the Smoke so no pirate talking here @Adie P compressor - nope arc welder - nope space heater - nope water pump - nope Wrong guesses are eliminations but all incorrect, sorry. Here it is: I got it out especially for the photo. Nice aint it. Oh, and by the way, I'm on a stall at the Vintage Motorcycle Club (VMCC) Autojumble on Saturday 19th February at the Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet BA4 6QN. If you guess, I'll take it and you can pick it up there and we can have a cup of tea.
Another grey, wet, cold day so was gonna enjoy reading about @Sandi T zoomin' around the desert eating 'chips' and some other stuff I've never heard of. But Mr Postie brought me this: So thought I'd better get on with something 'cause it aint too cold just yet. And, and...I got a STICKER! But what's this? A master cylinder repair kit that can cause me reproductive harm and give me cancer! blimey...oh well they did send a sticker so that should be ok. My reproductions are long over and I'd rather have brakes that work.
I'm particularly concerned about the statements 'Reproductive Harm' and 'We Do Hard Parts The Right Way'. Is this from the Ann Summers catalogue?
