Current Project Condition

Current Project Condition

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

No ride in today!

Well I won’t be riding the scooter into work today. After finally figuring out the brake problem, yes is was a p.i.c.n.i.c. problem, I was out test driving it and broke the chain when second dropped in out of nowhere.

A very nasty sound and the master link unfortunately had to pay with his life. I will get a spare tomorrow and aim for another day. I still don’t trust the battery to reliably start the bike either so I am a little hesitant anyway.

They say it isn’t  a Harley until you have pushed it a mile. Well I got my mile in today and that’s enough of that. Note to self get AAA membership!

Update to this post. I couldn’t let it sit there without a chain so I fixed the chain rode to the gas station and filled it up starting it was no problem so if I can decide which route is least likely to get me pulled over maybe I will ride in!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Punch List

Well for a first time bike build my punch list is pretty short. First of all and most antagonizing is the front brake. I can’t get this one to bleed either so it’s one of 2 things; 1 I am a retard, completely possible and a lot more likely than 2 I have gotten 2 bad master cylinders in a row. That a million to one shot.

The second is the short in the electrics after a days absence it has returned at first no low beam then no headlight at all and the control box shows a tail light overload.

Third I need to stand off the oil bag a little the top clamp is banging the frame and leaking oil.

Fourth a battery that can start the bike on its own reliably, after my first earlier ride and just now after sitting for a couple hours it started the bike on its own; but just now after my longer ride I shut it down and tried to restart it right away  and it wouldn’t  turn over just click away.

But other than that no tires rubbing fenders or chains rubbing tires. Everything I left with came back with me, even the hat that I had to go back for that blew off in a high speed run from 3rd gear to 5th. I got to say she runs like a raped ape. And if I didn’t have a inspection to go through I would hard wire the head light to the auxiliary post on the key switch in hi beam and cut the rest out of the wiring harness all together and solve that problem.

Houston WE HAVE LIFTOFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After fixing rear caliper binding clutch would not engage. Took clutch apart re-installed  clutch fired her up under her own battery power( I guess it just needed to be cussed at) and took off around the block.

Not to self while in a haze of rigid chopper induced euphoria do not forget that rapidly approaching stop sign should remind you that you haven’t bled your front brake and that sprotor  set up is notoriously weak on stopping power in back and you are a 300lb lard ass doing 50 in 3rd gear. Thank God there were no cars as I did not reach anything remotely resembling a stop as I shot through the intersection. I did however get down to about 35 but I need new shoes and my feet  hurt:)

Can’t talk now gotta go try that again!

The morning update…

The rear wheel has been re installed for about the 6 time and it hasn’t moved 20 yards yet. However, the wheel is on and spaced correctly the rotor is free turning through the caliper.The battery that had been charging all night is now back in the bike. But I am flight engineerless but I do have his ok to keep trying to get it running so I guess I should just quit putting off the inevitable and go start her up and see if I can’t catch a gear or 2. Ok then where did I set those balls again?

She ran but she didn’t move

When everyone got here yesterday at 13:00, when it just couldn’t be any hotter, the flight engineer and myself went to roll her out to the end of the drive way and……She wouldn’t roll?

Everything seemed fine last night after I put the chain on but it was almost 1am and I was a little delirious. And on thinking back I didn’t try to roll it because I had been rolling it around all day sitting in the seat going “weeeeeeee” so I knew it rolled.

The problem discovered later that day was when I put the rear wheel back on, after wiring it, I put the spacers on in the wrong order so the caliper was binding up the rear wheel so it wouldn’t turn.

But back to the good stuff. In great need of salvaging some of the last 2 looooonnnngggg days of filling in all the little problems I just disconnected the chain  popped the caliper loose with a screw driver and rolled her out to fire her up and ……nothing. Just a bunch of clicking. The battery did try but just didn’t have the sack  to turn the engine over. So ended up jump starting it off the car. She fired right up but had to be on the choke for about 15 minutes before she warmed up enough to idle on her own. I also had to adjust the mixture of the carb due to the extremely free flowing exhaust.

So after the warm up time and the adjustment time and after cracking the throttle a bit more than necessary I found out my room mates car alarm works; so I cleaned up called it a successful day. I just need to figure out how to get a bigger battery into a smaller hole.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Ants in my pants!

Well the chain is on and I am fairly confident in my clutch adjustment the tranny is filled the oil bag is filled and I have just shy of 2 gals of fuel on board with a can of starting fluid and a spare quart of oil  on hand just in case.

Now all I need is my flight engineer who should be arriving the next 3 hours. So back to the waiting. Yeah, I am supposed to sit here for the next 3 hrs? Child Please! In about 5 minutes I am going to go running down the road yelling intelligibly at strangers until the heat gets me. Which in my current condition will be about 100 yards!! See ya in the funny papers!

Mission Control Update

The chain is on, and after a few hours of messing with the clutch I actually found neutral. That was a first. She is also full of oil now so the only fluid she’s missing is gasoline. I had a few links of the chain kinked up under the tranny  sprocket cover; so after cutting the chain and all that grief I rolled it forward got a loud awful clunk and grind then I had several inches of extra chain. So I had to recut it again and start over.

There is still a little drag and clank somewhere. And the rear wheel feels like it’s dragging but that, I hope, is because everything is new. And it will loosen up in the first few miles tomorrow. So first thing in the a.m. I am going to get some gas and starting fluid and see what we get when Tommy gets here.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Can’t Talk Now!!!!!!!!!!

The Fed Ex dude just delivered and my baby is still outside the pad. Gotta go gotta go! 2hip gotta go cyabi!!!!!

Update Pictures

In a fit of anxiety I rolled her out to the launch pad and touched up the paint. Polished up the chrome a little and before I could get back outside with the camera my biker neighbors were out taking pictures so I guess it must look pretty cool. But I will let you decide. After 13 months I know every flaw and failure so it’s hard for me to be objective. Don’t forget that the pictures are all clickable for a larger version. Go ahead get in there and sniff the chrome she don’t mind!

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Come on Jireh, Come on Jireh!

Now I sit and hope and wait for my parts from Jireh.Through this whole build they have been my main supplier. The parts are priced well and delivery is free on orders over $100. But they don’t give you any tracking info. The only sign your order is on its way is they don’t charge your card until the order goes out the door. Then you just sit back and wait. And you know how good I am at waiting:)

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Actually the parts from Jireh come by Fed EX but after a 30 page google search I was unable to find a female, good looking or otherwise, dressed in a Fed Ex uniform. I won’t speculate on what that means. The only thing Fed Ex has over UPS is they deliver on Saturdays. So if the parts don’t come today the rest of the weekend may not be a waste. But until some Fed Ex driver gets a girlfriend we will carry on as best we can…

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Holy Schiznit!

I removed the rubber grommet from under the headlight and everything works as it is supposed to. No short or overload indicators, I have a high and low beam, and the tail light stays steady.

I am going back to bed before I get hit by lightening! It’s never that easy! If God calls, you haven’t seen me!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Update

The rear brake line is on, bled and the light switch is functioning. However a new electrical problem has popped up. My low beam headlight doesn’t work. When I flip the switch to the high beam the high beam comes on and my tail light gets brighter. Then after a second or 2 of that the control box shows a short for the tail light and the head light, both high and low beams don’t work.

So more fun lays ahead with the only part of this whole build I knew was going to be a problem. The wiring is gonna kill me.

Old School vs New School

Old school…

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New school…

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Old school brake line…

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New school brake line…

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Old school fitting…

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New school fitting…

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Old school brake light switch…

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New school brake light switch…

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So while the new school stuff looks better and is 100 times easier to work with it is, as all things like it are, more expensive. The old school way was between 20 and 30 dollars. The line for new school was 20 dollars the fittings were 10 each x2 and the brake light switch was 20. Easily twice as much but they look a lot better and as I mentioned before; much easier to work with.

Let me go and get this on before work tonight and if Jireh can just come through one more time and get the new master cylinder here tomorrow we could be in line for another attempt on Saturday!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Houston We Have a Problem…

Actually a couple problems. First off the front master cylinder is a dud. Since it has been hanging on my bars for 4 months the 3 months warranty is up. So my brand new never used $100 master cylinder is no longer under warranty and was dead.

The second problem was the rear brake line. I got up this morning and hustled out and got a brake line and all the fittings I needed and went home and laid everything out bent the line, made my cuts, put the whole thing together  and no matter how much I tightened the fittings the line kept turning. At which point after a little research I found out no one uses flared tube and fitting anymore. The use 3-AN line with screw in fittings and banjo bolts.

By the time I finished the other things I needed to do I took off in search of a new front  master cylinder. Manor cycles was closed and Fletchers didn’t have a generic 1985 to 1996 front master cylinder for a Softail only one for 2006 and up and it doesn’t match.

Of course they  were aware of the “new” 3-AN brake stuff, which they could of course order, but  didn’t have enough stuff to fabricate a line for me . They said it was more for custom builders than factory riders which I can understand.

So rear brake line parts and pieces have been ordered, from a shop in Florida so I expect quick delivery. And Monday I will head over to Manor Cycle and see if they have a master cylinder for me and if not I will order one and hopefully have it all here in time to try another launch next Saturday!

So on a day of wanting to go not being able to stop stopped me from going. Sounds like a Flomax commercial!

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Pre Dawn Update

That’s right folks live from the living room at 3:43 am. Everything that can be done has been done. The only thing left to do is run the rear brake line, add brake fluid to both systems and bleed both systems. Slap on some chain and we will be ready for take off.

Plug wires, fuel line and filter and petcock…
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And of course the pipeage. This is gonna get the stink eye from the inspector but what can ya do? 1 and 3/4 inch flares out to 2 and 1/4 with no baffles and they are on the short side:)

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That’s all for now. I am going to bed before I convince myself that the Super Walmart in Pineapple park has brake lines:)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Say Hello Dickhead!

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Lot’s  to talk about before nap time. I could not decide what to do with the turn signals. I wanted something different and I didn’t want a bunch of holes  in the fender. So this is what I came up with. I drilled into the sides of the tail light and mounted them there and ran the wire internally through the tail light. I like it a lot but it does look like someone with a dick growing out from between the eyes! If I could only get a license plate with a smiley face.

Geometry and physics, my two favorite subjects because there is no gray area, it is either a or b . With that in mind have you ever noticed how you can hold something heavy upright, like say a motorcycle, then you break that magical plane and go that half a degree to far…….Loving Physics!

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Dickhead

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Chasing down shorts

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

$6 dollar battery box

Well here you go, a 6 dollar piece of 22 ga  sheet metal, a little tubing, and some Styrofoam and vinyl tape. Why spend eighty dollars buying when you can build for six?

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And of course the duo of “who me” and “not us”

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Update

The battery box has been roughed out, not bad for 6 bucks and extra junk laying around. Will clean it up and paint it tomorrow. Also, going to get the fitting for the fuel cross over and fuel filter so after I bolt on the VOES I can drop the tank back on.
The plugs should be here Monday so I can finish that end of the wiring. Then the grueling wait for the parts to show up so I can get the rear signals on so I can get the rear tire back on so I can put the kickstand on and she can stand on her own for the first time.
Then its a matter of the exhaust and rear brake line and fluids and she will be ready to fire! WooHoo!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Brake Light Fixed

Brake light problem resolved. It now works like it should still with no ground....go figure.

It Is Alive!

Well the wiring is as done as it can be until I get the VOES for the carb. I did find a plug to replace the one Debo ate but it was from a commercial vendor and I had to buy 20 of them at 29 cents each then a $5 handling fee then $7 for shipping so I am in for about $18 on one plug. But I will have 19 spares.

Also the tail light comes on but not the brake but I think the problem is in the handle bar switch. Remember that is the side of the bars that were flat and the control housing doesn’t come completely together; so I think the hand lever is missing the switch. I will be looking at that as soon as I am done here.

Tail light…

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Oil lines and pressure gauge installed and complete….

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Current condition…

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First signs of life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Wired for Sound

Well the wiring is 99% completed. All I need is rear turn signals and a VOES switch for the carb and the wiring will be in the history books.

The last big challenge is to fabricate a battery box. After that its 2 brake lines a petcock (because one is never enough) and some chain and exhaust  and I will be done!

No pictures today as it is just a bunch of wires, but got a lot done over the last 2 days.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Getting back on track

Today I am going to finish as much of the wiring as possible. However, I still don't have rear turn signals and while I was off on my New York bender Debo decided to eat one of the plugs from the wiring harness. It's either the right or left side plug I haven't figured out which yet. It appears to be a relatively standard 8 wire automotive plug so I should be able to source one or a good substitute easily enough.
Then next paycheck should buy everything else I need to finish up this long overdue project.
Unless there are some unforeseen problems or massive back orders it will be ready to fire the the next 14 days or so. But enough babbling for now, I have 32 wires to extend and label:)
Here are a few New York City Pictures for you to peruse while I work!