Norton / Harley Ironhead Cafe Project.. Build thread

Its a 79 XL1000 motor, didn't have a kickstart. Oh I see plenty of areas for improvement.. mainly brakes and suspension.
 
Something I'd been putting off was fixing the Monza fuel cap to the tank. The last time I tried I managed to scratch the fresh paintwork on the tank.. just 2 hours after getting it home :mad:. The problem is that the screw thread on the filler neck was damaged when the original Monza cap was removed. When screwing the new cap down onto the tank, the cap hit the tank (scratching the paint) before it got fastened down tight.

I should've just left it alone and let the painter deal with spraying around it.

This time around, I did things differently. First the rubber seal inside the cap was removed, as it would only work with the cap screwed down tight.. no longer possible with the damaged threads, and even it did it'd still sit too low and once again scratch the paintwork.

Instead I made a 4mm thick alloy spacer to replace the rubber seal.. made thicker to lift the cap off the tank a little to save the paintwork from being damaged again. Next I used JB Weld to glue (and hopefully seal) the cap to the tank. Did that yesterday, and I'll have to wait until I add petrol before I know the cap is now petrol proof. If not, I can always add more eboxy to the inside of the filler neck. Still at least the lovely paintwork is still intact.
 

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CrabsAndCylinders said:
Do you mean that you used JB Weld to fasten the filler neck to the tank?

The thread of the filler neck of the tank itself is damaged, so couldn't just screw the Monza cap into place, hence the need for JB weld to attack the cap to the tank neck, the filler neck of the tank is welded to the tank.
 
Bevelheadmhr said:
The thread of the filler neck of the tank itself is damaged, so couldn't just screw the Monza cap into place, hence the need for JB weld to attack the cap to the tank neck, the filler neck of the tank is welded to the tank.

Thank you!
 
Here's the last update video, since then I have started the engine briefly, but needs setting up (jetting / timing) next..

https://youtu.be/gil1YKGhjMw
 
CrabsAndCylinders said:
Thanks for posting this. Do you think this process would work well on a tank filler neck that is not threaded?

Yes, as long as the difference in diameters of the filler neck and cap aren't huge. I called the alloy tank makers to get their advice.. they told me that when they fit caps to new alloy tanks these days, they grind the thread off the cap and use epoxy to glue the cap onto the tank. They recommended I use JB weld.
 
Here's a pic of the 'ugly' left hand side of the bike, its running now but only just, I think the low speed jetting is well out. When I'm happy with the gearchange ratio I'm going to shorten both levers to make it less of an eyesore. While the fork lowers will look much better finished in black rather than silver. But first still got to chase down a small oil leak and get it running well for the summer.
 

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Small update.. as part of the prize for winning Bike of The Month, I got a voucher to get something from Jimbonaut's jewellery website. Not really a fan of bird skulls and such, but I liked this, which arrived today all the way from Canada. When all my bikes are working and are just how I want them, then pigs will fly.. Thanks to James for the prize..
 

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I don't think I voted in that bike of the month but I can't imagine another bike I would have voted for. Nicely done! I've been threatening to build one for decades but likely never will, your project is very inspirational though.
 
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