CAFE CREME - BOARD.....TRACKER

[Luugo86]

It almost has a seafoam green tint to it; one of my favorite colors. I think it will sit well with the ivory you chose!

 

[beachcomber]

It almost has a seafoam green tint to it; one of my favorite colors. I think it will sit well with the ivory you chose!

Yes, I'm pleased with the colour combo. Really pops in daylight.

Both colours are satin finish to get closer to 1900s presentation. Some colour charts give it as green - others blue. Bianchi list it as Celeste Blue and is still used on their top of the line racing bicycles. Thanx for your continued interest.

 

[beachcomber]

Those 10 minute jobs that turn into 2 hours !!!

My pal fitted the bushes [ including 2 extra per leg ] for me, but unfortunately left one of the original staking pegs in one of the legs.

First leg took me 10 minutes to assemble .............. the second one almost 2 hours, mainly getting the old peg out which was 11" into the leg. Of course, I didn't discover this until the legs were painted ! Check first ?? Well yes I did - trial assembly, but in the "good" leg.

Serves me right for being lazy and not checking everything beforehand. Oh well, it's done now.

 

[NoRiders]

Those 10 minute jobs that turn into 2 hours !!!

My pal fitted the bushes [ including 2 extra per leg ] for me, but unfortunately left one of the original staking pegs in one of the legs.

First leg took me 10 minutes to assemble .............. the second one almost 2 hours, mainly getting the old peg out which was 11" into the leg. Of course, I didn't discover this until the legs were painted ! Check first ?? Well yes I did - trial assembly, but in the "good" leg.

Serves me right for being lazy and not checking everything beforehand. Oh well, it's done now.

Well done....I discovered the fork legs on the Honda are handed and different lengths, by 9mm. Ordered a leftside leg only to find it was too long, supplier insisted it was a left leg...so stripped out the rightside to find it was a leftside.....like the one I'd ordered...:/
Carry on Beachy.

 

[beachcomber]

Just mock up [ 'ish ] but serious progress now the frame is tacked.

 

[Luugo86]

Starting to take shape!

 

[beachcomber]

Starting to take shape!

Yes, I can see the frame for the jigs !!!! You've no idea what a lift that was.

Next job is to finish off the tacking [ he ran out of wire !!! ] and then I will check the mounting positions for the accessory brackets - footrests, gear and foot brake etc. - then it's tear down - remove the wheel bearings and get them off for powder coating and get the frame fully mig welded.

I changed my mind about mounting for the "tank" - originally was going to be a leather strap, but now I'm going to secure it direct to the top frame tube via some brass allthread and 2 nice brass domed nuts.

Unfortunately I have an issue with the Valor fuel cell ........ the rear exhaust is very close and would have to go through a couple of right angle bends to clear. No big deal if you are a welder ................................

Plan B will be a belly tank under and behind the engine, capacity will be slightly bigger at 1.5 imp. gallons. Not a job I can tackle but I'm hoping my pal Uncle Rob of this parish can oblige.

 

[Maritime]

Coming on nicely now. starting to resemble a bike instead of a collection of parts!

 

[beachcomber]

Coming on nicely now. starting to resemble a bike instead of a collection of parts!

Yes MT - been a long time coming ! Now becoming a collection of parts again [ !! ] as the POC mock up gets pulled down for the frame to be fully welded, bearings stripped from wheels [ for powder coating ].

Had to skip the mounts for the foot pedals and gear / brake , but I did get a rough mock up before stripping down.

I was able to finalise the front brake plate position and by a stroke of luck the lower fixing screw for the bottom clevis of the front fork hoop can be aligned with the original Honda brake torque slot.

Only major headscratching now is how to get the rear exhaust header in to clear the fuel cell. No big deal if you are a welder / fabricator - there is room - but I need to be able to mock it up accurately for someone else to fabricate.

I need to get the seat and tank back in place and securely attached so I can sit on it and figure out the ergonomics - I want to be able to ride it !! One day.

 

[beachcomber]

Wasn't happy with the polished steel stanchion bottoms - so took a step back and painted them Celeste Blue.

Sloppy masking means I've got to clean overspray off the gaiters - carefully.

 

[beachcomber]

Just done a POC for the headers using plastic plumbing fittings. No way the rear will clear the Valor fuel cell, so I'll have to go with under engine cell as my KZ750 Cafe racer. Plenty of room, just another outsource job. Two options for the rear header - the sexy version and the boring version.

Did a check on the under "tank" electrics and the starter relay is too big enough to fit on the side - have to go underneath or maybe on top of the main tube.

While I was mocking up the rear header it became obvious that the gearlinkage [ hand change ] would cause difficulties in removing fitting the exhaust - so that's got to be moved. Fortunately it can be mounted off the rear frame down tube to the engine.

 

[beachcomber]

I measured up the practical space for a fuel cell behind the engine, but dropping down through the lower frame tubes. Bizarrely I can get a greater capacity with a simple rectangular cell without the aggro of going under the engine as was my original thinking. I can easily get 1.5 imp gallons, whereas the Valor can was of course a gallon.

Also makes the rear header much simpler to knit. Been out with the plastic plumbing fittings again this afternoon and got a couple of reasonable alternatives.

 

[Luugo86]

Using the pvc piping to mock up exhaust is a pretty brilliant idea

 

[beachcomber]

Using the pvc piping to mock up exhaust is a pretty brilliant idea

You do what ya gotta do with what you've got !!!