The Thunder Toad Cometh

[dcwp]

Thanks for the pointers man. I've been inspired by your caveman tools this week while I was trying to reshape my fender.

Anyhow, it looks like I'm going to get another chance to try painting this week.

I picked up my wheels with new tires today.

I kind of wanted a somewhat knobby dual-sport tire like these TrailWings

Thought that would look kind of amphibious or like warts or something to go with the Toad theme. Sadly though it's near impossible to get tires like that in the sizes I need.

Instead I went with these Kenda Challengers:

They look great and the tread pattern is a little more aggressive in person than in the photo so I'm happy.

The front rotor got a little scuffed in mounting so I need to touch that up later. Right now I've got the tires all taped off so I can paint the wheels with black appliance enamel. Was going to do it before the sun went down, but I was afraid I might get condensation/dew/whatever over night and screw it up. Depending on when I get up tomorrow I'll try to hit them first thing.

That's probably all the Toad news for a couple of weeks. Got to go to a conference in St Louis next week and working out of town every other day for the next couple of weeks. Will definitely get photos up as soon as the wheels are back on.

Dan

 

[dcwp]

Dammit! Just when I thought I could brag that I'd gotten better at painting, I go and do something really stupid.

I hit my wheels with appliance enamel this morning and the actually look pretty good.

BUT... there were a couple of places I wanted to touch up. I thought they were dry enough, but like an idiot, I didn't give them long enough. 2-4 hours for dry, but 24 or better for topcoating!

Now they look like lizard skin

I guess I know what I'm doing when I get back from my trip. Re-prep and re-paint. Bummer!

Dan

 

[Kanticoy]

Put every coat you want of that stuff on within one hour....after that you have to wait 7 days. Seriously, this stuff off gasses forever.

 

[dcwp]

Thanks man. Luckily I'll be out of town for the next ten days. When I get back, I've got a date with the steel wool.

Dan

 

[tWistedWheelz]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the paint bro, but I do have to say, it has been said many times on here not to topcoat that shit! Tisk-tisk on not doing your homework! :-\ . Now, about the tire, shinko just came out with a very nice DS tire and they (like all shinco's) are cheap and good quality! I just saw a set this weekend!

 

[dcwp]

Yes, hanging my head in shame for making a rookie mistake. One the plus side I suppose it means more practice with prepping, which is something I definitely need to get better at.

I just checked out that Shinko DS tire. Looks kind of sweet. Problem is this bike has a 4.60/16 stock rear. That's a hard size to find in DS. Maybe in the next incarnation I'll pop for new wheels as well...

 

[Maritime]

Hey Dan, you can look for a tire the right diameter, it does not have to be 4.6 x 16, find out the metric size that is the closest and grab that in the DS. If you only search the 4.6 x 16 it will really limit the tire choices, but there are 2-3 metric sizes that will end up very close to the same size that will work just fine. If I can find where I put my info I did this and ended up with Avon roadriders, My bike is on loan at the moment or I would just go out and read the size for you. Just make sure the tire is designed to fit the width of your rim and the load rating is enough for the weight of the bike and you can swap it on.

 

[troybilt]

Sorry about the wheels. If you've not stripped any epoxy yet you'll soon find out how tough it is. It will also tell you how well your prep was. If it seems imposible to remove your prep was probably on the right track but if it comes off pretty easy especially in localized spots then go back over how they were preped. I've had pertty good luck covering up final sanding of 160 grit. It will take some heavy coats but the thicker it is the glasser/tougher it gets. My trees were just wire wheeled and personally I think it wasn't enough tooth. I ended up redoing them because they scratched.
You probably already know this but unfortunately you will need to strip the wheels clean and start all over. Once you do them again make sure to deflate the tires. You might have already done so(can't tell from a photo) but it makes for a better tape job and allows for better coverage of the outter edge of the tire. Good luck

 

[tWistedWheelz]

Hey, I may have a rear wheel in an 18 that would work with little to no mods to fit in the bike, you could get your DS tire for that for sure, but may need taller shocks for clearence! PM me if you think you want it.

 

[dcwp]

Thanks for the notes guys. It actually occurred to me this morning that I probably should have started wiping paint off as soon as I realized it would have to be redone. Probably would have been easier to remove while it was still crackling. But like you say, this will give me a better sense of how my prep was the first time and how tough this enamel really is.

Thanks for the offer on the rear wheel. I think I'm going to stick with what i've got for now since I've got brand new rubber and not so much extra cash. These Kendas actually look pretty good, better than I thought they would. Plus they're the same ones on Gretta, so I'm in good company.

I figure I'll get the bike together this year, ride it for the summer, and next summer think about going back for different tires and stuff.

The tires I got are in fact metric size, 110/90 or something. You're right, without searching metric sizes I was basically stuck with one or two choices. From what I've gathered, DS bikes have different wheel sizes than these old streetbikes for their different needs. The real trick was finding a matching set (or close to it) for my particular size combo.

 

[Maritime]

Yep, 18 front, 16 rear, I ended up with 2 avons, a roadrider and a sport touring tire, the kendas were a second choice but weren;t in stock. I read they aer good tires for the money though. I didn't realize you actually got them already.

Cheers,

Maritime

 

[jay_kent]

We've been running Kenda on my wife's 250 and they are a pretty decent tire. Its a sr250 and I'm 215 lbs so I'm putting it through it's paces. I'm looking at getting a pair for my cb650

 

[mikeadamstattoo]

i dont think the paint is too bad. its always good to do alot of research first, and its always awesome to do stuff yourself. much much much more rewarding.

were you going for a british racing green?

the seat shape looks pretty cool.

also, im not too much a fan of the straight chrome bars on it. personally id put some (preferrably black) tracker bars on this little badboy.

 

[dcwp]

Thanks for the thoughts man. I'm not thrilled with the paint but it isn't too bad. I had intended to go for a dark BRG, but I like the slightly brighter color. The more I look at it the more I think I don't want perfectly glassy paint for this particular bike. Everything else is a little rough and the texture on the paint reminds me of toad skin. I'll just claim that was the plan maybe.

I'm not sure about tracker bars. I really like the compact look of the drag bar, but you might be right about black being better than chrome. I actually think something a little rougher might work there too. Maybe low-polished aluminum or something? I'll think about changing the bars for version 2.0 after I get the first go together. Like I said upthread, I might try to go for a slightly knobbier tire in another year, the trackers would def go with that.

For now I'm focused on wheels and electronics. I got the wheels re-prepped this weekend and started painting again. Unfortunately I paint outside and it clouded up as soon as I got the first coat on. Got the wheels inside in time to avoid the rain and the new paint looks pretty good. But I was a little too aggressive with the sandpaper this go round and I want to put a couple of more coats on to cover a couple of deeper scratches.

I also think I've figured out a good way to attach the battery cage where I can put a gravel-crew style cover over it, but it's going to take some minor fab work. Once I start getting things back together I'll have pics.

This is all probably four hours of work, but the next two weeks are going to be crazy busy for me so I'm not planning to have any real time until after May 13.

Until then...

 

[dcwp]

Alright, I managed to get a few hours this week.

Finally got the wheels painted. Actually started three weeks ago, but had to stop due to rain. Let the paint cure for three weeks and hit it with three more coats yesterday. Just got the tape off tonight, but will have to let it set up a while longer before doing anything harsh like mounting them up.

Also started tinkering with the battery relocation. I tried a couple of different things, but I think I've come up with a winner. I used expanded steel mesh to make a little box.

Here's the cut out

And my half-ass makeshift brake. For these tiny bends thought I found bending by hand and finishing with the rubber mallet worked best.

Using zip ties to hold it together, I think they'll be strong enough

\

Ended up painting it black, no photos. Will hang it from the cross support that the inner fender attaches to. Then I'm planning to hang the electronics from the mesh; I left an extra half inch of room for nuts to attach. I think this is going to work well with my plan to put a gravel-crew style electronic cover over it.

That's it for now. I'd like to get things put together this week, but I'm defending my doctoral dissertation Thursday so probably not much time between now and then.

Dan

 

[baconpocket]

very cool idea for the electronics box. i too am in a doctoral program, biochemistry for me. what are you becoming a doctor of? and how are you finding the time to work on the Thunder Toad?

 

[dcwp]

Wow biochem, cool stuff. You might even be able to get a job when you're done. How far along are you?

My program is in Anthropology and Archaeology. I actually started working on the bikes as a way to stay sane when I started writing. It's been pretty good except that I also took a job adjuncting at a university 2.5 hours away (teaching four courses per term). Between the prep for that and the fact that I usually sleep in the town where I teach, it's been pretty hard to find time. Our semester ended last week though so that freed up some time.

The odd thing, and it may be different in the hard sciences, is that the past week has been one of the most relaxed weeks of my grad school career. The dissertation is written, the committee has all read and commented on it and now all I can do is wait and practice my presentation. If it weren't for the rain this week, I'd have gotten even more work done.

Anyway, T-27.5 hours till defense now so I'm starting to feel a little nervous.

 

[dcwp]

Had a little down time today so I attached the battery box. I accidentally cut it about a half inch shorter than I intended, but I think it'll still work.

Just attached with nylocks to the crossbrace under the seat where the airbox used to attach.

I put a 90 degree support under the right side. I was going to attach a bolt to each side to hold it in place, but it seems pretty firm, may not bother. I'll have to find a shorter bolt for this one probably.

Screwed all the electronics to the front and sides of the mesh box. Due to the dimensions, the rectifier is a tiny bit off-level, but it won't be visible so I'm not worried.

Clearance is a little higher than I wanted with the battery in, but it still seems to leave enough room for the seat.

I also had a little help from an unexpected visitor.

That's the third groundhog I've caught this week and I caught a possum last week. Somehow my house/deck seems to be a popular condo for wildlife around here. There is still another under there. The dogs are freaking out right now, hopefully I can get that one relocated soon and that'll be it.

All for now...

Dan

 

[tWistedWheelz]

Lookin good!

 

[Black Motor Covenant]

That was a good idea for the battery. What're your plans for the electric junk?