Out for a bit of a stroll

I decided to take a walk in the Brecon Beacons just the other side of Christmas as time allowed and I needed to get work well and truly out of my head if I was to stand a chance of enjoying my holiday. Anywho, here's a few piccies. Sadly they do not capture the cold or the strength of the wind, which, on occasion, threatened to blow me off the peaks! Enjoy.

Work continues on the calliper mount

Having made the MDF template, I transferred the shape to a piece of 6mm steel and rough cut it out. The overall length needed to be stretched 20mm to accommodate the kink needed to clear the swing arm. You can see the parallel still on the picture below.

Once the basic shape was cut out and drilled to fit the calliper, I put the piece of steel on a diet and trimmed it down as far as I could. Anywho, this is how it looks now.

I've gone off the idea of bending it now. the minimum kink required is 5mm so I'm thinking of cutting in half and notching 1mm out of one piece before welding the two bits back together. I'll experiment with the MDF template first to see how it looks.

I have to say this is the slowest bit of fabrication known to man... But at least it's progress. More to follow...

A little spot of winter camping

Me and a couple of mates like to meet up mid November for one last camping trip. This year the weather was mild, but boy did it blow up a storm on the Saturday night. Anywho, here's a couple of pictures to paint a story.

The view from my quarters...

... The ever present camp fire...

... Quite excellent roads to explore...

... Home sweet home...

... And finally a picture of Tintern Abbey where I stopped off on my way home for toasted teacakes and a pot for one. Happy days.

Calliper mount Mk2

My first attempt didn't look to good so I've had another go. The new template will hopefully be a bit kinder on the eye as well as working efficiently. First job... Glue the paper template onto MDF.

Next cut it out and drill for spindle.

Comparison with the first attempt shows a more appealing look.

... And on the bike things don't look to bad either.

Next stage is to cut it out of steel which will need a kink added to get over the swing arm. Once I've cut it out I'll think about cutting out some of the mass.

More to follow...

Back to work!

Enough of this messing about, winter is nearly here, the extension nearly finished and it's time to head back to the shed!

Next problem to solve on Abigail is the rear brake calliper mount. I need a way of attaching the calliper above the swing arm while restraining it from beneath the swing arm so it can be bled and so the fluid feed comes at it from the right side. Here's a picture to illustrate.

After some head scratching and use of the kids maths kit, I came up with a paper template which I stuck onto some MDF.

Next, cut out a crude version and drill a few holes.

Last stage is to shape the basic design to allow for the calliper castings. This can only be done with a little trial & error till you get kinda close.

A trial fit.
First impression is close, but no cigar. The upper section is how it needs to be (ugly though it is), but the bottom part just looks wrong. I think it needs to be longer and angled to the right to offer some balance with the top half.

As with all things... Trial & error. Watch this space for MkII.

Back from Europe

My mate and I have just completed a brilliant mini tour of central Europe taking in France, Belgium (twice), Luxembourg, Germany (briefly) and finally the Netherlands. We used the tunnel to get across and biked it the rest of the way, leaving Holland by overnight ferry. The roads of Belgium and Luxembourg deserve a special mention as do the dyke roads of the Netherlands. Both are fun and twisty with one lot passing over hills and through forests while the other wound above flat farm land never far from water. I'll leave the reader decide which was which. Anywho, just a few piccies to stir the memories in years to come.

Your narrator with bike at the Dutch camp.

Gina loaded and ready to go outside the Canterbury YHA, our departure start point.

Brief map check before descending into Luxembourg.

... The views (and weather) were stunning.

No trip to Holland would be complete without a visit to Amsterdam. I'm sure I saw a mouse over there on a stair. He had cloggs on!!

Thumperclub 2011 rally

Good rally this year in the rolling Shropshire hills just west of Telford in the little village of Bucknell. This was Gina's first rally and the first outing of the mighty Vango Force 10. Neither bike or tent let me down with both performing brilliantly. Weather was great and so was the company. Just a few pictures to remind me that life isn't all work and chores.

Happy days.

A great ride to get there and back.
Base camp was spacious and comfy. Lurv the Vango!
... And Gina stands guard.

Change of plan

Following on from the tank disaster and too much time looking at bobbers, Abigail is having a new look planned. No idea how this will turn out, but I want basic, up-right and wide bars. Hmm!

First things first... Get her on her own two wheels. Must now sort out the rear calliper hanger.

Onward!!

A great little film with a great sound track. Enjoy.

I.D.W.P from Edwin Europe on Vimeo.

Lovely little job.

Been thinking about camping trips on Gina and thought some kind of power point might be quite useful. Lots of camping and motoring accessories can be powered from a cars cigarette lighter, and a quick search on ebay uncovered a waterproof version.

All I needed to do is find a suitable location on the bike, cut a hole (gulp!) and fit it. I picked the LH side panel as my location as there was room behind to fit the plug and [when on the sidestand] this is the 'down hill' side of the bike.
Next job, get the bloody thing off! Both pannier racks and the back rack had to be removed before I could even begin.

... Bit for marking and drilling...

Job done. Happy days.

National road rally

This weekend I completed the National Road Rally. I entered for the 'Platinum' award which entailed taking 6 bike tests and riding 540 miles through as many checkpoints as possible. My route took in 21 checkpoints from Leicester to Warrington, down through Shropshire and across to London before returning West to Chipping Sodbury. The route planner totalled 540 miles but between setting off and getting home the true mileage was nearer 845! 24 hours of biking joy. Very tiring but very, very enjoyable.

Disaster!

Having plugged all the obvious holes and poured acetone into the tank to get the resin out. Next I filled the thing with gravel and put it in the cement mixer with the duvet from my bed as protection. (wifey not too impressed!) 8 hours later and after a bit of a clean up this is what it looks like.

Basically as much use as a wire basket! Not sure what to do next. My mate in work thinks he might know someone who will take it on, but I think this tank is beyond economical repair.

The working week completed

Another working week completed and another weary step on the shale path to my own demise has fallen.

Have I bettered my life or the lives of my fellow men, placing joy in their hearts or a song in their ear?

No.

Have I forged in the fires of human endeavour a deed so great it stands on the shoulders of Zeus and lives in the kingdom of folklore?

No.

Will this passing week inspire the young or bring comfort to the old, will men of words feel compelled to record in sonnet and verse the echoes of the things I have done?

No.

Oh well... best get shit faced then!

:-)

Shed time

Got some shed time in today so I've plugged the tank with some "Leakfix" and popped a litre of paint stripper in. Not to sure it's the right kind of stuff to use, but I'll give it a week and see what happens.

While I was in the shed I got on and cut down the stainless steel mudguard I picked up at Stafford. This will get painted eventually, but for now I've popped it on to get it out of the parts bin. Next on the list will be the tail light assembly.

Hmmm!

Set about stripping the paint from Abigails' tank and the it's not looking good. First job is to get the worst off with paint stripper to see what lies beneath. Hate this job as everything gets covered in caustic goo and the shed stinks! Once the worst is off, I concentrate on cleaning up the seams and any other area I think is leaking so I can get a glimpse of what I'm up against. Eek! Bottom pictures don't do justice to the teabag I have for a tank. For most of the length of the LHS seam rust holes can be seen and I'm starting to doubt my original plan.

Off to my mate Tom for some technical advice. His diagnosis is that the tank is repairable but before it can be patched the resin liner inside will have to come out, and the job might get a tad expensive. Heyho. This is the tank I want so I'll have to press on.

Plan now is to seal the leaks externally with a suitable putty, soak the inside with acetone (nasty stuff), then chuck the tank in the cement mixer for a few hours with some bolts inside and one of the kids duvets on the outside.

Pictures of that fun afternoon to follow.

Really lovely little bikey film. Just makes you wanna ride!

Fuel tank

After visiting the Cardiff VJMC show I've decided I must, must, must crack on with Abigail, my long forgotten cafe racer project. I have a shed full of bits waiting to be fitted, so I thought I'd begin with the tank. The tank I've got is not from an XBR, but comes from a GB version of the bike. Good thing is it doesn't have the side panel mounting lugs attached. Bad things are... Well... it doesn't fit the frame! I can, with a bit of modification, get it to sit on the rear frame mount but I'll need to re-site the front mounts.

Another bad point is it's peppered with holes. The previous owner has tried to repair it with an internal epoxy resin but it hasn't worked. This means I also have to get the resin out before I can use it. Problem is that to soften the resin I need to use a solvent, but because of the holes the solvent leaks out. Answer is to wash out any trace of petrol, strip the paint off and solder repair all the pin holes before attacking the resin. Plenty to keep me busy. Anywho, here's a couple of pictures of the 'before' tank. You can just make out some of the paint blisters from the leaking fuel along the bottom edges.

Cardiff VJMC Show

Popped down to Cardiff today to take a wander around this show. Here's a few of the bikes that caught my eye. Came home really keen to get on with Abigail, but sadly funds are tight and I still need to finish the kitchen extension. Heyho.