Bobber Build by a total Newb

Looks good. Meguire's #7 is my favorite thing to finish off a buff job with. But that looks kick ass in the photos... Beats the hell out of waiting for weeks for nitro to gas out huh?
 
Awe hell man! That looks good. I hate wet sanding myself,but who else is gonna do it? At the shop I use a small swirl DA to sand with using 1200 grit then go at it with 3M rubbing compound. Sometimes I'll use a 2000 pad if the job is a black or dark color.
Doing a great job dilbone! Your bike will look awesome.

Thanks John, I really need to get a buffing pad for my DA...still using a stupid drill attachment...not sure why
I get so nervous about sanding through while wet sanding I think using a DA would give me a rash. I was being PARANOID careful and still sanded through on a couple of edges on the oil tank lids:banghead:
and yes, the black is what's giving me fits with this thing...it shows EVERYTHING


That looks fantastic! Back in the '80s, the best polishing wax to go on urethane clear was "Liquid Glass". Wonder if that's still true today...?

Thanks, I saw it at Autozone when I picked up the Meguiar's but I'm a urethane rookie and haven't a clue:laugh:

Looks good. Meguire's #7 is my favorite thing to finish off a buff job with. But that looks kick ass in the photos... Beats the hell out of waiting for weeks for nitro to gas out huh?

Thanks, it looks nearly perfect in photos:wink2:, but up close and personal it's not quite there. I would question ever using nitro on a guitar again...Although it is the "traditional" finish for sure and most guys wouldn't be caught dead putting anything else on one, but for getting a dead flat finish and not have to wait around for a month or more it's just not practical...not to mention durability.
 
I'M FINALLY DONE WITH THE TINS!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

It's not like they're showroom quality, but they're as good as I care to get them. I could probably continue to polish the black and get them a little better, but within the first couple of washes and waxes it will look like it does now anyway.

The pics don't pick up any of the swirls in the black but there are some still there when viewed in the sun just right otherwise it looks pretty darn good for who it's for.:wink2:

The Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 9 Swirl remover 2.0 seemed to act just like the scratch X 2.0 but it didn't smell the same so maybe it isn't the same stuff. It did just fine with a microfiber bonnet as my foam pad started to disintegrate, although the foam does a better job I think. I suppose I could pick up another foam pad and hit the black again even once on the bike, well everything but the oil tank which I don't care much about anyway. I spent the least amount of time on that one anyway.







I added ATF fluid to my fork tubes today and got the triples assembled before I finished polishing. Now I need to get the wheels on and get busy!!
 
within a few hours after of finishing the tins Here it sits... The pile of parts is getting smaller and electrical is right around the corner. My main concern with the electrical is that I hope I can make sense of my notes as to what I unhooked from where, but also I didn't run any ground wires for my signals or brake/tail lights since they were all just grounded through the bare metal frame. I'm wondering what some of you have done in that regard...star washers to bite through the paint? or suck it up and run a crap load of black wire for it all?
 
I like grounding to the frame. But, that means:

Grinding the grounding surfaces to bright metal, no paint.
Using star washers 'tween the ground lugs and frame.
Using electrical contact grease in those connections.
Avoid grounding thru the steering bearings. Run separate ground tying steering stem to frame.
 
I like grounding to the frame. But, that means:

Grinding the grounding surfaces to bright metal, no paint.
Using star washers 'tween the ground lugs and frame.
Using electrical contact grease in those connections.
Avoid grounding thru the steering bearings. Run separate ground tying steering stem to frame.

Thanks for the advice, I'm going to hook it all up like I had it and then go from there and see what I need to do as for scraping off paint or using star washers where needed.

Man I think that looks awesome. Excellent job on the paint.

Thanks, I can't wait to see the tins on the bike
 
I didn't get a ton done today, I only had a little over an hour to work on it.

I got an issue worked out with my foot pegs, but can't install them yet because the blocks under the frame are in the way. I did get the spring tensioner mounted and the carbs assembled and mounted.



Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up a few things and get the electrical started. Our first teacher work day is wednesday...so fingers crossed that I'll be done before then...if I'm not done before then I'll be extremely disappointed.
 
uh oh...this is what the barn looked like this afternoon and that can only mean one thing


IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!!!!

well almost...I still have to finish the exhaust with paint and wrap. I was holding off on it because I thought maybe I'd want to put baffles in and have to cut the turn out off do it.







The left side cover of the electronics tank wasn't on yet because I wanted to at least get a short shake down run before I locked it all in and that side fits awfully tight so I didn't want to have to take if off anytime soon.

I had 2 small issues...that didn't seem too small at the time :banghead:
1. I didn't hook up the fuel line before I put gas in the tank even though the valve was in the "off" position and gas came gushing out like a garden hose anyway.
I finally got it to stop and got the line hooked up. Only a minor paint issue from the gasoline fountain on one of the intake manifold covers that I used engine paint on. Not too bad though

2. When I disassembled the pamco I just took the circuit board off the timing disk so I didn't have to take the whole thing apart. When I put it back on I forgot if the plastic washers were behind or on top of it. I put them on top...I had no spark...I switched them...I had spark...:thumbsup: I was afraid I may have fried it at the time...not funny

It runs well and pretty much like it did when I put it up last fall. I think the exhaust could use a baffle, but it actually sounds pretty good as is. I'll ride it like this for a few days before I decide.
Overall, I'm pretty stoked to finally have it done. The only thing other than the exhaust that I need to do is get some of the wires at the neck tucked into some of the split tube stuff I used on the rest of it...I'm not sure how but I've got to hide those wires somehow. I ran that 1/2" split tube from the neck down to the electronics tank and that cleaned it up pretty well. I also ran a foot or so from behind under the tank back behind to the left rear signal for the signal/tail/brake lights and that worked fairly well.

I'll see if I can get a video up tomorrow so you can hear it. This bike is awesome...makes the electra glide feel like a dog...a very comfortable easy going dog lol
 
Well, I didn't get more than a few miles in last night so I had to get on it today a little bit. I put about 20 or so miles mostly in town just to make sure nothing was going to come loose. After the first run into town I saw my spring tensioner was leaning a bit so I checked it and it wasn't tight enough. I used one slice of old inner tube between the bracket and the frame and that just wasn't going to work no matter how tight I cranked those screws. I took it out the rubber and cranked it down...perfect now.

I went back out then and within a short while I noticed the rear tank mount bolts were making contact with the tank and vibrating the crap out of it. I had a similar problem when it was on the road last summer/fall so I made a couple more washers with old inner tube and a punch, put them on, and I haven't been back on it as I had to put a bit more blue loctite on those bolts.

Hopefully tomorrow after school I can snap a few more pics and maybe a video. I think the motor might like a baffle, but the sound is pretty good like it is. It isn't a whole lot louder than it was with baffles in the old cut off headers. The 180degree bend must help a bit with that. I'm gonna need some header wrap soon.
 
Sweet man sounds like the shakedown is showing success!

yeah, a few tweaks and I think it's ok

Good for you dilbone! Bike looks kickass man!
I can't wait for the video.
How was school today?

Thanks John...it was sureal to have it done...I've been in a moto coma the past couple of weeks lol

Work...I am actually in the brand new Jr. High wing addition while they renno the top floor of the high school where I am so I had to pack up my entire existence(37boxes in addition to things that couldn't be boxed) last may/june to make the move. I spent most of the day unpacking the boxes that I'll need this fall. We're supposed to move back to our newly renno'd old space in january(but I'm not holding my breath) when I get to re-pack and then unpack all of it

I can't get over how much I like that color combo and stripes.
She's a real head turner!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks Carbon, My first ride into town involved an old red wool sports jacket and my one of my grandfather's old pipes we cleaned out of my grandmother's house recently. I'm not sure if the bike was turning heads or my attire lol
 
So I rode the bike to work wednesday about 31miles each way. Perfect weather for it and it felt pretty good except for my paranoid listening to every little ping and clang and hoping nothing was working its way loose.

By the time I got home and rode a bit more I noticed a buzzing sound from tank area but I thought I took care of the tank with the additional washers I had made. I figured I'd just replace all of the rubber bushings I used to mount the tank as they were kind of chewed up a bit from all of the on and off during the build, but I still couldn't quite figure out what was actually buzzing mostly at 4-5,000rpm while shifting.

I took the tank off tonight after a short ride through town and found this


and in the tunnel


I'm not sure how in the heck this happened as I never had any contact of the tank in the tunnel before and I was using the same mounting hardware now as I had been before. It makes no sense. I suppose when I put it up this fall I'll take the tank off and see if I can spray something on it to cover the bare metal on both frame and tank. I'm glad I didn't wait any longer than I did and end up with a crack in the tank.

Here's my fix, some inner tube strips tie wrapped to the backbone.


Between that and the new rubber bushings I have no more buzz or rattle, but I'm wondering if having the tunnel in contact with the backbone even through a couple layers of rubber will eventually cause damage from the vibes...I hope not, I'm just happy that the buzz is gone. Now I can ride with my backside a little less puckered...:yikes:

Here are some more pics along with a guitar I built that was supposed to be the color of the bike, but I'm kinda glad I went with what I did...but I was hoping they were going to match...I know, ridiculous haha...
The guitar body is a former douglas fir 4x4 post from home depot and the neck is a nice piece of flamed maple from Keim lumber here in good ol' amish country Holmes County Ohio.






 
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