My first ever bike build!!

Airwolfie

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My first ever bike build!! WITH VIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Right, so after a few hiccups and setbacks, I have managed to start something on my bike!
I'm not trying to restore the bike, nor am I doing a proper build. At this moment in time I just want to get it going so I can sort out all the troubles and niggles before I go ahead and do a proper build! So I will be using whatever I can get cheaply! There are quite a few bits missing and rusted up, so I will be sourcing and replacing bits as I go along, as my budget is very tight!



I started off with the carbs, as I thought it would be the easiest and simple to take apart and reassemble. I took lots of pictures before I started the clean up and tear down! To be honest, they are not super clean on the outside, but they are a lot cleaner than they were!
I also cleaned up the tops,and painted the brackets.

Took the insides out, and cleared all the holes and had to replace the diapragms on the one side so I decided to to do both. Got one of those without the slider on it as they are a lot cheaper. They are good quality and very robust, and they are so easy to install! Needles and floats all seem ok so I left them as is, until I get the motor put together and running.

This week I took the fro!nt forks apart and stripped and cleaned them. I was going to lower the forks,but I will do that at a later stage. No serious mods so I can see what she's like "factory fresh":D The seals were so bad I had to scrape them off their perch! The rubber was very brittle and was sticking to the ally! I cleaned the oil out, gave them a good clean and smoothed them down a bit , and shot some etch primer on them as I want to paint them -yes I know!!- black. I recently discovered I have a subconscious obsession over black rattle cans, so I will use some of them, if not all of them on this build! Well maybe not the tins, we'll see!

On to some pics!!

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The PO did this to the tank, the missus said she has to go!!:D

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Couple of boxes!!

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The carbs before...........

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Carbs after, much better!!! No more black fingers when I pick them up!:D

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As you can see in the earlier pics the PO blasted the frame. It also seems like they started to clean up the welds. I am a little concerned however with the way they hacked at the frame. Should I be worried?? Or will this be ok??

Here are some pics....

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Thanks for looking!

Oh I forgot. I don't have pics of the forks yet as they are in bits!!!

More to come soon!!:bike:
 
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Hey airwolf!
Righton got a good start brother.
I think on that grind mark on the right side by the shock mount.
I would fill that weld back in.
I think the rest of the grind is okay.
To bad about the pinup girl.
I have all ways liked pinups
Good luck on your build:thumbsup:
 
Howdy, airwolf,
Ground-down welds are a touchy item. 1 man welds it, years later another grinds it, now you've got it.
If the penetration isn't good, it's the weld bead that holds things together.
You could take a pointed hammer, like a slag hammer, and lightly tap down a weld line, listening for weak spots, like:
Ping, ping, ping, thud, ping ping...
This really takes a practiced ear, and if you want to be really sure, take it to a good frame welder.

I've never seen a WW2 style pinup on a bike. Kinda different, probably pretty cool for the younger set.
I like them on airplanes, though.

Unfortunately, at my age, it creeps me out, looks like my mother...
 
Thanks TwoManyXS1Bs! I'lll have a tinker and see if I can "feel" any difference in wall thickness.

I agree on the pinup, deffo belong on planes! Look way better on them! Also the fact that it's a sticker and in black n white(red??!) not quite my cuppa really. I have plans for the tins anyway!!!:D

Anyway, I did a bit more rattlecanning today, and here's the result.........

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Turns out almost all the cans I have are flat black! So flat black it is hehe!! Done three coats on these, should I do more?? I feel like I should.
Also, should I get some matt clear to go over them??

Thanks for watching!
 
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Some people should really step away from the grinder.....

I agree that there were a couple spots I'd weld back up, but overall it looks like you've got a good base to start with. Nice progress so far!
 
Your forks look pretty good but I would take all those rusty bolts and nuts off and run them under a wire wheel and clean them up.
 
Airwolfie , I think your a only couplve miles down the road from me at Tring arent you? if you need a hand or a part let me know mate ..:wink2:
 
:thumbsup:Im down the road at Wingrave, mate ..Owned about 50 or so over the last 35 years & a shedload of parts :wink2:
 
Good job so far bro! I need to say, if it was my frame, i'll chop it and put a brat kit from Monstercraftman or Visual Impact, probably just for safety purpose!! i'll be definitly concern about spot #1 (on the pic and on the others you put here), you might check it closely! Donno what's the wall tickness on this tube, but you can see a good chunk of it was grinded at this particular spot... I'll probaly weld a plate all the way across the 2 frame rails and to this brace tub, just to be safe that this spot will not crack at 60mph! To clean welds you first need to build over, not to grind them down!

On the #2 spot, did I really have to say something... there is a thread on weldingweb.com about welding fails, I think this bead might have a place there!!

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=139711

 
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