Battery box

So I am starting to look at mocking up my battery box. I am using a Canadian military ammunition box. I will be painting it up with the bike colors of orange and white. There appears to be enough room inside to put a few of the electronic components. And I just had an idea -- cut a hole and put the ignition key out the end or side or something. Hmmm.....

Cheers,

JW

Carbs

I got adventurous on the weekend and disassemble my carburetors. They are now soaking in pine sol. Yes I know, 'Pine Sol'!!!! I found this method of degreasing and cleaning carbs on one of the Nighthawk forums. When they are done soaking in a day or two I will blow them off and rinse thoroughly with water. Then it is time to prep them for painting.

I was in Hamilton yesterday and was close enough to Ottawa street to go and check out the foam store in the textile district. To make a long story short I now have the majority of the foam necessary to make the seat. And I also have a line on a local vendor of hides so that I can get the necessary leather. So hopefully today I will get at making the pan. My youngest daughter is pumped, she wants to help me design and build the seat. It should be an interesting project with the help of a 9 year old. :)

Well I have started to piece things together. I have not really gotten all that far but considering I have months to do the bit that I want to do I think I should be fine. I have sorted out a mount for the speedometer, although I am thinking it is a bit high. I have also fabricated brackets for mounting the headlight. Unfortunately I need to re-fabricate the headlight brackets a bit longer. I didn't get it quite right the first time. I have also secured a piece of material for fabricate the seat pan out of. On top of all that I went have sorted out a few things for disassembling the carbs and engine for cleaning and painting. I have been quite busy, although it does not show with the bike. Unfortunately the basement is low, crowded and dark. It's very hard to get a decent picture down there. But I am putting some up here of the speedo / headlight mockup. And I almost forgot, you will notice in the one picture I have an old ammunition box for the battery box!

More progress

Okay, so today my wonderful finace and I finished tearing down the bike. We basically got it torn down to a roller with the engine still in. It didn't take too long and was quite and enjoyable experience. I thought that removing the exhaust header would have been a nightmare. I was imagining broken studs, ton's of wd-40 and lots of swearing. It came off like a dream. I spent no more than 5 minutes on it. I don't know how I got so lucky. Either way, part way through I thought I should set the camera up on a tripod and take pictures as each piece came off. I put it together in a short video clip. I wish I had thought of it earlier. Oh well, such is life.

I was smart enough to make tags for marking all of the electrical connections. So I now have a wiring harness with tags everywhere describing what parts the connections go to.

Now is the fun part. We managed to get the beast into the basement. So we get to start the mockup. I will keep posting as we progress.

Cheers,

JW

Another step down

Well, I finally brought her inside. Christie and I tried the other night to bring the bike in the side door to the basement with no luck. So I went with plan 'B'... straight in the front door to the dining room. So there she sits. Proud as can be. Now over the course of this weekend she will be dismantled piece by piece. When i have her apart she will be heading for the basement. Then the fun will begin :)

Paint

Alright, here's the deal, I've decided on the paint for the project. I am going with orange and white. Yeah, I know you think I'm nuts! But I can see the bike in my minds eye with those colors and it looks great. Anyway, believe it or not I found the paint I want to use at Canadian Tire. Of all place, who would have thought? Anyway they sell Dupli-Color Paintshop Finish System. This sure saves me alot of research and running around. Luckily my father has a couple of spray guns, and I have a compressor. So I am one step further to painting. Now I just need to make some space in the basement to bring the bike in and tear it down. I suppose I need to find a way to make a makeshift paint booth as well.

I'm quite happy with how quickly this project is coming along. Now that I have a functioning bike, it should be a breeze. At least compared to starting with just a roller.

Either way I'm posting a few more pics.

Cheers,

Meatface