Monday, May 30, 2005
Busy doing nothing
Woke up feeling very anxious today - it was the play off final where my beloved West Ham United were taking on Preston North End for a promotion place to the premiership.
I wasn't able to get a ticket for the game and I was too wound up to go and watch the game at a pub so I ended up in the garage listening to the game on the radio.
We got the result I wanted so when the final whistle went I was running up and down the garden making a lot of noise!
I didn't get a lot done whilst listening to the game - mainly some tidying and sorting but I did manage to make a seat catch post for a Ken Cobbing seat I have got. I got sent some rough drawings for making one by Digger from Goole but I was feeling lazy so I did a bit of bodging! I got a remade seat catch and cut off the upright post as that was in the wrong position. I then got a bit of metal plate and bent it and drilled a hole in it for the seat lock catch. All I need to do is get the two parts welded together and the job will be done!
I wasn't able to get a ticket for the game and I was too wound up to go and watch the game at a pub so I ended up in the garage listening to the game on the radio.
We got the result I wanted so when the final whistle went I was running up and down the garden making a lot of noise!
I didn't get a lot done whilst listening to the game - mainly some tidying and sorting but I did manage to make a seat catch post for a Ken Cobbing seat I have got. I got sent some rough drawings for making one by Digger from Goole but I was feeling lazy so I did a bit of bodging! I got a remade seat catch and cut off the upright post as that was in the wrong position. I then got a bit of metal plate and bent it and drilled a hole in it for the seat lock catch. All I need to do is get the two parts welded together and the job will be done!
Saturday, May 28, 2005
A day of forks!
There was an article in a recent issue of scootering about rebuilding Lambretta forks.
It mentioned a method of measuring inside the forks to make sure that the fork springs are evenly pre-loaded.
I borrowed the special tool used in the article (friend in high places! Not really - the article was written where I work).
I originally intended to do just one set of forks before I built them but I decided to check all the forks I have to hand while I was at it.
The first test was to see if a straight metal bar would fit straight through the holes in the forks for the fork link bolts. Out of the eight sets of forks I have three failed this test - which means they need repairing or replacing.
I spoke to Phil at Grand Prix scooters in Leicester who offer a fork straightening service. He charges between £5-£30 per fork to straighten them, depending of course on how bad they are. I think I may end up giving him all my forks to check!
The second test was to measure how deep inside the forks the internal stops are. The distances have to match as this means an even amount of pre-load is put on each spring. If the distance does not match then the springs are unevenly loaded which can affect handling. It was fairly easy to measure the fork stops using the tool from the article as it provides a fixed point to measure from. Out of the 8 forks only 3 matched which means I have to do some shimming as and when I get round to building each set.
I have kept a note of all the results for future reference.
The other job I did today was to start building the cutdown Lambretta I hope to get on the road for the summer.
I had sprayed everything matt black the other day so it was all ready to build. I fitted the twin tanks which was a bit of a pain. The paint got a bit scratched but of course with matt black you can just spray over it and carry on. I also fitted the rear mudguard. Next step is to fit the bar between the frame tube and the fork stem for the bike tank. I will get that done at work. I also need to fabricate some sort of bracket for the side stand I will fit.
I think with the bike tank and the twin tanks I will have nearly 25 litres capacity for fuel which will be very useful for touring!
It mentioned a method of measuring inside the forks to make sure that the fork springs are evenly pre-loaded.
I borrowed the special tool used in the article (friend in high places! Not really - the article was written where I work).
I originally intended to do just one set of forks before I built them but I decided to check all the forks I have to hand while I was at it.
The first test was to see if a straight metal bar would fit straight through the holes in the forks for the fork link bolts. Out of the eight sets of forks I have three failed this test - which means they need repairing or replacing.
I spoke to Phil at Grand Prix scooters in Leicester who offer a fork straightening service. He charges between £5-£30 per fork to straighten them, depending of course on how bad they are. I think I may end up giving him all my forks to check!
The second test was to measure how deep inside the forks the internal stops are. The distances have to match as this means an even amount of pre-load is put on each spring. If the distance does not match then the springs are unevenly loaded which can affect handling. It was fairly easy to measure the fork stops using the tool from the article as it provides a fixed point to measure from. Out of the 8 forks only 3 matched which means I have to do some shimming as and when I get round to building each set.
I have kept a note of all the results for future reference.
The other job I did today was to start building the cutdown Lambretta I hope to get on the road for the summer.
I had sprayed everything matt black the other day so it was all ready to build. I fitted the twin tanks which was a bit of a pain. The paint got a bit scratched but of course with matt black you can just spray over it and carry on. I also fitted the rear mudguard. Next step is to fit the bar between the frame tube and the fork stem for the bike tank. I will get that done at work. I also need to fabricate some sort of bracket for the side stand I will fit.
I think with the bike tank and the twin tanks I will have nearly 25 litres capacity for fuel which will be very useful for touring!
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Keeping up to date!
I keep forgetting to update this blog. Don't know a way round it really apart from trying harder to remember!
Am in the middle of a weeks holiday in which I am supposed to be having a REALLY good sort out of all my scooter stuff.
Not doing so well so far - Monday I went to the Gym, for a haircut, to give blood and to see the latest star wars film.
Yesterday the weather was rubbish.
Today I started a big sort out of stuff. One of the ideas I have got is to get some big stackable boxes so I can store everything from an engine and all the small parts from each scooter together. I've got a load of old plastic trays but they are ever so slightly too shallow to put an engine case, crankcase side and mag flange in.
So I will have to have another think.
I dug out all the crankcase sides I have and also all the mag flanges I could find.
I stripped all the crankcase sides right down and made a list of what I had.
It sounds very anoraky but I numbered them all so I can link them with a main casing and mag flange.
The shed where I store most of my stuff is quite cramped. There is a big bench in there that has the parts washer on then the rest of it is basically used as a big shelf. I am not sure about getting rid of the bench as I might end up just piling stuff up in there and will end up being unable to get to anything at all.
I got bored of listing and tidying so I dragged out all the parts for my cutdown project and sprayed them matt black. It looks OK but the perfectionist in me was cringing. At the end of the day it is just a quick way to get a Lambretta on the road and I will just have to keep spraying it again and again until I am happy with it. Or cover it with stickers!
Am in the middle of a weeks holiday in which I am supposed to be having a REALLY good sort out of all my scooter stuff.
Not doing so well so far - Monday I went to the Gym, for a haircut, to give blood and to see the latest star wars film.
Yesterday the weather was rubbish.
Today I started a big sort out of stuff. One of the ideas I have got is to get some big stackable boxes so I can store everything from an engine and all the small parts from each scooter together. I've got a load of old plastic trays but they are ever so slightly too shallow to put an engine case, crankcase side and mag flange in.
So I will have to have another think.
I dug out all the crankcase sides I have and also all the mag flanges I could find.
I stripped all the crankcase sides right down and made a list of what I had.
It sounds very anoraky but I numbered them all so I can link them with a main casing and mag flange.
The shed where I store most of my stuff is quite cramped. There is a big bench in there that has the parts washer on then the rest of it is basically used as a big shelf. I am not sure about getting rid of the bench as I might end up just piling stuff up in there and will end up being unable to get to anything at all.
I got bored of listing and tidying so I dragged out all the parts for my cutdown project and sprayed them matt black. It looks OK but the perfectionist in me was cringing. At the end of the day it is just a quick way to get a Lambretta on the road and I will just have to keep spraying it again and again until I am happy with it. Or cover it with stickers!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Re-Tyred
Now that the gilera is gone I thought I'd better concentrate on getting a scooter on the road for the summer.
The one nearest to being on the road is the series 2 so I picked up a few bits and bobs to get it a bit nearer road ready.
I treated it to a new pair of tyres - some continental navigators. Whilst changing the tyres I decided to change the inner tube and fit some tyre sealant to stop problems with punctures.
The tyre sealant was a bit of a struggle to use - you have to squirt it into the inner tube.
I ended up coming up with this method that worked really well on the 2nd wheel I did.
Get the new tube and blow it up a little to get it into a round shape - then let the air out and put the stuff in.
Then fit the tube to the rim and tyre. It seemed much harder doing it when the tube was on the rim but that is the way the manufacturer said to do it!
Other than that I just did a few little jobs like fitting a new pair of speedo drives and that was about it.
I then had good tidy up and called it a day. Am pleased that I can now just walk in and out of the garage without having to move something first!
I am going to use some of the gilera money to buy some tools I need - something to crimp the legshield alloy channels straight after they are bent to fit, a thin 13mm socket that doesn't rub on rims when doing up wheel nuts, some matt black spray, some fluid for the degreaser.
The one nearest to being on the road is the series 2 so I picked up a few bits and bobs to get it a bit nearer road ready.
I treated it to a new pair of tyres - some continental navigators. Whilst changing the tyres I decided to change the inner tube and fit some tyre sealant to stop problems with punctures.
The tyre sealant was a bit of a struggle to use - you have to squirt it into the inner tube.
I ended up coming up with this method that worked really well on the 2nd wheel I did.
Get the new tube and blow it up a little to get it into a round shape - then let the air out and put the stuff in.
Then fit the tube to the rim and tyre. It seemed much harder doing it when the tube was on the rim but that is the way the manufacturer said to do it!
Other than that I just did a few little jobs like fitting a new pair of speedo drives and that was about it.
I then had good tidy up and called it a day. Am pleased that I can now just walk in and out of the garage without having to move something first!
I am going to use some of the gilera money to buy some tools I need - something to crimp the legshield alloy channels straight after they are bent to fit, a thin 13mm socket that doesn't rub on rims when doing up wheel nuts, some matt black spray, some fluid for the degreaser.
