Slow Monster rebuild

[350TSS]

Also made the common earth / horn mount bolt in brass, will have to shorten it when I know the exact length required , it will accommodate battery earth, rectifier earth, MUV2 unit earth and a common earth lug for lights and indicators.

[350TSS]

After a lot of pondering I also worked out a mounting arrangement for the MUV2 unit, involving longer set screws to hold the ignition switch, two spacers 18mm dia x c 15mm long and some 10mm aluminium plate sitting parallel with the face plate of the switch, drilled and tapped to take a 6mm plate mounted parallel to the head stock that will be the mounting plate for the MUV2. It was quite tricky to work out as there is nothing to measure from and access in that area is very constrained. Pictures to follow when I have polished/cleaned the brackets

[350TSS]

The steps backward were 1. turning the steering I noticed slight notchiness in the head races, probably best to fit new bearings whilst I am in the vicinity and after I have painted the frame 2. I realised that the mould for the head light holding plates would not accommodate clip ons - Doh!!!! After a bit of thought I think I can modify both moulds to allow fitment and access to the clamp screws without too much effort.

Next week I shall be making a mould for the fly screen - which will be tricky to make look just right - I want something which looks similar to a Guzzi Le Mans Mk1 and bit like the ones fitted to Classic racing Manx Nortons - no perspex

[350TSS]

More pics of making the head light mold.

[Jez900ie]

Still plugging away. The winter being closer will possibly give you more time to work on your bike since most everything else isn't doable due to the weather? I ope you have soime heating in the garage!

Who is the driver of the F1 car in the pic? Black Jack Brabham?

[350TSS]

You are right Jez with the worsening weather the job list (mostly compiled (and enforced) by SWMBO) diminishes. Also, between November to March, I cannot “waste” precious bike completion time watching MotoGP, WSB or BSB.
The work plan is to get all molds into a state where I can apply primer resin by mid - October. There are two molds I have not yet started, the fly screen and the front mudguard.
The fly screen will have to be totally bespoke – a real challenge, aesthetically and spatially (curvature, width, fitting of indicators, interface with instruments/ nacelle, clip-ons, hydraulic cable routes, wiring to headlamp molding, mounting arrangements and accessibility for maintenance, etc., etc. none of the above have yet been either made or first fitted).
The front mudguard is also problematic, I want an SS style front mudguard because a) it provides some protection to the exposed chromed steel stanchions from road grit blasting and, b) the “enclosed cowl” look I think will be better for my bike than the original Monster offering. Fitting S4 forks (necessary because I want carbon fibre wheels and the larger spindle size because that is what both manufacturers Dymag and BST offer as standard) will make this difficult. The mud guard fitting arrangement is different, calipers are different, I could take a mold off my 750SS but am reluctant to do so as my project after next is to restore that bike and there is a possibility that taking the mold will render the perfect mud guard U/S.
I have to build a new wiring loom (probably late November)– a) as everything has been moved, b) because I reckon I can save 50% of the weight of the old one, and build a more reliable water-proof design and finally, c) because I want to do away with the exposed/rubber cable clips all over the frame.
I will need to make some lugs to weld to the frame to achieve this, these will be combined with means of attachment of the CF panels.
December to February will be preparing and painting the frame, stripping the engine and painting it.
March should see it being re-assembled - simples

[350TSS]

As promised pictures of mounting arrangement for the electronic control unit hanging off ignition switch set screws.

[350TSS]

Still needs to be buffed up and the file marks and vice marks to be rubbed out but on the whole I am quite pleased with this, Note to self - either make or buy some soft jaws and then remember to use them

[350TSS]

Jez - heating in the garage is a 2kW fan heater - it would be probably cheaper and more effective to start a bonfire of a pile of £5 notes.
The picture is of the late great Jim Clark in a Lotus 49 at Zandvoort - my hero as an adolescent who avidly watched and went to FI between 1961 and the day he got killed. A stupid crash in a poxy F2 race at Hockenheim, probably as a result of Colin Chapman's pursuit of lightness at the expense of durability, I think a steering component broke when flat out.
I suppose if you can't take a joke you shouldn't do these things

[Jez900ie]

Originally Posted by 350TSS

Jez - heating in the garage is a 2kW fan heater - it would be probably cheaper and more effective to start a bonfire of a pile of £5 notes.
The picture is of the late great Jim Clark in a Lotus 49 at Zandvoort - my hero as an adolescent who avidly watched and went to FI between 1961 and the day he got killed. A stupid crash in a poxy F2 race at Hockenheim, probably as a result of Colin Chapman's pursuit of lightness at the expense of durability, I think a steering component broke when flat out.
I suppose if you can't take a joke you shouldn't do these things

I looked into the heating problem for my shed. Electric options seemed very expensive to run. I found good price propane heaters but they promote damp...

Jim Clarke - there is a true legend. Have you hear about the new museum being built to house some of his ex cars and memorabilia? http://www.berwickshirenews.co.uk/ne...seum-1-4566579

[Mr Gazza]

I use an electric oil filled rad very similar to this http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/catal...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I have one in each of my workshops and they work really well. I leave them going all the time in the Winter at a tickover, which keeps everything inside at a nice even temp, well above freezing. They soon get the whole place nice and warm when I go in and crank them up.
I would state however, that I've gone to a lot of trouble to insulate and draught proof both sheds, and they both have suspended chipboard floors too. (Only one is insulated beneath). If you have a bare concrete floor and no insulation it's a different matter and would be just pissing money away to have them running all the time. I barely notice any difference on my electric bill.

[350TSS]

Spent a whole day in the garage today, wife is away at a conference so no angst about other jobs not getting done.
Had a good ponder on how to make the buck for the fly screen and in my head I now know how to do it. I have a number of known dimensions between certain points (e.g. distance between the top of the top yoke and the bottom of the bottom yoke, distance between the front face of the headlamp glass and the front of the fork leg. Also, I know the depth of the instrument nacelle and the curvature of the leading edge. Tomorrow I shall re-create these points in 9mm plywood and then infill with the trusty foam to get the basic shape, I can then worry about clip on interface and indicator location etc., etc.

[350TSS]

My Mosfet regulator has still not yet arrived but I thought I would replace the steel 8mm shaft that supports it from the top yoke central nut with a titanium version. One end is threaded 8mm for about 25mm and the other for about 30mm. I bought a good quality HSS split die for this job. I tried Utopia’s trick of putting the bar in the lathe and centre-ing the die with a chuck, but I could not get the die to start cutting, I ground a lead in (lots of dazzling white sparks) and tried again, still no joy. Finally using the old-fashioned way with the 8mm titanium bar in a vice I could exert enough downward pressure for the first thread to cut. I read somewhere that titanium work hardens and when cutting threads it is best not to use the method for other materials i.e. advance half a turn then reverse a quarter turn. It was very hard work and before I had cut 20 mm of thread I had to stop because the die holder was too hot to hold. After about an hour I had both ends threaded.
Without the new regulator it is difficult to make progress however I have a nagging concern that there could be a clash between the top of the mudguard and the underside of the regulator on full suspension compression. With this in mind I knocked the bush out I had put into the bottom of the steering stem and machined the face and gained about 1 mm. At this point I realized that the threaded aluminium component at the bottom of the titanium rod was Ok for the Mk 1 bronze bushed version but was too short for the Mk 2 version with the thrust bearings so I machined up another longer one and in the process gained another >3mm by recessing the lock nut at the bottom and thinning the lock nut by 2mm.
The new aluminium part with a longer internal thread created a new problem. I realized that I had used so much force threading the titanium bar that I had bent the threaded portion about 0.25mm and the longer internal thread would not negotiate the bend. The titanium bar had cost me £11 and a lot of sweat to thread it so I was not anxious to scrap it. I locked 2 x 8mm nuts either side of the bend and put in the vice to straighten it. I did not quite get the axis of the bend 100% right so I ended up with a titanium bar with a circa 0.1mm slight S bend in it, not enough to prevent the aluminium component travelling the whole length of the thread – result!
I also bought today a 26mm cutter that should enable me to recess the thrust bearings into the 6mm mounting plate for the regulator about 1mm either side gaining another 2mm and allowing at least the uppermost oil seal sit centrally to the thickness of the thrust bearing. I may yet lose a mm if I fabricate a seal retainer for the lower oil seal, but I am thinking of a way around losing that mm too. A lot of effort to save a little bit of weight and obtain about 10mm clearance for my odd ball design. But this is half the fun
Sorry no pictures of all this I only just got it all assembled when it was time to pick the kids up from school

[350TSS]

Gazza - concrete floors, concrete block built, no insulation and a garage door that whistles when the wind blows hard, no hope for me then

[350TSS]

Gazza - concrete floors, concrete block built, no insulation and a garage door that whistles when the wind blows hard, no hope for me then