the new - what have you done to your ped today thread.

The apprentice has got himself an aprilia sr125; at the rate of knots he's spending my money, he won't have any wages for a month.

 

Tyre valves have arrived, I didn't realise that I ordered 10 for £5!! . I've ordered the proper tool for pulling the valves into the rims, to avoid damaging them and it's an investment for the future. It comes with the valve core removal tool as well.

 

I bought the really stubby valves, as the spokes of my wheels are quite thick and access to the valve can be an issue with some garage air pumps. I can always add an angled adapter if needs be later.

 

Think i found the problem with the katana dying on me, was likely an engine earthing fault, spark was a bit intermittent until I shorted it on the actual engine earth point itself, then was nice and strong. Got a problem with the electric start now though, seems the starter ring is causing it to semi lock-up, half a rotation then pause, another half a rotation, pause. It's got a new battery, starter motor and bendix, and they all spin great until you introduce the starter ring into the equation, then you get the problem.
Never mind, found another that looks decent on fleabay so bought that, just have to see what happens when it arrives.
This will probably be the last Katana I'll do, project wise, simply because parts are getting stupid to find now, so I'll probably stick with Piaggio and Gilera scooters from now on if I do another project bike.
Unless of course something interesting comes along...................
Someone did plant an idea in my head this week..............a three wheeled scooter engined go-cart

 

The handlebar fairing has arrived. It's in black, so I've got some sanding and prep work to do before it gets primed in white otherwise the paint won't look right. It's in great condition though.

Once thing I've just realised - none of the handlebar fairings or the clocks have any screws with them, to fasten them together - does anyone know whet thread size they are and where I can get some from?

 

Put a rule across the hole Merlin, I think they may be M5 x 0.7.
Down here I use Nutters Fasteners for all my nuts, bolts, spire clips and self tappers. They have a web page but nothing more useful than looking at unfortunately, so it would have to be a phone call.

 

Didn't think the Neos was running that well, so decided to change the clutch springs, to absolutely no effect whatsoever, then went for a re-jet. Took the bowl off and bloody hell, it had a 112 main jet in it. On a 50cc. Dropped it to an 88 and its better, but still seems a bit...............whats the word..............not right, not boggy, but it can be better still i think.
And the bloody speedo has packed up!

 

The screws to locate the lower plastic fairing is secured with 4 x M6 bolts, Steve. The screws I'm on about are the self-tapper screws that hold the upper to the lower fairing and secure the clocks in place. They are a lot smaller than M5, possibly No. 2 self-tapping pan head screws.

Edit: balls to it, I've ordered 100 x No.2 Pozi Pan Head, Stainless Steel screws - they should be the right ones (to fit about 2mm diameter holes). I'll have shedloads of spares, if anyone needs any, they were a bargain for £5.

 

Could be a run to B&Q then i think to get a selection, the ones you dont use now will always come in useful elsewhere

 

Bwahahahahahaha @ B&Q - they never seem to have the screws I want. Slotted, Cheese Head, Countersunk, Pozidriv Machine Screws, yes siree Bob, but Pan Head Pozi No. 2 Self Tapping? Nope.

Ebay has come to my rescue again.

 

I stripped the new clocks today, ready for when the new rev counter arrives. I've corrected the mileage on the odometer of the new clocks - it took about ten minutes, five of which was making sure that the bloody numbers lined up properly in the same place and looked right when viewer through the window of the clocks bezel. No Dremel or drill required - nice!

Removing the needles from the clocks was a tense moment, in case they broke and the needle stops are fiddly little sods. Luckily nothing broke and I might be able to use the old temperature gauge needle in the new rev counter. I'm going to need to scan the thin plastic clock fascia and the new rev counter fascia into Photoshop, then create a new one that I can print, laminate (matt finish laminating pouches, obviously) and cut it out, ready to go back in the clocks. Everything should totally match and look spiffing when the job is finished.

I've also discovered that the Speedfight handlebar fairing was originally metallic blue and had been re-sprayed black - that's given me some more sanding to do than I thought I had. The wet and dry sandpaper I've got at the moment is old and is falling to bits when I sand, using water and a touch of washing up liquid. I need to get some better Production-grade wet and dry.

No sign of the bodywork kit today though. Still waiting... No news on the new number plate either

 

went and got myself a new project. not a ped but a bigger bike. im posting on a different forum with that one. it really is special. to me anyway. only paid £190 for it

currently bidding on a scooter on ebay. not saying what that one is just incase one of you buggers bid on it.

got myself a full airbrushing kit with all the paints etc, been wanting to learn how to do it for quite some time but never really bothered, £90 got me the full kit with loads of paint. been messing with it since 6pm, gf even came up to the shed to see why I have been so quite and to drag me back into the house. really liking it. might do a airbrush job on the scooter if I get it.

 

I've spent about three hours today on wet sanding the handlebar fairing. I don't know what type of paint it was resprayed with, but it's as hard as bloody nails! I'm about halfway through sanding it back to bare white plastic (at least on the visible parts, anyway). My hands are sore now from all of the sanding, so I'll leave it for now and have another crack at it tomorrow evening.

I also requested tracking information about my new body kit from the German supplier and the goods are at Gatwick Airport, waiting to be shipped on to Manchester. It's looking as though I may get the new body kit by Tuesday - the suspense is killing me!

Next jobs are to finish wet sanding the handlebar fairing and start prepping the replacement Speedfight bars for new black paint, while I wait for the rev counter to arrive.

 

YEEEEEHHAAAAAHHHHH!!! The new bodywork has arrived!!!

I've also received the tool for inserting the tyre valves, so that was done this evening - really easy with the right tool for the job. The new seat that I ordered arrived too, complete with the under-seat bucket and it looks great after a quick clean-up. I also scored some brand new, still packaged Naraku contra springs (1000 and 1500 RPM) for a very silly price on eBay.

Today was a good day.

 

The self-tapping screws I ordered arrived today - they are effing tiny ! Somebody ordered the wrong size screws.. Well, something had to go wrong eventually.

I have come up with a cunning master plan as to how to integrate the new rev counter with the existing clocks.

The plan is to take a high-resolution scan of the existing clock fascia and the new rev counter fascia. I'll load them into Photoshop and overlay the rev counter dial onto the old fascia, match the colours and fonts to make it seamless with the rest of the fascia, then I'll print the final result on a high-resolution laser printer we have at work.

Finally, I'll laminate the print-out with a matt-finish laminator pouch, to make it stiff, non-reflective and damp-proof, just like the original. If I can use the old fuel gauge needle with the new rev counter clock, then it's win all round and everything matches up.

Once it's cut out, the required holes are made for screws and needles and it's fitted to the binnacle, it will all look factory fitted.

I've ordered some decent tyre levers and rim protectors too, so that I don't damage the rims when I fit the new tyres.