Sorry for the absence, winter in Chicago does a funny thing to people. Going into winter, you have these grand ideas about all the free time you will have, alone to work on your bike, drink some beers and recharge your batteries before the flurry of spring arrives. The reality is I spend 1/3 of my life on another continent for work and I'm too tired when I get home at night or from a trip to even think about my bike. Weekends are spent running awful errands and free time really does evaporate away, just like the hope of nice weather.
I apologize for the delay between posts, trust me that nobody is more disappointed than I am in my lack of progress. The idea of stripping down a bike seemed easy, but each project has become a daunting task. Every time I set out to relocate an ignition, change the coolant or remove a seat, I'm greeted with stripped screws, rust or some other unforeseen issue. But some progress has been made...
The first project was to remove the handlebars, mirrors, headlight, speedometer and remaining front upper fairing. A couple of the screws were stripped on the handlesbars, but I had some replacements laying around fortunately. I've decided to go with strap-ons handlebars and a 7 1/2" British style headlight. I found both parts at DCC and ordered the 41mm strap-ons. In order for the strap-ons to fit, I ended up using a little brute force and a pair of pliers to widen up the openings. Once the upper fork mount was off, the handlebars were slid on and pounded down with a rubber mallet. The mounting hardware that was included easily secured the handlebars. The controls also needed a little finessing when mounting onto the new strap-ons. It took some playing around with the alignment and height, but eventually I found a comfortable riding position that gave adequate tank clearance.
At that point, I finished off the handlebars with a new pair of grips, also from DCC. Putting grips onto bars is AWFUL. I read somewhere about using hairspray to slide them on. This worked well on the left handlebar, but trying to slide the grip over the throttle control proved to be a huge struggle. Even when I got it on, the throttle would stick when pulling it back. I had to back the grip off slightly to prevent any throttle problems. The same happened with the bar-end mirrors. They attach with a little washer inside the bar and then screw in from the outside. Left handlebar no problem...right handlebar was 2 hours of swearing and fishing parts out of the handlebar with a wire hanger. Wish I could give great advice on how to do it smoothly. I can't. Just keep some beers nearby and have faith it will get done.
I thought the headlight was going to be my biggest challenge. Called up my local shop and they told me it would take a couple hours and probably run $200-$400 to wire headlight and turn signals. I called BS and ordered a $10 mounting bracket off Fleabay. The bracket said it fit forks 38mm-42mm. It did require a little bending, but the bracket mounted on easily and the light fits well inside. I was looking for the correct screws for mounting when it dawned on me that I may be able to incorporate my turn signals into the unit. Sure enough, the screws on the signals are the same diameter as the opening for the brackets and headlight. The indicators are LED, but a couple of snipped wires, wire caps and electrical tape and the LED signals were hooked up to the OEM wiring harness. The headlight also hooked up perfectly to the OEM harness, no surprises. Whole installation took no more than 1 hour. I still think the light is a little high, so next step is to lower the brackets an inch or so. The all black front end ties in nicely to the overall look of the Brick. Since lights are LED, I get hyperblink when I turn on indicators. I know there is a fix for that, but I kinda like it the way it is.
Speedometer is still disconnected as I am selling it. No idea what unit I will replace the OEM with, but I've got the ugly wiring harness hanging out from behind the headlight. That's a worry for another day...
Since the dash pad and all electronics were ripped out during the handlebar project, I decided to relocate the ignition. The wiring is a mile long so I've decided to put it behind the airbox on the right side. No idea yet how to mount it, so it may be zipties for a while.
I figured that I should probably replace those 25 year old brake lines at this time, especially since the old brake line wasn't long enough to run through the upper fork mount after moving it's position on the strap-ons. The new handlebar position moved the lines out about 1" so I called up Spiegler and explained exactly what I needed. They were able to fabricate a new upper brake line for me with a special banjo bolt. After playing with the rotation of the bolt, I was able to install the new upper and easily install the lowers. Great system and I strongly suggest you buy a handvac bleeder if you do this job yourself. I got some brake fluid in the guage (don't ask me how) during my first attempt at bleeding the brakes, but eventually go the job completed and new fluid installed.
I didn't care for the long front fenders, so with the help of a friend with an eye for design we put masking tape on the fenders, sketched out a more refined design and I went to work with a Dremel to cut them down. They look like crap. Not because he sketched them out poorly, but because I botched the job with Mr. Dremel. I cut the front fender back way too far, exposing the black mount underneath. I apparently also never learned to color within the lines either. My cutting was all over the place. It is absolutely more refined, but needs some TLC from somebody with a much sharper saw and steadier hand than my own. For another day...
Battery is out for the winter. Seat and tail section came off and are being sold. Next step is to cut the frame and build a cafe seat, cut the rear fender and find some lighting for the rear. Also want to lower the front end by 2", but one of the bolts on the lower triple clamp is frozen and I'm not sure how I'm going to get it loose.
Progress is slow, but still fun and I am finally able to see my cafe project taking shape. I want to dive in and just keep tackling projects...I'll have plenty of time to circle back and fix my mistakes in the future.