Project V50ii

[MartinW]

  Looks like someone stuffed an Easter Egg in your tank.

[TLPower]

I thought it was 1978 Lancia Beta.

[mr_diver]

Coupe?

[Andy M]

I thought it was 1978 Lancia Beta.

What was a 1978 Lancia better than though? A 1979 one maybe?

Andy

[tallpaul]

Alfasud...

[Mr Nick]

Had an Alfasud: it was fully race prepped & never stayed outside though so bit less rust...

Hijacking the thread back: my helicoil kit appeared today so that was set about when I got home. Pretty straightforward job to do - drill the hole out & tap it with the tools in the kit, then set the insertion tool collar so the tang sits about halfway down the slot, then just screw it reasonably gently into the hole until the insert sits about a coil & a half into the hole. Take the break off tool, stick it into the insert and give it a tap to break off the insertion tang. Job done.

Now I need to figure out what style of mirror I want to buy: something not too modern, but not old style round either. I had a wander around Kirkcaldy Kawasaki on Saturday and the style of mirrors fitted to the 2016 Vulcan S could be an idea: tapered oblong like this:


I'll pop up to Cupar and maybe Duffus' to have a root around the bikes for ideas.

I had a possible idea for the top of the gearbox vent: I have the old banjo bolts from the bike and I've drilled the central and feed holes out to 4.5mm like this:


I'll stick it in place and see if that's going to do the job or not. If it looks OK then I'll take the hex head off to tidy it up a bit.

I also redid the front axle spacing and the speedo cable no longer fouls the disc. Haven't found anything to account for the clonk noise yet though.

[Mr Nick]

I've re-considered my mirror choice after fitting one from the TS tonight:


It looks better than I'd thought so I've ordered a pair.

I've also managed to get the steering lock out as the keys for it were never found. It required the application of a 3mm drill as instructed by the locksmith I visited last weekend. The replacement is ordered.

[Mr Nick]

Not much been happening: but there's not much needing to happen, which is a good thing.

However, there have been a couple of little touches.
Like the new brake lines appeared and were fitted last weekend, so that's them all changed now. Front right is much neater with 3" taken out:


Both mirrors are now fitted after helicoiling the left side:


The steering lock has been replaced and I tracked down the swivel cover for it so that's a touch neater:


I made a decision tonight to remove the engine bars. They weren't the tidiest with missing and dull chrome and a couple of holes so I didn't feel they were as good as the rest of the bike. I can get a new set for £70ish, but I'm going to run it without for a while. The bike does look cleaner without them:


I am aware that it makes the heads more vulnerable, but the low mileage I'm likely to do mitigates that to a degree. To cover the falling off the side stand due to the lumpy tickover scenario, I'm considering the head guards that bolt onto the rocker cover, but I'd need the right look. Most come with either round or triangular holes, but I'm more inclined towards milled slots that mirror the rocker cover style.
This the look that I'm wanting:


But those sit well above the head with long bolts that I'm not happy about as it adds leverage to the bolts in the event of a drop and is more likey to break the guard off I think. I'd like that decoration on this style:


That sits on the cover itself without standoffs: added bonus is it looks less obtrusive. Just have to keep looking....

[MartinW]

Another stunning rebuild there Mr Nick.

Going for the Hat-Trick at all ?

[Mr Nick]

Thanks Martin

I think I'm going to offload the Bandit and we'll see what comes up....

[Andy M]

I dropped the V7 twice. Never off the stand, both at low speed and farming byproduct related. The heads were like new, the handlebars and silencers/pegs take the impact just like on a parallel twin. I never liked the idea of having something designed to take impact bolted to major components. Better to scuff a head than rip threads out of the cylinder or bend the frame IMHO.

On a similar line I saw a BMW do 200 yards on its side. The scuffed head was cosmetic. The engine bar ripping its bolt out of the crank case and folding back onto oil lines was why he wasn't going to ride it home.

Andy

[Mr Nick]

Cheers for the input Andy. I'm spending too long looking at them, but not buying, which tells me I'm not convinced I want to.