Propane Burner

One of my long term projects is a foundry to cast aluminium, I intend to use propane as a heat source so I've been building a propane burner.

Still needs fine tuning, the picture above shows it performing at it's best. Unfortunately it would appear that this performance was at least partially due to a tiny piece of swarf in the burner jet. When I changed jets as an experiment I noticed the swarf and removed it. It hasn't worked as well since.

Its still NOT a project....OK?

The Sportster was bought with the intention of being used as a daily rider (if I rode daily that is but you get the idea). I was adamant from the start that it wasn't a project and wouldn't be until the TriBSA was finished and de-bugged.

So far I've sort of managed to keep to that, its got a new seat, lost some chrome bling tat, got new bars, been returned to standard suspension, had the fork sliders powder-coated, had the forwards replaced with mids and an S&S air filter fitted.  I plan to convert to a 19" rear wheel at some point and have started to collect the relevant parts. But I would like to stress that it is NOT a project.

So the Saturday before last I was on my way to visit Stuart in Mid Wales when I noticed what I thought was a blowing exhaust. I stopped and nipped up the exhaust bolt but as the miles went on I realised that things were getting worse and so exactly half way between Stuart's house and mine I admitted defeat and called the breakdown people.

I spent most of my spare time last week stripping the bike down. This is where I got to on Sunday but I had to stop because of a lack of 12pt (bi-hex) sockets for the cylinder head.

On Tuesday a trip to Halfords got me a set of bi-hex sockets and by the end of the evening I'd got to here.

Now I'm not 100% certain but I think that this is the cause of what I thought was a blowing exhaust, a blown head gasket.

Thursday saw me remove the barrels. At this point I decided that the components I had taken of the bike looked a bit cosmetically challenged, which is why, on Friday, I took a detour on the way home to drop the barrels, head and rocker boxes off at Griffs in Bristol for powder coating. Oh and the head nuts were dropped off for zinc plating despite the fact that they are either hidden from view or under covers.

Saturday arrived and I got a load of stainless nuts and bolts from Steve's Stainless at the Cheltenham Autojumble.

So I now have a bike in bits, waiting for cosmetic work and replacement of rusty fasteners but..... its STILL NOT A PROJECT....

Sportster evolution.

The Not a Project Sportster moves on. I managed to damage the air-cleaner backing plate. Getting a replacement would take a couple of weeks. I ordered an S&S air filter kit on Monday from Cheltenham HD. It arrived the next day.

Sportster Unslammed.

One of the guys on Dirty Bobbers mentioned that he wanted to lower the suspension on his Sportster, as I've never really liked the 'slammed' suspension on mine I got in touch with him and a swap was arranged.

The picture above shows the difference between the length of the shocks and the picture below whows the difference between the fork springs...

Sportster done.

Bled the brakes on monday left them with the lever strapped up for a couple of days and everything is working as it should. Rode over to Hay on Wye. Like the new bars but thinking of going for rear sets....

Also been thinking of getting some stock length shocks.

Chocolate Zombie Jesus Day

I've never been that keen on the 'cruiser' stance of my sportster and have been gathering parts to modify it to my taste. Yesterday I spent a few hours in the workshop installing a set of Biltwell tracker bars and attempting to fit a set of mid controls.

 The fitting of the mids caused a few problems, first of all the mount for the RHS pedal (and brake lever) was missing. Secondly the holes for the LHS footpeg mount were undersize. The parts were advertised on ebay as off a '96 bike. I had assumed there was no change between '94 and '96 but obviously there was. The centres of the holes are the same as the holes in the primary so I just drilled them out. However the holes are recessed for cap head bolts and the larger bolts would need a larger recess. I decided to get around this by machining up a couple of top-hat spacers that will give the bolt heads a flat surface to grip down on.

I've ordered a few fasteners from www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk and a 'clevis footrest mount' from http://www.jerseyh-d.com. I need to order a shorter front brake cable but that will have to wait until tomorrow when the shops are open and I can speak to a human being rather than rely on websites.

Motorcycle graveyard.

As part of my clear up I've put all my non functioning bikes in a corner.

There's three motorbikes (three and a half if you count the BSA hardtail frame) and a mountain bike in this picture.

I put some shelves up yesterday, I now have a shelf just for helmets and another just for bike tanks.

I quite like having a place for everything and everything in its place. I bet it will be a tip again within a month though....