back from powdercoat

Laced and going out for truing. Pretty soon I'll have a rolling frame again.

 Also expecting a box of goodies from MotoMacchi, mainly decals for the gas tank and new bearings

Coming up short...

In the last post I mentioned that I'd ordered some new bearings for the steering head. Well, I decided instead of waiting to replace everything I'd just do it when the parts arrived - this bike is ultimately going to be for my daughter after all and I'm not going to compromise on anything when it comes to her riding it (even if that is 14 years down the road). The bearings arrived today and I'm a little miffed.

Note that the calipers aren't even fully closed in the above pic. Next is compared to an actual 4mm bearing it's supposed to replace

I guess that's what I get for buying a $7 bag of chrome steel bearings, but I figured a site just for bearings wouldn't let me down. Emailed the guy and we'll see if he's willing to fix this issue. Just pisses me off because it's now holding things up a little. Especially since I just got the last batch back from powdercoating

The hubs and brake assemblies are painted with satin black caliper paint, the stuff in the plastic is the stuff I just got back. Gotta unwrap the rim so I can lace it up just like the front (if the wife and baby could ever give me enough time), but I think I'll leave the rest wrapped for protection as it looks like it might be awhile before those get mounted. They really do look fantastic under the plastic though, really impressed with GSD coatings so far.

Also started stripping the Benelli tank this week to prep it for epoxy sealing and paint (think Max Biaggi's winning Aprilia from last season for a taste of the paint scheme). Wouldn't it be cool if that were alloy? I can pretend at least...

New sneakers arrived today as well. Haven't bought pumas in awhile, but I have no sneakers and am tired of wearing industrial boots all the time. Now all I need is an M3 to go along with these and I'll be golden.

This Sunday is the crawfish boil at Classic Cycles.

 First time I'll be off for one of their events and am looking forward to it. Buddy Chris @Rustisgold is going to have some GoPro action on the ride up, weather is looking perfect, Beemer is looking and riding great, and he has a couple new drive shafts for his magneto on his '77 Triumph. Don't want this to happen again (return trip from mods vs rockers Philly)

and look how cool we were just before leaving, such a shame

 

That's about it for now. Hopefully next update will have more progress, or at least some nice pics from the meet.

Deutsche Post came through, new tail light

Love it.

Steering stem bearings

Since I'm waiting for powder coating to come back + put the wheels on + paint and seal the tank, I figured I'd take advantage of a fairly bare frame and check out the steering head bearings.

Now this bike really wasn't in too bad of shape, but it is 46 years old, so I wasn't sure what to expect

After freeing the top triple clamp and dropping the forks, and dropping the lower bearings all over the garage floor, things were looking pretty bleak, but not damaged... Confirmed by the state of the upper bearings

 

Dried grease, or a lack thereof, and alot of bare metal, but after a good cleaning both the ball bearings and races looked to be in fine shape. Cleaned, repacked them and reassembled, but ordered a box of new 4mm bearings for the next regrease. The manual says these need a repack every 10K miles and come that time I'll re-inspect and probably just replace them all. Really makes you appreciate the fact that BMW used timken roller bearings.

Speaking of which, I planned on repacking those next winter, this PM got me wondering what state I'll find those in

Product Review: Dr. Marten's Wonder Balsam

I don't usually write stuff like this, but I've been using this for about 4 years now and I don't think a lot of people have even heard of it or would even think to use it on motorcycle jackets.

Back when I worked in the field, the companies I worked for all provided a stipend for new boots each year, and every year for the past 7 years (well except for half of one), I'd buy a pair of industrial grade Docs. When you buy online, and I've only seen this stuff online, they suggest you also try the Wonder Balsam for cleaning and treatment of leather and I figured what the hell. It's supposed to clean, condition, and provide some mild water proofing for leather and it never let me down as far as boots are concerned.

About 4 years ago I figured I'd try it on my leather jacket (which is only 5 years younger than I am), and now I buy this stuff yearly just to use on my jackets. It cleans and conditions but it also has a restoring effect. Places on the jacket where the color was fading or turning whitish were returned to the original color and places where the leather was cracked or hardened were softened up and returned to the nice worn in condition of the rest of the jacket. As far as waterproofing, it seems to repel the water for only one or two flash rainstorms and then the water proofing effect is mostly gone, but that's my only complaint.

The only place I've ever seen this has been on the Docs online store (www.dmusastore.com) in the accessories section. If you like vintage jackets like I do, you owe it to yourself to try the stuff out.

This is my current riding jacket (from around 1989... I was 5 at the time!) after a treatment tonight.

 

That's it for the product endorsing. Back to the regularly scheduled program

Powder coating on the fenders and rear rim should be done tomorrow, on the fence about cleaning up the frame or stripping that down for powdercoating too. We'll see how motivated I get. Still waiting on the new tail light for the BMW. I fucking hate Deutsche Post, it completely ruins all German stereotypes about efficiency

frog hookers

made this homemade frog hook for my brother-in-law... wasn't till I was just about finished that he mentioned he needs two of them

ducatisti eat your heart out

Two steps forward, three steps back

It drives me nuts that the Aermacchi pretty much requires every size wrench in my tool box, whereas I only need about 4 sizes to do everything on the BMW. When I win the lottery I'm going to have to get one of those tool carts with wheels to push around a garage bigger than my current 1.5 car size one...

I got the front wheel back from truing this week and when I took it to get the tire mounted I realized there was a tear on the inner sidewall. No bueno. Unfortunately I've been sitting on this tire for months now and the time to return it has expired, a brand new tire right into the trash. Despite that setback, I removed the rear wheel and de-laced it so I could take the rim for powdercoating and lace with stainless like I did the front. Also, took the fenders in for powdercoating and maybe even the tank at a later date.

Once that was out of the way I started disassembling the handlebar controls so I could start prepping the Tommaselli Condor bars I have, along with the Tommaselli/Domino race throttle, and Ducati (I think) levers.

It's looking pretty bare right now...

I used VHT Satin Black Engine Enamel on the front brake hub as it matched the semi-gloss powdercoat pretty well. I chose paint instead of powder because the hub bearings looked good and the only way to remove them would be to destroy them (there's nothing wrong with them now) and they couldn't be in the oven during the powder curing process. It looks good though and should hold up well. The reason I bring this up again is because now it was time to paint up the brake side of the hubs, along with the rear hub (not pictured).

I really like the finish. Unfortunately, the arms had peeling chrome and I couldn't clean them up as much as I would have liked. Maybe I'll strip them and polish them at a later date, but for now they get the same treatment as the rest of the brake assembly.

While everything is off the bike I think I might start work on the exhaust. I have a nice dunstall reverse cone replica ready to mount, along with enough black exhaust wrap for the header pipe that was left over from when I used it on the BMW (we all remember how that went).

Problem is I'm not sure if I want to sweep the exhaust up or not, and if so where to place it to avoid rear set placement. I don't have rear sets ordered yet or have quite figured out where I'm going to mount them, so I' may just go for aesthetics now and functionality later on.

The turnaround for the powdercoat is going to be 2 weeks or so and that'll really slow progress down as I felt like I was just getting on a roll... I'm still waiting for the new tail light from Germany for the BMW and with spring weather rapidly approaching I'm worried I'm going to be bikeless once the nice weather hits. Good thing I don't stop riding in the winter or I'd really be upset.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just stare at a model with her tits out modelling my Swiss goggles I used to use when driving my VW Typ 181 with the windshield down, but more currently for grinding

 

BMW Tail light woes

I'm getting sick of this shit...

The one on the right is the original, cracked and scrapped. The one on the left is the replacement, which I reinforced with metal strips on the inside of the housing and where it attached to the fender... No avail.

Now I'm just going to lose the cheap, stock, plastic crap and go with an old Hella aftermarket piece and fabricate my own mount out of 18 gauge. Also losing the rear fender, but I think I'm going to pick up some stainless sheets to protect the seat and battery along the subframe

Italian Motor Magazine

I finally got around to subscribing to this and it's by far the best moto mag I've read regardless of brand or country. I'll have to look into obtaining issues 1-4. You owe it to yourself to subscribe

Italian Motor Magazine

shedding weight / ignition relocation

Besides having an issue with the steel panels on the frame and mounting the gas tank (slight interference in the rear), I had enough of the battery box and tool box. I'm getting quite a collection of Aermacchi/H-D Sprint parts that I no longer have any use for. I'd say I shed about 5 lbs from the  bike just in the parts below.

The tally of non-used stock parts now equates to something like, panels, bars, boxes, tank, intake assembly, and skid plate, I'm going to have to get these on eBay or to a swap meet sometime soon.

Because I deleted the side panels, I had to move the ignition onto the frame. Not a big deal really, just had to get a 19mm hole saw and cut into the frame a little. It looks like I belongs there.

Clean up of all the wiring at a later date

Next on the list is a battery tray, since the battery box is now gone. Dunno if I'll weld a tray to mount on the engine case somewhere, or switch to an AGM battery like I did on the Beemer and hide the battery under the seat or something.

The look of the bike is a lot cleaner now, I'm into it.

                                Before                                                                      After


My brother in law mentioned that he wanted me to weld up some kind of platform/anchor for a boat pretty soon and my father in law wants me to weld a spindle or something next week. I think I've welded more this month than the past 2 years

the hard(ish) work is done

Finally got around to welding the last mounting ear on the gas tank, nice fit and looking good. Obviously it'll need a final dressing up before paint...

Due to the length of the Benelli tank, I had to move the seat back an inch or so, because it mounts to the fender this raised the seat a hair. In order to mount the seat back I needed an angled extension for the seat brackets which was accomplished pretty easily by welding a piece of 1/8" steel bar. Again, still needs a bit of dressing up.

Had my wife sit on the bike to get a better idea of the fitment/modifications. Also tried to visualize the posture of the rider once the Tommaselli condor bars (clubmans) go on. Looking good again, much better than the bike looked stock in my opinion.

Loving the shapes from the rear view

Now it's time for some cleaning up of the welds and mods, then off for paint and a tank relining. I hear the kids are going to radiator shops nowadays and getting RedKote applied to the tank innards. Depending on the price I may go this route, but wonder how that'd hold up with E10 fuel... If anyone has any better options let me know

I'm psyched I found that Benelli tank. It's really got the exact look I'm going for with really a minimal amount of modification

I took off the stock seat to get an idea of the fitting since the benelli is a good 2"+ longer in length. No big deal, will need to move the seat back, drill a new 13mm hole in the fender to accept a mounting bolt, and weld in extensions to the seat pan brackets for the front mounts. I'll be tackling that sometime later. I wanted to see something more immediate with the tank

I jumped into making all the adjustments to get the tank to mount to the frame.

First had to cut off the Benelli's mounting ears, too narrow and no way to bolt onto front of the frame. Only cut about half off because I figured I'd weld in a section of Aermacchi ears from an old tank I have laying around. Great success, only got one welded in though because the baby woke up and I had to go back to being a daddy. Still need to clean up the weld, but you get the idea

Stock rubber bumpers for the original tank extend off the frame like a T, that will have to be eliminated for clearance. In their place I welded in a piece of straight tube steel a couple inches back. This extends up and rests of the foam bumper already on the Benelli tank. I'm going to put a real rubber bumper on the tube, but for now a discarded plug will work. Old is what's left of the stock bracket for the tank bumpers, new is my modification

The new tank sits just about 1/8" in front of the T for the front seat mount. More than enough clearance, but I'm going to have to move the eyelet to attach the spring clip for the tank, that's going to have to wait until I get the seat refitted though

this is how it stands after today's work. I still have to weld in the hook for the left side tank ear, but I'm pleased with the fit.

Asked my wife what she thought and she's not into it. This means I'm doing it right. I can't wait to see it with the reworked Radaellis and Tommaselli Condor Bars/ Levers. Also digging the stock seat, think I might leave it on the bike instead of making my own

Benelli/Motobi/Wards tank, no more leggero

Picked up this Benelli Cobra 125 tank for pretty cheap, has exactly the look I wanted for the macchi project and will spare me all the additional work I needed to do on the Leggero tank

I widened the Leggero, but still needed to clean up a few pinholes, then I needed to lengthen it, but you can kinda see a side by side that the Benelli took care of all of that.

I love the knee pockets and shape of this tank

The width of the tunnel is perfect for the Macchi, and will only need a very minor tweak at the front mounting ears to get it to mount right up. This is a longer and racier tank than the stock Sprint one, so I'll be losing the Bates seat and fabbing up on of my own - not sure if I want to go with a bench look or cowl it up yet... Still going to go with black and white paint, also want to see if I'll be able to save that faded "Made in Italy" decal

need to take care of the rust in this, but it's nothing too serious, that was the one benefit of the two macchi tanks I have, still had original tank lining

Chicks dig Benellis

but then again I'm building this for a girl... may have to reconsider the style so she doesn't pose with it in her underwear

Radaelli re-work part II

Finally got the time to paint my front hub and then the motivation to actually start lacing the front wheel. Pretty impressed with the results and glad I didn't waste money by sending them out for lacing. Also happy that the paint matches the powder coating so well, VHT engine enamel saves the day again

Went from this:

To this:

To this (you can see I messed up the lacing a little, had to go back and re-do that):

And then ended with this:

I really love the contrast of the stainless spokes/nipples and the semi-gloss black powder and paint. Glad I refinished the Radaellis like this instead of springing for Borranis. Despite the bling factor of the Borranis and the weight savings, I think what I ended up with is fitting the character of the Macchi and the direction of the build much better

NJ happy place

This week my world was rocked, quite unexpectedly. My bearings are off and I'm wounded. To compound things I'm on night shift, which means I'm left to my own devices, replaying scenarios over and over in my head and getting agitated. Talking to friends helps, talking to Shane last night really helped, but I don't talk nearly enough about important events, in fact by all outward appearances things are normal.

My usual response, in lieu of socializing, is to retreat to Sewaren and meditate along the Arthur Kill. I grew up in Sewaren, and even among the tank farms, refineries, power plants, and blight of what was once a resort town, I find solace sitting on a bench and watching tanker barges go by. Directly across the Arthur Kill is Staten Island, if you wore a full body nitrile suit, you could swim the 100 meters to NY and not get cancer. To the immediate south is the Outerbridge Crossing, and immediately beyond Staten Island on the horizon you can view the lower Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn. When I was a kid everybody would go down to the waterfront on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks from the East River.

When things were bad as a kid, I'd hop on my bike, sometimes with some Salems I "borrowed" from my mom, park myself by the water and just clear my head. I still do the same, except my mountain bike is replaced by a motorcycle, and the salems, well, now it's natural tobacco in one form or another... It's amazing, at home, at work, even on my bike lately, I find it hard to relax and just think about nothing. The second my ass hits that bench on Boynton Beach (nerd out on some history), instant nirvana. I looked up nirvana to make sure that's the word I meant, as it turns out it's perfect, even in literal Sanskrit form.

I don't know what I'd do if I moved out of state and lost that place. I went there after the shit hit the fan this week, I might stop by on my way home from shift and watch the sunrise... That should be just enough time to recharge and return to the madness