Seat

Yay I finally mounted the seat completely. Three anchor points should be plenty.
Two mount points at the old bracket and then the other is at the back of the seat into the fender.

It seems sturdy enough and comfortable enough for me. I'm not sure about having another person on the rear seat ...the bolt that anchors the seat into the fender will probably dig into their ass.
That's ok, because I'm not going to let anyone ride with me :)
Not that I don't like having people to ride with, I just don't like having the added weight, or responsibility.

More Rear Fender fun

Well I managed to shape the fender a bit more with some creative use of the rubber mallet, some cardboard and the picnic table...really high tech.

I also remembered to get some pictures of the bike in the sunlight so it actually looks nice.

So now I need to cut the fender down to size in the back so that it rounds out and mates to the frame nicely, then it'll be onto the seat.

Once that's done, brake and turn signals will get mounted and then it'll be off to the exhaust shop for some straight short pipes. :)

Quick Rear Fender

Well I've decided that the old chromed out rear fender that weighs a ton is gone.
Therefore, I needed to make up a new fender or at least buy something and then make it fit.

I had an idea for a short fender that just came to the end of the frame and filled in the gap left by the seat..which I have yet to mount.
So a quick trip to lowes for a small piece of 22 guage steel plate 12"x24", a rubber mallet, and a vice to see what I could make.

Ta-Da



Yeah it kinda looks like I took a pizza box and just stuck it in there but I did in fact shape it a little.



Anyway it's just the beginning since I'm going to round/cut the end a bit and then use the bolts to help hold it in place while I shape it a bit more. It is only 22 gauge, and not too hard to bend with my hands or shape with some wood and the mallet.

And here's a pic of the bike with the gauges, headlight, and most of everything put back on.

Timing Belts

Wow...timing belts are hard to get right. 10th time's the charm.
Without the help of my better half, and some coffee to calm my nerves it wouldn't have happened today.

So I get to ride 60K miles before those need to get changed again...I hope.

On top of the timing belts, I finished up the carburetors and got them back on.
Note to self, always check what you ordered to make sure you're actually using those parts and not the old ones.
Needless to say, I managed to get the carbs altogether, with the airbox assembled when I realized that I had ordered re-build kits for the carbs already.
So with that realization, I had to pull them back apart, and put the new gaskets, floats, and o-rings in.

So with the carbs together, they went back on the bike :)
Also, the shiny black intake manifolds on the engine I think look sweet.

Now here's the catch, I'm currently torn between keeping the rear fender or ditching it. I like the look without the rear fender, it makes the bike look shorter and more aggressive, IMO.
Although, without the fender it also means some more work before I get to ride. With the fender it doesn't look too bad either...

Well besides mounting the seat, and getting the exhaust made up there's not too much more.
There are a few things that I'll need to clean up, brake lines mainly because they are old, and the new handle bars made the first run down to the splitter have too much bend for my liking.

Sweet I got the new seat in and managed to have enough sun shine and non crappy weather to work on the bike.

I like the way the seat flows with the bike lines...although I'll probably get the seat recovered to make it more retro I think it's good for now.

I'm now in the process of finding or building a rear taillight/blinker and license plate holder. I want to do something like a 6" x 2" led brake light along with blinkers coming out of the old seat bolt mount points.

The rear fender will be just big enough to clear the seat in the back and flow with the frame line...how I'm going to do that I have yet to figure out.

Anyway, once it gets a little nicer I'll be putting the carbs and radiator system back on and then taking if for a spin around the block to make sure everything is working at least enough to get it to a shop for some custom exhaust pipes :)

Getting closer

Handle bars are on now with the grips and control levers and such. Still need to get some new brake lines front/rear since the older ones are showing some age.
Finished the paint up, although this picture isn't showing it.

Also, got all the engine covers all shiny which makes it look at lot better.
I should be getting the seat in soon, and once I have something that I can sit on it'll be off to united muffler for some exhaust work...which I still have to figure out how I want to set it up.

Getting there...

Well the paint is getting there, I've removed the front fender, and I finished the striping on the tank cover and side covers.
Gotta touch up a few places and then wet sand with a super fine grit and put some clear coat on everything.

I put the handle bars on and I've run the controls, and lines with the new handlebars realizing I need shorter brake lines.

I've started ebaying some of the items I'm pulling off so I can raise some money for these alterations...mainly the new exhaust.