Lowe's Saves the day!

Well, I had no idea the thread pattern or how hard it would be to determine which petcocks I needed for this old Brit bike. So today with part in hand my son and I ventured to Lowe's. We spent about 30 minutes checking thread patterns in the store and viola! It is a 3/8" pipe-thread. Easy cheesy! Time to order.

Petcock Trouble!@

Tonight I put the old (but cleaned out) petcocks back on the bike, installed the tank and put about a gallon of fuel in her. It looked like a sprinkler under there! The right petcock was leaking from all over the place, but where the petcock attached to the tank itself was completely dry but I definitely have a bad petcock. The ones on it now are some aftermarket that are all pitted and in terrible shape.

Paint!

Well I have been reading on the internet and I found a site where they were talking about how "they used to do it". Some old timer was saying that all his great paint jobs came from the Cosco. (That was a drug store popular in the 60's and 70's). Anyway, he was going on and on about how we spend too much money on paint when we can put some work in it and do a damn fine job ourselves. So I read his article, clicked print, closed the page then went to the work printer to realize it was out of order.... So I lost the article and the print... just damn lovely... So I started writing all of it down that I could remember. He said there were a few basic steps and I am going to write them out here.
1) Use fine grit sand paper to prepare the already painted tank/fender/etc
2) Prime with a decently thin primer (*no house thick crap he said to be exact*)
3) Now paint! Make nice even strokes with your aerosol can (using your choice color).
4) Dry with a hair dryer from about 10 inches till you get the top of the paint almost baked *Being careful to not blow directly onto wet paint and make it run*
5) Just as the top of the paint is almost dry from #4 then you sprinkle the glitter of your choice on the paint.
6) Continue to dry paint with hair dryer.
7) Spray generously with clear coat aerosol till she looks wet and shiny.
8) Dry with hair dryer using same technique as # 4

9) Now paint that sucker again with the exact same color and refer to #5, then 6, then 7, then 8, then done!
9) Optional # 9 .. use a different color to do the edges of the parts and leave the center the original color now refer to #5, then 6, then 7, then 8, then done!

RAWR!! It has fire!!

Today the carbs are moving freely and feel like they are ready for fuel. So like every internally combusted engine it needs 3 things....

1) Fuel
2) Spark
3) Air

So I hooked up the battery charger to the leads on the bike (note: tank is still off and no fuel going to the carbs yet). I kinda cringed due to it just makes me nervous on the first hookup... I took the sparkplug out of the left cylinder and also the right one. I left the left wire connected to the plug and laid it on top of the head so I could rotate the engine with my right hand (via the kick starter) and watch for spark... nothing... over and over... nothing

Next I thought I should just keep it simple before I panic. I checked the clips holding the 2 battery wires. Woohoo. I hadn't made sure they connected well. Tried the kick over trick with my hands and POOF! I have fire... hellz to the yeah!

The 2 hard parts of the equation are done. Now providing the timing is correct I should be busting bugs within a week or so.

Left to do before firing:
1) finish cleaning rust from the tank
2) install newly working petcocks
3) put on tank
4) buy fuel lines and filter
5) install fuel lines and filter
6) buy a battery
7) install battery


This should put her running. Then I just have to put the rear fender back on and bolt down the seat. Closer and closer every day!

Took the tops off the Amal Carbs

Well, my wife was taking my son to put him in the bathtub so I figured it was time for a mad dash to the garage to see if I could get those carbs working better.

I started by taking the 2 screws off the top of them Amal 930 on the driver side. The spring and cable assembly came out like it should and I gave the inner part a push down and away it went.. Lots of carb cleaner later it is moving like it should@!

So I repeat on the passenger side carb and viola! Both are sliding and closing properly. Not sure if the fuel will be metered properly but that is definitely a start!

I did notice a funny shaped U clip that holds the metering needle and it appeared to have a crack in it. I didnt mess with it but left it where it was and figured to make a mental note (and internet note) so if the drivers carb stops working I might have a reason why.

20 minute bath time is over for my 2 year old so time to jet!

Throttle will twist today!

NICE! OK, lots of carb cleaner late and now the cables will open the carbs up. However, the spring isnt strong enough to close them yet. I figure a few more days worth of cleaning will help my situation. Still not to the point I am ready to pull the carbs off and start taking them apart yet for a rebuild. I truly believe I can clean them out and get them working without that.

I started looking over the electrical today... noticed a hanging wire near the headlight that is just 2 bare wires... guessing thats a bad sign... figuring on an entire rewire and with the hopes of JockeyJournal would assume that shouldn't be too bad.

Progress on Carbs today!

Well, both carbs appear to be seized up. I unhooked the twist throttle from the cables to see if one of them was the culprit of why the throttle would not turn and no dice. So I filled each cable with carb cleaner and then moved toward the engine!

I took off both breathers and sprayed a huge amount of carb cleaner over the air inlet and the bleeder valve*(yay stinky finger club time!). Both bleeder valves were even seized up so I started with a rubber handled rachet and a dead blow hammer to nudge them downward. Both popped right down but only one popped up... ugg

I kept spraying and pulling, pulling and spraying. Felt like I was making progress but nothing changed. I pulled both plugs and put about 1/5 of a quart of motor oil in the cylinders so I could roll it over and check for compression... RAWR... thats what the meat and potatoes of the 60's felt like when it blew that huge gust of air out!! Compression is very very strong. Will look thru the toolboxes this weekend to get an actual reading.

Ok, back to the carbs. More spray... more pulling of the cables. Neither cable ever moved however the other bleeder valve did pop back up!!! WOOHOO! That is progress for the day. Time to play with Blaine and then get some rest for tomorrows 30min to 1 hour of work on the bike.

Carb cleanings

Began on first day by filling fuel lines with Carb Cleaner (Gumout). Gonna let it sit overnight, but work on the BSA project is definitely on hold until the Harley is up and running. Finished hoses on the Harley tonight, so just a tad bit of wiring tomorrow and it should be up and running.

Brought bike home today!!

Drove 3.5 hours to Barbourville, Ky to buy a 1969 BSA Lightning.

Ride to the Gym.... another part comes loose...

Well, today Monica and I rode our bikes to the Gym. The chopper fired right up for the trip (she was excited). Idle was a bit high on the trip but I was hoping it would clear itself out. Nope... she just kept idling higher and higher...

Leaving the gym: She wasnt as excited to leave the gym. I had to kick her several times but never the less she got up and running and off to Wal-Mart we went. Went in Wal-Mart and got the stuff then back to the bikes. Kick after kick... and a few more kicks.... finally she gave up and started... Jeez! I rode her to the gas station and put gas in her. Then I notice the fuel coming out of the bottom of the carb... Ok... now the fuel thing is starting to become a problem. I fired her up (3 or so kicks) and brought her towards the house... keyword towards*

On the trip home I noticed the front brake was feeling spongy... Odd... then I noticed the brake lever was loose from the handlebars!!! JEEZ!! shit needs to stop falling off or being loose. I only lost one of the screws that held it on and got home safe and sound...

Just sent an email about a new carb... F' this carb.

Headlight working

Rawr... first problem down...

Now, I have to figure out why I am idling so fast.... The guy I got it from said the carburetor needed a rebuild... hrm... thats next :)

Title and License

Went to the clerks office today. It appears even when a bike does not have an odometer you cannot write "NA" in the spot for miles. Ooops... so after some smiling and some joking around she said "well, just this once I will fix it for you"... heh... she didnt know that I had skillz...


Now $129.00 later I should have a title coming in the mail and I have my registration... Rawr...

Time to burn some gas now...

Insurance!

Woohoo! Go Geiko! Much much cheaper for Motorcycle insurance. 3900 replacement $124.00 a year... Hellz to the yeah!

Headlight?

Well, today its time to start tracing wires and find out why the headlight isn't working. I started at the bucket (before checking the bulb) and traced the wires back to the wiring loom. I just had a hunch I didn't think the problem was the bulb. After some more tracing I found both ends of the 2 wires going to the headlight bucket... Yup... not attached... Right next to them were 2 connectors that matched the wires :) Woohoo... No time to do testing Blaine wants some food, so I put something there where I wouldn't forget and its for a later day!

First day of riding and first wrench turned

Well today I rode the bike to work... and let me tell you what... its awesome!! now lets tell about the trip and the journey of the day.

First I was on the way to work on the interstate when I started to smell something... I was like... hrm... that smell is odd... I was looking over the bike (*while riding of course) and couldnt see any problems... till I noticed my leather shoe was on fire!! yup... on fire...

Well as I paniced and was trying to get the flames put out I guess I pulled on the throttle... and the freaking grip came off... !!! holy crap.... now I have a flaming foot and the thing came off in my hand...

i got it put back on with no wrecks and got the foot out!

On the way home I had one more thing of interest... I was getting on the Natcher Parkway and I was situating myself on the seat... as the handlebars pivoted down towards me... almost flat...!!! what a day... I kept my cool, pushed em up and rode home...


First wrench turned!!!!

Later after getting home I went to the garage and tightened the piss out of that twist throttle bracket... hopefully that crap aint happening again!

I also took of some lame looking spark plug holder that was mounted to the frame... of course it rubbed the paint while it was on... imagine that.. time to find some touch up paint!

all in all... rubber stayed to the pavement and no crashes... a good day!

Pickup and bring back

Me and my dad went to Elizabethtown, Kentucky today to pick up the bike. The guy who sold it to me was an old military guy and was just a bit bossy. He said "gimme those straps, I been doing this a long time". So I let him strap her on... Luckily my dad recommended to stop and buy 5.00 worth of nylon rope and tie it down with the straps.

When we got back to Bowling Green, Ky. low and behold... a strap was broken... Yup, we woulda lost the bike... holy crap... that woulda sucked!

Today I went and actually got to touch the Chopper and made a decision that I was going to organize the funds for the purchase.

Today I got the first glimpse of the 70 Triumph Chopper (email picture) that is the topic of this blog

Big accomplishments

Well, today was big stuff. I got emulators running... Lets just say they are a major Pain the the ass!

For firmware 3.40OE-A

With NES Emulator:
It would run from the 3.40 Kernel but the NesterJ that I downloaded was corrupted.... Lovely.. when I got one that wasn't corrupt then I just made a folder named "roms" in the NesterJ folder and put my roms in there. Poof... old games on it..

With the Sega Emulator:
This was a bit more of a task. First it wouldnt run with my 3.40 OE-A. I had to reboot it in recovery mode, and change the Kernel to 1.50. Then I realized that I had all these files that were titled .gen. Well, for the DGen to read them they had to be .bin files. So after I renamed the most current file with the .bin. I was set and ready to play some Shinobi! Raar... oldies more and more.

So effectively now with my 2 gig mem stick. I have 3 videos (*that I edited down with PSP Video 9), 2 ISO's, 2 Emulators with about 20 games each on them all running wonderfully on my PSP. If I cant find something to play, then I have some issues.

Battery and Memory Stick came in!

Well, today I took the plunge. I got my Pandoras Battery in today as well as my memory stick that was loaded with the 1.50 Firmware. That process to "downgrade" my psp was super easy.

Next to upgrade it wasn't quite as one step to follow, but thanks to some online boards, trial and error and youtube.com I got through it. Well, on the second try at least. The readme file that came with the 3.40 OE was kinda a piece o crap but it had enough information for you to muddle through it.

So as of now my PSP is running 3.40 OE. This firmware was developed by a "hacker" and will run homebrew as well as surf the net etc. Quite a big day!

I got one ISO loaded on the memory stick and tried to run it after my firmware update was done... nope... didnt work... so I took a 5 minute crap break and came back to a clear lower intestine as well as a clear head. Then I remembered reading something about you have to put a UMD (tiny little obnoxious disk for psp) in the drive or disable the "UMD Required" in the firmware. So I popped in the "demo disk" and poof my game was working.

Not a bad day!

Starting buy getting my Pandora's Battery

Well, I have a "friend" who is sending me a Pandora's battery as well as a memorystick that is loaded with 1.50 Firmware today.

I am putting this site up to show progress and get input from my friends... so if you are here. then you got the email about this blog and feel free to jump in and put info, trash talk or whatever...

Brian