Transform a Rainbow into a Drag Bike

 

Transform a Rainbow into a Drag Bike

or Bipin’s new Bike

 

At three years old it may seem extreme promoting the two wheeled experience but you have to start somewhere. I inherited a Rainbow bike from granddaughter hat needed some TLC but essential still in very good condition. Too good to need a paint job. The challenge was to remove all the rainbow stickers and add some yellow. Finding a suitable yellow was not as easy as you might think even finding one in a car accessory shop is difficult. There are not that many yellow cars. I did find one but it was not a robust paint and did not cover well it left an edge when masking was removed and lifted the paint requiring some delicate touching up.

Removing the old transfers did not take long after researching on the internet heat combined with a soft scraper should work. I tried this with a hair on maximum heat and used my thumb nail as the scraper. Other than my fingers getting a bit hot I managed to peel off the old transfers. The rainbow bike had no more rainbows.

Cleaning up the chrome was more difficult. The weather had attacked it and in only a few months there rust spots visible but my friend Solvo Autosol did a good job rescuing parts from being discarded. My thoughts of what to do with the pink wheels and saddle. Could I leave them as they are? They were still clean and tidy but did not fit the emerging look of the bike. At Gita’s suggestion could you not paint the wheels? Yellow was out of the question but matt black might work if it was hard enough. I guess the original pink was a powder coat because there was no wear on the braking surface or the brake blocks. I don’t think the brakes were ever used. I gave the pink a light rub down with1200 wet and dry,  masked the spokes and some of the rim and gave Matt Black a go. The masking of the rim was not successful and left allot of overspray on the side of the rim. I tried wet and dry to rub it off and it would not go. The Matt Black was more than tough enough to resist the pressure from the brake blocks. I could paint the whole rim. Which I did after masking the spokes on a different way and the tyres.

The seat was the next problem was what to do with the seat? Pink is not a good colour, but what to use to change it? I was limited with choices as few paints really stick to vinyl eventually they flake off with wear. Matt Black again to hide the pink and it seems to have worked. It stayed on this flexible medium for how long I don’t know.

It is looking more of a mean machine with black seat and wheels but it looks like there needs something more and the horn requires fitting. The horn had a broken bracket from being knocked when facing forward so I refitted it across the handlebar out of harms’ way with a combination of glass fibre and aluminium to get the position right.

I wanted to fit a number plate with a racing number on it but I was warned off aluminium for the risk of a sharp edge and rigidity. Where could I find a suitable size piece plastic? How about a chocolate tub. About the right size, no sharp edges, rigid enough to have a shape but will give when needed. This time it was a Celebrations lid cut to shape with holes drilled to take bag ties for fitting and painted in lurid yellow adorned with the racing number of 48. Black with embellishments of gold and white. Not quite finished yet adding yellow valve caps and go faster flame transfers as the finishing touches we are ready to race.

The Rotary Club of Chipping Sodbury Classic Run 2024

 

The Rotary Club of Chipping Sodbury

Classic Run 2024

The Election has just passed and I am pleased to be catching up with MotoGP from last weekend. I was in Chipping Sodbury for the Rotary Club annual charity car run around Gloucestershire. I had changed the clutch on the Burton and did a test run only a few days before everything seemed OK other than the new clutch needed adjusting. All set for the weekend in good weather.  Arriving on Friday afternoon at Adrian’s home it was a pleasant walk to the pub and a few beers before fish and chips and an early night. Saturday was fit the run number, fill up with fuel, lunch out and another early night.

Sunday was an early start having to be in the High Street before 09:00am to line up for the start. Obligatory bacon roll and tea before the start. While waiting there was much discussion about cars. We were among the last to depart. 

Spot the mistake?

I was driving and Gita was navigating and her first time using the trip metre. I had spent much of Saturday evening converting miles to kilometres and the distance between each checkpoint. Necessary when you don’t have  a trip mileometer. All was going well until the half way stop for a tea and cake. We were about to leave when trying to start the Burton there was this ominous clunk instead of a starter motor spinning the engine into life. Adrian and my other brother, Barry were on hand to give assistance along with the couple who had followed us around all morning. A little push start got us going again. The battery had failed. We continued taking the quickest route back to Chipping Sodbury Rugby Club and a waiting ploughman’s. Another push start on grass got back to Adrian’s home. An eventful run with Gita doing an excellent job at navigating displaying well hidden talents.

 In the late afternoon it was a trip to the pub again to try to catch the performance of the “Wurzels”. Standing room only so we retreated to the lounge, next to the tele. We did not see much of  the band but we were treated to an agonising display of football by England being so poor that we left before the match ended in search of  something  to eat. We all ended up at Nandos in Yate. We were quite early. By the time we were leaving the football match had ended. England had won 2-1. This re-affirmed my view that when I watch England play they lose. To remove that jinx I do not watch them. Saving the disappointment and despair.

Monday was a busy start trying to find a local supplier for a battery that would fit the Burton. It turns out that it is a popular battery on modern cars. By 09:00am I was fitting a new battery while Gita  and Adrian were off at Farm Shop getting our supply of eggs. When they returned it was time to load the Burton for our journey home. A detour into Morrison’s in Yate to collect fresh fish and meat before heading home along the M4 and miles of roadwork’s.

June 2024

 

June 24

 

The beginning of this month has been quite busy with trips to work with Coops, hospital appointments, a clutch change on the Burton and one of the Wey Valley Bike birthday celebrations and the usual first of the month Observed Sunday.  First of all was Motor Bike day at Cobham on the Saturday with ride outs from Yamaha and BMW plus other electric models.

I was inside on the club shop to support the day. There was a bonus to the day in that other suppliers were present and I bought a Chainmate to assist lubricating the Kawasaki chain. It greatly helps in getting the grease into the chain and not everywhere else. 

On the Sunday I used the Buell to see if my home made silencer strap held together. It did but there was no high speed riding to really test it. This was a biking weekend and feeling fit enough I launched in to the Burton the following week and it took me that long.

 Like a 2CV you need to take the bonnet and wings off then take the engine out to separate the gearbox and gain access to the clutch. There is a lot of work to do that job. With new thrust race and diaphragm clutch reassembly took just as long. I am not as agile or as fast so the job absorbed six very long days. I could not entertain paying someone to do that job especially when some of the trim needed to be removed from the foot well to gain access to a captive nut that was no longer captive half way down the wing and a broken throttle cable. I put the captive nuts in place specifically to aid removal of the wings for work on the engine. Not necessary for a service A as the plugs can be accessed through ports in the inner wing and oil filter buy removing the sump plate. Doing all the is not a one man job and I have to mention my able assistant Ashish who helped me with the muscle power to make the job possible.

After many aches and pains from crawling or more like diving head first into the foot well I had a few days off before blasting down to see Coops in Whitchurch on the Kawasaki. I should have ordered the stuff before the visit, running out of thread and fabric. The hood has been completed for Registers Day, but not the sidescreens and these are proving to be much more complicated to do on an industrial sewing machine. So far one has been almost completed and the results are amazing with a zip in the screen for access to be able to pick up car park tickets or motorway toll tickets without having to work around the almost one metre wide side screen.

Registers Day May 2024

 

Registers Day May 2024

 

End of May Bank Holiday made Registers Day a four day escape. I had hoped the new hood and side screens would be finished in time but events conspired against us and only the hood was completed. I have reported on some of the details and I will do a full report for the 2CV Club but also the supplier of materials. They are just as interested in the projects customers undertake as a show case for their products. Coops had finished the hood to an incredible standard incorporating all the modifications I had asked for and more. Gita drove down to Whitchurch with me in the C3 Aircross to collect the El Cid from Coops and then drive on to the venue on the Friday, put up the tent and leave the El Cid there and drive on to Bristol to visit my brother Adrian. It was not as easy as it sounds. There were problems every way we travelled  instead of M3, A303 my usual route Tom took us via Newbury then towards Southampton. Successfully collecting the El Cid we headed for the venue at Martha’s Down only forty miles Tom diverted us to avoid queues but not closed roads getting us both lost until we stopped and asked a local farmer which way to go then Tom got it together using the A36 then the A303 joining beyond Stone Henge. We got to the post code which was in Cricklade and found the sign post for  Hindon. We found the camp site from the wrong direction. A one hour trip was two hours. We registered, pitched the tent and found a pub, the Lamb, in Hindon for something to eat. It was 5:30 by then and had forty or so miles to get to Bristol.  We arrived at my brothers house about 7 pm. Adrian got back about 8pm after visiting his wife in hospital. Events were conspiring against him as well. He was due to come with us the next day for a few nights away but that was no longer going to happen.

There was no food available at the event so a visit to Morrison’s on the Saturday morning to stock up. Back to the site for the afternoon and lots of social interaction before a trip to the other pub in Hindon, the Grosvenor Arms, for our evening meal.  Sampling a local brew at the bar back on site it was getting cold so we retired to the tent and put on the gas stove to keep us warm before an early night. Sunday was cold and crisp. Gita cooked a monumental breakfast off egg, bacon and sausage filling a ciabatta roll. There was so much meat in it, it kept me going all day. Now my camping gaz had finally expired after many years. Time to buy a refill. The washing and toilet facilities were excellent proper showers with hot water and flushing toilets. Such luxury.

Most of the day was taken up talking cars and explaining about the new hood. I did not win any prizes but Coops did for his Mehari. ‘Hooky’ John had the best modcon with his Dagonet. During the prize giving  a heavy shower drenched the proceedings and later on continued to rain most of the night.

It had dried in the morning and I was able to pack up in the dry. The El Cid was inspected for leaks and did not show any. The join between the cab and rear sections remained completely dry after such heavy showers overnight. The storm flap with velcro seal worked very well. The short video shows how far the water progressed. This was an excellent test of the new hood. First it is water tight with no leaks at the stitching on the top. It has a taught fitting and does not flap and because of that the car is noticeably faster. Congratulations to Coops  for an incredible job. We dropped the El Cid back to Whitchurch on the way home for the final part of the project. The sidescreens.

London Classic Bike Show May 2024

 

London Classic Bike Show May 2024

 

Following on from the Observed Sunday and the handing out of vehicle passes for the show I had tidied up the paint work on the Valiant engine cover to remove the petrol damage to the paint all was looking good for the day. Friday was set up day and get the Valiant on the stand ready. James’s BMW outfit was there already. Gita came to pick me up and we had a nice pub meal at the Admiral Hawke in Sunbury. The Admiral Hawke was the meeting place for the LE Club pre Covid and is under new management. They have transformed the pub but have still kept the range of ales. Much appreciated. Saturday turned out to be a fine day. Gita delivered me to the show before eight in the morning and nearly everyone was there. Chris was the last to arrive with his T100. We were now set and ready for the day with a Harley Softail Slim, a Norton Fastback, two Triumph’s a Bonnevile T140Vand the T100SS, two BMW’s an R60/7 and the K110 outfit and finally the CanAm Spyder. The view of the stand was similar to the last show but enhanced  by a giant cardboard birthday cake. The theme for this year was the fortieth birthday of Wey Valley.

Quite a busy with a stream of people interested in the club. Chris Arthey  was selling his book “Highway 35” the story of him and his wife’s’ horrific accident and their road to recovery. Late morning I wheeled the Valiant to the start up area for the obligatory fire-up to make as much noise as possible to entertain the assembled crowd. I took three videos of the walk round of displays featured on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Why call a platform X?

 The afternoon was consumed along with homemade cakes. Denis Frost was around doing the question time with the man who has  progressed development of the Norton rotary engine. For me this was most interesting doing some major rework of engine components. As always the Rumi stand is a joy to see along with scooters and their racing bikes. Some very nice Italian machinery shows how far they were ahead of us in style in the fifties. Ducati, Gilera and MV leading the way. For the club there were no prizes to take home but we did have a record number of people interested in joining the club.

Once the prize giving concluded it was time to pack up and head for home. The day had warmed considerably which the Valiant did not like. I had to stop several times to let the engine cool. The engine was so hot at times I could hear the big ends rattling. The time is coming for a big rebuild. I will have to wait for the club engineers to come up with someone who will take on  the role of crankshaft repair and rebores. I understand oversize pistons will soon be available for the Valiant but I won’t hold my breath.

May 2024

 

May 2024

 

At the beginning of the month there was Wey Valley Advanced Riders’ Observed Sunday . That was quite a busy day being at the shop and handing out entry passes for the upcoming Bike Show. There was a quick repair job to be done for Ivy on the roof box on her car. One of the hinge mounting points had fractured so that the opening of the box was a bit precarious although secure when closed but it needed sorting.

 After a couple of hours two aluminium plates and lots of pop rivets and it was ready for the road. At the bike the metal button on my Kevlar jeans detached itself and was lost. It was annoying but all I had to do was rivet on a replacement head. I chose a suitable shiny coin that was a five cent piece or a nickel very apt for the image of a bike rider.

After the Bike Show I took the Buell back to Snobbs  to check the exhaust system. I had refitted the side stand correctly with a new retaining clip making it more stable. I  added oil to the chaincase because it appeared low and later had to remove it. I did two trips out on the Buell one to Cobham for the Wey Valley AGM and the other to see Coops in Whitchurch to move on the El Cid hood project. Time is running out before Registers Day is upon us. On the journey down there was a change to the level of vibration and that was when the new strap broke. By the time I got to Coops the front strap had gone completely. The return journey was at a sedate three thousand rpm. I had had a good day on the project moving it closer to completion. We were running out of press studs so did a frantic order to arrive in time for my next visit two days later. The day had been exhausting for me my cough was wearing me down. The next day I had to rest. Even so I was arranging what to do about the Buell and cancelling my trip to the LE Club Annual Rally near Rugby.

Resting Friday I went to see Coops on the Saturday and again on the Sunday each time on the Kawasaki. I filled up on the way home each time getting 66 and 67 mpg respectively. On Saturday the expected delivery of press studs by the Post Office failed to arrive. It had been sent to Chester. Taking the initiative Coops ordered some from Amazon that arrived on Sunday morning. The project was finally completed after I left on Sunday. Still not finished but is driveable for Registers Day. Only the side screens to be finished.

April Plus 2024

 

April Plus 2024

Some days things just don’t go right. It has been raining and I put off my visit to Snobbs for another day and this is my second attempt art writing April Plus the first one disappeared off the screen amid a full flow of writing inspiration. I have looked in temporary files and the directions given on the internet does not match mine. Today, technology is not my friend. That said it has been an interesting time with visits to Whitchurch to see Coops on the Buell and Kawasaki to help the progress of the El Cid hood. The most recent visit saw much progress with the project and I will be going again next week.

The visit last week on the Buell gave me a great ride out and almost all the way back. A few miles from home there was a tinny rattle which was annoying but didn’t sound serious. Arriving I noticed the side stand was at a funny angle. I kicked the stand down to rest the bike on it and let it down gingerly. The stand did not hold and I struggled to bring the bike upright. Not wanting to be pinned against the hire car. Worse still if I had damaged the bike or the car seriously dent the No Claims Discount. Taking a moment to breath I wanted to Alert Gita to help me. Beeping the horn didn’t work. I paddled the bike towards the front door and with some effort I was able to ring the door bell. With her help I was able to rest the bike on the handle bar end safely. In the manoeuvring the side stand leg fell off completely. I had the original refurbished one in the garage and set about finding it and fitting it. By this time it was dark and I was hungry. I found the stand and could only use ordinary spanners to get the bolts. There were three and the heads were not very big. I tried one and the spanner slipped. I would need sockets to get to them having to remove the silencer for access. A job for tomorrow. The bike was outside still and not safe to be left. A solution was needed. I had some 20mm dowel long enough to hold the bike away from a wall blocks of wood to chock and support. With Gita’s help we got the bike into the garage and a safer position. 

In spite of my trepidations it was still like that in the morning. That is when I worked on the side stand. Welding it back together. It was not a good fix as I was running out of gas and the oxy-acetylene flame was not right. The weld soon broke. I fitted the original leg instead. The Buell was now movable and I wheeled it out of the garage to fit the side stand spring. Something not easy to do wedged between the bike and garage wall. This was when I phoned Snobbs about the silencer strap that had broken again. The weather forecast was for rain but set off anyway using Public Transport to get me to and from. Early morning I dropped the Buell off and picked it up at the end of the afternoon. Great service, the same I could not say for the bus service. Having dropped the bike off I got the tube from Hangar Lane to Greenford to, catch the E6 bus home. The service had been suspended from Greenford Broadway for work on HS2. Why? Two other buses that take exactly the same route were still in operation stopping at the same stops. I had to catch one of these. I did the same going back. I did a lot of walking in motorcycle boots that day.

Sunday was a fun day out travelling to Walsall for Gita to perform a dance with a band at an Indian Cultural Festival. I have been to Assamese ones and they have the same format. Some snacks then local artists performing dances and singing including children and the event is completed by the professional band and a meal usually quite late to finish off. All in all it was well organised but did suffer from scheduling glitches and keeping to the program. 

I know the time it takes and this program ran on IST that is Indian Standard Time in the northeast there is AST in Assam there is something similar but best known as Assamese Some Time that I know well. In all it was a very enjoyable experience with great food and topped off  with a cracking performance by Gita. I think she will be doing it again.