Yamahaugland Cafe Racer

 Why does everything have to be so neat? I tried to make these electrical components neat and tidy but it put then under strain so I decided to forgo neatness for functionality. The component shelf is made from the plastic box my drill came in, again not neat but it works and has the advantage of bending when put under stress instead of breaking. I have been putting the electrical system back together and it's going well. It looks quite complex but it's just a matter of finding plugs that fit together.

 The say that if you put questions in your website text then it is more likely to be found by search engine. Hence the title to this post. This is whet I searched for but although I found many people with the same problem I found no answer. I used about 8 hours trying but the rod just wouldn't go through. I used a slightly smaller rod as a guide but still no joy. Eventually I realised that the rod would not pass through the small spacer. Eureka, I had swapped the spacer with the washer. The rod passes through the space but only the threaded part goes through the washer. Satisfied at slving the problem but frustrated that it took so long. I don't want to look at that axle so I'm posting a photo of the bike with newly painted tank. Nowhere near this stage yet but I like looking at it.

 I have just got the tank back from the paintshop (Our spare room) and I have almost recovered from the effect of the spray cans but who is that person following me all the time and how do they manage to hide so quickly when I turn round? The yellow is a bit too yellow and some stripes would be nice so I have ordered some blue ones. Well, I think they look nice but then again I am colour blind.

 I forgot to post this picture of the seat on the blog. I was much more work than I had anticipated but that was mainly de to my incompetence at cutting out the base plate from plywood. I spend ages thinking about what to do then suddenly do it badly. The result looks OK from a distance.

 A lot of people won't like it and I have to admit that in places it looks like its been painted with a stick dipped in black treacle but at least it won't rust. I could have left it alone but I would have had to paint the altered items the same colour as the unaltered bits.

Today I thought I would work on the front aend. The old instruments have been removed and some cheap ones bought. The cafe racer look is stripped down, functionality so the instruments are very plain however they need to be mounted band In thought I would put an old plastic chopping board into service. It took a bit of time to cut out with a hacksaw blade but the result was OK. I made a few booboos though the most serious was related to the positioning of holes, you may spot a couple of unnecessary holes here and therebut I could say tey are for lightening.

 I have finished constructing the seat, just need to paint it. The base is made of scrap pieces of ply wood, not perfect but virtuous using recycled materials. I like the look but there might be one problem and that is the riding position, which feels very uncomfortable. Who cares, after all I'm not going to be riding it.  I have started to put all the bits back together again, so far so good. I like the look of the seat. It was definitely worth restructuring the frame to give more space above the wheel.

 Support for the seat is important but support for the project as a whole is also important.  I mentioned to my son in law, Gustav, about Joining pipes and he found a video with an ingenious method involving a drill and a circular hole cutter. My hole cutters only cut wood but Gustav gave me a set for Christmas, first though I had to make a structure to support the pipe and keep the cutter at the right angle. I am pretty pleased with the result, especially considering I didn't take any measurements. Once I have welded these in I will add a cross brace to the seat frame and the fasten the seat to the frame.

    The new seat has arrived and it is quite a bit narrower than the old one so I had to squash the frame a bit, this I did with a spring compressor. I then cut down and welded in one of the cross pieces. It's not perfectly perpendicular to the side supports but I decided that having a close fit and therefore a better weld is a higher priority than symmetry.   I don't now why but cafe racers are supposed to have a hoop under the back of the seat. I wasn't going to bother with this but realised that I could make one from the engine side protectors that I have just taken off. They needed to be straightened a bit and then filed down so that the tube fits inside the frame tubes, this took some time but I am quite pleased with the result. It won't stay chrome, I am going to paint it black. The other job I have been working on is the base plate for the seat. Again no expense made, I used an old piece of plywood. Unfortunately it wasn't quite big enough but I will sort tha...

 It was something like -16 degrees Celsius yesterday morning so I have decided t bring parts into the house for cleaning and painting. I have already changed the colour scheme to back frame and yellow tank. I know some people don't like it but I am using Hamerite paint. Actually its smooth, black Hamerite. I have also decided to stick with the original exhaust and rear shock, these will be easy to change later if needs be. Each of these items cost more than the bike, I will keep an eye on Finn to see if anything second had pops up.