Rollin'

Took a day off work today and Stuart came round to help with the bike. Got the bearings in the wheels and finished machining the various spacers. This means I now have a rollling chassis. The sun was shining so I felt obliged to get the rolling chassis out of the shed.

 I then decided I had to see what it looked like with the bodywork on (the white stuff is powder from the latex gloves we put on to prevent us getting dirt on the still to be clearcoated paintwork).

After Stuart degreased the gearbox I attacked it with a nylon bristle brush in my electric drill. Please with the results as it means I don't have to strip the box to get it blasted. While we were at it we replaced the shagged 17 tooth sprocket for a new 19 tooth one.

I then started on the brake pedal. I've been deliberating as to whether I should use the rear sets or mid controls. Today I decided to pull my finger out and make a decision so mid controls it is. All I had to do was finish various half made parts and weld them together. That got the pedal made and a brief session on the lathe had the operating linkage made up.

At this point I realised I had started to get tired and was likely to make mistakes. I'd already managed to start a minor fire while welding. Fortunately Stuart was there to help put it out but he had to go and when  I managed to start another minor fire I decided to call it a day.

On a final note it appears that the thread for the rear brake caliper banjo is a bit shagged. I'm hoping that I can rescue it with the appropriate tap. As I don't have one (M10 1.25mm) I've just ordered one from ebay.