I have this posted up on the rgoc forum aswell, so..... well, anyways, here it is. it's pretty much a rolling diary, I.E, it follows the resto. I suppose it's more akin to a blog, but hey, it is what it is.

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Friday 25 September 2009

So, after 5 years of shed life and being ignored, my MK1 chopper finally gets to receive the TLC and restoration to standard spec (albeit with a mild twist) that it so deserves.

What once was intended as a severe customisation program has now been abandoned in favour of a return to standard spec albeit with a couple of "period" changes.
The changes I refer to, are leather handlebar grips and tassles and a pair of "Leo" tyres. Also to included in this restoration is an HBR, the cissy bar so desired at the very outset of the very first restoration.

So far in it's life, this chopper has seen four different guises.

1) Standard spec in Horizon blue (Before & During my ownership)
2) Non Standard denim blue 9light met. Blue)
3) Non Standard Levi Blue (Light met.Blue, extremely close to denim blue almost no visual difference0)
4) Non standard Ruby red metallic in "Whitmill special" guise it wore just prior to the start of the customisation process.
5) Non standard customised form with legshield, front hub brake and wearing metallic british racing green.

It is from the final and current guise that the cycle will be restored to it's former glory and give it the return to use that is intended.

A few things need to be purchased either due to loss, sale or use elswhere, or never having purchased them from the start.

the parts needed are:

1) HBR cissy bar,
2) correct set of mudguards
3) standard seat post
4) Set Brake stops/hooks (the hooks that stop the callipers pulling away at the front and those that stop the brake pushing forward into the frame at the back)
5) front Brake Cable (Complete)
6) Rear inner brake cable
7) MK1 shifter Lever
8) MK1 brake Lever

To be honest, I'm not too sure of how long all this is going to take, but I can foresee it being less than 3 months to complete all being well, unless that is,I can not find certain parts, though, that said, I'm resourceful enough to find SOmething that will work...................

The MK1 in all prior liveries/guises

Factory spec CF38 Horizon Blue



Custom spec Ruby Red "Whitmill Special" livery



Custom spec Levi Blue livery



Custom spec part modified, current guise



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Saturday 26 September 2009

Well, having ordered a small number of the items required, some have appeared, not least the replacement handlebars. the original set, with help from mother nature, decided to start rusting and pit like crazy leaving no choice but to replace them. the original set were reproductions, as are this set. an original set still elude me even to this day. There are other puzzles too, like where in the hell the left hand side brake lever, front brake cable, shifter cover, shifter lever, original brake callipers, pads, brake block stabilisers, w clip, gear table slider, original front mudguard and rear inner brake cable all walked off to !!!if you have ever hunted through boxe after box after box of stuff, you know that you never find what you are looking for. That is, unless you are looking for something completely un-related, but I digress.

On a more positive note and having gone through a few boxes, a couple more of the "missing" componants have turned up so these can go straight back to where they belong on the bike. The biggest headache of all though was just where in the heck the spoke protector had walked to. it was not until I decided to ride my mkIII chopper to the kebab shop (getting too lazy to walk these days) that I realised I had fitted it to that in place of the cruddy plastic one !! all that means, is that when the time comes, it will be removed from the mkIII and refitted to the MK1 where it belongs. Thank god I riveted the chainguard to the frame otherwise I suspect that too would have gone walkabouts !!!!

Other things have also turned up unannounced when looking through boxes, like the yellow three tone horn complete and in it's original box just as I purchased it 7 years ago and put away till I needed/wanted it and could never find afterwards, the N.O.S MK2 chopper shifter lever knobs (x2) I purchased when restoring my MK2, a spare shifter base, and even more mystifying, the rear outer brake cable I purchased for the initial restoration of the mk1 actually surfaced after that too disappeared after being "put somewhere safe" so many moons ago.

I have a deep suspicion, that I will find some of the parts that have gone walkies only after I replace them, which would be about right going on past events.Anyway, it's been so long since I actually "restored" the bike instead of customizing it, that I fear some of the parts may have been used to spruce up my MK2 chopper or otherwise been used on my Grifter, the fulcrim clip being one example, the seatpost being another (fitted to mk2 chopper). As for the rest, I have no idea.  The biggest thing that irritates me is the gear table slider. I know I have it because I have seen it, fairly recently too, though I just can NOT for the life of me remember where it is !!!

Ahh well, such is life.

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Sunday 27 September 2009 (Morning)

Having been looking through the (literally hundreds) of photographs of this MK1 chopper, I have noticed one thing, that this chopper has only been photographed at any meetings attended when it was either horizon blue, or ruby red. I'm not sure if this has to do with the short time that these liveries were worn, or the fact that there is/was only ever a limited number of meetings attended before the ol' gal was put into the Levi Blue livery.

Either way, there are some very memorable moments from back when it was in those liveries. The most memorable event from the ruby red era, was the step ride. That was back at the "Big wheel Cruise" in 2003/4 when the bike was in ruby red. That stair ride was the cause for the reweld on the struts that sent the bike into levi blue. Do I regret doing it ? no, it was quite fun at the time. would I do it again ? yes.  I know the answer to doing it that step ride again is supposed to be no, but having welded the rear struts myself (!!!!) the last time around, I know for a FACT that they will not crack around the welds ever again. Quite apart from that the thrill from it has stuck with me ever since.

So why restore it NOW, after all this time ?? well, with the time till new year fast running out and the new years day parade arriving ever faster, I wanted to give myself time to "relax" on this restoration and not try to cram a full rebuild into just 3 or 4 days like I did the last few times around. the fastest rebuild however, was the transition from horizon blue to ruby red. From strip down in horizon blue to completed build in ruby red took just 2 days and that INCLUDED the repairs to the frame and the remedial work afterwards !!!!!

The objective of this restoration is to put the bike into it's final and "rest of life" livery on which point I am fighting myself for the most suitable livery to put it in. Whilst I despair at the normality and commonality of the horizon blue, I recognise that it should wear no other than its original livery as applied by the nottingham factory (kinda busts me for the non standard liveries it's been in then eh ?). On the flip side, I loved the ruby red livery so much that I would willingly apply it in a flash (not literally as painting takes time) but I do not want to stray away from the original livery again. There are other courses to take and other liveries to explore that, should they have been applied at or by the factory, would be perfectly acceptable but for the fact that the closest livery to ruby red (carmine red) has yet to be confirmed as applied to a 1970/71 MK1.

With all the above said, carmine red seems to be the only option remaining to me and is also the most appealing as well. Why the only option ? well, ruby red is my favoured livery, but I want to stay within the bounds of originality of colour and believability that it could have been originally applied by the factory. The only consideration to take into account, is the fact that I will have to apply the paint the old fashioned way as a three stage finish. That finish will mean 9apart from primer) a base metallic finish, a tinted lacquer and then a finishing lacquer for protection. not the easiest thing in the world to apply as a uniform finish. There is also the cheat option, that of applying the colour as an all in, out of the gun/can, one colour metallic finish. the problem with that however, is that it would defy the object of trying to create the depth of the carmine red that is so appealing.


Sunday 27 September 2009 (Evening)


I was just rummaging around looking through some images and thought I would post a couple of this machine up from the early days.

A Mammouth project:

The frame forks and wheels only project with a couple of the then recently purchased parts.



The first ever picture after the FIRST restoration was completed:



A Repair to the rear struts and Respray later Plus a Few accessories and.........



A personal plate ???



And finally...

The london eye cruise 2004. This livery, applied just hours before this photo was taken, meant that the paint had only just dried before setting out for this meeting.



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Monday 28 september 2009

As the frame restoration comes ever closer, and having now been re-acquainted with my own handy-work 5 years ago I find myself question my exact state of mind when I started out with the "project" and the subsequent mod's made to the frame. Whilst nothing too serious, it does leave three holes in the bottom frame tube and 2 in the forks. Sounds worse than it is actually. 2 holes account for the ability to mount a long bolt through the frame, the other hole? Well, that was where a bit of studding was tack-welded in. The same thing with the forks too, the 2 holes, were for the passage of a bolt. Easy enough to fix, but looking back, WHAT IN THE HELL was I thinking when I did it????????????

They say that only the creator can shatter the dream....... Actually, the dream can be shattered by outside forces. In my case, I shattered the dream myself with the realization that the project I was attempting, was maybe a little on the extreme side. Still, moving on.....since the handlebars had arrived, I decided to drag the frame indoors to extract the project bars and stem from the fork tube. Not so hard you may think and you would be right in relation to the removal of the handlebar stem from the forks. Now, removing the stem from the bars on the other hand..............


A quick history

When starting the project, I replaced the then new mk1 pattern bars with a slightly squarer set. being the pedant that I am and not being able to stand the sight of wires when I know they can be hidden, I drilled a hole at the top bend of the bars (where the grips are) to the bottom, where another hole was drilled just next to where the groove section is to allow the wire to exit and be connected, thus concealing the wire/s within the handlebars themselves. It is this that caused me a 20 minute battle. Cutting the wires at the bottom end I pulled of the grip from one side and felt the cable "rip" away as I did so. Next came the removal of a siren push-button. That too gave up its wire inside the bars. So in frustration I just ripped the wires out from the bottom end and that was that and I could now remove the stem from the bars.

Now that I had the stem sorted out, I set to work on getting the "new" bars into the stem and the rest of the bars setup. That’s when another hiccup occurred. I couldn't find the left hand brake lever for love nor money. A Three hour search of the shed and every bag box and crate ensued. Oh I found it alright, staring me right in the face snuggled up inside my spare rear tyre that was hanging on the back of the shed door!!!! Well, feeling rather smug having not only found the wretched lever but having sorted out and organized the shed (something I had threatened to do for months but could never be bothered to do) I swanned off back indoors to get back to the handlebars. Then another problem. I think I was heard swearing 15 miles away.

What was the problem?? A handlebar grip. A singular solitary handlebar grip!! I had one of them, but where was the other? I had seen it, I knew I had and I had seen it only yesterday. Where was it I thought, then it hit me like a big rig "AHH yessss" I thought. Off I wander to the kitchen and into the tank cupboard. Nestled in there in an old two sided "tool tray" of the plastic variety lay the other grip looking dirty and forlorn. A quick wash and dry and 5 minutes later it too took its place on the new handlebars. So to recap, the levers were now fitted, the grips were fitted, the stem was fitted and then the yellow siren was fitted. Ahhh yes, the damn siren. Why is it, the damn things only have a short lead on them? Anyway, it has a long lead now courtesy of my electrical shop, 30 new pence and 10 minutes of my time soldering the new wire into place. After that, I fitted a pair of round mirrors to the bars (courtesy of Gary Hughes of the RCOC when the project was in its infancy).

With all that done, I decided I also wanted to remove the left hand crank and chain wheel. The left hand crank cotter pin came out with little fuss, but the chain wheel side was being a stubborn little "B". So falling back on a tip I picked up a few years ago, I grabbed a 1/2" drive socket and my 6 inch G-Clamp. Within ten seconds, the cotter pin popped out of its own accord and that was that.

As to the frame, well thats a different story altogether, but for now all that remains to do is remove the rivet retaining the chain guard, remove the prop stand and remove the forks before I can truly get down and dirty with the frame and reverse the idiotic mods I made back in 2004.

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Tuesday 29 september 2009 (Evening)

Well, since yesterday, i have stripped the frame down a bit more by removing the crankset, bb axle, front forks and chainguard so that it is literally just the frame itself, albeit with the chain still hanging around the rear quarter awaiting removal.

While i was at it, i decided to take a couple pics too.

This one here, is where i put a bolt the from right to left  of the main downtube. This one may give me a headache in it's repair, but it will be invisible once i get my mig welder to it.



This one is where i tack-welded the short stud in just behind the head tube. Nothing more than a waft of magic from my mig welder and some small remedial work afterwards should see this sorted out in a jiffy.



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Thursday 1 October 2009 (Morning)

Well its been yet another day of work away from the bike itself, but this time it actually is for the bike. What am i talking about ? well, i am talking about the transfers that i cut by hand, totally randomly, that i now have to reproducee thanks to a decision to return the chopper to the "whitmill special" livery that it wore in early 2004. That in itself is not a big issue because i know the paint shade & name, but the remaking of the hand cut transfers is an issue, especially in relation to the chaain guard. the transfers themselve are more than a pain in the bum when it comes to reproduction especially since i only have photographs to work from. Back when i first produced the transfers, the chainguard had a "hand written" transfer on it that was cut by hand and applied, applied very carefully at that !!!. Trying to recreate this moment of a completely random act to create the transfer is now becoming a pain to sort out. HOWEVER, with the aid of old photographs, a scanner, a printer and a pair of scissors, i have managed to make a mock up after a little over two hours work. The result still needs a little tweaking in regards to postioning on the chain guard, but it's not too far out of position from the original of 2004.

So why don't i just make the transfers from scratch in a different way to the original set instead of sticking (get it ?) to the original transfers of 2004 ? well, i could, but i want to stick as closely as possible to the livery as it was applied at the time. That involves the remaking of all the transfers that were hand cut. That said though, i was never fully happy with the handwritten transfer on the chain guard and did make a replacement that i never found time to fit and this, sadly, has now been lost in the mists of time and is most likely buried in a bag or box somewhere deep in the annals of the shed or has been unwittingly disposed of.

With all that in mind, i feel that the time taken to reproduce the transfers for the chain guard, at least in paper form, has been a worth while effort in that, for the main part, with the exception of the hand written segment, i now have the full scale dimensions laid out as a diagram that i can refer to should i ever to need to do so at any future date or time.

The purpose of all this ? well in all honesty, i never could stand owning something that looked exactly the same as what everybody else had, which is why i did what i did in creating the "Whitmill Special" livery over the ruby red paint finish in the first place. Whilst it was a "rush job" i don't think the bike looked too bad for the work that went into it and the overall finish that was achieved. Mind you, time and my age has made me seek less accessories in favour of a "cleaner" look to the bike.

So, with all the above said, here's the mock up of the reproduced transfers (in paper) in position on the chainguard at long last.  The chainguard m,ay not be red, but i must admit, the transfers would look good on a green background instead of the ruby red, or would they...................

Here's the pic.




Thursday 1 October 2009 (Evening)

A couple photo's from way back in 2004 when the chopper was a week into the project.

First up, the front wheel with brake hub. A Simple case of switching out the dynamo magnet and holder with the brake plate and shoes. Anybody notice the actuating lever for the brake ? it's part of a brake calliper arm, fist cut, then ground to a radius on the cut end. worked an absolute treat too. So much so, i'm considering re-using the hub brake as well as a calliper brake up front.



next up, we have the legshield. this was originally intended for a Raleigh wisp moped. funny how things can be made to fit where they are not intended to be with a little bit of good, old fashioned ingenuity...



And last, but by no means least,  a rearward shot showing the alloy Bmx seat post, alloy quick release seat post clamp and if you look closely enough, the snapped rear sissy bar tube that sent the bike hurtling into the Autumn flyer project in the first place.



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Saturday 3 October 2009

Why is it, that when boredom sets in, you do things that have been put off in the past ?? Either way, its a rhetorical question.  I found myself with little to do yesterday, so guess what ? i stripped out the front wheel of the chopper.  When i say stripped out, i mean stripped out. First up, the tyre and tube came off. then the rim tape. Then came the easy bit, stripping out the spokes. When you've done this the amount of times as i have over the years, it becomes second nature. in only fifteen minutes, the wheel was stripped down to just the rim, spokes and dyno hub unit.

This is how the wheel looked before i started.



A lot has changed !!! For example, the dyno hub has gone, it is no longer going anywhere near the Chopper as the dynamo hubs' date is way too early (1966). In it's place, is a rare, standard 28sph hub with oil hole and the "Raleigh" figure stamp, instead of the usual "Sturmey Archer" that can be found, of which incidentally there are at least 3 variations but i digress. The wheel was rebuilt spoke by spoke until all spokes were fitted in the correct order and giving the correct pattern. Then came the tightening and truing. That in itself, is a task that i love. spending time getting the wheel running true at the rim is one thing i wil never shy away from. I dont know what it is, but concentrating on something that complex is actually calming to me. wierd eh ?

Well anyway, after all that, the rim tape, innertube and an all black "Michelin" tyre were fitted and now the wheel is ready to be re-fitted when the frame-set is restored.

Here's the finished article. It is in no way mint because the rim is totally original with good chome, but it does give the bike that look of a well cared for machine whilst retaining that patina of age that only original and used rims can. Anyone who has tried to fit a 16 inch tyre to a 16 inch wheel knows how hard it can be, but that Michelin tyre, well, lets just say i had a fight to get it over the rim !!! It took no less than ten miutes to get ONE SIDE on, then another ten cursing, cussing and swearing plus a red face to get the other side into the rim. I was always taught "hands only when fitting" but where that tyre was concerned i was a little more than tempted to use tyre levers. In the end, i stuck to goo old fashioned British grit and determination.



Proof that the tyre is a genuine, period replacement, Michelin.



And here is that most elusive of elusive parts. the hub. Elusive due to the raleigh stamp and oil hole instead of the more usual sturmey archer stamp and oil hole.



Saturday October 3 2009 (Late morning)

A few more assorted bits arrived today, so that entertained me for all of an hour. The front forks were the most awaited item as now that they are here, resprayed or not, they can be put with the frame and chainguard and await their turn in the strip and re-spray queue. Also to arrive were the brake callipers I ordered, mainly for specific parts, but both callipers gave up an arm each to make an excellent single calliper. the 1969/1970 period brake block set also arrived, along with the correct rear brake block stays, something that this Chopper has never had. Amongst the rest was a set of transfers purchased from fleabad (ebay) which are only fit for the bin, either that or a toolbox. The main "chopper" section is oversize, the chainguard transfer is not only wrong, it's wrong in a number of ways. As to the seatpost tube "Raleigh" transfer, I won't even get into that !!! Also to arrive was the much needed slide indicator for the shifter. No sooner unwrapped, than fitted to the darn shifter so it does NOT get lost like the last one, leaving the shifter short of either; a mark one rounded lever so that the RRR barrel knob can be fitted, or a black SA t-bar shifter knob to create an early shifter unit.

So anyway, after everything arrived, I set to work on the forks, first fitting the brake calliper, then the wheel.  it looks good, although now I have seen the colour, it's given me yet another spin on what colour to spray the frame.  ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!

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Monday 5 October 2009

Well, first up, i finally got around to sorting out the rear wheel at long last. after cleaning and polishing the rim, i actually got around to stripping, servicing and rebuilding the three speed inner hub unit.  Not so much of a hard task when you know how it goes together and understand how it works. next on the agenda was the fitting of the tyre, which was a total and utter mare. any new tyre is a pain, but this was a N.O.S (New Old Stock) tyre that is some 20 plus years old. I got it on in the end with a bit of cursing, but not before i put a nick in the tube puncturing it which meant removing the tyre one side to retrieve the tube, repair it and refit it. after that, it was a simple case of inflating it so i could get the tyre polished up properly.

Next up, was getting the front wheel spruced up ready to fit the period replacement front wheel nuts. I did get it done and it looks rather smart too i think. See for yourself and you tell me how it looks. Not bad for an original used tyre eh



And here is the rear wheel after it received some treatment !!



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[b][u]Tuesday 6 October 2009[u][b]

Another parcel arrived today (getting a bit regular is that !!), with a green customs sticker stuck to the front. That sticker instantly told me what was contained inside. so ? what was it ? aaah, that would be the long awaited leather handlebar tassles i have been waiting for.  No sooner on my desk, than the parcel was opened and twenty minutes of fun fitting the tassles ensued. the result is, i feel, worth the effort. It's a somewhat unusual accessory in this country in that, i have yet to see any fitted to any bicycle, it also different, which i try to be in terms of accessories. I took a photo of the tassles after i fitted them to one side, I also took a close (ish) photo of the leather grip on the same side.

So, here is a photo of the tassles as fitted to one side...



And here is the handlebar grip.




Well, after i got done with fitting the tassles, I set to work on sorting out the callipers. now, having purchased a pair of callipers on fleabad (ebay) and having teken receipt of them, i decided to take the best componants from each calliper to make one good calliper. the rest of the componants ? well the spring and shoulder bolts went onto some ex-N.O.S arms to make up the other calliper, whilst the adjusters and pinch bolts from both purchased sets were re-used. However, these componants will require work before they are acceptable for use.

Whilst i was at it and after i had built the callipers and fitted the brake pads with hooks/stays, i took some pghoto's for reference should i need them.

Here's the front calliper



and here is the front Brake pad. it's in need of a good clean and polish and the hook needs to be re-rubbered.



The Rear calliper in all its glory, still needs a good cleaning and polishing.



As do the brake pad holders... they look a bit rusty to me............



And here is a brake pad, minus the pad itself. Note, that the shoe is only closed on one end allowing for the easy replacement of the pads when needed.

 

--Last edited by grifter_guru on 2009-10-07 04:34:41 --