VOSA test day

I took the bike down to the VOSA test station in Norwich yesterday and as suspected she failed on a number of items:

First was the exhaust noise, im going to have to fit bigger baffles to get round this one... i think 99 decibels is the max and i was up to 120!!

Next was my new mirrors! They are to small so I will buy a Harley set.. they have to contain a 78mm disc.

Next was the rear indicators, they have to be within 300mm of the back wheel.. i can fix this easily for the retest.

Next was the side mount tail light and number plate holder... they don’t like anything that sticks out!.. this will have to be refitted to the rear fender for my return.

O yes ...last was a white parking light (don’t ask me why...) its an easy fix, i will buy a small white light and micro switch and mount it under the front forks. Strange because i dont plan on leaving the bike outside in the dark with a light on!!

Anyway, that was it… the guy who did the test was a good chap... he was happy with the design and the construction, breaks, speedo, horn, headlamp, emissions etc and the bike ran really well on the day. The test took about an hour and you have to go on a roller for the break and speedo test. Overall not to bad, I now know what to fix before a retest probably in about a month.

Mirrors

I found a cool pair of mirrors for my bike off Ebay. Ive booked in my SVA (single vehicle approval scheme) MOT test at VOSA in Norwich for next Wednesday. They have told me to bring a full tank of petrol and my crash helmet. ( ill take the bike down in the back of the horse box).

Ive got a feeling they might fail my rear indicators (to far forward) exhaust noise!! (ive got my baffles in). Rear number plate (its a USA type) .... we will see!

Dans Lo Boy looks fantastic!

Dans bike in Canada is starting to look so cool... love the white timing cover.

Love the seat and the grips... and this Lo Boy has the bigger motor, gulp!!

Love it!!

Painting the 'Tins' on Dans Lo Boy

Dan says:.......... Mitch at JusCuzCustoms working on the tank. http://juscuzcustoms.com/

Painted the timing cover white with old no 7 logo on it, to go with my black and white theme.

Thanks Steve for the info on the oil pressure gauge. I decided to use an oil pressure sensor to feed my Dakota digital 3016 gauge. It has a low pressure input that illuminates a light on low pressure. To help monitor the engine I decided to add another small bar mount gauge with a cylinder head temp reading.............

WATCH THIS SPACE............ this bikes going to look awesome!!

Fire Her Up

I managed to get Frankie just to quickly film me running her for the first time. She ran great.....(apart from me remembering how to change gear!!). Theres so much more power than my Ironhead Sporty, you have to seriously hang on when you blip the throttle. The riding postions fine, and your so busy trying to stay on, you forget about the sprung forks and the solo seat!!

Tony came round tonight, and we decided to try and start the bike! We filled the fuel tank, bled the fuel through the carb and re-checked the timing. She fired up almost straight away. Everything seems to be fine......... apart from next door banging on the wall!!

The carb still needs setting... i will wait till i have a few miles on the bike, let the engine bed in, and there’s a few oil leaks to rectify.

I will wait for a dry day now and get her out the front of the house on the road, set the carb and check the clutch and the gears are working properly. Sounds amazing ####......... Loud as hell (new it would be).

I will document the trip to the test station next.

Connecting the Speedo Wires

Nearly finished the electrics now.... soon time to turn on the ignition and see if anything happens!

Another Lo Boy being built

This is Vinces bike in the mock up stage............... i will try to answer some of your questions by email Vince (over the next few days). You can get a new instructional / tech DVD from Southern Motor Cycles. Buy DVD

Oil Pressure Gauge

Southern Motor Cycles recommended I fit an oil pressure gauge, they supplied the adaptor, and I ended up buying the gauge off Ebay, i managed to find one with a light blue face. I had to re-bend the oil pipe to squeeze around the carb, and make a steel bracket to attach to the rocker box, looks good.... and sits just inside my leg when im on the bike for easy viewing.

Decided against the leather tank bib in the end....it covered up too much of the paint job! ive just cut out a small disc of leather to go under the filler cap (to match the seat.. still waiting for my new one!!)... bought the badge of Ebay.

Another Lo Boy...Drag Pipe Brackets

Moe in South Carolina is also building a Lo Boy (in his front room !) and has asked me where I have attached the brackets for hanging the drag pipes.

Keep in touch Moe, ill try to answer any other questions you have as you progress with your build. Enjoy. Steve.

Moes Lo Boy in his front room

The rear exhaust bracket.... I had to drill a hole in the frame just next to the rear axle.... make sure you miss the break caliper Moe... I was close!

The front exhaust bracket simply attaches to the bottom of the tranny using one of its bolts supplied.



                                                       Happy Xmas

Drags in place............ i have drilled two small holes in the ends to take the mufflers if i need them.

Rear indicators.. & other bits

Getting to that stage now where theres lots of little jobs left to do..... drilling holes to run the wires for the rear blinkers.

I managed to get round the problem with the rear sproket (moving slightly)..... i just bought bigger bolts!!

Instead of making the spark plug leads..... I bought some i liked off Ebay

Fitted the side stand

And fitted the battery......... still have some wiring to do for the starter system

ITS STILL SNOWING..................... Fran wrapping up the horses!!

Wheel off again!

Ive had to take the back wheel off again.......... i noticed that the rear sproket was slightly off center when i span the wheel. I will need to get a spacer made to fill the very small gap allowing the movement. After Xmas job!!

Installing the back breaks, break switch etc.

The parts that were missing for the ‘back break system’ have arrived from the States. I thought the best place to mount the switch ( a pressurised switch that operates the tail light) was tucked in near the engine .... as close to the harness controller as practicable. 

Ive mounted the break switch on the right side of the engine. They forgot to send the crush washers so i bought 12 off Ebay! The parts include...hose from foot break to switch, hose from switch to rear caliper, banjo connections... you have to buy the break fluid!!

 

There are two wires to connect to the break switch..... plus a jumper feed back to the break light. I shrink rapped the cables and ran them under the engine









Ive drilled a hole in the frame to hide the wires..... youll notice the BACK WHEELS OFF AGAIN!!! ill come back to this in my next post!




 Basically its a break line from the foot brake back to the wheel caliper with a break switch fitted in the middle.





Connected the wiring from the break switch back to the main controller with a jumper wire back to the tail light



Talking about Exhausts!!

Should sound interesting!

The Bikes Solo Seat

Gordon from 'Absolut Leather Worx' has emailed me a pic of my seat...... we think its a good idea to darken it down a bit, probably wont see it for another few weeks yet, but it looks great...... thanks Sue xxxx

Thinking About My Next Project!

My 1970 Ironhead Sportster

The tanks got to go!

Will make a great donor bike

The engines being rebuilt and repolished by Hawg Haven in Norwich, im hoping it will be finished soon.



The Look!!!!