Back to the Grind

Before final prep of the frame for paint or powder-coat, I have a few little jobs to sort out, so I tackled two of them tonight.

Firstly, I never had a key for the steering lock. I discovered that Stein-Dinse sell a replacement lock with keys for less than it would cost me to have a locksmith pick the lock and make a key. So out came the drill and a few different sized bits and I drilled the old one out and cleaned up the shavings. Easy-peasy!

Started off small and worked up

Eventually... voila!

The second job was to remove the broken steering stop from the frame so that I can weld a new piece in there. The replacement piece is not yet made, that's the next job on the list (well, after I buy a cheap arc welder, that is. haha!).

It is not the easiest location to get in and remove something, that's for sure:

That's a 30+ y/o frame there, folks

 The snap-off is the result of a low-side fall. I imagine it is a fairly common problem in older Guzzi's. I have been looking forward to including this fix, as it has been a real pain without it when using clip-on bars.
As access is tight, out came the trusty Dremel tool, which I used to cut the piece out and then grind down the excess weld.

Cut

Grind, baby, grind!

Done!

...all ready to receive new piece. Stay tuned to see how that turns out!

UPDATE 6 April 2012:

Well, I bit the bullet and picked up a little second-hand AC arc welder off of eBay. After a bit of farting about on some practice bits of mild steel, I attacked the job and surprisingly managed to do the business on the steering stop. Not the prettiest I admit, but I think it will do the job. My thanks to Rod Yeomans, Graeme Wilson, Mark Glanfield and Charles Anstis from the AIGOR list for their advice, and also a special thanks to Rob Anderson for offering to do the job for me if my effort did not work out (which was certainly on the cards!).

'Fingers crossed'

Next step: Quit buggering around and get the frame finished so I can start the re-build!
Stay 'tuned'...

Back on Track

Well after a short hiatus over Christmas and New Year, I hit a snag with suspension of my licence due to a slight over-exuberance 50km south of Thredbo... major detune!! Anyhoo, we are back on track now and doing preparation work for finishing of frame and associated bits.

The associate bits

I had a great visit from well-known Guzzi enthusiast Brett Rosenthal, who had been working on a set of (more triangular looking) side covers for the project. He also brought over his special tool for pulling the lower bearing off the triple tree. Worked a treat! Thanks Brett for the help and the mountain of other advice you have provided.

Brett on the job

Close-up of Brett's tool

I have done some hard thinking and have come to the decision that I will be painting the frame and not powder-coat. This is purely a personal decision as I want to do as much of the job as possible and this will allow me to work to my own time-frame and give me more of a feeling of personal achievement. I realise that I may stuff it up, and that it may not look as good, but the personal satisfaction will be there. I have never painted before, so I will be learning a new skill, so that is a bonus I will get from the project.

I have also decided to do the whole paint job for the bike. Ambitious? Yes. But I am not really concerned to get a 'concours' look from this, just a bike with a different look and a feeling of having done it (mostly) by myself. So now I am in the process of putting all the bits/tools together to start on the paint! I also am in the process of picking the brain of a Queensland Guzzi lover and world traveller, Rod Yeomans, who has been fantastic in giving me the benefit of his experience plus many tips to help guide me. Rod has a couple of great blog entries on his Guzzi travels through the USA and Europe over at Squadra Guzzista website as internet persona 'Morizzi'. Check them out and dare to dream!!!

Finally an honorary mention to Peter Clare from the AIGOR mailing list who came to my rescue and supplied a spacer for the rear Borrani wheel that I was having difficultly finding. AWESOME support from the Guzzi community. Thanks Peter, I owe you one.

And on it goes...