Chromed and Sparkly

Today we finalized mounting the shocks and modifying the oil tank necessary to clear the primary and the starter.  A finicky job but Curtis mastered it.  Then we picked up the chrome from the chromers and test fit the now chromed pieces onto the bike.  Talk about bike jewellery

 

The dash looks blue because it's reflecting the sky

 

 

Chromed Tail Piece

 

 

Checking the riding position

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Coming Together

The past few days have been spent putting things together.  The engine and transmission are now in the frame as is the front end and rear wheel assembly.  Today we double checked the ride height of the bike with the shocks temporarily attached and determined that the oil tank will have to be notched in order to clear the primary and the starter.  We also finalized the handlebars and set the exhaust pipes in place to check clearance.  We then took the pipes to the U Blast It shop and cleaned them up prior to the application of 3 coats of high temp clear paint.  The bike has turned out exactly as we had planned.

 

Pipes have yet to be cleaned up

 

Not the final handlebars but you get the idea

Engine Completed

I touched up the frame a few days ago as it had suffered a few scratches, etc. after dry fitting various components, welding the oil filter bracket to the frame and a few other mods.  Since the transmission had been previously finished, it was time to finish building the motor.  So, over the past two days Curtis put the motor together.  I mostly watched as he is the Shovelhead "expert" in the family.  Today, the job was done and now it's time to start assembling the bike.

 

Dusty's Motor

Tins are Finished

After waiting 4 days for the paint to set up, today I decided to get the color sanding and buffing completed.  It was tough to take sandpaper to my carefully finished tank and fender.  They were already shiny but, after reading several web sites about finishing motorcycle parts, I was finally convinced to start wet sanding and trust the process.  I started with the tank and was not disappointed with the results.  The fender was next and, although it took most of the day, all the web sites were right...sanding until the parts felt like glass then buffing with a cutting compound made everything sparkle.  Once the dash and fender trim have been chromed and installed, the finished product should be great.

 

 

 Nice and Shiny

 

 

Fender Looks Pretty Good Too

 

Painting Completed

After two full days of applying paint, the tank and fender are finished.  Next will come the color sanding and buffing of both but that will have to wait a few days as the paint sets up.  Probably won't get to that phase until later in the week.  Meanwhile, I still have some touch up painting  to do on the swing arm and frame.  Whether that gets done before the color sanding and buffing of the tank remains to be seen.  Lots of other stuff to get done as well but we're close to the assembly stage.

 

 Tank after 4 coats of color and six coats of clear

 

 

 

Fender after the same number of coats as the Tank (Note the Frenching on both for the chrome bits)

Body Work Finished, On To Painting

Well, after days and days of filling, grinding and sanding, the body work on the tank and fender is finished.  Never having done anything like this before, Curtis and I were basically a couple of blind guys leading a couple of blind guys.  I've become a fan of Bondo and am amazed at its ability to hide a number of "sins".  The plan is to give both the tank and fender 4 coats of primer, 4 coats of color and 6 coats of clear.  Then it will be on to color sanding and buffing.  As of this post, the tank is ready for color application and the fender is not far behind.

Tank with 4 coats of Primer

Putting it all Together

The last two days we've been able to just about finish the rear fender, put the front end together including rebuilding the brakes, assemble the heads and put the transmission together.  The gas tank is out for pressure testing and sealing and we'll be starting on the final stages of getting it ready for paint as soon as it gets back.  Hopefully the painting process for the tank and rear fender will start in two to three weeks.  We're still shooting for the first weekend in May to have "Dusty" on the road.

 

Transmission and Front End