White House K10 - a story of regeneration

[GoldOxide_imp]

That blue 9 is sumthin' special.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

Nm, it's like an azure , gorgeous looking one!!

Going to be gorgeous

That blue 9 is sumthin' special.

So glad you all approve. :beerchug:

Remember the spacers on the front wheels for the front discs?

Holes drilled today. Prior weight 296g, new weight 214g, saving 82g per side. Of course I'm hoping to make a much greater saving when the dinner plates are replaced with the lattice bells, but that will have to wait for now a I was keen to carry on with the build.

 

[Cormanus]

I was worried for a moment that the Maglite was a missing bolt.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

I was worried for a moment that the Maglite was a missing bolt.

Please forgive me Cormanus, I've been so focused on getting the bike built that my garage has turned into a war zone. The good news is that to do the next job I had to tidy up and clean the bench.

Courtesy of NHCB1100 (thanks!) a new mph speedo face arrived today so there was no turning back, the speedo had to come apart.

I started by applying a couple of layers of masking tape over the old face, then using the screw heads as a fulcrum point, started to lever off the needle using a flat blade screwdriver and my fingers. Thankfully the technique worked and with a lot of effort, the needle came off.

Swapping the faces was a simple matter of undoing screws, old off, new on and fit screws again.

Refitting the needle, not so easy. The mechanism has a dead stop at zero but without the needle in place it was impossible to turn the mechanism safely, so the only option is to pre-fit, set, remove, reset, remove, reset, etc. until the needle finally rests on the stop at zero mph. When there, push home and we're done.

The inside of the "glass" with the soft cloth from my old sunglasses before screwing it back on.

 

[Cormanus]

Ninemeister, no criticism was intended so no apology is needed. I was merely concerned. Being, as I am, a mechanical liability, there is always at least one bolt sitting on the floor at the end of any job.

 

[Houtman_imp]

Nine , have you ever thought of moving to the USA , like next door to me ?
At least the parts are cheaper here and I can be your help like bringing your pints of beer as I do not drink tea but my wife will make the tea.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

Ninemeister, no criticism was intended so no apology is needed. I was merely concerned. Being, as I am, a mechanical liability, there is always at least one bolt sitting on the floor at the end of any job.

None taken, but great spot though!

Normally with a big build I would tidy and catalogue all the parts and fasteners as I took the bike apart, however since this was always intended as a fast turnaround I've been leaving things around the bike in the order I have pulled them off. Working on an old white bedroom carpet does help - as well as keeping my butt warm whilst on the job!

Nine , have you ever thought of moving to the USA , like next door to me ?
At least the parts are cheaper here and I can be your help like bringing your pints of beer as I do not drink tea but my wife will make the tea.

I'll take that as a huge compliment, but have to say that you wouldn't believe how many times I've had an offer to work stateside!
Clocks: Fitted.

Along with new chrome covers courtesy of Takashi.

 

[Cormanus]

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

Here's an interesting one - the left side panel.

I thought the fit of this panel was a little odd when I first removed it, but only when re-fitting did I realise why that was. As you look at the panel there are screwed on brackets top left and bottom centre. Top right is a hook which is welded on, top left is a peg and bottom is a screw through a hole. With the hook as a reference point, the peg orientates the side panel so the top is level and the sides line up with the frame tubes. All good so far.

The fit problem I found was caused by poor alignment of the bottom bracket to the threaded hole on the frame. Quick fix? New bracket. I marked up the old one with masking tape to mark out, then used a scrap piece of steel angle bracket (actually an old household radiator support) to form a new one (hacksaw.. file... drill... tapped holes... debur) then offer it up. Holes lined up, Paint and job done? Well, it would be if this was an ordinary build.

But to me it didn't look right because whilst the angle of the front of the bracket follows the line of the frame, the one at the rear doesn't.

So I made another.

The second one is now in paint.

 

[Houtman_imp]

After I see what you are capable of I HAVE to give up !

 

[Bazbro_imp]

That's interesting, Nine. I propose to use David Silver's CB750 replica side panels and I will have to be fashioning similar brackets to affix the panels.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

That's interesting, Nine. I propose to use David Silver's CB750 replica side panels and I will have to be fashioning similar brackets to affix the panels.

I'll post a picture of the top ones later.

 

[Bazbro_imp]

Thanks.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

I mentioned that the headlamp had been drilled for a side light? I had to remove it again to fit the clocks so took opportunity to give it a clean.

Here is the folded wiring inside the bowl, hole in the middle left for the lamp, and the sidelight "modification".

Whilst out I decided to clean the reflector and glass, so removed the H4 lamp (which is only a 35W, not 55W?) and got my finger inside with the Rayban cloth. The spring clip was removed after I caught my hand in it a couple of times.

Sadly (as my wife will confirm) I only have short fingers, so I wrapped & taped the cloth around a 1/4 drive extension to get to the outside edges of the reflector and the glass. It worked.
I made a matching bracket for the right side panel out of some flat 16g (1.5mm) plate I had kicking around. It's a bit thicker than the radiator angle but the same as the original White House bracket - so more than likely I will make a replacement for the left one some time later.

Mock up - mark - hacksaw - file - drill - deburr - fold - test fit - paint. 30 minutes.

 

[Bazbro_imp]

You're like a whirling dervish, Nine!! In the time it takes me to think about making myself a morning coffee, you've thought about, planned and made a bracket, painted it and fitted it!!

For me, yesterday's job was removing the tank. That's it, nothing more - removing the tank. After I had emptied the fuel pump a day or so earlier! Fast worker I ain't...

Today's job is "making a list" (as you yourself suggested).
I've ordered one side panel from David Silver, just to test the feasibility of what I plan to do, vis a vis the "1100Four" badge, but also how to fit it to the 'bike, maybe by attaching it to the existing side panel (which is happily quite flat) or by fitting brackets as you have.

You're quite an inspiration in my project, Nine. Thank you for this thread.

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

You're like a whirling dervish, Nine!! In the time it takes me to think about making myself a morning coffee, you've thought about, planned and made a bracket, painted it and fitted it!!

For me, yesterday's job was removing the tank. That's it, nothing more - removing the tank. After I had emptied the fuel pump a day or so earlier! Fast worker I ain't...

Today's job is "making a list" (as you yourself suggested).
I've ordered one side panel from David Silver, just to test the feasibility of what I plan to do, vis a vis the "1100Four" badge, but also how to fit it to the 'bike, maybe by attaching it to the existing side panel (which is happily quite flat) or by fitting brackets as you have.

You're quite an inspiration in my project, Nine. Thank you for this thread.

Glad to be of help and really good to know that the K10 thread is driving along the K17. Can't wait to see progress on the tank.

In respect of speed - think Blue Peter, in that posting on the forum is a little like "here's one we made earlier". :rofl:

Glad you mentioned badges....

I re-used the original Honda badges.

First job, remove old adhesive. Easier said than done but a blunt screwdriver and brake cleaner solvent did the job nicely enough in the end. Petrol would work but is much smellier than brake cleaner. It's messy either way.

Stage 2, apply new adhesive. I used 3M automotive trim adhesive which has a black foam substrate. I applied 2 layers as I wanted the logo to "float" slightly above the paint finish so would be easier to wax and clean.

Marking out. As it happens I have a laser line which is designed for aligning belt drive pulleys. I set the bike up with the bottom of the tank level, then did same with a piece of wood on the trestle and adjusted the height to strike a level line on the tank.

Masking tape was then applied with the top edge level with the laser.

Whilst the actual position is fairly arbitary, it had to be the same on left & right, so I decided to use a plumb bob and set the front of the badge in the centre of the front camshaft end cap, marking the line on the masking tape with a pencil.

Badge applied, tape removed. This now gave me measurements for the other side.
Photos.

 

[Houtman_imp]

Nine , it is wonderful for us to follow the excellent jobs you do with your bike , just one question I have : who mows your lawn ?

 

[Ninemeister_imp]

Nine , it is wonderful for us to follow the excellent jobs you do with your bike , just one question I have : who mows your lawn ?

Ha, great question!

To me life is all about paying it forward, so at the start of lockdown I set about doing all those jobs in the garden that we had wanted to do but put off for years. I rebuilt two fences, re-laid 50' of gravel path, built a cold-frame and a raised bed for the wife to tinker with (she's the gardener).

However my Grand Finale was in designing and building our "G&Tea Room" using nothing but scrap wood from a yard compound we knocked down at work, finally making sense of a slate-topped plinth that we had built years before but not used due to it being exposed to wind.

After that I advised Sarah that I had earned the time to build my bikes.
So far, so good - one (just about) down, two more to go...

 

[Bazbro_imp]

Nice!! Really nice.

I'd have earned 10 years worth of Brownie points if I had done that!!

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

The K10 conversion is looking spectacular 9.

And don't worry about the "short fingers". As you know, there are other ways.