and now to the wheels...

I have managed a couple of sessions in the barn come garage in the last couple of weeks. The best time seems to be when my wife goes out, and I get to put the baby to bed. Suddenly all the chores I have seem to reduce in importance. I wonder how that happens?

My new 15 pound 2001 CG 125 shocks arrived via ebay. Not quite as shiny as I was expecting from the picture, but they will do for now. To be honest, what do you expect for 15 quid?

One of the things that is going to hold me back is spare cash for parts. It's all starting to mount up in my head. 140 for seat and front mudguard, 90 for tyres, 48 quid for a nice pair of tommaselli drop bars, 350 quid for paint, 100 (?) for powdercoating the frame... It's gonna be a few more pounds than I have spare right now.

I was planning on rebuilding the wheels, but I think they are just gonna have to make do with a damn good clean and polish, as will quite a few of the parts. My thinking now is to try and get the bike back together with the minimum of cash spent. Once it is back together I can start to replace parts that need changing over a period of time rather than waiting for everything to be immaculate from the off and never getting it back on the road.

I am liking these Tommaselli Ace bars available from http://www.discovolantemoto.co.uk/ ;

I have also found some tyres that should work with this bike - Michelin Pilot Sporty. They are a relatively sporty tyre (not just a clever name) aimed at small capacity bikes. They have sizes available that will fit. Marvellous.

So, what have I been doing. Well I have started to get the rolling chassis together. The swinging arm and 15 quid shocks are back on and I have put the front end back on with some new 5mm ball bearings and grease. I just hope I have done it correctly, I have read so many times that you should photograph, bag and label all the parts, but where's the fun in that. Daft sod.

I need to understand where you need to use a washer and where you don't. A bit of Googling I think. I guess I will just nut-lock everything.

Anyway, here is a picture of where we are at the moment.

I have now started on the wheels. I am loving Dan's Online Motorcycle Repair Course;

www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm

I gives really good, clear instructions with loads of photos, and exploded diagrams. I have never services drum brakes before, but good old Dan has pointed me in the right direction and given me the confidence to have a go. You really don't want to mess up your brakes, unless you fancy a bit of speedway that is. Actually I do, but not on this bike. By the way, his link to the bible is The Bible, not a really complete motorbike book.

Anyway, the wheels. I needed to get the ancient old tyres off. Very old tyres. Very old, very rigid and and impossibly solidly constructied. I have needed some tyre levers for ages, so this seemed like a good excuse. A bit of research pointed to Buzzetti levers, not cheap at 27 quid (ebay) for a set of 3, but they seem worth it. And boy do they work well. Look like they will last a lifetime, so will probably pay for themselves. I must admit I normally get my tyres changed at the shop, lazy I know, but no more!

There are plenty of videos on youtube that show you how to change bike tyres, but it ain't rocket science with the right tools.

I have had a quick go with wire wool, which seems to be the recommended solution for removing rust. My wheel rims are chrome, and I thought they were knackered, but they are actually coming up really well. Underneath the rust the chrome seems to have held up pretty well, not perfect, but like I said earlier, they'll do for now. The spokes have been painted previously, and will need to be sanded and painted again. I think I will have to pull them apart, clean, paint and rebuild the wheels. Now that is going to be interesting. I know with bicycle wheels it is a real skill, but I am hoping motorbike wheels are easier to do. With rims that thick surely there is less scope for them to be out of true.? We'll see.