Anyway, changed the brake fluid in one of the bikes today, an easy operation due to my Mity Vac, a great piece of kit.
Tried to keep busy today as the weather was terrible. Very high winds and driving rain. Supposed to turn to snow soo too... Anyway, changed the brake fluid in one of the bikes today, an easy operation due to my Mity Vac, a great piece of kit. I had painted the instruments and support brackets yesterday but let them heat cure today for a few hours then reassembled them with new rubber mounts. Will fit them to the bike tomorrow and then it's almost finished, just waiting for the rechromed headlamp brackets to arrive.
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Weather is crazy here at the moment, last 2 days was heavy snow. Overnight there were really high winds and then very heavy rain that lasted until lunchtime. Right now, all the snow has gone and the sun is out! Feels like a Spring day. I give up.
Anyway, got a lot done on the other silver Jota today. Removed front end and fitted new steering head bearings, refitted front end and filled the forks with new oil. Did an oil change on the engine, and then stripped off the old paint from the instrument brackets and instruments, rubbed them down and then etch primed, primed and painted them. Hopefully they will have hardened overnight and ready to re-fit in the morning. I also have to change the brake fluid front and rear and do a few more bits and pieces. Still waiting for some chrome parts, should be here mid-week coming. Storm Doris hit overnight. Woke up to a foot of snow, roads all blocked etc. Shame I don't have to drive to the cave. Still, no rest for the wicked so back to work. Got the engine finished on the Jota and back in the frame. Right now just need to re-fit the exhaust and battery and fire her up and fine tune things. I also have to finish off the second Jota currently in the cave. Already changed the brake pads and sent some parts off for chroming (now on their way back, weather permitting) and now I'm ripping down the front end to replace steering head bearings and replace fork oil and brake fluid.
There were some issues with the rebuild, based on valve clearances due to offset cam bearings having been used in a previous build of this engine to solve recessed valves. This build used a replacement head I had ready with proper valve seat dimensions. So after a bit of head scratching I sussed it out. Just waiting for a couple of thick shims to arrive before it's ready to button back up. Because of this I had time to do a bit more work on the other Jota here at the moment. Fitted new brake pads and started dismantling the instruments as the speedo needs some repair and I will paint the brackets and clock shrouds while I'm in there. It will freshen it up nicely.
I need to get them both finished by the end of the month as 3 more arrive then... Been a while but I have been doing lots of fiddly jobs plus life gets in the way, you know how it goes. Anyway, back on silver Jota #1. Today I fitted the new pistons and barrels on the engine and re-fitted the through studs with thread locker as when I stripped it down they were loose... Next job will be re-fitting the head an re-setting the shim gaps, always a barrel of laughs after a valve/seat job as you have to estimate which shim sizes to use, re-assemble, then measure. If incorrect (as is normally the case) you need to disassemble again, fit correct shims and re-assemble again. After the head is done it won't take long to re-fit the engine and button it all back up. Planning to have it all done before the end of his month.
I'm also working on a second silver Jota, basically a full service, some chrome and paint, some repairs and then it may be for sale. This is a genuine 1977 Slater Jota. The engine was fully sorted recently and runs very well indeed. I also want it finished by the end of this month as I need the space for 3 new projects arriving early March. At some point I also want to fettle my own bike. I want to ultrasonic clean the carbs and give it a deep clean before the new season starts. Right now it's minus 4ºC and the north wind is blowing hard, so not really biking weather at the moment. I'm hoping it will really perk up in April. Last year the best weather of the whole year was at the end of May here. |
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