I've had some interesting outings since I last checked in here. The first thing was straightening out the electrical problem, which - as Don predicted - involved replacing the Shorai battery with a new one. I also replaced the reg/rec, and relocated it from under the bike to just above the oil cooler, where it gets better air flow.
When I started the bike in the garage for the first time, I thought the sound was monstrous, and that I'd need baffles right away. But then I took it up in the Angeles National Forest. The raspy rumble, the rising and falling notes, the blipping during downshifts - I think I'm hooked. I've never been a noisy bike person, but I told myself that a bike that looks like this really should sound how it looks. Besides, I'm not commuting on it, so it's not being started at 7:30 every morning. OK, enough excuses.
I took it to the Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club Rally and got a trophy for Best Cafe Racer. Met Shannon and the other Venice Vintage folks, saw some cool bikes, and took a fun "police"-escorted ride up to Malibu. The rent-a-cops stopped traffic at every intersection, so we got there without stopping for any lights. Now THAT'S the way to travel!
The next weekend, I took the bike to a Sunday Cruise-In Show at The Petersen Automotive Museum. Nice people, and a variety of great vehicles. When they announced the winners, I was shocked to hear the guy say "CR750 Replica" after he said "Best In Show". Yikes. If you're anywhere near LA and you're into any kind of vehicles, see The Petersen. Sports cars, race cars, lowriders, trucks, electrics, movie cars, customs, classics.
Most recently, I went on the Hansen Dam British ride. Another great event if you're anywhere around LA. Once each spring and once each fall, it's put on by the Norton Club and the BSA club. Even though it says British, there are also Italian, Japanese, German, and American bikes. And again, race, street, antique, custom, classic - basically, any interesting thing you can think of. It's a gathering of literally hundreds of bikes, about a 100 mile loop through the mountains, and a show. I wound up lingering too long over my burrito at Casa Gutierrez and got back too late for the show, but it was a great ride.
OK, so while I was there, Jay Leno rolled up on a 1954 Vincent Black Prince. When he saw my bike he was very interested, and he said he thought it would be a good bike to have on Jay Leno's Garage. I gave him my contact info, but I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to have to tell people later that it wasn't happening. But then his producer called and we set up a date to appear. I'm still blown away. Someone at work said "Wow, you're going to be a star", and I said "The bike could be a star. They only need me because somebody has to bring the bike up there."
So. When I added a second disc, I retained the original master cylinder because one from an early GL1000 wouldn't fit through the clipon cutout in the fairing. The lever felt squishy even with the stainless lines, but the brakes still worked, and I thought I would just live with it. But now I imagine Jay may be riding the bike, and I'd hate to hear him speaking into his wired helmet and saying "Hey, where are the brakes?" So I started looking online for another master cylinder that would be good for dual discs. The only one I could find was one that looked more like a Kawasaki part. But then I came across one that was more like the Honda part, and had a 16 mm bore rather than the stock 14 mm bore. I ordered one, and I had to deal with the threaded boss that mounts the rear view mirror. Since my mirrors are somewhere else, I used a hacksa........oops, I mean I used a precision cutting instrument to removed the boss. Then I filed and sanded the part, threaded an aluminum rod and screwed it tight into the remaining threads, cut it off, smoothed it, and had it powder coated.
The next thing to deal with was the lever. It's different enough that I can't use my old lever in its place, but there were things that I could change. The ball end on the new one was too big, so I squared it off with the belt sander and then filed and sanded it into a smaller-sized ball.
It was also too curved, so I traced the curve of the old lever onto a piece of wood, cut along the line, and then clamped the new lever between the two pieces of wood and bent it to where it's a pretty good match for the old lever. I didn't have any hardwood, so I used a piece of Douglas fir. It did part of the straightening, but then the lever started to sink into the wood. At that point, I put two small flat pieces of 3/4 inch plywood in the vice and brought it the rest of the way. I had run into this situation earlier in the project, where I wanted to bend an aluminum part. On the internet I found out that:
1. You have to heat the part first.
2. The part can only be bent when it's cold.
3. You have to bend it very gradually.
4. You have to bend it quickly by striking it.
5. No matter what you do, the part will break.
We've probably all seen a brake or clutch lever that was bent in a fall. Sometimes they're even bent into a C shape without breaking. I took my unscientific, anecdotal observation and figured I'd give it a shot, since it didn't have to bend really far. Gradually and nervously, I applied pressure until it was close to where I wanted it, and then called it quits. I don't think there's any piece on this bike that didn't have to be fiddled with before I could mount it.
We've had our discussion here about bike shows, and now I can say that it's definitely nice to get a trophy, but the biggest thrill is when people come up at The Rock Store, or Newcomb's Ranch, or at a gas station or traffic light and ask about the bike. It seems like most people say "What is it?" or "Is this new?", but then someone else - usually someone a little older - will say "Wow, I've never seen one of these on the road. Where did you get it?" And I say "How much time do you have?"
Not a garage queen.
Thanks for looking.
Vincent
