The Bonneville Project

Circlip pliers - how handy?

I wonder how many times I'll use many of the tools purchased as part of this restoration.

My latest purchase is a set of circlip pliers, bought in readiness for dismantling and reassembling the forks.

So far as I know, I only need them for one job.

Shuttle valves are fastened in the bottom end of each stanchion by means of a retaining nut.

Circlips prevent these shuttle valves recessing into each of the stanchions.

I purchased the circlip pliers them while waiting for the replacement stanchions ordered from Len Craig & Sons.

I’m going to take the shuttle valves from the old stanchions and fit them to the new ones.

The circlip pliers cost £6.50 - cheaper than new shuttle valves which retail at £11.00 each.

There's nothing wrong with the old valves anyway.

But whether I'll use the circlip pliers again, who knows.

Len wins another order

While the wheels are being built, I am busy sorting out the forks.

Both forks show signs of age - and one of the stanchions is bent.

I'm replacing both stanchions, both main springs, the rubber gaiters and various other bits and bobs.

I was going to keep the original dust excluder sleeve nuts, and just replace the oil seals.

But as I can buy new sleeve nuts complete with oil seals for £45 I've decided to replace them too.

I've ordered the parts from Len Craig & Sons (top left).

I purchased some stainless steel mudguards from Len last autumn and he gave me a good deal.

This time, he offered me a choice of stanchions - one pair made from Japanese steel (£40) or a pair made from British steel (£56).

I went for the British steel which is better quality.

The plan is to rebuild the forks, reattach them to the frame, slot in the wheels and engine, and then check everything is aligned correctly.

If not, any necessary tweaks can then be made to the frame before it is painted.

Once I'm happy everything is true, I'll disassemble the frame and forks, get them painted and then start rebuilding the bike proper.

New fork parts are:

Part number	Description	Price/unit	Quantity	Total
82-4047	Cork washer	2.00	Pair	£4.00
97-1891	Solo main spring	10.00	Pair	£20.00
97-3633	Dust excluder sleeve nut c/w oil seal	n/a	Pair	£45.00
97-2119	"O" ring	2.00	Pair	£4.00
97-2092	Stanchion	n/a	Pair	£56.00
97-0430	Fibre washer	unknown	Pair	unknown
97-1062	Aluminium washer	unknown	Pair	unknown
S70-3	Steel ball (1/4 in diam)	unknown	40	unknown
			Subtotal	£
			VAT	£included
			P&P	£
			TOTAL	£

I will fill in the total once I know it - it's in the region of £156 delivered.

Tyres: the Dunlop TT100

Shaun from the Devon Rim Company called to say my hubs arrived safely.

He praised their condition and my paintwork, which was pleasing, and then talked me through the entire wheel-building process and what it involves.

I've gone for the stainless steel rims and spokes without a tyre safety bolt.

I originally wanted an Avon Speedmaster tyre on the front, with a 4.10 Avon GP on the back.

They don't make the GP any more - the equivalent is an Avon Safety Mileage but this doesn't come in a 4.10.

Instead, Shaun advised me to go for Dunlop TT100 tyres front and back because they come in the width I want.

This is the second time somebody has urged me to go for Dunlops - the first was Geoff, on this blog - and I'm going to take their advice.

The Dunlop TT100 was the first production tyre to do the Isle of Man TT circuit at 100mph+.

It's a softer compound tyre than the Avon and has a more rounded shoulder, so should give more grip and better lean into corners.

The wheels should be completed and delivered towards the end of August. In the meantime, I am going to source some parts for the forks.

Forks show signs of age

I dismantled the forks this morning after fettling the sleeve nut spanner so it finally fitted properly.

Taking everything apart was easy - more straightforward than I thought it would be.

One of the dust excluder sleeve nuts was tight but it eventually came loose with a bit of encouragement.

I followed the instructions in the original workshop manual. It all soon made sense after cross-referral with my old Haynes manual.

Within 30 minutes, I had both forks in bits and was holding a stanchion in each hand.

Both had seen better days.

The bottom of each stanchion, immersed in fork oil for 38 years, looked like new. But the top ends were decidedly rusty.

To check whether it was straight, I cautiously rolled the first stanchion across our glass-topped kitchen table.

It rolled perfectly.

I repeated the test with the second. It bobbled about, and is obviously bent.

Quite badly.

I'm going to replace the second stanchion. Or should I replace them as a pair?

I'm also going to replace both springs (which are slightly different lengths at rest), the oil seals (a sensible precaution) and rubber gaiters (perished).

Although the chrome on the original sleeve nuts is somewhat pitted, for now I am going to keep them because it will not be seen under the gaiters.

The worry about the bent stanchion now leads me to think that the top and bottom yokes might be bent.

But can't be sure until I get a new stanchion and put everything together again.

It's been a good day in terms of progress - I really feel I have achieved something.

But again it has turned out to be expensive.

I've posted more pictures below as an aide-memoire ready for fork reassembly.

Fork gaiter (wider lip goes towards top of fork)

Spring abutment (flat side towards top of fork)

Fork member (showing position of mudguard fixing)

Fettling the fork tool

The fork service tools I ordered have arrived safe and sound.

Neither are original - like many service tools on the market they are copies.

In fact, the fork sleeve nut spanner has an improvised handle made from a old twist grip, which made me smile.

I fought the temptation to go dismantle the forks straight straight away but promised myself I would that evening.

True to my renewed enthusiasm, I ventured out into the workshop later only to find that the sleeve nut spanner didn't fit.

Not an EXACT copy of the original tool, then.

This was really frustrating because the tool so very nearly fitted but not quite.

The centre of U-shaped mouth of the tool needed filing down so it would fit around the sleeve and allow the nuts each side to screw into their respective holes (click on the photo top left for a larger picture).

Trouble was, I didn't have a file. Plus it was late and all the shops had closed.

I managed to get hold of a file this morning and it did the job in 10 minutes.

The tool now fits and I've dismantled the forks.

Fork service tools

After much pondering, I've ordered my first two service tools.

These are non-standard tools which I apparently need to dismantle and reassemble various bits of the bike.

I say "apparently" because some people argue that you can do without them.

The first tool is a fork sleeve nut spanner (part no. 61-6017), so I can loosen the dust excluder and remove the stanchion to check it is true (see picture, top left).

The second is is a special spanner (60-0779) so I avoid butchering the fork top nuts (see picture, right).

I bought both tools from LP Williams.

In total, and including postage and packing, they cost £39.96. Expensive, perhaps, but a small price to pay to avoid damaging expensive components.

Hubs sent for wheel-building

After a delay that has lasted months, I’ve finally sent the hubs away for wheel building.

The reason for the delay is that bikes and babies don't mix.

But the hubs were at last despatched late this afternoon to Shaun at the Devon Rim Company – a firm specialising in classic bikes.

I also sent him the associated parts and bearings he needs so the wheels can be properly balanced.

If everything I want is in stock, the wheel-building should take about a fortnight.

I’ve gone for a WM2-19 rim on the front, but will be replacing the standard WM2-18 rear rim with a wider WM3-18.

The WM3-18 was an original option on my bike and I think it looks better.

I’ve also chosen highly polished stainless steel rims rather than the original chrome.

Again, this choice is largely personal and cosmetic – in the longer term at least.

Although the steel will be slightly duller, I won’t be polishing out any chrome rust spots in years to come.

I’m still undecided on tyres.

The bike came with an Avon Speedmaster Mk II 3.00-19 on the front and an Avon GP 4.10 H18 on the back.

I think I will go for a Speedmaster on the front again, but I want a wider tyre on the back.

The reason for this is a combination of looks and safety.

For me, wider looks better. There will also be more surface area of tyre in contact with the road.

One thing I am certain of, I won’t be fitting tyre security bolts – I haven’t come across many restorers who have fitted them and most seem to feel they aren't needed anyway. 

Bikes and babies don't mix

It's been just over a year since I bought the Bonneville and I'm much further behind with the restoration than I ever intended.

There are numerous reasons for this - some more valid than others.

First, restoring a bike much more time consuming than I ever thought it would be. There are so many bits and it requires a steep learning curve.

Secondly, it's much more expensive too. And not made any easier by the fact that no single supplier seems to have ALL the parts you need when you need them.

Thirdly, I have spent a lot of time and money on the bike and haven't really got anything to show for it.

In other words, I have lots of shiny bits of metal lying around the place but nothing - so far - ressembling anything that looks like it might be a bike.

Finally, these days I'm more likely to be found up to my elbows in baby goo rather than bike grease.

My 18-month-old daughter - like the bike - is demanding much more of my time and money than I thought she ever would.

Recently, however, she's started nursery so I should now (hopefully) have more time to devote to the bike.

The aim is to get a rolling chassis, complete with painted and straightened frame, by October.

Then at least I'll have something to wheel round and hang her Christmas presents on...