The Bonneville Project

Frame - Before & After

Here are some pictures showing the rear subframe which has now been straightened and trued.

The top two show the rear wheel in the frame after it came back from Abba Motorcycle Equipment.

The bottom picture shows the bent subframe.

Frame straightened

Alan at Abba Motorcycle Equipment has successfully straightened the frame.

To do this, he fitted the rear wheel into the frame and put it on the jig to see how much out of alignment it was before straightening it back true.

As mentioned before, the main frame was ok but the subframe had been knocked out about an inch out of alignment.

To do this sort of damage, Alan reckons it likely that the bike had done a complete flip and landed on the corner of the subframe.

I hadn't seen a jig before so didn't know what to expect and have included some pictures of what it looks like below.

The bike pictured in the jig isn't mine - it is a 1907 twin cylinder Norton.

Ridden by Rem Fowler, this was the bike that won the first ever Isle of Man TT race. It is so special that it usually resides in the National Motorcycle Museum.

An interesting article about this very bike was recently published in the Daily Telegraph. 

Straightening the frame

I've finally taken the frame to Abba Motorcycle Equipment at Maldon where it will be straightened.

The name of this company has nothing to do with the Swedish pop group Abba.

Rather it stands for Alan Burdett Bike Accessories.

The company was founded in 1982 after Alan - a frustrated motorcycle technician - found the bike lifts and stands he was using totally inadequate for the job.

After extensive testing of new ideas of various ways of lifting a motorcycle, many prototypes later the Abba Superbike Stand was born.

Today, Alan's range of stands and workshop products covers the whole spectrum of motorcycling including race rep, custom, classic and off road bikes.

But he's also a dab hand at straightening classic bike frames.

So far as I know, there aren't many people who do this and I'm fortunate his workshop is less than 10 miles away.

Alan has put my frame in a jig and fitted the rear wheel, so everything can be aligned.

It is already evident that the subframe has taken a hefty wack and is about an inch out of alignment.

However this should be fairly simple to put right - although it will cost £185 plus VAT.

I've also asked Alan to check the front yoke alignment.

I'm hoping the yokes will be ok, but the fact that the stanchions and fork sliders needed replacing suggests I shouldn't be surprised if they aren't.

Brake torque stay

It's always good to rescue a part that initially appears beyond repair.

At first glance, the brake torque stay looked rather battered.

It was covered in grease and grime. But a closer inspection revealed that it was at least straight.

An initial clean-up soon revealed that it needed repainting, but it was also evident that I would be able to make it look good as new.

Having stripped all the old paint and cleaned the oil pipe, the torque stay is now waiting to be resprayed.

If only fixing the whole bike was this easy...

Frame fasteners - nearly there

I've located most of the remaining fasteners and washers for the frame and swinging arm from Grin Triumph.

I emailed them this morning and they replied within an hour. The parts they are sending are as follows:

Part No.	Description	Price	Quant.	Total
NW100	Grease nipple	2.00	1	2.00
WE170	Fibre washer	0.25	1	0.25
PCW73A	Washer	2.15	2	0.16
GS303	Washer	0.10	3	0.30
14-0702	Self-locking nut	0.50	1	0.50
14-0703	Self-locking nut	0.65	1	0.65
14-0304	Nut	0.35	1	0.35
S25-2	Plain washer	0.10	2	0.20
S26-1	Spring washer	0.10	2	0.20
S25-13	Plain washer	0.09	1	0.09
	Split pin brake rod	0.25	1	0.25
57-1076	Screw (3/8 in. U.H.)	0.25	3	0.75
82-4717	Self-locking nut	0.25	5	1.25
82-8090	"O" ring	0.75	2	1.50
			Subtotal	8.59
	All prices in GBP		P&P	2.50
			VAT	0.33
			TOTAL	11.42

 

Frame fasteners arrive

I'm really pleased with the delivery that arrived today from Tricor.

Everything is high quality and everything has been part-numbered so I can tell each nut and bolt from the next.

This is probably the best experience I've had from ordering anything over the internet.

The only downside is that Tricor didn't have everything I needed in stock.

But that is the same with every supplier and hardly surprising as I was ordering obscure fasteners rather than major components.

Frame & swingarm fasteners

All the suppliers I can find seem to have most of the parts I need, but no supplier seems to have all of them.

This is especially the case when it comes to fasteners - in this case for the frame and swinging arm.

I can salvage most of the nuts and bolts, but some of them need replacing. This is because they are either non-standard and don't match or have been damaged.

Compared to larger parts, fasteners come cheap. But there are so many of them that the cost soon mounts up - especially when you add on tax and postage.

I've just ordered a bundle of bits from Tricor England. I chose them as a supplier because their website has photographs of every last nut and bolt they sell.

This should help me identify what I've ordered once it arrives.

The order below cost me a hefty £91.59 - but it does include a brake light switch (£15), two swing arm bushes (£3.50 each), two bearing cups (£6.00 each) and a cone (£6.50).

Part No.	Description	Price	Quant.	Total
14-0113	Bolt	0.16	1	0.16
14-0235	Shock absorber bolt	0.50	4	2.00
14-0302	Nut 5/16	0.16	1	0.16
14-0303	Nut 3/8	0.18	4	0.72
82-3158	Spring	1.20	1	1.20
82-4671S	Spring	4.00	1	4.00
82-5412	Switch clip	2.00	1	2.00
82-5413	'D' washer	0.20	1	0.20
82-6042	Swingarm bush	3.50	2	7.00
82-7021	Bolt	1.40	1	1.40
82-7155	Steering stop	1.20	2	2.40
82-7386	Brake Rod	5.60	1	5.60
82-7387	Brake adjuster	2.50	1	2.50
82-8382S	Stainless sidestand spring	4.00	1	4.00
82-9387	Bolt	1.80	1	1.80
97-0111	Cup	6.00	1	6.00
97-0439	Cone	6.50	1	6.50
97-1001	Dust cover	2.50	1	2.50
SPX017	Brake light switch	15.00	1	15.00
			Subtotal	71.14
	All prices in GBP		P&P	8.00
			VAT	12.45
			TOTAL	91.59

A framework strategy

I called Abba Equipment and told them about my wonky rear frame.

They were really helpful, and said it would be easy to fix.

First though, they asked some questions:

Was the engine in the frame? No. The rear wheel? Er, there isn't one. The shocks? I've got new ones because the old ones were bent.

Ideally, engine, rear wheel and shocks would all be in place. Then they can put the frame on a jig and align everything up. Easy, apparently.

Having the engine in place isn't fundamental, which is good, because putting it back would be a lot of work.

But having the rear wheel in place is important.

In a way this is good, because it focuses my mind and gives me a coherent plan of attack for the restoration.

I'm sending the hubs off for wheel-building soon. While they are away, I will tidy up the rear brake hub.

Then, when the wheels come back, I'll refit the rear wheel, and take the whole lot so it can jigged, straightened and aligned.

Thanks are due to everyone at RealClassic.co.uk and BritBikeForum who gave me advice and put me in touch with Abba Motorcycle Equipment.

That wonky rear frame

I'm rapidly learning that half of the challenge when restoring a bike is knowing the right order to do it in.

I'm almost ready to send the hubs off for wheel-building, but to put the wheels back on the bike I also have to sort the forks and the brake hubs.

Then there is the frame - especially the rear frame which has taken a knock.

The last thing I want to do is finish the restoration, jump on the bike and then realise that the bike 'crabs' down the road because the frame is out of true.

There's little point putting good bits back onto a bad frame - a bit like building a house without foundations, I guess - so I'm determined to get the frame sorted out.

Yesterday I reassembled the frame with the new shocks and the rear frame is definitely out of true. No point in painting it like that!

Sometimes it looks worse than others so yesterday I decided to post a "plea for help" on a number of classic bike websites.

I've been overwhelmed by the response - especially from RealClassic.co.uk and BritBikeForum.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. All suggestions were good, but one stood out because it was mentioned in responses to each website.

Tomorrow I'm going to call Abba Motorcycle Equipment, who advertise in Old Bike Mart and have offered a frame-straightening service for more than 30 years.

The good news is they are only 10 miles up the road. I'll let you know how I get on.

Shiny new shock absorbers

Like many components attached of the left-hand side of the bike, the left shock-absorber was bent beyond repair. Not a pretty sight.

When replacing shocks it makes sense to renew both sides at the same time - not least in this case because both left and right springs were rusty.

A pair of shiny new shock-absorbers was supplied free of charge by Len Craig & Sons after I purchased new mudguards and cables from them.

The shocks would normally retail at £49.99.

This act of generosity was much appreciated - restoring an old bike is expensive so every little helps!