The Bonneville Project

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.

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. 

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...

Brake plate cleaned

I had my first experience of bead blasting today and I'm well impressed.

Battling with the grime on the aluminium front brake anchor plate was getting me nowhere fast.

In fact, my attempts to clean the plate using Autosol merely succeeded in spreading the dirt around rather than cleaning it off.

So I emailed Christian, a fellow bike builder from Florida I've "met" through this weblog, and asked his advice.

Christian immediately suggested bead blasting the plate.

I started by getting in touch with Andy Tiernan Classics in Suffolk and took the plate to him today. You can read all about Andy's bead blasting process here.

The plate cleaned up a treat (see left). This photo (right) shows just how dirty it was.

The cost for restoring this chunk of aluminium to its former glory?

A well-spent £8, which included while-U-wait service and masking off the smooth metal rim which will now be polished to within an inch of its life.

I'm really chuffed.

Video clips and words

I've started making video clips as I continue to strip down various bits of the bike into their component parts.

It's easier than writing indecipherable notes, and will make reassembly easier, although I'll still take photos too.

Double-clicking on the picture above should start the video, although it's not exactly user-friendly.

Still, I'm trying to build a bike, not trying to be the next Steven Spielberg...

This clip shows the removal of the bearing and felt retainer from the rear sprocket and brake drum.

I wish I'd videoed the entire rear hub disassembly because putting it together again is going to be complicated!

Shiny new metal arrives

The first batch of parts I ordered for the hubs have arrived. I'll post a photo of the bits in the next day or so.

It's always rather exciting when stuff arrives - a bit like sending yourself a really expensive birthday present.

The bearings were wrapped in protective packaging and everything was well-cushioned so it wouldn't get damaged in the post.

The front cover plate, however, is the wrong size.

I should have measured it and sent a photo too as I now realise there are a few variations under the same part number.

I called Burton Bike Bits to explain and they agreed to accept it back.

They also kindly agreed to take back the two spindles - after examining them alongside mine, I realised my old ones didn't need replacing.

I've revised the Hub Parts Order: Part 1 posting so it reflects this.

I've also decided to place the second half of my hub order with Burton Bike Bits and will be placing it within the next few days.

Rim and tyre choice

I've been mulling over the choice of tyres and rims for the bike, with some help from fellow enthusiasts at the BritBike Forum.

The bike came with WM2 rims - a WM2-19 on the front and a WM2-18 on the back.

Both look rather skinny compared to modern motorcycles (see pic), so I've decided to go for a wider WM3-18 rim on the rear.

I hadn't given the rear tyre much thought until people on the forum pointed out I would have problems with it rubbing on the swingarm if the tyre was too wide.

It looks like a 4.33" tyre is the widest you can safely go, but I'm thinking of being extra sure by going for a 4.10" width tyre.

I'm also thinking of blowing the budget by going for stainless steel rims.

These will be expensive, but I only intend to build this bike once, so I may as well build it the way I want it.

Tomorrow I will talk my ideas through with the wheel builders.

Hub parts order: Part I

Having dismantled the hubs, I've ordered some replacement parts - including new bearings and spindles.

This is the first of what will be an order split in two installments due to a combination of time and money, both of which I lack.

It's important I receive the bearings and various grease retainers as soon as possible. Once they arrive, I will send them away with the hubs for wheel building.

Also included in this first order are brake shoes and various other bits for the front hub.

The second installment of the order will include rear brake shoes, brake anchor plate and sprocket.

This will be placed while the wheels are being built.

I've chosen to order all these hub-related parts from Burton Bike Bits because they have an excellent online database and have everything I need in stock.

Details of the first order are shown in the table below. Postage and packing is to be added. Prices are in GBP.

Part No.	Description	Price	Quant.	Total
FRONT
37-2057	Wheel spindle	17.50	1	17.50
37-0653	Bearing	6.00	2	12.00
37-1237	Dust cover	1.60	1	1.60
51-0280	Circlip	1.40	1	1.40
37-1481	Grease retainer	2.60	1	2.60
37-3337	Bearing support ring	2.25	1	2.25
37-1992	Cover plate	18.50	1	18.50
37-1996	Brake shoe & lining	24.00	1	24.00
37-0135	Shoe return spring	1.20	2	2.40
14.0302/001	Nut	0.25	2	0.50
37-2058	Anchor plate nut	1.10	1	1.10
wf32	Pivot pin	0.65	2	1.30
21-25-6	Plain washer	0.24	2	0.48
37-1991	Anchor plate gauze	8.00	1	8.00
21-0650	Taptite screw	0.25	3	0.75
REAR
37-1595	Grease retainer	1.95	2	3.90
37-1509	Backing ring	0.50	1	0.50
21-35-7	Bearing	14.00	2	28.00
37-1596	Dust cap	1.20	1	1.20
37-1635	Grease retainer	2.10	1	2.10
37-1055	Spindle	12.00	1	12.00
37-1091	Rubber sealing ring	1.40	1	1.40
			Subtotal	143.48
	All prices in GBP		VAT	25.11
			P&P
			TOTAL	168.59

Front brake anchor plate

As these pictures show, I'm in the process of working on the front brake anchor plate.

After the trauma of painting the front hub, this has proved refreshingly straightforward.

It is largely a matter of cleaning up the plate, which is excellent condition but laden with road grime.

The brake linings are 80% worn and will be replaced, along with shoes and return springs.

But I'm keeping the original brake cams, abutment pads and brake cam levers.

I'm learning that you can't take enough photos when working on a bike.

This is especially true with the brake cams and levers which must be correctly aligned when reassembled after I have cleaned them.

It's also frequently easier to refer to photos than to the offical Triumph workshop manual - especially when it comes to positioning fiddly parts like the abutment pads.

Priming the front hub

It's proved to be a typically English damp rainy October, which has made progress on the bike difficult.

Not the best paint drying weather.

But the front hub has been successfully primed, helped by smuggling it into the house past m'Lady each evening to dry and harden overnight in the kitchen.

Rather than hanging the hub on a piece of wire, I balanced it on top of a plastic flower pot threaded over an old piece of scaffold base.

As a primer, I used Hammerite No. 1 Rust Beater, which claims to kill rust, prime and undercoat all in one.

There were two reasons for choosing this product, and I'm pleased with the result.

The first reason was that some superficial surface rust appeared after I washed off the paint remover used to get rid of the powdercoat.

The second reason is that the Rust Beater is brown in colour, and the other primers in the shop were grey.

Using brown rather than grey will make it easier for me to see where the silver top coat has been applied, enabling me to be sure I get an even, durable finish.