Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Finishing Touches

Quick Update - Oct 2016.
Following completion of this project over a month ago, there remained several aspects to still address; some for running and driveability purposes and others for aesthetics.  I'd not been sure if I'd add signal lights to this bike, preferring to keep it closer to the stripped-down 'cafe' look.  And it had no signals when bought.  But the wiring harness has signal leads already included, and the left bar switch accommodates turn signal operation; and its a safer way to ride.  So a lot of searching and thinking arrived at a set of mini-stalk marker lights from BikeMaster, which were fairly cheap and actually look pretty good.  The round (closer to oval) lens and flat black housing do not look out of place on this bike.  And at 23W each, they put out a lot of light.  One of the four arrived not working, so I bought a few spare bulbs for the inevitable next time.


Also, a mirror was in order, and I'd looked exclusively at bar-end mirrors.  The left grip had already been chewed away at the end by something or someone, so cleaning up the hole for a mirror on the left did not damage anything further, assuming it did not work out.  Good thing, as it has not quite worked out.  The mirror I bought (BikeMaster again) looks the part, but includes a chunky mounting point which interferes with the clutch lever at full disengagement.  So to rotate the mirror to where it does not contact the clutch lever makes actually viewing traffic behind pretty difficult.  Oh well, I'll keep it for looks for now as I can no longer return it.  I may get another style or go with a bar-mounted mirror.
EDIT: I replaced this with another bar-end mirror which is much smaller yet fits well, looks good, and does not interfere with the clutch lever.

For the brake lever, I ended up tossing the Tarozzi lever and cut down the stock lever instead.  It already fit on the brake spline shaft with no modification or linkages (which were getting somewhat cumbersome to assemble).  Just past the curve I cut, ground and smoothed the end of the lever.  A hole drilled in the end accommodates the Tarozzi toe piece so it still has an integrated look.  Note gray PVC spacer between bracket and folding part of foot peg to take up the space that the Tarozzi lever occupied.
Also, the shorter lever reduces leverage on the rear brake shoes meaning less ability to lock up the rear.

Next, the shifter and seat are all that remain.

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