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A lifetime project

20K views 100 replies 19 participants last post by  Dutch Dennoz 
#1 ·
So as i mentioned in my introduction i own a bike and i own some creativity and i happen to work in a machine shop.
In my humble opinion the shovelhead is a diamond in the rough with some oversized corners but thats whats customizing is all about.
I already done a lot of modifications visible and non visible but most of the time when i am done at the rear i start over again from the front.
My current project is to replace the chunky alloy primary by the pressed tin type.
When the inner primary arrived i was not impressed by the “fit from any distance” tolerances on it, it even came with a note that said not to give a shit about the chrome quality but thats not an concern at all.
because i am not all about the looks but also want modifications to last i took action and machined a bracket that ensures the fixed relations between the engine and gearbox as well as remaining the bearring support.
The inner primary only functions as a shiny cover as long as the chrome last.
Make note of the 2 countersunk tapped holes on the back, they are there in precaution for another modification.
 

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#7 ·
Unfortunately i had to leave some of my clutch parts at work and we have some kind of holiday break...so what to do now. I cleaned up the tiny cave and gave the bike a rub, i have to admid i am not the knight with the shiny armour but i kind of like the raw finish. I think there are some parts worth of sharing , some with not really a purpose of machining them but just for the fun of it.

High/low switch
 

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#12 ·
A Phillips head and a flathead screw on the same points cover?

You're a monster.

Good work. Bike has some real neat bits on it. That hub looks like a ton of work.
 
#13 ·
Damn ...sharp notice , i will have to fix that before jp tunes in...which one do you prefer me to keep? The flat or the phillips.

Machining the hub costed me at about 8 hours i guess ...it was mainly conventional machining, welding it together and straightening it out another 4 hours and the TLC on the finish i did not kept track of.
 
#14 ·
Please understand that I speak from the deepest depths of ignorance. But I can't decide whether your homemade wheel looks both beautiful and like a deathtrap, or just beautiful. The best I can do is to infer, from the quality of your work elsewhere on the bike, that the wheel is probably safer than any genuine Invader ever was. Which, if I understand correctly, doesn't set the bar too high; but still, real nice work. Thanks for the show & tell.
 
#15 ·
Thanks and No worries Ratso , All opnions are welcome , i was not very charmed by the ‘original’ construction of a invader wheel as well and that is why i decided to machine a hub with pockets at about 1 inch deep to put the tubes in, i really had to press them in and after they where in place i machined the assembly to the rim diameter. The chunck of lead on it was only needed after avon s&m was mounted.
 
#16 ·
So , as you all might know, all those parts together make it a motorcycle.
I was bored anyway so i cleaned our 10 square meter garden and took some pictures , it is really not easy to find the right angle with your back against the wall. This place is really sardine town but i am glad we Found a spot with a small shet with a back entry. Once the clutch is done i will putt some energy in smoothening up some brackets and misc small parts , and then since the starter engine is gone i can change the oil tank to follow the profile of the frame pipes as seen from above....and after that a crazy frank inspired fender. And damn what’s next.
 

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#22 · (Edited)
I am not getting dizzy for the worlds fastest improvements but it’s slowly getting somewhere.
An important issue for me was to get the clutch actuator covered up , in that I succeeded , but i wont call it a wrap yet.
The bended pipe on the end ofcourse causes a bit of extra wear and friction, and dispite it works and won’t brake down in an instand i Will engineer it a bit more further on with a 3 point lever To reduce the wear and straighten out the cable.
At least Now i know how much room there’s left between the clutch basket, cable and primary cover...not much to nothing.
A next resort could be the BDL bbp diaphragm pressure plate which use an half inch shorter shoulder bolts so there’s more space available but i think i will Pull this off (typical for a clutch)
 

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#25 ·
So......
I took a lot of time this week to explore some options , both of them stranded half way the fabrication when i was able to bite the parts like a monkey and realized some other disadvantages might come along. Some old fashioned grinding and welding..and grinding did the job at the end , a Nylatron insert provides the guide , the feel does not differ from a straight cable now.
 

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#31 ·
I still have a lot of work ahead because one thing always leads to another, but for now they are small stuff like cleaning up the coil bracket and floorboard mounts, hiding the rear brake master cylinder and stuf like that....i had spend some time on fabricating an Oil filter adapter inside the tin primary with an assembled height of only 69 mm , but the available space turned out to be 65 mm:mad::mad:.
Starting al over again with a flatter filter...and offcourse the diameter needs to be a few mill bigger. The next in sight Mod will be the smaller profile oil tank and we will see what’s next. Cpt fred got me inspired with the hammerite and owatrol because i never thought of the combination before .
 

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#32 ·
hey Dutch , I basically did the same mod on my 65 kick only . I used after market tin primaries . Had to heavily modify the inner for the bearing support , and grind the ribs off the bearing support to obtain a flat surface for the inner primary to lay on . The hardest part of the project was getting the belt on with the tranny being non adjustable after it was bolted solid to the inner primary ... but you cant beat the look of tin primaries !
 
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