It is (optically) DONE!

It has been a long journey. You all know that all too well since you have been so patient and read all of my 57 (so far...) articles on the restoration process. 

We are now approaching the very end of the project. The bike is very soon completed and the restoration of it concluded. 

Today I finished it visually. 

The wind screen got back on. Or rather, the new one did... 

The decals also got ready today and I had a great day in the garage finishing up this and that and putting the sponsor decals on one by one. Tricky but rewarding!

This day actually started yesterday evening at Tullarn´s when I went to get my two (!) new wind screens.

This is one of the people that has made this project possible at all.

Ingvar is a very talented and friendly guy. I guess he is one of the best manufacturers of fairings and wind screens in Sweden. He makes these things from scratch from the best quality plexi glass you can find. It is a totally manual process involving a mold, a heated sheet of plexi glass and compressed air to blow it up as a "bubble".

It is then possible to shape the wind screen and grind the edges for smoothness and cut it to size. A total manual process and very time consuming. Tullar´n is a Godsend for us motorcycle enthusiasts here in Stockholm. My restoration of the H1R wouldn´t have been possible without him!

Since I am such a "Jackass" at drilling wind screens he gave me a piece of plexi glass to practice on.

 I guess he didn´t want to make any more screens for me...

Hopefully I won´t have to bother him any more, at least not on this build!

Back home I made an inventory of my ceramic tile drill bits.

6, 8 and 10mm.

Hmm, 6 mm might work just fine...

It did not. I had to go get another set of drill bits. 

Oh well, a nice day for a motorcycle ride to the hardware store.

Not a bad option. The ceramic tile drill bits have evolved quite a bit since I bought mine. Nowadays they have 4 cutting edges compared to two on my old ones. I got two sizes, 5 mm and 5,5 mm. I test drilled both and decided to go with the 5,5 mm to avoid tensions in the glass from the 5 mm screws. 

Back to adjusting and fastening the screen to the fairing with my clamps. I decided to use as many of them as I could fit to make sure I got the wind screen at the exact correct place before drilling.

Looks centered and symmetric to me. 

Getting closer to where it is supposed to be.

It is time consuming to change the location, get the rear ends back in place and then try to press it forward and see where the center part of the screen ends up. 

The first hole to drill is the most forward one. It is also the most difficult one to fit the screw through. The tacho is in the way...

The right side getting closer to where it needs to be. You need to get enough glass for the drilling and still you want as much of the glass as possible over the edge of the fairing. And preferably equal on both sides.

Better be thorough!

And the left side. It is easy to check each side and compare it to the other and if necessary loosen the clamp and adjust the screen this or that way. 

Soon it is time to do the drilling...

This is as good as I could get it it.

Let´s just try and get it drilled once and for all!

After that victorious drilling and fastening of the wind screen I felt brave enough to start working on the decals and start numbers.

I know this is extremely important. If these figures, numbers or logos get on there in a crooked or oblique way it would make the whole thing look bad. 

Better be very thorough here and take my time. At least I had the presence of mind to order extra decals. I could fail at least a couple of times doing this. Better safe than sorry!

My choice of race to replicate the bike from is very well known by now. 26 of July 1970. The day "ESSO" won the Swedish GP at Anderstorp. He used start number "12" and had a very special set of sponsor decals and texts on his bike.

The "12" up front seemed like a good starting point.

To the right here I have mocked them up using small pieces of masking tape to get them where I want them. This lookes OK!

I realize I have to show you what I am looking for here and what I want to achieve.

On the left here is "ESSO" ready ta start at the Swedish GP on the H1R.

The decals are clearly visible and I have tried my best to replicate them one by one.

One of my issues is the paint. Of course it is impossible to get the paint exactly the same as it was here. Johnny did a great job, but when it comes to placing the decals there will be differences. That is something I will have to accept and try to do the best of.

This picture provided quite a few good clues on the placement of the decals. 

I gave these pictures to Gustav at Södermalms snabbkopiering and he did a great job producing these sponsor decals.

I was a bit picky and he had to change some of them a few times but he came through, big time!

Anyway, back to the bike!

The tricky part is getting them on exactly where you had them taped. I used a sharp pencil to make a few outlines so I would know where to start with each number.

You attach it at one point and then press it on making sure all air bubbles get out.

Then you just simply pull off the lighter paper and the thin vinyl sticker stays on the surface. Very rewarding but also very tricky!

Yeah, not too bad! That will do just fine.

I am pretty sure "ESSO" used a yellow background on his number plates. I even bought some yellow vinyl sheet decals to cut them, but I decided not to. It is too difficult to get those large round decals on to such a rounded surface like this fairing. I know it would look like shit, so I opted out on that one. White it will stay and be!

 Next was the "BP" logo. "ESSO" worked with BP on the tracks and even sold gas to other drivers while competing. He also sold gas during car races and took lots of cool pictures while fueling for famous race car drivers. I might get back to that in the race blog later on.

The important thing here was to get the BP shield lined up with the "KAWASAKI" text on the tank. I used that logo as a reference for all the decals on the sides of the fairing. My though here was that it would look best if all horisontal lines coincided with the KAWASAKI on the tank.

Right or wrong? I have no clue, but it was my decision...

BP-KAWASAKI RACING was next.

The Dunlop decal is in place and here I´m trying out the location for the "CHAMPION" decal at the bottom of the number plate.

Not so good. It needs to align with the "DUNLOP" and the tank logo. It has to go down on the left side...

On and off, on and off...

We are getting there...

The H2 in the background is my latest purchase! I bought that to console myself after my lung disease.... Boy, do I feel better!!

And finally the "12" numbers on the sides of the bike.

It is getting done!

My plan today was to get the fairing completely done and ready so I could take it off the bike and leave it off until I arrive at the show on thursday.

I achieved that goal!

First a little photo session outside the garage. I tried to take a few pictures in approximately the same angle I took the very first pictures of the bike three years ago. I´ll just show you the pictures, full size here. Enjoy the (visually) completed H1R:

Tomorrow´s mission is to get it ready to start. I made a few preparations today for leakage checking...

I filled the two stroke oil tank behind the seat with Castrol POWER 1 (TTS) two stroke oil. This is an oil I´ve used on all triples so far with no issues at all. 

It looked leakage tight so far. We´ll see tomorrow how it holds up?!

So far, so good....

I know, the line should be black rubber, but this is what I had at home right now, so it´ll do.

I kind of like the red appearance of the oil line by the frame. Looks cool!

I also mixed 10 Liters of 4,5% premix fuel with 102 octane ASPEN R racing fuel and filled the aluminum tank to check that one for leakages. 

Tomorrow will be an exciting day.....

Let´s end this post with one of the first pictures three years ago. it does look a little bit different now, right?

Stay tuned for the few last articles of this blog the coming days.

Thanks for reading, guys!

/Per

A fair bit of fairing problems.

These days I don´t do much other than work on the racer.  There´s still lots of small stuff to attend to. My time is split between the garage, the computer and different shops all over town looking for parts, tools or material.

Yesterday I came in contact with a graphics business here in Stockholm that could help me getting the correct numbers on the bike. Remember I need the number "12" as my start number. That is what "ESSO" had on it when he won the Swedish GP. Those numbers would be fairly easy to get done. I sent them a mail with good pictures of the characters and they will make new ones from the pictures with the correct font and the right size. Check!

They, Södermalms snabbkopiering, will also duplicate the "BP" shield for the fairing sides and change the measurements of the "Dunlop" and "CHAMPION" decals to fit better. The rest of them are done by Johnny´s friend in Kristinehamn. 

OK, having the graphics done, it was time to start working seriously on getting the fairing back on the bike. This is a job I´ve been putting off for some time. I know it will be a pain getting it right and failing getting the fasteners and brackets right is NOT an option...

First I had to attend to the transmission vent hose. 
The original part number, 92059-025 Pipe breather, hasn´t shown up during the three years I´ve been looking. Now it was time to get something else. The problem is the tube fitting on the oil filler cap is 14 mm thick and all fuel/oil hoses with that inner diameter tend to have very thick walls, some of them with reinforced rubber making them even thicker. I visited a few automotive stores, VVS stores and ended up at an hydraulic line shop.

They had a small piece of this 10 mm inner diameter textile braided tube. I kind of liked the look of it and figured I would be able to get it on to the oil filler. Not so easy...

I had to get the braiding off and use my heat gun and still it didn´t look right. 

On to the next option.

 This one was a very thin-walled general purpose tube that looked OK if it wasn´t for the color... Blue is not going to fly here. I considered painting it with some kind of vinyl spray but realized that would never work...

How about some shrink tubing?

Why not? That worked fine. I changed the color on the tube in a very simple and effective way. This will do fine until the correct type of rubber tube shows up somewhere along the way.

 Let´s move on to the fairing. It has been put off long enough now.

I wanted to make sure there would be a small clearance all around the pipes, clutch and ignition cover. ..

During my efforts to sew my own seat cover I had bought a patch of 1 cm thick padding that came in very handy now. (Never, ever throw anything away....!!) 

This way I can be sure the fairing will be placed at a suitable distance from the engine and pipes. 

 Time to get cracking with the fairing parts...

It was a bit challenging, to say the least, getting it on and getting it on straight and level with the rest of the bike.

I only had ONE secure point as reference, the top front one. 

That hole was still intact and presumable in the correct place. Getting that attached was easy. And then I noticed the fairing could be turned and pressed in numerous ways all around the bike getting very different references for drilling the remaining 4 fasting holes. The hours passed...

 I figured I needed some kind of fixed reference and decided it had to be the frame tubes just above the engine. Placing a level there showed how the bike was leaning on the lift.

 Placing the level on the fairing bracket up front made me realize I was off by a bit in adjusting the bracket. Down a fair bit on the right side.

Now I knew the front bracket was level with the frame tubes. That should mean if I could get the top part of the fairing to fit nicely up there it would be quite close to level also at the rear.

Here we are getting closer... There´s ample clearance all around the motor and pipes, even the ignition cover is free from it. Thankfully I made my frame lugs slightly longer than needed. That can be adjusted later on for a more perfect and slim fit of the fairing.

Time to do the scary bit!

After checking, double checking and triple (!) checking I did it!

I put the drill in to my freshly repaired and repainted H1R fairing!

"No guts, No glory" as we say in the airline industry....

 I actually think I nailed it! A few hours of fettling back and forth got it done in a very acceptable way.

I thought about leaving it for the day, but figured I might just as well proceed with the clear wind screen.

That was a decision I deeply regretted a few moments later...

First I clamped the screen to the fairing at the rear ends to line up the edges of the screen with the rear ends of the fiber glass fairing. This to see if it would fit as anticipated.

 It did, it sure did! On the left here is the first hole drilled in the screen. You need to start at the center and work your way rearwards screw by screw. So far so good!

And that was when disaster struck....

Trying to ever so lightly press the screen upwards to get a better angle for the screws the rear clamp gave up and I shredded the screen at the front screw....

What I thought and said in the garage isn´t appropriate for writing in a family motor blog.

OK, the damage already done. I might just as well try and get it on for fitment of the other screws. A quick call to "Tullar´n" asking if he could possibly make me another screen and have it ready next week? 

No answer.

I left a message and decided to try and get it on as best I could. Now I felt like a complete idiot and it would escalate from that point.

It proved very difficult to drill holes in the screen. I used a 5 mm drill bit, new and sharp, but I could feel how it almost cracked the screen every time I tried to drill a hole.

Being slightly angry at myself,, pushing a bit to hard made me crack it a few times more drilling the retched holes... D*MN!

 Well, I finally got it on there and, Thank God, it was straight and level and actually looked quite all right apart from the cracks and missing pieces...

And here´s the proof of my total ignorance when it comes to mounting wind screens...

A large, very visible crack from one of the screws angling upwards over the screen.

Still no reply from "Tullar´n" so I started to figure I had to do with this screen for next weekend and the show.

No big deal, I have no problem confessing my own shortcomings as a mechanic or as a human being. That is part of life. Learn from it and move on!

 From a distance it looks fine. That´ll do for now. Getting the last two fastening screws in place at the top rear of the fairing was easy enough. No mishaps there. Straight and level and a nice, snug fit all around the bike. 

A small happy dance anyway...

 A view from the left hand side. The seat cover will be changed for the show, but apart from that it is getting finished for its premiere show... First test with the original display tank. Looks fab!

The right side of the bike. The engine vent hose can be seen inside the fairing. 

Now all it needs is a little patina here and there. Let´s hope I can get that at the track. I hope I´ll be able to, at least, start it up in the pit. Driving is uncertain due to sound restrictions at the track. I will NOT put silencers on my original, completely restored original expansion chambers... 

 I solved the issue with the cracked wind screen in a very simple way. "ESSO" worked with BP for a number of years even selling fuel at the races to other drivers and even at car races. I found an original sticker from "ESSO´S" widow and put it over the crack. 

Yeah, it works. For now.

As it sits today. More or less completed and ready for its first start-up in over 40 years.

Nervous? Yeah, you bet!

Three years of loving labor and tinkering in the garage and at the computer, meeting lots of wonderful people all over the world sharing the same passion for these old race bikes.

It is a wonderful story coming to an end very soon.

Later last night I got a call from "Tullar´n". 

He will make me a couple of new wind screens! Yeah, I ordered two... Just to be sure.
And the next time I will use a ceramic tile drill bit! Never use an ordinary drill bit on plexi glass! 

I´m pretty sure he mentioned this to me when I got the screen last winter, but I have forgotten all about it! You learn as you go along. Always.

Now, the weekend is off for some family time. I actually do need a break from the garage right now. 

Hopefully I´ll be able to try and start it up next week when I can borrow Janne´s pit starter. I´m NOT going to invest 1000£ to get my own. 
There´s a limit to what is economically viable .

Have a nice weekend and stay cool in the heat!!

/Per