Talked to Andre today. He's gone through the engine, and he thinks it is sorted. He flushed the transmission and he thinks it is working correctly again.
The tin is off the bike and back at paint again. He has a box of wire, and is going to start working on the wiring harness.
Maybe another month....
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Spring Break Update
I called Andre last Friday for an update. He hasn't started yet, but claims he will start soon. I still have hope that he is done by my birthday.
We'll see.
We'll see.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Surrender
OK - I've finally decided that if this bike is to live again, that someone else needs to finish. I've given up.
Today - I took the bike to Airline Motorcycle Center. Andre (the owner) thinks he can get it to breathe fire again. I'm hopeful.
Loaded it on a trailer that I borrowed from a friend.
Holy cow. Houston traffic sucks without a trailer. With one, and with the crappy roads - terrifying. I had to stop about 2/3 of the way there to get the bike re-settled. It still moved later, so I'll have to have a better way to strap it down when I bring it home.
But - Andre has it now.
He thinks he can get it done in a couple of months. I am hopeful.
Today - I took the bike to Airline Motorcycle Center. Andre (the owner) thinks he can get it to breathe fire again. I'm hopeful.
Loaded it on a trailer that I borrowed from a friend.
Holy cow. Houston traffic sucks without a trailer. With one, and with the crappy roads - terrifying. I had to stop about 2/3 of the way there to get the bike re-settled. It still moved later, so I'll have to have a better way to strap it down when I bring it home.
But - Andre has it now.
He thinks he can get it done in a couple of months. I am hopeful.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Time Flies
When you are getting crushed by life. Wow - 2 years since an update. Yeah - I suck. At the same time, since the last update:
I had my Porsche painted and a ton of work done to it, so now it is just a driver.
I bought a Ferrari 308, and I love it.
I renovated the garage to be able to hold 4 cars and 2 motorcycles.
I spent 15 months replacing all the vac lines on the Ferrari, as well as having all 4 carbs rebuilt, and the seats and steering wheel recovered. It's pretty now though.
So, it's not like I spent the whole time doing nothing.
I'm back to work on the Bultaco now though. I hope to have it running by the end of this year. Electronic ignition is in the mail. New exhaust is in the mail. Stuff to fix the seat is in the mail. Tools to do the timing are in the mail. It will run.
I had my Porsche painted and a ton of work done to it, so now it is just a driver.
I bought a Ferrari 308, and I love it.
I renovated the garage to be able to hold 4 cars and 2 motorcycles.
I spent 15 months replacing all the vac lines on the Ferrari, as well as having all 4 carbs rebuilt, and the seats and steering wheel recovered. It's pretty now though.
So, it's not like I spent the whole time doing nothing.
I'm back to work on the Bultaco now though. I hope to have it running by the end of this year. Electronic ignition is in the mail. New exhaust is in the mail. Stuff to fix the seat is in the mail. Tools to do the timing are in the mail. It will run.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Updates - I don't need no stinkin' updates
Especially when no work is getting done.
Yeah, the poor Bultaco sat and sat. When I finally got the parts back, it was with mixed emotions. On one hand, everything is better. The dent is out of the gas tank. All of the rust is gone from the undersides of the fenders. The bodyshop did pinstriping just how I wanted it.
The bad is - they didn't prep all the parts right. So, there are bits under the paint that you can tell weren't sanded right. Plus - on some of the parts, the clearcoat was applied really thick. Drippy thick. But, what do you do?
So, I started installing parts. Got the fenders on and tightened. Got the tool box on. Need to do some work where the lock goes on the box. They didn't paint the license plate holder like I wanted them to, so I ended up painting it black. The biggest deal, they messed with the seat when I had them paint it. So, the vinyl on the seat is all messed up. Dropped it at an upholstery shop Saturday, so hopefully they can fix it.
So, as it sits right now:
I need to finish the electrical wiring. I'm still worried that there is something wrong with the shifting fork. And I'm going to take it to a 2 cycle exhaust expert to help me with getting the exhaust mounted.
The goal for 2014 is to have a working motorcycle. But, it'll never get there if I don't work on it. So, I better remain motivated.
Yeah, the poor Bultaco sat and sat. When I finally got the parts back, it was with mixed emotions. On one hand, everything is better. The dent is out of the gas tank. All of the rust is gone from the undersides of the fenders. The bodyshop did pinstriping just how I wanted it.
The bad is - they didn't prep all the parts right. So, there are bits under the paint that you can tell weren't sanded right. Plus - on some of the parts, the clearcoat was applied really thick. Drippy thick. But, what do you do?
So, I started installing parts. Got the fenders on and tightened. Got the tool box on. Need to do some work where the lock goes on the box. They didn't paint the license plate holder like I wanted them to, so I ended up painting it black. The biggest deal, they messed with the seat when I had them paint it. So, the vinyl on the seat is all messed up. Dropped it at an upholstery shop Saturday, so hopefully they can fix it.
So, as it sits right now:
I need to finish the electrical wiring. I'm still worried that there is something wrong with the shifting fork. And I'm going to take it to a 2 cycle exhaust expert to help me with getting the exhaust mounted.
The goal for 2014 is to have a working motorcycle. But, it'll never get there if I don't work on it. So, I better remain motivated.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Still waiting
It's been close to a month. Last friday, I went by the body shopt to see what's up.
The good news - they have painted my stuff - and the colors are good.
The bad news - there were some problems masking the parts - and it lifted off some of the paint when they pulled it.
So - it's still not done.
Waiting......
The good news - they have painted my stuff - and the colors are good.
The bad news - there were some problems masking the parts - and it lifted off some of the paint when they pulled it.
So - it's still not done.
Waiting......
Friday, February 15, 2013
Good News / Bad News
I've been talking to the body shop this week, and all week long they've been telling me that my parts will be done by Friday.
Since I was going to be out and about today (my day off), I called them to see if I could swing by and pick up my stuff.
They said "We'll call you back in 15 minutes".
3 hours later - "Um, the guy that quoted you the cost was way wrong. We needed to strip everything down to bare metal, and there was some obvious body damage that we will need to take care of.".
I told them I would come over and take a look.
We looked at the dent on the gas tank, and a dent that I never knew about on the rear fender. Plus - a dent on the taillight/license plate holder.
Yikes. Good thing we took it down to bare metal.
Wait, there's more:
"We don't want to use regular car primer on this one. We want to use a self etching aircraft primer. It's better for the restoration".
OK.
"Oh, and did you want the underside of the fenders done? They are pretty rusty.".
Yes. This is a full restoration.
"Wow - that's like double work".
OK - so what?
"Well, it's going to be more than the $700 we quoted you".
OK - how much.
"Why don't we say $1100?".
Deal.
So, it'll be another week, but at least it will be something I'm happy with.
I took them some pictures of the original paint scheme. Hopefully that keeps them from screwing up the repaint.
Probably not.
At least it's close by.
Since I was going to be out and about today (my day off), I called them to see if I could swing by and pick up my stuff.
They said "We'll call you back in 15 minutes".
3 hours later - "Um, the guy that quoted you the cost was way wrong. We needed to strip everything down to bare metal, and there was some obvious body damage that we will need to take care of.".
I told them I would come over and take a look.
We looked at the dent on the gas tank, and a dent that I never knew about on the rear fender. Plus - a dent on the taillight/license plate holder.
Yikes. Good thing we took it down to bare metal.
Wait, there's more:
"We don't want to use regular car primer on this one. We want to use a self etching aircraft primer. It's better for the restoration".
OK.
"Oh, and did you want the underside of the fenders done? They are pretty rusty.".
Yes. This is a full restoration.
"Wow - that's like double work".
OK - so what?
"Well, it's going to be more than the $700 we quoted you".
OK - how much.
"Why don't we say $1100?".
Deal.
So, it'll be another week, but at least it will be something I'm happy with.
I took them some pictures of the original paint scheme. Hopefully that keeps them from screwing up the repaint.
Probably not.
At least it's close by.
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