The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => Discussion about "Lesser" makes, er, Non-BMW ;-) => Topic started by: Darwin_R65 on May 17, 2010, 08:39:57 AM
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Rome wasn't built in a day, but I'm sure it was quicker than my S7 Deluxe project.
This is the S7 I bought that was 100% dismantled, nearly 2 years ago. It had been dismantled 25 years ago and everything coated in red oxide primer and then left.
I have finally taken another small step and on the weekend had access to a sandblasting booth at our local car club.
I have been waiting for the humidity to drop off here in the tropics of Darwin, as the sandblaster just clogs up during our wet season.
An interesting experience, but the frame was taken back to bare metal, and i have coated the frame with a black POR-15 topcote paint. Looks good. It's a brush on paint that self-levels. Probably a better finish than a spray gun in my hands. Tonight I have hanging from a rack a few other pieces like kickstand, centre stand, brake pedal. I had ducked into the car club at lunch time and sandblasted those.
Mudguards already have a por-15 undercoat and will eventually get a coat of "yuk-green" acrylic. The colour description is from one of the old timers in the club.
One of my motivators for the sudden flurry of movement is this weekend we have a motor show in Darwin and when asked what I was entering, I said the Sunbeam. It will go in as a "project in progress". I figured if it's on display it will encourage others to ask "how's the bike going" and I won't let it sit so long between doing jobs on it.
This Friday I will put the tatty old front forks into the front of the glossy black frame. Attach springs and polished rear drive unit. The rear wheel will be a rusty old thing with no tire. Mudguard is black undercoat. Seat frame with no springs or leather. Front wheel is just the rim, no spokes. shiny chrome handlebars. but i won't install the headlight or fork covers. then I'll sit the tank in place and the engine and gearbox which are both empty will be placed on the ground in its position in the frame.
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It won't be complete but it will look like a Sunbeam. And I'll put a large picture of a restored bike behind it.
Why bother? I believe mine is the only Sunbeam in Darwin but plenty of old timers talk about them, and it will still be an attraction. The other thing is I've found that showing your car/bike generates talk that tends to discover information about these bikes that I never knew.
cheers
John
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Sounds like a great project and a good way to stay motivated and gather information at the same time. You should take plenty of pics and share them here with us as well! I'm sure you'd get some motivation from the folks here. ;)
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Show us pictures! That Sunbeam green looks nearly the same as the early postwar Zundapp "Green Elephant" bikes.
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Heres a piccy of my cousins sunbeam i cannot remember which model it is.He took it to the Isle of Man TT,s last year
Lou
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That bikes an S7, same as mine. Except mine will be painted khaki Green.
Here's a photo from an open day in October, the last time I did anything with this bike. Also displayed as an ongoing project. The reason why i figured I'd better do something to make it look like I have been working on it.
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I believe it origonaly had a side car and when you corner it still feels like its on!!!!!
Lou
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Hello Darwin - do you have the "Sunbeam Owners Bedside Book"? Looks really useful. Published by Stewart Engineering. My copy is dated 1973 but it's probably still available, maybe even in an updated edition.
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constellation, fortunately when i bought the bike it came with the bedside book, and a few others.
I've also acquired a few other manuals myself. The only thing I don't have is enough time to get the bike on the road quickly.
But if I keep telling people I'm working on it, I have to progress or admit being slack.
John
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That is a cool bike.
I've always like the Sunbeam and its shaft drive!
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Here is a picture of the bike on the day i bought it.
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This is in June 2008, me working on it. Notice the seat i was using at the time. :)
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And this is painting the frame after sandblasting it 2 weeks ago
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And this is how it was displayed at the Shannons Motoring Extravaganza in Darwin. There was about 400 cars and bikes on show.
I was not the only bike to be displayed as an ongoing project.
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It's coming along !! Patience (and perseverance) is critical! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
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That is going to be so cool when it is done!
I must stay away from such things. Right now BSAs are hooking my inner child.
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Well last week i painted a rim and centre hub on the Sunbeam and decided to have a go at respoking it.
Had a quick look at the old rusted out rim for a guide and then set to work confident on the direction of the spokes.
Somehow I failed in translation.
The spoke pattern on one side was correct as they are short and don't cross, but the other side I completely stuffed the pattern.
Undid all the spokes on that side and this time with the old rim sitting right beside me i tried again.
I got the pattern right but somehow the spoke heads don't sit flat. Not sure what i did wrong, but have decided for my own mental health to put it away for a week and attack it next weekend. Definitely feeling my wrists today after all that work on the spokes last night.
John
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I haven't tried wheel building yet, though when I can afford it I would like some alloy wheels and stainless spokes for my Triumph. It looks really intimidating. I have an article by John Healey, but it's specifically for Triumphs like mine.
Where did you find the spokes? I wonder if they came with the wrong bend angle; they're not all the same.
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Looks like the pattern is still a bit off...
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Fastcataz, yes the photo is the evidence of my failure the first time.
Ed, the spokes came with the bike when I got it, just they were in a plastic bag, not installed in the wheel. I believe they came from stewart Engineering in the UK which deals in only sunbeams. There is only two spokes, short and long. I'll need to telephone Stewarts in the UK and talk with them.
My wrists were sore for two days after this job, and I haven't finished yet.
John
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Make sure you get the offset right. (Does the Sunbeam have an offset on its rims?)
Really pretty bike. I can't wait to see the finished product. If I ever came across a rotter and a couple of boxes, I would be hard pressed not to buy it.