Good amount of progress recently. I've spent a fair amount of time, stripping, cleaning and preparing the various parts for going to Allly the local blast cleaner. On doing so, I found the front subframe cracked unfortunately, but one of my friends came to the rescue with an offer of welding it up. He's done a tidy job, and because it'll be hidden behind the instruments, it'll not be noticable.
This morning I took the top yoke, clip-ons front- and rear- subframes and the frame to Ally. He looked up in surprise when I entered his workshop carrying the main frame, and exclaimed with a chuckle "Ach - you've brought me the
Forth Bridge to clean!"
The seat is also away to an upholstery firm in Edinburgh, and the wheels are off to a powder-coatiing company in Falkirk. Usefully - that means that I've got a fair amount of extra space to work in at the moment.
Along with cleaning everything that comes off the bike, I've got the forks stripped, and am now eagerly awaiting a set of new seals for that (though I am kicking myself - I was in a bike shop yesterday, and clean forgot to pick up fork oil...). I'll also stop in past the local motor factor at some point to pick up fuel hose - while cleaning the throttle bodies, it was clear that the fuel lines were absolutely solid from age, and liable to crack (my SP5 burst a fuel line this summer also..)
Once the forks are back togehter, the next major task will be beginning to clean the engine. It's going to be a nasty job. Firstly it'll be degreaser - then it'll be some paint stripper, then I'll be pulling the heads, barrels and covers and figuring how best to paint the crank cases, hopefully without having to split them.
