The biginning of the heap of crap

[Stuart]

Nice to meet you

[the grinch]

Moving forward again.
Well I had to go away for a bit but I am now back working on the bike. I spent a few hours working out things and drawing up the part I needed making. I found a couple of places that would help me out. Unfortunately when they gave me the price I nearly passed out. So it was time to find another solution. I hadn’t given it much thought as my son needed help with the electric guitar he has been building for his college project. We needed some screws so I had a rummage at the back of the garage. I never did find the screws for him but I did find a bag with a pair of rear wheel bearings in for my wife’s car. So I looked them up to see what the dimensions are. The inner was 25mm now I had a bit of bar that was either 1” or 25mm so I thought this may be a plan. Well the bar fits the outer diameter is 52mm this is not as easy I would need a piece of 60mm with a thick wall to have it machined up to fit. I was determined though to avoid having anything made up. So far I have made everything for the bike with a hammer and grinder the welder and a big pillar drill. I searched everywhere and I just couldn’t find anything. I had an old jack in the shed I had not even thought about harvesting something from that. Well I measured the first shaft and it was just over 50mm. I thought that the next would be about 51mm with the clearance for the seals so it was time to make a sacrifice. Well talk about a stroke of luck the bearings are just the right fit in the tube. So next it was time to sort the hub face. A nice bit of 12mm plate will do. I forgot what it was like to get through it with a holesaw but slow and steady with a bit off cutting fluid and it was good. Now a holesaw is not precise it never will be so I had to start with a few mm smaller than I wanted to end up with. Everything else had to be marked up first. But I got it sorted out. And with the help of a pair of welding magnets and the dial test indicator I was off. I managed to get it just under 0.006 of a inch on the face it was tricky but i used the welder to pull it um i couldnt get it better than 0.020 to start with. It is as close as i can get it so i think that will have to do. I still have a few things to get sorted which I will need some parts.

[the grinch]

Getting a bit closer.
Well some bits came I got a bolt on flange bearing for the calliper carrier, short piece of precision tubing for my spacers and a few other bits and bobs. I set about making the next part. I got it all sorted out but I found that the pillow block had too much movement I think it would need to be used in a pair. I had to start that bit again I thought I would need to scrap everything but I found a glacier bush only a few quid. And I made a part for it and it worked out well I have not been able to check it yet as I have got to wait for my axle to be made I have made it a lot easier now I had a good think about it and found a way ahead using the parts that I have made. The bloke up the road is sorting it out for a good price. I have started making the master cylinder mount and the lever for operating it.

[the grinch]

Rolling again
I have got the parts from the bloke at the engineering shop. Now its time to put it all together . Everything fits although I think I may be a little out on my measuring. I will get that sorted out after I have done the brakes and tested it out it is an easy fix. I have got a stay bar so it should make everything feel better when braking. I fitted another tyre as the sidewall was perished on the other but it is all good the suspension seems ok and I have got about 2 ½ inches of trail so it will hopefully be ok I was on about 3 inches before. I still have stuff to do but I am hoping to get everything sorted out by September. I need to get a few brake hoses I will make a bit for the tee connection and see how long they need to be.

[the grinch]

Last few bits
I have been off work and the kids are with the grandparents and wife has been working. What was I supposed to do with all that time? I have been doing 14hr days on the bike and it’s nearly finished. Well I had to wait for parts so I just started all the little jobs that get put off for later and a few upgrades. It became apparent that I could get it done. I had a few issues and some stupid things that I had overlooked. So I found out that the cheap Chinese speedo needed to beaten with a stick and the wiring instructions needed to be burnt before you opened the box turns out that if the magnets are not all the same polarity it will work until it can’t cope and then go back to nothing. I thought I was being smart I used 5 magnets as I thought it would be more accurate. It turned out I had 3 1 way and 2 the other. Well I can tell you that they don’t like the hammer and big screwdriver that I used to de-bond them from the wheel. I now have 1 magnet and I even had to turn that around. And now for the best bit . So MSVA I got the manual printed it off so I started with the bike all looking good I am hoping it will be ok. Now I checked the motorcycle and sidecar bits well I am a bit thick and I do have a job understanding things sometimes. So ok I think I have fucked up with the lighting. Now it may just be that I can’t get my head around the manual or I am just hoping that I am not reading it correctly. The manual states that the front and rear position lights the indicator and the stop lights need to be within 400mm of the outermost edge. WTF is the outermost edge my bloody handlebars are well over a meter wide or is it just the bodywork tank etc. if it is the handlebars that would mean that the side light and the tail light are too bloody far away and the indicators are maybe just about in. To make matters worse the bike has got 2 indicators and the sidecar has 1 that makes 3 now that also throws up a bloody problem. So I thought I would ring VOSA well the bloke on the phone could not help me. I did read the glossary of terms and couldn’t find the outermost edge but there was something similar that said mirrors and handles could be disregarded. I have sent an email it will probably take a few day or weeks depending on how busy they are. So the long and short of it are this week I will be getting it weighed and I will be getting a stamp on the form and I will be sending it ready for the next step MSVA. I have found some truck mirror lights that will do if I need to change everything. I will need to modify them but I can make it happen.

[the grinch]

Sorting it all out.
Lights well I got the lights off eBay they are pretty crap. So I thought bugger it. I will have to think of another solution. Now I have a box of bits for lights nothing complete and most of it is broken. I normally just cut bits from them for the lenses. I managed to find a clear lens and a red lens which was cracked and a pair of amber lenses from a mini or something similar. The clear and red light were both similar I thought I would have a look and see what I could do. I stripped out the cheap lights for the parts. It was not as straight forward as I was hoping. I managed to get the required lights and brightness. I made some covers from some bits of sheet steel. I am not over happy but I just need to get the bloody thing to pass the MSVA. I need to finish them and take the other lights off. I have just painted over the front and rear lights that are no longer required. I have a couple more jobs left to do before I can book the test .I took it for its weight check well It’s bloody heavy I took it up the road the local scrap yard cost a tenner but cheaper than the nearest public weighbridge. The bloke I go for my mots checked the frame number and stamped the form so I have 2 of the things that I need. When I have sorted all the lights I am going to turn the pump up I have no idea where the max fuel screw should be I set it to 4 turns when I re built the pump. It goes ok to ride it around the camp but that is flat. It has not got enough power to pull the skin of a bloody rice pudding. I thought I was not going to get it on the bloody trailer. I am going to give it another full turn and see what happens.

[pietenpol2002]

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The suspense is killing us. So what did the girl weigh?

[the grinch]

Ok Ron its heavy 600kg and another 120kg for the sidecar. I thought it was heavy as I had a rite job with it when it fell off the pallets and I had to catch it when I was building it. But not that heavy this would explain the overheating brakes. I have made more progress i had another read of the manual and made some modifications in line with it and I have turned up the pump. Now we are talking it’s a BEAST goes a lot better now I had a job to get the tamper proof plug out of the pump but I managed to get it out and reuse it. I was going to just go about another turn and well it got the better of me I thought that I may not be able to get the plug out again so I better go a bit more just to make sure. Well its now maxed out it only went another turn and a bit from where I set it. I have started the MSVA process and it was bloody rejected it apparently it was too heavy for a light quadricycle. Well I wasn’t going to let that happen I checked the form and sent a sarcastic reply to the email that I received. Before I read that they had cancelled my application. So I give the man at DVSA a ring he was very helpful he did laugh when he read the form it is not very often that anyone wants to do a motorcycle and sidecar. I can’t imagine why? Anyway it’s sorted now and I will be ringing up this week when I know what I am doing for work and book a test. Well I still have a few final jobs to do I have made some lights for the sidecar the same as the bike. I am trying to find another reflector the same as the bike one I can get 1 on line but they are about £4 for the same. They look better now and a bit more robust I have made the steering lock a bit better I have to be able to lock the steering. I am just using a padlock. I have also moved the fuel filter to a better location. So hopefully it won’t be long and I will get it on the road for ride to the wall.

[gilburton]

Well nobody will be nicking that and throwing it in the back of a van. Are you using a chain round the front wheel or an anchor??
Wait till you start ringing the insurance companies lol

[the grinch]

Well I have been ringing DVSA daily trying to get a cancellation slot. I’m not having much luck. I rang my insurance it’s no problem getting insurance. I only get 3rd party. Yes I recon I have foiled the average motorcycle thief unless they do a drive by with a flat bed and a HIAB they won’t be picking it up. If I do think I am in a high risk area I could always take my dog and leave him in the sidecar he is going mad so anything is setting him off. I got a good quote without any no claims as they can’t use them as I have my other policy running. Now I was expecting the worst but I haven’t spent all this time building the bike to not ride it due to insurance cost so the cost of it was really irrelevant. So I went through all the details and had to repeat the fact that it was diesel several times. Well I had about a 5 min wait while the underwriter considered it. I was bracing myself the bloke got back to me £181 well that was a shock. I use bikesure I have been with them for years and they deal with modified and one offs all the time so they are the ones I go to first. I thought this would be a different outcome now I am just waiting for a cancelation.

[the grinch]

Well the bloody day of the msva.
I didnt have a good start to the day and the bloody day didnt get any better. I had few bits to do at work before i got the bike loaded and that took a bit longer. i was rushing around and went straight to the test center got it all unloaded and thats when the day couldnt get any better. Well mister MSVA came over "Oh didnt you get the message" obviously i didnt get a message so i replied what message. We have a gas leak on the site and have cancelled the appointment. i think there may have been a few harsh words exchanged. so i thought ok it cant be that bad as my appointment was today and they will be open again next week. The bloke said that they had re aranged all the appointments and i would have an email. So i loaded up again and drove home the hour and a half and put more fuel in. I got home and i went straight to the emails and yes i had a new appointment. That was the final straw they gave me another apointment the 28th of bloody October. I nearly blew my top i rang the DVSA i told them what i thought i explaned to them that if i was the only apointment that got canncelled then i would expect to be the next on the list. Aparrently that is not the case .
so i will have to wait.

[the grinch]

MSVA update.
I had my MSVA test today. It failed on 3 things but only 2 in the end. it’s too bloody noisy. This is my main concern. The other was just bloody spill pipe decided to leak it was rather cold today. I was 4db over well I don’t personally think the exhaust was the problem. It was just everything else I have an open air filter and I think the tank is vibrating at around 3000rpm and there are several other bits that need a little ant rattle of some kind. So I’m going to sort out the air filter (not sure how yet), need put some sticky foam under the tank and fix the bloody spill pipe. I will have a bit of a fiddle around and quieten everything up hopefully it will be under next time. The bloke at the test centre was very helpful and was pleased to see something different for a change. The test was straight forward a lot of checks but I have been testing the bike to the manual several times and that was apparent to the examiner. I was pleased to have only failed for the exhaust and the fuel leak because everyone has there own understanding of the manual. Hopefully I can get it sorted out and then retested soon. There was a lot of interest in the bike from everyone coming and going through the test centre,everyone wanting to take photo's and one of them thought it had a steam engine in he was suprised when i started it up and told him it was a diesel car engine and gearbox.

[Diesel Dave]

Well done, MSVA is a tough test.

[the grinch]

I Done it.
Well I am no sound engineer that’s for sure but I have made a new air filter out of a fire extinguisher and a bit of flexi pipe attached to a new air intake over the other side of the frame. I gave it a quick test it has made a massive difference so I thought I would download a decibel meter on the trusty smart phone tested it. it was still over so I extended the exhaust tail pipe and added an extra DIY baffle tested it again it was closer so I thought I would get my mate to download the app and try well 2 different readings. So I thought I would look up a decibel meter bought and delivered fast and free for £11.99 bargain I couldn’t find anyone who could read the Chinese instructions so I just pressed everything and I got it to work. It was 97.6 and I thought that was to close it had a tolerance of +- 1.5 decibel so it could be over in a last ditch effort I thought bugger it most of the noise was from the engine so I threw some garage floor mats at it. It’s not pretty. I rang up Wednesday afternoon thinking I may get it in before the end of the month. It took about 8 weeks to get the first test I had a shock when they said I could get it in Friday or 2 weeks wait so Friday I took it up there hoped to get the thing warmed up get rid of some of the noise well that didn’t happen I only had about 5 min they were keen to get it done for me. So it was very close 98.9 at points but it was a pass. So I have got it through the MSVA I am now doing the paperwork for the registration 4-6 weeks to go still. But I can see some light at the end of the tunnel. So the conclusion for the MSVA it was a hard test but the hardest part is the interpretation of the manual my approach after I had built the bike was to make a check sheet and brake each section down to the sub sections in the manual. I made sure that it did not meet any of the written reasons for failure. I kept checking until I could not find anymore. In the end I could go through it and not find anything then I knew it was ready. This was apparent to the inspector he was pleased that I had understood the manual. I did chance it with the noise level but that on the day was my only concern I would have been more annoyed if I had just failed for the fuel leak.

So i can now take off the floor mats relax and get it ready for the first outing when i get a registration.

Alex

[Tetronator]

The floormats are brilliant, well done.

[pietenpol2002]

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Agreed. Using floormats would not have occurred to me. Great idea. And wonderful to see you so close to being on the road.

[the grinch]

I got a registration,
Well I sent the forms off and was waiting patiently they have had what they said they needed. I got an email turns out they needed more so they asked for some mort forms to be filled in. they wanted receipts for the parts. Well I had sent a copy of my ebay invoice for the engine already what more do they want. So I read the form and put the engine number on it put and on everything else I wrote N/A then briefly stated that I started with an engine and built all the parts and ended up with the bike, and put my phone number on the form then I sent it all back with a sarcastic remark that I thought this would be the easy part and had they looked on the disk that I sent with the original paperwork that they would probably not sent me this email.
Just before I finished work for the day on Monday I had a phone call from the dvla. Well the woman on the phone wanted to let me know that it was sorted out and that unfortunately it would have to be on a Q plate well I told her as long as there was some letters and numbers on it I didn’t really care. When I got home I had an email with all the details and my registration number. I am insured for tomorrow an I am going to take it out for a ride around see if anything falls off.

[pietenpol2002]

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Congrats on now having a legal bike. And let's have some pics of you out there enjoying it.

I am going to take it out for a ride around see if anything falls off

Here in the states, Harley riders routinely pull a large magnet on 20 foot rope behind the bike to collect the parts that vibrate off. And then just weld them back on.

[Diesel Dave]

Well done.

See you down the road sometime.

[the grinch]

Ride out.
So I took some tools and some oil and jump leads just in case. Thought I would just go a few miles and give it a check over so I took it down the road to H café first time with the sidecar so i have got to learn where the wheel is still . It went well I was grinning all the way. I had quite a crowd around it when I went to get a coffee. I had a lot of questions and what’s it like and what is the engine. there was some suprise when i said it was a ford escort van diesel engine and gearbox . That’s when I noticed that I had developed an oil leak not to bad but it was leaking from the hole where the vacuum pump went I have just blanked it off. I just used some rtv sealant and a bit of plate but it is leaking so it will either be pressure fed or a proper gasket will be required. luckily i had some oil with me. I will try to get it sorted tomorrow after work. But it’s all good and it was a lot of fun and nothing fell of it. but that is it now its on the road and i will get it sorted out.

[gilburton]

Sidecarring is an art in itself but I suspect that with all that weight the sidecar isn't much of a problem on left handers lol
Well done in the fact all you had was a minor oil leak after all the mods you have done. Maybe you should carry a welder

[Tetronator]

Brilliant! Hope to see it at the next BK rally.

[the grinch]

I have fixed the oil leak and all seams ok but it’s not so good with the first cold start of the day. But at the moment I am not too worried about it and I am getting it going and that is all that matters I put new glow plugs in it when the engine was out but I suppose you get what you pay for as I only paid £8.95 for a set also I think that the relay is part of the problem it keeps them on a long time and probably burned them out the main thing is its going. I am getting used to it and the sidecar well I am having fun. I have good fun with mini roundabouts as I have noticed that I can get the thing to drift around them. However I found out if I take a left turn a bit too quick I can get the wheel right off the ground. I have also got to get used to having indicators. Now it’s finally on the road the newness will start to wear off and the paint will get dirty and it is starting to rust in places it is only going to get better with age. It’s living out uncovered in all weathers. Hopefully if I haven’t wrecked it I will be at the big knock in the summer.

[gilburton]

On left turns you gently accelerate and "drive" round the sidecar. On right turns at speed you feather the throttle and the sidecar weight pushes it round the bike. All that is on a standard bike/sidecar.
How is the front suspension doing?? I did wonder if it might be too hard with 2 car struts?
What is it registered as?? My understanding is if the sidecar is removable it's a motorcycle /sidecar, if it's permanently attached it could be registered as a trike BUT depending on weight it could come under car regulations for MOT etc??

[the grinch]

It’s registered as a 2 wheeled motorcycle. I made the sidecar detachable as there are less things the DVSA and MOT man can test. You need to think of these things when building also because of the Q plate it now only has to abide by 1971 rules for mot. I have read a lot about the art of riding a sidecar but let me tell you it is more fun than I had imagined. I need more weight in the sidecar that is all. Put a passenger in it we are right on. Right turns, roundabouts and at junctions I just give it everything it just slides around nicely left turns got to ease off and point it where you hope to go and carefully apply the throttle try to keep the wheel down. I think it’s a bit different with a car engine and gearbox to your average sidecar outfit I am just making it up as I go along. I can’t wait to get it on a long run it is epic. the suspension is nice it rides ok its only the rear struts of a fiesta its quite smooth and its like on rails steering is a bit heavy slow speed but it is fine when going along.

[mark_in_manchester]

Looks really good!

(On mine I have glow plugs on a push button, non-latching - push, count to five, kick, release when it starts. I need the non-latching button or I leave them on and cook the diodes in the alternator!)

[the grinch]

Well I have fitted my new glow plugs and fitted the new relay I have put it on the toggle switch for now but I am planning to fit a push switch as it will be better and I can’t forget them good shout Mark. I left it overnight and fitted the plugs it was pretty cold and it started straight up. I am happy now. I have done about 250miles so far. I am hoping that it holds together I have not had much time as I have a lot of jobs at the moment but I intend to go further afield with it. I probably will do the RBLR 1000 in the summer but I need to get some good rides in before that. I have had my boys in the sidecar they all love it. I did think they would maybe not want to go in it but if there is a choice of the car or the sidecar then the sidecar it is.

[mark_in_manchester]

My girls surprised me when they saw some 'cool kids' from school when we were out on our outfit, and asked me to ride by so they could give them a hard stare. Ours is not quite so alternative as yours, but shiny it isn't. I think these things that look like they fell from space confuse cool kids, which is a good thing. Talking of space, I must paint this on somewhere - mine is a Soviet bike

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/2425610491

[Diesel Dave]

It’s simply impossible to ride in a sidecar and not smile.

Usually a grimace of abject terror, but that can be seen as a smile from a distance.

[the grinch]

Bugger again,
Well what happened was. This time I was enjoying the bike too much all that sliding the ass end around has cost me some time and a few days without the bike. But that is what the first few months are for isn’t it. It turns out that drifting the ass end although it may be fun puts a lot of strain on the drive line. I did an extremely satisfying turn in the road and I think that that was when it must have happened. I didn’t notice at the time there was no more vibration than normal but the next day I went out to the bike and something caught my eye. I had bent the bloody drive shaft in both directions. So the modifying continues. I have made another driveshaft and I have doubled up on the sleeves. I have just been out with it and it and it is holding up for now. I have got a bit of 50mm round bar I will get a few bits made up in the new year keep a couple of spare shafts.