cupboard special
A big box of presents? Must be Christmas! More deliveries keep the project on track.
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES ROBINSON
That this feature is entitled ‘Store cupboard special’ is becoming increasingly ironic, as, basically, we seemto keep finding bits that are required, and so adding to the expenditure. That there perhaps wasn’t quite asmuch in the cupboard asfirst thought seems to be the lessonbeing learned.
The initial idea wasamake do and mend approach, which is what the overall mentality is and has been, but when bits are missing, then there’s nooption – either stop, or acquire them. And if the project stops, then all momentumis lost and all we have is an uncompleted motorcycle (‘unfinished project’ – we’ve all seen the adverts)– which means the pressure is on to keep progress in a forward going manner. That means buying bits.
At the end of last month’s instalment, I’d talked about the list of things which we needed to order and, finally, I had to get it done and ordered– my reticence owing to an increasingly expensive house move taking up funds, and the prospect of Christmas looming (although one could hardly consider it a surprise, it’s the same time every year…) meaning spending a load of cash wasn’t really particularly helpful. But it needed to be done.
We (dad and I) logged onto GroveClassic’s website (www.groveclassicmotorcycles. co.uk) and started going through all the bits and pieces we needed, fromthe cheapest (‘chaincase felt ring (special soft version) £4.60’) – although actually the 60p alloy washers for the oil banjo bolts were cheaper at 60p – to the most expensive, the £82 engine sprocket. The chains and sprockets on the bikewere all badly worn, so it was decided to replenish, and that was duly accomplished. A few pence short of £500 was the total bill.
Acouple of days later andBahzad from DPDwas knocking on the back door– Bahzad, having been tousmany times now, knows that dadwill most likely be in the garage and that’s where our ‘presents’ are generally headed, so he too comes round the back of the house – and we hadabig box of shiny, new bits to undo. Exciting!
But tobacktrack slightly. At the end of last month’s exciting episode, we were able to have the oil tank in place, but it wasn’t fixed. After several layers of top coat, it was secured in place and plumbed in; the old oil pipes had gone hard and brittle, so they’dbeen dumped, and dad made up some new ones
from the appropriate reinforced tubing. We hadmost of the necessary pipes, although were missing the oil feed up to the rockers – that was to come in the big box from Grove.
The back of the primary chaincasewas cleaned, rubbed down, painted (and repainted) then fitted. After unpacking the box, we nowhad the engine and gearbox sprockets, which were duly fitted, allowing the new primary chain to go on – except it wouldn’t. For some reason, the gearbox wouldn’t go as far forward as it needed to be, but, eventually, and after much fiddling, it did move to where it needed to be put and allowed the primary chain (dimensions ½ x ⁄in and consisting of 67 links) to be fitted. OnaViper, the rear chain is of the same dimensions – a Venom runs a bigger rear chain – and that has been fitted too.
With the chains fitted, it was then possible to fit the repainted final drive chainguard (again, rubbeddown, undercoated and then given an aerosol top coat), though the primary one was a bit more awkward – mainly as the crews just pushed straight through the holes. Sonew screws required. We’ll come to them in due course.
The swept back exhaust we had, while not immaculate, isn’t toobad at all, and was fitted without drama. Likewise the Fishtail silencer. Though we did find we were lacking the clamp for the cylinder head end of the exhaust. Which was another to come in the Grove order.
Once the exhaust was fitted, it all seemed very close to the gear change – in fact, it touched. Themodel is fitted with a reversed lever– whichwill mean a ‘down for first’ pattern, though that’s fine; dad’s KSS and ourMk.I KTT are both like that – but the issue herewas the collision between the two; so the lever/pedal hitting the pipe. It (the change pedal) didn’t have a rubber fitted to it previously, and so this was now making everything ‘come together.’ A little bit of gentle persuasion and it all fitted.
We’ll have to see how it all operates though – there does seemtobe quite a lot of sloppiness in it, and it’s very long travel anyway. Internally, it seems therewere two – at least – forms of connecting/linking rod; the early system has neat joints and elbows, whereas the later one, just relies on a bit of bent metal. We’ve gone for the early bits, but, actually, it could be that there’swear in the joints, and that was the reason the firm swapped the manufacturing process, not just from economy, as we’d imagined.
Therewas another issue of things colliding with the exhaust pipe, when it came to the kick-start. The external springwas fouling the exhaust (dad describes everything in this area as ‘rather snug’) so dad modified it, replacing the external spring with a ball andplunger type arrangement. No more collisions.
In the same area, close inspection of various pictures – and of the diagrams of the factory rear set footrests – revealed a strengthening brace, between the back of the plate that the rider’s footrests aremounted to, and a lug a little further back. This support is missing onour bike, on both sides. Now, the right hand side won’t causemuch of an issue, as there’s space to make up andput something inplace, but the left side, is all a bit tighter. We’ve a fold up footrest onboth sides, though isn’t actually necessary on the left (it is on the right to allow the kick start to be operated)– was just what we had. There’s an added factor in that on the left hand side, the rear brake is pivoted from the same bolt as the footrest hangs on, suggesting it would be the one in need of the extra strength;
ironically, the one on the right (where there’s plenty of room) has nothing but the footrest supportedon the plate, as the gear lever is simply reversed.
Lots of the more fiddly bits have been done – suchas the oil pipes– while the new levers areall in situ too, with new cablemade up for all of them, except the throttle, as the carburettor had that one attached to it. The throttle (twistgrip) fitted isn’t particularly nice, sowe’llmaybe lookat gettingabetter replacement for that, too. On the subject of the handlebar area– wehaveupside down standard items on at themoment, as supplied onaClubman, but it might be that we’ll mount them the other (ie correct way) in the end. I’ve found, fromhaving ridden a few, that rearsets and standardbarsmake for quitea nice ridingposition onaVelocetteof this ilk.
Otherwise, hopefully, the amount of parts needed to buy is now getting towards its end – though I knowwe’ll need a pair of rear shock absorbers, a headlight, a dynamo, a rear mudguard, a speedo, and that’s just off the top of my head – soperhaps not near the end at all. The petrol tank needs painting and the seat covering as well. Oh well, onwards and upwards!