This is one of the last big jobs to tackle. The problem I faced was that before I could get the tank painted I needed to do something about the interior. Twenty odd years ago I had put a Petseal tank sealer solution into it, but this had split and cracked. I didn't think pouring in more on top of it would be satisfactory and there was no way to completely remove the old stuff because of the limited access.
So I had no real choice but to cut it open. Before I did so I found a local boat repair man who specialises in fibreglass and gelcoat repairs. He's going to glass it back together for me and we'll find the best product for recoating the interior.
It was a dusty job but not too difficult to open it up. I cut in to it with a thin disc about half an inch from the edge then went round the curved tunnel with a hacksaw blade. Once open the old petseal came off in big pieces, only here and there was it well attached.
Yet more fabrication. This time a bracket to hold the speedometer. Looking at the drawing in the parts book I tried to copy its design. I wanted it to hold the speedo in out of the way, really close to the frame.
I marked it out from a piece of 4mm stainless steel. ( I love stainless - its the only way to make stuff that's going to live its life outdoors on a bike.)
Once it was filed up I used a bit of heat to twist it into shape. It worked out really good, with minimal clearance.
I finished the guard by fabricating a little stay and getting it welded on. I know the original was riveted but I opted for welding.
Next on the list of things to do was make a brake rod. I bought a piece of 6mm stainless and bent and threaded the ends. I didn't like the way it just touched against the spring of the shock absorber so I put a little joggle in it to make a bit of clearance, looks much better now.
I made the winged adjuster nut from stainless steel. Just a piece of bar drilled and threaded, then two little slots milled to hold the wings in place while I brazed them in. The front end was radiused with a cutter to stop it turning against the barrel.
After forming the curve on the top of the guard I marked it out then cut and filed it to shape.
It needed a dimple at the front to allow for the head of a screw, so I made a press tool from a couple of bits of scrap bar. It worked out pretty well.
