A trimmed and polished front fender.

     This one bit me, more on that later. The 70's chrome fender is definitely period, and not entirely in the cafe-racer style it had to be fixed. Again, in the spirit of my build, modification of the existing part is more desirable than a purchase of a fiber-glass replacement. The fender was showing age related spotting on the chrome to just outright rust.

     First, as can be seen, i measured the fender, electing for something trimmed at both ends and half its current length. The initial cut lines can be seen on the picture above. Cutting something that you cannot undo is quite daunting at first, so i started with a straight trim along the lines and then slowly cut into the line i traced from the original front piece. The rear of the fencer has a den in it, so had to do anyways.

     With my trusty 4.5" grinder, i cut away and shaped. For smoothing out the curves, finding a pivot point for the fender and keeping the grinding wheel stationary and pivoting the fender produced so very satisfying results. You can see from the pictures. I have found that my 4.5" grinder has been invaluable. So, after shaping i ground out the rust, using the wire wheel attachment. It bit me. I t was my fault, trying to hold both the grinder and fender. The grinder skipped and dragged itself across my stomach, producing a rather nice road rash and and ouchy. Something you only do once! Lesson learnt. After checking I had not been disemboweled, the underside of the fender edges were filled with metal filler, removing the sharp edges and masked off for painting. 2 coats of primer and 2 of the gun metal wheel paint. The fender looks good:

     The tape removed and a final polish was done. I may try some type of chrome restoration on the fender, but for now, job done:

     Front end is now almost complete. Pictures and a video will follow.

The Headlight.........

     OK,  I hear you, where has he been? Why no updates for a while. The simple answer work and more work making demands, can't wait to retire. Anyhow, back to the blog and my bike. Every day I do a little bit, if I can, the familiar words to the missus "Babe, just popping in the garage for 10 minutes...". Oh, how she knows me, her reply "See you in 3 hours then!".
     The main focus of my attention this week has been the 'Bubba'd' head light. Yes - I could have purchased a new on, but that goes against what I am trying to achieve here. After a little searching in my garage, and the thought "I know it's here somewhere.", I found the remains of a fiberglass kit, with just enough of everything I need to refurb the head light. The surrounds have been powder coated by the very talented people at Powdertechplus of Orange Park, and the cover is going to be my task.

 

     As you can see, the hole in the back looks like it was cut with a 1930's tin opener. I set about sanding and then fiberglass over the hole and getting an enclosed cover to start with. Sanding with 220 grit and then 500 grit paper, to get it smooth and a good key for the fiberglass. I then formed the inside of the cover.

  
     Having let the inside cure, I then formed the outer surface. As it turns out, it hasn't come out too badly, especially with my skill levels as a body work guru are average. The next stage came out thus:

  

     And then to the out side, more sanding and priming. I did get a blister on my thumb (Dire Straights), sanding. More gloves needed. As I have found, most skills are learn-able, even if only at a basic level, but, I think, in this case it has been worthwhile, if only costing me time. It has saved the cost of a new headlight.
     I then primed and sanded and primed the light housing to achieve a finish i was happy with, or as near as i could get to it. Perfection is a question of time, skill level and patience. I have some of these and perseverance. Once primed i elected to put my first coat of Gloss Black paint on, then, more after I realized than by design, cut the hole for the wiring in the cover. This i completed with a 2 inch hole drill, the kind that is a circular saw with a drill bit in it. Thus completing the initial fit. The hole was cut in pretty much the same place as the original 'Bubba Cut', and is so much cleaner and pleasing to the eye.

     You can see how the hole cutter worked from the picture to the right. There was a little fraying of the glass inside the cover, but that sanded out with no issues.  The rattle can finish is not as good as a professional job, but is so much improved over what was on the bike, and I have again salvaged a case for the dumpster into a very usable piece. It does, at this stage need a light 2000 grit wet and dry followed up with a gloss lacquer to finally finish it. That will be tomorrows job, once the paint has cured.
     Paint cured, sanded and touched up. Lacquer applied, sanded and repeat. The cover is done. As a rattle can product, i am quite pleased with the overall result. Yes, it could be improved, but I am using my time as well as I can, learning and applying new skills as a task presents itself. Once my bike has been completed to it's initial stat, it becomes the embryonic state and will evolve. So cover completed, have looked for, and ordered the indicators, eBay specials. Will publish more on the completed front end soon For now, here is the finished cover picture, will assemble the headlight once indicators have arrived.