Terry / Cubbie update

What an exciting few days its been in the shed. Yes, I've spent a good few hours in there and achieved, let me think, hardly anything. I started at the beginning of the week with the intention of reassembling Cubbie's newly refurbished brakes, but ended up getting nowhere, because the brake arm is in the wrong place. I don't know what the technical names are, but the arm fits on a square 'thing' that is on the sticky-out end of the cam, therefore, the arm can only be adjusted in 90degree increments. This is inconvenient because one setting is too horizontal and the next one is too close to the bottom of the fork. After a long time spent head scratching, assembling it all again, checking that the brake plate was located correctly, spinning the cam around 180degrees, taking it all apart and putting it all back together again, it was time to go to work. Couple of days later, same thing, only this time, when I'd had enough, I moved on to fitting the 'new' speedo that Mr Pres (who incidentally, I should really call Mr Immediate Past Pres) sourced for me. Removed the headlight, ripped the sticky tape off the top of the nacelle (it was covering the hole where the speedo should go), removing a goodly amount of paint, cleaned the remaining sticky stuff and flaking paint off, rubbed it down and wiped clean with my favourite cleaning product, old petrol. Up on the top shelf, hidden away at the back was a pot of...wait for it...begins with H....yep, Hammerite. Smooth Black. Popped the lid off, it's still liquid, found a brush....lunch time! Followed by work time. Woe is me.

Next day, decided not to waste more time on the brakes, and it's too cold to paint - wouldn't want to have a bloom effect on my concors machine - so I take to cleaning one or two Terrier bits. I can't resist, I've got to try and undo the sludge trap in the flywheel. It's peened over to stop it from coming undone, so I un-peen it in a slightly amateurish way, but it works, and try the easy route first, just a large flat screw driver. It don't budge. Mrs BC lends a hand to hold the whole thing steady while I put all my weight behind it. It still don't budge. Back to cleaning then. So come Friday morning, I still don't have a bike ready for the Large Lunch, which was today (Saturday) but I've given up on that now and am more focused on that dratted sludge trap.

A few words of advice from someone point me in the direct of the impact driver - good idea but it still doesn't have any effect. Oh well, it the worst comes to the worst, I'll bundle it up and take it to the Large Lunch...at least I'll have part of a bike there... So at this juncture, I still haven't sorted Cubbie's brakes, or painted the nacelle, or fitted the speedo, or emptied Terry's sludge trap...but I should add that there is some positive news...but you'll have to wait a bit for that, busy day on the farm today with tail ringing and a poorly lamb born last night, then guess what, I've got to go to work. Huh.

SATURDAY - time for the Large Lunch, a good excuse for a get-together, eating and catching up after winter. And you know what that means...a gathering of men who know far more about bikes and working on them than I do. So I packed the flywheel thing into a box with rags, screwdrivers, hammers and the impact driver and popped it in the car. As Mrs BC and I arrived at the Sheiling Tor in Fyvie, some riders had just left on Bob P's treasure hunt style ride, and other were just returning, so I grabbed a few of them and lured them to the box of Terrier bits. First up was Andrew M but despite all his efforts, the sludge trap held firm. Next to give it a go was Bob P, but no joy there either, and then a team effort from Maurice C and Graham McC, with backup from onlookers Huey & Dewey forced the blighter to give in. A few good wallops on the impact driver and the screw loosened to reveal a pile of solid sludge, as predicted by everyone I'd asked if this was really necessary. Thanks guys, I would never have got that undone on my own.

Went to work on the way home from Lunch so no time to finish the job, but managed to sneak a bit of time back in the shed yesterday (Sunday, gee, this is confusing) before going to work, and picked away at the sludge, using a drill bit at first to wind the muck out and downwards, away from the big end, followed by an assortment of cable ties, plastic pointy things and a fine Allen key that was the only thing long enough to reach to the top. Then came my favourite bit; out with the GBC Red Plastic Flywheel Assy Washing Device, a turkey baster and some old petrol (old as in bought before the prices went sky high and not as in 'dirty'). The first rinse was shockingly filthy dirty and bitty, with a load of grit being washed out. Using clean petrol each time I rinsed and rinsed until it ran clear and free of debris, let it dry and then smothered it in fresh, new oil, before wrapping the whole thing up in a clean carrier bag and returning it to the shelf. Job done. (Thank you Larry for doing that research on sludge traps - just needed some muscles!)

A couple more rinses with the turkey baster and all that grit was gone.

Sunday was a very productive day, as not only did I do all that, but it was so hot that the Hammerite was at the right temperature and the nacelle didn't feel like a block of ice to touch, so after a lick o' paint, lick o' paint, Cubbie's looking a bit brighter and smarter. Trouble is, I'll have to do the other bits that need a lick o' paint now. Botheration!

Apologies for the really weird layout, I just can't get the pics to stay where I put them! Grrrrr!

PPS thanks to Gordon from Shetland the search for pics of Islay is over. Sounds like an interesting project that's on the go, update you later.