Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Custom Corner BC: Project eBobber sneak peek

It's still very early days, but here's what I've got going so far:

-Standard Black Bonneville engine covers
-Blacked-out front end
-Fork gaiters
-1" risers
-15" Ape Hangers
-Red Grips
-Headlight visor
-Blacked-out foot controls
-290mm shrouded Hagon shocks
-Custom blacked-out overlength control cables
-Turn-out mufflers

Future plans:

-Sprung solo seat in red metalflake barstool material
-Extend & dress switchgear wires
-Blacked-out overlength brake hoses (notice the 11" too short hose poking out by the headlight)
-Chrome the fender brace (used a fork brace)
-Repaint the tank flat black with graphics
-Bob the rear fender just beyond the struts and paint
-Sparto tail light
-Powdercoat wheel red
-Gangster whitewall tires
-Pitch the airbox
-Boogieman battery relocation kit
-CR-II carbs
-Cover the head pipes with black exhaust wrap.
-Oh yeah... a Wiseco big bore kit (hehehe)

Look for a feature article on this project in the coming months.

Mike

Nice!
the solo seat is gonna be cool!

What pipes are those? They look great!

Soren

Soren,

Those are some generic HD mufflers I had lying around.

Keep the pics coming, I like the old school grips and apes, I have the solo seat with drag bars and it is a bit of a reach, the apes should make it a lot more comfortable.

looks mean very nice bike

Frank

Looks awesome!! Before you go dressing the wiring, consider running it internally in the bars. Really clean it up, ya know? Can't wait to see the seat

i like the black struts.

cat

Looks outstanding...
I think yellow grips (as opposed to red) would tie it together nicely.
my opinion

Mikey,

The yellow is going away and the tank will be all black. I'm still flip-flopping on gloss vs satin vs flat. The seat will be red metalflake and I'm looking for red footpeg rubbers.

Dude, that's gonna be SHARP. Nice.

Where'd you score the rear shock covers?

--Jaeger

Racedweeb...

Thought about doing gloss black where the yellow is on the tank and flat black everywhere else?

I saw a Billy Lane bike that had paint like that and it looked pretty cool.

Jaeger,

Those are Hagon shocks. 30mm underlength. Check them out at:

Hagon Shocks

Rob,

I'm leaning towards flat black, no badges and some sort of artwork on the sides. I'm going for a rockabilly, hotrod look. Devil's head, aces & eights, pin-up girls... that sort of thing. Otherwise, flat black with gloss black pinstripping.

I originally wanted flat black with silverleaf scallops, but Rikki Rockett bet me to it. And I'm no "me-too" kind of guy.

Mike

RaceDweeb,
I went with the satin/flat black, and it is a decent job except you can't buff it out. I put ghost flames in gloss black and red pearl and am still trying to figure out how to get the tape marks out of the flat paint wthout buffing. Just a thought.

Racedweeb,
That's kinda how I did my "other bike that's not a Triumph".

Let's see if I can get up a picture...

Yep, that's the look. Nice Sporty.

Mike

If you are interested in doing a black, try 'Blitz Black' from John Deere. Its not a flat black, more of a Satin finish. Kinda like suede. A lot of hot rodders use it to get that Rat Rod look without spray bombing it. Its a tough enamel topcoat. It covers really well. If your existing paint job is decent scuff it with 600 or 1000 grit paper and shoot the 'Blitz Black' over it. You won't be disapointed. Gives it that suede rat rod look instead of using the flat black primer. It won't give you that chalky look and feel and you won't have to reshoot it in a year. I am currently shooting my '53 Buick in a two tone 'Blitz Black' and flat white.


Fryguy

If you can get some of the white reflective stuff they use on stopsigns, consider painting the tank a semigloss black, then put on a reflective design with the stopsign stuff and lay a couple coats of glossy black clearcoat over it.
The effect is amazing, especially at night. When someone sees you riding along, they see an all black bike. Then the light catches the design just right and it flashes at them, then the bike goes all black again snd they're never sure just what they saw.

Greybeard,

The photoreflective paint trick is a neat idea. In fact, Dupli-Color now offer a reflective topcoat in a rattlecan that can be applied to any painted or chrome surface. The import car kids are totally into this stuff.

On my Project 61 T100, I run a front number plate and the numbers were cut from reflective vinyl.

she be sweet.

RaceDweeb,

Nice bike. How'd you do the hand grips? They look great.

Matt

Matt,

Those are the same grips as my Vintage Hand Grips, just red instead of black. They're available in white as well.

Mike

Well gang, my bobber project rolled under it's own steam today. Not very far, or fast for that matter. No brakes. Adding a +12" front hose plus new xover hose and banjo fittings, I was starting with an almost totally dry system. I've been bleeding brakes since I've been a wee lad, and I'm telling you I can not get the air out of these lines to save my life. I've been pumping on my Mity-vac for days now and my arms are ready to fall off. I need someone with a power system to suck this beeache dry (or I guess in this case; wet). Mechanically, everything else is correct.

Next phase: body & paint

Hi Mike,

Had the same issue when I changed just the front line. I pulled two small bottles through there with my vacuum pump and still could not get all the air our. Ended up going with the conventional squeeze, open bleed screw, hold, close bleed screw, repeat to get the last of the air out. I was amazed at how much air still came through.

I will change my blake bleeding routine as I just received my SpeedBleeders yesterday. I will now use the vauum to get fluid into the lines and the majority of the air out. Then use the SpeedBleeders for the rest. I expect this to cut WAY down on the time....

Phil, let me know how the speed bleeders go in. I have some, but they are sitting on my bench waiting for me to do a full bleed.

Had the same trouble bleeding the brakes and putting in fresh new fluid at 24,000 miles. The trick of putting a zip tie on the lever overnight to squeeze out the rest of the air worked for me. Still gotta get it close though for that little trick to work.

Is that a stock Black Bonnie sprocket cover you have on the bobber?

What a great looking bobber!!!!!

Sorry sal, I didn't catch the question re: the sprocket cover.

Yes, it's a standard sprocket cover from a Bonnie Black. The primary cover too.

I'm still chasing this brake bleeding deal. I know about tieing back the lever overnight. I'm thinking the +12 hose is just too much volume for the stock master cylinder. But then there are other's running apes, albeit on Americas. I'm ready to toss-in the towel. The bike runs, just doesn't have any brakes to speak of.

Hey RD, if you ever come across a spare standard bonnie sprocket cover, especially a chromed one, altho brushed is cool too, I'm VERY much in the market!! Drop me a line:) Thanks!!! Bike is lookin good dude!

Hey Mike,

One thing I forgot to mention. I remove the rubber dust cover completely and then push a good bit of grease around where the bleed screw seats. After cracking it open, I push the grease again so that it gets drawn in for a tight seal when I close it. I also run my finger around it occasionally to keep the seal.

I've found that the bleed screws don't seal all that well once you've cracked them open and this may be your air issue.

Give it another complete sequence with the vacuum and the squeeze/crack/hold/shut routine with the grease added.

btw. my brake line is 4" over stock.

What kinda grease are you using Phil?

I use teflon, seems to stick better that lithium or regular grease and it cleans up very easily.

Thanks Phil. I have a tube of teflon sealant stuff that I've been using, and we used to use it on pipe fittings on hydraluic power units. Works awesome. Wondering how it will hold up to heat tho... Probably fine since it's on frying pans and what not!

Oh I see what u mean, grease up the nipple when you are sucking out the fluid.

Are we still talking about brakes? Ok...

Phil,

As always, your advice was spot-on. I used Teflon tape around the screws to seal the air leak. That did the trick as I now have brakes!

Of course, wouldn't you know it... after a short distance, I noticed the neck bearing were loose. That's an easy fix and I scheduled my vehicle inspection for next Tuesday. Le Pera is a bit late with the seat, so it will be a little longer before the final reveal.

You had a La Pera seat made? Tell us more...like how you went about getting them to do it, and how much it costs. I've always liked the shape of La Pera seats, but I didn't think they made 'em for our bikes.

Sal,

Before you get too excited, I'm getting a generic sprung solo seat, not a model specific seat.

I saw a press release from La Pera about their new line of old school metalflake vinyl covered seats... picked up the phone and ordered one. That was about 3 weeks ago. I still haven't received it yet although it was shipped. It was about $150. BTW... they set me up as a dealer so if there is a demand for these seats, I'll be happy to offer them. I've got the stock gunfighter seat I could send them for a pattern I suppose.