Belgium Honda Speedo Part 6

 Albert here....Is there anybody out there???  As the UK government advises of imminent doom....(War in 1000 days apparently) The quest to repair the Belgium Honda Speedo continues. Which will happen first? War or a working speedo? I was in a joyous mood as I parted company with you after the last bloggington. Didn't take long to be reeled back into reality....

Let me recap. The rubber/polyurethane gasket casting was successful considering the manufacturing techniques. It was now time to pry open the speedo bezel to gain access to the rev counter needle spindle in the hope that the dislocated pointer could be reunited with it. Horror stories on the 'socials' clearly illustrated that care and precision would have to be paramount. Prying tools needed to be functional but not over sharp. The rough handed results of other home mechanics can clearly be seen on the majority of speedos that are listed on ebay.

In the end I found that a spoon and knife from the cutlery drawer was the best option. The speedo was supported in a specially cut collar that held the outer of the bezel firm. Hopefully reducing the risk of the visible part bending. 

How good is that? Carefully lifting the bezel and glass away I was in!!!! Let's have a look at the inner workings.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's where the joy ended.......The rev counter spring was tightly wrapped around the spindle. BROKEN!!!    TWISTED!!!!!    TOTALLY FOOOOOKED!!!

I've come so far....now what????? Albert, don't do anything hasty. Take a step back and let's think this one out!!! Ya've been in bigger shiiiite than this.

Belgium Honda Speedo Part 5

 Greetings to all Oilyracer fans.....Your scribe Uncle Alb here. Read on to discover how the homemade mould and the pour of polyurethane into it's cavity turned out.

Firstly it was noticed before I started that the outer mould part had shrunk...Think I left it in the sun??? Anyway now what???? I made 4 clamping strips that screwed to the outer of the mould case. I could then pull the mould out, adjust the inner until sized then screw down holding the outer tight in position. Phew!! Got out of that difficulty....just!

Mixing the 2 x parts 50/50 and adding a sprinkle of black colouring powder was easy enough. The mould had already been sprayed with Mr Sheen furniture polish. (The poor mans releasing agent). I'd done a volume of mix required check by placing the pattern into a jug of water. Watching the cc rise when submerged was the amount of mixture needed, adding a teeny weeny bit for waste left around the cup edge.

In it went, not wasting any time as I was unsure of the setting window. Level with the top as planned. Set aside for 24 hours. Quite a while to leave it but got to make sure the result is representative of the effort put in so far.

Releasing went without a hitch. Out popped a polyurethane gasket....Ok not like Honda would have made but blimey oh riley !!!! Pretty pleased for a first attempt.

An unobtainable Honda part No 37242268020 (or replicas available only from Taiwan)

Remember...resist AI....resist Digital I.D. and pray for your soul....the country is going to shiiiit.

Belgium Honda Speedo Part 4

 Having left the inner part of my Speedo Gasket mould to fully cure it was time to cast the outer. This will then fill my mould frame apart from the shape of the gasket. The base of the mould had been given numerous coats of yacht varnish before and this too had been allowed to dry fully. Plan being this outer removes with the cast gasket to allow separation.

More mess was created in the mixing of the silicone with the cornflour. The mix was pushed into various edges in the hope of achieving a smooth finish.  Filling up level with the top was then completed.

More setting aside to dry.....

The finished result once peeled out of the mould case did appear to represent what could be a workable 2 part mould. How exciting!!!!

Time now to commit a few pennies and purchase the casting rubber. I chose a product sold by a company called Mouldcraft. They list on ebay. I ordered  500g of Black Polyflex 50 shore fast cure Polyurethane Casting Rubber. Cost me £21 inc p&p...you can see why I held back on ordering until I was confident in progressing further.

The Polyflex comes as a 2 x part kit and a small pot of colouring agent. 50/50 of the 2 x parts and a 5% splash of colour. 

When this arrives I'll post news.

Until then do as your Uncle Alb recommends and resist AI....resist Digital I.D. and hide any pension money you've saved.....Big Brother is taking over!!!

Belgium Honda Speedo Part 3

 Previously I made the pattern to cast a new rubber 'gasket' for the 'Belgium Honda'. Now what? Believing what I saw on youtube as a workable method I proceeded to make a mould box. Here's what I'm thinking....The height of the box will match the height of the gasket, this will possibly allow me to do a wipe over for sizing when the rubber compound is poured? If I have a fixed inner and I can remove the outer then I should stand a chance of removing the cast rubber when cured.

The mould being made from silicone and cornflour.....recommended youtube recipe....I know, I know, skilled casters may be shaking head in disbelief but this blog is real time...I'm not in control of the outcome and neither do I know it today. I made a corner locator for the outer mould so that it always positions in the correct orientation.

So, the mix of silicone bathroom sealer and cornflour took place.....foookin dooks..what a job!!! cornflour everywhere....silicone super sticky hands......Mrs C complaining constantly about mess......

Anyway perseverance is the key, and that's what happened here. The wipe over to get height wasn't without adding more stick to sticky...a lick of cooking oil helping eased the scrapper and improved surface finish

Hey!!! when dry didn't look to shabby. 

I then coated the remaining base with several layers of yacht varnish to help create a non stick surface.

So far so good, keep checking for more news from 'The Old Sidevalve Bar.' 

Reject AI....You know it makes sense.. 

 

Belgium Honda Speedo Part 2

 It's Uncle Albert...sending a big hello to readers worldwide...and of course the same warm greeting to any far away aliens who may have just stumbled on this digital jotting before doing a quick U turn and steering clear of Earth.. .Glad you could make it to the 'Oilyracer Blogspot' through all the Google garbage. Years ago in the early days of  'Oilyracer' thoughts and actions evolved only around Welding....Beer....Grinding.....Beer.....Drilling.....Beer....oh and a bit of taking the michael out of this countries leaders... Phufffff, in todays world of  finking before speeeekin' (or writing) hurty words in fear of offending anyone who hasn't worked a day in their lives bloggers have gotta take care.. Easy could fall out of a window or get a poisoned dart in the leg when on a train. Nudge nudge know what I mean old chap? Your Uncle Alb misses the opportunity to take the piss out of our present government for fear of plod coming knocking on The Old Sidevalve Bar Door...... But then again it's not like I need to remind anyone what a shiiite show we're living in and why it's getting worsererer. 

Work continues on 'Project Speedo'. The fix for the broken needle will entail removing the glass. Prying back the bezel without damage needs care and could take some time so I thought I'd move onto replacing the rubber gasket that sits between the speedo and headlight shell.... Shock upon shock! Un-obtainable as a Honda part and no old stock at any vintage Honda part supplier. Deeper research led me to a source of replicas. Taiwan via ebay. Now nothing wrong with Taiwan products, but the cost including carriage put the gasket at at least £60.!!!! 

Anyone seen characters on you-tube making moulds and casting un-obtainable parts for vintage cars and bikes? Yep, you've guessed it...Uncle Alb needs to add to his 'Work to List' and try do the same. Trouble is I don't have a good example to use in the first instance. 

This is what happened when I set too to make good the perished part I had. In fact I have several examples of this motorsickle and they all could benefit from a refresh.

First I applied a liberal coating of superglue to hold the remains of the gasket solid. Careful applications of body filler were added.....sanded....added...sanded....you get the picture. In a few day's I had created what I thought should be the shape of a new gasket. It looked as if it would fit reasonably well on the speedo but it will crack if pulled on so  a 'leap of faith' at this point. Spray painted the pattern to help visual assessment and should also hopefully help release from the mould I'm planning on making.

That's where we are guys....next step mould making. Beers are ready cos I think I deserve them. Keep looking in and checking on how this very small patch of the Shireshire is doing its best to preserve OLD BLIGHTY and all who sail in her. Keep the Vintafake faith the nightmare may be over by Christmas.