A Wee Visit, a Broken Tool, and the Birth of Version 2.0
Took the Vulcan 900 out for a spin today — had to remind it that it’s still part of the family, even though the BSA’s been hogging all the attention lately. Ended up dropping by Mario’s to deliver a few bits of his I picked up from Walridge Motors. They’re close to me, so it made sense to bundle his order with mine (and also because I secretly enjoy pretending I’m doing something productive while out riding).
My treasures are tucked safely in the plastic tub — you can even spot the shiny copper gasket for the top end, and I’ve now got the fork seals ready to go. Just waiting on the elusive exhaust valve, and then we’ll plan the grand Top-End Assembly Day — ideally before the garage turns into a meat locker.
Now, about that rear shock… remember the “special tool” I made? Aye, the one that decided to self-destruct during round two. Turns out the nut had seized on the 3/8″ rod and I managed to twist it with my legendary brute strength (or maybe it was just bad design — but we’ll go with strength). The result: one mangled contraption and a lesson in humility.
So, today’s task at Mario’s barn-garage was Version 2.0. Same tube, but this time we added a proper U-shaped end to grab both sides of the shock bushing instead of relying on that “it might work” setup from v1.0. Even managed to use real washers instead of a socket contraption — we’re getting fancy now.
And would you believe it — the collets actually popped out without a fight. No blood, no swearing, no new dents in the workbench. A success by any Scottish standard. Might weld the washer later or craft a proper endcap, but for now it’s holding up nicely.
The shock is mostly disassembled — the spring slides out fine, and I’ll be giving it the full de-rust and repaint treatment.
The plan is to paint the black bits black again (because that’s what normal people do), and for the shiny bits, I’m testing out Dupli-Color’s “Chrome-Like” paint. Sounds optimistic, doesn’t it? We’ll see if it’s more chrome-like or aluminum-foil-like once it dries.
Weather looks decent tomorrow, so I’m planning to set up my outdoor paint booth at the side of the house — using some leftover chipboard from the shipping container.
Nothing says “professional operation” like a backyard spray booth held together with hope and clamps.
Cold’s creeping in, so most work will soon move indoors — but for now, we’re still fighting the good fight in the garage, armed with coffee, optimism, and slightly improved tools.