Greenford Police LE Update 3

Greenford Police LE

Update 3.

As you may remember from the last update that everything had been primed except the body that has some remedial work still to be done on. The welding on the front mudguard went well and I have not managed a top coat and the front end is ready to be assemble. Trying to weld inside the front mudguard so that there was little weld to foul the front fork covers was an awkward job as the metal was so thin it would burn through so a heat sink plate was put behind the area to prevent the flame from blowing weld too far.

I use oxy-acetylene as my welding medium. Little cleaning up was needed even at the split at the front of the guard. At the same time a few minor repairs were done to the panniers, removing a dent and welding one of the support brackets back in place. This has had a bit of a top coat too as I could only spray one side at a time and the other side needs to be done. I ran out of paint and bought more from Colorite. I did not know that the paint I had used was not petrol proof. It was a two pack paint but was deactivated to prevent going off in the can and could be used for months. I now know a bit more about rattle-can paints. For the main body I needed to have a petrol resistant paint and there is one. It is a two pack paint that has the hardener in the can. There is a button in the lid that is removed and is used to press a valve in the bottom of the can. Mix it and then spray immediately to activate. If you don’t spray straight away the paint will go off while you hold the can. Once a little spray has been released the paint will remain viable for about four days. Choose the time to spray wisely. December is not the best time but it will get done soon.

I now have a copy of Neil Spalding’s MotoGP Technology, third edition and when finished I’ll report back. I’ve had a quick look through and can’t wait to have good read. The technical detail is amazing and it is the stuff that I want to hear about. I might be a bit of an anorak about technical details but it was the stuff I was brought up on in my youth when all the bike magazines would tell you about bore and stroke of the engine, the gear ratios, primary and final drive reduction and sprocket sizes. Frame head angles, trail and suspension travel. Brakes didn’t seem to matter much unless it was an 8inch twin leading shoe! Now what do we get? Spats between the riders, primadona humps and no idea what the guys and girls are riding. It would be more interesting for me knowing what specification of engines, gearboxes and frames that are being used. I am ever hopeful I may be enlightened one day.