Road Rocket project

[CheeserBeezer]

I thought it was about time I updated on my 1956 RR project....
I posted this earlier this year:-

"I am starting to gather the bits together for this year's project, a 1956 Road Rocket. I have decided to nick the engine out of my RGS copy as that has the correct stampings for the year then I'll build a DA10R engine for the RGS copy so both bikes will look correct(ish). I think I've got everything I need so it's just a case of putting things in piles for chrome plating, powder coating, zinc plating, and two pack. I have a mate who will paint the tinware. Heavy stuff, for powder coating, gets farmed out. Hoping to have it done by autumn. I bought some chrome mudguards from India which have turned out to be dreadful but I'll see if I can do something with them. If I can't I'll either use standard guards painted red or Gold Star guards from Autocycle."

No chance of having it done by the autumn as, thankfully, life is still getting in the way! But, I've just got the black bits back from the powder coaters and the frame's been strapped to the wooden toolbox on wheels, which is how all my projects start. Is sometime next year a reasonable target?

[muskrat]

G'day Andrew.
Nice but did you forget to send the swingarm in the powder coat pile?
Cheers

[CheeserBeezer]

G'day Andrew.
Nice but did you forget to send the swingarm in the powder coat pile?
Cheers

No, I just got the swinging arm blasted as the powder coating process can wreck the silentblocs. If  need to extract the silentblocs because they're knackered I replace with solid bronze bushes, but these look very good so I'll leave them alone and paint the swinging arm with rattle cans or get my mate to two-pack it.

[Catz]

or get my mate to two-pack it.

Now then Andrew, is your mate Lurgy who'll do the paint? I asked you if you knew him at the Swettie one night and you said you did. He did the paint on my oil tank, tool box and mudguards. I rattle canned the frame.

[CheeserBeezer]

I know Lurgy, but my mate is the guy at 'Ride and restore' at Adlington.

[CheeserBeezer]

I pride myself on getting projects done quickly, but this one keeps slipping to the back of the garage. So, progress again. All the tinware taken to the painting man! He's promised it for later this month. I'm not sticking with standard colours and am going for black frame (already done), red tinware, black headlamp and shrouds. I've just pressure tested the Indian tank and masked it ready for painting, and order the transfers from the BSAOC. The engine and gearbox and wheels are in and instruments and mag and dyno ready to be fitted. Maybe get the whole thing finished early spring......then onto the next one!

[CheeserBeezer]

Getting there!. This is my 'Slightly non-standard but I like it' Road Rocket project. Nearly finished, 12 months later than planned. I've had it running and sounds fine. Just needs the rear chain tensioning properly and filling up with fuel. I have tested the tank for leaks prior to painting so should be OK. Fingers crossed for the next dry day out on the road!

[limeyrob]

Looks nice, I like the clean lines of the flat tool box and oil tank.  But it needs an intake stack on the carb just to fill that gap

[Rex]

....And black mudguard stays..

[scotty]

Nice work Mr Cheezer   

[RichardL]

....And black mudguard stays..

My A7 project will have black mudgurard stays against contrasting color, but, since not seeing them here, assuming you're kidding. Hope you won't be aghast when you see them.
 


Richard L.

[trevinoz]

Very nice, Andrew.
Good to see the Rocket on the front guard but I suspect it wasn't fitted to Pommy delivered bikes.
Not so struck on the red toolbox and oil tank.
A 10TT9 would finish it nicely.

[limeyrob]

I missed the Rocket!  I do like those, I was thinking of getting one but decided it was sure to hurt someone, most likely me 

[CheeserBeezer]

Looks nice, I like the clean lines of the flat tool box and oil tank.  But it needs an intake stack on the carb just to fill that gap

Yes, one of the finishing touches. As you can see, the fuel lines aren't fitted either.

[CheeserBeezer]

....And black mudguard stays..

...as I said, "Non-standard, but I like it". No rivet counting please, or we'd be here all day! Colours are Super Rocketish, and various other deviations from standard. I just wanted to build a nice looking bike. It does have the mag driven tachometer as RR. The controls are non standard. I might correct those one day but, as I'm not pursuing standard, there's no point as I'd have to change other things which aren't standard. The problem is that the closer you get to standard, the more the rivet counters descend in their droves! You either have to go the whole hog and get everything right or you build something nice 'in the style of' so the purists realise you're not trying to replicate the original. I quite like it when Mr Rivet Counter tells me that my balls are too small (on the handlebar levers of course!) then I can bore the pants off him by telling him in the minutest of detail all the other things which aren't quite right, relative to original. I become one of those irritating people who won't shut up until he manages to extricate himself after about an hour because he's spotted a Velocette where somebody has used the wrong shade of gold on the petrol tank!