Manky Monkey Motors

My reliant has had to find a new home.........in the corner of the garden, to make room in the workshop shed for the bitch. I`d hoped to have the reliant done by the start of this month and then get the kawasaki in for a spruce up, my lack of interest/motivation, call it what you will, has meant the reliant remains 90% complete and will remain that way now, until the kwak is done.
2 days work and she now looks like this.....

The mudguards were held by 6 bolts per side, screwed directly into the struts. 11 of the 12 were siezed and had to be drilled out!.
I have now drilled through the struts and the guards will now be secured with bolts going through the struts and capped with domed nuts.

The rear framework has been wiped over and given a fresh coat of paint, a second coat still needs to go on.
I`ve made a start on sanding down the mudguards, and when fully prepped they will have a new colour scheme applied.

And my new fuel tank (that spent weeks sat in customs) has been sanded and primed, still got a dent to sort out but its getting there.
I`d half planned on getting the paintwork done `professionaly`, but after several changes of plan, i will be going with a satin black finish (and a nice scrolling design in white....maybe) so i should be able to cobble this up myself with a couple of rattle cans  ;)

Coo, you've been busy Tim.
My own trike's very nearly finished, but been that way for over a year. Seriously considered selling it, but I know it'll be a lot of fun to ride once it's done & I'd hate to see someone else finish it differently than I'd planned. Now it's been temporarily side-lined in favour of my truck project, as that one has a time limit on it due to the looming change in commercial vehicle SVA regulations.
Sometimes you just need a break, or a change of direction for a while, to renew your enthusiasm Tim.  ;)

The kwak is nearly 10 years old now and looking a little tired, i`d put off doing anything about it for a couple of years because that meant she`d be off the road and i`d rather have her on then road and useable.
Having said that though, the only run she has had this year was to the MOT station (she passed), six months ago. The tax is now out and she is SORN until done, not that much needs doing, just a spruce up. My headache at the moment is with the seats, while i`m capable of covering them, i may farm this job out to an upholsterer.
I really can`t get to grips with the reliant, and i don`t know why. i only need to make some headlight mounts, knock up the rear brakes and do a final prep on the frame, maybe i`ll get some enthusiasm for christmas  ;D

Aye, a big box of gift-wrapped enthusiasm & a tub of mojo for Mr T then.

If you want to have a go at pin striping yourself I just happen to have a tool to do this that you are welcome to borrow ( well its a full kit but you get the idea lol).....Voodoo.....

Hiya Mr Doo, thats a kind offer. I`m still not sure what, if any, artwork will be done but i`ll let you know if i need to borrow your tool! ooh er mrs  ;D

your a bit tight for space in there tbone,looks like you need an extension

I think thats the problem most shed builders face, always outgrowing the available space.
It does however make you appretiate all the more, the skills that some guys have in building stunning machines in such small places all over the country, and makes you wonder whats hidden behind every shed dooe you see!  ;)

Ah see I planned ahead... not only have I got my not bad sized workshop but ive also got my spray shop attatched and if I need to expand again I will just join another 8x12 shed to my sprayshop and cut out a rear door to connect the 2...oh that and my parts shed at the bottom of the garden....at this rate I will end up with all workshop and no garden lol....Voodoo....

Bought some new lights to go back on the mudguards after they are painted.
The old ones still worked but have gone a bit rusty, these are shiney!

On further examination though, I`m sure that I can`t fit them........... ;D

Its really a little cold to be painting in the shed workshop, but i have now second coated the rear frame rails, put some colour (black) and the first coat of clear on the fuel tank and one mudguard. They will now need to harden off before i flatten them back, i managed a nice run of clear on the guard  >:( but other than that, they look ok-ish.

Yep, i`m still plodding on with this, time & weather permitting!
Made the most of todays sunshine by throwing more paint around.......
The tank is as good as i`m going to get it, needs a final coat of clear then its finished.

The second mudguard, soaking up the sun....

And i even made a start on the side panels!
24 hours for it all to harden off, so thats that till sunday now.
I haven`t looked at the front mudguard yet but thats all thats left to clean up and paint, so when i get to it, i`ll show you that too.

Part of the overhaul on this trike includes the seats, they are looking very shabby now.
The original seats had the backrest and seatpad in one piece, apart from being a bugger to re cover, they also retained a lot of water at the join between pad & backrest, this resulted in a very wet bottom most of the time!
The solution is simple, re-make the seats in two halfs........ ::)
The first job then is to cut your seat pan to the desired shape, i`m not goin go into detail here `cos this will depend on what your fitting your seat to.
Mine is a simple triangleish shape and i cut it from a sheet of 3mm aluminium, cos thats what i had, 2mm steel would have done just as well and the process is the same for what ever material your working with.

My original seat covers where glued on.....enough said.
To do the job properly they should be rivited on, so i need lots of holes.
Rather than just drill a load of random holes its easier if they are more or less in line and spaced an equal distance apart....
Spacing will depend on your choice of cover material.
 Leather is lovey to work but expensive, so i`m going with "pleather", or plastic leather or naugahyde, this comes in a variaty of names and colours and patterns, mine being black with fake leather look  ;D.
If i had chosen leather, i would need my holes 1" in from the edge and spaced 1" apart, as mine is fake leather they need to be closer.
I need the holes 3/4" in from the edge, so i marked this by drawing a control line 3/4" in, all the way around the pan.

And they need to be spaced 5/8" apart. So i marked the spacing, all the way round, on the control line.

Then i drilled the holes on the marks. Before you go drilling your holes it`s best to have an idea of the size blind rivet you`re gonna be using.
Mine are 4mm.
Notice how i didn`t say `pop rivet`?. I`m using blind rivets, this is the type of rivet, `pop` rivets are a brand name for blind rivets. Yeah i know that wasn`t relevant, just thought you might have wanted to know!  ;D

The next step is to clean away all the swarf from the drill holes and run a file around the edge of the pan to clean that up and blunt it off.

Hardware comes next. This is anything that is used to fix the seat in position. I`m using bolts that will act as studs and fit through holes in the frame under the seat, again this will depend on how you have chosen to fix the seat.
With the hardware in place, i would now apply a coat or two of paint, the sheet i cut my base from was already coated so that has saved me that job.
You need a layer of paint to protect the bare metal from the weather, the seat cover will not do this 100% and soon you`ll have a very rusty seat pan!

Next you fit the edging strip, this is to protect the cover from tearing on the sharp edge of the pan.
Those of you who read some of my other drivel informative posts, may remember i have mentioned edging strip before, and this is what i`ll be using here too.
There are a number of ways to make your own edging strip, including sliced fuel pipe, pipe insulation and even duck tape, anything that will cover the edge will do.  ;)

And what you want to achieve is a nice rounded edge not a horrid sharp one.

So now i have summat that looks like this.........starting to resemble a seat  ::)

Time to start thinking about some padding.
The picture shows the original seat foam, and i`ll be re-using this.
When it comes to the foam there are are a few things to consider......
Firstly, do not use `standard` furniture foam. The stuff you find in your sofa, couch or comfy armchair is not suitable for your average motorbike/trike seat. Its too soft and will compress too much as well as hold a lot of water.
What you want is closed cell moulded polyurethane foam. This stuff resembles oasis, the stuff they stick plants into at your local flower arranging class. Its firm, in fact it comes in 3 different densities, and will not absorb water, although it is not water proof!
So where do you get this magic product? Erm, dunno.....although it is used in those camping mats that you can buy for about a fiver  ;)
Some companies use it as packing material too, if your after thick bits.

While on the subject of thickness, you`ll notice the pad on my seat is fairly thick. This is not necessary from a comfort point of view as there is little difference between a 2" thick piece and a piece of 1", due to the fact it does not compress easily.
The reason my pad is that thick is because it suits the look of the trike, and thats all.
The other thing to consider is the angle the seat fits at, mine is fairly steep, and you look cool as hell sat back like that, unfortunatly, after a few miles, it takes its toll on the old back, cos its not the most ergonomic position to sit in.
The best position, in terms of back relief, is to be sat on a level plane, so a compromise between cool and comfy will need to be found.
In my case, i may look at applying a tapered layer of foam to bring the seat level, its suprising how you can alter the level without affecting the look of the seat overall.

In an effort to prove the point, have a look at these.....each is a different application but all, despite apperance, are levelish where it counts.

chopper....

and the one on the reliant.... notice how the rear of the seat is much deeper than the nose. This allows the seat to follow down the frame rails but gives a level seat to park my backside on.

Backtracking slightly, here are the finished side panels.

Right then, back to the seat and a change of plan.
I was going to re-use the old foam but decided i`d have all new instead.
Lay the foam on a flat surface, place the upturned seatpan on it and then trim to shape with a handsaw.

Because its so dense, the foam will cut easily with any serrated blade without ripping.

Now if your unlucky enough not to have a large piece of foam, dont worry, you can use as many single pieces as it takes.
I`m gonna have to have 3 pieces, so i cut a thin strip to fill the gap.

And when its glued together it will hardley be noticed  ;)

To glue the foam together and to the pan, you`ll need a solvent free glue, the stuff you use on foam backed carpet is ideal.
It comes in aerosol form, simply spray n stick  ;D

A layer of gue on the pan will hold the foam nicely.
Then lay your cover out on a flat surface and centre the seatpan on it, makeing sure you have enough cover to bend up the sides and reach your holes .

Now for the fun bit! Make a small hole in the edge of your cover and insert a rivet, put the rivet in a hole a rivet the cover to the pan.
I`m adding small washers to my rivets which will effectively double the size of the finished rivet head.

I`ll put 1 rivet into the nose end and then, pulling the cover taught, I`ll add 1 rivet to each side, leaving the back for now.

Then its a matter of working your way round the entire pan, pulling the cover taught and riviting as you go.
Working on small sections at a time, i`ll place rivets into the holes where necassary, to hold the cover.
Placing the rivets in the holes means you can pull them out again and adjust the cover as you need to.
When i`m happy with it, i`ll rivet the rivets in!

I dont use a rivet in every hole as i work my way round, just as and where needed to get the cover on.
Then i can come back and try and address some of the small creases that will inevitably appear.

I always show you my bad as well as good, so here is a shot of one of the sides.
More ripples than i would have liked, but i should be able to work a few of them out.

A view of the top.

Now, theres a good chance you`ll have to go round a corner somewhere.
I have 2 corners on the back, when the seat is fitted, they wont be seen, but i`ll show them here anyway.
A standard triangular fold, back and under is the cleanest way to do these. Not pretty, but wont be seen.