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Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:23 pm
by Suzukidave
Either billet , polished or chrome a few correctly placed shiney bits do set off a custom look nicely :up:

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:30 pm
by titan performance
Tim and I have been doing a little here and there, and it's gradually moving forward. I shaped the fibre glass seat unit today, and prepared a base for the seat pad. Tim has fashioned an under seat tray to carry the battery, the regulator and rectifier. Meanwhile, the painter has welded up all of the tiny rust pin holes in my otherwise clean stock T500 tank. Still one or two minor items missing, and a whole bunch of stuff at the zinc platers, but once that comes back, we can get the forks and wheels on, and it will start to look like a bike,............can't wait !

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 3:43 pm
by titan performance
The above pics are in the opposite order to the intended. How do you work that "place in order" feature?

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 4:30 pm
by Alan H
You put the last one you want to see first, so it goes to the bottom of the list.
The system was probably designed by a woman...........

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:26 pm
by titan performance
Thanks Alan, I was thinking you could adjust the order once uploaded.

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:00 am
by titan performance
Well I'm thinking I should have paid more attention when I took these switch blocks apart ! There's a surprising number of pieces in there.....

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:07 pm
by titan performance
Although the chrome plate came back to me nice and quick, unfortunately the zinc plate is taking a bit longer. The large ring nut that holds the steering stem, and the end caps to the swing arm bushes are among the items being zinced...so building the bike up has come to a stand still. In the meantime, we have tidied up the electrics, and mounted the battery and other items on a plate under the seat void. I made a simple hook and catch for the front of the seat unit, and stuck some thick rubber strips into it where it will sit on the frame tubes, and bonded in a hoop at the rear hump, which bolts to the frame.
Now the seat is prepped, it's off to the painter !

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 12:51 pm
by titan performance
My 500 rebuild is moving on....it needs to if it's going to the TT on May 24th !!
It's now a rolling chassis, despite the fact that I made a school boy error with the top yoke.....bugger ! A correct one has been cut, and is being tapped and counter bored as we speak. The upholsterer has made me a seat cushion, though I'm not totally happy with it, so we'll have to see how it looks with the body work. The painter called me today, to say that Maui blue is no longer available from anyone he knows, although he has found an alternative, so fingers crossed on that one. I spent some time with a soft wire brush in the dremmel, cleaning the carbs, and they look a lot better now. The engine is being soda blasted complete, a week tomorrow, so once that's done we should be able to fire the old thing up.......watch this space !

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:47 pm
by dyrberg123
That is progressing pretty quick, looks great. :D

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:16 pm
by titan performance
Thanks Dry......as I said, it's going to the Isle of Man on May 24th, so it needs to move on quickly. The engine hasn't been run since the 80s, but it was sound then. I'm hoping it will fire up and be all good......what are my chances?

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:36 pm
by Suzukidave
50/50 8)

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:55 pm
by Alan H
Cross your fingers and the odds may improve - best of luck. I'm working on the same proviso with the 550.

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:18 pm
by dyrberg123
titan performance wrote:Thanks Dry......as I said, it's going to the Isle of Man on May 24th, so it needs to move on quickly. The engine hasn't been run since the 80s, but it was sound then. I'm hoping it will fire up and be all good......what are my chances?

What about the crank seal, can that survive so many years standing still drying out?

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:26 am
by titan performance
That's the unknown factor I guess. I have owned this bike since 1977, and I know it's never been apart, if that counts for anything.

Re: The Alpina 500

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 10:03 am
by tz375
titan performance wrote:That's the unknown factor I guess. I have owned this bike since 1977, and I know it's never been apart, if that counts for anything.
It does but not for much when it comes to crank seals. You still have time to pull the crank and swap out the outer seals and even to get the inner seal(s) swapped if you have a good crank builder that can either slot it in or swap a crank on an exchange basis. It's about a one day job to swap a crank and clean up the cases