More seat stuff

Yep, more Bridgestone seat pics. This time of an actual completed part, somewhat trimmed to fit:

Pretty exciting, huh?

Bridgestone BS-7: Making a Seat

I missed a few photos during the process, but here is a quick recap.


I made a seat pan out of a 1/4" thick piece of pre-made fiberglass, courtesy a scrap piece of an anti-flotation flange from an AdvanTex AX20 pod (p00p cleaning box):


Another views, showing the front and rear mounting brackets. the front brackets pulls double duty, as the rear mount for the fuel tank:


I used foam crafting blocks glued above and below the seat pan. This is where I started shaping the foam with saws and sand paper, but failed to get any pics:


I managed to snap one photo of the seat with the first layer of fiberglass cloth applied, before I put on the rubber gloves and got covered in resin:


I've since stripped the form off the lower foam blocks, and have it sitting in the sun to fully cure. The rear hump has the foam encapsulated with cloth, so it should be fairly robust. In a few days I'll turn it over and add some fiberglass matting material to the lower side pieces, to give them a little thickness. Then I get to spend countless hours getting it smooth.

C'

More Bridgestone

Yes, another side view of the BS-7. This time, with a crudely crafted aluminum seat and tail section. Just to get an idea of how it looks, matched up with the tank:

I think the seat needs to be roughly 2-3" longer, as my butt will likely fit right on the seat above the rear shocks. But at least the look is coming together.

C'

Bridgestone BS-7: Tank Idea

The spare Bridgestone 90 Sport came with a fuel tank, which is an interesting shape not shared with the 90 Mountain and 90 Trail models. It is longer, lower, and somewhat pointy as shown below:

It happens to fit the BS-7 frame quite well, and extends backward about four inches more than the BS-7 tank. I think it could work with a cafe style seat. Oh, and a set of Honda Trail 70 rear shocks fit too, and are about 1/2" longer with a bit more stroke. I also like the exposed spring look.

C'

Bridgestone BS-7: Fiddling

So, what happens when a Bridgestone 90 sport front fork setup fits on a BS-7, with a little modification? This:

The stock BS-7 front fork setup is the older leading link style, with a pressed steal fork body. It happens to be severely mangled, so I either need to spend a weekend with some sheet metal and sheers, or find another front fork assembly. In the meantime, I wanted to see if this spare set of 90 Sport telescopic forks would fit.

I'm not sure why, but I'm losing interest in doing a "normal" restoration on this bike. I think it's because I'm already tired of cleaning old parts! And stripping paint, and sanding, and...you get the idea. Part of the fun of building something is to be able to take random spare parts and put them to use. In this case, I'm having visions of a replica 50cc racer. Something like these guys:

If I got his route, I'm going to have a goal of not modifying the frame or any of the BS-7 parts, that way if I ever decide to return it back to stock, I can. I'm thinking a custom tank, seat, and even a fairing. I know most of this stuff is available online, but it is all a bit expensive. So maybe I'll make the parts. Not sure how I'll make a fairing, but it could be a fun project.

C'

Homebrew: Brown Sugar

This was a bit of an experiment, using some leftover liquid extract, some crystal 60, and some brown sugar. I've let it age in the bottle for six weeks, and it is getting better. It has fairly strong alcohol warmth, but with a sweetness to balance it. This doesn't fit any specific category, I was trying something different. Oh yeah, this was the first time I used a pair of 1.25gal glass jars (think COSTCO sized pickle jars) for primary fermentation, which I've since used on a couple cider and mead recipes.



Batch 1.80 gal
Recipe Gravity 1.087 OG
Estimated FG 1.022 FG
Recipe Bitterness 38 IBU
Alcohol by Volume 8.4%
Recipe Color 24° SRM
Alcohol by Weight 6.6%

Ingredients
1.50 lb Briess LME - Sparkling Amber Extract
2.00 lb Brown Sugar, Dark Sugar
0.40 lb Crystal 60L Grain Mashed

0.30 oz Centennial Whole 30 minutes
0.20 oz Zeus Whole 30 minutes
0.50 oz Cascade Whole 10 minutes

0.50 unit Irish Moss Fining 1/2 tsp
0.50 unit Safale S-05 Dry Ale Yeast American: Temperature Range: 59°-75° F 11.5 GRAMS

C'

Homebrew: Cream Ale

I brewed up a cream ale a few weeks ago, and it turned very nice. I totally forgot the irish moss, so it is cloudy, but still tasty.



Batch 2.20 gal
Gravity 1.057 OG
Estimated FG 1.014 FG
Recipe Bitterness 31 IBU
Alcohol by Volume 5.5%
Recipe Color 3° SRM
Alcohol by Weight 4.3%

Ingredients
1.35 lb Briess LME - Golden Light Extract Extract
0.50 lb Flaked Corn Adjunct Mashed
0.50 lb Flaked Oats Adjunct Mashed
0.75 lb MrB. Booster Sugar Other
0.50 lb Two-row (US) Grain Mashed

0.40 oz Magnum Whole 30 minutes
0.30 oz Cascade Whole 12 minutes
0.40 oz Cascade Whole 0 minutes

0.20 unit Generic ingredient Other 2oz maltodextrine
0.50 unit Safale S-05 Dry Ale Yeast Temperature Range: 59°-75° F 11.5 GRAMS

Bridgestone Frame - Primed

After getting the frame of the Bridgestone BS-7 stripped down, I managed to get it primed this afternoon:



I'll do a bit of light wet sanding, and get it painted in a few days.

C'

Random Beer Stuff - Mead, Caldera, Hops

My first Mead! A sparkling sweet mead courtesy of a friend, Kari, who swapped me this and some brew offerings for an old push mower I hadn't used in years. It was interesting to try, as I've never had a mead before. very bubbly, not overly sweet, and packed a good punch:


An offering from Caldera Brewing in Ashland, OR. A very nice Amber, in a can. I wouldn't have been able to tell it came from a can though. Great maltyness with a good solid amber bite of nuts in the middle. Very yummy:


The hops are doing pretty good, especially considering how cool and wet this year has been. Things should take off this week though, as temps will be hitting the mid 80s through the end of the week:


C'

Oakshire Brewing O'Dark:30

Oakshire Brewing O'Dark:30
22oz.
6.3% ABV



A nice hoppy Cascadian Dark Ale. I've had a few different CDA varieties lately, and this has been my favorite so far. Fairly mellow aroma, but a nice mix of malt and hops in the flavor profile. It has a fair bit of bitterness on the back end, as the 70 IBU count would suggest.

A nice offering from Eugene, Oregon.

C'

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
12oz.
15-20% ABV***



As is usual with DFH offerings, not my favorite. It may be brewed with "ridiculous amounts of barley", but that doesn't make it good, IMO. I got very little stoutish flavors, and mostly just had a mouthful of strong alcohol notes. No ABV was given, but DFH's web site says 15-20%. And I believe them.

Still fun to try strange offerings, even if they aren't my cup.

C'

FV "Big" Engine Kablamo Teardown

Roughly a year ago, the "big" engine I had built for the FV went kablamo. I think I over-revved it on a downshift into Turn 14, as I heard a slightly off pitch sound. Then across the finish line it went kablamo in a big way. I found a hole in the block, a loose piece of piston ring, and some chunks of random aluminum.

In anticipation of taking my 1200 motor up to Oregon for Mr. A to rebuild (it isn't broken, just needs a freshening) I needed to grab the flywheel and clutch assembly off the kablamo engine. So I set about getting the car into position for working on:


After an hour or so of work, I had this:


Hello hole, how you doin?


Rockin' the headband and dirt knees:


Cylinder #3. That is what remains of a piston, piston ring, and connecting rod:


Buckets of bits, and a handful of rod, complete with piston pin still attached. I'm thinking the piston took a beating:


The other side of the engine, cylinders 1 and 2. Lots of debris in the cylinder/combustion chamber. Looks like some carnage from cylinder #3 got pulled through into the intake path:


I'll probably split the case apart tomorrow, to see how much carnage the crank and cam suffered.

C'

Bridgestone BS-7/D Engine "Unfrozen"

After removing the piston last night, I had decided to soak the crankcase on the Bridgestone with a mix of ATF and Acetone. This seems to be an internet phenomenon when it comes to a cheap and extremely effective penetrating fluid. As it happens, the Bridgestone BS-7 engine lent itself to this treatment because the center portion of the case that the crank rides in seems to be completely sealed. There is even a tiny little drain plug bolt under the engine that drains just this chamber.

So I filled up this area with the ATF/Acetone mix and let it sit for about an hour. I intended to soak it overnight, but after an hour I went out just to see how much I could rotate the crank. Before the treatment, I got about 5-degrees of rotation by turning the cooling fan back and forth by hand. After an hour, I was able to get another degree or two each time I went back and forth. After a minutes I got about 45-degrees of rotation.

So I let it soak a bit longer, then was able to turn it over a full 360. I drained the old fluid, added fresh fluid, and rotate the crank over several times. After a couple minutes, it turns freely with a single finger's worth of "force" on the fan assembly. I snapped a few pictures.

Central galley where the crank rides:


Circumference of crank is very clean, with no signs of corrosion. The needle bearings on the big end were even shiny:


A bit more progress each day.

C'

Bridgestone BS-7/D Engine "Unfreezing"

The engine on the BS-7 was a bit stuck, so I had been soaking the upper end in penetrating fluid for a couple weeks. Thanks to a little mount I built, I was able to have the engine sitting "piston up" on my work bench. And luckily, the piston was high enough in the cylinder that the intake/exhaust ports were covered up, so the penetrating fluid was able to do its job.

I was able to move the cylinder a little bit by hand, but I needed a little bit of persuasion from a simple puller tool. Thanks to the longish cylinder studs, I was able to pull up on the barrel using a gear puller. I was very careful not to pull up on a cooling fin, and instead used the beefier intake and exhaust port castings:



Success! Don't be fooled by the color of rust, the cylinder is surprisingly free from corrosion and scratches. I think it will hone quite nicely. Also, the piston is very clean too. The piston pin clips are a bit corroded, so I'm soaking them in fluid too. I'm thinking a set of clips from a Honda 50 engine will work as a replacement:


The engine isn't entirely "unstuck" yet though. The connecting rod only moves a little bit with light pressure, so I'm assuming the bottom end has some corrosion issues too. Which is somewhat surprising, as the oil I drained out of it looked perfectly clean. It looks like this engine will require some internal work to bring back to life.

C'

More Bridgestone Teardown

I managed to get the Bridgestone BS-7D stripped down to its chassis tonight. This took quite a bit longer than I thought it would. I have to give it to Bridgestone, they managed to use three times as many fasteners and brackets and other misc. shit to hold this bike together, than any comparable Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, or Hodaka of the same vintage.

But now I can get to work cleaning. Which is my least favorite part of the project. So much so, I might invest in a little ultrasonic cleaner to get all the fiddly small parts cleaned up.

BS-7D mounted on my new rolling work bench:

Stuck piston, soaking in some penetrating fluid:

Underside of cylinder head. Yep, it's small:

C'

Chico Home Brew Club Competition Judging Day

Susan and I worked the annual home brew club judging day, as stewards. Which meant we made sure the judging table we were assigned to had their proper score sheets, a beer to judge, water, and french bread. Luckily, we also got to sample all of the brews being judged at our table. Double lucky, Susan and I had tables next to each other, so we got to sample each other's tables too!

After the judging, we got a nice catered lunch from Sierra Nevada, and a tour of the facility. Our tour included grabbing as many hops as we could cram in a 1 gallon ziploc, and a few samples off the fermenters. Overall, we had a blast!

Results won't be announced until this weekend. Random photos below.

Our little prep table, with score sheets and the next beer to be judged:

The Big Room at SN, packed full of brews, judges, and other workers like us:

This was my table. Doug (my neighbor) and Dawn (owner of the home brew shop) were very studious, keeping to themselves then comparing scores afterward. That's when I got to sample. Susan's judges were a bit conversational, and offered her booze earlier:

Susan was a lucky girl, as her table was judging Scottish Ales, Strong Ales, Irish Red, Sours, and Ciders. I was stuck with Blondes, Cream Ales, american Wheats, and Ordinary/Best Bitters. The last couple bitters were very good:

Why hello sample cups:

Free lunch consisted of chicken, salad, rice, and of course Sierra Nevada opened up the taps. I enjoyed my first Summerfest of the year:

During our tour, we were each handed a 1-gallon sized ziploc bag. And set free in the Sierra Nevada hop room! I grabbed a bag packed full of Magnum and a bag of Cascade, both varieties I use frequently:

A happy man:

The main fermenters are suspended from the upper floor, so the bottom floor is very open:

During our tour, we got a chance to sneak a peak into a new room for trying out "smaller" batches. Our tour guy opened up a tap on a fermenter of Kolsch, which was nicely chilled:

Overall, we had a great time. We both agreed that being stewards was a great job that suited our ability to keep track of things.

I entered three beers btw, an American Pale Ale, American Amber, and an American Stout over Cedar (wood-aged category.) Usually they post the results online, but have decided to wait to announce the winners at this Saturday's awards party.

C'

Buffalo Bill's Brewery Alimony Ale IPA

12oz.

6.8% abv

I liked this quite a bit. Which is why I managed to down the entire bottle during dinner. However, it really isn't an IPA. It is all malt, from aroma to flavor to a smooth finish almost totally lacking in bitterness. Very good, but not really an IPA.

C'

Bridgestone BS-7 Disassembly

I started the process of breaking down the BS-7 tonight. Maybe I was just having a rough night, but it sure seems like this little monster is way more complicated than my other bikes of this same vintage. At minimum, there is roughly twice the amount of wiring since this bike came stock with turn signals front and rear, and an electric starter. Which I didn't realize until I finally understood what the service manual was referring to as the "cell dynamo."

It also has this jewel mounted to the frame. Seems to be a combo voltage regulator, fuse box, and cell dynamo relay:

I managed to get all of the wiring disconnected, labelled, and removed. As well as the seat, tank, bars and control cables:

C'

Bridgestone BS-7/D Has Come Home

The little Bridgestone BS-7/D came home yesterday. It has been sitting at work for a few years, pateintly waiting it turn. This will be a nice "simple" restoration. No mods, no building it into a cafe racer. Random photos below, with a few captions on the detail shots:









"Passenger" side front fork housing has been crumpled. This could be a bit of a job to straighten out:


Love the brake and turn light combo housing:


More detail on the smooshed fork housing:


This confirms it is a BS-7/D. "D" standing for Deluxe model:


Every other bike I have just has a harness that connects to itself. This little bike uses a small distribution panel:


Love the fact the terminals are coded:


Tiny little carb:


This motor uses a small fan attached to the end of the crank to cool the cylinder and head:


Intake screen for fan mounted on driver side cover:


Clock shows just over 4,000 miles:


Most bright work is very nice:



This is going to be a nice slow project over the spring and summer.

C'