Featured Sweets' Desert Sled Project

HI there. my name is Dave and this project is the reason I have joined this forum, to share and hopefully learn along the course of turning an unprepossessing Cat N Bonnie into my dream Desert Sled lookee-likey (because, let's face it, a 230kg Bonnie is not really a true off-road beast).
So my project started yesterday with a 12 hr Bristol (home) - Newport (to hire a bike trailer) - Sandwich (Copart site) - Bristol (drop bike at workshop) - Newport (return trailer) - Bristol (home - phew) round trip.

This is what I came back with, loaded onto the trailer in Kent, with the seat in the boot of the car.



And this is the direction in which I intend to head



So far I have not even run all the checks to start it, but as a 2013 model with a well-established mileage under 7k, and with a few known issues like awful tank paint job, rear fender/lights removal, front fender removal, ignition switch removal and worn tyres, I thught this a good place to start, as most of those bits are on my list to re-do.

I hope to keep regularly updating, wish me luck.

Dave

 

Today's simple news is that the gamble has paid off a little, and that it runs very cleanly.

I am delighted that the simple replacement of a few fuses, after a checkover and a battery charge have got her back to life.

Dave

 

That feature is one of the main parts of the build with this one, I am a big fan of the high "one each side" pipes, which no-one seems to offer, they've all gone one-sided for high pipes, with the left crossing over to join the right.

I think I can make it work with a mate who is a very good welder and standard 304 stainless tube fittings, and I will dress the weld back and then blast the tube to get a matte (deset-blasted) finish. The standard pipes are 42mm OD so 1 1/2" 1.5mm wall thickness tube should do me fine.

I will add a larger section via an eccentric reducer, into which I can fit a bought in baffle into, when needs must.

The only thing I hadn't bargained on was the existence of the Oxygen sensors in the downtube..........

Dave

 

So, precious little to report so far, other than an unhealthy amount of measuring, standing chin-scratching, and web-searching.

I have relocated the voltage regulator using the Squaredeals relocation plate.

I have repaired one of the side panels, which had snapped off the outer half of the bottom mounting hole, and I've stripped both panels of badges and sanded them back for paint.

Everyone needs pictures....so here is the simple panel repair

As it arrived, a bit knackered and with the break at the base



So I made a little 4mm ply casting mould, and filled it with resin and several scraps of glass left over from another job (I had sanded the rest of the panel in the mean time)



Here is it solidified and removed from the mould



And then drilled and dremelled to shape, the gromit fits fine.



I have also stripped out the front and rear indicators, and removed the headlight to see what size restrictions I have to work with for my new headlights, which will be LED units mounted between the forks, shining through holes in a vintage style oval competition number board. The holes will be the centres of numbers, I am going for 68, giving me 3 locations to work with. The number board is on its way to me.
It is already clear that a lot of that volume will be occupied by loom, which means LEDs will be important in that confined space to avoid melting of wiring. If anyone has any experience of using mini-LED spots for headilghts, I am keen to hear from them.

I think I have selected a direct set of replacement 1" bars, the Biltwell Moto. Not too high, good quality, slightly wider than the original and with the all-important brace. Any other suggestions for a similar style?
I also think I will mount them an inch higher using a set of 1" Motone riser
inserts.
I hope this extra room will give me the opportunity to locate a mini speedo on the tank side of the bar clamps using a plate held by the rear pair of riser bolts. I will cut and fold the plate myself.

But here is my first big surprise, showing my criminal lack of research.
Being a 2013 Bonnie using Can-bus to the instruments, the only option, as far as I can tell, for a small speedo to minimise the front end volume, is to use the Motogadget range, with the plug-in M.tri unit.
Not cheap, but I guess it has the massive advantage that it really is plug n play, and that I was intending to buy their keyless ignition system anyway, as the bike came to me with no ignition switch whatsoever, and the MG keyless system is the same price as a Triumph lock barrel and keys..

Exhaust-wise I have a quote from a local pipe stockholder for all the relevant 304 stainless pipe, bends and reducers to make the Ekins style pipes, and it comes in at a relatively sensible £70 for materials (1 1/2" NB - 3m of that to be safe, 1m of 2" NB to be able to insert of a bought-in baffle at the end, reducers and 6 off 90 degree bends should get me all the cornering I need).
The pipe will be 1.5mm wall thickness, which is adequate for stainless. The only bit I have not yet found is the flare (for the gasket mounting surface) and clamp for bolting onto the block. Are these available in stainless as a weld-on fitting??
I will add fins as well to complete the look.

Seat - I cannot find what I want so I am going to chop down an exisiting seat tray, build up the foam myself and then get someone a lot more competent to cover it for me. Suggestions welcome

Finally, suspension.
I have not yet examined the current contents of the forks to check for previous owner upgrades, but I have been doing a little searching on the possibility of extending them, and it seems that I have 2 choices. One more budget and one less.
Firstly, I'll check whether the springs have been upgraded to progressive units, I would intend to fit those if they are not there already. I guess I would go for the TEC parts ones.
Budget extending option - fit pre-loading caps and screw them down a reasonable distance to preload and get a little extension. Not much, but then again I won't have spent much and I get some adjustability.
More expensive option - buy a set of scrambler fork stanchions, which I read are about 36mm longer than the T100 units, and fit them, with new scrambler springs, into the existing fork sliders.
I prefer the standard fork sliders (to the Scrambler ones) as they have mountings for the chrome fender stays, which I like and are a feature on the McQueen/Ekins bike above.
I will extend the rear suspension as well, probably with a set of shocks intended for the Scrambler. Again, probably TEC parts. Even with minimal extension on the front I don't think the extra on the rear will unbalance it too much, as the rear is a 17" wheel and the front 19" anyway.

Dave

 

Sounds (and looks) great, that is pretty much what I am hoping to do, and I certainly hear you when it comes to the cost of commercially available ones. The only thing is that I am really wedded to the idea of small diameter round lights.

The Alloy Number Board I have to shine them through is quite generously sized, 320mm wide from memory, and some initial sketching proves that with a 68 number I can easily have 3 x 50mm diameter holes for the lights, which is plenty.

I have been seat sculpting today, having cut down the original seat base and foam (for width), then glued on some layers on top to sculpt back into a Bates-like shape. I found a bunch in Bristol that can (hopefully) cover my shaping efforts in a decent vinyl for a very reasonable sum, South West Upholstery.

Dave

 

I have been away for the week, and so progress is not great just now.
But I wanted to show something that I have been doing, the seat.
The whole idea with this custom is not to just add a zillion bought-in items to make the whole thing work.
The main items that will (hopefully) set this a little apart from other ones will be things like:

• The twin high pipes
• The Bates style seat
• The headlights through a competition number board
• The paintwork
• The sumpguard

And the main thing these all have in common will be craft, as none of these will be bought, they will all be made. I really look forward to the hand-built input into these things, make something unique, enjoy the process of research, plan, design, make, refine and fit.

So, the seat. It was always going to be custom, and needed a base, so I started by stripping the original down, and marking out how I wanted to reduce width, to expose the frame rails underneath and give it a more utilitarion look.



And cut down (note the frame bars are cut badly at the rear by previous owner)



Having put the oriignal foam back on and cut round the new outline



Then glued on some new layers of foam (bought from an upholsterers) to carve back, and trimed down roughly with the same kitchen knife. Bates saddles were thick for absorbing bumps



Shape roughed out, with kick-ups to front and rear.



A few filler bits glued back on and then the shape smoothed using an 80 grit sanding barrel mounted in a drill





The step on the top surface 2/3 towards the rear may yet be disposed into a steady gradient, and I need to finalise the rear by cutting the frame again then welding on a kicked up loop on the frame bars, and shaping the cutout in the seat to suit. The rectagular recesses currently there are quite close to being corect.

You can see in the second last photo I have bought a used rear fender for cutting down, under £30 on Ebay made it good value. I am working out my cut line at the moment.

When I am finished, the local upholsterer will skin it in a 3mm foam to smooth out my efforts, then a really dark brown vinyl, hopefully to look a little like a black seat faded in the sun. They are charging just over £100 for that, so I should get a one-off seat for under £130, allowing for foam and other bits.

 

Bit more of an update.
First up, the tail.
As you can see above, the rear spars under the seat had been (badly, and unevenly) sliced, probably by the scrotes that nicked it. So, after buying the right sized kick-up loop (Alchemy parts) I cut them further and this was the rough geometry that I ended up with, having spread the loop a little, cut that down too and gently (who am I kidding) whacked the ends into the spars. It needs welding in situ now.



Having bought a used rear fender off Ebay for not much, I had no compunction about chopping that down to fit underneath. Here is it with the offcut laid onto the rear tyre (piccy from before I cut the spars)



I want a neat but not invisible rear end, so bought a Bates' style rear light to go between loop and fender, here it is before I lifted the loop a little more to allow it look straight backwards



Note that the seat is unfinished here, I have added a PVC angle along the edge to hide more of the dge features, but it is not complete in this picture, and the gap at the end of the rear loop is now also closed (with a block).
The seat is now off at the upholsterer. This shows the rear a little better



I also completely stripped the paint off the tank



And etch-primed it, along with plastic primed side panels.



I have also cut down a new front fender (about 3-4 inches off front and back, enough left to keep the fender stays), and that is prepped and primed for paint.

I plan a matte silver for the fenders, to make them look like alloy, and Land Rover Bronze Green for the tank and side panels, with gold water-slide decals. BRG might have been an option but I really prefer that really dark LR Green, and its my choice.

I have also fitted the bars.

I have lots on it way to me, or arrived and ready to go.

Motogadget M-Tri, Speedo and RFID Keyless ignition switch.
Diffusers (Linear) to turn the LED spots I bought into valid headlamps.
New indicators
Progressive fork springs, Pre-load adusters and replacement (longer and progressive) rear shocks for a Scrambler to jack the rear a little.

Dave