Red: Rear Brake Solved

Figured out the rear brake issue... sort of.  Realized I could just put it on "halfway" and then crank down the bolt.  Will replace it eventually but should be ok for now.

Red: Rear Brake Stymied

Delayed entry (a month later...)

Tried to install the rear brake arm only to realize that because the brake lug would move into the hub when you pushed it, I could never get the arm to fully engage.

Installed the brake switch and totally lucked out as I pushed the wires into the frame hole and they magically appeared in the battery box with no fuss.

Tested sticking a metal plate to the frame with a magnet for a grounding point.

Ivy: Rear Brake Swap

Swapped the cracked rear brake with the new one.  Was going unusually well and I had everything changed over and was just buttoning up, when I found the bolt for the brake stay was too thick to fit the hole.  It was only about a half mm too wide, but just enough to matter.

Just decided to file it down to fit.  Will figure out if it's really a parts puzzler issue some other time...

Ivy: New Rear Brake Doesn't Fit!

Thought I got a good deal when I picked up this new rear brake for just $25.  But not much of a steal if it doesn't fit.

It actually appeared to fit just fine but then I couldn't get the spacer in place trying to remount the wheel.  I thought I just had everything out of alignment like I did before but this time I didn't try to pound it in with a hammer.

Instead I set a level across the hub and then dropped a ruler to the ground to measure the distance.  In the end, I found that with the old brake the total width from side to side was about 135 mm.  With the new hub, that was pushed out to 140, and clearly too wide to fit.

The two brakes did have a slight difference - different versions?  I haven't bothered to check the parts guide.  Either way, one works and one doesn't.  Maybe I'll compare it to Red's brake and see if it's really the odd man out.  Or maybe Red's brake will work for Ivy and the new brake will work for Red...?

Also continued working on the engine support stool.  Just got it to barely fit underneath now.  I'll have to try dropping the wheel to make the final adjustments.

Ivy: Bits

Added the rear brake spring and swapped out the old rear fender bolts for new ones, though decided to use 6x20 instead of the stock 6x22.

Ivy: Rear Brake, Etc.

Some odd jobs for Ivy following up from yesterday.

1. Mounted the battery cover, though it will still need a clear coat.
2. Re-installed the new black painted brake stay using new hardware.
3. The test painted front brake arm went back on.
4. Mounted the plastic hood on the steering stem but re-cracked it getting it on.  Now I realize the only way is to glue it while it's on the nut.
5. Added the black painted washer on the steering nut, and quite like it.  It kind of matches the rubber base of the handlebar mounts.
6. After waiting an age for it to be delivered, turns out the new swing arm bolt was NOT the 23cm that they told me but instead the same length as the standard, and thus too short.  

Ivy: Rear Brakes and More

Two sessions today: from about 10-1 working mostly on Ivy's rear brake.  Then went down again at 2:30 after a quick lunch to install the steering head bearings after seeing that the metal-to-metal contact was tearing up the dust seal.

Meant to paint the battery cover in ivory, but rushed it, and ended up getting a big puddle on the front.  Tried to sand it down and cover it over with primer again, but I think I botched that, too.  Might need to just let it dry then start from scratch.

Installed the new rear brake only to find that the arm was in the wrong position to meet the brake rod.  The arm was so rusty, I was sure I was in for a real battle to get it off.  But it was only the arm that was corroded and it popped right off without a fight.  The rest of the rear brake hooked up very easily.  (Installed the front brake spring on the rod; later removed it)

I liked these caged bearings because it was a metal cage versus a plastic one.  Will pick up another set eventually for Red.

Now that the fork bridge is sitting so high up off the frame, you can see the need for the plastic cone.  Will need to try to repair and repaint the old cracked one.