Things have been progressing. With the incentive of making the vintage motorcycle meet at Broadford Racetrack, north of Melbourne, over the Easter Weekend, I have been diligently working away at finishing the project.
About a month ago, I finally reached the stage where I could drop in a battery and hit the 'go' button. But alas, there was no response. Many hours were then spent trying to isolate the problem, and yet another section of wiring loom ordered from the UK. On replacing that particular section of loom, it was with much trepidation that once again I attempted to start the beast.
This time, the result was an encouraging chug, chug, varoom! It's running roughly, but it does run. It is a very pleasing result.
In the process of troubleshooting the electrical demons lurking within, I had to once more achieve an alarming level of disassembly. The benefit of repeated assembly and disassembly is that it becomes quicker each time.
As is the nature of these things, it is not yet an entirely functional animal. There is some minor stiction in the front suspension, and it needs to be finely tuned. The exhaust system is a functional, if somewhat ugly unit, which will be changed at some stage.
I believe the best course of action now will be to transport the bike to some professional BMW mechanics to iron out the remaining issues, and to get it running sweetly.
The end is in sight.
The first sign of life as a complete unit can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-qGEvEPXjo
