Sam, the Champoin of Ebay

Two days in a row?? Yes, basically I'm amazing! Anyway this is just a quick update, after speaking with the "Wise Man of the North" my grandpa, I discovered I had tested the starter incorrectly. Armed with this information I was able to test the starter and discover.... it is broken. But at least I know now.
How did one such, smart, young, and attractive lad as you test something wrong? I hear you say, well I'll tell you.
To bypass the solenoid, you have to hook the positive battery cable to the connect point on the starter, and touch the negative to any where on the starter's case. When I originally tested it I did not touch it with the negative, and therefor nothing happened. However this time when I tested it, sparks flew everywhere, smoke billowed from the wire, and the starter, well it still didn't start.
So I ordered a new, one from Ebay, thus making me the Champion of Ebay!
Hopefully it'll arrive quickly and the solenoid will work and the battle of the electrics will have been won.

Progress?

Once again I have fallen behind on the updating this blog, sigh it's much harder than it should be. Well anyway I spend the last few days working on my bike, some of this has been successful and some.... not so much.
At last the battery problem has been sorted!!!! I ended up taking it to a mechanic and had them charge and check it. They said it was A-okay, so ready for disappointment I took it home connected it, turned the key and THERE WAS LIGHT!!
However this brought into light the next, and current problem, the starter still wouldn't turn over. I've spend the last few hours with a multimeter checking for voltage, and with the help of my loving parents, narrowed down the issue to. 1) The solenoid is not working, this now appears to be the least likely option. 2) The starting motor is dead, the more likely and more expensive option.
The issue is I have no real way of checking which one it is. So a call to my grandfather, will be needed, he builds and races single seater racing cars.
On a happier and more photographic note, at last I got paint stripper that works!!! yay!!

 Here you have a glimpse of pre good paint stripper tank.

 And a side view of the gas (petrol in case my grandpa ever reads this) tank

 The new paint stripper has been applied

 Its wonders already visible, it literally bubbles the paint right off

 And ready to be removed!! how exciting, well more exciting than watching paint dry at least.

ps. I won the auction, and it arrived, now I can have a working front brake!
pps. I also won a second auction that arrived, but i haven't gotten round to photographing it yet.

Quick Post

So it's been a couple days, and just so I don't get out of the habit of posting I'm doing a quick update.
The last thing i was working on was the handlebars, and because of the state of the front break fluid well, I decide to try and get a new one. As luck would have it I found one one ebay for 12.99!! What a deal and even more luckily I won the auction! YAY ME!! So now I play the waiting game, I'll probably do more work stripping the gas tank or maybe fight with the battery.
That's it for now

Now That's What I Call Dirty

 I have been doing some work on the Handlebars and front brake, to take a break from my battery problem. Above is the accelerator, with the mirror and brake removed.

The wiring from the brake, clearly a bit dirty.

 Now this is where the the wire attached, and is filled with grit, and could use a proper clean

 the gunk that came out of it, pretty nasty!

 The front brake reservoir  need to be replaced, however it is missing to bolts. These screw in from the bottom and I'm unsure if I will even be able to do this. So I'm looking at buying a replacement from ebay.

 Disaster!!!! I snapped a bolt! Now you might say wow! The muscles on him must be very impressive! As true as that is, I used a wrench and it snapped. OH POO!

The other half of the bolt, not enough to get a hold of.

Just a Quick One

As you can see, this is me puzzling over the battery issue. All the acid is filled to the correct levels, I've charged it for the recommend time, and now longer. Yet it still won't run the lights ahhhhhh!

Another Post??!

 There you have it, the Bike fresh from the old owner. Very soon it will be in pieces.

                                                                     Frontal view

 Sorry it's a bit blurry, but the seat, gas tank, exhaust pipes, and rear brake light cover taken off.

 No longer a motorcycle, but a unicycle!! rear wheel gone, hopefully soon it'll have a new tire.

 The gas tank, paint just starting to come off

Closer look at the stripping job.
That's it for this post, see I'm getting better at remembering to update this blog!

An update?

Well it's been a while. Clearly the plan of updating once a week fell through, but at last the long awaited update. Unlike writing about it, I have been keeping up with the work on the motorcycle. Right now I am having issues with the battery. I bought a knew one, however it came without acid, so I bought acid for it, filled it up, charged it, put it in the bike, and...... nothing happened. Even the old battery ran the lights, but the new one, not so much.
On a more successful note, I am making progress stripping the paint of the gas tank. Also I have removed the rear wheel and am starting the hunt for a new tire.
What's next i hear you say. Well I plan of removing the handle bars and getting low ones for a more sporty look. And coming up soon i need to replace the front brake.
Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon, and manage to keep updating.