VW Coilovers for Leading Link Forks

[Fowler]

I actually ordered a different set of brake parts. What I ordered all came in 1 kit and saved me about $150 or so. It should be here around April 10.

Added bump stops on both sides. I still have a better turn radius than before.


The turn signals in this pic are being epoxied. I ended up pulling the screws out and putting in larger ones



I have a video of the turn signal but I cant seem to load it.

 

[Fowler]

Hope this works

 

[Fowler]

The fender had a lot of chips, scratches, some deep.

 

[LarryA]

That new front end is looking good....looking forward to pics when rebuild is complete!

 

[Fowler]

I have been working on my fender for days. I started by chipping out all the pits, holes and scratches. I wanted to be sure I removed anything that was loose. It was in bad shape. For the larger deeper ones I used JB weld to fill them in, the others I used Spot putty.
Back what I first made the fender I came across this pattern by accident. I was filling in spots and sanding and thought the pattern it made looked neat. since then I have tried to keep the pattern.

Here the big pits, scratches and such and been repaired and the entire fender have been painted with paint and spot putty. Not sanded yet


Here its sanded down to 320 grit. I started at 80. Notice I am still having an issue blending in the back where it had been painted black over the years. I will take it down to 800 to 1000 grit before I clear coat it.
The clear coat is the part I have never gotten right, I always get tiny pits in the clear coat. I think it is because I do not have a dust free place to paint it
I will post a pic once it is clear coated. If it does not pit to much it looks real neat all shined up.

 

[Fowler]

another pic of the fender. I am replacing the eyes with LEDs
I did not like one of the turn signals so I m making another one.
You can see the holes I burned in to fill with epoxy



This is the pattern I use inside of the turn signal. It allows the epoxy to flow


I got my brake parts in. Will start that soon. Waiting for some construction I am having done to get finished first


I looked at different pasterns for these fender braces but in the end I just went with simple

 

[Fowler]

I installed the brakes yesterday. I bled them but I have a hard pedal and not very good brakes.
I had to adjust them all the way down to get the new drums on.
I'm going to adjust and bleed again today
I have a rubbing sound on the right side rear. I thought it was the brakes but after installing the new brakes it still has the same sound.
I plan to drain and refill the Transaxle soon. It has not been done for a long time.
I have had a lot going on so I have not clear coated my fender yet. I did finish the turn signals though.

 

[Fowler]

Reattached the emergency brake (It took a blood sacrifice at this point. cut the top of my wrist)
Changed the oil in the TransAxle
Ran it around the neighborhood some. ( I love the way it steers)
The pedal was feeling a little better, but still too hard. - will try adjusting brakes again
The left brake is engaging before the right - again adjustment
Could not hear the rubbing noise this time

 

[irondad01]

You did a really good job on the front end. Besides better steering I'll bet it will ride smoother over the bumps with the shocks and longer travel.

 

[Fowler]

Thanks. I know its a lot better then what I had on it.

Its been Raining so I have not worked on my brakes again yet.

This is what I call my throttle assist. I have to wear these braces on my feet and legs, they make it hard to push the peddle as must as I need to. So at a certain point I just take over with the Throttle assist.
I accidentally put a kink in the cable when i was doing the front end so I have to replace it.
This time I designed a better slot for the cable end. I should be able to replace just the cable next time
Sorry my picture sizes got screwed up



I have been working on his teeth


Got a new seat and my son and I also made a new extra bottom and top cushion


Got a new GPS spedo. It has all kinds of lights that did not come out in the pic

 

[Fowler]

here is better look at the Throttle Assist. These are the models I made online and used to 3D print them
The first one is what the cable mounts to, the 2nd one is the half case it fits into.

 

[Fowler]

Got the brakes done. I backed off both adjustment screws on both side, disconnected the emergency brake at the handle end. Then adjusted the brakes and test drove. Took a few rides. Then connected the emergency brake and and test drove again. I can only get 2 clicks on the handle though.

Finished my Throttle Assist
Worked in the teeth and screwed them up, fixed them and now drying again
Started working on the back seat area. Still trying to figure out how I want to do it. I want to completely rebuild it but just don't have enough time so its going to have to wait until next year. This year it just gets fixed up.

I am going to clear coat the fender soon. I always screw this part up. But I am going to try again. I'm using UPOL products. This is what I had the best results in the past

 

[Fowler]

Another delay......The brakes are working good but the parking brake is not working like I want it to. SO I just ordered 2 new parking brake cables and ends. I was going to extend the cables to make it work but I decided to do it right and replace the cable.
This means I will have to adjust the brakes again.

Started on the back seat area.
All cleaned up, faces sanded and clear coated. Need to sand again at 400 fine then clear coat again.

 

[Fowler]

Got my Heathen sign back on. I left it unpainted for it will rust. At some point when it rust enough I may seal it


Put the LED eyes in the fender.
My plan is to clear coat the fender Saturday


Got my gear shift knob cleaned up and clear coated


Attached bags on each side.
The back seat is not installed yet. I want to wait until after I get the parking brake correct. The cables are on the way

 

[Zammy]

Coming along nicely Bob

 

[Gorilla]

starting to take shape

 

[Fowler]

I have not gotten a lot of work done on the trike lately. To many home chores to do.
I did get the parking brake cables in and hope to get that done today.
I ordered a new Flamethrower SVDA distributor and plug wires. I patched the distributor I am using a few years ago and never went back and repaired it correctly. I will still repair it correctly just for I have a spare.
Still planning to clear coat the fender tomorrow.

 

[Fowler]

replaced both hand brake cables and modified the handle some
works good


Used UPOL on my fender


turned out better than I usually get it but not as good as I want. Next year when I redo my back seat I will take off my fender also and have some with a paint both clear coat it

 

[LarryA]

A new front end turned into a major refresh...Looking good Bob!

 

[Fowler]

Thanks,
I'm almost to the end of what I am doing this year.
I did go back and sand the fender again and re-clear coated it again. It came out even better but still not as good as I would like.
I have been cleaning up and repainting or clear coating everything.
Tomorrow I hope to remount the fender.
Need to clean up the engine and paint.
I'm in the middle of making a phone holder for the back seat.

The other day I had it parked outside all day. Its all covered with pollen now

I will upload more pics soon.

 

[Fowler]

As promised


notice the coiled up wire. Its a trailer connection wire. I originally put a normal wire there but I had to make it longer than I liked to all enough for the fender movement. This wire will expand and contract as needed. It is anchored at each end so it does not putt against the connections




I still need to swap out the distributor, wires and plugs

 

[irondad01]

Good job! While I was looking at your pictures I kept thinking it looks sinister. It would make me nervous if I saw it in my rearview mirror.

 

[LarryA]

Irondad...Same thought here! Bob.. the trike defines Bad Ass for sure.... great job on the front end and the refresh on the artwork..

 

[Pegasus1300]

What a masterful job. That thing looks like it would eat you alive. I would not want to see that in my rearview mirror. Bob, your front end refresh turned out wonderful. Thank you for taking us along on the journey. I hope you are happy with it, you have a fine machine.

 

[Fowler]

Thanks guys.
I'm taking it for a ride in a few minutes

 

[Gorilla]

Wow it turned out GREAT. It was a pleasure reading and watching the build from start to finished. NOW RIDE SAFE

 

[Zammy]

Bob, masterful project refresh, I think sinister looking is the right word. How was it behaving on the ride ?

 

[Fowler]

Its drifting off to the right still. Not to bad though. I can live with it if I have to but I am going to tighten the left shock to see if that helps. Its raining today so next ride will be Monday I think.
It is a lot smother ride and it seems like the front end wants to lift easier than before. Not sure if that is my imagination or not.
Got a lot of attention as I rode and when I stopped at Walmart. I let a couple kids clime on it while their moms took pictures.
It has always drawn people. I meet a lot of people and hear a lot of stories about bikes and trikes they or someone they know have had.

 

[Fowler]

I was able to go for a ride today. About 35 miles or so.
Came out of Lowe's and there was a crowd of people around it.

Tightening the left shock made it a little worse. So I loosened it back up and tightened the right one.
Adjusted it a few times. Its a little better now but still has a slight drift.
My old front end was beet up and built before I knew anything about how to do it. But it did go down the road completely straight.
I have not balanced any of my wheels for a long time. Maybe its time to do that again or even maybe a new front wheel and tire (depending if the Ol'Lady lets me)

 

[Fowler]

Hope this works again

View: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dZhnFBe1ppMVJdX0AaxX6I5Tq1-GIZtW/view?usp=drive_link