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The steering shaft will have a U-joint in it - it is easy and it solves some problems, mainly that the circular motion ends at the firewall, I mean that motion introduced by the pivot at the "front end".

Pedals look great - I couldn't have selected a nicer set, and it takes away a lot of the design details - they're already done!

I put on the VW front end while I had some help, so now I know for sure how it works with the gas tank and other intruding parts. Y'know one can try drawing from lots of different angles, but the test is whether it fits. The old VW front steering mechanism was a great find - the whole set-up would not have worked without it.

Engine and drive parts are kind of in place now and there is room for everything. I decided to hold back for now on the tilting properties of the design, just to make it easier to get it approved. Once it is done and with cert in hand I can go ahead and make it a swayer. Everything will be there, designed in so it won't be such an obstacle.

I have been advised by a motorcycle legal group to get a document from the fella who sold me the bike saying that it was parts, not a running bike (which it wasn't). So then when I am asked for a title, I can say no it is 100% built from the ground. There apparently isn't a title available for the bike. Please let me know what you think on this.

So just a few things to finish before she is ready for time trials, or growling up a woods road, or whatever I need to see that she's ready for plates.

Spring is almost here, so doing a few things that have waited for warmer weather.

The bonnet is the current one; I am waiting for replies from a couple of folks who are better at this sheet forming and louver punching than I am. The thing is, I need a lot of air flowing through the engine, being that it is an air cooled V-twin. So I have a guy in California who is equipped to do this, make a bonnet with louvers.

Waiting for the final quote. Also found a local shop who can put a 4 inch radius bend in each side. At least I think they can; some radius close enough I hope.

The other fun thing I am ready to start on, I mean actually start to make, is the fenders.

#1) Is the outside tool, the mold that will form the outer shape, to get a good finish right out of the mold. I start with an inner tube of the right size/shape inflated, then pour a sticky goo over that to get a hard shell, pop it out. It is less than halfway around and roughly half the circumference, so then I'll have a base shape, with a round curve instead of the flattened shape of the ones you can get in metal.

2) Then I will blend a smaller radius into one edge of the hardened tool piece to create a solid piece filling the space between fender and the main body. The fender is fixed/it doesn't turn with the wheel. Fill and sand that combination so that it takes the final epoxyglass inside it to make the fender. I have to make two, R and L, so I may do two sides to each one or I may do both separately.

When I am done, the finished part will be outside!

Wish me luck; I have never tried this before.

Any progress?

I have finally gotten the bonnet halves bent to shape and as far as I can tell now they are perfect. The California guy (louvers) is great. I actually stopped in and visited him this last summer. He has a system for punching the louvers, a big machine he acquired somewhere and some special little modifications he has added with experience.

He spent a long time on my louvers because they are not a single sheet but two rows on top and a single row on the side. Because of several angles in the design he had to figure it all out.

Fortunately he left some trimming room, extra material on the outside to be trimmed to shape after the bend was done. I had a 1946 Chevy truck with this type of bonnet and a 1964 Morgan too, so I knew just about what I wanted. It was a long time coming though.

Other things in progress are the hanger bar for the pedals. I bought a set of S2000 pedals and they are just about perfect, but they have to be set up and mounted as they were originally designed, from the top instead of pivoting on the floor. It is a bit more complicated because I have to put a rigid piece up above the pedals to mount them, hang it in air. But that is going well too. Under the bonnet.

Most of the car is finished in design - I have a problem with fixing a hydraulic actuator for the side-to-side tilt. I am working on an under-seat mounted set of valves which works from reaction to my butt movement!

I forgot to say, the one with the tool to do the bending job is a friend of mine who works just across the way, in a shop that is simple but well equipped. I had called around and asked for help on this bending job but nobody locally would or could help.

My friend had exactly the right tool, a roller which could be adjusted for radius of bend, hand cranked. He has some other helpful skills and tools which might be helpful as the job goes on.

I have a question that I hope somebody with more experience than I have will answer.

I have these two beautiful halves of my bonnet, and I want to fit each one with 3 ribs. I am pretty sure I will do this with an aluminum pan, 8 inch diameter, cut into quarters, so there is maybe 3/4 inch of stiff rib extending into the engine bay. The other way would be to cut the circle from flat sheet and try to get an even bend on the edge.

The question is for the outer edges; what would be wrong with folding 3 sides over to double thickness for maybe 1/2" wide all the way around, except for the hinge edge? These details would give the naturally wobbly .050 thick sheet part a lot more body/stiffness.

I solved the last question, by trial and error. It worked very well. That was using a pan made for kitchen use, square side-to-bottom, of the right diameter, 8 inches in this case.

I cut sections from the pan equal to the angle I wanted to cover, 80+ degrees for this design. The angle is from top of bonnet, which is already angled downward, to the side, which is vertical. I made six of these ribs, three for each side, to keep the sheet metal rigid and consistent. I still haven't finished this part of the project, partly because the fella who did the bending for me got carried away and so I have to unbend some of it, to make it all fit together properly. But I have the ribs made.

The unbending will be relatively easy.

>>Another problem has come up that I would like some help on. Where are you KB? It is the simplification of the wiring, working against the computer, which is given in wiring diagrams as a black hole. I want to eliminate it but I am not sure how. One of the several Viragos I have here on hand has been partially converted to a simpler bike (no computer). Can anyone out there give me a hand at this? I don't want many of the things that the original bike had for display. I am actually looking for a minimal display version, one that makes you guess at settings.

I want a simple machine, that shows fuel level (maybe but not necessarily) speed, RPM, which I always like, and perhaps an indicator of plus or minus ampere flow. That last has always been helpful. All the other stuff is extra and not acceptable to me. The machine has to be basic, an extension of the driver.

As usual it has been awhile. But I haven't been totally dead. One of the things I haven't mentioned, or thought about much, is the problem of steering, where the steering box mounted on the axle, moves about three inches in relation to the steering wheel. Yes I knew something had to be done for this problem.

So I looked in ebay and found a splined shaft more than three inches long. Since the matching part, the nut, was iron and would cost some more dollars, I plan now to cast one in place with epoxy-glass. It seems the right thing to do.

One takes my splined shaft, cut to length, and adds a tube over it, perhaps 5 or 6 inches long. The diameters are chosen to give enough room for a splined nut, cast-in-place by me. I have figured a clearance of .002 to .005 inch on the shaft to be caused by a spray-on coating on the shaft.

Then, with a few more discretionary inputs, I will have a length-extender for my steering shaft. It is possible that I will have to go for bronze eventually, but maybe not.

That is another part that is solved in the ongoing design process. There are a few others, most of which are simple. One I haven't solved yet is a way to cause rolling motion without having the driver do it himself. It has to be a compact device and reliable.

My machinist buddy said no to the idea of using epoxy-glass for a gear in the steering system.

So I went and bought a small set that went on a motorcycle; a short 3 inch spline and a female part that goes with it. A bit of welding and it works fine. The range of motion is less than I had expected, so all is OK.

There is more to come, like the windshield, which is 2-piece, angled flat, so it slopes back and to each side. Kind of a nice setup in my opinion.