Stripping Helga Bare

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay ... today I got the replacement ground loop isolator. Installed it and now ... no weird noises from the radio when I plug the Sirius radio into the aux cord or if I plug my little phone (iPhone SE) into the aux cord to play audio books, easy install, just unplug the aux plug, plug it into the loop, plug the loop into the harness.

Here it is:



My next project today was the removal of the radiator chrome trim pieces ... what a pain, 3 hours with a hair dryer and a nylon body tool. Then about an hour with Isopropyl Alcohol getting the residue off.

I think Helga is now as close to stock she is gonna get. I have a spare set of chrome trunk and saddlebag trim that I may take to Maco to have them paint then black after I sand down the chrome. I might also do a light scuff on them, then, put a light coat of Krylon Dark Chrome for plastic on them and let some of the shine from the chrome show through ... might look kewl but not gaudy.

Here's where Helga sit as of 1pm today:



Here's the radiators dechromed:





The last thing I did today is to mount and epoxy the Kill Switch cover to my Aux Key or Fuel Door key.

Here's the result, you can see the cam shape will make it easier with gloves to use:

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Forgot that the OEM side cover ends where still coming and the OEM ignition switch cover was still coming. They came in yesterday.

Also forgot the aux power port for the left pocket hadn't been installed. Didn't want to install it until the ground loop thing was working.

So ... here we go.

Right side cover:

Old and New



On the Bike



Left Side Cover:

Old and New



On the bike



Aux Power Port:



If you look close, you can see in the left pocket a plug in of the aux cord ... its gold colored. That cord runs to the SiriusXM radio mounted in the trunk. I can unplug it in the left pocket and plug my little phone in while on a long trip to listen to the audio books or an audio Bible as the mood suits me. Pretty flexible configuration.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Been playing with helmets ands GoPro mounts ... I have a 4 season helmet ... a Shark ... and an Arai with the built in headset from J&M. The Arai is a 3/4 so it was an easy GoPro mount. The Shark is a convertible that can be a 3/4 or full face ... Because of the mechanism flipping all the way over, can't mount a GoPro on top ... so I finally came up with a side mount arrangement ... works okay, but, clunky.

I also mounted a mount on the left mirror and one on the rear trunk lid. I recently found a GoPro Hero 5 Open Box with a full warrantee for $75 ... gonna have them working so I can film coming's and going ... LOL.

[trikeman]

Is coming and going the same as before and after?

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Is coming and going the same as before and after?

Pretty much ... figured if someone runs me over I'll have evidence.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay so I put a new hazard/light adj switch with a new to me used one. This morning I was wiping down Helga ... and pushed the hazard button in .... it stuck.

Anyway, decided to take the old one apart and see what makes it tick. Took lots of notes as I was taking it apart ... and was actually able to fix it ... so I took the other one apart ... it was just dirty so I cleaned it and put it back together ... works ... so now I have a spare (although the spare has the chrome on it.)

So ... I saw some wires that were clearly not "right" ... the previous owner (One owner before me) had spliced several wires ... not sure why, but they were just twisted and taped ... it was 7 wires of a big bundle. Of course ... after I got them taken apart and "tinned" (if you don't know what that is, it's letting solder melt into the wires before soldering them together), I had a four letter day.. I like to work out side the garage ... lighting is better and my eyes both have small cataracts, so light is always at a premium. So, I got a boogie on and soldered them together and coated the joints with dielectric grease. I then used heat shrink tubing to seal the whole mess. Put the bundle back together and tied it up with some cable ties.

Incase you haven't figure out the four letter day ... SNOW ... not so much that it stuck, but sure made it tough to keep the wires dry to seal them up.

So the snow ended my fixing things for a day or two, depending on if it gets worse or not.

On the plus side, the baker built trike wings showed up while I was fixing switches. Didn't get to install them. About time ... they where shipped from Yuma Arizona via USPS on 11/14 ... only two weeks to get to Grand Junction, Colorado. Of course, they spent three days in Seattle ... not sure what's up with that.

So ... with the rush to get the wires buttoned up before they got really wet, I didn't get a chance to get pics ... sorry Carla ... too bad .. would of been kewl to show a correct repair ... hopefully, I won't find any more bad fixes ...

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Okay, so I have mentioned that I don't like the low quality chrome accents on Helga. The add on double sticky tape plastic. Just IMHO looks cheesy.

So ... I was routing around in my Gold Wing boxes, before the deep freeze set in ... and found an old set of the chrome trunk and saddlebag trim pieces. I had the thought of sanding them down and rattle can painting them black. Probably come out as cheesy as the cheap chrome.

The I remembered a friend of mine (Old bowling buddy) recently opened a body shop. Gave him a call and he said to bring them over. He explained that he would have to do an acid etching, then sand blast, then sand, then epoxy primer, then paint and finally clear coat. Wow I was expecting him to tell me that it would be like $500-600. So ... he continues to tell me he is working on a restoration project right now and if I wasn't in a big hurry he could put the pieces in with other pieces he was doing and charge me like $100 plus materials. Since he is painting the frame Black of his project, the materials would only run like $75-100.

I asked him how log would it take, figuring less than a month I'd be good. He said about a week, week and a half max. Needless to say, I'm in.

Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together. For those that like the pics, I'll post some after they are finished.

Now to figure out the faring intakes and she is done, de chroming anyway.