I Got Wheels!

I've just got back from a couple of weeks away for work (firstly in the US and then in Cambodia)
I am exhausted.
But not so exhausted to investigate a large package that had arrived for me while I was away.

It was 7 weeks ago when I spotted a pair of Manurhin Scooter wheels for sale on the French website www.leboncoin.fr - this was about the time when I was realising that my own rear wheel was incorrect.  I contacted the seller and thereby started an epic story of email negotiations and logistics.
The seller - Morgan - was based near Lyon (mid France) and didn't speak English.  And I don't speak French but together we managed to communicate quite effectively via email and Google Translate.

Morgan wanted 80 euros for the pair of wheels.  Although I didn't really need another front wheel, his looked better than mine in the photos so I agreed at 80 for the pair.  He also had a pair of aluminum footrests for sale too, but at another 80 euros I had to decline.
Now I spend most of my life in front of a computer - I consider myself "always online".   Morgan, I suspect however probably isn't.  Replies could sometimes be a few (several?) days coming.  So it was with great delight when a few days later I received an email from Morgan offering me the footrests at a 'discount' price of 45 euros for the pair.  I gratefully took the offer and we started the (lengthy) process of working out how to 1) get the wheels and footrests from Lyon to Birmingham,  and 2) make the payment transaction

I had a quick look at courier prices from the likes of Fedex and DHL and these looked to be around £120-150 - this was going to be be an expensive pair of wheels!
And so I thought I'd try AnyVan, the online delivery auction site.  Within hours of posting my need, I had my first offer to collect and deliver - £300.  Over the next few days various couriers bid down the price to a far more sensible sub-£100.
In the meantime, I was trying to pay Morgan.  I was keen to pay at least a deposit in order to secure the sale.  Morgan doesn't use PayPal but would accept a cheque or maybe a bank transfer.  We spent a good couple of weeks trying to find a mutually acceptable payment method, and at one stage when emails were particularly slow in coming I thought that maybe it was all off, he'd either sold them elsewhere or had simply got fed up with the hassle of it all.
In the meantime, back to the courier;  Offers were down to £60 and I was ready to accept, but had to apologise to the bidders that I couldn't commit as I hadn't actually bought the items yet... in fact I didn't even know if they still existed for me.
It was driver 'swift1' (mark) who first suggested that he could do a pay on collection for me if it would help facilitate the process.  Unfortunately Mark couldn't make the time window that I needed (but I should say now that Mark was a superstar in doing his best to try and make this work - and if I could I would give him 100% feedback based on his efforts alone), and so eventually I found 'philbfc' (Phil) who was equally enthused to do his utmost to help me.

Eventually Morgan responded to my email;
"Sorry i didn't have time to give you answers. There's no problem for manurhin wheels they are for you"
I was mightily relieved and followed with a flurry of activity to arrange money and dates (doubly complicated by the fact that I wasn't going to be around to pay on receipt when the wheels were eventually delivered to my house)

Between Phil and Morgan (while I was in Atlanta), they arranged a pay-on-collection at 11pm on Thursday evening as Phil was traveling through Lyon on his way back to the UK
That night I received the following email.  It warmed my heart;

Bonjour 

Le colis est partie hier soir .

Le règlement a bien été effectuer .

Je suis également contant que les pièces soit pour une personne passionner .

Je compte sur vous pour redonner vie a ces Pieces et les remettre en belle état . 

Hésitez pas pour m envoyé des photos de votre projet .

J espère que le colis arrivera bientôt chez vous.

Amicalement 

Morgan

Saturday just gone (while I was in Cambodia) Phil dropped the package off at my house, and today within 15 minutes of returning from a grueling 21 hours traveling halfway round the World, I actually touched the wheels that I had first inquired to buy 7 weeks ago.
I was delighted :-)
They might not be the colour I need for my bike, but I reckon they are in such good condition that I wont have to do anything to the wheels, tubes, tyres or hubs to get my scooter up and running.
What a great christmas present (to myself ;-)

Painted frame

Its been a while since i posted any updates on my blog.  This is partly because I've been so busy with work I haven't really had much time to get my teeth into any proper jobs on the bike.  I have managed to grab a moment here and there to work on bits and pieces but until I have completed something it seems a little pointless to be writing about it.

However, in order to keep something rolling along, I did take my frame, front forks, rear swinging arm and a few ancillaries in for painting a few weeks ago.  I was concerned that I might be being a little premature with this, but as the frame really didn't need much re-work, I thought getting it painted would at least be progress of some sort (and could be happening without my involvement while I was busy elsewhere)

I decided that I would get the scooter powder-coated (rather than wet-sprayed) as I am lead to believe that Manurhin scooters were indeed one of the earliest adopters of electrostatic powder-coating for motorcycles.  As I had already used (and was very pleased with) Redditch Shotblasting for my powder coating when I was rebuilding my Vespa it was natural that I would go back to them.  I phoned them up and arranged to drop the parts into them the following day.  When I arrived at their unit in Redditch, Dave came out to meet me "Oh its you" he said, sounding a little miffed "I didn't realise it was you when we were talking on the phone"
I was a little taken aback by his reaction to seeing me, and I asked what he meant.
It turns out that Dave had read my blog about the Vespa rebuild and was a little concerned about the 'bad' press I had given him.
Well, my first thought was "Wow, someone actually reads my blog?!" but then I quickly panicked wondering what on earth I could have said that was bad.  Not only do I try to avoid writing 'bad' things about people, but I thought I had expressed my delight with their work.  I don't need to explain my writing here - but to cut a long story short, He was gutted because he thought I'd written a bad review about his company, and I was gutted because he had interpreted my writing as a bad review when actually it wasn't.  Anyway, I think we are friends again and for the record I think Redditch Shotblasting do a marvelous job and I thoroughly recommend them (just remember that all good thing come to those who wait.  I waited patiently this time for the job to be done (3.5 weeks) and once again, I was delighted with the end result)

I had initially decided that the frame should be black - I think all chassis' should be gloss black - but talking it through with Dave and looking at his very extensive range of colours, I changed my mind at the last moment and decided to have it coloured as near as damn it to the original colour of the bike - Maroon.  I say original because as I have already discussed on this blog, I'm not 100% sure what the 'original' colour actually was.
As much as I like a black chassis, I am very pleased that I chose the Maroon in the end - it looks fabulous

Frustratingly - exactly the same as when I picked up the painted Vespa frame - I have to leave the Manurhin frame wrapped in its bubble wrap for a couple of weeks now while I jet off for work.
But at least I have something exciting to be getting on with over the Christmas holidays :-)

By the way - Did I mention that I think Redditch Shot-blasting and Powder-coating do a great job ;-)

Refocusing

I had been feeling a little down recently over this project;  Everything was broken and everything was costing me money.  But I love being in my garage and I rather like the bike, so I couldn't bring myself to simply walk away from it.
It dawned on me that the bottom line was simply a TIME and MONEY problem.  I was investing a lot of time in fixing things, and investing a lot of money in procuring things that I couldn't fix.  And I felt that I could barely afford either.  I was fairly happy to spend my spare moments fixing and repairing things, but I was beating myself up over the increasing costs and this was getting me down.

The other day, while resting against my bench and feeling a little weighed down by all the problems still to be overcome in this project, I started to wonder what would happen if I could let go of some of the constraints that I seem to have subconsciously imposed upon myself.  As I thought about it, there appeared to be a number of them;

1. I must finish any project that I start.  Anything else will be a failure on my part
2. I must get this scooter ready to ride to France next summer
3. I am obliged to 'restore' this scooter back to its original design and former glory
4. I must not spend more money on the project than I can expect to get back should I sell the bike

In the grand scheme of things this is not a terribly difficult project, and there is no reason why I couldn't get it finished in order to ride to France next summer - this is quite a motivating vision for me.  However to achieve this, I suddenly realised that perhaps I have to stop (within reason) worrying about the cost - If I need bits, and someone has them for sale, perhaps I should stop fannying around and just buy them and press on with getting the job done.

It had an amazing effect on me; with this sudden clarity I really felt a weight come off my shoulders.

And I thought on.  There is no way this scooter will ever be considered as "restored" to its original design, but there is no reason why it cant be 'good enough' as a resurrection from a barn-find grave.

And so with this new view on the project and being much more conscious of my self-imposed constraints, I feel once again motivated.  I WILL finish this project and it WILL be 'good enough' to ride to France next summer  :-)

Seats

Seats?!  I am a long way off needing seats for this bike.  But I did need to remove them in order to investigate the state of the body/cowl (which surprisingly isn't too bad!)

I don't need to say much about the seats - the pictures say it all.   Everything needs repairing

3 points of interest;
1.  Who was the idiot who thought that 2 copper plumbing brackets would suffice as a repair for the front seat hinge?  And how did the original steel hinge get broken in the first place?
2.  What is that reference plate screwed to the underside of the drivers seat?  Is this a Manurhin reference? I don't think so, but it looks like its been placed there with purpose.
3.  Those foam cushions look to be original..... but have they been in a fire?  they look/feel/smell charred.

 Oh how I wish inanimate objects could talk

Wobble of confidence

I felt really low about this project over the weekend.  This really is a hopeless case.  Every part of the bike is buggered, and it really isn't worth the effort to try and fix - it certainly isn't worth the financial cost.

I enjoyed working on the engine.  That seemed like a worthy challenge - to try and bring the heart of a machine back to life.  And once I had it up and running I was rather keen to see if I could put it into the frame and fix up some wheels and see it I could get it moving.
I managed to control my disappointment last week when I realised that my rear wheel was not original and needed replacing, and I pressed on with preparing other parts.  However, there are only so many knock-backs a man can take

I had turned my attention to the front wheel and stripped the hub and brake assembly (which to this point I hadn't looked at closely) and as I removed the Huret speedo worm drive and found it to be smashed, my heart sunk and for the first time I questioned whether it was all worth while.  There must be a point where a smart man would cut his losses and move on to more valuable things to do with his time and energy.

I didn't know wether to laugh or cry.
I walked away from it all for a while and went and did some gardening chores..... but eventually (inevitably?) I was drawn back to the garage.
Deep breath.
Press on.





I'm still not really sure about this project.  I am fast exceeding my budget, and if I am going to have to replace every little part that some bodger in the past has fucked up then I will simply grind to a financial halt.  I love tinkering in the garage, and so for this reason I shall continue to do what I can - but whatever I do, this project is certainly not a "restoration" - at most it will only ever a "resuscitation" - anything else simply isn't worth it.

Steering Lock

steering lock - removing cross pin and clip

The Manurhin has a lock on the steering column - not for an ignition as might first appear (there is no ignition security key on a Manurhin) - its a steering lock.  Allegedly there should also be a lock on the drivers seat to restrict access to the petrol tank - but I don't appear to have one of these.

Obviously, my scooter doesn't have a key for the steering lock.  But fortunately the lock is not in the engaged position so the steering turns freely.
As I have been preparing the frame for powder-coating, getting the lock mechanism out seemed sensible even though I could probably get away with simply masking it off and leaving it in place.  Trouble is, its a real bugger to get out without a key.  I should have just left it, but it started to niggle me and I felt driven to investigate (especially as I wasn't prepared to spend what one locksmith quoted me to get it removed and fitted with a new key... £130!).  Over the period of several days I kept returning to this little puzzle wondering what on earth could be keeping it from sliding out.

Fellow Manurhin owner Roy had already told me about his own experience with removing his steering lock which resulted in drilling it out.  I was keen to avoid such destruction but was grateful to learn however that the lock is German-made by Neiman.  You can buy Neiman locks on eBay (though I cant find one to my exact dimensions) so I did a google search for "How to remove a Neiman lock", and turned up a couple of forums discussing this very problem (it seems I'm not the only person to have bought an old motorcycle with no keys)  Sadly though these discussions don't answer the problem completely so I was still in the dark as to how it operated.

marking where the restriction is.
Note there is no external pin or fitting here

The lock is very small; a mere 12mm diameter brass barrel and bolt, and it simply slides in a steel tube welded to the headstock of the scooter frame.  After removing a spring clip and a cross pin, I could slide the lock assembly laterally back and forth within the tube by about 6mm, but there was a dead stop that was preventing the barrel from removing fully.  Investigating with magnifying glass and mirrors down the headstock provided no clue as to what might hold the barrel in place - there was no obvious retention or lip.

To prove its free movement to myself I cut a long 3mm wide strip of Guinness beer can and carefully slid it between the brass barrel and the steel retaining tube.  I was able to push this thin strip all the way along the tube until I could see it pop out in the headstock tube - there was nothing in its way.  Withdrawing the strip, and repeating the process around the complete circumference of the lock barrel I was to discover that there was one place where (at about 1 O'clock) where the strip hit a restriction.

drilled out outer tube, and internal pin

The thing that puzzled me was that I could find no external evidence of a retaining pin and as the steel outer tube was no more than maybe 2mm thick, there surely wasn't going to be a stepped ridge.  However, I was now very intrigued, and as much as I didn't want to do anything destructive, I decided to drill a 5mm dia hole into the tube at the place where I had deduced the restriction to be.

Sure enough, drilling a hole in the external tube at this point revealed a pin in the brass barrel that once removed (drilled with a 2mm drill) allowed the barrel to slide easily out of the outer tube.

Once out, all became clear.
This is an incredibly simple design.  Simple but ingenious.
Once again, my assumptions about the engineering principles let me down; I had assumed that the outer tube was 1. simply a carrier or support for the lock mechanism - I would never have guessed that it was actually part of the lock mechanism, and 2. it was too small and skinny a piece of tube to have any integral machining done to it.

note the 2 grooves machined inside

A closer inspection inside this steel tube reveals that the inside wall has two machined grooves in it (remembering that this tube is 12mm ID with 2mm thick wall - this is an intricate bit of machining) and it is these grooves that the pin in the brass barrel/bolt engages with.
[apologies for the poor quality of photo - taken through a magnifying glass with flash - but hopefully you get the idea]

So I had settled my curiosity, and I can now send the frame off for powder-coating without fear of damaging the lock....... what a shame I damaged it by removing it :-(
I dont think I have done anything irreparable to the frame - though I am reluctant to weld that drill hole up now as this would certainly ruin the internal grooves.  Even with this hole, If I find a replacement barrel/bolt, it should still operate properly.

perhaps this hole can simply become a jolly big greasing point.

Just in case anyone is ever after a replacement steering lock.....

Paint colour

I am sure that thinking about paint colours at this stage of this project is a bit like trying to choose the name of your rock-band before you have your first rehearsal (How many times have I done that in my youth?! :-)

However, while I've been working on the chassis I have become curious about the paint colour.
According to documentation, the Manurhin Scooter was technologically advanced for its time, and not least for its production paint.
According (I know this is a tenuous link of accordings) to wikipedia; "According to Bonhams the MR 75 “was constructed to a high standard and must have been one of the first motorcycles to be painted electrostatically, a process commonly known as ‘powder coating’.


I've used powder-coating many times,  most recently on my Vespa PX, and in my experience its very hard wearing and provides a nice thick even coat without need for priming and undercoating (as is necessary in conventional wet cellulose spraying)  And its for this reason that I've started to become suspicious of what paint is on my scooter and therefore what the original colour might have been


Up until now I have unquestionably believed that the colour of my bike was "Maroon" - I understood this to be a standard production colour.  A 'Motor Cycling with Scooter Weekly" magazine review of the "Manurhin 'Hobby de Luxe'"in December 1959 states;
"Colours available; Choice of red or Blue for de Luxe model;  Green only for standard model"


I had assumed that my 'Maroon' was the same thing as their 'Red', but I have certainly seen more pillar-box red examples of Manurhins, so I may be mistaken in my assumption.
I think I would be right in saying that in general, pale blue and pale green are certainly original colours, but there are a good number of examples of red, maroon and pale yellow Manurhins out there.  This is not the first example of model confusion that I've talked about in the Manurhin/DKW scooters, I'm starting to get used to the ambiguity now.

flaking paint on mudguard suggest a respray

But back to my scooter;  the paint on the chassis (and body) is maroon, but is has an undercoat of what I was seeing as pale yellow.  Maybe early powder-coating techniques required a 'primer' of sorts?  Or has my bike been repainted at some stage?  The external body has certainly had some respray work - this is evident in flakey paint in places - but never the less, this respray has tried to be faithful to a colour underneath.
The thing that troubles me is that if my chassis has been repainted then whoever did it, did a bloody good job because the maroon paint over the yellow has got into every nook and cranny of every component (would you really be bothered to paint the underside of the rubber suspension cups?) - its as if the maroon colour has been put on by dipping, or electrostatically painting.  Has it been repainted or is the maroon-over-yellow a production process?

what is this colour under the maroon?
what is the colour? and what is it doing here?

So, I investigated further by literally scratching away at the surface.  When I expose a large patch of the yellow under-colour and compare this to a pure white, I cant help but ask myself - is this yellow actually a pale green?  Was my bike originally the beautiful pale green of the 'standard model' - check out the pictures of these two bikes in what I am assuming to be true reproductions of original colours 


I'm rather confused about the whole thing.  However, I have decided that I am certainly going to have the chassis and associated under-body components powder-coated in gloss black (in my opinion, chassis' should always be black.  And black is cheaper to have powder coated than colour)
As for the body colour..... I have plenty of time to think this through :-)