Tamiya 1/6 Harley-Davidson FLSTFB Fat Boy Lo

[martyncrowther.]

Good to see Christmas has not slowed you down buddy as you are making excellent progress.

I hope you had a nice break!

Martyn

[Mence]

Hey chaps, thank you. Should have a little spare time tomorrow so there should be another update.

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2013 10:05:48 GMT -5 bbd468 said:

Oh man, its startin to look awful yummy Prof!!! Lookin forward to the down right sexy update! Well done Mence.

I concur with my big bearded colleague from Dallas

[imatanker]

Mence, make sure you consult the Service  Manual for the torque specs on that rear swing arm assembly before you tighten things up...........Oh wait a minute, it's a model, I forgot  Super stuff Bub.

[danb.]

This is really looking swish Mence looks like ya building the real thing

Dan B

[wbill76]

Dec 28, 2013 4:21:06 GMT -5 Mence said:

Cheers Bill, it looks fiddly, trying to line the two threaded bolts up on the dampers while aligning the swing arm pivots as well as making sure the drive belt routes correctly.

Woke up feeling alarmingly sober so will try to drop the back end in this morning.

See that's why I build mostly armor...you lost me once you said dampers and aligning swing arm whats-its! Glad you know what you're doing though, love watching you tackle these big-scale bikes!

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2013 21:37:29 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Dec 28, 2013 4:21:06 GMT -5 Mence said:

Cheers Bill, it looks fiddly, trying to line the two threaded bolts up on the dampers while aligning the swing arm pivots as well as making sure the drive belt routes correctly.

Woke up feeling alarmingly sober so will try to drop the back end in this morning.

See that's why I build mostly armor...you lost me once you said dampers and aligning swing arm whats-its! Glad you know what you're doing though, love watching you tackle these big-scale bikes!

Bill,Ole Prof knows what he's doin mate,cos he does the same on 1:1 bikes as well

[Deleted]

Looks totally first class Mence, I love the use of bolts instead of screw heads to hold the major components together, makes for a superb overall look 

[James Duff]

If you didn't know what you were seeing, you'd think he was building a real motorcycle over there.

[thug626]

Hello Mence,
I'm just gonna pull up a seat and follow this build. This is the same beastie I ride. The only difference is that mine is the White Hot Denim.
Your painting of the wheels with the satin black is spot on. The rest of the build is looking superb.
Dave

[Mence]

Hello everybody, wow, thank you for the kind words.

Dave, welcome aboard buddy, glad to have you along for the ride!

Out buying a new car today so an update is long overdue, promise one for tomorrow.

[Mence]

The arrival of Desmond, our second rescue Greyhound forced a rethink, so my dear Rocco goes on Saturday to make way for an all too sensible estate car.

[imatanker]

Got the perfect match Prof

[Mence]

Hey guys, nothing that flash I'm afraid. Dicky, the Audi is a super piece of kit and I did ponder one but the lease arrangements were too costly, Jeff, what do you think I am? the owner of a 30 bedroom mansion? Trust me mate if fuel was as cheap over here as it is for you boys, well....

Anyway, here's a pic of what I'm getting, even the colour is the same, Meteor Grey they call it, either you love it or hate it! Personally I think it's great and should hide the dirt well.



Pure chance the dealership near me had just taken delivery of a new one otherwise you wait more than 6 months. It was destined for the Manager but I got in first. He specced it so it's fully loaded.

Skoda Octavia vRS. 2.0 184bhp diesel with 6 speed DSG (Automatic Gearbox)

Below are the upgrades that come with it over the already pretty generous standard spec...

Meteor Grey Paint
Half Leather
Silver Roof Rails
Bluetooth
Matsumi interface for Apple (iPod, iPad etc.)
Spare wheel (don't laugh, standard spec is a tyre repair kit!)
Keyless entry / start
Powered boot lid
Upgraded Canton 10 speaker Sound System with Sub in da boot
Flappy Paddle Gear Shifters
Sunset Glass Pack
Adaptive Cruise control (maintains a constant distance behind vehicle in front, even brakes if they do and it keeps the car in lane by monitoring the road markings, WTF!)
Intelligent Light Assist (constantly adjusts according to available light, automatically dips the lights if traffic comes towards you)
Panoramic Sun Roof
Colour Computer

All in all, pretty pleased, I have been looking at possibly trading the Rocco for a vRS hatch since Skoda released the MK3 in June but as we intend to downsize Tara's car, I need the load lugger.
Being 14bhp up on the Rocco and not really that much heavier, there is no major difference in performance and god knows the Rocco is quick enough!
Plus, looking at one of the larger Skoda forums, owners are regularly getting 52 - 55mpg which once again is what the Rocco is giving me.

All being well I collect on Saturday.

Update (on the Harley) later...

[imatanker]

Pretty sweet Mence. I like the color, I'm assuming it's metallic ? Does it come with the really cool red brake calipers shown in the pic? 

[Mence]

Hey Jeff, it's exactly as pic, the vRS is the sports version so red brake calipers are standard.

The bodywork is non metallic, they used to offer Audi's in that colour but no longer, as they are all part of the same group, I guess Skoda got Audi's hand-me-downs!

[Mence]

Many thanks Dicky, she will be known as Bismark

[TRM]

Finally getting the chance to check up you Mence...the Fat Boy is looking sweet brotha'!! 1:1 if I didn't know otherwise!! One of these days I should try my hand at one of these bikes!! Wish they had Goldwings...my Father-in-law has had many over the years and I would love to build him "his bike". Maybe someday!! Keep up the great work!!!

Happy New Year!!

[deafpanzer]

Catching up here. I have to pinch myself that I am not dreaming when I see your posts to make sure it is not a 1:1 thing... they just look too real already.

Happy New Year!

[Mence]

T, DP, thank you!

Scheduled update for today won't happen until tomorrow I'm afraid, I discovered a cheeky bottle of Chardonnay I didn't know I had and things have gone downhill from there!

Happy New Year to you all.

[Mence]

Chaps, Happy New Year to you all.

Having recovered from the various celebrations that we force ourselves to indulge in, I now properly turn my attentions to trying to make progress on the Harley.

More work has Been put into the left hand side, primary drive case and foot controls while the right side gets more foot controls and the various oil feeds to and from the oil tank.

Some of the vinyl tubing and other small details are now beginning to find a home but we still have a long way to go.









Need to sort a few bits of detail painting and a general tidy up but so far it's all going rather well.

ACW

[bbd468]

Comin along a treat so far Mence. Sure looks like a fun build.

[`Boots`]

Absolutely ferkin` A1 beautiful fella..............this will be finished probably by the time i next look in fella

[wbill76]

Moving right along with this one Mence, you'll be done in no time at this rate.

[Mence]

Chaps, thank you.

Another update scheduled for the weekend then it will be the lengthy task of getting the cylinders sorted....

Boots!!! Hello buddy, great to see ya round these parts, don't make it too long before ya pop back?

[imatanker]

Prof. Playing a little catch up here. You progress is fantastic Man. All I can say is it looks just like an HD.  I'm really impressed with the aluminum parts, Tammy got those spot on.

[Keith Christie]

Sterling work there Mence,
The kit looks like a great piece of engineering.
The use of the different materials are really making the all black frame and engine pop.
I hope Desmond is settling in and you are enjoying your new car, although it must have been sad to see the Rocco go (I'm a mk6 GTI owner myself and I love it).

Keep the updates coming.

All the best

Keith.

[Mence]

Thanks chaps, hope to have another update tomorrow as I have a bit of bench time scheduled in.

Keith, hi mate, the engineering I guess is up there with the 1/12 Porsche and Ferrari, I really can't fault it. The quality of the plating is much improved as are the moldings, all good stuff.

Desmond is beginning to settle although we know it's not going to be a quick process. He has only ever known kennels so is afraid of everything that a comfortable home has to offer, it's a labour of love and we'll get there, we reckon on 18 months.

I still have the Rocco due to a delay in the registration process of the new one, I pick her up Monday lunchtime. The Rocco is a 170bhp Diesel and the Skoda uses the same engine just tweaked to 184bhp so normal driving, you hardly notice the difference which is what I wanted to achieve. The Rocco will be missed, fine car but the Skoda promises to be pretty good so fingers crossed!

Back soon...

[Deleted]

Tamiya have provided some amazing detail which you're making the best of buddy 
Looks like an HD apprentice piece 

[Mence]

Cheers Steve, it truly is a fantastic kit, so good in fact that even a daft eejit like me can make it look good!

Back tomorrow with hopefully something to show of the front end...