I was keen to avoid the space ship clocks I had on the old diesel bike :

So, I ordered an ammeter, volt meter and temperate sensor all in one and set to work modified the clocks to accept it.

After a bit of cutting and squeezing, im left with:

Granted, it doesnt look that good, as the screen frame is slightly too big for the whole it needs to go in (and keep the fuel gauge readable), but its a lot better.

I couldnt get the XJ600 regulator to charge the battery from the rewound coil, so I wired up the regulator I used on the old diesel bike, as this has a feedback loop to prevent overcharging etc.

The starter motor works works from the starter button, and the fuel solenoid runs of the run switch.

Some pictures of wiring testing and me figuring out where everything goes:

Additionally the fan forced cooling has been fitted to the engine, these will be wired to a digital thermostat and will come on and off depending on demand. I will be burying the sensor deep in the back of the engine out of the air flow, so as to get the hottest temperature.

and an overview of the clocks now:

Got a lot done over the weekend. I ended up using Nu T link belting as I couldnt find a belt length in the right size for me!

I also added another front engine brace on the left hand side, built up the clutch using motorbike springs, which are lighter and give a much better lever action and no slippage. The rear chain has been installer and the rear brake caliper mount and chain tensioning thingys installed. The new throttle cable and idle/throttle cable adjuster has been installed along with the clutch cable.

I also worked on the left hand brake lever mount, I started with 5mm plate, and drilled a 15mm hole and used the end of a wheel spindle  which has the OD of the brake pedal. I then welded around the bolt on both sides and then welded the plate onto the frame. I then drilled and tapped a whole in the middle of the bolt. I will bend the brake lever so that it clears the foot peg and then screw a bolt with a washer on to the end to keep it in place. (I also need to sort out the caliper mounts, which I think I will just nick from the other side. )

A nice video of the belt drive, and some pictures:

Some pics:

Also, there does not appear to be a SPA section belt in the length I need (525mm), which is slightly annoying. So I have ordered NuT link belting which should mean I can adjust the tesnsion realtively easy as my gearbox is fixed in place with the engine (I was going to go with a tensioner, but if I can avoid it, then good!

I have also started the paperwork crap that needs to happen with the DVLA.

Some pictures

The pulley going into the lathe:

The initial layer removed from the inside of the pulley, mainly for weight savings:

Swapped around now, and removing the main part of the pulley, where the clutch basket will sit:

After a lot more turning:

Shiny shiny!:

Drilled the holes and wacked the back plate of the clutch basket inside:

And with the basket in place:

All I need is the correct size bolts and all will be done for that!

Now time for the sprocket, it needed to fit over a 12cm wide sprocket hub:

After lots of turning (The rim and the center boss) and we drill the holes and mount it to the hub center:

Lovely Jublies!

All sorted, and today I did some test fitting of the engine and the gearbox with the pulley on it, Turns out, the engine needs to go forward another 2 inches! Argh, teaches me to weld and not measure things, after some cutting and re-welding I had extended the engine mount a further 2 inches:

I was worried about clearance with the front wheel (it looks closer than it is), so I compressed the front forks using wratchet straps and checked throughout the steering movement! All ok!

A view from the other side with the pulley on top of the crank, this is as far forward as I can get the engine:

Some close ups of the individual welds, I ran out out of gas halfway through and had to switch to flux cored wire (thats a lot more work! Grr):

I ended up re-doing a lot of these as I didnt have the power up high enough and the weld was just sitting on top of the frame

My new toy

Slowly getting there.

The frame has been extended on the flywheel side of things, as much as the engine needs at least. The new downtube has been fitted, the plate the engine will sit has also been welded into place.

Its taken about 6 hours to get the frame modded to this state and I still have to:

Swap the brake pivot to the left hand side (As the gear lever will be on the right)
Fabricate and make up a gearbox mount (wont happen until the pulley machining is completed, which is being done on Friday)
All wiring
Slotted holes for the engine to bolt throught (to allow for pulley tension etc)
and lots of other things I have forgotten about no doubt.

Some pictures (no comments on my welds! First time im geting used to a mig welder ) :

Its very close, but I will need more length in the frame.

I can do 3 things, 1) stretch the frame to acomodate the length 2) add extensions to the front of the frame to clear the startermotor/flywheel 3) create a new lower basket/subframe to support the engine.

I havent decided which I will do, It depends on what tools are available and what can be obtained. I also test fitted the pulley, it should be doable but the gearbox will need to move closer to the front of the bike so that it clears the swing arm bearings. Hmmm. Have a look below:

I managed to get the carbs, air box, and engine + elecrics out today.

It was getting pretty dark by the time I finished, however, I managed to get the engine into the frame for a test fit and to see what sort of space I have.

Pictures below:

Now, I think I wont be able to get away with this build without modfying the frame. However, the gearbox should fit with the engine in its current location. Of course the flywheel wont fit with the engine in its current location as its goes where the frame down tube is.

The engine and gearbox is out of the old bike:

The fairing and lights/engine elctrical have been removed from the xj600:

I ran out of light, but the next stuff is the exhaust and then engine out.

The pulleys for the belt drive have arrived, I will pop round to the metal place to see how much to turn it down, depending on whether Tim gets back to me

On my old W210, I exchanged the cluster bulbs after 3 of them blew at once (which was odd). I recently did It again for my new w210 and documented it.

The Mercedes documentation for this is pretty bad, especially concerning blub types and locations etc.

You will require 6X 509T LED bulbs and 2 x T5 wedge bulbs . I bought mine from crazyleds.co.uk, but they failed after about a year so you will have to locate other sources (ebay etc)

509t bulbs:

T5 wedge bulbs (in the bases from the clocks)

Start off by pulling the clocks out. You can either use the mercedes removal tools (expensive), coathanger (not very succesfull for me) or you can push the clocks out from behind.

To do that, remove the panel underneath the steering wheel (3 screws) and put your arm up and behind the dash and push the clocks out. This should move then enough to give you purchase and pull the clocks out.

Make sure your key is not in the ignition when you unplug the connectors from the clocks, or you will log an SRS code and the light will illuminate.

You will then see this:

The white arrows point to the bulbs that you need to replace.

The larger 2 bulbs will require some assembly. Remove them from the clocks, and then remove the glass bulb portion. I had to then shorten my LED bulbs slightly, so that they didnt touch the inside of the clocks when I re-inserted them. I did this by melting a bit of the plastic with a soldering iron.

As the LED bulbs are polarity sensitive, you may need to fit them, then plug in and turn the headlights on to see which are lighting up and which arent. Once they are all lit up, you should have a dashboard like this:

In this picture my camera glares quite a bit, but its not as glarey in person