This starts early December 2015. As you can read under the various thumbnails, I have spent the last few months designing the Seeley and I have ordered the various parts from the various manufacturers.

The first things to arrive were the primary drive / clutch bits and pieces. With these, and the gearbox that still had to come in, I would be able to make the final measurement on the distance between the gearbox housing (Bar) left side to the clutch basket right side, and this would then determine how the machining of the crankshaft and drive pulley needs to be done in order for the drive pulley to be correctly aligned. I finally got the bits assembled today, December 13. However, now I also found out that some parts, a washer, a circlip and some shims do not fit at all. In fact they do not seem to be needed, but to be on the safe side I have written to Bruce the gearbox man to get this verified.

I am talking about items 14, 15, 16 & 17 in the clutch exploded view below. I will need to wait for Bruce’s answer before I give the final measurement to the engine man. The beauty of time zones: I sent my question this morning and got the answer tonight. The answer is: these items are not required. Good, makes things easier. Then I found out that the sprocket nut is not the same size as the original AMC so now I need to get a new socket tighten it. And, the sprocket locking ring does also not fit so that will also need a modification to make the AMC sprockets work. All of this the guy could have told me up front, but he did not. He may be good at building gearboxes but he cannot communicate very well. As The Beatles sang: “You may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer”.

The second parcel to arrive were the brake discs and rear brake caliper. I have not been able to do anything further with these so they are just waiting on the bench for wheels and front fork to come in before I can start to assemble.

Same thing with the rear shock absorbers from Falcon. Came in, got unpacked and went straight to the bench waiting for the frame.

Next week I will tackle the task of drawing the front wheel axle. This is not included in the front fork or in the front wheel so I will have to get it made myself. It will have to have a diameter of 20 mm and I am spending time thinking about both material and whether to make it hollow or not. Titanium would be sexy and considerably lighter than steel, but I could also take a steel bar and drill it out. Or why not drill a titanium bar out ? We’ll see.

There is also a cosmetic consideration about items 7, 8 & 9 above. These are made of steel but the surface finish is not exciting. As the clutch basket is made a black anodized aluminum it would look great if these items were also black. I will talk to a galvanic shop this week to see if they can convert the surface to black.

Work kept me away from doing anything useful on the Seeley until today which is December 12. Yesterday Fedex delivered 1 out of 2 packages containing the front fork. So far I got everything except tubes and sliders but they are supposed to arrive

Monday. Well, I won’t be able to do much with all these things until the wheels, frame, engine plates and engine comes in. Then I can start to the bits all together.

I have been toying with the oil tank for quite some time. Traditionally on the Seeley, the oil tank is made of aluminum and located under the driver’s set ( there is no other seat by the way), just behind the carburettors and above the gearbox. I have never liked neither the looks nor the placement of this, although it is probably the best in terms of closeness to the engine, centre of gravity impact etc. Somehow though I have always dream of evacuating this place and instead leave it empty and possibly have the exhaust pipes pass through this area.

But where to put the oil tank? I have been considering hanging it from the frame tubes coming down from the headstock to the engine, or on the inside of the fairing, or below the engine/gearbox, but none of these solutions have really appealed to me. The last location I had thought of was to make the oil tank part of the seat. Since the seat ends with a box anyway I thought that the two could be combined into one and “Eureka” the oil tank would be gone.

A little Googling and quickly found a guy having done what you see below. Done, decision made but I will have to wait with having this made up until the frame is here. The one below is in steel but I think mine is going to be aluminium and with a Monza cap. Some trick tubing inside to take care of oil flow and the air vent but that should not be too hard. And quick connect/disconnect couplings to make seat removal a snap.