Gilera 500 4cyl Protar

[krow113]

15 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said:

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement @krow113. Glad to see that somebody somewhere provides materials to help these kits along.

I'm afraid the prices (and rarity) of such things put them well out of range for me. I was going to say "maybe one day...." but that seems unlikely!! 

Your scratch built items look superb and I got a flavour of what you are up to from a quick look on the fbook page. Wow! 

There are a few exhibits in the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum that would catch your eye I think. 

Thanks .

Since doing that series of wheels I have purchased a laser engraver. I used it to replicate a 1/6 throttle lock screw a detail missing from the Tamiya Fat Boy Lo kit , I am sure the files for the sprockets could be cut out of a piece of plastic rather than the whole master/casting work.

Real one and 1/6 scale replica:

I did determine after a lot of concentrated  effort ,was that metal casting of rims and hubs to fit the kit tires was  a good first step. Spoking methods all crap out at the point of spoke nipples , mostly because of the 40 for each wheel that have to be exactly the same and are sooo tiny.

 

I've been through the work on wheels and the chains to the point of determining what methods wont work and methods that will work.

 

Not tryna hijack your thread , just giving you info to make good decisions about your model.

Edited November 21, 2021 by krow113

[rob Lyttle]

I've been away doing a couple of aircraft builds to make the finishing line in the Group Build section, but tinkering has taken place now and then on the Gilera as the opportunity arises. 

The exhaust plpes and megaphones are on. The 2 inner pipes have a subtle bend in their shape and there's only one way for them to fit correctly, and nothing is numbered..... 

The only attachment points are the exhaust ports and the 2 straps at the back which are incorporated in the main frame mouldings. But the whole thing works and all lines up. 

I also had a look at the fairing and made a start. It is designed to take a couple of screw bolts into the frame cross member which to be honest shouldn't even be there on the frame. 

I compromised by leaving the cross member in place to give some chance of success. The recesses in the sides of the fairing were filled and 2 stubs of plastic tube were fitted on the inside such that they push into the drilled out ends of the cross member. 

The fairing has enough flexibility to open and fit onto the frame . 

Some further fixtures will be required towards the rear and some indication of what is required is indicated in this inspirational picture.... 

I absolutely love this picture.... 😍😎

Can you smell the oil, petrol and leather, and hot metal. 

I'm starting to get there.... 

 

All I need is a Bob McIntire figure in 1.9 scale - and the Italian guy in the coat!! 😇

There are a few items that need to be sorted, I need to go back to. Several, when I look. 

And the handlebar levers look wrong. Each piece slides onto the top of the front fork stanchions but the brake and clutch levers are mounted perpendicular to the rake of the forks, that is, kind of angled upwards a bit. They really ought to be angled down for easy hand action. 

And that blasted distributor is still in the parts box!! 😳

The ancient Decal sheet is working very nicely with the help of some Kleer for adhering and protection. The number discs are a bit yellow and options are being considered. 

But this bike at this scale has a great presence already on the bench! 

[keefr22]

21 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

The number discs are a bit yellow

 

Are they the ones on the side of the fairing in the pic Rob? If so they look like they could be yellow anyway??

 

Bike is looking really good and it certainly does look to have great presence! 

 

Keith

 

PS, really like the Italian guys coat....!!

 

[rob Lyttle]

I can tell you that Michael Dunlop, nephew of the illustrious Joey Dunlop, was chosen to ride one around the Island in 2017 as a tribute to McIntire's 100mph lap. That would be a 60th anniversary of that epic ride. 

And he did it at over the 100mph mark. But taking all the improvements to the course over the years and decades, he certainly didn't have to push the bike so hard. Nevertheless, a great ride and not easy. 

The discs on the side of the fairing are red with white numbers, and I'm sure the whole project was thoroughly researched. 

I've masked the front disc before the red was applied to keep it white. 

But I'm not sure how far I can go with it. Maybe plain discs waiting for the application of numerals?? 

 

[keefr22]

Those are two great pics! And indeed in the B&W one the side roundels look exactly the same tone as the red on the fairing. Must be a trick of the light making them look lighter in the other pic. And your idea of blank roundels is a good one looking at that pic!

 

Hope the TT is back on next year....

 

Keith

[rob Lyttle]

As you can imagine, I'm off doing other stuff in group builds etc at the moment. 

The real sticking point with the Gilera for me is the shape of the windscreen transparency. Just taping it in place on the fairing, it looks too long and into the rider's face. But I'm hesitating with knives and saw blades..... 🙁

The occasional item has been done. Like the front brake lever cut off and repositioned on the bar so it's angled down a bit instead of up and perpendicular to the fork stanchions. 

But only ticking over here. 

I did see this publication on the shop shelves though.... 

 

The article inside - I took a furtive look.... features Sammy Miller among others, and I think this may be the bike from his museum that I photographed last autumn. The dark anodized castings are identical.