The New Checklist

So, not mentioned in the last post was the other reason I haven't been working on the trike. I figured that whenever I tore into the shifter that I would be honor-bound to do a bunch of other things that would be best done with the trike body removed. I also figured that I would probably find other things that needed doing once I was in there. I was right. So, now I'm committed...

In no particular order:

1. When I put the new footpegs on, I did so without grinding off some old weld flashings and such that were largely unreachable with the body in place. Well, not only must I do that, I also need to repair the handlebar wiring harness. I managed to put the footpeg U-bolts over the wire and tightened them down. That it hasn't shorted out already is only because the footpegs have not been in use.

2. I had not noticed before that the reservoir on the brake master cylinder was empty. Even more so, I had not noticed that the surface of the master cylinder appears to be wet with brake fluid. I think the reservoir has been bumped too hard and too many times. Besides, it's not really designed to sit at an angle. I will look into a remote reservoir. I know the adapter for one is very simple.

3. I had a wiring issue that came from all the wires being tied down without any wiggle room. This resulted in at least one connector getting pulled from the back of the fuse panel and with the body in place, there was no reasonable access to properly correct the issue, so I ended up adding a "bypass" wire.

I need to restore the original wiring and maybe more importantly, prevent that from happening again. That may require cutting loose 197 TyWraps, rerouting and/or extending some wires and maybe even adding some bracing to the relay panel to keep it from moving.

4. I need to connectorize the speedometer sensor. It was one of the wires I had to unsplice in order to remove the body.

5. I also broke the (admittedly temporary) master power switch when I failed to notice yet another zarking TyWrap that connected it to the body. I have a really nice keyswitch that is supposed to be used for that, but I have been reluctant to saw the required hole in the fiberglass to install it.

5. Not even *one* of the wire tie pads that I stuck under the fiberglass body stayed. The wiring harness fell everywhere. So, no more self-adhesives or double-sided tape. I am going to epoxy some screws with fender washers attached to use as studs for standard metal wire loom clamps to attach to. I really want this to be the last time I have to address this issue...

6. Though this doesn't necessarily require that the body be removed, it will be much easier with the body off, and that is to finally get the fenders on the trike. The old fender mounts will need significant modification to fit the new fenders, especially the left one which was itself suddenly modified in a collision untold decades ago.

7. The old fuel tank has had a lot of work done on it and still needs so much work that I might be time and effort ahead to replace it. It has at least one remaining pinhole leak that is currently plugged with an epoxy patch, I have a remote fill spout that will need a suitable fitting on the top of the tank and I have a fuel level sender to install. Rebuilding the tank to account for all these changes seems like a good idea, and might allow me to increase capacity at the same time.