KKSD 09: The Sand Reckoner: Failiure IS an option...

Well, unfortunately things do go wrong through the design process. One of them being using salvaged materials during building. These calipers were pulled off of an 80's Honda 750 from good ol A&J Cycle Salvage right near Philly International. The owner claimed they were in working order (no) and cut me a deal on the calipers, rotors and the front end... well what do you expect from parts that have been sitting in a scrap heap for nearly 3 decades? After flushing and reflushing the breaks one of the bleed valves treated Tom with a nice confetti of metal shavings... caliper housing stripped...

We also found that the calipers did work, just not with equal pressure no matter how many times we bled/adjusted. This would not be acceptable for our design since, unlike on a car where you have an engine with some horsepower, we are pedal starting this. Any minor resistance which is usually felt by a motorcycle/car caliper set is more than enough to stop us dead in our tracks pedal powering this. Mountain bike break discs are too dinky for our application... go kart breaks rush ordered...

.... We couldn't lend ourselves to destroy these breaks, even after they screwed us over. Banished to the parts bin for another project! After 5 hours of break work, it was time to take a rest and instead get the creative juices flowing with some artistic detailing.

Oh, new Argon tank refill came in for the welder, Kate to the rescue ... butter welds from here on in! Its these little pleasures in life that can turn frustration around. Welding with/without shielding gas is like using MSPaint when Photoshop is available. It 'works' and gets the job done and one could get quite good at paint right? spray can anyone? But why bother when Photoshop is right there?

Hedy says enough of the rain! Paint time indoors is a good way to spend a rainy evening. Its been raining for 3 months straight in Philly.. whats the deal?