Building a Benelli 650 Tornado

[canuck750]

Very cool that you cast the fuse box lid yourself! I think a quick and dirty vacuum pot could be made of a strong paint bucket and a ejector style air fitting. It will obviously not be able to pull down to -0.9 bar or something like that. But I think it would be possible to pull the airbubbles out with less. Might be worth a try. A piece of pipe with ends closed could also be used.

To make a vacuum bottle can I just put the resin filled mold into a sealed container with a spigot attached to a shop vacuum and run the shop vac? I would like to get better results with the clear lids, need to make a couple more for my Moto Morini fuse panel lids.

PS - yes to the fluids, just oil and fork oil, the Italian "Made In Italy' decals came in the mail today along with new points, condensers and the correct front axle nut to finish it all off. I am showing the Benelli and the Moto Morini 500 in the vintage display at this years International Motorcycle Show when it rolls into town a week from this coming Friday.

Thanks

Jim

[canuck750]

The original signal lamp lens screws were either missing or the Philips heads were mostly rounded out as a result of corroded screws and aluminum signal light bodies. Thee CEV signal lights take a 3.5mm screw, fine thread, NOT AN EASY THING TO FIND!
Aermaccchi / Harley Davidson used the same signal lights for a brief period and searching the Aermacchi / HD Ebay pages turned up a NOS packet of screws, 8 came in this little packet, just the right amount needed.



Repro MADE IN ITALY decals arrived, I made a measurement of the original decal placement before I had the tank repainted, 22 cm from the back folded lip to the base of the decal



I am a sucker for little details like this, IMHO they 'make' the bike. they cost so little in the great scheme of things but I always notice a corroded fastener or a missing decal on otherwise very nice restorations.

[Rick4003]

To make a vacuum bottle can I just put the resin filled mold into a sealed container with a spigot attached to a shop vacuum and run the shop vac? I would like to get better results with the clear lids, need to make a couple more for my Moto Morini fuse panel lids.

Thanks

Jim

I definitely think that it is worth a shot. Any vacuum must be better than no vacuum, I would believe that it would take a bit longer to pull out all air bubbles from the mix with a weaker vacuum, but never the less it should help extracting the air. How long is the working time on the resin after mixing?

I saw a video on youtube where they are casting a replacement headlight glass for an old 1936 Cadillac and the vacuum pot they are using looks like nothing more than a piece of thick walled pvc pipe (edit: it's a steel pipe) with a thick piece of acrylic on top and sealed by rubber gaskets. I'll try and see if I can find a link. It looks like a doable setup in the home shop.

Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMe9MOBjkmc
It goes through all the steps of making the casting, but it is the vacuum pot I thought was interesting.

-Ulrik

[canuck750]

I definitely think that it is worth a shot. Any vacuum must be better than no vacuum, I would believe that it would take a bit longer to pull out all air bubbles from the mix with a weaker vacuum, but never the less it should help extracting the air. How long is the working time on the resin after mixing?

I saw a video on youtube where they are casting a replacement headlight glass for an old 1936 Cadillac and the vacuum pot they are using looks like nothing more than a piece of thick walled pvc pipe (edit: it's a steel pipe) with a thick piece of acrylic on top and sealed by rubber gaskets. I'll try and see if I can find a link. It looks like a doable setup in the home shop.

Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMe9MOBjkmc
It goes through all the steps of making the casting, but it is the vacuum pot I thought was interesting.

-Ulrik

Thanks Rick!  The resin set-up time is well over an hour, very slow reaction. I am going to rig something up along the lines of your suggestion, hopefully the casting results will be much better.

[SED]

Beautiful work - again!  Have fun at the show.

[Rick4003]

Hi Jim,

Just to follow up on the diy vacuum pot, I just found a video of a guy making one with an old fridge compressor and a kitchen pot. He is able to pull - 0.9 Bar vacuum so it obviously works very well! Just another idea on how to make one.

Here's a link
https://youtu.be/BeiW_37rS-U

-Ulrik

[canuck750]

Hi Jim,

Just to follow up on the diy vacuum pot, I just found a video of a guy making one with an old fridge compressor and a kitchen pot. He is able to pull - 0.9 Bar vacuum so it obviously works very well! Just another idea on how to make one.

Here's a link
https://youtu.be/BeiW_37rS-U

-Ulrik

Thanks !!

I am going to make one!

[canuck750]

Last weekend the International Motorcycle Show came through Edmonton as part of the North American tour. I organized the local vintage motorcycle show as part of the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group - NORAL section. We had space for twenty motorcycles and a wide cross section of years and makes was shown.

I was very happy to show two bikes I finished last year, the Moto-Morini 500 and the Benelli 650. Both got a lot of attention but for interest the Benelli was the winner of the two. Many people asked about the Benelli, very few knew anything about it and I did not meet one person who had ever seen one.

[Rick4003]

Great looking bikes both of them. And I have to agree with the  crowd at the show. I had heard about and seen the Moto Morini before, and while having heard and known about Benelli bikes I had never seen the 650 model you have. In any case it is a great looking bike after you have had your hands on it. Thinking of how it looked when you picked it up it has been quite a transformation.

[Bucky]

Another fabulous resurrection....out standing!

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

To make a vacuum bottle can I just put the resin filled mold into a sealed container with a spigot attached to a shop vacuum and run the shop vac? I would like to get better results with the clear lids, need to make a couple more for my Moto Morini fuse panel lids.

PS - yes to the fluids, just oil and fork oil, the Italian "Made In Italy' decals came in the mail today along with new points, condensers and the correct front axle nut to finish it all off. I am showing the Benelli and the Moto Morini 500 in the vintage display at this years International Motorcycle Show when it rolls into town a week from this coming Friday.

Thanks

Jim

My friend who makes resin jewelry places her molds on top of her running clothes dryer to vibrate out the bubbles

[Canuck750]

My friend who makes resin jewelry places her molds on top of her running clothes dryer to vibrate out the bubbles

That is a great idea!!  I love simple solutions like that, going to give that a go. Thanks

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

She says "Its a nice warm spot and it seems to work better if the dryer is empty"

(I guess the weight of wet clothes in the dryer dampens the high frequency vibrations)

Good luck!