A rider ...

[pd]

A PO hit something rather hard . My front rim had a pretty good 'ding' in the bead as well as being bent outward .

I tried cold manipulation with little to no effect , so I had to use Mapp gas to get the metal hot enough to work with ( red , actually kinda orange , hot ) .
 Anyway , I was able to work it back into acceptably straight and useful condition .

There is rust pitting that will have to be dealt with , but that's minor compared to that bent rim .

[pd]

Here are a couple of 'after' shots of the front rim I straightened .

The ding was all of 1/4" deep and the bead was bent outward about the same distance . The arrows indicate the ding location .

I think it'll work , but if anyone sees something I'm not , please speak up .

The rust pitting is worse to the left . I'm not sure just how I'll deal with that , yet .

[Mike Sal]

Not a bad looking repair.

regarding the rust pits, I used a tube of that "liquid metal" you can buy at hardware stores.  I used it like body filler.....smear it on, let it dry, & sand it off.  Took several applications to get the pitting filled up to acceptable levels (I should have applied some more, but got tired of it after about 4 days).
Mike Sal

[pd]

I was kind of thinking something like that , too , Mike .

Maybe Gorilla glue ?

[Ricks]

If I was going to powder coat the wheels, I would try body solder.

If I was painting them, I would go with a high build polyester primer.  I have used Z-Chrome rust defender, really high build, almost need a garden hose to spray it.

[pd]

I'll be painting the wheels . I'll have to check into the high build polyester primer . Hmmm ...

[pd]

Just reading about seats ...

My seat is covered with a heavy vinyl or maybe Naugahyde ? with not much padding .

I was wondering when Simplex made the change from leather .

Here's a few seat pics :

Obviously , I haven't cleaned it , yet .



Only a single nickle sized rust spot next to the rear bolt hole on the left in the pic .



And , this is the worst of it .




I also noticed that my tail light is period correct , but not Simplex correct .

[Ricks]

Has anyone come up with a way to repair those plastic seats?  I have one with similar damage,  and I would like to fix it instead of recovering it in leather.

[pd]

I thought about a vinyl repair kit , but I'm not sure it would look anywhere close to decent .

Maybe something like this :

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81781-Series-Leather-Repair/dp/B0007TQWK6/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_text_y

[admin]

I thought about a vinyl repair kit , but I'm not sure it would look anywhere close to decent .

Maybe something like this :

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81781-Series-Leather-Repair/dp/B0007TQWK6/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_text_y

I read the reviews on this product, and it doesn't sound very promising.

[Mike Sal]

Go by a car dealership & find out who they use to make repairs on vinyl seats & upholstery.  Who ever it is (usually an independant guy who travels around to several dearlers) will have a better brand of product for making repairs, along with the correct airbrush color dye to match the original.  What every he charges will be well worth the money.

A few years ago we had one of these guys come to one of our Studebaker meetings & give a demonstration.  He had a homemade "pillow" made from automotive vinyl & padding to use.  He took a carpet knife & cut a 3 inch long cut into the vinyl & actually made a second cut to remove a 1/4 inch wide tapered strip from the middle. 

He had a hole group of sample "textered" master pieces & he picked out the one that was the closest match to the original vinyl.  He put some backing into the hole, mixed up some goop, slathered it into the hole & then pressed the master into the goop while it was still workable.  In just a few minutes the goop had cured.  He then mixed up a small batch of color dye to match the vinyl & airbrushed it on.  The whole process was about 20 minutes.  He then passed the pillow around the room to see if any of us could tell where the cut had been.  I looked the thing over very carefully & was really impressed.  The damage was completely gone.

My seat also has a very tiny cut on the edge (not nearly as bad as the one in the picture above).  I'll probably live with it for a while.
Mike Sal

[pd]

That's the best idea I've heard , Mike .

[Ricks]

I second that idea!!

[pd]

Could one of you fine gentlemen please post a couple of decent pics of a rear rack ?

And maybe a few general measurements ?

I think a PO had some kind of rack on the back , but it wasn't there when I bought the bike .
There is at least one 'extra' hole in the rear fender that I can't account for .

You can see that hole about a foot ahead of the tail light and centered .

[Ricks]

Simplex racks do not require any extra holes in the fender, they bolt on to the fender mounting hole at the front of the fender, under the seat, and on the fender struts on the side.  Check out some pictures of my bike on the site and you should be able to see it.