The
Mock Up

Once the mock up was complete next came the strip down. This part actually took longer than I thought. I made the mistake in my younger years when taking on a similar project with my mates of tearing the bike apart thinking I would remember where every part goes and every route a cable or wire takes, let alone where every nut and bolt came from.

Of course back then we had no clue. I wasn’t making that mistake again! Photos were taken and notes were made. Every part was labelled including nuts and bolts. The wiring loom was removed from the bike with every plug and socket labelled.

The
Strip Down

I did this nice and slowly over a week or so. I was already very familiar with where everything was located on the bike due to the years previous but still took my time. During this time I went shopping online :). To go with the bikes more modern style I ordered some L.E.D headlights and a custom made bracket to hold them, some heated grips, Samco silicone radiator hose kit, stainless steel braided brake lines, throttle cables, digital voltage meter, L.E.D number plate lights, full set of smaller turn signals, headset bearings, swing arm bearings, seals for the suspension linkages, chain and sprocket kit, handlebar risers that also convert to 28mm bars, new number plate, and I’m sure there are more bits and bobs that I cant remember.

The
Fun Begins!

Now my parts from the powder coaters has come back, and the fun part starts! I start by strapping the engine to a large chunk of wood on casters I have. This is something I made for occasions when I have a bike without its wheels for a long time, makes it very easy to move the bike in all directions if I want it out of the way for other jobs.

Once the engine was firmly strapped down I was able to lower the frame over the top so I can fit some engine mounting bolts. My first target is to get the engine in the frame and the frame on its wheels. So next was the swing arm and rear suspension. This meant fitting new swing arm bearings with seals and repacking the suspension linkage needle bearings.

The
Swing Arm

While fitting the swing arm I found that some of the holes on the frame had a fair bit of new paint built up, meaning that the precision suspension linkage bolts wouldn’t pass. Unfortunately, some of these holes were very difficult to access. With a very slow process of filing out the holes with a very modified round file. Now time to fit the new headset bearings so I can work towards getting the front forks on. The lower headset bearing is not an easy one to fit as it needs to be driven down the stem head. Remember to put the seal on first because the bearing is not easy to remove. For this I needed to find a piece of steel tube that fits over the stemhead but makes contact with the bearing in a strong place, this way you can tap the bearing down into place in an even manner. Now it’s a simple job of fitting the yokes to the frame. Then the fork legs in with their new gaiters and now Im able to get wheels on her.

The
Wiring
Loom

Once the bike is rolling I can start fitting the wiring loom and all the other components that attach to the loom. Luckily I did a good job of labelling everything before I dismantled the bike. Although I keep everything loose at this moment because until I have the handlebars on, I don’t know how much slack I need either way on the handlebar controls. I also have a new idea for the power supply for the additional electronics. Originally, when I fitted, for example, a 12v socket, I would wire it straight to the battery. Now if you have 3 or 4 additional electronics, this can be too much for the poor old battery terminals. So my idea was to take a + and – from the battery in 4mm cable to a junction box at the front of the bike via a hidden switch (so I’m able to isolate all the extras) and a fuse holder. This way the 12v socket, heated grips and 12v voltage meter and more can be fitted without running everything to the battery.

The next little job with the electrics is to get the new aftermarket headlights working. The 5.75 inch sealed units come with a standard H4 plug. The problem is the Super Tenere has twin headlights, one of which does low beam and high beam in one and the other light has just a high beam. The new units both have high beam and low beam, so some rewiring was needed.

Final
Stage

Now with the electronics done its time to get all the other bits bolted on, oil tank, radiator hoses, exhaust and so on. The bike is starting to come together at last. Next I can start getting some fluids into her, oil and coolant.

I need to start thinking about the new fibreglass bodywork. I´ve decided to paint the bike myself. I’ve found a supplier of the paint and within a few days, a coat of primer is on and ready for the topcoat of blue.

Unfortunately, I’m not much good at spraying (this being my first time) so the paint job didn’t come out too good. Still….its blue and that’s what my documents say and that’s what counts, and I have to remember this is a work horse, not a fancy restoration.