Important Uses of Beer Cans

Important Uses of Beer Cans

Part 7 of a series on the restoration of a 1961 Triumph
By Jan of West Virginia Bikers

While driving through Ohio recently, we stopped in at a Harley-Davidson dealership. As with all those dealerships, there are lots of parts in plastic shrink-wrap, and every accessory one can imagine. There were several folks shopping and I looked closely at them -- leather loafers, polo shirts, buzzed haircuts -- nothing like any of the guys I ever rode with. I took a good look at all that shrink-wrap stuff too -- four bolts for $17.95 - extra if you want the washers and nuts, two tire valve stem covers for $34.95 -- it went on and on. Each thing a little more pricier than the one before it. Even the cheapest t-shirt was $17.95 on clearance.

I thought a little bit about some of the items which we'd used to build the Triumph, and had to grin. I can't recall anything being in shrink-wrap, but we did buy a new battery, new points, and a new solo seat. Other than some miscellaneous stainless steel nuts and bolts (bought at the local hardware store), I think John and I (well, mostly John) made just about everything else.

What follows is a short course on using regular household items to build a motorcycle. These lessons I learned very well. They were all using things I knew something about! We were in my territory now, and I excelled!

Custom exhaust fitting Beer Cans - While installing the exhaust pipes to the engine block, we found one of them had stripped threads. No amount of clamp tightening would keep it sturdy and without wobbling. The answer was empty beer cans, which we had plenty of lying around. Using tin snips, I cut the top and bottom off two Coors Light cans. Now I had two nice flat pieces of lightweight aluminum. Next, I cut them lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips. John placed all these pieces on the exhaust opening (looking like one of the flowers that stick out from the paper that you make in kindergarten class), pounded the pipe into place, tightened the clamp and then cut off the excess aluminum. Presto. A custom-fitted exhaust.

B-B's - There are lots of (expensive) products out there to clean old, rusted gas tanks. Why spend $40 when you can buy a little cardboard tube of B-B's (just like the ones you used to use in the b-b gun when you were a kid) for less than two bucks? Empty them into the gas tank and shake -- alot. Have the kids shake it, have their friends shake it. This is especially nice for kids during those "there's nothing to do" moments. Eventually, you untape the opening and shake out all those b-b's and the rust and gunk comes rolling right out. Presto. A custom-cleaned gas tank.

Custom condenser spacer Plastic Milk Jugs - Living where water is a precious commodity, we always have a few dozen plastic milk jugs on hand. This proved to be an asset when the condenser grounded out. Remember me telling you how tight a fit it was for those points? Well, I guess it was just as tight as I thought, because the bolt holding the condenser rested right against the housing, grounding it out. The answer? Cut a 2-inch by 1/4" strip of milk jug and slide it between the condenser and the outside rim of the compartment holding the points. Presto. Working condenser.

Spit - Yes. Spit. It's one of those tools that guys have been using for years, but I saw how well it worked firsthand just last week. John handed me a length of spark plug wire and told me to attach the boot to the end. It appeared to me that they were about the same size. The more I pushed, the more the boot kinda collapsed on itself. I would just get it started and it would stick and go no further. John rolled his eyes, grabbed the wire and boot and spit on the wire. Yuck. Strings of spits rolling off the wire looked pretty gross until I saw the boot slide right on with no effort. Now, I was impressed. "Let me spit on the other one," I begged. Again, John rolled his eyes. I was like a kid learning a new trick.

Shoe Laces - Ok. I'll admit this is probably something that doesn't get used that much, but in this case it was necessary. The old one broke. You see, the brake lever on the Triumph just swings. It's broken, so when it's released, the lever swings all the way back to the handlebars before it stops. Many years ago, John had used an old black shoestring to hold the lever together. When I took the Triumph apart, the shoestring was put into the box of parts. "Where the shoestring?" he asked, as we put the brake lever together.

Upon tying the old string, it abruptly broke into from dry-rot. Luckily, since this was my department, I immediately went to the junk drawer in the kitchen and got a new black one. Presto. A working brake lever.

FItting the plug wires By now, the War Pony was close to being finished. It was time to come off the blocks. This was like one of those Kodak moments. Until I realized that I couldn't find the spring for the kickstand.

The spring was needed to keep the kickstand in place and for it to automatically retract when the bike's weight was picked up.

I asked John about where to find a spring, and of course, he gave me his stock answer (number 77 by the way), "You'll figure it out."

He returned to the house and I went to the yard. I had just about enough of these type of answers. I was even hearing that phrase in my sleep. I decided it was time to confront him and went plowing through the front door. Just as the screen door slammed behind me, I halted dead in my tracks. I slowly looked behind me, and there, attached to the screen door was a nice shiny heavy-duty spring. I grinned that sly grin (I learned it from John) and slipped out to get the screwdriver.

Maybe I am finally learning to 'figure it out.'

Jan is a resident of West Virginia, the boss of Hawk Mountain Trading and the webmaster of West Virginia Bikers. To learn more about her, check out her biography or visit her web site.

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