Highpath advice sought please. Just bought one in Edinburgh

[somerled]

Cheers for those pics. Very interesting. Those levers look like the motorcycle ones, Yamaha TY's from 1989, that I am going to fit.

Nice one,

Pete

 

[somerled]

Highpath restoration update.

I just thought that I'd post a wee update as to how the Highpath is coming along.

Firstly a big thank you to the kind folks here who have taken the time to provide advice and the odd part. Invaluable.

Well I have been busy on the bike. Given that I want to keep it as original as possible I don't want to paint it. So I have been painstakingly rubbing everything down with a mixture of WD40 and factor 50 sun tan lotion. This makes a pretty good rubbing compound which isn't too agressive, but still gets rid of the years of accumulated crap. The paint is a mixture of shades of an indeterminable metallic colour. It has come up well though, despite taking hours and hours.

I have sourced age appropriate mechs, front Suntour and rear Shimano Megarange to match the cassette, Suntour Accushift Plus shifters, Renthal alloy bars and the correct Nokia Hakkapeliitta tyres.

The next steps are:

Find a seat, levers and grips. Suggestions and offers welcome.
Fit the Nokias, sort up the original mudguards and refit, fit and setup the cabling and fit the chain.

So, it's getting close to being back up and running.

 

[legrandefromage]

some of those parts have a retro futurist look about them

 

[Tad]

I was wondering how this was coming along, one question, how the hell did you discover this little nugget?

I have been painstakingly rubbing everything down with a mixture of WD40 and factor 50 sun tan lotion.

Smokers toothpaste works well too.

 

[somerled]

I was wondering how this was coming along, one question, how the hell did you discover this little nugget?

I have been painstakingly rubbing everything down with a mixture of WD40 and factor 50 sun tan lotion.

Smokers toothpaste works well too.

The suntan lotion trick I found recently.
After finding out that factor 50 has a load of aluminium oxide as an ingredient I used it to remove the damaged coating from my spectacles when the coating became worn, thus annoying the hell out of me.

So I reckoned that a bit of WD40 in the mix would ad a bit of lube and solvent. It works a treat. For particularly grubby areas or for hardened gaffa tape glue a bit of fine wire wool some WD40 and some factor 50 and gentle rubbing work wonders.

Works best with a comfy chair, Radio 4 and decent single malt to hand. I must have spent 10 hours over the last two days doing just that. The Highpath is looking grand though.

 

[DM]

The suntan lotion trick I found recently.
After finding out that factor 50 has a load of aluminium oxide as an ingredient

So I reckoned that a bit of WD40 in the mix would ad a bit of lube and solvent. It works a treat.

Genius!

So those ARE CW mini BMX bars - I had always wondered if they were.

Re. grips: I remember the proper ODI Mushroom grips as being very slippery when wet. The tiny fins trap loads of water. That & their forward orientation allows your hands to slip around the grips. I Like A'me Tri/ Ame Round or Oury. The Ourys with the diamond pattern are very good. But only the block-pattern ones seem to be easily available utside the U.S. Renthal make similar grips, but only in grey. Blech!

Being a trials person, you'll know that the motorcycle Ourys have a larger I.D. on the right for the throttle. :roll: I didn't...

 

[danson67]

Those brake levers on the old pics of the Highpath are the Shimano XT ones from the 'stagshead' set. I've got some with the anodising a little worn on my Overbury's,

On the cabling...I have a 30m roll of the original 1986 6mm OD outer cabling (not the newer 5mm stuff) in black. I'd be happy to donate some FOC to the cause...This is like a Bugatti barn find. PM me with a length.

 

[somerled]

^^^^

Thank you for this. Timely info as I need to rethink levers as the TY shorts foul the Suntour shifters. Those look perfect, I'll get onto that auction site!

The Highpath is now up on its wheels and tyres (Nokia SL-35's) for the first time in months.

I have now fitted a set of cut down light alloy Renthals from 1987 which have spent all of their life on a TY 175 and been well abused by probably 100's of young riders.

 

[somerled]

Plea! Parts wanted to finish my Highpath

cross posted in 'Wanted'

OK. I surrender

After searching, researching, buying and trying umpteen levers and shifters for my Highpath I have hit a brick wall. My head is spinning!

Nothing I have fitted looks and or works right, so I put out this plea to you good Retro bikers for a nice pair of thumbshifters and brake levers of late 80's early 90's vintage as this is all I need to finish off my Highpath.

The current mechs etc are : Shimano 6 speed cassette, rear Shimano Megarange mech and front Suntour Accushift with Suntour double chainset.

Anyone got anything for sale at reasonable cost that would be suitable?

I'm also looking for a good condition retro seat for the same bike.

 

[Tad]

Re: Plea! Parts wanted to finish my Highpath

I'm also looking for a good condition retro seat for the same bike.

That could only be a Brooks, surely anything else would just be wrang.