Hoses
Clamps
Hose clamps come is a couple of varieties and here is how I make them:
- Plumbers Clamp - this clamp is the kind most people in North America are familiar with. It is a solid band with a tightening screw. I make these with narrow strips of Bare-Metal Foil. Wrap the foil around the hose and then CA a short piece of #28 gauge bare wire for the 'screw'.
- Wire Clamp - these are more common on Japanese motorcycles. It is made of heavy wire with a tightening screw. I make these by wrapping #30 gauge wire around the hose and then using CA add a short piece of #28 gauge bare wire for the 'screw'.
Heat Forming
Radiator hoses may have to have some complex shapes in order to be routed
properly. Unfortunately the vinyl tubing provided with the Tamiya motorcycles can only
bend so far before it kinks. This makes it difficult to get 90 degree bends and other
shapes that may be needed to route the tubing.
Like kit sprue, the vinyl tubing can be heated. Once heated it can be bent into complex shapes. This allows the hose to be moulded into the precise shape needed to route the hose. Simply pass the tubing over a flame or soldering iron where you want to place a bend. Careful, not much heat is needed. Then hold the hose in the shape you want until it cools. Without this method, the BMW K100's radiator hoses would have been impossible to fit.
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Copyright © 2003, Kenneth W. Hartlen. All rights reserved
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