Mid Tiger (2003) Major Overhaul

[Mick Regan]

Hi All

Decided after TankMod that my Tiger was in need of a cosmetic overhaul. The zimmerit was never up to spec, having been done in a hurry back in 2005. Having got it into my workshop and raised it off the roadwheels, I noticed that the suspension had sagged, and a couple had actually seized So, a more thorough strip was required. After removing the batteries, electronics and motors, I flipped it over , and saw the under side for the first time in 10 years


Scoring on the underside from grounding, and the pannier floors from the tracks.



Rear end



Front end



Exhaust parts removed.



Turret, yet to be worked, tracks, sprockets and final drive casings.



46 very worn roadwheels and 2 idlers.



2 motors, 16 torsion bars, and 32 brass bearer blocks.



The sprockets are 12 years old, with 10 years driving. I'm impressed how well they have worn.

More to follow.

Mick

[Simon Peck]

Hello Mick
For me your Tiger always had the look and feel of a tank. Maybe not immaculate but it looked weathered from use as does the real thing, and not from pigments etc. One of the two or three models out there that inspired me into the hobby.
So now you've stripped it down and inspected the parts will you reassemble in the same way the manual suggested or would you take a different approach, i.e. lubricating final drives and swing arms etc?
I'm interested to see how it'll turn out second time around.
Cheers,
Simon

[Detlef Giessmann]

Hello Mick,

I am very curious about your refurbishing.
My Tiger also is from 2003, which I have now completed
I have set a few images.
I have a question.
I have a lot of good information from http://www.stinch.com.
Unfortunately, the page is no longer available.
Do you have any information about Rich Stinchcomb?

Greetings
Detlef

[Mick Regan]

Hi Simon
I'm not really sure what to do regarding the suspension. As I said, it was never my intention to strip the suspension down. When I had to, and with everything being stripped out, it seemed daft not to do the floor. I was hoping to replace the sprokets and roadwheels with the current set, which are more highly detailed. I may have to see if the suspension upgrade kit is still available.
Regarding the final drive. I have always run mine unlubricated. I think the opinion at the time was that if thay were greased, any metal in the grease would effectivly form a cutting paste, increasing wear. My final drives are not original, but wear is negligable.

Detlef
I was aware of Rich Stichcomb's build when I first built my Tiger. The work he was carring out was way beyond my ability and tooling. The level of detail was way above what I was planning. What is it that you are curious about? If you have any questions about the 2003 Tiger, I will do my best to awnser them.

Progress is slow at the moment. I'm afraid work gets in the way. Started sanding down the hull to redo the zimeritte. Hoping to make a major impact over the Christmas break.

More to follow.

Mick