beets442
04-19-2014, 10:31 PM
I had a neighbor that lived next to me when I was a kid and he had a really loud bike(1948 /Harley). His name is Paul Cheney(Corky) still don't know why they called him that. In 1977(I was 10yrs old) dad would take us to Dairy Queen once in a great while. On the way back we saw an ambulance and people standing in the road in front of McDonalds. When we passed by I saw Paul laying there in the road and his bike all busted up. A lady pulling out of McDonalds didn't see him and hit the side of his bike cutting off his leg just below the knee. Life was hard for him for long time until he moved a couple miles away,fell in love with a nurse,got married and had a boy.
1984 I was a junior in high school(135lbs) and was into body work and two stroke street bikes. I happened to know his neighbor and saw him working in his garage. I went back there in it was small and smelled like old varnished fuel. He had an old rusty frame on the bench and I asked him what he was doing. He told me he was going to get that wrecked bike back together. I asked him if he still had that thing and he said yes. I asked him where it was cause I didn't see it in the garage. He pulled back a towel that covered the bench and there it was in about 4-5 milk crates under the bench.
It took about a year and a half to put that bike back together. Sand blasted the frame,bondo'd the joints,sanded it several times,painted it Diamond black with a couple coats of clear and it looked Tits.
He had all the parts re-chromed and we slowly put that bike back together. He showed me everything about the motor,how the valves worked,timing,oil pump,electrical,transmission. One of the reasons he had me around was his fingers were so big he couldn't pick up the small carb screws and bolts that were in tight places. He never asked me how something looked cause he already knew what he wanted. He painted the bike pearl white.
Well we had everything together and we both sat there and looked at that bike for a good hour wondering if we had forgot anything.It had good compression,did a volt test on all the electrical
oil tank was full which was skillfully hidden under the rear fender. He primed the carb and slowly moved the kick starter a few times to get it at top dead center cause if you didn't,it would backfire and kick like a horse.
It took about 2 or 3 kicks and it fired right up. HOLY MOLEY was it loud in that small garage. He kept the rpms up until he could get the carb adjusted a little and it purred like a kitten.
A lot of smoke from assembly oil and the fresh smell of paint curing from the heat of the motor. We both looked at each other with the nod of satisfaction,we finally did it.
I couldn't wait for him to ride it, he took it out and after a while he came back with one of the biggest smiles on his face that I haven't seen for years.
After a couple days of me begging him to ride it,he let me ride it. I couldn't start it because I wasn't heavy enough. I could tell he was nervous and so was I cause I had never ridden anything with more than 20 hp. That bike was so powerful I could tell when the piston top out every stroke,every time that exhaust popped it would jerk forward,never had anything pull so hard in my life.
I was scared to stall it at a light and or wreck it so I took it back to the shop and realized why he had such a big smile on his face.
I haven't seen Paul since those days and just hooked up with him on Facebook with his brother and sisters.
Thanxs Paul for sharing your knowledge and one of the best times of my life.
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u104/beets442/1962848_10201390040139872_1124961760_n_zpsabcd1b20 .jpg
1984 I was a junior in high school(135lbs) and was into body work and two stroke street bikes. I happened to know his neighbor and saw him working in his garage. I went back there in it was small and smelled like old varnished fuel. He had an old rusty frame on the bench and I asked him what he was doing. He told me he was going to get that wrecked bike back together. I asked him if he still had that thing and he said yes. I asked him where it was cause I didn't see it in the garage. He pulled back a towel that covered the bench and there it was in about 4-5 milk crates under the bench.
It took about a year and a half to put that bike back together. Sand blasted the frame,bondo'd the joints,sanded it several times,painted it Diamond black with a couple coats of clear and it looked Tits.
He had all the parts re-chromed and we slowly put that bike back together. He showed me everything about the motor,how the valves worked,timing,oil pump,electrical,transmission. One of the reasons he had me around was his fingers were so big he couldn't pick up the small carb screws and bolts that were in tight places. He never asked me how something looked cause he already knew what he wanted. He painted the bike pearl white.
Well we had everything together and we both sat there and looked at that bike for a good hour wondering if we had forgot anything.It had good compression,did a volt test on all the electrical
oil tank was full which was skillfully hidden under the rear fender. He primed the carb and slowly moved the kick starter a few times to get it at top dead center cause if you didn't,it would backfire and kick like a horse.
It took about 2 or 3 kicks and it fired right up. HOLY MOLEY was it loud in that small garage. He kept the rpms up until he could get the carb adjusted a little and it purred like a kitten.
A lot of smoke from assembly oil and the fresh smell of paint curing from the heat of the motor. We both looked at each other with the nod of satisfaction,we finally did it.
I couldn't wait for him to ride it, he took it out and after a while he came back with one of the biggest smiles on his face that I haven't seen for years.
After a couple days of me begging him to ride it,he let me ride it. I couldn't start it because I wasn't heavy enough. I could tell he was nervous and so was I cause I had never ridden anything with more than 20 hp. That bike was so powerful I could tell when the piston top out every stroke,every time that exhaust popped it would jerk forward,never had anything pull so hard in my life.
I was scared to stall it at a light and or wreck it so I took it back to the shop and realized why he had such a big smile on his face.
I haven't seen Paul since those days and just hooked up with him on Facebook with his brother and sisters.
Thanxs Paul for sharing your knowledge and one of the best times of my life.
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u104/beets442/1962848_10201390040139872_1124961760_n_zpsabcd1b20 .jpg