Oops.. I did it again... They just keep following me home.

[350for350]

One thing i truly hate is tire work.... Always have always will... But this time i powered through and did it myself because my local shop won't touch anything ATV anymore, claim they don't have some adapters for their machine or such, but they used to do it, i think they just don't like working on them either!

For me, I feel that I do so much with ATV tires (mostly trikes) that It's WAY cheaper for me to do my own tire work. Besides, I've work on a lot of different sized tires. From hand truck tires up to ones that are taller than I am and take a crane to move them around. So ATV tires seem pretty easy to work on to me.

[kb0nly]

Progress has slowed down again waiting on parts. I did get the top end back on the motor, and the left side of the bottom end is all done.





The case has some really stubborn dirt/grime on it, so once its all back together i will do some more scrubbing on it, and probably another hot bath, it just got too cold to take the power washer outside and work on it, so every part that came off got scrubbed by hand but the center halves of the case didn't get thoroughly cleaned. It might just be that way until spring when i can give it a good power wash bath with some hot water and detergent. But its not terrible as is now.

Top end was all measured, piston to bore clearance and ring end gap looked good and well within service manual tolerance, cylinder was pretty true, only a bit more wear at the bottom then the top, but there was still crosshatch showing from someone before me being in there. Looks like they went to second oversize by the measurements i was getting off it. There was a couple stained rings on the bore where it sat a long time, so the previous top end work was before a long slumber, because it definitely sat with the exhaust valve slightly open and the rings in one spot for a while. The valves i have a cutting/grinding kit for, hit it with the stone then lapped with medium and fine grit and got it down to mirror finish, bench leak tested it, looks good. I suspect i was losing most of my compression at that valve. The bore got a quick hone to clean up the ring spots, the rings looked good, everything was cleaned and put back together. Once i get it fully assembled i will do a compression test, i can tell just by trying to spin it over slowly by hand while setting timing that its a lot higher compression then it was before with the plug in and i don't hear any leaking at the exhaust port now. So we shall see what it does.

Main parts i am waiting on now to start moving again is the rear brake shoes, i have everything else to basically put all the chassis work back together now, but i want to do it all at once. Sure i could put the rear bearings and seals in and throw the axle back in and put the wheels on and come back to the brakes and putting it back together the rest of the way but that just means dealing with an axle that walks out when trying to roll it so i can wait. The other is the centrifugal clutch hub, i have new shoes for it, but unlike others i have rebuilt recently this one has egg shaped holes where the master links connect to the shoes, and the master links are worn badly as well. The clutch was way below its service limit, so it was just sloppy as heck in there, maybe that's why it got parked, they rebuilt the top end then found out the clutch was shot and parked it and never got back to it. I couldn't find anything else wrong inside. The manual clutch is fine, the friction discs are well within wear limit, the steels look good, i just cleaned it and put it back together.

So until those parts get here i am working on going through the switches, headlight/kill switch, ignition switch, throttle, putting everything back together on the bars, once those parts arrive i will basically be able to just pick an afternoon here and there and bolt everything back together and get it running!

[kb0nly]

For me, I feel that I do so much with ATV tires (mostly trikes) that It's WAY cheaper for me to do my own tire work. Besides, I've work on a lot of different sized tires. From hand truck tires up to ones that are taller than I am and take a crane to move them around. So ATV tires seem pretty easy to work on to me.

I wish you were local, i would bring all my tire work to you then... LOL

[kb0nly]

While i wait for parts... I will start on the exhaust. The muffler is in great shape other then the spark arrestor being rotted off it, i cut the rest off back to the point in the picture where the baffles are, i did one like this many years ago and it worked out great, a piece of 1.5" exhaust tubing with a 45 degree bend down was a good combo before so i am going to do it on this one also, see how it sounds and runs and go from there. I have to make a new piece where it clamps onto the header pipe as well, but that piece isn't here, requires a 1-3/8" ID for the exhaust seal that gets clamped around the header pipe. More details on that when it gets here.



Ran out of time to get any welding done today, but i got everything about ready to break out the welder in the next day or so.

[kb0nly]

Big progress today... The rear brake shoes showed up, so i got the rear bearings and seals done along with reinstalling the axle, hubs, rear wheels.. Only thing left on the rear end is the tail light, and i have to put the skid plate back on, but i didn't get that far today. Also got the front shocks and new boots back on, front axle with new bearings and seals, and all buttoned back up, front end is basically done except the headlight and handlebars need to go back on, still cleaning all the wiring connections and switches before doing that.




Its finally a roller!!

[350for350]

It's sure is looking good.

[kb0nly]

It's sure is looking good.

Thanks! Hoping to make more progress this week if time allows. Probably work on the exhaust some more since I can quickly sneak away here and there to tinker on that.

Just waiting on the clutch hub to button up the motor and the seat cover to finish the seat and the major things are done. A few small bits and pieces still in shipment but should see them soon hopefully.

[kb0nly]

Yesterday and today was good, had a lot of spare time between other jobs to work on it. Starting on the chassis, i got the handlebars, headlight, skid plate, tail light, all back on, and the wiring connections all cleaned and checked and even tested the lights and starter relay etc, it was all working before taking it apart but you know how that goes, gotta double check it.



Also got the throttle and new hand grips on, the kill/light switch, rear brake lever. Still waiting on a new perch for my front brake lever, the original one turns out it was cracked where the cable sits, probably happened when the lever got broken. Got the front brake cable installed to the brake, rear brake cable loosely run to the back, waiting on a new spring for its adjuster, i just tossed on all the parts that have been building up so i can put more on as they arrive now.

Then i got the clutch hub i was waiting on, so i got back to the motor...



Its all back together and ready to go in, i might repaint the black case parts on it including the recoil, i have a new decal to paint the recoil and make it look nicer but i think that might wait for now, this project is taking up a lot of space as is so i am trying to get as much bolted back on as i can to consolidate it all to one space again. So it might not be until spring when i paint the rear rack that more cosmetic work gets done now.

Then i turned to the exhaust... I found a seller on eBay that has a necked down adapter thats perfect for replicating the front end of the muffler, if you are looking to do this search eBay for item number 171708121450. The trick to it is getting an adapter thats 1-3/8" ID for the exhaust seal and roughly 1-1/8" ID for welding onto the flared out spot on the muffler pipe.

Here is what i started with, i cut the original piece off then marked and cut the adapter i bought to match.



If you look closely at the original it looks like a round hole at the inside end of the slot, and the slot is slightly pie shaped to allow it to pinch closed so i did my best to replicate it.



Then it was just a simple matter of welding it on...



Then i gave the whole thing a few coats of high temp paint. I forgot to get pictures of welding on the tailpipe piece but the previous picture shows were i cut off the old spark arrestor that was rotted for replacing that. Its just a piece of 1-5/8" OD pipe with a 45 degree turndown, gives you a roughly 1-1/2" ID which is perfect for slipping over what is left of the original muffler. I also found that on eBay, item number 264175340604



And thats basically it... The muffler is fixed and ready to go back on. The header pipe was in good shape i just cleaned it up and removed the heat shield and painted it, reinstalled the heat shield and done. The clamp that pinches the muffler onto the seal and header pipe was rusted through on the top side, i didn't remember to snap a picture of it, i just tacked it back together then took a scrap of the pipe i cut off of the adapter i made into the input side of the muffler and made a patch piece i welded over the top of the clamp to reinforce it. Was the oddest thing the whole clamp was in great shape except for the side opposite the bolts, which was the top side of the pipe, that was rusted paper thin and cracked when i removed it.

Anyway... Thats it for now, hoping to make some more progress this weekend if i can, otherwise it might not be until after Christmas now. As it stands now i am ready to bolt the motor back into the frame and get everything hooked back up for its test run. I would really like to get that far this weekend but will have to see if other things get in the way. Beyond that, the seat still needs to be recovered, and i need all the brake bits to finish the controls, but its sooo close to its first drive!

[ironchop]

Nice work

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[kb0nly]

Nice work

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

Thanks! The exhaust turned out better then I originally hoped for so I can't complain too much.

[kb0nly]

I did get some more done today, one final push with the parts on hand, now i am out of stuff to do until more parts arrive.

Got the motor back in..



Got the tank back on..



Got the exhaust reinstalled...



And finally got it wheeled out and running. I don't have the chain back on yet so no driving yet, but got it running, roughly tuned the carb so it would idle decent, let the exhaust paint cook for a while, and checked that it was charging the battery. Ran out of time to do more but hope to be able to at least take it for a spin around the yard soon.







It's that last ten percent that always takes the most time with projects like this, and the USPS hasn't been much help with the slowest shipping times i have ever seen this year.

[patriot1]

Awesome thread. looks good KB!

[BarnBoy]

Looks awesome Scott, wish my build would come along as quick as yours lol. Great work.

[kb0nly]

Looks awesome Scott, wish my build would come along as quick as yours lol. Great work.

Thanks guys! I would probably be done if not for the USPS slowing everything up... I had planned on a lot more time for it this winter, but the weather has been so mild this year, we just got our first major set in snowfall that didn't melt right away two days before Christmas, so i had a lot of time to go tinker on it.

I got the rest of the brake parts today, got them sorted. I ended up replacing the rear brake lever with the later version with the thumb lever for the parking break like i did on my 81 build, i prefer that over the wire parking brake that i always get my finger pinched in. Also got the front brake control on, and both brakes adjusted and working. Also put the tach on it today and got the idle dialed in and played with the carb some more. Still waiting on the seat cover, so i grabbed the seat off my 84 so i could ride it around some in the snow today and play with the brakes and adjust things further.

Once i get the seat done that should be the final update for a bit, i have new fender decals for it, but not sure i am going to have warm enough weather to get that done, though i might fire up the propane heater in the garage and work on that at some point along with cleaning up the fenders some more.

Not a ton left on it, runs good, doesn't smoke, starts right up easily even after sitting in the garage for a week at freezing temps, so i can't complain about it too much! I have to get the shed my others are in dug out from the pre-Christmas Blizzard we had and get them running, they are in a shed with power though so battery maintainers on them and should fire right up. Just got busy with the Holidays.. I normally like to at least just idle everything until they are warm once a week in the winter to keep everything working.

More pictures coming as i finish it off!

[kb0nly]

Finally got the seat cover from the USPS...



Just have to put a few final touches on it, the decals mainly, and clean up the fenders more. Then when spring gets here i will probably work on repainting the rear rack to clean it up.

Beyond that not much left other then enjoying it! I will get a GPS speedometer installed on it when i get to it like i did on my 81 also.