Back in 1995 I bought my '85 R and gave it a modest resto. Then I re-did it again around 2000 (top to bottom rebuild and powdercoated frame) and after 9 years of faithful service on the ice it was looking a bit rough. It also needed some mechanical TLC on the things that I left alone when I redid it the first and second times. The front and rear calipers were hanging up, I was tired of fighting with the stock axle carrier, and the twist throttle that was on it was too slow for my liking.
I dragged it out of its corner where it'd been sitting since last winter planning on rebuilding the calipers, popping on a 1/4 turn throttle and slamming it back together. As many of you know, that's how things start and then they progressively get more involved. Once I got it out of its cocoon I realized it needed a good bath at the very least or a "mini resto" to do it some justice. I ended up doing the latter.
Once I had the fenders, wheels, axle, and brakes off I figured "what the heck, its just a few more bolts and two wires to yank the motor out" so out that came in order to get the frame good and clean. Plus I figured while I was at it I'd drop in the billet clutch basket and clutch update kit that have been on the shelf for 5 years. Within a couple of days I had torn into the motor, replaced the basket, done the update, and gave the outside of the engine a long overdue cleaning. I spent a few hours glass beading parts at work on New Year's Eve and some more time Monday and Tuesday of this week. Thank God my wife is awesome and doesn't hassle me about spending Saturday, Sunday, and every night this week in the basement chipping away at this thing. I just finished the majority of the paint work tonight and got to do some minor re-assembly too.
There's not much to look at but as I clean the frame up and assemble the major stuff this week into next I'll post some more pics. I'm a little pressed for time since the lake should be safe sometime next week but I figured that some of you would enjoy seeing what can be done with a few spare hours and some spray paint:
There's a lot of little odds and ends like motor mounts and exhaust hangers that got painted as well but I figured I'd just post the big stuff. I wish I'd have taken before pics of all this stuff but none of it looked that bad except for the axle having a bunch of surface rust on it. I'll post some more pics once I get the frame and swinger in the basement, those are pretty grimy even though they've never seen anything but the ice and a couple of trips to Silver Lake dunes.
John
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Originally Posted by Billy Golightly
Team Red Trike
