oops. Hadn't counted on that....

I decided to start using up some of those parts and having gotten things pretty well cleaned up decided to put the crankcase together this morning.
I noticed when I disassembled things all the gears for the transmission stayed in the top half of the crankcase. I wasn't sure why because there didn't seem to be anything holding them there, they were just there. That's OK. I didn't want to deal with that anyway.
Through all the moving around and jostling and whatever those gears all stayed put, somehow mystically defying gravity...until this morning.
I had the lower half all prepped and was ready to set the top on. When I picked it up...you guessed it, gravity finally won, as it always does. The gears dropped out, and slid off the shaft.
No damage, the crankcase was in a plastic tote well padded with rags on the bottom but now I had to go to the drawing to decipher where they all came from.
I got the gears back on the shafts and the shafts back in the housing, and everything fit and everything turns smoothly so I guess I got it together properly...
So, I bolt the crankcase together and as I'm straightening up and putting the tools away, there, between my feet is something that almost certainly is part of a motorcycle. So I take a deep breath, and decide to look at the drawings before taking the crankcase apart. There isn't anything in the transmission drawings that look exactly like this part so maybe...
It seems to fit on the crankshaft, outside the crankcase. I'll have to look at the drawings again before I get too much farther but I think maybe I dodged a bullet.
By the way, I went to see Jerry again (remember him?) He wasn't there again, but the woman I talked to last time was still there, as was the big guy with the long beard (and again me in my shorts and flip-flops.) I was looking for someone to check the pistons and cylinders (and maybe do some machine work if needed.)
They don't work on Hondas at Jerry's so I guess I don't need to go back there again. She did, however tell me of a place nearby where there is a guy who does work on Hondas.
More later....

Endeavor to persevere.

After some bad news yesterday I decided to move on.  Some guys on the forum I've been reading looked at the photos of my pistons and said they didn't look too good, how 'bout giving us some pix af the cylinders, and I did and they thought those looked pretty rough as well, and said that they probably needed at least to be honed, if not bored.
So I heard what I didn't want to hear, but I guess it was something that I needed to know.  Funny how often what you want and what you need don't converge. 
Anyway, I spent the morning rearranging tools to make a better work area and this afternoon I started degreasing the engine.  And I found some good news.  Don't know it it off-sets the bad but good is good, right?  The manual had some pretty simple tests for some of the components.  For example: place the head on a flat surface like a sheet of heavy glass to see if it is warped...passed that.  Also:  put some gas in the dome where the valves are to see how fast the liquid leaks back out to see if the valves are seating properly...passed that.  The solvent I put in there to disolve the carbon build up stayed there for hours (once the spark plugs were back in place.)  So that's good.

Below right is an excellent picture of degreaser not leaking from the cylinder dome.  Since it isn't a video I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that it's not leaking, because it's not.

Every Picture Tells a Story, baby...or

...I really don't have the inclination to write anything today.

that's @ 5000 words.

Ho-hum

Not much shaking today unless you're into tedium.
Cleaned and painted the air-cleaner boxes and sorted through some parts.
Installed the battery box, fuse box and solenoid, also finished installing the rear fender, lights and the rear grab bar.  I also learned something, well two somethings actually.  First, I learned that there is a difference between the left rear turn signal mounting bracket and the right rear turn signal bracket.  Second, I learned that I don't have any left rear turn signal brackets.  I learned this because when I was trying to put the grab bar on, I couldn't get it into the proper position.  It was hitting the left turn signal bracket.  At first I kinda panicked a little thinking "oh my God, the frame must be bent."  Why else would it hit on the left and not the right?  I took the grab bar off and laid it on a flat surface hoping that if something was bent it was the bar:  not bent.
Next I looked at trying to fit it under the turn signals: not even close.
Then I noticed the left turn signal was slightly higher than the right...again...is the frame bent?  Finally I see that the brackets are different...did I some how get them on the wrong side?  I only labled one, but that should be enough unless you're stupid, right?  Then I realize that they are not in fact different, they are the same and they shouldn't be.
Oh, well, I put it on crooked for now (it must have been on crooked when I got it and I just didn't notice) and add it to the parts wish list.

A tribute to my Dad and Billy Mays

My goal from the start in this venture was to see if I

could get this thing running without spending a lot of money, which means I wasn't going for cosmetics beyond what I could accomplish inexpensively.  

Sometimes the line between cosmetic and esential blurs a little.  Take for example the piece shown to the right.
It is called the "upper fork cover." (The section of the part illustrated doesn't actually cover the fork but still it is part of the fork cover and there are two of them.

Most of the surface rust cleaned off but as you can see they are kind of pitted as well.  Not the problem.  See the verticle line to the left of the hole?  That is from flexing and is very weak, and both the left and right side are cracked.  This crack is even more evident in the middle photo if you click on it and zoom in.

So now it becomes a matter of having the headlight securely fastened as opposed to nice chrome.  I find that These parts are available on e-Bay in the $20 to $35 price range but that those parts really don't look much better than the ones I have, so I'm not too excited about that. 

I keep looking and actually find some brand new ones on e-Bay.  Great.  Unfortunately the "buy it now" price for the pair is $200.  This might be OK if I were into the 'full restoration' stage, but a little steep for the 'let's see if this thing will run, and if I can ride' stage.  So I just put away the tools, clean up the mess and step back for a while.  I just know something will occur to me.

If only there was a way to reinforce the parts I have that would be not too noticeable until I'm into the beautification process....

Now the part around the hole in the photo that looks like a washer is part of the original part, and appears to be soldered or welded through holes under the chrome...if that had been bigger or if the whole thing had been thicker metal...

Well now I'm guessing you know who the late Billy Mays was, right?  You remember. the guy who was all the time hawking amazing products on the tube that did unbelievable things.  One of his things was Mighty-Putty.  Mighty-Putty can do everything from fix a broken coffee cup to pulling a tractor-trailer.  I know because Billy said so.

Well if it can do all of that, surely it can reinforce this lil' ol' motorcycle piece.  (If anyone reading this a motorcycles purist, I think I hear you groaning.)

So I cut a piece of sheet metal I had laying around to fit the back side of the headlight bracket, knead me up a hunk of Mighty Putty, which if you have never done that and don't know creates a chemical reaction and doesn't smell nice, and slap it all together.  What you see to the right is the inside of one of the brackets (which isn't going to show) after the repair.  as you know Mighty-Putty can be painted, sanded, drilled, tapped, and even machined when fully cured.  (Says so on the package.)

Ok, I know that's like only two steps ahead of duct tape but it actually looks like it's going to work.  It does kinda remind me of that e-mail my brother sent out last week titled "guys can fix anything, but what the heck, Billy Mays would approve...and come to think of it so would my Dad...who hated to see any thing go to waste.

By the way if you aren't following this blog, you should be.

And there it is.  The headlight is secure, (more secure than before) neither the Mighty Putty nor the sheet metal is visible, and I still have the $200. 

Biker Dudes I have known.

biker dudes, gotta love those matching hair cuts...some one was moving thier foot I'll bet.

Odds and Ends

Didn't really do a lot today but I did fool around a little. Cleaning up some parts (trying to) repainting and painting some miscellaneous parts I missed the other day, like the foot pegs and the top of the triple tree.  What, you don't know what a triple tree is?  Hmmm....

I put a few parts back on, but only tentatively. Didn't tighten anything down really because a lot of what I was putting back on may have to come back off at some point for one reason or another. I was mainly going through parts and trying to get more organized, and putting a few parts back on the bike got them out of the way and pretty well organized.

Took a couple of random---really random photos just for grins to give some kind of indication of what goes on behind the scenes so to speak...a glipse at the not so pretty...or the nitty-gritty.

Did I mention that my new most favorite tool is a rubber mallet?  I really don't know how I've managed for all these years without one

Did I mention that I screwed up a perfectly good set of handlebars?  They had to be drilled for the wires, so I measuered the bars that were on it when I got it and started drilling at the same distance from the end of the bar.  Problem was there was a solid piece of steel welded in the bars at that point.  So I moved farther up the bar and drilled my holes.

Everything's looking good, got the wires threaded thru, but now the holes are too far from the ends of the bars.  Simple; get the pipe cutter and shorten the bars so the holes are the desired distance from the end.  Everything installed on the left (clutch) side...on to the right...but wait...the hand grip and the switch go on just right but...there's not enough room left on the straight part of the bar to install the front brake lever.   Again the front brake.

I don't know why those pieces of steel were welded inside my handlebars but now my handlebars are scrap metal.

A word about labels

Well I had everything "tagged & bagged" just as I said...or did I?

I started reassembling the Honda this morning and things were going just splendidly until I got to a point where I needed to attach the caliper for the front brake, but couldn't find the bolts for that.

Hmmm, I know I bagged and tagged everything.  So I looked again.  Went though every baggy in the "small parts" tote.  Not there.  Dug though two other totes where I was sure those bolts weren't and sure enough...they weren't.  Looked through the baggies again, this time I was looking at what was in the baggies, as well as what was written on them.  Not there.  Again, this time spreading everything out to make sure I wan't over looking anything.  Still not there.  Now I've looked through all the parts three times, and I can't find the blasted bolts I need for the front brake.

I know they are here somewhere, so I decide to have a cup of coffee and relax for a few and see if that helps, I mean it can't hurt, right, and it's time for a break anyway.

Look again, nope.  Hey, I think to myself, I've got tons of old bolts laying around...some of those are bound to fit.  I try that for a while to no avail, get frustrated and decide to go on line, look up the parts list, and see exactly what it is I'm looking for.  Simple, two 6x25 hex bolts and one 8x35 hex bolt.  No problem one more quick look and if they don't turn up I'll just run ofer to the local HomeDepot and by some bolts...heck they won't even cost $2.00 probably.  Inconvenient but no big deal.

{note to self:  "If you are taking lots of bolts off of something you should label, them and if certain bolts have a dual purpose, you should probably note that.}

{second note to self:  When you are making the note referenced above, a mental note is not only unsatisfactory, it is totally and irrefutably, unsatifactory.}

{note to you:  If you get these e-mail updates and don't want them let me know and I'll get it stopped.  Also, if you get these e-mail updates and don't click the link for "The Motorcycle Diary" at the bottom of the page you are missing the entire "blog-o-licious" experience which you really should be taking advantage of as a means of enriching your otherwise sordid existence.} 

You see as, I got my keys and prepared to journey to the local merchant to purchase replacements for the errant fasteners, I was overwhelmed by an aura of peace, clarity, and tranquility as I hadn't experinced in the past 30 minutes or so.  It was during this moment that the location of the wayward bolts was revealed to my inner eye. 

Yes, you, perhaps have grasped previously, the solution which vexed and escaped me for so long... The bolts that attach the front brake caliper to the left front fork are one and the same with the bolts which attach the front fender, and there was indeed a baggy labeled "front fender."

Now, all that said and in spite of that seemingly excruciating, frustrating search, I had a rather productive, enjoyable morning/afternoon and it went something like this:

            

 

      

      

This is a good "before & after of the rear frame, wheel, and shock absorber.

So you see, even though there some troublesome moments, I managed to get a decent amount of work done, and next time I can't find something I'll have about 10 fewer baggies to dig through.

I must say that they have found an interesting way of making sure you grease the bearings in the steering column.  Since you have to feed the fork through the housing while somehow keeping 19 loose ball bearings in place on the bottom race and 18 loose ball bearings in place for the top race, you really haven't any choice but to slather the races and balls up real heavy with enough grease to make them stick together until you can get the fork through the housing and the cap screwed on.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the progress I made today and I'm pretty well all smugged up about how much better the bike is looking after a little TLC.  But...in the back of my mind I'm thinking about "The Dirty Dozen."   To paraphrase Donald Sutherland from that movie..."It's pretty, but will it run?"  Only time and more work will tell.

Baby steps, but in the right direction at least.

I just spent about an hour and a half buffing the rear wheel hub, getting the rust off the rim, and cleaning the corrosion and rust off the spokes.  It's a big improvement but not perfect.  I think its looking pretty respectable though considering it's 34 years old.

Yesterday I spent most of the morning sanding and priming the frame.  The frame appears to be in very good condition, the only damage being a small dent on the bottom left side tube and a slightly cracked weld on the bracket to which the kick-stand bolts. 

 

I painted the frame today and had hoped to start reassembling things but I got a late start due to my good nature and willingness to help a fellow human being in need, so that's going to happen.  Hopefully I get an earlier start tomorrow and don't find too many spots that I missed while painting. (I already saw a spot on the swing arm that needs some touch up.)

It is going to be kind of slow going for a while as I'm intending to clean and degrease parts as I go...plus, although the parts are identified, they aren't exactly cataloged and organized, so there will be a fair amount of wasted time looking for the next part/assembly and the respective fasteners.

4 little words.

Okay so here's where we are with this little project so far, and I really must say so far it has gone pretty smoothly.  During the disassembly, one snap-ring broke, and I dropped one washer that hasn't turned up yet.  (Where do those things go?)  Everything appears to be usable, if not esthetically pure.  All the chrome parts are rusty and pitted to some extent or another (some actually look as though they will clean up better than I originally thought.  Parts are difficult, but not quite impossible to find.  (Ordered some mirrors today.)  I'll just have to be careful cause a lot of the parts on e-Bay look worse than what I have, which makes me think that if I find replacements I can put my old ones on e-Bay and maybe recoup some of my expenses. 
Anyway here's where I am:

Well there you go...I love a fresh start don't you.  I'm pretty sure the worst is behind me.
I'm still looking for a shop to check out the engine, but the frame is all degreased and sanded and ready for a coat of primer.  Then some paint and then finally the reassembly which should be a piece of cake.  I've sneaked a peek and looked ahead in the manual, and there are only 4 little words left.......

ASSEMBLY IS THE REVERSE!!

Yeah, right...

now where did I put that bolt for the alternator...?

How far will I go with this?

Yesterday I was fooling around and decided to see if that tarnished aluminium (?) on the front fork would clean up any and started trying to do that, and decided that it would be easier to do it if the wheel wern't in the way so the wheel had to come off and it actually looks as if there is a little gleam left under that patina.

The thing is that now there really is very llittle left in it's original position and maybe I should go ahead and take those last two or three things off and clean the rust off the frame and repaint it while I've got things torn down.  I doubt I'll go back here if it ever gets running so i may as well, right?

It also looks like the wheels will clean up pretty well also.  There is a little rust on the rims, but the spokes a just kind of tarnished and  with a little work will look pretty good.  You can see the ones I've worked on some in the picture.






I have also dicided that I need to find a shop to take the pistons, cylinders, and heads into for measurements and possible machining if need be.  No obvious problems like that hole in the top of the cylinder I found in that old VW engine but since it's torn apart already it would be a shame to put everything back only to find out there was a problem and have to redo everything.  I know the engine ran last year at about this time but only briefly so I'm going looking for a shop.

Above: before and after of handle bars (after on the top.)

Didn't like the cafe style bars that were on it when I got and Tony had some spare handlebars laying around.

Tried to clean up some of the rust on the rear fender.  Left is the after picture.  Maybe as good as rubbing compound and elbow grease can get it, but I'm gonna try again.

Sweetness

Sunday Tony did in fact come up.

We looked at each other for a while, talked with Kathy and Anna for a whle, then Tony went out in the garage for a smoke. I followed and we sorta just stood around for a while and then I walked over and picked up a wrench and Tony says what are you thinking about and I says lets get this Jeep out of the garage so we have some room to work...so we do and we get that engine pulled out and onto the work bench.

We kinda study on it for a while, then we take turns looking at the shop manual and looking at the engine, trying to figure out exactly what we are going to have to do to get down to that kick-start shaft.

We finally start taking some things apart to see what lies beneath. We get to the point where we have to take off the oil pump in order to get the clutch housing off and it so happens that removing the oil pump takes a special tool we don't have and we aren't having much luck improvising. So we try another angle.

We take the valve covers off to access the cam chain and we find the book says to separate the chain with a chain breaker and we don't have one of those either. So we study some more and realize we're accumulating a nice sized pile of bolts and screws and miscellaneous parts. We realize that as of now we know what everything is and where it goes but if the pile gets very much bigger it could start to get confusing....so we prudently stop and get organized, bagging and tagging all the parts we have so far. then we decide it's getting late and dark and we're a little tired. Not exactly the best condidtions.

Time to jump in the pool and cool off. Tomorrow will be another day.

Monday we kinda laze around for a while in the morning and decide to ride over to Advance Auto to see if maybe we get lucky and they happen to have what we need in the way of specialty tools...not likely but it's something to do and it's close.

They don't have anything I need and say I should try a motorcycle shop but that they think most of them for some reason are closed on Mondays. Kathy's taking off a 1/2 day so we decide to forget it and just hang with her.

Today is Tueday and Tony's plan is to leave around noon. We're drinking coffee and watching the news and I say "Wanna ride over to Tractor Supply and see what kind of tools they may have." Tony says that sounds great.

All they have that might be of use is a chain breaker, which looks way too big for the job but I decide to try it anyway cause the gal tending the rabbits said I could bring it back if it wasn't what I needed. (It wasn't and I did) We also went by the local Yamaha dealer to see if they might have any tools and they weren't encouaging and I didn't feel like driving to the Honda dealer in Rock Hill, so we just went back home to study some more.


Anyway we start in again and things seem so much clearer after stepping back sometimes. Things we read in the book Sunday were making much better sense today and we dug in, somehow circumvented the 'needed' specialty tools, and had things pretty well torn down with all the parts "bagged and tagged" by lunch time.

We had some lunch, patted ourselves on the baack a little and Tony split for home.



After Tony left I was only going to finish getting the parts organized and the put the tools away...but I got to looking at that engine and couldn't help myself. I really wanted to see what that shaft looked like on the inside so I went back to work....got out the manual and the baggies and the sharpy and finished busting that thing open. I had to remove a couple of things that I missed on the earlier readings but no big deal. Once it was opened up, changing out the shaft was pretty simple. I did resist the urge to start putting it back to gether beyond that because logic tells me this is the best opportunity I will have to clean things up and take some measurments to see if the engine needs any machine work or internal parts, and it just wouldn't make any sense to not do it right at this point....although I won't deny I was tempted.