Before and After

A few examples of before and after.  Most of the difference is time and energy...the only new parts in these shots are the handlebars and the mirrors.

IT'S ALIVE....

When I walked through the garage after dinner I couldn't help but notice that the "charged" light on the charger had lit, so naturally I simpy couldn't resist sticking it it and giving it one more try.

And before you comment on my improper attire, I had no intention of actually driving it tonight.

Well, that didn't last very long, did it?.  Still, you'd have to call it progress.  I tried to restart it for a short while but it was sounding a little a lot weird so I stopped.  I guess I'm going to have to pull the alternator and see if that noise was coming from in there.  That's been a suspect area on this bike from the get-go.

A one putt day

I was kind of thinking today might be the day... and in a way it was.
Went to work on the Honda (I really have to come up with a name) this morning.  Put the oil in first.
Put in the battery (which had been sitting since last year, but I hooked it up to the charger a couple of days ago and thought it was charged), turned the key, and nothing happened.  I hadn't even wired the starter yet so I wasn't expecting anything huge to happen, all I was intending to do was make a preliminary check of the wiring to be sure I hadn't missed anything and that everything worked...well nothing worked.
So I'm pulling apart connectors, stabbing around with a meter, "checking continuity" like I know what I'm doing, and  not having much luck.
Get out the schematics and start probing around again with the meter, trying to make sense out of what I'm doing and what I'm reading.  Finally I find a blown fuse, that helps.  Then I realize that the solenoid is not exactly wired correctly.  That helps too.
So I reconnect the connectors and put things back together, and hook up the battery and turn the key and all the lights are working, brake switches are working, horn is working, so that's all good.  Check for spark at the plugs, right plug...good spark, left plug...no spark.  The wire had separated from the connector.  Fix that...spark on the left.  Everything is looking good!
I decide the time is right for the big test.
I wire the starter, get the camera, set it to take a video, find the tripod, set it up to record the historic moment, start the camera, mount the bike, turn it on, touch the wires together (I still don't have a starter button, and don't like the make-shift button that I got with the bike, so I'm hot wiring it for now) and the engine turns over...slowly at first, then maybe a little faster, then slower.  It coughs, sputters for a second and sounds like it may catch...and that's pretty much it.  Not enough juice.  And just as well I guess because the camera for some reason (like maybe I just bought it haven't read the manual and my not know how it works exactly) stopped recording after 10 seconds.  It got me walking over, getting on the bike and digging in my pocket for the keys.
Battery is charging.  I also rewired the starter.  The starting system on this bike was pretty sketchy when I got it and the wire to the starter seemed like maybe it didn't need to be that huge cable and maybe a lighter gauge wire would not be such a drain on the system...I could be wrong about that, we'll see.  I can always change it back. 
So maybe I'll try it later tonight if the battery gets charged if not it'll probably be Thursday because "you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd" and I'm baby sitting grandkids tomorrow.

One day closer

Not a lot to say, still have some fine tuning and some electrical work to do before I try it out, but it is getting real close now.  And don't forget, there is no oil in the crankcase yet.  (I have to keep reminding myself of that every chance I get.)

Do it right the first time...or do it over

I was kind of embarrassed to admit it the other day but...
I did mention that it took me the best part of an hour to figure out how to get the first air box on the other day.  What I didn't mention was that I wound up taking it back off the next day.
Friday I put on the left side of the air cleaner.  Then I started to install the carburetors.  I put the left side on first since I was already on that side having just put the air cleaner on, and I found it rather awkward to work on.  The whole time I was tightening up the inside mounting bolt on that left carburetor I was thinking to myself; "How am I ever going to be able to get the other carb on, there's not going to be any room to work."
So I tried it for a while before I reluctantly admitted that the only way I was going to be able to get in there to tighten that inside bolt and hook the right throttle cable up was to take the right side of the air cleaner back off and bolt the mounting flange on first.  Then the loosely assembled carb and air cleaner went back on with no problem and it wasn't nearly as hard getting the air cleaner back on after I'd had all that practice.
Maybe that is the way it's supposed to go....maybe that's what the manual says and I just missed it...most likely the  manual says "installation is the reverse", and since it's been three months or more since I took it apart...
I'm actually amazed that I haven't had more trouble finding everything after all that time what with boxes of parts getting more or less randomly moved around and shoved into various cabinets and closets during little fits of tidying up the garage now and then over the last few months.

...step by step...

Another good day...alright, not as good as the picture.  I did accomplish a good chunk of work today before I decided I had to quit, but I was close enough that I couldn't resist setting the tank and seat in place just to get a glimpse and inspire me.  There's still some wiring yet to be done (but not much) and a few  miscellaneous cables and hoses to attach, and the exhaust system and the pedals and ... you get it there's still a good day at least, but hey, it's shaping up and at least looks like a motorcycle again, at least for the time being.

Air supply

After a quick spin on the Schwinn to Wal-Mart this morning to pick up some sundries....(I spent almost $50.00 on light bulbs and Band Aids, odd combination I know but I think maybe it was so dark in the house because there were so many burnned out light bulbs that we kept getting hurt and used up all the Band Aids)...I got down to business on the Honda.
I kind of thought that getting the engine back in was a major hurdle, and it was, but it was only the beginning of the real work.
I was pretty careful about labeling wires and such as i was dis-assembling it but I guess I got a little careless when it came to the air boxes.  Who knew air filters could be so complicated. 
I mean when I pulled out the box with the air boxes, I looked at all that junk and thought "how in the h--- is all that going to fit back in that space."

Anyway, I worked for about 4 hours (that equalled about 4 quarts of sweat 'cause it was really hot today) and I got about 1/2 the wiring and cables reconnected, the engine firmly mounted, the chain on and tension set, and one side of the air filter system reinstalled.  And I hate to admit it but I'm pretty sure I spent at least 1/4 of that time figuring out the puzzle of the air boxes, and only got one side done.

I would have thought otherwise before today but based on the progress (or lack of progress) I made today I'm guessing at least 8 hours maybe more involved before I get to the big pay-off, but I am making progress and I'm a lot closer than I was last week at this time so on the whole I'd have to say it it's really going pretty well.

Together again..

When we were at the beach someone asked how much longer I thought it would take to get the Honda running.  I just kinda threw out a random guess of 3 weeks.  Well, it's obvious that I didn't make that, but it's starting to look like that estimate may not have been too terribly far off.
It certainly looks a lot more promissing now than it did week or so ago.
I spent the afternoon finishing up the engine assembly and after dinner this evening Anna pitched in and the two of us managed to get the engine back in the frame.  (there was a spring left on the workbench that I didn't remember, was't marked, doesn't show in the parts explosions and I can't find any mention of in the manuals...)

A part at last

After a week of expecting to hear back from the place I found that seemed to have the part I needed that they didn't really have the part I needed and that they would be issuing a credit back on my card I got the part I needed.  Kind of a rip-off maybe when the shipping cost is like 3 X the price of the part, (which by-the-way didn't weigh as much as a typical Hallmark card so why does it cost so much to ship?) but what are you going to do after you've checked everyplace you can find, including inquiries to six places that say they specialize in salvaged parts from Japanese bikes and you've scoured page after page of random motorcycle parts on e-Bay and nobody has what you need?

Looking back

Looking back I have to wonder how I ever managed to take the engine out of that VW, rebuild it and get it all back together considering my lack of experience and limited tool box.

Specifically I have to wonder how I ever got the pistons back into the cylinders without a ring compressor, but I know I did, which led me to try it again with the Honda.

"How'd that go?" you may ask.

"Not too good." I'd reply.

I mean I didn't screw anything up, but I couldn't get it back together either. I probably would have screwed something up, but realizing as I do now that parts for this machine are rather hard to come by, I wasn't willing to push my luck too far.

I put the rings on, hooked the pistons to the rods and tried to balance the cylinders over the pistons with one hand while trying to compress the rings and work them into the cylinder with the other. You probably already know that doesn't work and once I got the first piston @ half way in I started thinking about how was I going to even possibly do the other side considering I'd only have about half the room to work with. So wisely I stopped and went out to buy a ring compressor.

When I opened the box I was faced yet another problem. All ring compressors aren't created equal and the one I just purchased, while it would definitely compress the rings, it definitely wouldn't get those pistons into those cylinders while they were attached to the connecting rods. It was wider than the rod was long. Furthermore, if I got one piston in there was no way to get it off afterwards as it was a closed circle in every shape. Furthermore, with one piston installed it was too big to fit over the other.

So I looked online for some words of wisdom. I found a picture of a guy using a very similar ring compressor to put a piston in cylinder. The big difference was he was working on a one cylinder engine. Every one else was using a specialized tool, which I found I could order, but then I'm waiting again.

With the tool I had the only way to do it would be; put the pistons in the cylinders before attaching them, then try to balance all that while getting the wrist pins and circlips installed. That didn't seem too likely, but the alternative was to return the compressor I had, order the specialty tool and wait.

I decided to give it a shot.

It was kind of tedious and a lot frustrating trying to hold the rods still with one hand while balancing the cylinders with the other while trying to slide the wrist pins in with...what? And I managed to not drop either circlip into the crankcase while installing them, (I plugged all the holes before starting)

I'm pretty sure the purists would say "you did what?" And I know that's not the way to do it but...