JC's Restoration Thread

[JC]

I've decided to document progress here.  As of now, there is no progress     But I did get the workshop set up!

[VermilionX]

hope you get it running as early as possible. 

[aprilmaybe]

My thats charming

Is there any potpourri?

[pshaw118]

it doesn't look half as bestly as you described it.  Looks like a fun project, though. 

[JC]

Are you kidding?  LoL   Needs new shocks, new springs, new fork seals, new battery, carb rebuild kit, and that's just the beginning maintenenace!     Will probably need new chain, plus all new consumables.   You can come help 

Tomorrow will be good because I'm going to completely soak it down to get rid of all the dirt accumulated.  There's literally some parts that have centimeters of dirt (top of crank case, rear fender under seat)     Once all the dirt, oil, and grime are gone then I'll be able to better spot leaks etc

[pshaw118]

I'll help with whatever you want if I can change my earl there. 

[JC]

Yesterday I made it out to the workshop and got a lot accomplished (I think)...  Here are excerpts from my maintenance log:



Will not idle without heavy choke.  Will not rev above 4000rpm.   Number two not firing.

Testing Charging system:  Battery - New YUASA YTX14AHL-BS
Off - 12.8
Ign On - 12.34
Idle (1200 w/ choke) - 13.8
2500 - 13.25
4000 - 13.3


Testing Spark Gaps
#1 - .66
#2 - .67
#3 - .67
#4 - .67

Number 2 Spark plug (#2 cylinder doesn't fire) was wet when removed.  See below:


All four plugs produced blue spark when grounded against fins.

Compression
#1 - 124 PSI
#2 - 130 PSI
#3 - 132 PSI
#4 - 137 PSI


After running compression, bike wouldn't start.  Suspect flooded carbs.  Gas in a puddle underneath bike. DOH!  Also of note, the inside bits of the #1 plug wire came out when taking it off of the plug.  I put all the pieces back in except some itty bity flat metal disc.  I didnt know where it went, so I tossed it. Seems to produce fine spark though.

Next up I conquer my extreme fear of carbs by cleaning and rebuilding.


Also of note.  Thanks to Pat for coming over and helping me wash the beast.   Glad we were able to do an oil change on his as well.

[Hawkster]

Good write-up, Jeff!

Compression doesn't look bad.  They're all near enough to each other that there's not a major problem in the cylinders.

Good idea about grounding the plugs against a fin.  Be careful to always use the dorsal fin.  If you use the pectoral fin it can shock your nipple (not that there's anything wrong with that...).

Plug color looks okay from what I can see.  Doesn't look like it's burning much (if any) oil.

Carbs are way simpler than you would believe. 

Keep up the good work!

H~

[pshaw118]

Thanks for letting me use your place to change my oil.  Like I said before, there's a ton of good chrome on that beast.  I can't wait until you tear her apart so we can really get our hands dirty. 

[aprilmaybe]

I'll say it on Rays behalf......

This would be really great on your blog as well

[JC]

i know I know.....   I need to do an intro then I'mm move it over there as well 

[JC]

Got mired down in electical issues this past week.   Identified a 1.0v parasitic draw with the ignition off.  Think I traced it to the rectifier/regulator.   Paired with the charging problems, I am suspecting the R/R blew and fried the stator.  Will need to check in on that.   My main fuse is also blowing within about a minute so that ought to be fun to diagnose.  Lots more testing to do on this stuff but I can't until the bike is running as I need to test the charging system at 5000rpms and higher.

Got to work on the fuel gauge this week as well.   Fuel gauge was reading empty with gas in the tank.  I tested the gauge itself by shorting the two wires that go to the tank.  The gauge went up to full so I knew that wasn't the problem.   I then tested the resistance of the sending unit itself and it tested between 1-120ohms, within spec per the Clymer.... one thing I noticed was that the reading was at 114ohms (nearly empty) even tough the tank was full.  I drained the tank and removed the sending unit , only to find there was no float on the wand!!!  I went to Johnson and Wood and found a nearly identical unit, but in better condition.  I merely swapped the wands out (the wand on this unit didn't fit my tank) and JB Welded the float onto the old wand.  It was more complicated than that as it required some pretty fine grinding via a Dremmel tool, but that's boring stuff.

Today I removed the carbs and I'm pretty sure I identified the source of the 2nd cyl not firing.... a HUGE vaccum leak.  The intake boot from the airbox to the 2nd carb was half off!  There's no way the proper air/fuel mixture could get through.  I'm moving forward with the carb cleaning though as I know they need it.  I separated all four carbs from each other and am currently 3/4 of the way through disassembling carb #1.   Hopefully I'll find time to get it apart and into the carb dip tomorrow night, pending me getting prepared for Europe.   

One interesting part of the disassembly is how difficult it was to remove crusty phillips head screws.  I made it thought all of them with some Gunk brand "Liquid Wrench" (WD40) and a strong arm, but one of them didn't make it.  The impact hammer was not a good tool for carbs, so instead I used a dremmel with a cutting disc to turn the warped phillips head into a bigger flat head.  The bigger flat screwdriver was able to get it out ok.  The only other casualty was the float boal gasket (rats).  One more thing to buy.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.   Next up is completion of the carb cleaning/rebuild and derusting the gas tank with phosphoric acid.  Then hopefully it will be running like a champ and it's on to electrical.  After electrical we strip her down. (Brakes, suspension, etc all come while the bike is disassembled)

[pshaw118]

damn.  somebody's been busy. 

I'd love to see what the insides of a carb looks like.  Maybe I can go check it out before you put it back together?

[Hawkster]

Jeff,

It sounds like you're having a good time with this.  The only thing that I might add is a cheap source for carb-bowl gaskets.  There's a guy that sells them cheap on ebay.  He's in New Zealand, so they take a while to get here...  Price some carb-rebuild kits and you'll likely see that they're very expensive.

Keep up the good work!

H~

[JC]

Thanks Jeff!  Yeah I agree... the carb kits are pricey, for an inferior product.  I'm reusing everything I can.  For the gaskets I found a place that will see me all four for like 15 bucks.   Here are some update pictures of the one clean carb and the bike in its present form.