Idiot v. Motorbikes, Rounds 3, 4, and 5

[melville]

I pulled the front cover and was a touch dismayed to find this loose:



It's the same size as the nuts on the alternator, but I don't see any missing. I'll give it a thorough look before it goes back together.

If you are referring to the nuts on the brush box (I think you must be because they are the only nuts on the alternator apart from the one at the 'Y' termin al which is the same size)... there are two more identical nuts that hold the brush box to the alternator cover. If those at the front are still there, you might want to pull the stator to ensure that those at the rear are still in place...

Rob

I found the washer that goes with that nut. It looks to me like the nut and washer are from the front of the starter. I was able to remove the starter after just undoing the two bolts at the flywheel end of things.

I expect I'll be doing some R/R and will reinstall the nut and washer when I'm sure it's all going to stay together.

[melville]

"Assembly is the reverse of disassembly." Well, not quite.

First I had to deal with the hosed breather hose, where the PO had routed it outside the cases and shoved another hose into it, making it too big to fit in the hole in the right clamshell. The parts look like they are temporarily unavailable, so I swiped the breather set from the RS (see first post in this thread), like so (RS setup on the left):



Then I reinstalled the starter and cleaned up the starter cover and clamshell bits with Scotchbrite. The left side is 'before' and the right side is 'after':



All together with a fresh air filter element:





Next up is rehanging the carburetors. I may have a master cylinder rebuild kit by the weekend, also.

[Rob Frankham]

I found the washer that goes with that nut. It looks to me like the nut and washer are from the front of the starter. I was able to remove the starter after just undoing the two bolts at the flywheel end of things.

I expect I'll be doing some R/R and will reinstall the nut and washer when I'm sure it's all going to stay together.

Ah, that makes sense. It's a bit of a sod to put on unless you remove the diode board but it could easily drop through the holes into the alternator void.

Rob

[melville]

Just a wee spot o' progress today. Carbs are remounted:





Supposedly the brake MC rebuild kit will be here tomorrow night. I'm not sure how, as USPS tracking says it left Florida at 2:53 this morning. I'll probably get the throttle cables set up over the weekend and remove the front brake pieces.

I do have everything below the MC. Caliper rebuild kit, brake pads, and Spiegler SS line. I'm curious to see if I can feel a difference between the 38mm caliper on Ernst and the 40mm caliper on this one. All else will be identical.

I may get the tank cleaned and relined before I try firing this one. Elsewise, Ernst will loan his tank as well as his battery for the test VROOM and neighborhood rides that I hope to get done by Xmas.

[gspd]

Melville said: "I'm curious to see if I can feel a difference between the 38mm caliper on Ernst and the 40mm caliper on this one. All else will be identical."

I don't know how conclusive that test will be. I've experienced many different levels of brake feel on supposedly "identical" machines, even when brand new out of the crate.

[melville]

Indeed. And when all set up, this bike will be heavier and more powerful than Ernst and will usually have a pillion on it.

I'm really looking forward to the Elsa, the RS, with its triple discs. Chuey and I are now relatively near neighbors in New melvillevile and New Chueyville--he stopped by the other day and said that he really liked the rear disc on his RT.

[melville]

Not much to report today. I've got the whole front brake system off the bike and the new parts laid out.

The master cylinder and caliper are apart and ready for their rebuild kits. The caliper looks in great shape. The rebuild kit thankfully includes a new piston.

The MC is harder to tell in the light available but the piston freed up without too much difficulty. The rebuild kit arrived at the PO today and I'll pick it up tomorrow.

[melville]

Ooh it's been a while! The frame that looked really good when I had the tank off actually was pretty rusty because the frame was being protected by cut sections of inner tube, which trapped moisture on the metal. Still not as bad as Ernst. But some correction was required. This is after some ScotchBrite action:



Then some sanding:



Next up was some Loctite Extend Rust Neutralizer. It goes on milky:



And turns black when dry:



I did two coats of that stuff and then two coats of Rustoleum paint. The neutralizer shouldn't be exposed to sunlight, apparently. Taking no chances, even under the tank.



While the paint was in process, I had a rebuild party with the hydraulic bits:



Here's where things went a bit sideways. I mounted everything up:





And started to the bleeding process. Vacuum pump style:



No worka. Then I tried using a horse syringe from below, also no worka. The bore of the MC, which I'd cleaned as best I could, needed a hone. I actually took the MCs from Edgar and Elsa (the RS) and made a new friend at the semilocal machine shop. He honed both of them today. I had to force $20 on him before I left. When I got home it was a quick reinstall of the MC. I refilled the reservoir from below with the horse syringe and then the bleed process was quick and effective. I now have a front brake that will stop the bike.

Next up, setting up the throttle cables and checking the ignition bits. VROOM to come soon!

[melville]

I got a few minutes working on the bike today. I cleaned up the detritus from the front brake adventure, rolled the bike out and gave the lever a squeeze or two and I am quite happy with the results.

I also shined a light inside the tank and the OG red liner is intact everywhere I can see. I'm going to leave it there.

Then I replaced the spark plugs. Previously installed were NGK on top and Champion below. It's all Bosch now, W7 to start. I have W6 (colder) on hand if necessary.

[melville]

The weather was frickin' fantastic, sunny and in the 50s, so today I took an hour or so to lube the throttle grip, throttle mechanism, and the cables and get them to a base adjustment.

Then I pulled Ernst's battery and hooked it up to check the ignition timing. First, I was pleasantly surprised to see this with the ignition on:



All the lights work! On Ernst, nearly none of them worked and I spent a lotta time with the instrument pod apart soldering wires in place to fix the flex circuit thing.

Then there was a little points maintenance. I first had to clean up the points so they'd conduct electricity. I reinstalled them, set the point gap, got my test light, and then turned the motor over by hand watching the light turn on and off. There's a white paint mark on the lightened flywheel fairly close to TDC and the static timing was spot on first time. Life is good.

The starter didn't spin things, so my next task is to clean up the various connections on the relay and see if a good spin can be had. Then a little time to set up the tank, introduce fuel to the bike for the first time since 1988, and see what happens!