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

[melville]

I found and tried Rub 'n' Buff on your recommendation IIRC on a Yamaha project and it worked well. If I take this one all the way down I'll probably do that, too. But I mostly want to make this one run with aesthetics a secondary concern. If the part is accessible or off, I'll be getting the corrosion off and treating it to stop the corrosion.

I want this bike for pillioning and as a back-up so hopefully I always have something running. The RS that will follow this one (Elsa) will get full chassis and drivetrain beautification but I'm hoping to keep the OG paint.

[jagarra]

Mel,

I have had good results with a DIY soda blaster, used a air nozzle with a long tube at end from Harbor Freight and a big container of baking soda from Smart and Final, cleaned all the grime off the cases and frame nicely. Do it outside and wear a mask for the dust. Here is the link to the article. http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/soda-blaster.html

[melville]

Word from shipping land is that rebuild kits are coming for the carburetors, probably Monday. So I got started taking the carbs apart.

Things went well except for the screws that hold the tops on, not budging. I've sprayed them with PBlaster and will try them again over the weekend, probably with some heat.

Things were remarkably clean inside, except for this:



Those are the two piles of dust that came out when I removed the main jet holder apparatus. Maybe something to try when reanimating an unknown bike sometime--just pull the main jet stuff and clean the area, then reassemble and try firing it up.

In contrast to the main and needle jets I found in the fairing, the mains are 145 and the needle jets are 2.66, both down from the stock 150 and 2.68. The position of the needle is yet unknown. I'm wondering about the ignition timing with the dual plugging--is it backed off enough that it can be leaned out like that? I don't think it's for elevation, as all evidence I have shows the bike living at sea level its whole running life.

[Kurt in S.A.]

Certainly a penetrant will help...a mix of acetone and automatic transmission is the best. If you can fashion a small c-clamp to fit from the bottom of the cap and on the top side, balance a bit from a replaceable bit screwdriver. Use this set up to hold pressure on the bit and then with a spanner, begin turning the bit to loosen the screw...this keeps the bit from popping up/out of the slot. Every so often, loosen the c-clamp as the screw turns out.

Kurt in S.A.

[melville]

Kurt in SA has it! A C-clamp and a screw bit were just the thing!



I got the caps off with no drama after that, and set the carbs for a warm soak to clean them:





That's actually coolant. My local MC mechanic in Old melvilleville suggested it to me several years ago. His words, "You put the carbs in coolant in a crock pot....." As I was still driving ACVWs, it took me a while to realize he meant a liquid.........

So it's been over a week and the carbs are still in the goo. The diaphragms were in great shape, but will be replaced along with all the o-rings and gaskets when the carbs go back together. I've been hella busy the last couple weeks with work getting through another deadline.

I had a few minutes today to put the ignition switch back in. I'd taken it to the last locksmith in the county to have a key made. He figured out which blank to work from when I showed him one of Ernst's keys and he managed to make a key that moves the switch from OFF to PARK LIGHTS but not all the way to IGNITION ON. So I set it up to run the ignition and lights from the usual PARK LIGHTS tab, like so:





I turned the switch 180 deg from the usual position so I could have the doubled up tab in front, where I can reach it. I will just live without the PARK LIGHT function.

I'll be pulling the carb parts out of the goo in the next couple days. So much fun to reassemble!

[SteveD]

I had a key made from a Silca NE22 blank that works ok.

[melville]

So I got started rebuilding the carburetors. I'd taken the butterflies out so I could renew the o-ring and lube the shaft where it runs in the carb body. When putting things back together, one butterfly screw on each side spun in its hole.

I looked it up and the shafts don't seem to be a highly available part. No worries, I have a tap!



The original screw is 3mm. I tapped to 4mm without difficulty. But the screws available had HUGE heads, like so:



Not a big deal, but they blocked a goodly bit of the airflow:



32mm carbs on an R100 don't need any more restriction. So it was time to modify:





Here's how things looked after one pass:



I went back for more and got to here:



Tomorrow I'll set up a rig to peen the other ends of the screws and put the slides and new diaphragms on.

[melville]

A little progress this afternoon. I had a successful run to the market for last minute Thanksgiving supplies:



Which gave me some time to work on Edgar. Today I wanted to pull the plugs, squirt some oil into the cylinders, rotate it a couple turns, and check the valve adjustment.

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.

Plugs looked good for sitting for 30+ years:



They came out without difficulty. These are just the top plugs. I'm going to have to pull them all and see what's what. I think (from some of the documents) that the lower plugs are 1/2" reach and may also be 12mm diameter. Some quick squirts with the oilcan and then I put a wrench on the alternator bolt and the thing spun easily, no sticky spots.

Next up was the valve adjustment. They were all a little tighter than I like, intakes at .002" and .003" and exhausts at .004". I reset them to .004"/.008". Things looked healthy inside the covers:



Surprises include a lightened flywheel. I tried to get a pic through the timing hole, but it didn't take. Basically, the outer diameter of the flywheel was windowed. One of the windows almost impinges the dot by the F mark, and seems to have obliterated the S and OT marks. Looks like a paint dot was applied to the starter teeth for TDC. I'm going to pull the trans back for a spline lube sometime and I'll try to get a better pic.

[melville]

Just a wee spot o' progress yesterday. I pulled the starter to clean out the rest of the mouse mess, and also pulled the trans back to lube the splines.

Splines looked great:



And here's a look at the lightened flywheel:



Looks like sections of it were milled out.

I'm just about at the point where "reassembly is the reverse of disassembly." At least for the bit where I hear it run and take it out a tiny bit.

I located a 14mm master cylinder rebuild kit, which should be here next week. I'm going to try to have the motor ready to fire by the time it gets here.

The idea here is to run it a little and see if it needs anything beyond the obvious. I have the bits on hand to reseal the top end. The question is whether it needs nothing other than that, or a hone 'n' rings, or a rebore. Or a Siebenrock P/C set!

[Rob Frankham]

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