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Z3n posted:On 2, the forks having no oil will not really be a big deal structurally. Yep not sure if you've had those forks apart but they are extremely simple. As long as the damper rod looks ok and there isn't scoring on the lower leg I would replace the seals, springs, and oil and call it good. For the rear shocks, I'd go with progressives.
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Mar 22, 2016 16:28
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I was just planning on wire-wheeling the poo poo out of it, but media blasting is probably a better call. I'll look into that. Just ordered another $800 worth of parts from 4into1. Decided that chrome fenders help make the look, and not enough time to wait for stockers to be re-chromed, so I'll clean them up and sell them to help recoup the cost. Already have a single-line conversion for the front brake, but it's unclear to me how that incorporates the brake pressure sensor for the brake light. I suspect that converting to a more modern 11mm master cylinder with a micro switch is in the cards. So much time left! 
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Mar 22, 2016 17:05
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Frame, swingarm, side / kickstands, and one chrome bit dropped off with media blasters. Ready tomorrow, $200. Nice.
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Mar 24, 2016 18:19
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  I plan to get these pieces in primer tonight. So tempting to just fuckin' clear them though. Gorgeous! 
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Mar 26, 2016 00:22
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Parts in primer: Parts left to refinish:   Also need to clean up the engine, as you can see from the top photo. Carbs are all cleaned up, waiting for re-assembly. New (repro) fenders have arrived, along with new oil bolt and oil filter cover, and repro rear shocks. I've sorted out the speed sensor on the front axle; still need to extract that retainer screw (and the tach cable retainer screw too) - but I have NOS replacements for them! Tomorrow's job is to sand out the couple of runs in the primer, figure out the broken suspension stud, and then if I still have time, to get the parts that still needing refinishing in prime. I need to get some 1" OD mild steel tubing ordered, with some bends, and I need to figure out how thick I want the mounting plate to be. I also need to order heim joints and high quality shank bolts to match them; I think I should probably sort out a threaded section for the front tube to provide explicit toe adjustment. I'm trying to decide if I want to make the front mount section out of a billet, and to allow height adjustment (i.e. allow adjustment of the amount of dynamic toe imposed by the leaning motorcycle). This timing is getting really loving tight. Three weeks, one day.  also ordered a modern master cylinder, because the rebuilt one leaks like a loving sieve.
HandlingByJebus fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 05:17
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Frame looks awesome. Removal of 40 year old paint will burn you out, you saved yourself from many headaches by getting it blasted. It's expensive, yeah, but really if you're halfway decent all you need to do is turn one trick and you've made up the cash. You'll be off that street corner in 2 hours, tops.sofullofhate posted:
I wanted to throw mine in the loving river after the same thing happened. I'm not sure if the rebuild kits are poo poo or if the MC just gets bored out but that was one of the most frustrating "I can fix this!" experiences of my whole life. Which MC did you go with?
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Mar 26, 2016 12:45
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Gorson posted:Frame looks awesome. Removal of 40 year old paint will burn you out, you saved yourself from many headaches by getting it blasted. It's expensive, yeah, but really if you're halfway decent all you need to do is turn one trick and you've made up the cash. You'll be off that street corner in 2 hours, tops. Some Chineseum unit from eBay that's for an XR250. It has an integrated microswitch (yay!) so I can send back the pressure switch banjo bolt I ordered. Meanwhile, back on the ranch: Carbs are back together:  I welded on a new section of M10x1.25 thread to replace the sheared section of the right suspension mount:      ..and I've put that stuff in primer. Yes, it's a little crooked, but it's a solid weld and it was a bit of a bitch to do, so I'm calling it a win. I wire wheeled the rust and paint off the engine mounts and rear signal stalks, and got them in primer:  Not pictured: drilled out the recalcitrant speedo cable retainer screw. Sanded down the runs on the centre stand. Sprayed the kickstand in VHT gloss black chassis / rollbar paint; the centre stand in VHT matte black chassis / rollbar paint. Trying to decide which I like better before painting the frame.
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Mar 27, 2016 04:35
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Stuff is black!    I taste enamel paint when I breathe. I think that's probably not great. But this stuff looks great! I chose the matte paint for the frame and swingarm, but have used the gloss for the other parts. I'll probably use the last of the matte for the rearsets. Also, not pictured: I blew the rust off the headers with a wire wheel. They've got a bit of pitting, but little enough that I think a quick polish will make them totally usable.
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Mar 27, 2016 19:49
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Plugs and masking off the frame! I'm really happy with the way it turned out. There are a couple of runs but they're not in places that are visible when the bike is together, so gently caress it. I got the forks apart! After fighting with them for like two hours, I realized that I own a loving impact wrench and maybe I should try it. Two "bzzup"s per fork, and look at the sludge that came out...  Fortunately, the springs and the rest of the internals look completely mint. Like, factory fresh. No scoring on the stanchions, but some clumsy fucker gouged the poo poo out of the tops of the sliders, presumably trying to dig out the oil seals during some past attempt at maintenance. With some oil in them, I bet they'll actually work well. And of course the seals are super easy to replace once the whole fork is disassembled. Not pictured: changed the shoes on the rear brake. Tried really hard to avoid inhaling any of the guaranteed-full-of-asbestos dust in the drum. Honestly, even finding some evidence of ham-fisted attempts at maintenance make me happy - this bike has *not* had a happy, easy previous life. After getting through a layer of grease today, I discovered that the engine VIN doesn't match the frame VIN. Neat! That explains the missing engine mount bolt. Next steps: 1. Polish the fork sliders 2. Rebuild the forks 3. Replace the front / rear tires + tubes + liners 4. Start reassembly after the frame paint cures!
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Mar 28, 2016 00:52
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Still waiting on metal polishing stuff to refinish the fork tubes, so tonight I got the engine back in the frame! But first I test-fit one of the side panels against the freshly-painted frame:  Then I pulled the oilpan and valve cover in order to make drat sure I had enough clearance to get the engine back into the frame without banging it up. Mission accomplished:  Fun fact: the CB400F's valve cover contains the top bearing surfaces for the cams and the cam gear. And the loving rockers are mounted to the inside of it! Very interesting design - I was very surprised when it wanted to jump off of the head as I backed the bolts out! Then I buttoned the top and bottom back up:  Good news: everything went smoothly! Bad news: I can't find one of the bolts for the loving valve cover! 45 minutes after I removed it. I left the bolts in the cover specifically so I wouldn't have this problem. Goddammit. I have ordered a bunch of 7/8" OD 11ga DOM tubing, and some 14ga hot-rolled sheet. I need to either rent a tube bender or find some 7/8" 11ga pre-bend Us somewhere, which I'm having trouble with. Thanks a million for the tip about putting the motor on its side and lowering the frame over it. Saved me a lot of time and trouble, and probably saved me from scratching the poo poo out of the frame.
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Mar 30, 2016 07:05
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sofullofhate posted:Fun fact: the CB400F's valve cover contains the top bearing surfaces for the cams and the cam gear. And the loving rockers are mounted to the inside of it! Very interesting design - I was very surprised when it wanted to jump off of the head as I backed the bolts out! Should be mandatory reading for anyone who wants a hipstery old bike as a first bike. Learned something cool today!
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Mar 30, 2016 08:44
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Putting poo poo back together:  Steering head bearings cleaned and repacked with synthetic grease. Carbs installed. Airbox / battery tray / electrics holder installed. Not pictured: rear inner fender reinstalled, and retainer screw for tach cable drilled out. I got 85% of the way through changing the front tire, but then it started to make awful tearing noises rather than getting the last 18" of the bead over the edge of the rim. So, I'm taking the wheels into a shop tomorrow rather than damaging the brand-new tires. All the tubing and pre-bent U-sections are ordered, arriving next week. Eastwood hasn't shipped the loving metal polishing kit yet, so I'm going to have to source some bits locally to clean up the forks. They're on the critical path now, because I can't position the sidecar without having both wheels on the ground, and I can't figure out for sure if I can engineer a leaner mount or not, and I can't even sort out a fixed mount. I'll mount them up as they are if I have to, but I'll be pissed about it because it will absolutely mean tearing them apart again in the fall. I've realized that I need to figure out how to get the valve cover breather sorted, because just mounting it directly would interfere with the throttle mechanism. The engine still looks filthy because most of the paint is coming off of it. I don't have the time to disassemble, clean, and paint it right now. So it will be coming back out over the winter. Side note: I'm shopping for an interesting classic bike that doesn't need significant work, so that I have something to ride while my Monster is in pieces. Current target: '79 Yamaha XS750 triple. HandlingByJebus fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Mar 31, 2016 |
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Mar 31, 2016 08:00
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Looking good. You're probably going to want to engineer some type of support for that carb rack. Removing the airbox also removes the rear support for the carbs, and they will bounce around and wear out the rubber boots and cause air leaks. This will make it a nightmare to get it running right. The pod filters are also going to make it run lean, so a rejet will probably be necessary.
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Mar 31, 2016 17:49
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Gorson posted:Looking good. You're probably going to want to engineer some type of support for that carb rack. Removing the airbox also removes the rear support for the carbs, and they will bounce around and wear out the rubber boots and cause air leaks. This will make it a nightmare to get it running right. The pod filters are also going to make it run lean, so a rejet will probably be necessary. Thanks, I'll look at something to support the fronts of the carbs. WRT jetting, I definitely know - I've rebuilt the carbs and replaced all of the jets with stock and stock settings, so I'm expecting it to run a bit lean out of the gate. Just need to figure out how lean before changing anything. New slow jets are easy to find for these carbs, and I think I should have enough adjustability in the needles to sort out the rest. ninja: learned a thing today from somebody who knows these bikes really well: the engine serial numbers never match the chassis serial numbers. Whew!
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Mar 31, 2016 19:41
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Current status: Polishing kit from Amazon should be here tomorrow, then I'll be able to button up the front end and front brake. Need to get the spring re-installed on the center stand. Then it's rear brake, rearsets, shifter linkage, hand controls, control / gauge cables, wiring harness, coils / plugs / caps, and headlight. Then I make sure it starts, then install the electronic ignition. Gonna be a busy weekend.
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Apr 1, 2016 09:08
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Current status:  It's a motorcycle again! Almost. I'm breaking for dinner, but my goal this evening is to get the forward controls, cables, coils, and front brake installed. Tomorrow, wiring and fuel lines, maybe I'll see if it'll run!
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Apr 3, 2016 03:05
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 Not pictured: ran the clutch, tach, and speedo cables. Installed new brake caliper. Still have to do all the fuel and electrics, and fill the forks with oil, and add oil to the motor (gently caress, going to go put some tape labels to remind me right now). Also ordered an 18mm spark plug socket because  But it's getting there.
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Apr 3, 2016 06:36
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Lookin' so nice. But still wondering about how the sidecar will mount... Is a custom exhaust system looking likely, so it could be out of the way?
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Apr 3, 2016 06:57
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Slide Hammer posted:Lookin' so nice. But still wondering about how the sidecar will mount... Is a custom exhaust system looking likely, so it could be out of the way? No, there will be no custom exhaust. This exhaust is the whole point of the bike, really - I will honestly give her the motorcycle and buy something else to go with the sidecar before changing out the exhaust. I think I have figured out a way to get three points for a hard mount without modifying anything. I am fairly convinced at this point that a leaner setup isn't possible in a safe way, though.
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Apr 3, 2016 18:04
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sofullofhate posted:No, there will be no custom exhaust. This exhaust is the whole point of the bike, really - I will honestly give her the motorcycle and buy something else to go with the sidecar before changing out the exhaust. Atta boy
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Apr 3, 2016 18:13
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sofullofhate posted:No, there will be no custom exhaust. This exhaust is the whole point of the bike, really - I will honestly give her the motorcycle and buy something else to go with the sidecar before changing out the exhaust.  Is this thread going to get a first startup video?
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Apr 4, 2016 06:02
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Gorson posted:
Yup, absolutely. Maybe even tomorrow evening. It's some fuel and hooking the points to the coils away from attempting a start (then I'll install the electronic ignition and do it all again). Today I ran the wiring harness, installed all the electrics, installed the rest of the cables, installed the front brake line (and bled the brake), installed the seat, installed the battery, and put oil in it. All the electrics worked on first key turn (yusss), including the starter, which I bumped a few times to get the oil distributed. As I was looking around to figure out which of the yellow or blue wires is for the left coil and which is for the right, I realized that I hooked up the loving coils wrong (1-3 & 2-4 instead of 1-4 & 2-3), so hopefully I've got enough length in the HT leads to make it. Would sure be nice if the goddamn wiring diagram in the shop manual had mentioned something about that (PS: spot the Subaru guy, expecting opposing cylinders to share a waste spark). Temporary bike to ride while the Ducati is in pieces update: 1977 Yamaha XS750 triple*.  It has a bad rectifier, so it isn't charging the battery, and the front brakes are so weak I nearly rear-ended my wife pulling out of the driveway where I bought it. But god drat does it make a nice noise, and it's like riding a fairly quick couch. I'm in love. And I ordered new brake lines / pads, a new regulator-rectifier, and some oil filters for it. * Which will absolutely not be temporary. It is part of the stable now.
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Apr 4, 2016 07:26
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ImpRY_B2E Second try after redoing the plug ends and changing the spark plugs. First try it didn't do anything and then backfired really badly and scared the poo poo out of me - then of course I realized that I had the 1-4 and 2-3 leads reversed. Plugged them in the other way and presto! I didn't run it for long because I don't actually have a fuel supply attached, the line I have is a bit too big and it leaked all over the bike. And this happened:  
HandlingByJebus fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Apr 6, 2016 |
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Apr 5, 2016 04:51
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YES! and poo poo! Did a fuel leak do that? At least it doesn't affect getting it on the road.
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Apr 5, 2016 10:26
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Gorson posted:YES! Afaik yes, that was fuel. So: don't use VHT chassis and rollbar paint for motorcycle frames. Looks like it's coming back apart in the winter to be stripped again and powder coated this time. And I'll crack apart the motor and do bearings and paint the cases and clean up the wheels and...
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Apr 5, 2016 17:26
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   That motherfucker is fully assembled. Except for the mirror, which I installed after I took the photo. Everything's done: Dynatek electronic ignition, fork oil, touched up the gas-hosed bits of frame paint with no overspray  , installed the low-wattage H4 halogen sealed-beam replacement setup, removed dust and fingerprints and all that crap from everything.Remaining issues: will not idle until very warm, and badly then even. It is pig rich - visible grey exhaust, and just trying to make the thing idle, it went through around half a litre from the test tank in about two minutes. That's... not good. Need to sort out a mount for the right-side mirror. Need to re-strip and repaint the frame (haw, haw, goddammit). When I do that, I'll probably take the engine down to the casings and get them refinished too. And the wheels. Because why the hell not? But, it sounds loving amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWjOFq4XAKM Holy loving hell, what a noise.  So tomorrow I start building the sidecar mounts and building sidecar-to-bike adapters that accommodate the sporty frame. I may actually give my wife the bike today, just in case she wants to ride it as-is and find another bike to strap the sidecar to. Maybe I'm dreaming though. Heh.
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Apr 7, 2016 01:46
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That sounds fantastic!
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Apr 7, 2016 02:02
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Goddamn. Well done.
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Apr 7, 2016 13:17
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Welp, today was a productive day: the lower mounts are completely fabricated. Front lower mount (built out of 1/8" bar stock, replaces the right side front engine mount) with sidecar side heim joint:  Front lower mount, motorcycle side:  Front lower mount, sidecar side:  Front lower mount installed:  Rear mount, sidecar side:  Rear mount, motorcycle side (replaces the centre stand):    Both lower mounts installed:  
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Apr 10, 2016 04:40
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I'm feeling a bit slow: does the rear mount not have a rotational point, or spot where it can angle? I have no idea how you're going to manage an upper mount (or more than one?), but then five minutes ago I didn't know what a heim joint was. This thread is fantastic, keep up the great work!
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Apr 10, 2016 05:51
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TheNothingNew posted:I'm feeling a bit slow: does the rear mount not have a rotational point, or spot where it can angle? Thanks! Unfortunately when I looked at it hard enough it became obvious that a leaner setup wasn't going to work. It will be a rigid 3-point mount (4 if I can figure out a 4th) - third point will go from the sidecar fore/aft external rail to the rear seat support frame section (the ~45 degree section aft of the rider's right foot). In this setup, the heim joints just give me some toe and pitch adjustment for the sidecar, and also provide some adjustability to make up for some of my fabrication slop (there's definitely some fabrication slop...) Not what I'd hoped for, but it will still be very cool.
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Apr 10, 2016 07:03
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sofullofhate posted:Thanks! Unfortunately when I looked at it hard enough it became obvious that a leaner setup wasn't going to work. It will be a rigid 3-point mount (4 if I can figure out a 4th) - third point will go from the sidecar fore/aft external rail to the rear seat support frame section (the ~45 degree section aft of the rider's right foot). In this setup, the heim joints just give me some toe and pitch adjustment for the sidecar, and also provide some adjustability to make up for some of my fabrication slop (there's definitely some fabrication slop...) Ah, nuts. I was hoping you'd figured something out. In my head, I just can't sort out how to both allow for lean and keep the side car from being dangerously floppy. Rigid mount is definitely the way to go, even if you have to re-learn how to turn. And this project is already very cool. Keep on.
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Apr 10, 2016 18:24
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Diggin' the fab work! My two cents: the lower mounts need more rigidity. The front mounts may be able to be solved by making a clamp that mounts to the upper part of the central frame rail and comes up and over the exhaust to meet the lower front mount. From the photos this may be a nice 45 degree angle. Made right it'll slide over/through the exhaust so no interference there. Put the front upper mount somewhere around there. Triangulating the rear lower mount looks to be tougher. Perhaps make something that picks up both shock towers, tucks up under the fender above the rear wheel and also fastens to part of the V around the plastic bit with the badging. Might be able to triangulate it by clamping to one of those parts of the frame, too. Then run a support down to the existing lower mount. The Hacks section at ADVRider has tons of great resources. This dude has a lot of photos and design work, though his rigs have an agricultural feel to them.
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Apr 10, 2016 19:10
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Skier posted:Diggin' the fab work! Thanks, I'll look into that. This isn't going to spend any time offroad, or much on the freeway, and it's worth noting that this sidecar weighs ~120 lbs, so the amount of rigidity required in the mounts is lower than most rigs. The tubing is also 11ga. I can literally pick up the motorcycle by the front mount.  Regardless, I'll look for opportunities to triangulate things where I can.At any rate, I presented it to her tonight. I've explained the things that still need to be sorted (upper sidecar mounts, bushings for lower mounts on the sidecar side, bike running insanely rich), but she loves it and won't stop talking about it, so I think it had the desired effect. As presented tonight:   She's asked me not to post the reaction video, so I won't. Now to button this project up, and start ordering bits for the turbo Monster... Oh, and of course, I have new brake lines and pads and a new reg/rect for the XS750. And carb rebuild kits. So that'll be an action-packed evening or two soon.
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Apr 12, 2016 08:00
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sofullofhate posted:Thanks, I'll look into that. This isn't going to spend any time offroad, or much on the freeway, and it's worth noting that this sidecar weighs ~120 lbs, so the amount of rigidity required in the mounts is lower than most rigs. The tubing is also 11ga. I can literally pick up the motorcycle by the front mount. That looks great. Well done. Love the exhaust too - I can see why you wanted to keep that.
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Apr 12, 2016 16:30
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That is amazing, good work. I had no idea those sidecars were so light, but my inner engineer is still telling me that you probably want a crossmember type dealio on there or there is going to be some flex. Any test rides yet?
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Apr 12, 2016 16:34
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Awesome stuff, well done! Your thread makes me less lazy about my bikes.
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Apr 12, 2016 20:07
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Slavvy posted:Awesome stuff, well done! Your thread makes me less lazy about my bikes. builds character posted:That looks great. Well done. Love the exhaust too - I can see why you wanted to keep that. Gorson posted:
Thanks, guys. Appreciate the positive feedback. Gorson, mine too. No rides until I build some bushings for the sidecar-side clamps, and get the frame clamps so that I can mount the sidecar-motorcycle triangulation bars. I need to sort out why it's running so bloody rich, too, but that doesn't stop a trip around the block once the mounts are complete.
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Apr 12, 2016 20:33
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Odd that it is running rich, with those pods it should run lean. How do the plugs look? Have the float levels been set? Do those carbs give you access to the pilot screws?
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Apr 12, 2016 23:57
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Gorson posted:Odd that it is running rich, with those pods it should run lean. How do the plugs look? Have the float levels been set? Do those carbs give you access to the pilot screws? I was also surprised. The plugs are brand new, and I completely rebuilt the carbs, replacing both the needle and slow jets, the float valve, floats and pins across the board. I think I set the float levels correctly, but I think that's the first place I'll check because the bike runs pretty well aside from the huge plumes of grey smoke it dumps out the exhaust. I've tried closing the pilot screws a half turn, doesn't seem to have had an effect.
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Apr 13, 2016 00:10
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