On the bike

 

looks sharp... I go to ace and buy stainless steel allen screws for my float bowls.

 

Hey tommy, I used scotch bright to get off the corrosion and then used "mothers" mag wheel and aluminum polish, you can find it at Walmart or any auto store, it polishes anything really, surprisingly even plastic haha idk but it's good stuff

 

Thanks will give it a try.

 

Good job cleaning the bike up. It's amazing what a few bucks and a lot of elbow grease can accomplish.

 

Drilling and tapping handlebar stops

So to keep me from getting to frustrated with the bikes lemon of a gas tank ( I'm now re coating the liner with red coat since my caswell didn't cover the inside completely) thus ruining the 8th something paint job :,( oh well so I decided to start some fabrication to the bike. Previous paint jobs were ruined by my controls on my drag bar smacking into the tank and chipping it so I have added 5mm Allen spacers on the stearing stops to prevent this in the future.

 

Adjustable steering stops. I like it!


R

 

i swear I will have this gas tank with no leaks! If that's the last thing I do on this damn bike! Haha also replaced the front break pads, new ones have the (dust?) slit down the middle .

 

pre 79 to post 79 radiator and broken calipers :[

I just wanted to say thanks to Gordon and Timothy_d (from the forum) for their help on the front of my bike with out them I couldn't have had the look i was going for on the bike! So now I have my 1979 standard bike with a newer updated look. Unfortunately I still dont have working brake calipers since when trying to bleed out the line the nipple just sheared of because of corrosion and even with drilling it and a easy out, i think the buggers gonna stay in it so now im out a caliper :/ . I have finally got a good air filter now in place of the rat nest that came with the bike.

oh and bondo fixes everything even a control dash panel

anyways cheers- Sean

 

Im sadly realizing that my 1979 is so early its basically a 78' with all the parts before it changed over later in 79 blehhhhh so annoying when looking for replacements ! also if anyones got a spare caliper..pm me

 

Buying is necissary for some fixes

So unfortunately i cant fix it all at home so i caved and picked up new gauges and replaced the dry rotted air boots along with the torn up foot pegs. and converted the bikes shifter back to the standard config vs. the custom shifter

 

A labor of love, I really enjoy seeing these derelict machines come back to life. What a difference with the shifters, which is which. Thanks ~~~blueman

 

Hello, Did you say why you replaced the gauges? I have the same model as you (early 79 standard) and I am looking for that speedo. Any probs? want to sell?

 

Blueman- The top shifter is the standard (which is a hollow bent tube) while the bottom one is the custom shifter made with a solid metal rod bent to shape

 

Brake caliper restoration!

So after messing up one caliper and buying a not functioning new one, I have clean scotch bright and sandblasted the history of this puppy and now am painting it to return it to glory!

gotta say tho, it would have been pretty sexy to just clear coat that aluminum finish

 

So, you're going to replace the piston and seal now, right. And the pin seats on the bracket?


R

 

I dont see a reason to, the inside were in good order and non of the blasting touched any of the smooth surfaces.

 

What about the paint?


R

 

Hey GM, thanks for your recommendation on Mother's polish on the previous page. I bought a small jar based only on your recommendation...and you are right! This stuff works pretty good! I changed the oil last night and while I was waiting for the case to finish it's drip.....drip..............drip.......................drip, I polished up the cover.

The build is looking good, keep it up!

 

Anytime CliffD! I'v used it from gunsmithing, to my car rims to metal boat mirrors and on my brake light plastic that was foggy, the stuff is pretty awesome! and Randall, I will find out soon if it works or not but hopefully better then when I got it (which was Locked up) hopefully it works and make one less gremlin on this bike! I just want to ride it already! haha - Sean

 

I think Randall means that paint and brake fluid don't mix well.

 

No, I mean the paint at the interface of the seal and piston. You don't want anything hanging up there.


R

 

They were painted black prior? Oh well I'm thoroughly confused at this point haha

 

Valve adjustment and cam tensioning

So it's a slow day where no new progress is to be done part wise but since I had the spare time and nothing else to mess around with I reassembled my front brake which works to my joy! And I decided to go out an but feeler gauges so I could adjust my valves and withy brilliant luck I sheared off one of the screws ? so off to ordering more ebay items! It was a shame tho because it was second to last one and I was excited to hear how the bike would run after it.

cool trick I came up with since all I found on the web was
Vice grip/screw rigs to hold the center in place I figured the tapping tool I used earlier in my posts would fit wonderfully and do the job and it's fully adjustable!

 

NICE!@ Looking good Grease. I like the bright colors; Yellow, red, even mid 70's Honda bright orange is cool. Not sure why honda used such drab colors for these bikes. Keep up the good work it's going to get some attention when you're done and out riding it.

Curious why you went with stock seat when you're doing kind of a cafe build?

 

Thanks! Unfortunately that tank with the multi paint jobs is SOL right now so I'm moth balling that paint job since I'm frustrated with it. I'm going to put on a ruby red stock tank on the bike right now to hold me over till I become re motivated :/. And honestly the reason for stock seat is lack of $$$ it was much cheaper ($30) for a new cover to fix the old seat into a nice looking seat so I can ride the last bit of the season, I would be interested in updating to a cafe seat but I firm that I don't want to cut into the frame, so it's all coming up with a good looking seat and deleting the rear tail light. And anything iv found online is 250+

 

I hear that. I bought a cx500 custom rear fender and newer triumph bonneville tail and signals to retrofit. They look nice and were pretty cheap but it's the seat that's got me flustered. I'm thinking of cutting the original seat pan and have someone do a custom foam/cover at an uphostery shop. Will still be decent $$$ though!

Keep up the good work. Don't give up on the tank unless it leaks. Home Depot has a spray paint remover that works great. I had my CB tank down to bare metal and ready for primer in less than a 1/2 hour. Rattle can jobs can turn out nice with patience. I've done 2 so far. Here was my last one. Epoxy primer, laquer paint I had an autobody paint supply put in a rattle can, Spraymax 2K clear over the top. That stuff is tough and ultraviolet and chemical resistant and easy to buff out to a mirror finish.

 

Harley 883 exhaust bracket

Oh little side project I forgot to add when I did it, it's just temporary until I figure a better way to accommodate the passenger pegs onto the bike. But I needed my exhausts to be secure so I fired up the mill and made these bad boys to hold em on tight till I come up with something.

Oh and I wanted to thank you Randall for
Your concern for the front brake, I wouldn't have wanted to go flying over the bars if they were to lock up because of coarseness around the moving areas, but I do believe I'm in the free and clear as it seems to be releasing.

Cheers!