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Doward's build thread - part 2!

7155 Views 38 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  GreenCXman, 
Doward
2
Yep, round 2...



here's the latest (like... TODAY latest! LOL)



Got the new wheel on the back, painted the final drive / brake shoe plate, working on the front end of the bike right now.



Obligatory pics:








I'll get pics of the Magna front end up later tonight.
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Doward
3
Managed to get my hands on a brand new rebuild kit for the master cylinder, got that all done, and I STILL don't have good pressure! I can squeeze the lever all the way down, and still don't have good pressure. This is AFTER vacuum-bleeding the brakes. Ugh!!!



I noticed that if I squeeze the lever with the MC cap off, the left hole (while sitting on the bike) SHOOTS brake fluid up and out - is it supposed to do that? Seems like that's where my pressure is going? I've got all stainless steel lines now, so there shouldn't be any flex going on....



So next up is torquing the front axle down (remember, I've got an '82 VF750C front end on the CX now) - and the damn left fork is stripped where the axle bolts down. Tomorrow I have to try to track down an m12 x 1.25 helicoil set, otherwise I've got to order one off the 'bay, $44 shipped. Wonderful.



Anyway, pics from today:



How it started:




How it ended:




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Doward
So doing some diagnostic-ing revealed I had what seemed to be a lot of fork 'flex' when I was pulling the brakes.



Odd, as the 'flex' appeared to be heavy at the bottom of the fork.



Imagine my surprise when I go to torque down the front axle and find out that the receiver threads ARE STRIPPED OUT.



Ugh - CarQuest saves the day ordering me an m12x1.25 helicoil kit - and all is now well. Accomplished another couple of rounds of my new favorite activity (CAUTION: THIS MAY BE SARCASM) of Prime the tank / Sand the tank / repeat



At least the tank bodywork is ALMOST complete - I'm being pretty anal, as I want the tank to be pretty when I paint the bike in my Dark Blue Pearl:



(example)




I'm hoping to FINALLY take her on a shakedown run tomorrow!
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Doward
Going down tomorrow to order a new petcock, since mine took a dump on me. Joy. Another age-related problem. I'm getting really REALLY tired of having problems with the bike....
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philbrewer
Hang in there.



I feel your pain.
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D
I hear ya, Doward. I've spent more time wrenching on my bike this year than I have riding the stupid thing. I swear, I feel like I own a Harley. The latest is the headlight not wanting to work sometimes. I've had no time to work on it again as I've been kind of working 24X7 for the past month or so. In fact, when I parked the bike last month, I told it that once bills are paid off in about two years and I have saved up for a newer bike, that one is going away. I mean, I barely have 200 miles on it this season. My dinky little 200cc dual sport has seen WAY more miles in the two months I've had it.



Anyhow, I don't want to discourage you from continuing on with your bike. I mean, I know these are good machines and if you have the time and patience, they are probably worth what you put into them. I just ran out of both.



Dan
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Doward
I managed to put 55 miles on it with some rather... interesting.... I hesitate to call it 'engineering' on the old petcock. But now i can't regulate fuel flow, so she's sitting until the new petcock arrives.



Even with the troubles, those 55 miles really put me in a better mindset! Gotta pull and clean the carbs again.



Going to see how an ultrasonic bath in pine-sol works. I take it all rubbers must be removed, correct?
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philbrewer
I didn't remove any. Not even the accel pump. The pine sol plays nice with rubber. However I didn't heat the pinesol. So keep it cool and you should be money.
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GreenCXman
3
Doward, the bike is looking great and sounding good too.



I had those low points as well last winter in the middle of my custom re-build. Thankfully I had some good friends that came round and verbally abused me to get me going again.




Have the longer forks of the VF made any difference to the front end ?



Mike.
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Doward
3
GreenCXman said:
Doward, the bike is looking great and sounding good too.



I had those low points as well last winter in the middle of my custom re-build. Thankfully I had some good friends that came round and verbally abused me to get me going again.




Have the longer forks of the VF made any difference to the front end ?



Mike.
Click to expand...


Well, the front end is definitely higher!! Also, the tubes contact the tank if I'm going for a low speed u-turn scenario, but I don't think they will still contact after I rake it out




I do think 20wt oil was too much, as the front is REAL stiff, with minimal dive, and I haven't even put air in the forks yet!



Rather angry, as the old red primer I had laying around actually PEELED UP when I shot the paint - so I'm re-doing all the work on the tank.
Not my idea of fun, but it's coming along (again) nicely.



Also, put a 5/8" master cylinder from an SV650 on the brakes - WOW what a difference!



So if anyone needs a fully rebuilt '78 round style master cylinder, let me know
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Doward said:
Well, the front end is definitely higher!! Also, the tubes contact the tank if I'm going for a low speed u-turn scenario, but I don't think they will still contact after I rake it out




I do think 20wt oil was too much, as the front is REAL stiff, with minimal dive, and I haven't even put air in the forks yet!



Rather angry, as the old red primer I had laying around actually PEELED UP when I shot the paint - so I'm re-doing all the work on the tank.
Not my idea of fun, but it's coming along (again) nicely.



Also, put a 5/8" master cylinder from an SV650 on the brakes - WOW what a difference!



I also thnk 20wt is maybe a bit heavy? It's very important to get the oil level exactly the same in each fork leg. Oil level should be measured fork vertical, spring out and fully compressed. Then measure from the top down to the oil.

Cheers, 50gary



So if anyone needs a fully rebuilt '78 round style master cylinder, let me know
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Doward
Remember, I'm talking about 20wt oil in VF750C (Magna) forks, using VT700 (Shadow) tubes!
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Doward
Managed to work on the bike more today - another 3 rounds of prime / sand / dry / repeat.



More interestingly, though, I finally started on the carb overhaul. Completely disassembled, all rubbers removed, and dunked in a 60/40 Pinesol/Water mix, heated, in the ultrasonic cleaner.



After 6 minutes in the cleaner:

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LRCXed
Doward, if you want the sonic cleaner to do it's job, and last, you better fill it up more. It not only will burn out the unit, but the carbs won't clean properly inside.



A tip that I learned a long time ago is to put a better bead of silicone sealer in the seam where the tank meets the top plastic cover. They tend to leak inside if you don't. The factory misses some spots when the mass produce them. BTW, I have not seen as good of results using the pinesol as I do with the simple green. I'll post pictures some time of what I did testing it.
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Doward
2
LRCXed said:
Doward, if you want the sonic cleaner to do it's job, and last, you better fill it up more. It not only will burn out the unit, but the carbs won't clean properly inside.



A tip that I learned a long time ago is to put a better bead of silicone sealer in the seam where the tank meets the top plastic cover. They tend to leak inside if you don't. The factory misses some spots when the mass produce them. BTW, I have not seen as good of results using the pinesol as I do with the simple green. I'll post pictures some time of what I did testing it.
Click to expand...


It's up to the MAX line, so I'm assuming that's where it's supposed to be...



Pic of one carb done




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vanmor
Your bike is really coming along. I'm not a fan of long front ends but your set up really seems to work with the CX. Interesting. I like the Brit tail light set up too. Your use of the black out paint technique goes well with what your doing. Like most folks, I can't wait to see the finished product.
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Doward
Wait till you see the fully assembled product... just powdercoated the brackets and fuel crossover tube in Viking Stainless Steel (that's the color I did my coolant pipe / thermostat / pedals in)
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Doward
Carbs are back on, painting the tank (round #2) now!
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Doward
Put 200 miles on her yesterday!! Averaged 57.6 mpg with the CX650T primary gearing + 16" rear wheel! VERY happy overall.



I really owe you guys pics at some point LOL!
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GreenCXman
4
Doward said:
Put 200 miles on her yesterday!! Averaged 57.6 mpg with the CX650T primary gearing + 16" rear wheel! VERY happy overall.



I really owe you guys pics at some point LOL!
Click to expand...




Doward - can we have some pics please
.....................
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