1972 Jawa 250 Californian - Rust Machine

DesmoBro said:
Cool Bike 250 2 stroke with a 1 into 2 pipe ....just Cafe' it already

Been looking at this thing and if it goes anywhere, it will be tracker. Been cruising all the tracker builds and I think that's the right match for this euro-freak.

Cheers,
Damian.
 
Damian, I think you're getting things too easy!

It looks like all you have to do is issue instructions to the kids and stand clear - the rest us of actually do most of the work ourselves

Jokes aside, this is turning out to be a very interesting project. For some time I have had dreams about finding an early European stroker (usually an MZ, but sometimes a Spanish product) but always awake to mundane reality.

Good luck with the build.

Crazy
 
Hey Stroker Crazy,

The Jawa was not my first choice. I would have looked something more along the lines of a CB400. But for whatever reason, the '70s Hondas must be made of gold in Australia. A bike with all parts, but totally rusted goes for $800+. The exotics like my little Jawa, not so much. So while not my first choice, I am loving it.

Don't be fooled by the pics, the kids don't too much. They desperately want to be involved, but when the fun helping dad time turns into work, they aren't to be found. I'm snapping pics every time they jump in and seem enthused. And they are enthusiastic about it, they are just impatient. A little like their father...

Cheers,
D.
 
For my part, I think a restoration of the original would be better than a tracker with one of these bikes... I can't imagine a Jawa being anything but a Jawa.
 
It's cool. For this build, there are two changes on the table.

Must change: Handlebars. Looks like a bmx at the moment. Possibly move to tracker bars
Maybe change: Taillight. It ruins the lines of the rear fender. Might move it lower and maybe a smaller one.

It will definitely be a Jawa.
 
Approaching time to get the cases vapour blasted. I got all the bearings, circlips and bushes out.

Here is the right half of the case.
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The left half of the case isn't nearly as done. I still don't have the crankshaft out.
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I've been practising with my welder. And I think I've improved. Here is the update puller with the M16 nut welded in. Nice!

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Sadly, my welding still has a way to go. After a few turns, I heard a crack. It wasn't the crankshaft. My weld was shoddy.

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More practice on the welder. And in the meantime I'll take it to the local bearing place. Hopefully they'll be happy to use their 10 ton press again...

Damian the pathetic welder.
 
If you're looking for some nice tracker style bars, I just picked up a set of Bikemaster "wide Magna" bars for about $25 that look and feel the part without excessive sweep. (About 6")

MikesXS and OmarsDTR also have good options with more sweep.

MD
 
Sweet build amigo!

It's times like this that I wish i had slave labor, i mean kids
 
Sonic - borrow my workers if you need some toxic stuff done...

Agentx - Awesome. Found a local supplier and they fit the bill perfectly without wrecking the Czech influence.
 
damiansd said:
they fit the bill perfectly without wrecking the Czech influence.

Use them to stir a pot of boiling cabbage to get them ready for this bike... :)

This build is gonna be great, man.
 
Today the big experiment begins - Rust removal with molasses.

Ingredients:
200 litre barrel
5 litres of molasses
45 litres of water (9:1 with the molasses)
String
Rusty parts

Anyway, all the big stuff is soaking in the barrel.

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And the smaller bits ended up in the container the molasses came in.

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Supposedly it takes a week, so it's all soaking. I'll report back on whether this works.

Here is where I got info on this rust removal approach - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZCFcxf5IBw&noredirect=1

Cheers,
D.
 
The molasses works a treat!

I've used it on sheet steel, intricate parts, anything where it's either difficult to get at the rust or you can't afford to remove any of the good metal.

It's not fast, but it's sure.

Crazy
 
Time to strip back the tank, ready for paint.

Here's the tank with 'snot' on it, as my son calls it.

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Wifey gets it on the act with the scaper.

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And here it is, nearly ready.

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The sides of the tank will be interesting as it feels like it is a foil or something.

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Any suggestions how to clean the sides up? Also, clues on what to paint with later?

Help!!
 
Had a good look at the wheel today and no amount of spit polishing was going to fix those rims and spokes. The angle grinder sorted it in no time.

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Some art.

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Bet you can't tell which hub got touched up on the wire wheel.

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Big Bertha (my new vice) pretended to be a spring compressor. Worked great.

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D.
 
I visited the bearing place that I used to press my swingarm sleeve out. They weren't keen on pushing the crankshaft out. They were talking about how easy it is to be put the crank out of balance. A little reading on here confirmed what they were saying.

The only reason I was doing it was to vapour blast the engine cases. Time to rethink my plans. Maybe a soda blast will suffice.

Thoughts?

D.
 
Started looking at other ways to clean up the engine cases.

Here are the fruits of 30 minutes on the buffer with some grey compound.
Top not polished. Bottom polished

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It might just work. After all, this bike is for riding, not just looking at.

I'll do a bit more tomorrow and post the pics up.
 
damiansd said:
Started looking at other ways to clean up the engine cases.

Here are the fruits of 30 minutes on the buffer with some grey compound.
Top not polished. Bottom polished

82.jpg


It might just work. After all, this bike is for riding, not just looking at.

I'll do a bit more tomorrow and post the pics up.

I love the shape and style of than engine cover. Nice shape and simple yet stylish detail.
 
Brodie shamed me into posting pics of my shiny engine. So I temporarily put the shell of the lump back together.

All of this has had the wire wheel and the buffer wheel. The grey and white compounds haven't been cracked out except for a trial on one cover.

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The rims got the same treatment too.
86.jpg


I'll be bolting the mini wire wheel into my portable drill to get into some of the tighter spots.

More to do...
 
Looking good D, going to be a hell of a job to get into all those little places, but worth it in the end.
 
Here's a little molasses before and after.

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With the parts coming out of the molasses, a minor touch up on the wire wheel then the priming has started.

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Nice.
 
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