Project Shinjimei- 73 TX500

datadavid said:
Cool, they have a horrible reputation here, tx750's being the worst. Apparently all balancer and oil froth issues can be solved though.
Yeah, it's the TX handle that gives everyone fits, and it's all because of the 750. The 500 had the balance shaft up high, above the transmission. Only real issue was that it was difficult to adjust the tension on the chain driving the balance shaft on the early models, and of course there was the cylinder head cracking issue on those as well. '76 and later were really nice.

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two-smoker said:
Yeah, it's the TX handle that gives everyone fits, and it's all because of the 750. The 500 had the balance shady up high, above the transmission. Only real issue was that it was difficult to adjust the tension on the chain driving the balance shaft on the early models, and of course there was the cylinder head cracking issue on those as well. '76 and later were really nice.

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Shaft. Balance shaft.
 
http://imgur.com/gallery/D51Qi3P A couple of pics on imgur. Getting back to work!
 
It took me some internal arguing, but I worked up the motivation to drag the bike out onto the porch (no power in the garage) to do some welding and grinding... I'm fairly certain I finally have room to fit the Honda cradle into the Yamaha frame now, and I finally got my swingarm stand lugs burned in. It's just a matter of mating the two frame pieces, now, and redoing the wiring harness before she gets cleaned up and painted.
 
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This work? Doing some mods to the frame to allow me to remove the motor after all the welding is done.... The Honda frame didn't have three tubes up top, just a much larger, single backbone. So I had to make the side tubes removable in order to be able to get the engine out. If the pic didn't work, sorry. I'll make another video then.
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/upbvrWPN6wRA48xF8
 
I also wanted to get a nice clear shot of the upper frame modifications I started, so that after the lower cradle is welded in I can still remove the engine. In spite of the Honda having lower displacement, it is slightly larger than the original Yamaha engine. Go figure.
And no, this isn't how it will look when it's done.... I'm going to make this section unbolt from the main frame, so it will still give strength, but can be removed for clearance when it's time to take the engine out. Which I will have to do. Many times. But that's the price you pay when you try to put an engine into a bike it isn't made to fit in. Trial and error.
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Alright, I finally started getting the new headlight ready for fitment. Curious? Well, here it is. Oooooh, shiiiny.....
Well, for now. Trust me, it's not staying that way.
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So... You might be wondering. What is so special about a 7" bottom mount headlight? Well (aside from eliminating the ugly mounting ears), I'm putting in the LED bulb that was in the factory shell. Here is the trim ring from the new light next to my modified factory piece, including the home made rock guard. Looks pretty much the same, right?
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Well..... Not exactly. It appears that the Chinese made headlight I got is actually sightly smaller in diameter.... The bulb fits in it smartly, but I had planned on re-using the trim ring with the rock guard on it. I'll be damned if I lose a $300 LED bulb to an errant stone. So what to do?
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Well, obviously, cut it off and weld it into the new trim ring, of course! You'll note, though, that I had the heat turned up waaaay too high on the first weld, and burned through. So now I have a hole to braze up..... I tried using the welder to patch it, but the hole just kept getting bigger.
In my defense, I was using the mega-industrial welder at my work instead of my little one, so I wasn't used to it. Yeah, I should've tried it out on some scrap first, but I was impatient. No matter, everything is getting stripped and painted anyway, so nobody will be able to tell.
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Alright! Finally we get into some good stuff. I got the frame situated so I can take out the motor again. None of this is permanent, it's just need it to be strong enough that I can remove the engine without the frame seperating. Once I can get to the inside to do a proper job of welding everything, I'll measure everything and make sure it's square, and correct things as needed.
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