I'm finally getting around to starting this build thread. I bought the bike off Craigslist a few months ago (Sep 30, 2014), and I've been working on it slowly, but steadily. This is my first custom build. In fact I did my first oil change, ever, on Oct 11.
The bike runs, but I'm going to baseline it per sound advice I've seen on various forums.
Besides some rust, dirt and scratches, it looks to be in good shape for 35 years and 46K miles. It's been down at least once. The fork tubes were bent and it pulled to the right. Maybe they bumped a curb or car. Dunno. But I've already bought a replacement set off eBay and swapped them. They look straight now, but I've been working on the teardown, so I haven't had a chance to test them.
I've been pulling apart the engine, so I can remove the crank case. I'm pretty close, just need to remove the clutch assembly, pistons and disconnect a few things.
Unfortunately, when I removed the cylinder there were large piles of dirt around the studs and a lot of it fell in the crank case. I wasn't planning to open the case, but now I think I'll have to.
My goal ... I'd like to have the restoration and mods done by May of 2015. It might be ambitious, but at my current pace I think it's still realistic.
What's next ... I'm going to de-tab the frame, and I'll probably have a local welder do some work on the seat area. I'm going to have the tank professionally painted and probably the frame too, which will give me time to focus on the engine rebuild.
Here are some photos I took during the process: http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;cat=15;u=102846
The bike runs, but I'm going to baseline it per sound advice I've seen on various forums.
Besides some rust, dirt and scratches, it looks to be in good shape for 35 years and 46K miles. It's been down at least once. The fork tubes were bent and it pulled to the right. Maybe they bumped a curb or car. Dunno. But I've already bought a replacement set off eBay and swapped them. They look straight now, but I've been working on the teardown, so I haven't had a chance to test them.
I've been pulling apart the engine, so I can remove the crank case. I'm pretty close, just need to remove the clutch assembly, pistons and disconnect a few things.
Unfortunately, when I removed the cylinder there were large piles of dirt around the studs and a lot of it fell in the crank case. I wasn't planning to open the case, but now I think I'll have to.
My goal ... I'd like to have the restoration and mods done by May of 2015. It might be ambitious, but at my current pace I think it's still realistic.
What's next ... I'm going to de-tab the frame, and I'll probably have a local welder do some work on the seat area. I'm going to have the tank professionally painted and probably the frame too, which will give me time to focus on the engine rebuild.
Here are some photos I took during the process: http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;cat=15;u=102846
