Here I go again '81 750Ltd H2 Roller...kinda Thinking I might go "Industrial"

Killman77

当有疑问时踢你的敌人在生殖器上,你可以道歉后
Just got back from checking out the newest addition to what is fast becoming a small herd.
I'll get some pics up over the next couple of days.

It was advertised as a basketcase, turns out it's a roller. Hooked up to a battery and it was trying to fire up, so it's not seized. Dude said he rode it before he started to strip it down, so there's that. For $300, at the very worst, I use it as a donor for it's twin. It's titled though, so I'd like to use it as a beater while I finish up the 440. I'm meeting the seller this afternoon to transfer the title, and he's even going to drop it off for me, saving me the hassle of procuring a truck. Might even throw in a Viper fairing he had kicking around, (thinking being, throw the Viper onto the 440 and move the Shoei 1/4 fairing to the 750).
Guy said it was "complete". Uh huh, yup. Bit of a difference between parts being there and parts being usable, though.

The Bad so far:

Missing throttle cable
Cracked and dented headlight
Broken mirrors
Rubber is shot
Some kinda aftermarket work has been done to the oil cooler
Carb boots shot
Seat(s) missing covers
Filthy, rusty and it has nasty semi-gloss rattlecan sprayed on the side covers and the left half of the engine, (wtf? I mean seriously, why the Hell would you fuck up half the engine?)

Gonna take a lot of work to make it even semi-presentable

First thoughts for replacement:

Headlight (got a real nice one I built out of new parts just sitting in the shop)
Seat (got the pan, foam looks rotten, need at least new covers)
Carb boots (currently 75% black duct tape)
Tires (sidewalls cracked)
Mirrors (got some Enfield mirrors just waiting for a home)
Handlebars (got some Renthals in the shop that should do nicely)
Maybe a new chain and sprocket
Exhaust, rusted and rotted to shit
Filters, assorted rubber bits, etc.

Seriously, everything is so dirty, rusty and just downright unsavoury, that I'm leaning towards just stripping everything down to bare metal. Thinking Duplicolor Black Chrome for the frame, black out the cylinders and machine the fins, sheet metal to replace the side covers and polish the shit out of the engine covers and assorted hardware.
Turning over ideas for the tins, leaning towards hitting them with a brass wheel for a rough "antiquey" finish. Then do some lace etching and an offset pair of racing stripes in black for the tank
Well, let's just see how this works out for me, then B)
Feel free to chime in with any thoughts
 
I like pictures too, and my shiny new laptop has a Photobucket app that I'm gonna have to figure out so that I can start posting some. Fair warning though, the first bunch are gonna be gnarly. This turd's gonna take some polishing ;D

Just got back from transferring the title. My insurance guys are freakin' awesome almost everyone in the office rides, so it's just a big gab-session whenever we go in. Free coffee because it was their 40th anniversary, sweet :D The seller had an outstanding speeding ticket, and the agent just got on the phone and got them to waive it until he renews in April.

The seller took me over to a weekly auction, that I didn't know about, two blocks from the insurance place, (Thunderbird on Yates if anyone local is looking) and introduced me to his partner. They own a vintage shop here in town. All in all, about the smoothest, most friendly deal ever. Always awesome to meet new members of the local bike community. He assures me that the header pipes are solid and the mufflers can be mounted as is. I hope he's right, but if not, it's just an excuse for me to grab some funky vintage cans. Maybe some Bassani's or Hookers, if I get lucky. Might just throw on some used ones from a Spectre, we'll see. They want to see the bike after I fix it up. Considering the shape it's in, just a good clean and minor polish will make it look like it's been reborn, by comparison. They also have a '76 'Wing that they might be willing to part with, tempting.

They threw in the Viper fairing for $25, looks new, and they're going to deliver the whole shebang before I go to work on Fri. So my day off tomorrow will be spent cleaning out the shop to make room for the new occupant. Damn, what a hardship ::)
 
Might as well take Friday off work too, you wont be worth a damn. All day think of it and wanting to get home to your "new" bike. ;)
 
Let's play a new drinking game called "WTF did I do?"

I'm gonna throw up some pics, in no particular order, let's see how many issues we can find. We can all take a drink whenever somebody spots something before we do. Warning you all now, we're gonna get wasted!!! :eek:

 
At least the PO was nice enough to paint the footpeg the same as the left half of the engine ::)




 
Well, this is all, for now




Thanks for playing. Time for the ol' Killman to relieve some tension. See y'all soon 8)
 
Since you said that though... seems more like a Dali
 
So today was exhaust day...

Figured I'd get into it easy, pull apart the exhaust and give it a good cleaning, easy-peasey.
Yeah, right. So here's the aftermath. Got some pretty cool blood blisters from the channel locks that I used get out the bloody screws that someone subbed for proper bolts in the brackets. Managed to only shear one off, enough of a stub for me to get a grip on it later. Everything you see here was used in the making of this little event, torch, lube, chisel, hammer, breaker bar, profanity, etc.


For those of you with especially sharp powers of perception, yes, yes that is tin foil and tape. Tin foil and tape that were used as "padding" to get the hack-sawed and consequently too large muffler fittings to stay on the pipes. Did I mention yet that one of the mufflers sounds like a really shitty maraca when you shake it? Well it does.


Not sure at this point if I want to bother cleaning these bitches up. The whole idea with this thing is to keep it on the cheap, though. Beater beater boredom eater.




How big a pain in my ass is it going to be getting those pipes out for cleaning, huh? Rhetorical question. I could swear that there's supposed to be a cross-breather pipe where those caps are, I'll check my FSM later.


Now what to do about these little beauties... Chrome's okay on the one, so do I get another? Or just strip the other one down and paint it, or maybe see what kind of a rough finish I can give it and clear coat it?


My reward for all the banging and burning and swearing.


Figured I'd throw in a couple of pics of the last shit heap I bought. For incentive, don'tcha know. So close to having the 440 done, just keep finding stuff that needs attention, tough to know which to work on. Don't want to rush the 440 and hate it. Speaking of which, got a call today about another 440. Dude's mechanic buddy busted off a carb mounting stud. Parts bike price, gonna go and check it out on Fri.

 
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