Dirtbag Oil-Boiler

[Rider52]

WOW!!!

 

[pidjones]

Nice work on the stop/tail light. I like the plate signals, but the addition of the other signals, perhaps on the bottom angle of the tail might be good in addition.

 

[Jimbonaut]

Old skool Tron vibes abounding here in the coolest way possible. This is highly great stuff.

 

[ex119x]

You might want to check on the WERA vintage board for a clutch. I think RRP may have some Slabby parts.

 

[doc_rot]

I looked and looked for a good deal on a clutch but I couldn't find anything. Couldn't find an 1100 clutch at all. Ebay has a couple used clutches for a B12 for $300-$400. I even looked at picking up a bike to part out.

I ended up buying an NOS clutch basket and hub on ebay for $300. I took the time to measure the steel clutch plates on precision granite and despite being blued they were not warped at all. The fiber plates are all worn about .03mm under spec and probably should be replaced. After looking at the manual I think the PO had the clutch assembled incorrectly, there are a lot of nuances in the assembly of the clutch. So for now I'm going to run the fiber plates I have and see how it goes, but I probably will be buying new fiber plates soon. I also took the time to throw a lick of wrinkle paint on the cover to make me feel better about it blowing $500 on a clutch.

The left foot-peg had some questionable booger welds on the mounting plate so I jumped on it to do a stress test and it immediately broke. I couldnt find a replacement so I whipped this up this new mount using an Tarozzi foot peg I had leftover from another project and some aluminum scrap. I left it chunky right now while I figure out what I'm doing for a heel guard and then I will whittle it down.

 

[doc_rot]

Got the seat pans wrapped up.

 

[doc_rot]

I had some seat foam left over from a previous project so I glued it down and started sculpting it. After looking at it without a seat for so long my first impression with the foam is it looks chunky as hell. I need to refine it more. I did ride it around the block and the clutch does not appear to be slipping but a high gear pull will show if thats true. getting close!

 

[Jimbonaut]

I'm all about comfort. If it fits, I sits

 

[irk miller]

Stretching upholstery over that density foam will knock it down, too. Though I could see taking that back piece down a bunch, at least.

 

[doc_rot]

you beat me to it. I took the bum stop down by half, and domed it slightly. I slo refined the seat shape and added some foam on the front part so it mimics the tank shape better. I also picked up the vinyl - All i can say is "The Eighties are back, baby!"

 

[Jimbonaut]

Mo better

 

[doc_rot]

After the clutch debacle and shelling out $300 for OEM parts (may still need fiber plates) I needed something to make me feel better. The solution was to spend more money! Seat upholstery by JP custom seats out of Los Angeles. Its so retro and awesome i almost can't handle it.

I also fixed a ton of small things that you don't really notice but make the bike complete and road worthy such as fixing oil leaks, new relay flasher, cleaned up the wiring, breather tube, finished footpeg and heel guard, polished taillight lens sides, fitted acrylic screen to keep crap off the carbs, and perfected shifter action with a new stainless bushing for the lever to take out the slop.

Gonna be a fun summer! There are some things I would still like to do; USD fork swap, braced swing-arm, tire hugger, etc... but for now im just going to ride it and enjoy.

 

[pidjones]

Very nice. Yes, ride and enjoy is primary.

 

[Maritime]

Nice job on the cover!

 

[Jimbonaut]

Looking good man

 

[doc_rot]

thanks guys. I just realized i never got a shot of the final footpeg/heelguard design.

 

[doc_rot]

I went for a proper ride today.... and not only is the clutch still slipping (expected), but 4th gear is whining very loudly(unexpected). I had only ridden it around my neighborhood previously and never got into 4th before. kicking myself in the ass for not checking all the gears before buying new clutch parts. This is what I get for trying to be a cheap ass.

Apparently this is a fairly common issue with these B12 engines. There is a whole video series on you tube of a guy fixing just this exact issue. It looks like the primary gear is prone to chipping and then the hardened chips destroy the gears in close proximity like #4 which is right next to the primary gear.

So now i'm reviewing my options....
1) OEM part replacements around $600- 1000 depending on what i exactly need. those trans gears are fecking expensive and you should replace them as a set.
2) I can get a used transmission - however several of the transmissions on ebay have the primary gear totally shredded so taking a big risk that im going to get something with the same problem.
3) wild card option - find a new engine. for the 4th time. This time it will be different, i'm sure!

I probably will fix the clutch for now and ride it for the summer with the whine. see if i cant rustle up a deal. My buddy is telling me to get a katana 600 of GSXR 750 and turbo it. We'll see.

 

[irk miller]

Your plight reminds me of my CB550/CB650 fiasco. I cobbled together six engines to put together one engine, only to have that engine have issues. Ended up going all the way back to the beginning and settling with the core of a seventh engine. I now have the second complete engine that I've yet to test run. Needless to say, I am 50/50 this one will be good too. LOL

 

[doc_rot]

I bought a complete Barnett clutch kit. and that solved the clutch slip issue.

I also wanted to make sure the clutch push rod I made wasn't too long and the clutch was fully engaging. When i took the sprocket cover off I saw witness marks from the chain gouging one of the bosses for the slave mount and also on the steel cover that goes over the clutch slave. I spaced the whole sprocket cover out with some washers..... And voila, the transmission whine is almost completely gone! 4th gear still has a distinct whine but its really not too bad- livable at least. I guess it was transmitting that whine through the cover as the chain rivets hit the cover and amplifying the sound.
Did the slabslides come from the factory with a non o-ring chain? I'm trying to figure out why this o-ring chain would have an interference. Its a pain in the ass to fiddle around with washers under each bolt, i wonder if something else is going on?

 

[doc_rot]

The clutch mystery continues.

I went out for a short ride yesterday - 10 miles. As i was riding i noticed the clutch engagement point slowly moving in the lever travel. It went from needing to pull the lever to the bar to disengage the clutch, to right at the beginning of the lever pull. By the end of the ride i experienced the clutch slipping again as if the slave was not fully retracting. I removed the clutch and inspected the plates. they look good and there is almost no wear. I am now wondering if the underlying problem has been the clutch hydraulics the entire time. the previous ride where the clutch was slipping with the original clutch was a similar experience. the clutch engagement slowly moved out. At the time i assumed this was from the clutch rapidly wearing.

I dismantled the clutch master and slave and they both look OK. The tiny fluid return port on the master is clear.

The steel plate that covers the clutch slave is mangled and judging by the witness marks on the inside it looks like the slave piston was pushing too far out of the bore - probably from the push-rod being too short. cant really see whats going on in there so its a little trial and error to get the length right.

It seems as if the clutch slave is slowly building pressure that it cant release. I currently have my clutch hose routed between the intake boots, between the carbs and the block. Is it possible this is getting hot and causing the pressure to build slowly until the clutch wont engage? I'm going to try re-routing the hose so its away from the block.

thoughts? anything else i should look at?