Lovingly restored, Spring of 2002.
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This is how it looked when we got it home in the summer of 2001.
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Typical story: Rescued from a 20-year storage in a barn. In this case, a hired hand had left it
behind when he quit in 1982.
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It had been sitting in the barn ever since. Then we decided it would make a good bike for my wife to
learn on and a fun winter project for me.
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The odometer reads 12,109.8 miles.
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After a quick wash it looked a lot better. See a
Before & After shot.
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The chrome still had some rust spots and it was still a bit rough around the edges, but cleaning it
made us fell that restoring it was a worthwhile goal.
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The fuel system was one of the first things I tackled. The carbs were dirty but in good shape except
for the gaskets and O-rings. The petcock needed to be replaced.
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I used Naval Jelly to help dissolve the rust in side the tank.
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Then used the POR-15 system to clean and line the inside of the fuel tank.
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The engine was the next thing I went after.
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Many of the screws were stuck and had to be coaxed, fought, and often destroyed to get them out, but
I eventually got the engine apart. |
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I thought the scerws were tough until I met this oil filter cap. It was seized so tightly, I eventually
had to use a hacksaw to cut the end of the housing off in order to continue dismantaling the engine.
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With the engine finally apart, I was happy to see that things were in pretty good shape.
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WD-40 was used to clean years of dust and grime off the engine. I found it was best for cutting through grease and oil.
I used medical cotton swabs to get into all the cracks and crevices.
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The transmission gears looked almost brand new. None showed any signs of wear.
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This was my first experience with a clutch. I was pretty impressed by how it works. This was in good shape, too, but I
went ahead and replaced the discs anyway. Click the picture to see a diagram of how it all goes together.
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I replaced the rings, but the pistons, crankshaft, and cam chain were fine.
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The top end of the engine was dirty but everything looked good. I had the cylinders re-honed, but the valves, springs, and
rocker arms were left alone. Click the picture to see a diagram of how it all goes together.
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The engine fully cleaned and re-assembled
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I thought it looked pretty good.
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The forks were a pain to get out of the triple-tree. They took a bit of work to get cleaned up, and one of the damper rods
was bent and needed to be replaced.
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One of the few new items required for this rebuild was new tires. Also the most expensive. I also replaced the brakes and
a broken turn signal arm, but there were surprisingly few things that needed to be purchased to get the bike back in good form.
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Almost all of the wiring comes through the headlight cannister.
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It's starting to look like a motorcycle again!
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All cleaned and ready to go! My wife had a lot of fun practicing on Pup-Pup before she took her safety class and got her license.
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I used it a few times running around town as well. It's a very fun bike and were glad to have it in the family!
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