Finally making some progress on my 79. Picked it up pretty much stock about 4 years for 600 bucks with 8000 miles on it. By stock, I mean everythinnnnng. I put a few hundred bucks into it by putting new handlebars, mirrors, 50/50 treads, shorty blinkers, and a new headlight bucket on the bike. With the shorty blinkers, the lights started acting up, only working past 3000k rpm. Switched out the relay for a generic relay from the autoparts store and now they work perfectly, even without the bike running.
At the end of the season last year, the 37 year old chain decided to break on me while going down the highway. Luckily, nothing bad happened. I had adjusted the chain about 2 weeks earlier to spec but it seemed to be getting loose again at the time of the break.
Fast forward to this spring.
I decided to order new carb holders, stainless steel engine hardware (PO had replaced sprocket cover bolts with hex heads), new air filters, new oil filter and oil filter washer plate (who knows what happened to the old one), new front and rear sprockets and chain, a new shift lever (broke the old one taking sprocket cover off), new fuel line, and new rear shocks/springs.
gotta pick up a new inline fuel filter.
While tearing the bike down, I broke the two hinge bolts on the front hinge in the seat pan. These are going to be fun getting out. any suggestions?
The frame has quite a few rusty spots around the welds...a complete tear down and repaint will be in order quite soon.
I cleaned 37 years or dirt and oil/grease from the frame today the best I could without totally dismantling her.
I also replaced the old cracked carb holders. The old ones were in terrible shape, but none of the cracks were all the way through once I pulled them off and inspected them.
I cleaned the H-pipe and air boxes which also had years of grime built up. I checked the air filters last year and they were fine but when I pulled them apart a few hours ago...........
I cleaned the carbs the best I could without taking them apart, but a refresh will also be in order soon.
I replaced the bolts on the crankcase cover, starter cover, and points cover with the stainless hardware.
The inside of the sprocket cover was a mess. What is the best way to clean this area while protecting the wiring?
To do in the next few days....replace sprockets and chain, replace rear shocks, change oil, filter, and o-rings, drain and replace front shock fluid, I think ill bleed the brake lines, replace air filters, replace fuel line and filter, put it all back together, and hopefully
!