I just want you to keep in mind that any time you complete a project like this there will be unexpected bugs that need to be worked out before you can consider it finished. So far I have run into 3.
The bike is complete except for the headlight. I pulled it outside and snapped a couple pictures and prepared for a test ride.
Well that test ride lasted about 4 minutes. The engine was shaking like crazy. ran just fine and didnt make any weird noises….it just shook. So back on the lift table to address a very likely incorrectly timed balancer system.
Luckily getting to the balancer system isn’t too big of a deal. The balancer systems job is to cancel out the vibration caused by the single piston moving up and down in the engine. When you have multiple pistons they help balance each other out but just one piston is a lot of weight moving up and down and it needs to be balanced out. The balancer system consists of a series of weights inside the engine that are connected together and to the crankshaft with a chain. All of these weights need to be aligned with each other and then aligned with the crankshaft so that when the piston goes up the weights go down and thus balance each other.
Well guess what captain dingus over here did……When I assembled the engine I lined up all the weights with each other perfectly but then I lined them up with the crankshaft exactly 180 degrees incorrectly……I successfully did that job the most amount of incorrect it was possible to do. So in that scenario the piston and the weights were all moving up and down in sync…..effectively creating a 692cc concrete vibrator. After getting over my shame I fixed the problem in just a couple minutes and slapped it all back together and went for another test ride.
What a great machine! Plenty of power and she runs like a dream! Everything is working great and I’m planning to ride it for 30 minutes or so and start the break in process. And then it stalls. O come on not now. I managed to get it started again but it just refused to run with less than half throttle. I got it back home but I had to really help it stay alive the whole time and it was back firing and chugging….pretty embarrassing really. I assumed I had sucked some dirt or junk into a jet in the carb and would have to clean the carb again. UGH that’s not what I want to be doing right now! As I was strapping the bike back on the table I noticed something that made me laugh and kind of cringe…..
That is the vent line for the carburetor….and I routed it the wrong way during reassembly…..right next to the exhaust. I’m no expert on the voodoo that happens inside a carburetor but I am at least 68% sure that the vent line should not be melted shut. I fixed that and routed it more intelligently this time and then pulled the bowl off the carb and pulled the jets just to be sure. The main and pilot were both clean as a whistle so I put it all back together and what do you know…..it runs great.
The third problem is a much less major one. The neutral light is very intermittent. I found that when I turn the bars hard to the right the light works so I likely have a broken wire or bad connection near the bars. Ill get that fixed soon but its not a huge deal right now.
All things considered I have to say I think I did pretty well. I’ve never torn apart a motorcycle before and I managed to get it back together without any major issues and do some pretty cool modifications along the way. Once I get the headlight done Ill post some final pictures and a list of everything that was done.