So Much For Waiting...

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by Emerikol

BlackBike, I hope to have this thing on the road and riding in 15 MONTHS, not by the time the Bambino is 15 YEARS! Those fork damper rods are really throwing me for a loop, though. On top of that, the guy who took the bike apart just tossed all the nuts and bolts that were taken off the bike into a box without any markings or organization. It looks like that box was also kicked over a few times over the years, because the more I dig into this thing, the more I fin is missing. The little bracket for the key switch? Gone. Finger release for the seat? MIA. Sprocket retainer and bolts for the front sprocket? You guessed it... I have a hard copy of the factory service manual, and that's been a big help getting organized. I'm just going to have to sit down with a box of ziplock bags and do my best to put things into at least larger subgroups, then go from there.

One of those famous "it's all there" comments .

Got tetanus booster? You can use that penetrating spray and rust converter spray to tackle that rust. I wonder if this was stored somewhere else beside the desert over the years?

[Emerikol]

Here's the latest -
I managed to get the front brake hub assembly separated out and one of the brake shoes off the rotating assembly. The rotating actuators are still frozen solid, but I think that if I keep heating and beating, I can get them to free up. From there, it's just a little quick work with some steel wool and penetrating spray to clean up the rust and neglect. As I was breaking everything on the front end down, I discovered that BOTH of the upper pinch collars for the triple tree were cracked right the way through. That's coming off next, and I'll carry that down to a local welding shop and get them to buzz it back together. A little time with a file and a dremel tool should see that right. I have a reproduction wiring harness on the way, and hopefully I'll be picking up a new set of front forks, as well. I'm going to fabricate out a new front brake cable boss to repair the broken lugs that were a result of trying to get the front brake hub assembly out of the front wheel. I'll drill and tap some holes into the hub and mill down the remains of the bosses, and that should solve the problem of hooking the new brake cable up. I'm going to get some new taper bearings for the steering head to replace the loose balls running around there now. My plan for the time being (and almost certainly subject to change) is to get the chassis broken down, cleaned, painted as required, and put back together. I think the last thing I'm going to tackle is the engine. I'm really undecided on how to run that part of the build down. On the one hand, one of the engines I have is nearly 100% complete. It just needs to have the cam chain run back through it and the head put back on. The catch is that the rings and pistons were frozen in the bores when I got the engine. I've been able to get the pistons free, but I don't think the rings are un-stuck from the side of the pistons. I hooked up power to the starter and turned the engine over at high speed to help polish the cylinder walls from the rust. It worked out pretty well, but still not as good as it should be. I ran it through the gears while turning it over with the starter and everything seemed to work the way it should. Neutral was a little hard to find, but that's not a big issue as far as I'm concerned right now. Finally, the headlight bucket is going to have to be replaced. In what is undoubtedly a sign of things to come, the whole back of the bucket was cut out with what I'm guessing was a cut-off disc. I'm thinking the last person that was in there doing electrical work decided that there wasn't enough slack in the wiring harness and gave the headlight bucket a full on lobotomy. Given how many wires are cut and jerked loose, I'm really glad I have a good wiring diagram and a new harness coming. That's all for now.