Dickin Around in Doug's Garage

[MrFurious]

Doug, do you ever make it up to the AMCA National in Wauseon or the AMA Vintage Days at Mid-Ohio? Both are in July so I'm guessing not since that's when you're usually on the other side of the pond.

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by rtwdoug

So I went to swap them out, and I realized that the sprocket that is on the bike was not the correct splined one, and had been WELDED onto the hub! SHIT!

It wouldn't be you without that element of comedy! 

[rtwdoug]

I got the 101 tuned & running pretty good. I got a belt to hook up the new cycle electrics generator.
Got it all hooked up, but when I fired up the bike, nothing is coming out of the genny. WTF?
I had put the one off my 48 on it, as I knew it was in good shape. I checked everything, but no voltage coming out. So I called the guys at C.E. to ask their advice.
They say you learn something new everyday. What I learned today was, that chief & scout generators spin opposite ways. So, all I have to do is swap the wires inside. But, when I opened it up, the wires are too short, so I would have to solder extensions on them, and I figured that doing that would just be asking for problems.
So I stuck on the geo alternator that I had been running for 13 years. Yeah, it looks like crap, but it works.

Next, was the seat t bar was a bit sloppy, theres a bushing in there, but its a little loose, so I thought if I knurled it, it would be a little bigger, & take up some of the slack.

Im sure you are thinking that I put the knurling attachment on my lathe, but I did it the faster redneck way.
2 large files, a vice & a hammer



tap one end of a file, it rolls the spacer in the middle, & knurles it.



fits much better now



I also had the rebuild kit for the hand oil pump. I'd never used it, as its mostly for hard use situations, pulling a sidecar, climbing mountains, etc.
But, I had the parts, may as well put it in.

The old leather washers were a bit shot. They came out in pieces.



Works fine now with the new parts



I got the cannonball number plate kit in the mail, so now I can make the bike look official!


So last weekend, I took it for a shakedown ride, 400 miles in the smoky mountains. I had a couple leaks pop up, but it ran perfect the whole time.

[rtwdoug]

I picked up a couple bikes in a trade, both came from an estate, both had been sitting in a garage for 13 years. the harley is an 86 FXRD, its the grand touring edition, less than 1000 of them made.

The other is a BMW K1, looks like something out of Tron.

So theres 2 bikes, both sitting in the same garage for the same time, with the same old gas. I wonder which one will be the easier fix?

hmmmmmmmm.........





so first, the harley. new battery, pull the carb off & clean it. replace a fuel line.
Start it up, and go for a ride. took a couple of hours.

next, the bmw. should be just as easy, right?

HA!

new battery, lights come on, but no fuel. (I figured as much) so, I get a new fuel pump & filter. Not from BMW of course, as the pump is over 300 bucks. But, one for a ford mustang does the same thing, & costs 60.00
Guess which one I chose?

Plus, the rubber? or whatever is in the tank, around the filter, had turned to this horrible black goo. it took awhile to get it all out of the tank.

ok, turn the key on, pump buzzes, motor spins, wont start.

hmmmmmm

I dicked around with a few things, nothing. Put in new spark plugs, nothing. Just to try something, I opened the airbox, & give a shot of ether, & it fired. OK.......
so I pull the injectors, & hook a battery to them. nothing. they should click, so they must be stuck.
So, I sprayed carb cleaner in them, & tapped them on the floor. I hooked a battery to it, & it clicked & opened up. so I did that with all of them, put in new orings, & it started! Finally!

But.... the brakes are not working. So i cant ride it yet. I dunno who designed the brake setup, but what a pain in the ass. it took forever to get the front working, even using a vacuum pump to pull the air out.
I spent a whole day on the brakes, and the rear STILL doesnt work.
But at least I can ride it now.

the fun injector bank. I got really good at removing them



I didnt have any BMW oil, hope the harley oil doesnt kill it......



After getting both bikes back on the road, heres what it took.

Harley- battery. fuel line, clean the carb. 2 hours total. & 60.00

BMW - battery, fuel line, fuel pump, filter, o rings, 3 days, 200.00, and the rear brake still isnt working.

Jeez I love BMW's!

[rtwdoug]

just when I think there cant POSSIBLY be any other old bikes around here in garages, another pops up

this is a 73 Norton hi-rider its their 'factory chopper'
Hard to find with the original goofy seat & hi bars. I'm guessing they patterned this for the kid that had a schwinn stingray, & now was grown up.

Looks to be original, except they didnt come in red, but a friend of mine has a NOS tangerine tank, so now I just need to find the sidecovers :)

oh, and it looks like the reason it was parked years ago, is that the smoke leaked out of some of the wires, so I'll have to fix that.

[blaine.hale]

So let's hear what it takes to get that Norton running

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by blaine.hale

So let's hear what it takes to get that Norton running

Yeah, I haven't been able to buy a gallon of wiring smoke in years.

[BeachGuy]

Doug, Doug, Doug! It took 3 days and 2 hours plus $260.00 to get two Hangar Queens which have been sitting for 13 years to run. Dude, you need to get out and ride some more.

Hell I just spent $500.00 and 2 days rebuilding the brakes on my car. I would much rather have worked on the K1 Tron bike, then I would have felt like I accomplished something for my time and effort.

If you are in need of a rider for Tron, just call, maybe I’ll even fix the rear brake for ya. Damn ABS system.

Looking forward to your postings on the Cannonball Run.

[RedRocket]

Banana Seat!




The HD vs BMW story was no surprise to me.

[Rapid Dog]

...I don't wanna know what you paid for the K-1, no.

[Brian-M]

Originally Posted by Rapid Dog

...I don't wanna know what you paid for the K-1, no.

I do.... I'd love to put a handfull of miles on it too, don't want to own one though...

Hrm, I'm only 1 state over.... Sayyy, Doug... naw, my thumb's still messed up from pushing it through a table saw, not up for riding just yet.

[Beater]

About every 10 years or so BMW comes up with a God Aweful bike to look at. The K1 takes the cake for the 90's.

The Blue / Yellow wasn't as bad as the Red / Yellow scheme ... but geez.

So do you think that your familiarity with Harley's influenced the time needed to get both bikes running?

[rtwdoug]

yeah, Im happy its not the Ronald McDonald edition.

FWIW, I actually went thru BMW school in 91, and (at the time) got level 1 factory certification. After 200 hours spent learning BMW's, I decided I didnt want a job working on them.

all of my Harley training has mostly been real world learning, usually alongside a road somewhere

Originally Posted by Beater

About every 10 years or so BMW comes up with a God Aweful bike to look at. The K1 takes the cake for the 90's.

The Blue / Yellow wasn't as bad as the Red / Yellow scheme ... but geez.

So do you think that your familiarity with Harley's influenced the time needed to get both bikes running?

[Yannick]

Yes but carburators are so simple to fix compared to injectors (that's certainly one of the reasons why I don't wanna sell my old bikes).
Now that all Harley have injection too, I think it would be as hard to wake-up a bike sleeping for 13 years, as it was for that BMW.

[mike54]

Redneck knurling. You learn something new everyday.