79 Special II RestoCustom "Doomy"

I usually check mine at every tire change but I'll admit to being a little better set up to do this than most. I built myself a very nice wheel balance/truing stand many years ago and I use it often .....

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Recently, I acquired one of the commercial balancing stands off Craigslist simply because it was a good deal ($25 new in the box) .....

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While good for balancing, it's not so good (yet) for truing. It has no stops to keep the "axle" from sliding left/right on the bearings. I'm going to have to make some. Truth be told, my homemade stand works just as good, if not better. It is better for truing because I can shim the wheel with spacers to keep it from shifting left/right .....

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That way, my dial gauge readings stay consistent .....

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And while the commercial stand has 4 adjustable feet to level it, I accomplished the same thing on my homemade stand by simply making one of the legs adjustable for height. Having to fool with just one adjustment is much easier than four .....

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I usually check mine at every tire change but I'll admit to being a little better set up to do this than most. I built myself a very nice wheel balance/truing stand many years ago and I use it often .....

T8Lnb99.jpg


llT2CL0.jpg


Recently, I acquired one of the commercial balancing stands off Craigslist simply because it was a good deal ($25 new in the box) .....

full


While good for balancing, it's not so good (yet) for truing. It has no stops to keep the "axle" from sliding left/right on the bearings. I'm going to have to make some. Truth be told, my homemade stand works just as good, if not better. It is better for truing because I can shim the wheel with spacers to keep it from shifting left/right .....

full


full


That way, my dial gauge readings stay consistent .....

full


And while the commercial stand has 4 adjustable feet to level it, I accomplished the same thing on my homemade stand by simply making one of the legs adjustable for height. Having to fool with just one adjustment is much easier than four .....

full

5T, I love your ingenuity! You’ve got a homemade tool for everything! :thumbsup:
 
Front end assembly in progress for the project ran into another delay when a supposedly simple fork oil change revealed some previous damage to one of the fork top caps. We owners do know that it can be a little tricky pushing the fragile 1.0 pitch aluminum threads against the fork spring tension carefully holding alignment while turning, feeling for that lead thread to find a start. Well, this cap required careful thread prep with a sharp dental pic and some light thread filing even. All turned out fine but this kind of repair requires good light, patience, and care as those threads are a fragile part.
:thumbsup:
Then I was able to move on to the fork chrome bling which was sourced. Special headlight ears and Standard bottom chrome trim look real nice together. And luckily with the tapered stem bearings set. All the components fit very nice. The tension on the rubber bushings is as good as any. Score! The very nice chrome headlight is inline too but the ignition switch needs attention first.
Anyway, little here, little there, this project is going forward. Not as fast as any of us wish but hey, its only January. Check out the chrome bolts (Yamaha #6 even) sourced from DogBunny
Its important to me to use very nice fasteners and components not only for looks, but fit & function too. The bars and whole front end feels real solid and smooth so far
-R
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Plenty to do :cool:
 

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Machine you probably know this but thought I would add to the battle of threading the fork cap. I start it in the fork before the spring and where the threads start to “catch” I mark a line on the cap and fork. This allows for less struggle and guessing to where it starts. Has helped greatly for me in the few last fork rebuilds I had to do. Looking great so far! JC :thumbsup:
 
Shoot! Wrestling match here and I'm down..
After many years of changing my own tires this front D401F Harley Davidson 100/90-19 is really refusing to bead up all around the rim. I've tried airing it up to 50psi a couple times. Bouncing it on the pavement. Snacking it with a dead blow hammer. I'm starting to wonder if a Harley rim has slightly different specs? IDK yet. Actually calling for help on this one as my D401 high hopes are stressed.
-R
 

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Did you put any kind of lubricant on the tire?
Soapy water works well, some people like WD40.
 
:laughing: "snacking" you dirty dog Jim picking on a guy when he is down!
Update, yes soapy water around the bead. I actually zip ties the valve stem area a bit tight to help the opposite side creep. Heated the wheel up in front of the wall heater, pumped the bicycle pump to max! Lol and continued "snacking" with the dead blow ironically right on the word Harley until it slipped into position. That was one tight MoFo ! But it runs as true as any now whew, I'm beat :smoke:
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Yes, lube it up real good, and go 55 to 60 lbs. if need be. It should seat. You may need to break it loose all around again and start from scratch so to speak. You really need to break it loose anyway to get the lube in there.
 
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the "PO" wasn't into polishing. The forks are lightly sprayed with silver paint in some places. I've sprayed them with this "Kwik Strip" and let me say there is nothing quick about this stuff. Perhaps it is too cold here but this paint is not even wrinkling yet. Oh No, this is going to take too much time... polishing ? Oh..
I just want the front wheel & brakes on there.
 
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Just a Sunday mock up pic of how yesterdays hurdles were over come. The forks though will not be polished to a glossy shine will be a good clean rough polished color match to the rest of the bike. Color combos of tumbled aluminum, chrome, painted silvers etc. The front discs are being addressed for paint. The rear fender and tail light and custom located turn signals are hot on the "want to do" list now that the whole front end plan is pretty sorted out
:cool:
-R
 
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Friday, ignition switch completely cleaned and greased well. That was tricky lol. One pic -
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After the switch , Installation of all the nice chrome headlight pieces. Bucket , trim , bolts , and finally all the Front Turn Signals too ! :yikes:
This all of course lead to very time consuming wiring harness routing and securing. Awesome !;)
 

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The way you've tied the main harness to the upper backbone and routed it above the puck holders may interfere with gas tank mounting, or at the very least, make it more difficult. In that position, the harness may knock the rubber pucks off the tank as you try to remove or install it. The usual routing is below the puck holders .....

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The only issue with this is that over time, the two large harness looms tend to sag down and pull out of the headlight. This can be remedied by installing what I call a harness "sling". Yamaha thoughtfully provided some holes in the steering neck gusset plate for us to do this. You will need two 8" cable ties. Stick one through the holes in both plates from one side, the other from the other side. That will give you a male and female cable tie end on each side. Loop them around the looms and snug them up enough to pull the harness loom up under the puck holder on each side .....

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Above was my first attempt. It didn't hold up for much more than a year or so. The sharp edges of the holes cut through the cable ties. So, I came up with my "cable sling v2.0", lol. I now put rubber grommets in the holes and the cable tie cutting issue is solved .....

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