1979 "Keep It Simple" build

[VosaME]

After months of working on other projects and being distracted by lots of things that life has thrown at me, it is finally time to begin my build! My basic plan of attack is to keep it as simple as possible while drawing a lot of my inspiration from trackers and some cafe styling. I plan to eliminate the starter and battery, and also go to a PMA system. I am going to lighten what I can while keeping the frame unmolested and let the function dictate the form.

I picked up the bike as a basket case for a few hundred bucks and from a guy who was going to rebuild it, but got bored. He bought it from a guy who also was going to rebuild it, but only got as far as taking it apart. It has not been titled since the early 90's and dew to the numerous moves and owners, I fully anticipate that many things will be missing.

All that being said, the frame appears to be in amazing shape and I was told that someone along the way had already been repainted it which seems to be the case. The engine looks very rough, but it turns over and has oil inside and so that is a good sign. It also came with two wiring harnesses, two tanks (different years), pretty decent set of 2-to-1 pipes, a set of really dirty carbs, loads of random lights, and an interesting set of forks/triple tree/brakes/wheel that I think are from a 750 Seca I.

First off, I need to see what is going on inside the engine and determine if any hard parts are needed. The on to the carbs and petcocks and make sure they are going to at least rebuildable and from there I plan to tackle the front end. I am not even sure at this point if I am going to keep those forks, but the dual discs would be nice.

 

[VosaME]

The alternator side cover had been removed at some point and from the looks of it sat in the wet grass for god knows how long. As you can see, it was a little corroded!

I had a chance to use the blaster at work, looks a lot better but it is very, very pitted. It does not look like it went all the way through in any area and there does not appear to be any cracking. I might end up using them, the "patina"kind of gives it a cool look...

I also managed to get some time over the weekend to myself and so set to getting into the engine. Primarily I wanted to figure out if I needed hard parts, and see what the oil screens would reveal. Very oily and lots of sludge, but that is better than rust!

Looks like that JB weld was not just to cover the lettering... big crack in the cover!

Typical busted screen

I also managed to score a second engine from was believed to be a '73 tx650! It is in really rough shape and will need more work than the other but that is no biggy, only cost me $40!

 

[lawrgj]

Nice to see this happening!

 

[VosaME]

Got more done on the engine, as dirty and nasty as the outside looks the inside and really not bad! Lots of old oil and grim but that is so much better than rust or broken bits.

So seeing that I won't be needing the second engine for its hard parts I would like to do a rephase and possibly also big bore, but that got me thinking if there might be a difference in the years. Is there? Would there be any advantage to doing that stuff to one vs the other? One is a '79 the other a '73, or are they basically the same aside from stuff like the cam chain tensioner?

Anyway, here are the pics, I plan to get the case split this weekend and then start cleaning while the parts are on order.

 

[lawrgj]

nice vosa

 

[lawrgj]

Vosa if you need any parts you just ask, and please if you are getting rid of anything throw me a pm... I have some cool stuff from my build

 

[VosaME]

Vosa if you need any parts you just ask, and please if you are getting rid of anything throw me a pm... I have some cool stuff from my build

What are you getting rid of? I may need some motor mounts if you have extra, specifically the top mounts, although I may just fab my own. Was there anything you need, I am not using much of the stock stuff?

 

[lawrgj]

well right now all i need is a kick lever, but I would love firsties if you plan on selling anything

 

[VosaME]

well right now all i need is a kick lever, but I would love firsties if you plan on selling anything

Unfortunately, the kick lever was missing from the second engine so I am short one myself. I will definitely will let you know when I am selling my extras and you can have dibs!

 

[ClOckwOrk]

I have a pair of good case covers if you need some

Posted via Mobile

 

[VosaME]

I have a pair of good case covers if you need some

Posted via Mobile

Yes, I need at least one set! Let me know how much it would be shipped to 97239, and if you have a picture that would be great, thanks!

 

[VosaME]

Got a chance to work on the engine for a few hours today and just about have her all torn down! Got the clutch apart and will definitely need to get some new dics for it, pretty badly worn. Other than that there were no surprises, I had expected the case to be a pain to split but a few taps and came apart no problem!

I had a question for those who have done a full rebuild before, did you replace the crank bearings? All of mine feel smooth and damn near perfect, any reason I should replace them? I went into this expecting to find major problems but nothing is wrong with any of it as it turns out, so just do seals/gaskets and a full cleaning?

I am interested in anyones input, thanks!

 

[VosaME]

Sorry for the delay on this, it is amazing how the days just slip away! I just about have all of the engine blasted and scrubbed, hoping to start the assembly process very soon. Here are a few pictures of the final product, so shiny!

 

[hard_y_rd]

It makes a big difference after blasting. Brand spankin.

 

[VosaME]

Quick update, making progress on the cleaning and preping it is just slow going. Also got a bunch of the goodies that I needed from mikesXS as well as some other random things. Slowly it is coming together... slowly...

 

[VosaME]

I know it has been a while since I updated, it seems like there is not much time these days. I am making progress and most of the big engine parts are being painted this week. After playing with a lot of different paint options I found an engine enamel called "cast iron" and really fell in love with the color.

I might also be changing the overall direction of the build a little too, not sure yet. At this point I am just going to let things direct themselves, no point if forcing it!

A little paint teaser:

 

[Scrambled]

Looking good so far . Nice to see a basket case being brought back from the dead. I wasn't even going to look at this thread, I figured it was probably just another angle grinder massacre , the typical " The engine is siezed , what kind of hard tail should I get and how do you weld ? " thread . You got the right idea, start with a running motor and go from there . Reverse engineering vs backwards engineering , subscribed .

 

[tshadow6]

Good luck with your build. Seeing pictures of your basket case makes my project look easy. Have you done re-builds before? I am asking because I am on my first project bike.

 

[jefft]

Can you give some more info on the paint you used on the engine, brand, where you found it?
jefft

 

[VosaME]

Looking good so far . Nice to see a basket case being brought back from the dead. I wasn't even going to look at this thread, I figured it was probably just another angle grinder massacre , the typical " The engine is siezed , what kind of hard tail should I get and how do you weld ? " thread . You got the right idea, start with a running motor and go from there . Reverse engineering vs backwards engineering , subscribed .

Thanks Scrambled! Glad there are others that appreciate a restoration build and not just a hack and tack. Not that there is anything wrong with that kind of build, just not my style. The hard parts of the engine were in good shape so i am lucky there, the hardest part is that so much is missing!