My PC tells me that's a little over 700 miles. Hadn't heard of the Tail of the Dragon so I watched this video - Gulp!
Back to the X75 . . .
Back to the X75 . . .
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Hurricane resurrection
- Thread starter GLJ
- Start date
The Tail is only about 11 miles long....but whoa man - those are SOME 11 miles of twisty up and down roads with animals such as bears, deer etc., lurking in the woods, tree debris sprinkled around all over the road and NO shoulders for most of the distance. On one side you have a steep up-hill with rocks and trees and on the other side you have a 200+ foot cliff with stumps and boulders all the way down.
If you mess-up - you will get messed up.
I don't recommend riding the Dragon for the first time a 1 O'clock in the morning in rain and fog after being in the saddle for 20 some hours. Not much fun. I was in survival mode. If I would have gone much slower around the hairpins I would have had to get off and walk the bike.That said it was an experience I will never forget. It was much more enjoyable going home on Monday morning in daylight. Pete Oh by the way I got there Thursday night. You guys didn't see much of me on Friday because I was trying to recover from the ride down. That took all weekend and then some.
s y
As you can see even in daylight I didn't have much lean angle.
As you can see even in daylight I didn't have much lean angle.
Side note: The old girl did do 1700+ smiles with no major problems. She handled the trip with less complaints than I did.
This a shameless plug for the Vintage Yamaha Rally. If possible GO. Everybody there was great. The Iron Horse is excellent. Plus there are so many cool old Yamahas to see and talk to their owners.
Fyi...got a hall of fame article in this month's AMA mag about your hurricane
...life member here...
...life member here...
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There's a BIG OLD TREE with carnage nailed to it to prove it.
Back to resurrecting.
Working on getting the engine out. Made up some crude tools to help with the lifting. She's heavier than a 650. I wanted to use my hydraulic lift but this engine doesn't lend its self to that. Only plan on doing 1 triple so we'll horse it out and back in.
Also starting on a stand for it.
Working on getting the engine out. Made up some crude tools to help with the lifting. She's heavier than a 650. I wanted to use my hydraulic lift but this engine doesn't lend its self to that. Only plan on doing 1 triple so we'll horse it out and back in.
Also starting on a stand for it.
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Be careful and don’t wreck your back. Can you pester someone into helping you?
My buddy is going to help me. I would not attempt it by my self. Either me or the bike would get hurt. Or both.
When I took the motor out of "The Basketcase" (a '75), I had a buddy help me. In my case, I only needed a "third hand", even to get it up on an engine stand. Yes. I can see where your Hurricane motor would be a two-man lift... 
Indeed - an XS650 engine reportedly weighs about 165 lbs but I'd wager the 750 cc BSA / Triumph triple would top 200 lbs and it is also bigger and thus harder to get your arms around.
Your lifting arrangements look good and solid for a couple of strapping young lads though Greg!
Pete
Your lifting arrangements look good and solid for a couple of strapping young lads though Greg!
Pete
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Wish there were a couple of strapping young lads around. Going to have to be and a buddy. He's older than I am.
Engine stand under construction.
Got the engine out. That went very well. Engine resting comfortably on a semi-finished stand.
Finished stripping the rest of the stuff off of the frame. Frame and other parts at powder coater. Started cleaning parts up. Trying to do it in the order they should be going back on. Plus I wanted to see how well some of the parts will look. Started with the yolks. Before.
After hot tank.
One done.
Both done.
There are not perfect but I'm not going for perfect. Hell they weren't perfect when they left the factory.
Also spent some time on the forks.
Found some issues but no show stoppers yet. I'll show those as I get to them. Going to start on the wheels next while I wait for the first wave of parts to arrive.
Finished stripping the rest of the stuff off of the frame. Frame and other parts at powder coater. Started cleaning parts up. Trying to do it in the order they should be going back on. Plus I wanted to see how well some of the parts will look. Started with the yolks. Before.
After hot tank.
One done.
Both done.
There are not perfect but I'm not going for perfect. Hell they weren't perfect when they left the factory.
Also spent some time on the forks.
Found some issues but no show stoppers yet. I'll show those as I get to them. Going to start on the wheels next while I wait for the first wave of parts to arrive.
Looks great Greg! You’re moving right along on this, how exciting! These bikes are so iconic and rare, there should be a registry for them, like Cobras. Carry on! 
By the way, have you ever rode a right side shift before. It takes some getting used to, have to overcome your muscle memory!
By the way, have you ever rode a right side shift before. It takes some getting used to, have to overcome your muscle memory!
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I rode this bike way back when. All my other bikes were left hand shift. Normally just rode the Triumph during lunch or Sunday afternoons. The right hand shift took some getting used to. There were times I messed up. It let me know real fast when I would use the shifter for the brake or try to shift the brake.
