Godspeed Wyatt.
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Old Brown
- Thread starter Team Junk
- Start date
Old Brown had a good weekend. A couple of my children showed up and helped get her down off the workbench and out into the sunshine. Ran it for a total of about 30 minutes. The new pipes are a big improvement but a little quiet. May have to drill out the rivet that holds the baffle and do a little trimming. It sits and ticks over at idle. When I try to rev it at about 3000 rpm it spits back through the carbs. I’m hoping it has to do with the timing not advancing. It was nice to hear it run.
In the meanwhile I have a couple of new chinese igniter boxes to try with the stock TCI pickup coils. Both use smaller magnets on their flywheels that are closer in size to the 650’s
Went to the courthouse to check on the title status. Not in the computer. Will have to send off to DMV for a copy. Apparently the archives are in Wichita Falls of all places.
Meanwhile something jumped in the back of the truck and followed me home. A cruiser version of the Ninja 500 twinn 1991 model with 3100 miles. Crappy Keihin carbs in pieces and wheelbarrow handlebars. Added bonus, a Harley peanut tank that weighs at least 20 pounds.What do they make those things out of ?
In the meanwhile I have a couple of new chinese igniter boxes to try with the stock TCI pickup coils. Both use smaller magnets on their flywheels that are closer in size to the 650’s
Went to the courthouse to check on the title status. Not in the computer. Will have to send off to DMV for a copy. Apparently the archives are in Wichita Falls of all places.
Meanwhile something jumped in the back of the truck and followed me home. A cruiser version of the Ninja 500 twinn 1991 model with 3100 miles. Crappy Keihin carbs in pieces and wheelbarrow handlebars. Added bonus, a Harley peanut tank that weighs at least 20 pounds.What do they make those things out of ?
Well, two steps forward and one step back.
Pulled the wheels off to install tires. When I put the front end I was mainly concerned with if it would fit and to get the bike rolling. Looking at the front wheel when I pulled it, the bearings on the speedo side showed signs of water intrusion. The oil seals on both sides hard as a rock and falling apart. Found a kit of All Balls bearings and seals for a later FJ759 that had the right bearings and seals on Amazon cheap. Only problem was I have no tool to pull the bearings.
After several days of trying to break the bead of the rear tire that was mounted in 1980, I threw both wheels in truck and went to the local tire store and had them remove the tires. When I got home I noticed that all the jostling around had displaced the center spacer just enough to give me purchase in the speedo side bearing to drive it out. The good news was the grease in the speedo housing prevented damage to the spacer and other bearing. Installed the tire and then the bearing and seals. Moving on to the rear wheel, the inside of the rim was nasty. Wire brush on a drill cleaned it up. After reading the thread on tubeless on early cast wheels I had decided to risk going tubeless but ran into a snag. The hole for the valve stem is too small to put a standard valve in. Punt. Ordered a tube.
Pulled the wheels off to install tires. When I put the front end I was mainly concerned with if it would fit and to get the bike rolling. Looking at the front wheel when I pulled it, the bearings on the speedo side showed signs of water intrusion. The oil seals on both sides hard as a rock and falling apart. Found a kit of All Balls bearings and seals for a later FJ759 that had the right bearings and seals on Amazon cheap. Only problem was I have no tool to pull the bearings.
After several days of trying to break the bead of the rear tire that was mounted in 1980, I threw both wheels in truck and went to the local tire store and had them remove the tires. When I got home I noticed that all the jostling around had displaced the center spacer just enough to give me purchase in the speedo side bearing to drive it out. The good news was the grease in the speedo housing prevented damage to the spacer and other bearing. Installed the tire and then the bearing and seals. Moving on to the rear wheel, the inside of the rim was nasty. Wire brush on a drill cleaned it up. After reading the thread on tubeless on early cast wheels I had decided to risk going tubeless but ran into a snag. The hole for the valve stem is too small to put a standard valve in. Punt. Ordered a tube.
Have no idea what the spudge on the inside of the wheel was. 2 inch wire wheel made quick work of it.
Spudge? Water intrusion? Crusty? Difficulty breaking the bead? Check it out:
The old tires were so rock hard, I had to use the old "utility knife on the sidewalls, then hacksaw the bead" trick to get them off. Bearings were no picnic either. So I made a tool (as shown in the Clymer manual) to drive them out. Both rims showed evidence of water intrusion (probably from "The Basketcase" holding up the side of a shed for too long). As luck would have it, I only had to cut four spokes from the rear. The rims and hubs are with a buddy, getting polished, after wire wheels, and "scrubby" type discs.
The old tires were so rock hard, I had to use the old "utility knife on the sidewalls, then hacksaw the bead" trick to get them off. Bearings were no picnic either. So I made a tool (as shown in the Clymer manual) to drive them out. Both rims showed evidence of water intrusion (probably from "The Basketcase" holding up the side of a shed for too long). As luck would have it, I only had to cut four spokes from the rear. The rims and hubs are with a buddy, getting polished, after wire wheels, and "scrubby" type discs.
Brake cleaner is nasty stuff. Did a nice job of removing 30 years of grime on the front end. When I installed it a few years ago it went on as a assembly to see if would work out. Had not noticed how nasty it was until I went to pull the wheel off. It's not show quality now but not so groody.
Attachments
Lots of progress there. You're doing great!
Lookin' good.
Was hoping to be further along at this point. Was not expecting a steady stream of 90+ days all the way into October. Temp is going to yoyo for the next few days. It's 89 degrees at 7:30 PM right now and it will be a high of 60 tomorrow. May have to wait till Monday to mount the rear tire when it hits 90 again. The one thing that the heat helps.
Sadly the Texas has gotten rid of my title record. They say if I can find a renewal or anything else related they will reissue my title.
It was last registered around 1985. I have gone through 4 hurricanes , 2 floods and 3 ex wifes. The chances of me finding any paperwork is nil. I guess I will have to do a bonded title. Crap.
Sadly the Texas has gotten rid of my title record. They say if I can find a renewal or anything else related they will reissue my title.
It was last registered around 1985. I have gone through 4 hurricanes , 2 floods and 3 ex wifes. The chances of me finding any paperwork is nil. I guess I will have to do a bonded title. Crap.
You may be on to something Jim
Heh... reminds me of an old joke...
Q. What do a tornado and and divorced Texas girl have in common?
A. When either one comes to town, someone's gonna lose a trailer.
Q. What do a tornado and and divorced Texas girl have in common?
A. When either one comes to town, someone's gonna lose a trailer.
I'm thinking of reversing the rear axle and adjusters so that it can be removed without molesting the exhaust system. Will this cause any problems?
No prob, the adjusters only have a reference line on the top so new ones filed on the other side would be good. What exhaust? You know the specials have removable inserts in the swing arm so the wheel axle etc can come straight out the back once the chain is removed?
Yes that's a feature that I really liked about the 650. I had never seen anything like it back then. I have a 2 into 1 so the muffler is on the right side. I guess it doesn't really matter.
A coworker of mine bought a Royal Enfield after taking a rider safety course for a story. He called me one morning asking for help. His chain had fallen off at the bottom of my hill. It took 3 trips back to the house for tools and a ratchet strap hooked up to my truck to pull on the back wheel to adjust the chain. Most screwed up chain adjustment I’ve ever come across.
A coworker of mine bought a Royal Enfield after taking a rider safety course for a story. He called me one morning asking for help. His chain had fallen off at the bottom of my hill. It took 3 trips back to the house for tools and a ratchet strap hooked up to my truck to pull on the back wheel to adjust the chain. Most screwed up chain adjustment I’ve ever come across.
I'm so sad. Just heard Hanoi Jane got arrested at a climate protest.
Back when I started putting Old Brown back together I just figured on scrounging parts in the barn, throwing them together and riding. Then I started hanging out here and saw all the scrubbing, polishing and fabricating going on. Then there is the nice clean work spaces and organized workbenches. I work in a barn with a dirt floor. My workbench is piled high with crap. Today I spent the day cleaning up the rear axle hardware,scrubbing them with scotchbrite. Realy, I have never given a c++p about how my chain adjusters and bearing spacers looked like. I’m finding it hard to resist pulling my rear caliper mount off.and repainting it. To top it off, every time I walk around the front of the bike I see that damn fork brace that would look really pretty if I figured out how to remove the remaining clear coat and clean it up. Just looked at a post with pictures of a rebuilt carb. Looks better than mine did when I bought the bike 40+ years ago. Gees this spiraling out of control. At this rate I’ll never get this thing running. All I can say is there are some bad influences running around this site.
