The Patience build.

Your first sales pitch is always the best!
 
Still cleaning and working what I can without opening another major project. I want to get my chassis/roller done before I get into the engine so it was on to fork tubes and lowers today. First time I’ve done a cap with a recessed fitting. Luckily the factory tool kit comes with a tool. 63441AD4-6E69-4229-B10E-121D159192EE.jpeg
Worked great on the first cap, not so much on the second so my BIL swung by, picked up the cap I had loose and made me a Allen socket wrench for those caps. I then tried loosening the Allen bolt to pull the fork cylinder and tube free and can’t get that $&#@‘ to come out. Tomorrow I plan to use a dowel to put a little pressure on the top of the cylinder because the darn thing is just spinning. First time they’ve never just come out for me…I can also tell from the fluids I’ve been draining from various places on this machine that it is probably 45 y/o factory oil.
 
Yes, that bottom bolt into the damper rod is installed with thread locker and sealer so even once you break it loose, it turns out hard the whole way, and usually just spins the damper rod unless you hold it with something. The top of your damper rod has flats on the side and sometimes you can make up a special holding tool by pinching the end of a pipe part way closed.
 
Thanks 5T I could have sworn the top of that damper was round so I figured just downward pressure from a dowel would work but knowing that I’ll figure something out.
 
The top of a '77 damper rod is similar to the '76 but not exactly the same size. A tool made for the '77 isn't going to fit a '76.
 
Got the one tube apart by wedging a long flat head tip against the damper. All the old thread locker was gunked up I’m sure on the threads so I also put some heat on it with a heat gun blowing into the bottom where the bolt was. I’ll get my wrench tomorrow and see about that second tube. I’m the meantime I dis assembled the master cylinder and caliper, got my top triple stripped and did a little powder coating.7CDF6CFF-BE41-4E31-9B48-EC0DE6028BDD.jpegF07FF3A0-68A8-4103-A410-A6347E9C29AC.jpeg
 
Didn’t do much this weekend. Sisters Bday so spent the day in Bossier City yesterday. Today I put my front Caliper and the Master Cylinder back to gather with new parts and seals and put them to the side.DD4C1487-3929-4C9C-B8DA-A0AAD4888138.jpeg
Decided to clean up the fork lowers and get the new seals in them but until I get the wheel situation taken care of I can only replace seals.ED5BF6A2-365D-4706-92F4-C947DE3D377B.jpegBFD603B5-D285-46F9-B759-D1D367B7C381.jpeg
 
My Dad has two Kryptonites. Taxes and Gophers. Can’t do anything about the first so he enthusiastically goes after the second.EA570EA7-541E-43EA-9390-60335AD286A4.jpeg Two tanks of gas equals about 6 hr run time
 
The travel switches for the garage door openers showed up so we spent some time on those. Success!!! Funny how two circuits from the same batch were bad. During the process while Pops was hooking up the wires I got the fork tubes back together. I got a set of seals and boots from All Balls that were nice but the boots seemed a tad small. I just folded them back like a sock and they went on no problem.01783980-0A3E-4FAE-8BA5-3148D3D76B19.jpegB7F59C8D-F542-4303-BC8A-5B03D3A4C2CE.jpeg
 
I’m leaving to go home on Fri and will be back to tear into the engine probably sometime in Jan when it’s 10* at home and 30’s/40’s here but I’m trying to get everything ready that I need to assemble once that’s done. Cleaned up the back hub, wished I’d have taken a pic before I sanded it.F65344C8-35E6-4F30-B375-5D58DA6D5B0F.jpegimage.jpg
One question I have. I replaced the shoes which were OE but does anyone know if they were Asbestos?4FC74528-D4B9-4A36-9E4A-304B6C3E26C3.jpeg
 
I don't know if they're asbestos (maybe considering their age) but I can tell you they work pretty good. If they're still in good shape (not de-laminating) and still pretty thick, I'd keep using them. There is one little "gotcha" on assembling that rear hub. The brake cam actually isn't symmetrical, even though you can't see the small difference with the naked eye. One side pushes it's shoe more than the other. This is to compensate for the difference in length from the shoe pivot point at the front .....

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Yamaha was kind enough to mark the cam for us with a dimple stamped on top .....

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This makes a big difference in how well the brake works. Assemble it wrong and you're braking mostly with just one shoe, and that doesn't work very well, lol.
 
Thanks for that 5T I did change the shoes which is something I just do given the age of the things but I checked my install and although I didn’t remember turning the pivot I obviously did. 3F5C9B85-B005-4147-8F8D-E22B86CA1F33.jpeg
Thanks so much for that knowledge.
 
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Actually, the factory could have installed it that way. This little factoid isn't mentioned in any manuals and only came to light recently thanks to some in depth research done by member TwoManyXS1Bs. Going by the number of brake plates I've seen with the cam in backwards (lots), many original from the factory, I don't think the factory workers were even told about this. They had a 50-50 chance of getting it right, lol.
 
Just about done with what I can do for now. Gotta do some searching for wheel spokes after I get home. Finishing up with a little cleaning and powder coating.992D7704-59FF-4AF6-AA87-7797108B5E07.jpeg48F8BFDF-6248-4551-9F92-DF665395BA78.jpeg
 
When it does come time for new sprockets, these bikes benefit greatly from a small reduction in rear sprocket size, and by small I mean only one or two teeth. The stock rear sprocket had 34 teeth. If you have an 18" wheel, going down just one to a 33T is ideal. This is what the European models came with. If you have a 16" rear wheel, a 32T works well.
 
When it does come time for new sprockets, these bikes benefit greatly from a small reduction in rear sprocket size, and by small I mean only one or two teeth. The stock rear sprocket had 34 teeth. If you have an 18" wheel, going down just one to a 33T is ideal. This is what the European models came with. If you have a 16" rear wheel, a 32T works well.

Nice one 5T, did my first ride today and it became uncomfortable above 40mph.
I will check the sprockets tomorrow, and adjust accordingly with your recommendation.
 
Yes, I feel some guys go too far and gear these bikes too high. They'll go down to like a 30T on the rear and sometimes even go up one on the front, from the stock 17T to an 18T. You kill the bike's "fun factor" when you do this. It takes away most of the lower gear "umph" and midrange "lunge", the stuff that makes this bike so much fun. Gearing it "to the moon" isn't going to turn it into a BMW, lol, a high speed interstate cruiser. This motor vibrates too much for that and was never designed with that in mind. It's in it's element blasting around secondary and back roads, in about the 40 to 60 MPH range. As long as you haven't geared it too high, it goes good and pulls hard when you whack the throttle open in the mid-RPM range.

I experimented a bit with my '78 Standard with it's 18" rear wheel. I put a 33T on it and quite liked it. Then I acquired a spare 18" rear wheel so decided to try a 32T on it. I didn't like it because I could feel the noticeable "hit" the midrange take-off took in the lower gears. Eventually I got a Special with a 16" rear wheel so I transferred the 32T to it. It's wonderful on that size wheel. Here's a gearing chart. As you can see, a 32T on a 16" wheel is very close to a 33T on an 18" wheel .....

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Nice one 5T, did my first ride today and it became uncomfortable above 40mph.
I will check the sprockets tomorrow, and adjust accordingly with your recommendation.
Just judging by your pics, I'd guess you have a 36-38T sprocket on there. Maybe even a 40T :yikes:
 
I had seriously considered changing the rear sprocket so knowing one tooth makes that kind of difference is great. My ‘72(Bobber) has the 18” rear wheel and it still has the stock sprocket. I know what you mean about the “fun range” for these bikes. I have done lots of tearing around some great mountain roads in Kentucky with it and besides just getting a tired ass from the seat I never wanted to quit. This ‘76 only has 9500 mi on the speedo so there’s almost no wear on the sprockets. That and the bad leak from the engine seals obviously oiled the hell out of them lol.
 
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