Yeah, that’s pretty rad!
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1973 Super Rustbucket Resurrection
- Thread starter DogBunny
- Start date
That is cool.
Your rat bike is pretty special.
Mostly because it is authentic and the maintenance/upgrades you have done were accomplished by embracing and staying true to what is. You clearly have a great eye and feel for the genre evidenced by the masterful touches such as the skateboard and blanket. The faded light as above and on and on. That bike just like "The Jerk" has a special purpose. It is as cool as the helmet it was awarded.
Your rat bike is pretty special.
Mostly because it is authentic and the maintenance/upgrades you have done were accomplished by embracing and staying true to what is. You clearly have a great eye and feel for the genre evidenced by the masterful touches such as the skateboard and blanket. The faded light as above and on and on. That bike just like "The Jerk" has a special purpose. It is as cool as the helmet it was awarded.
This bike, with the helmet sitting on the seat, will make a great calendar candidate. Be my first Nomination unless someone beats me to it.
That's a strong hint to get some proper photographs.
From the local Craigslist. Another example of 45-year-old, Old School Texas pinstriping on an XS650. Signed "BUSH."
Method of last resort for removing a fork damper.
Note that screwing in the easy-out partially pushed the roll pin at the top of the damper out.
Yes, I do have the correct damper holding tool (far left), a 12mm socket with 4 of the six flats ground round. It broke the damper head. Crap.
Next try was a long piece of metal, tapered to a blade shape (top). The idea being to wedge it between the damper and the tube wall. This has worked in the past when I didn't have the correct damper holding tool. But, it was too soft, and wouldn't hold.
Moved onto a small easy-out, held in a small 6-point socket. Aimed it at the hole, with the intention of wedging it against the roll pin. Problem was, while it seemed like a good fit, the 4-flat easy-out rotated in the 6-point socket. But, not until it had become stuck. Double crap. After much dicking around with the long metal blade and other objects, managed to free it.
So, I soldered the small easy out into the small 6-point socket (I wish I had a welder). It soldered up good. But, the solder wasn't strong enough, and once again, the easy-out rotated in the socket. Only now, it was really stuck. Triple crap. After shoving all kinds of long, thin objects down the tube, was finally able to break the easy-out.
I was about to give up, but I had already invested a spectacular amount of time on this POS, so after a little rest, I gave it one more try. This time, an easy-out that was big enough to fit my smallest 8-point socket -- that's a socket for square-head bolts. Aimed it at the hole, hammered it in, and finally broke the damper rod bolt free.
This all started when I decided to show the Superior RustBucket a little love. Been riding the hell out of it for two years, and pretty much done zero to it during that time. Have a pair of good stanchions. Thought that maybe refurbing the forks so that they actually hold oil might make the bike a little safer at highway speeds. It's a shame that I'll lose the patina (rust) on the old stanchions, but I'm trying to save as much of all the rest of the grunge as possible.
Maybe can look out for a used stick weld transformer - Used Small ones ... they can be found at $ 30 .
Dont need so big fuse.
Not so easy to use but can solve it at times
Dont need so big fuse.
Not so easy to use but can solve it at times
The one time I had to refurbish forks on a ‘73, I was able to remove the damper rod bolts by jamming the tapered end of a broomstick into the top of the damper rod. I guess I got real lucky.
Got the fork seal out!
You're probably thinking I don't know what the bleep I'm doing. Well, take a look at my previous post, what was required to break the bottom fork nut free, and what the over-all state of the bike is.
I was guided by Gary's excellent Fork Seal Removal Post, linked HERE.
With a couple little changes. Instead of a hair dryer, I used a hand-held propane torch for heat, and I got that thing smoking, I mean really hot.
And, instead of hitting it with a big socket to loosen the seal's grip on the tube wall, I used a punch -- you can see the round marks above -- after the rubber was burned and scraped off so that I could see what I was doing. That finally got the seal moving.
Trust me, I didn't want to spend an hour removing one lousy seal. I started out conventional, and ended up with this.
The good news is zero damage to the fork lip or seal area.
One more bit of added work -- broke one of the M6 fender mount bolts. All the others, including the M8s, came out with no problems.
Getting this broken bolt will be nothing compared to what I've already dealt with. Then, I can start in on the other fork leg...
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So, the other damper rod also broke when I used the CORRECT tool to try to get it out. And, after I broke the first one, I was trying to be a little more careful, but this was inevitable. Had to use the easy-out again.
Lest you think I was ham-handed, I have successfully removed lots of early damper rods. This one snapped like a twig, and it took considerable torque to break the bottom damper rod bolt free.
Note that the part that broke is actually threaded onto the rod shaft, and the roll pin holds it in place. A machinist could make just that the top part, with a stouter 6- instead of 2-faced bolt head, out of steel, instead of Zamak, and a lot of early damper rods would be saved.
You'd have a hard time getting something like 5twins rod-holding tool to work on a badly stuck early damper rod...
...because the I.D. of an early rod is only 8mm, vs. 13mm for later rods. You could modify the tip of an extra-long flat-tip 1/4" screwdriver, but you'd really need to already have an early damper rod in hand to be sure you modified it correctly. And then, you'd need to weld a handle at 90 degrees to the extra-long screwdriver shaft so you could hold it and keep if from spinning.
Went straight to the torch to get the fork seal out. This is my new favorite method for fork seal removal when you think it might give you trouble. Set a torch on it for 5 minutes while you do something else, and then the burnt rubber scrapes right off of the steel super-easy. Whack the steel all-around with a pin punch to break it free, and then it pops right out with a tire iron and a protective piece of aluminum a la Gary's method. Easy and no damage to the fork tube.
New (old) fork stanchions, before and after.
More love: Installed the highway pegs I got from Jim. They're too nice for this bike, and my intention is to put them on one of the other bikes I'm working on, but this is a good place for them till then.
Before and after: While I was at it, I took a page out of GLJ's playbook, and installed galvanized RMC conduit nipples between the front motor mount brackets. This is really great idea, and everyone with a 70-73 should do it.
I'm not much of a handling or suspension aficionado, but I gotta say, forks with oil in them, and stiffened front frame down tubes, and there is a world of difference in how this bike rides.
(Note to future me: 1972 XS2 and 1973 TX650 fork stanchions and all internals, are identical. Spring length is 400mm.)
Final word. Two years later, and the Aprilia Hydraulic Clutch Mod is working flawlessly. I've not touched it until now -- opened the fluid reservoir, and the mineral oil I'm using looked brand-new, unlike DOT3 which is always nasty.
That should do it on this bike for another couple of years.
It’s still plenty rusty and crusty. I love it.
I met Hugh (Hugh’s Handbuilt) seven or so years back, at the Meltdown in Hendersonville, NC. He was riding an extremely crusty XS-1B he had found leaning up a barn. It was wearing all of its rust and crust with pride. The only giveaway was the visible fresh green gaskets. I’d say you two are birds of a feather.
Just having fork oil had to make a difference. Like you I'm not a suspension/frame expert. Do you think you can feel a difference in the fame stiffness. There has to be some merit to tying the down tubes together as that's what Yamaha did starting in 74 with the redesigned frame.
It's all going to depend on how you ride and what other changes you make. Usually, making a change or improvement exposes another shortcoming or flaw. Frame is now better, so get better springs and shocks. Got tighter springs, now need fork brace. Sometimes the best course of action is to raise your wallet and drive a new bike under it. OTOH, where's the fun in that?
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Just trying to improve what one has. A 50+ year old mass produced bike is not going to handle as good as a new mass produced bike. If you can improve it for not a lot of money why not?
Agree. Also agree that you adding the cross tubes at the eng mount will help a lot... that's why Yamaha added the monster cross piece on later models.
Triangulation. from joined at the head, down the tubes.... and joined at the eng mount. Makes a triangle. In engineering, that's about the
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Certainly, I agree. I went down the rabbit hole some years back with my XS11 suspension. I ended up spending 3X or 4X $$$ on trying to get it right. I can't say how many times I had the forks completely apart. It works quite well, but it ended up being expensive, frustrating and time consuming. As far as improving Rustbucket's frame, I am all for it! I wasn't trying to be a Debbie Downer, I just bellied up to the bar to make conversation.
Reading through your thread found this today.Gonna get one anyway, it's a great idea.
My how times have changed.
Rebuilding the forks and stiffening the frame at the front engine mount were done at the same time, so I don't know how big a change either one would have made individually.
The forks weren't actually dry. One was about half full of very old, but otherwise normal-looking oil. The other was about half full of a brown liquid. Half-full is a guess -- I wish I'd thought to measure what came out of each leg, would have been interesting.
The forks weren't actually dry. One was about half full of very old, but otherwise normal-looking oil. The other was about half full of a brown liquid. Half-full is a guess -- I wish I'd thought to measure what came out of each leg, would have been interesting.
I’m sure this bike will now run out well. Just make sure both shocks are working. Your bike can operate like new while at the same time looking like you dragged it out of a damp basement. I particularly like the skateboard seat. It’s one of those things I would never dream up.
