1973 Super Rustbucket Resurrection

[DogBunny]

you shoulda swapped out that nice gas tank for linked 'Cola bottles, eh?

I could have done everything or nothing, the Norton was going to win no matter what.
Good point on the Vincent winning Best in Show.

If you've never ridden one you're in for a treat. Keep it on the pipes and it'll just about hang with an XS650. In the twisties it'll eat one alive.

No, I've never ridden one. Really looking forward to it.
Still trying to not talk about it here, but yes, as I'm sure you know, the RD350 was deservedly called The Giant Killer.

 

[Jim]

as I'm sure you know, the RD350 was deservedly called The Giant Killer.

I'd run out of fingers countin' how many I owned. I call dibs if you ever decide to part with it.

 

[Team Junk]

I'd run out of fingers countin' how many I owned. I call dibs if you ever decide to part with it.

I'm closer.

 

[Team Junk]

The electrical tape . Nice touch. Wish I could of made it over for the show. Crazy here.

 

[DogBunny]

Pics of the other winners. For the record, here are all of the categories:
Best American Bike (stock or custom)
Best Euro Bike (stock or custom) (INCLUDES BRIT BIKES!!!!!!!!)
Best Japanese Bike (stock or custom)
Best Scooter (stock or custom)
Best Rat Bike or Scooter
Best in Show

The Vincent, Best in Show. This is from the show's Facebook page -- all of the fuzzy pics are from there. I only took a few of my own pics-- mine are the sharp ones.

Best American Bike.

Best Euro Bike.

Best Japanese Bike. Includes the trailer behind. My friends Kirby and Kirby Senior.

Best Scooter. Another very questionable choice. I have no idea what this is (probably another Euro???), but I do know that the category was NOT best crusty old antique scooter with a brand-new repop seat cover. There were way better scooters in the show than this.

Two other XS650s in the show, aside form the RustBucket.

What is he trying to hide with that ball cap???

Mirror on front fork, strategically positioned to allow the rider to look at his oil feed pipe mount while riding.

A little hard to tell from the pic, but the handlebars are SUPER tiny and narrow.

This is the new Cover Photo from the show's Facebook page. That's me, at the right foreground in the black tank top, red arrow.

 

[Team Junk]

Nice blue sky. I agree about the scooter. I have seen much cooler rides on 6th every Saturday Night. Especially the electric ones. This judging did take place in Austin right?

 

[Team Junk]

Somebody was setup to take some ultra sharp photos. Looks to be a 5x7 view camera. Uber analog.

 

[DogBunny]

Somebody was setup to take some ultra sharp photos. Looks to be a 5x7 view camera. Uber analog.
View attachment 193946

That camera belonged to a vendor who was offering to take tintypes of your bike using traditional methods. Not sure what's going on here, but I looked at the work he posted, and all of the pics, like this one, are flipped left-to-right.

 

[X77S]

View attachment 193947
That camera belonged to a vendor who was offering to take tintypes of your bike using traditional methods. Not sure what's going on here, but I looked at the work he posted, and all of the pics, like this one, are flipped left-to-right.

That tin type came out super good except for the guy walking through the background. Image is probably flipped because of mirrors in the old camera. Was that a Black Shadow? Those were supposed to be the fastest production bikes of their time. I've never seen one in person for sure.

 

[Team Junk]

The image in a camera is reversed on the film or sensor. The image on the negative or sensor is reversed left to right because of passing through a lens. When the negative is printed the image passes through another lens which reverses it again to end up correct left to right.Tintypes are directly developed from the image in the camera so are reversed. Very cool dawn of time tech. If I recall the development process is pretty nasty.

 

[DogBunny]

That tin type came out super good except for the guy walking through the background. Image is probably flipped because of mirrors in the old camera. Was that a Black Shadow? Those were supposed to be the fastest production bikes of their time. I've never seen one in person for sure.

IDK, but does look like a Black Shadow.

The image in a camera is reversed on the film or sensor. The image on the negative or sensor is reversed left to right because of passing through a lens. When the negative is printed the image passes through another lens which reverses it again to end up correct left to right.Tintypes are directly developed from the image in the camera so are reversed. Very cool dawn of time tech. If I recall the development process is pretty nasty.

He was using a collodian process, that's all I know.

 

[Jan_P]

No expert but I believe the scooter to be a Vespa ( Italian Brand )
It looks repainted.

https://www.classic.com/m/vespa/year-1962/

When I was at high school people living out on the country had 125 cc models and later there was
larger ones 250 cc for older drivers 18 years

Some places there was the Mods Rockers conflict not were I was
I believe the Lambretta brand to be the most sought after. ( but I can be wrong )
They have their followers and surprisingly high prices are payed
They have rallies and runs even here in town.
The one on the rally there does not appear to be in fine condition
But a 62 Vespa would get interests here if up for sale.
One rarely sees so old ones If ever ..
Being old and rare from a Known brand might have been Decisive as for the
Vincent

 

[X77S]

Back to the rat bike, those Chinese master cylinders work pretty well? I've yet to figure out what I'm gonna do in that dept. I'm kind of leery of things like that being as cheap as it is. I know Chinese products have been getting progressively better lately. It's insane to me that they can produce an item and then ship it across the ocean then from there to the "stores" and still have a profit margin to make money off of.

 

[DogBunny]

No expert but I believe the scooter to be a Vespa ( Italian Brand )
It looks repainted.

https://www.classic.com/m/vespa/year-1962/

When I was at high school people living out on the country had 125 cc models and later there was
larger ones 250 cc for older drivers 18 years

Some places there was the Mods Rockers conflict not were I was
I believe the Lambretta brand to be the most sought after. ( but I can be wrong )
They have their followers and surprisingly high prices are payed
They have rallies and runs even here in town.
The one on the rally there does not appear to be in fine condition
But a 62 Vespa would get interests here if up for sale.
One rarely sees so old ones If ever ..
Being old and rare from a Known brand might have been Decisive as for the
Vincent

Yes, I think you are right, it does appear to be a 62 Vespa.
Vespas are very popular in the U.S. Arguably the most prestigious scooter brand here.

A Mods vs Rockers craze swept the U.S. several years ago. Events were put on all across the country. It was all in fun. Austin had an annual one-day event for 3 or 4 years. But no more, the whole craze is completely over.

 

[DogBunny]

Back to the rat bike, those Chinese master cylinders work pretty well? I've yet to figure out what I'm gonna do in that dept. I'm kind of leery of things like that being as cheap as it is. I know Chinese products have been getting progressively better lately. It's insane to me that they can produce an item and then ship it across the ocean then from there to the "stores" and still have a profit margin to make money off of.

I have used several of them , maybe as many as 10. The only problem that I ever had was with a brake light switch -- the switch is a little screwed-on thin plastic rectangle. You can buy them separate, they are also extremely cheap. I bought 5, so, I've got 'em, in case any one else ever needs one.

As for the actual M/C, never had any problems, and they look okay. Obviously, the lever will not match your clutch lever. Because of the smaller piston bore, they actually feel much nicer than stock M/Cs when using stainless brake lines. The larger stock bore was intended for use with rubber lines, which have some "give."

 

[X77S]

I've got zero brake lines or master. So I will most likely go back with braided hose. $15 sure seems better than $75. If I decide later on I can always buy a nicer one.

 

[DogBunny]

I may not have won Best Rat Bike, but I was still a winner. The East Side Classic show includes a raffle. Local artists decorate new helmets that are the raffle highlight. The show and raffle benefits Austin Pets Alive, a cause I like, so I always buy a lot of raffle tickets. I've always been pretty lucky.

Some helmets are more art than practical. I ended up winning the globe helmet.

Helmets I have won at the East Side Classic:
Left: Texas-themed "Slowpoke" helmet with cow skull on the front.
Middle: This helmet fits me, and this is the helmet that I use... when I wear a helmet... which isn't much...
Right: The globe helmet that I won this year.

My raffle numbers were called twice. I also won a grab bag that included these t-shirts and some other trinkets. The Peavey shirt is my favorite, but I will not be wearing it to the supermarket.

 

[BowlingSS]

View attachment 193433
The RustBucket came with an acceptable seat.

View attachment 193434
However, if I expect to win any show awards in the Rat Bike category, I'm going to need something a little more interesting, like this skateboard seat pan with Mexican blanket cushion.

View attachment 193435
This an actual, working, Kryptonics board. Twice a year, my neighborhood has a bulk trash pick-up, where homeowners get rid of large items like couches, mattresses, old fencing, etc. A couple of years ago, I got this skateboard for free from someone's bulk trash pile. The bearings and bushes are pretty worn, but it does work.
I mounted it to the rear seat rail using a horseshoe bolt and thumbscrews. I had to move the truck back a little so that it would fit, as shown. So, technically, I've screwed up the balance of the board. I really need a board that's just a couple of inches longer. But, this one was free, and when covered with the Mexican blanket, who's to know?

View attachment 193436
The front of the board fits perfectly in the tool tray.

View attachment 193437
I think it's more of a southern border state deal, but Mexican blankets and motorcycles are a thing. Probably going almost all the way back to the earliest days of American motorcycling.
Amazingly, I couldn't find a store in Austin that was selling Mexican blankets. I bought this one used on Facebook Marketplace. Paid $10 for it, which was probably too much, but hey, the color is perfect, and it was near-by.

View attachment 193438
So, here's the look. Still have a few things to work out, but this is what it will look like in Rat Bike show bike mode.

View attachment 193439

That 73 looks almost as bad as the last one I restored.
Bill

 

[X77S]

That green helmet is the bee's knees.

 

[DogBunny]

I stole the carb on it from my other XS650 runner. So, today I'm rebuilding another carb for my 1976.

Due to other time sucks that kept popping up, I finally got the rebuilt carbs on my 1976 yesterday. A 1978-1979 set. I just want to say that once again, I used rubber-tipped float valve needles. I am 100% sold on them. Here's the thread:
http://www.xs650.com/threads/bs38-float-needle-question.59064/page-2
The American-seller needles are linked on post 22. The probably identical Chinese-seller needles are linked on post 5.
I used the exact same procedure as spelled out in post 28, including using a thin coat of Moto-Seal in place of the sealing washer that goes under the float valve seat.

One more thought: regarding the sealing washer that goes under the float valve seat: how necessary is it anyway? The seat itself is made of brass, isn't that going to be soft enough to seal without an additional sealing washer?