1980 Special Archeology (times two!)

[Vincenthdfan]

Last June, I bought the first of two 1980 Specials from a Son & Daughter whose Father had passed away and had left his bike in a storage unit many, many years prior to passing.

It was a little crusty, with a fine rusty feeling on all the chrome from being inside a non-heated storage unit for many years here in the Pacific Northwest. However, when I popped open the fuel tank, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it still smelled like gas and had zero rust inside...a great sign!

It was just a touch over 7,000 miles, titled, had great compression and spotlessly clean oil so I knew it'd be good runner again with a little effort so I bought it at their very reasonable full asking price.



I took it home, went through a preliminary inspection process....as I looked everything over it occurred to me, "You know, this thing just may fire right up?".

Threw a fresh battery in it and it started right up and settled into a nice idle, I was amazed!!

Of course, the rear disc brake caliper was seized up, but the front one still worked fine so I took it out for a spin and it rode great....been tinkering with it off and on ever since.

Fast forward to last October and I'll be darned, another 1980 Special popped up on facebook just like the last one! Same price, same miles, same circumstance...Dad has passed away and left bike in storage, this time a heated garage thankfully.

Ran down to Portland and checked it out....it was all there and in immaculate condition. Clean oil, fresh fuel, zero rust in tank, etc....was ready to buy it on the spot, but seller asked if I wanted to ride it...I didnt think it was runner?

When I started it holy crap, loose cam chain and valve tappet noise like I have never heard before!! I rode it a short distance to make sure it shifted and loaded it up.



Paid full asking price for it too because it too was a bargain.



To be continued....

 

[46th Georgia]

Last June, I bought the first of two 1980 Specials from a Son & Daughter whose Father had passed away and had left his bike in a storage unit many, many years prior to passing.

It was a little crusty, with a fine rusty feeling on all the chrome from being inside a non-heated storage unit for many years here in the Pacific Northwest. However, when I popped open the fuel tank, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it still smelled like gas and had zero rust inside...a great sign!

It was just a touch over 7,000 miles, titled, had great compression and spotlessly clean oil so I knew it'd be good runner again with a little effort so I bought it at their very reasonable full asking price.

I took it home, went through a preliminary inspection process....as I looked everything over it occurred to me, "You know, this thing just may fire right up?".

Threw a fresh battery in it and it started right up and settled into a nice idle, I was amazed!!

Of course, the rear disc brake caliper was seized up, but the front one still worked fine so I took it out for a spin and it rode great....been tinkering with it off and on ever since.

Fast forward to last October and I'll be darned, another 1980 Special popped up on facebook just like the last one! Same price, same miles, same circumstance...Dad has passed away and left bike in storage, this time a heated garage thankfully.

Ran down to Portland and checked it out....it was all there and in immaculate condition. Clean oil, fresh fuel, zero rust in tak, etc....was ready to buy it on the spot, but seller asked if I wanted to ride it...I didnt think it was runner?

When I started it holy crap, loose cam chain and valve tappet noise like I have never heard before!! I rode it a short distance to make sure it shifted and loaded it up.

Paid full asking price because it was a bargain.

Lucky You!!!

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Now, through out this Winter I've been tinkering with both bikes off and on (amongst other projects of course).


Carbs didn't look bad on either bike really, but Special #2 had two totally different float settings...one at 22 mm's, the other at the correct 27mm's...weird.

Drilled out the brass plugs, cleaned out mixture screws, etc... on both sets.

Set cam chain tension and valve gaps on both bikes. Again, Special #2 was way. way off!!

It had an extremely loose cam chain adjustment, exhaust valves were set about right, but both intake valves were set at .70mm's instead of the required .06mm's!!

What the hell??!!

Special #2's spark plugs were very dark and nasty looking...extremely rich. I attribute that to the very, very large intake valve gaps and extremely loose negative battery terminal I found on the bike.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

So, one of the things I noticed immediately, but hadnt gotten around to on Special #2 (the immaculate bike), was that it had a brand new battery in it, but with the terminals reversed polarity wise.

It had a god-awful long wiring extension attached to the original wire coming from the starter solenoid to reach the positive terminal.

I was afraid to untape it and see what might lie beneath....my suspicions were well founded.




I mean really??

I've since obtained the correct polarity battery for Special #2 and cleaned wiring debacle.

Both bikes now run really, really great...pull hard in mid to upper rpm's but both still have that typical lag down low from having ultra lean jetting thanks to US EPA mandates of the time frame.

I'm going to change needles & needle jets to Canadian versions and richer pilot jets on both pretty soon.

Air filters on Special #1 were original mouse fur style and were dissolving so I've bought some Uni-filter material to dress them with new foam.

Special #2 already had new foam installed on both filters, go figure?

So, I gotta wrap this up for now....just wanted to establish a thread for on going updates on these two bikes.

I hadnt really planned on purchasing either one of them and wasnt really even looking (honest, I wasnt!).

They both just popped up on my feed at odd times and under strangely similar circumstances...it was just too good to pass up.

In retrospect, Im glad I grabbed them both because I really enjoy rescuing these old bikes and getting them going again.

I get a lot of satisfaction out of doing so....

 

[Mikey]

Good for you you got a couple of nice bikes!

 

[5twins]

The '80 is a pretty good year. My buddy had two, sold one but still has the other. If you want to alleviate the idle and just off idle lean spot, drop the air jets 2 sizes (stock 135 to a 130). That will make the idle circuit a little bit richer, not as rich as changing the pilot jet would but it should be enough to smooth things out. Then you shouldn't need a larger pilot. And, you should bump the mains up one size (from 132.5 stock to 135). A stock BS34 equipped bike just plain runs better if you do. If you make these changes, I don't think you'll need the Canadian needles and needle jets either, the stock ones should be fine.

 

[jetmechmarty]

The '80 is a pretty good year. My buddy had two, sold one but still has the other. If you want to alleviate the idle and just off idle lean spot, drop the air jets 2 sizes (stock 135 to a 130). That will make the idle circuit a little bit richer, not as rich as changing the pilot jet would but it should be enough to smooth things out. Then you shouldn't need a larger pilot. And, you should bump the mains up one size (from 132.5 stock to 135). A stock BS34 equipped bike just plain runs better if you do. If you make these changes, I don't think you'll need the Canadian needles and needle jets either, the stock ones should be fine.

The above seems to have worked perfectly for me. I still need a good hard run to check my current fuel economy.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

The '80 is a pretty good year. My buddy had two, sold one but still has the other. If you want to alleviate the idle and just off idle lean spot, drop the air jets 2 sizes (stock 135 to a 130). That will make the idle circuit a little bit richer, not as rich as changing the pilot jet would but it should be enough to smooth things out. Then you shouldn't need a larger pilot. And, you should bump the mains up one size (from 132.5 stock to 135). A stock BS34 equipped bike just plain runs better if you do. If you make these changes, I don't think you'll need the Canadian needles and needle jets either, the stock ones should be fine.

Sage advice...I really appreciate your input.

Of course, I've bookmarked many of your past contributions on the subject from other threads as well.

I may end up selling one of these 80's now that I've acquired two...haven't made up my mind yet. Right now its pretty cool to have a set of twin twins....easy reference material and interchangeable parts if the need should arise.

My fear would be some young'n taking an angle grinder to one and hacking a nice "Survivor" apart...these bikes deserve better.

 

[46th Georgia]

Sage advice...I really appreciate your input.

Of course, I've bookmarked many of your past contributions on the subject from other threads as well.

I may end up selling one of these 80's now that I've acquired two...haven't made up my mind yet. Right now its pretty cool to have a set of twin twins....easy reference material and interchangeable parts if the need should arise.

My fear would be some young'n taking an angle grinder to one and hacking a nice "Survivor" apart...these bikes deserve better.

I hear ya'. I'm building a tracker from a '81 Special, but it was roached to start with. The pipes are rusty, tank dented, bad seat etc. Had it been a nice one I wouldn't modify it.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

I hear ya'. I'm building a tracker from a '81 Special, but it was roached to start with. The pipes are rusty, tank dented, bad seat etc. Had it been a nice one I wouldn't modify it.

Exactly, my Tracker will be built from a roached 81 that I've been saving for over a decade.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Just make the bikes different enough to keep it interesting. Fit each with a different handlebar.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Just make the bikes different enough to keep it interesting. Fit each with a different handlebar.

Oddly enough, they do have different shaped stock bars...go figure?

 

[jetmechmarty]

Oddly enough, they do have different shaped stock bars...go figure?

It looks to me like they're the same. One is mounted up, the other mounted down. That works too!

 

[5twins]

I don't believe in cutting stuff off either, but I'm all in for improving the looks and the way they run/perform. My somewhat of a roach '83 went from this .....

...... to this over the course of a couple seasons .....

It's a very nice looking, riding, and running machine now.

 

[46th Georgia]

Exactly, my Tracker will be built from a roached 81 that I've been saving for over a decade.

I think that the biggest downside to building a custom bike is that the likelihood that you'll find a buyer with similar taste is very small. On the other hand, I hope it will be my son's problem and not mine.

 

[46th Georgia]

I don't believe in cutting stuff off either, but I'm all in for improving the looks and the way they run/perform. My somewhat of a roach '83 went from this .....

View attachment 238037

View attachment 238038

...... to this over the course of a couple seasons .....


View attachment 238039

View attachment 238040

It's a very nice looking, riding, and running machine now.

Yours wasn't roached compared to mine, besides, if you wanted to, you could go back stock in a few hours. Nice bike, BTW.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

View attachment 238034
It looks to me like they're the same. One is mounted up, the other mounted down. That works too!

Yes, they were definitely angled different, but they are indeed different.

 

[5twins]

Yes, that's the way I like to mod them, nothing that can't be changed back (not that I'd want to, lol).

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Yes, that's the way I like to mod them, nothing that can't be changed back (not that I'd want to, lol).

Thats precisely why I havent started on that Tracker project all these years...I'm a purist that hates modifying anything I cant take back to original.

I believe now that I have enough nice Specials coming out of my ears now that the roached one wont hurt anything (its a Special II actually).

 

[5twins]

That SPII with the drum on the back will make it easier to fit a larger rear wheel, which is more in line with the tracker look. Don't get me wrong, I found I actually prefer the 16" rear on my Special. I tried an 18" and wasn't impressed much with it. I think the 16" looks better and rides better. The Special, with the way the side covers and seat angle down towards the rear, was designed for that 16" rear wheel, and I think it just looks "right" on there.

The reason I switched to an 18" when I got the bike was I read that they handled better. I didn't find that to be true, the difference was insignificant, and I think the bike rides better at higher speeds in a straight line with the 16" wheel, it's more stable. Plus, like I said, I think it looks better. I found this out when I swapped the 16" back on to wear out the almost new Dunlop that came on it. I'm keeping it on there, lol. When I finally do wear the tire out, I've got stainless spokes and a new alloy rim to rebuild the wheel with. I can put up with the 48 spokes. I couldn't with that 72 spoke front though, I think they look awful, lol. I already built a new 36 spoke front for it with a slightly wider 2.15" rim. I like it so much I've bought the parts (rim and spokes) to build another for a spare, lol.