Looking forward to the riding diaries, I’m sure there will be some?
"Over the Mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied....... "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Poe's one of my favorites... sue me.
Looking forward to the riding diaries, I’m sure there will be some?
Mailman’s first ride
426 DAYS AGO, I BEGAN THIS PROJECT.
I honestly thought I was looking at about four months worth of fix up and ride. The bike was running when I bought it, it’s all downhill from there right?
This morning I went out and poured about 2.5 gallons in the gas tank. Petcocks didn’t leak ( thank God) ,
Put the seat and side covers on , installed my new license plate and rolled it out on the driveway. This first time it is ready to ride since 1985.
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Last week we hit our first 100 degree day, we were well on our way to our usual summer heat, but last night a thunderstorm rolled in unexpectedly, it absolutely poured for an hour. Woke up this morning and our temperature had dropped by 25 degrees, the air is fresh with blue skies and white fluffy clouds.
I turned the gas on and pulled the starter lever. VROOOMMM!! It fired right off, I immediately turned off the choke and held the throttle slightly open to a fast idle for about 20 seconds, when I let go , the idle dropped to about 1100 rpm and held there absolutely steady. Backing out onto the street, I pulled the clutch lever in and pushed the shift lever down into first gear and promptly killed the motor. My new clutch plates had a little too much drag, so I dialed up my clutch adjuster at the lever and restarted the bike and tried it again. This time PERFECT, it never did that again.
So the bike is running great, but now remember, this bike has not moved outside of my garage, so everything is an unknown. The first few blocks I’m taking it easy, testing my brakes, transmission and clutch. Everything is working perfectly and my confidence is quickly growing. Do you remember how much I struggled with my front brake? That went on for weeks. Now, even with that two piece rubber hose affair, I can stop all day with just one finger on the lever, color me surprised. The back brake also has an excellent feel.
The engine, transmission and fueling are all working just unbelievably well. The transmission worried me some, because I never opened it up, but the shifts are crisp and easy and neutral is easy to find.
The engine never mis behaved or made any worrisome noises, it runs through the gears and through the RPM range fluidly without any stutters or hesitations anywhere. Every time I came to a stop, the engine drops down to a rock steady idle, without so much as a hiccup. And every time I go to start the bike, the electric starter is working beautifully and the bike fires right off. I have backed the cable off the decompression assembly , I am not using it and it is not missed. This bike starts better than my 77D.
As you can imagine, by now I’m grinning like an idiot. I have taken the advice of people I trust and I am not babying it during the break in. I’m not out there doing burn outs, but I’m running it briskly up through the gears and lots of decels also.
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I rode it 25 miles today and got it good and hot before heading home. I plan to do this about three more times before changing the oil.
Turn the volume up for these next two clips. I absolutely love the sound of this exhaust.
Today was a great day, as I was riding , it was as if the years were blowing off of me. I felt like the 18 year old me again, that used to drool over this bike, I didn’t have a care in the world and The Rolling Stones we’re playing in my head, it was 1970’s again. I swear I think I even have more hair on my head now.
Stay groovy!
Duke. ( my nickname in the 70’s)
Congrats!!!
Your bike has turned out better than just well done. Like Jack Reacher's hand to hand skills it's beyond outstanding. Any museum or collector would be proud to have it. The best thing about it is you are actually going to ride it. It won't be a garage queen. You persevered through a lot of adversity not just with the bike but also with things going on in your life.
Just like the real Duke you're going to ride around the Southwest and command respect everywhere you go. I'm sure he would not be offended if you were referred to as Duke. One of his best quotes definitely doesn't apply to you.
“I Don’t Much Like Quitters Son”
Your wife also deserves a shout out for supporting you through this ordeal. You need to tell her she needs a new pair of shoes and a dress to go with them. And then after she gets them take her out to dinner.
Now about the hardware on the breather and the green gaskets.
Bob, this is my favorite pic...or is it all the others? Thanks and I'm glad you are back on the road and taking pictures again.
If you would change your breather hardware to the correct stuff I my have a set of black gaskets that I could donate to your cause.Oh, and I’m still not listening to you about my green gaskets!
There's lots of good web based video editors out there. Don't let that hold you back.the problem is , my only computer is an iPad and it simply doesn’t have the computing power to edit and process movies.