Your motorcycles and mine

I just had to put new rocker case gaskets on my Kawasaki 1500. The dealer wanted $1100 for the job and I thought that was a bit much. I tackled the job myself. It was misery the whole way. It took almost 50 hours from start to finish. The entire engine had to be removed and the frame partially disassembled. Essentially everything with the exception of the wiring harness and the forks had to be removed to do this. Now that I've done it once, it would probably be slightly easier, but that certainly is a stupid damn design. Trying to get the exhaust back on properly , leak free was a test of patience in itself.

Ken my brother I can relate!!! I have owned a few bikes and one car now that something need a LOT more disassembly than was necessary ...
Worst of the worst was my 1993 Harley Evo Powered FXR (big engine in little frame)

The two heads each have a three piece Aluminum set of rocker covers
The engine is rubber mounted with damned little clearance from the cover bolts to the bottom of back bone under the tank

I had to cut down an allen wrench to get to 2 of the 8 bolts...BUT even cut down I could loosen the fastener--- BUT NOT back it all the way out...even by finger... Bolt threads still engaged as the top hit the frame....GRRRRRR...DOUBLE GRRRRRR!

After the requisite 23 ours to pull the engine.... I ADAPTED both; the Bolts...a tad shorter--- and the frame...BIG ASSED HAMMER DENTS

I can not remember which ones....but had a car or two that required a motor mount to be loosened and the engine torqued to get one or more Starter bolts unfastened to remove the starter......grrrrrrr!

I can sympathize with you guys, by contrast this 90cc will be about like rebuilding my Enya four stroke. I have a kit coming.

Thanks for that Moss link Fred, I owe them massive amounts of praise for providing parts for my various Brits over the years, but I seldom get to their specialty pages and did not know they had JIL's. I bought a cheap ebay set when I got into Japanese model engines again, but those look like nicer ones with bits too that will fit the impact. Honestly, if you check that petcock picture, after getting the bowl off there is a screw holding it to the tank that wouldn't move even after a three day soak in penetrating oil. I bought the impact specifically to get at it. A couple of impact hits and it backed right out.





Got the new replacement repro for it yesterday.

When I went in search of JIS screw drivers I bought the Hozan versions on sale from Amazon, but had a hard time finding just the bits... at $5.99 for the set of three, a bit pricey, but well worth every penny from Moss!

fredvon4 wrote:When I went in search of JIS screw drivers I bought the Hozan versions on sale from Amazon, but had a hard time finding just the bits... at $5.99 for the set of three, a bit pricey, but well worth every penny from Moss!

Yes, JISSSSSSSSSS Fred. Japanese Industry STANDARD. JILLLLLLLL? I have no idea. Not a typo above, brain wave deviation maybe.

Bob

Back in highschool in 1975 when I turned 17 and legally qualified to do so,  I rode this Simson Star 2-stroke 50ccm air-cooled East-German scooter.

The Simson in Eastern Europe was the equivalent of any high-end scooter made in the Western world...despite the communist era manufacturing standards these East-German Simsons proved so undestructable that I still encounter some of them in the countryside. ( German engineering could not be spoiled even by Eric Honecker's despotic communist regime   )



Fast forward, maybe because of the choppers I once saw in Easy Rider with Denis Hopper and Peter Fonda on the saddles, the Harley-s have always intrigued me, and just recently I read lots of books from Sonny Barger  the founder of Hells Angels chapter in Oakland, and other notorious members of various MC-s.

Harleys in my eyes are "the" motorcycles, and I was seriously contemplating  to buy myself one. The Harley distributor in Hungary has a full choice of versions on sale, new and crispy from the factory in the US.

What finally kept me from buying one is the false association that some Hungarian Harley owners attached to this motorbike: especially those of the upper echelon of society like bankers, movie actors and other small-time celebrities who make many of those to buy and ride them here, and I hate their fake non-conformism, especially when they ride in hordes on sunny week-ends in their designer motorcycle gear.

So I ended up with this 125 ccm 4-stroke air cooled Honda MSX rice-rocket last year, after 40 years not even sitting on a motorcycle, and I cannot wait the week-ends when I ride on it to our lake Balaton some 70 miles from my home, or to the flying field (pictured here with my Lil Roughneck and flying gear).




The off-set air-cooled 4-stroke engine seems Honda's signature solution for small bikes and I heard these are just undestructable...I measured 157 mpg consumption when riding it at a constant 53 mph, and feel ashamed in front of other motorists when I pay at the gas-station cashier with practically just a few coins after my tank has been filled. (Unleaded gas in Hungary costs about 1,15 Euro/litre)

Ah motorcycles, a subject very close to my heart and I must confess to having a passing interest in them.  My late father, my two elder brothers and myself have all owned and raced motorcycles at some stage of our lives. My father was into trials and grass-track, my eldest brother scrambles (later to be called motocross) my other brother Speedway solo’s and midgets and myself a bit of road racing on a 1985 750 Ducati which I still have.



On turning fifteen in 1970 my first road bike was a 1955 AJS 350.
Taking my girlfriends mother for a ride.



followed by a Triumph Tiger 100SS 500 twin, which I rebuilt in the patio of my parent’s house much to my mother’s dismay.



a 1971 Norton Commando 750 SS, Genuine examples of this model are very rare as they only had a production run of a few months



a new 1974 Norton Commando 850 MkIIA



and a 1977 Triumph 750 Bonneville which I still have (dismantled, work in progress).
Current road bikes are a modified 1980 Harley 1000 Iron-head Sportster



and a modified 1998 Buell S1 Lightning.



While stateside last year to attend the Sacramento Mile and tour around a bit I bought a 1972 Norton Combat 750 Commando from a bike shop in Illinois. Low mileage and 99.9% complete for the sum of US$3400.00 which I thought was a very good deal. Worth over $10,000 New Zealand as it is and very good ones are asking $18,000 plus. These had severe faults in the engines which, if they didn’t cause the demise of Norton, certainly helped it along but they are all easily fixable these days.



The Norton will have to wait it’s turn for attention as there are a couple ahead of it. I have just finished this 1970 XR750 earlier this year



This is my current project which is in the early stages of semi rebuild. It started life as a 1984 Harley XR1000 and at some time it has been converted to a street -tracker style which is how it was when I purchased it.



I like the flat -track style but want to take it a bit further. The 35mm forks are a bit spindly for a bike as heavy as this and the single brake caliper is totally inadequate as well.



I’ve fitted a twin disc front end from a Suzuki GSXR 1000 which should be quite capable of hauling the bike up not to mention improve the handling no end. The dash panel, headlight and nacelle are Buell. The wheels for the bike are magnesium and are leaning against the door in the background waiting to be crack tested before prepping and painting. The wheels in the bike are just spares I put in so I can shift the bike around. The engine runs strong so apart from a look in the primary no major internal work planned. Previous builder fitted a custom oil tank and in doing so cut all the mounts off the frame. I want to refit the original style oil tank and battery carrier so will have to make and weld the mounts back on. Not a major job, just fiddley. I have a much nicer exhaust system for it as well. Once all the changes have been completed it’ll get stripped down for painting etc and final reassembly.
A good winter project to keep me occupied.    
I’d like to have it finished by the start of our summer which is December but best laid plans of mice and men etc  

I like that pink rider's boot that your girlfriend's mother wore on the first photo

Yeh and she was hanging on for grim death. As well as my jacket she had a handful of skin under there too.

I thought Harleys always had toothed belts rather than chains? Is this chain a modification you added?

Belt drive on Harley's started in the early 90s as HD changed to Evo engines. By early 1993 Model year 90% were all on the belt drive

Davenz13, that is a truly a big grin collection of fine cycles...color me very jealous green

Thanks Fred
I have seventeen bikes in all, which some might say is obsessive but someone once told me you have to have twenty or more to qualify as an obsession and one to nineteen only qualifies as a passing interest with room for two more. I don’t have a wife, tried a couple of those. Performance can be exceptional but very hard to maintain a high state of tune, requiring constant attention with top of the line fuel and accessories. Bikes far easier. When not in use they sit quietly under a dust sheet and don’t care a bit if I ride one more than the other.

Davenz13 wrote:Ah motorcycles, a subject very close to my heart and I must confess to having a passing interest in them.

Well Dave, looks like you have a very typical NZ disorder
Not sure why it is, but Kiwis typically seem to be real motorbike folk.  Ya only gotta watch "The World's Fastest Indian". (A favourite of mine)

Well Bob,

Still own an MG and have two bikes alongside it. 1974 Honda CT 90 and a 1974 Triumph T150.

Past Bikes in no particular order....

Honda 305 Dream
Honda CB 550

Honda CB 350
Honda CL77
Honda CB750
Yamaha DT250
Hodaka Super Rat

This is the first bike we ever had on the farm.  Yes, the farm.

I don't know where dad got it or why, but it must have been cheap.  Was pretty useless in the paddocks once it rained.  Always seemed to have electrical problems, which I think eventually spelled its demise.  I remember I stripped it down (in the vain hope of restoring it) when I was about 12.  Not sure what happened to it after that.  I have no photos of the actual bike, but I remember it was bright metalic green.

Nice signature Honda design..mine delivers 10 HP and while has smaller tires than the Honda 90, it runs around the same speed and has the same unvbelievably low fule consumption. No electrical problems -in fact no any problems - whatsoever over the 6000km I rode it in 1 year.

Over the years I've had a few, some pictured below.
UL: '69 Ducati 450 Desmo (actually had 2, their SNs only 10 digits apart).
UR: '74 BMW R75/50.
LL: '71 (?) Norton 750 Commando (it came with those forks!!). I traded it for a 1950 BSA ZB Gold Star which I sold to a fellow in Texas who could afford to restore it. It may be on calendars these days.
LR: '78 (?) Triumph 750 Tiger.


A couple Honda 350 Scramblers, a mid-'50s BSA 650 and a '64ish Matchless G-50 didn't get photo'd for posterity.
I loved 'em all! (Not so much the Hondas)

Cribbs74 wrote:Well Bob,

Still own an MG and have two bikes alongside it. 1974 Honda CT 90 and a 1974 Triumph T150.

Past Bikes in no particular order....

Honda 305 Dream
Honda CB 550
Honda CB 350
Honda CL77
Honda CB750
Yamaha DT250
Hodaka Super Rat

I should learn, I start a thread about motorcycles and feature my rusty, little, used up S90 and everybody chimes in with pictures of beautiful to-die-for rides. Just what I hoped for.

Nice motorcycles guys, thanks for posting those pictures.

Seems like Honda tagged a lot of their products with the "Dream" label. My Honda Accord's engine.



The S90 is in pieces and mostly cleaned up. Now comes the reconstruction.

Bob

S90's are beautiful little machines Bob one of my faves out of the Honda factory. A worthy project for sure!

Ron

wha-tah-hey wrote:Over the years I've had a few, some pictured below.
UL: '69 Ducati 450 Desmo (actually had 2, their SNs only 10 digits apart).
UR: '74 BMW R75/50.
LL: '71 (?) Norton 750 Commando (it came with those forks!!). I traded it for a 1950 BSA ZB Gold Star which I sold to a fellow in Texas who could afford to restore it. It may be on calendars these days.
LR: '78 (?) Triumph 750 Tiger.


A couple Honda 350 Scramblers, a mid-'50s BSA 650 and a '64ish Matchless G-50 didn't get photo'd for posterity.
I loved 'em all! (Not so much the Hondas)

Hi wha-tah-hey
Some nice bikes in that list
Those Ducati singles are quite sort after and fetching good money down under. They had their issues but if someone offered me one I certainly wouldn't turn it down. A spanish company Motosport (or something like that) kept on making them for a while after Ducati stopped.
Here's a pic of one, 1979 Ducati 350 Vento a bike shop has in Auckland. They're asking NZ$10,000 for it which I think is a bit on the heavy side



Your Norton had the same size tank as my 71. 2 imperial gallons or 9 litres. Not enough to go far on a 750 twin. Down the South Island in the seventies gas stations tended to be further apart than the bikes range so you never let a chance to top up go by. Luckily in those days the odd store in a small town had a lone pump out front.

Motorcycles! My other favorite hobby/obsession. I've been riding and tinkering with them all my adult life. At one time or another, I've been interested in most aspects of motorcycling, whether street bikes or off-roading, sporbikes or cruisers. Rather than go into all the bikes I've owned in the past, here's what I currently have in the garage:

1994 H-D Dyna Wide Glide. Stroker motor, close ratio gears, custom paint, blah blah blah. It's getting old, leaks a lot of oil, pops, farts, and belches fire when redlined. Still a lot of fun to ride.




2011 Kawasaki ZX-14. All the factory safety limiters have been unlocked by reflashing the ECU. Full fuel flow and spark advance at any throttle setting in any gear! Much discipline and self-restraint is required on this machine. It pulls harder than any other vehicle I've ever experienced.




2012 Suzuki V-Strom 650 Adventure. It's all farkled up with adventure riding stuff such as skid plates, engine guards, etc to make it as reliable and durable as possible. In 2014, I rode it from the Texas coast to the Arctic Ocean in Deadhorse, Alaska. The craziest adventure I've ever been on! I travel a lot on this one and often refer to it as my Magic Carpet since it will take me most anywhere I care to ride without too much drama. I'm currently looking forward to riding it to Colorado and Utah in a couple of weeks.





Motorcycling has been a huge part of my life!

Speaking of old Hondas, still have mine from college. Bought used in 1979, my 1971 Honda CB100.



In 1983, I replaced the well thrashed engine for a 1971 SL125S motor that I overhauled. Still have the ABS aftermarket hard saddle bags I used in college, plan to mount one of these days and have my mini bagger.

You sure put that Suzuki over the road Tee Bee, I love the Yukon picture and the mudder.  Wish I still had my first Honda S-90 George, then I would probably not be going through this.  Hard part is done though, mostly cleaned up waiting for a wiring harness and reassembly.

We got Marks CA160 running today.  Cleaned everything that gas had touched, tank, carburetor, and petcock.  Took some doing though, the piston was stuck in the carb's body requiring a chemical soak and some heat to break it loose.  Same for the plate behind the carb that had to come out to get the carb off.  Never did get the plate off intact, resorting to the cave man approach.  All fixable though.  







A little cleaning of the plugs and points and she started right off after many years of sitting static.  We had changed the oil the week before.

The S-90 is just parts.  The PO had hacked the wiring harness to bits.  I will have to replace the whole thing.  Anyone know what this part is fed by the red, yellow and pink wires?  A first I thought it was the rectifier but it's not.  It's hard mounted to the frame under the seat.





Mark had the right idea, ensure that it runs first then restore.  I took the opposite approach.  

Bob