1980 390 Hybrid

I've been working on this a couple months and you guys have motivated me to post a few pictures of the progress. Love this site and all the information, so maybe I can do the same. Anyway, I had to sell my 1980 390CR last year and finally decided to put a bike together from what's in the barn. I started with a 1980 WR frame. Rebuilt a 390CR motor, used 1984 WR forks, found some shocks, SHOWA I think, while the Ohlins are being rebuilt. At the moment rebuilding and painting the 40mm fork legs:



I've got a cool set of modified foot pegs:



Since the shocks are red I painted the bars red and so will be the fork legs. When I get the black/yellow Ohlins back I'll paint the bars and fork legs yellow:



When I finish it I'm going to rebuild a 390 OR engine, put it in this bike, then put the CR in a 1977 build:



Again, thanks for a great site; I'll be back!

I took the forks apart yesterday and these two air valves came out of the top. One threaded into the plastic retainer and the other, as you can see, goes all the way through. Which is correct for my forks, and what year does the other go to?

That small brass valve use to be threaded into the top of the white plastic piece. No one puts air pressure is these forks anymore.

the valves are also helpful to let pressure out but yeah putting air in just makes it harsh

Thanks guys. Obviously Husky used both styles, but which are correct for the '84 forks? I'm just trying to understand. I looked at a pair of 35 mm forks I've got and they had the cap style like on the left. Did Husky do like some other manufacturers of the day and use left-overs from previous model years to use up stock? I understand that, but it seems kind of odd that two different styles were used on the same bike. Maybe someone in the past broke one and used another he had in the shop, but again, I'm just trying to understand.

Mick, Husky started using the short brass air valve with the 40mm forks.
Marty

Thanks Marty, I'll just make them a matching set from some others I have around.

I decided to paint the fork legs yellow, since I was going to do that later. Didn't make any sense to do it twice. Now I just have to paint the bars yellow to match:

too much paint and time on your hands.....

great job... keep up the pics !!

Got the pipe on and new number plates made a big difference. Little pieces yet to paint, and the big thing is the tank which I start on tomorrow. About two more weeks..............

DISASTER AVOIDED! Like a dork, I tightened down the bolt holding the bottom fork leg and snapped it off! Luckily, VERY LUCKILY, the broken piece turned out with needle nose pliers. I felt like killing myself. Fortunately, new bolt and back in business. What do you guys do to make sure it's the right torque without TOO much?

Before re-installing the fork dampening rod bolts look closely at them to make sure they have not already been over tightened and stretched. A stretched bolt will look slightly thinner in the middle compared to the rest of the threads and shank. Over the years and many Husky fork rebuilds it has not been uncommon to find these bolts stretched and after they are stretched it doesn't take much effort to snap one off. Do not use the bolt it it is streched. Better to find it now rather than while you are riding. Also check to make sure the bolt heads have 10.9 on them and NOT 8.8. Best to use a torque wrench and a dampening rod holding tool if the dampening rod wants to spin while tightening the bolt. Torque the bolts to 28ft/lbs if dry or 20 ft/lbs if you lubed the threads. Glad the broken bolt did not turn into a disaster.

Marty

as above, many of the forks i have taken apart have the stretched bolts you speak of...must be common

Marty, what does 10.9 mean compared to 8.8?

Mick

Mick, the 10.9 bolts are a higher grade than the 8.8 bolts. The 10.9's are an alloy steel quenched and tempered and have 150,000 psi tensil strength compared to the 8.8's that are made of a medium carbon steel and have 120,00 psi tensil strength.

Marty

Took longer than I thought it would, but almost done; all that's left is to find a chain slider. I'm going out tomorrow to our industriual park to find some UHMW plastic and form my own. Then, we fire it up and see how she goes.





This is the first steel tank I've ever painted using self-etching primer and Duplicolor paint and clear coat. I'm OK with the job, but not real happy with the tape lines. What do you guys use to get nice, sharp lines on the tank? I used stickers for the Husqvarna emblems but I painted the gold stripe around the knee rub area.

looks great, nice job

Back to the drawing board.........Got the bike started and running yesterday, but two things wrong: One, no first gear. The bike shifts well from neutral to sixth then back down but won't go into first. Bent shift shaft maybe? Two, doesn't seem to clear out when running; I'm suspecting a bad crank seal. Oh well.......

In order to get sharp edges on your striping, the best way I heard is to mask off your panel using 1/4" quality masking tape on the inside boundary of the striping.
Then use regular masking to cover the panel the panel inside the boundary. Leave the outside unmasked as you want to spray the striping color a min of 2" from the tape edge. After that dries you tape over your stripe color covering the stripe width you wish to achieve. Once you have done that you can overlap the tank color over the stripe paint not covered and get a clearly defined edge on your striping. If you are using clear coat, you can install the decals and then clear over all except what remains chrome or brushed