Motor waiting for the rockerbox, got to grab some Hondabond from the dealer for that, owning LC4 KTM taught me that Hondabond is the ONLY thing that will keep rockerbox from leaking Once it's on I will adjust valves and pop the motor back in. Sure I can do valves when motor is in the frame, but I't easier to do it on the bench Starter support should come in Monday. Missing o-rings for water pipe and crush washers for drain plugs should be here any day too Pulled the motor out by myself but I might need to enlist some muscle to help me slide it back in ... Other problem is fork bushings, the kit I got has 25mm bush, I need 15mm, normally I'd be less concerned and only replace what I have, but reason I am doing forks because one had a broken bleeder and it sucked in come crap, it damaged bushings and seals. Also need 45 mm seal driver... got 41, 43 and 48 but never done 45's
Today I found out that tube of Hondabond I had has dried up, it was still soft, but not good enough to use, luckily near by Honda (car) dealer has it in stock and parts department open Sundays. GM is an old friend of mine and he saw my post on Facebook looking for Hondabond or Tree Bond, he messaged me, told me they have it in stock and when I got there it was sitting on the counter waiting for me and with a hefty 30% discount. Another excellent service oriented shop, Herb Chambers in Seekonk MA. Rocker box installed, valves adjusted, motor in the frame, radiators, carb, hoses installed, attached swingarm and all of suspension components, new chain guide, new shock pivot, repacked all needle bearings, replaced damaged seals... had to quit because I got a call to come home and enjoy what's left of the weekend I should have the stator inside cover tomorrow, then I can finish the motor assembly (flywheel still off) water pipe o-rings and drain plug washers should be here shortly as well, fork bushings are the last item that will be holding me back before I can ride it.
Another package from Halls and inside stator cover are here! Time to button it up should be able to start the engine today, however I'm missing a drain plug washer, matched up a small one at the Honda dealer when I picked up Hondabond, but the larger, one with magnet is too big for anything they had, and when I got the bike there was no washer (might explain where some of the oil went?)
inside stator housing/cover/starer support came in today so I was able to button up the engine, put oil in and crank it over, so far so good. Tomorrow will try starting it. New rubber should be in tomorrow but fork bushings may not get here till Wednesday. I ordered all new hoses and clamps but they are coming from Italy (I think) so they may not get here for another couple weeks so I had to figure out how to replace melted overflow tank hose that has a "U" bend to avoid hitting a header... 30 year old Honda to the rescue!! Had this bike in my basement for years (Hawk GT ) someone took few parts off and was gonna scrap it, so I bought it because I may need some internal engine parts some day (I have 3 other hawks) and it just happened to have the perfect "U" bend coolant hose which I was able to splice on to the Husky!
Tires Installed and balanced (Mitas E-07) rear wheel installed, front still waiting for fork bushings. Had a friend bore one of my 43mm seal drivers out to 45mm, it was damaged anyway (smashed by some idiot with a hammer) as soon as the bushings are here I should be able to finish it and roll it out. Back of the bike very much assembled, left the tank off till I'm sure cooling system is bled Pressurized cooling system and started chasing leaks, mostly loose clamps but then I found that left radiator inlet pipe has several pinholes... not sure what to do now. Any other case I would pull the hose over it but hose is not long enough, it's a specific hose with 2 T junctions that passed through the frame, no way to get any slack. I can send the radiator out to have it welded or just ignore it and keep an eye on coolant level
pics for above post Coolant leaks seems to have stopped, even the pinholes in the radiator no longer bubble
Finally yesterday new bushings came from Hall's, but they are wrong too, while the width (height?) is correct the thickness of the metal is wrong, those just fall out of the fork. I need to get some miles on the bike so old bushings went back in to the upper (outer) tubes, they were not as badly worn as the inner (lower) tube sliders. Another late night session and it seems almost done... Roll it outside, push the button and it's running. Few nagging issues like weeping carb bowl and spotty idle, but I decided to take it home anyway, 11 miles each way, not too far of a ride if anything goes wrong Carb stopped leaking (gasket must have swell up?) but on the way to work today it started dying on "ON" setting to I switched to "RESERVE" and it ran fine, must have screwed up something on the new tank fuel connections. suspect I reversed the hoses on the fuel tap
Well done! It will be a blast to ride once you get the details sorted out. Have to admire the dedication to make it live again. Wish those opportunities would come my way.
it is a blast! I got to go back in and re-adjust valves (note to self 0.05IN does not mean 0.005 inches, it means 0.05mm INTAKE) no big deal, my 640 with nearly identical layout of the motor and valvetrain has 0.15mm, I set this to 0.13 and it runs fine, but I will tighten them to spec, hopefully when hoses show up Re-Used old fork bushings, new ones should be coming with hoses, might be replacing them after the trip, leaving a week from tomorrow... Meanwhile I'm at full freakout condition, work been busier than ever, bike still needs work that I want to do before the trip, and I have not even finished first tank of gas, got no idea what kind of MPG it will get or how low does that tank drain, can I get all of it to drain in the carb? Was thinking about installing a simple fuel pump (vacuum type) to have fuel constantly being transferred out of the front wings towards left rear petcock, it will still act as reserve but will help using up all the fuel. Will have to route hoses differently, but might just be OK as is?
forgot the pictures deciding what I will bring, 3 gallon Rotopax or 1.75? Having some fun in the sand pit before going to mud pit later (yes, I know my plate is crooked)
FWIW, I found you can slide the pass footpeg thru the bottom hole of the rotopax and strap to the rack. .
That ^ looks cool! Not worried about subframe failing from all that weight? Someone told me they are weak... Went to Catskills this weekend, it was work related but I made it all about having fun, brought the bike and rode close to 200 miles. Finally finished the first 4 gallons I put in few weeks back and then another 2/3's of the tank. So far so good, one minor issue is that when gas is low (last 1/2 gallon) bike stalls at idle, but It's getting 46 mpg and with 3 gallon rotopax I should be good for 350 miles, so not really worried about using up last drop. Still have the hick-ups at steady cruise around 50-55, so I messed with the mixture, idle and checked for vacuum leaks, and then while doing the valves and hoses tonight I pulled the needle, pretty sure it's the culprit: looks chewed up at that 5% throttle spot.. too late to have it shipped in, ferry leaves Thursday Afternoon. I'm not even packed...
I added CJ's subframe braces as soon as I bought the bike. 12,000 miles with 2 trips down Black Bear Pass and a run to Prudhoe Bay among the highlights Hope you have a great trip. .
That tank will not drain completely into the petcock but when you ride offroad it will splash around. When it runs out you can tip bike over to spill gas over to the petcock side.
Sooo, I'm back! Long trip, several issues, EPIC! Ferry was cancelled due to weather so we went through New Brunswick to NS, after 2 days of burning highway miles I was down over a quart of oil, luckily I had brought 2 quarts for an oil change, that was all gone before we made it to Labrador. Ring end gap was well within spec, oil rings are fine, has to be sustained 75 mph pace that was burning oil, once we dropped the pace to 60 oil burning stopped. Rode Celtic Shores Seilidah Coastal trail with this crazy guy on Duke 390 and then cut across middle of the island on a dirt road that in the end looked like a dry river bed, 'lil Katoom made it all the way! Crossed to Newf and rode more coastal trails to Corner Brook, rained all the way, stayed on hotel to dry out, apparently my Boots are no longer waterproof! view from our hotel dining room next day went inland crossing the island on rail bed from Deer lake to Badger, that broke my rack mount, kinda disappointed since the gas can was still empty, but glad it happened now and not in Labrador. had it repaired next day at some fabrication shop in Grand Falls but first we visited Sabine ( http://www.hiddennewfoundland.ca/sabena-airliner-crash ) left our gear at camp (Notre Dame Provincial park) and headed in to the woods
After having the bike fixed we made a dash for the coast, camped at St.Barbe waiting for the ferry that took us to Labrador Viking Trail the boat That's when the problems got worse, my phone died (no biggie, but I couldn't take pictures) and while boarding the ferry i realized that I only have 1st and 2nd gears! Talked to some people, once we got to Blanc Sablon I found a shop next to NAPA and started digging in the motor. Removed clutch, filters, screen, drain plug... fished out pieces of plastic bearing cage, seems the 2nd wasn't fully engaging and that was causing the problem, but we got it to go in to 3d, not knowing if it will ever make it through 2nd gear again I only sued 3-4-5-6th for the rest of the trip. Changed oil with whatever NAPA had in stock (Valvoline 20W50) buttoned it up and off we went Rode through Hope Simpson, stopped for the night in Cartwright, passed through Goose bay, stopped in Churchill falls for the night, passed through Lab City and spent a night at Manic 5. Long, straight, boring, dusty... only rained when we were on pavement! made it to Quebec City at the end of Day 10, about 3400 miles, rolling down A20 looking for motels (wet and cold again) and the motor locks up! Pushed it off to the shoulder, opened side covers, nothing seems damaged, not transmission because it rolls free once clutched. Top end seems fine, good compression, slowly it loosens up, fires up and after making some noises goes back to idling like nothing happened. We got motel for the night (one of 3 nights we didn't camp) next morning we rode another 170 miles to the border where friend picked me up (he insisted) and trailered me last 250 miles. 3500+ miles ridden, about 4000 if you add ferry and truck, bike still runs but sounds angry. Rebuild #2 coming up soon I suspect balance shaft bearing failed, and that is what jammed up the motor, rolling it back and fourth got bearing to unbind... will know soon
