-
Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.
Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
'71 400 Issues/Restoration
- Thread starter mike328
- Start date
"T" I have been a customer of Woody's since my first Husky '72 250.
had him replace the brass nipples on the spokes w/stainless & 'true' ..
as well as put **gasp** double Honda seals in the forks.
(face it folks brass nipples on spokes & European bike fork seals were inferior to Japanese back then).
The Akront rims on my current project -'71 400 are original & were "used"...so I brought them to Woodys. they "trued" & straightened them, "grinded" spokes & I also had them mount new (parts supplied by me)- rim straps, rim locks, tubes & Metzler Unicross tires.
The cost was $170.00 to true & straighten ($70 & $100 not sure which wheel cost what)
He charged total $30 to mount tires, rim locks etc.....
I really never realized their notariety, they're local & they had the work finished when promised & even polished them after..
I recommend them.
Just for comparison I want to get 2 new Akront rims from the UK (shouldered), they are being reproduced. These are blanks & can be drilled in the UK as long as the specs for offset etc are provided. Just to see what else is available I called Buchanan's Spoke & rim. I talked to one of their rim guys (sorry I'm at work & I think his name is written down at home) told him what I was looking for (offset for 71 Husky 400) sent them the email I had received concerning the request from the UK...
Never heard back from them.
had him replace the brass nipples on the spokes w/stainless & 'true' ..
as well as put **gasp** double Honda seals in the forks.
(face it folks brass nipples on spokes & European bike fork seals were inferior to Japanese back then).
The Akront rims on my current project -'71 400 are original & were "used"...so I brought them to Woodys. they "trued" & straightened them, "grinded" spokes & I also had them mount new (parts supplied by me)- rim straps, rim locks, tubes & Metzler Unicross tires.
The cost was $170.00 to true & straighten ($70 & $100 not sure which wheel cost what)
He charged total $30 to mount tires, rim locks etc.....
I really never realized their notariety, they're local & they had the work finished when promised & even polished them after..
I recommend them.
Just for comparison I want to get 2 new Akront rims from the UK (shouldered), they are being reproduced. These are blanks & can be drilled in the UK as long as the specs for offset etc are provided. Just to see what else is available I called Buchanan's Spoke & rim. I talked to one of their rim guys (sorry I'm at work & I think his name is written down at home) told him what I was looking for (offset for 71 Husky 400) sent them the email I had received concerning the request from the UK...
Never heard back from them.
few updates, thought about showing some detail:new bushing for rear brake arm, metal straps, powder coated rear hub & brakes- (cleaned inside of brake hubs), footpegs painted (that will be worn on the first ride), and powder coated shift lever, front hub powder coated
Attachments
schimmelaw
Husqvarna
AA Class
Mike,
Your project scoot looks very nicely done. Keep posting up.
Rick
Your project scoot looks very nicely done. Keep posting up.
Rick
retro rocket
Husqvarna
AA Class
Mike
Great work - your going to have a very nice bike once your done!!!
Tom
Great work - your going to have a very nice bike once your done!!!
Tom
front axle
wanted to get some input..
My front axle was seized.. I managed to seperate the axle rod from BOTH nut ends..BUT I can't get the nuts 'tight' enough so that the HEX ends of the axle are flush against the fork legs. I used an impact wrench so now the NUTS are tight and one is beginning to get a little chewed up.
Basically the axle nut does not want to draw up flush to the leg & the axle extends over 1/4" out past the leg. Anyone think this looks correct ? & if so....should I just equally balance out the amount sticking out on each side?..
OR try & seperate & run a tap thru it & TRY to clean up the threads..
I can tell ya, I used an impact on one end & its gonna be a $###@%$###@##
to get loose
Additionally the nut end is very tight as it fits into the pinch bolt area in the lower leg..(pinch bolts are removed for installation) ..It is so tight I needed to use a mallet to drive in...does that seem right? ...seems very akward if a quick tire change was needed in a race (I'm not racing, but applying the thought of trying to change it)
whew....any comments are appreciated
wanted to get some input..
My front axle was seized.. I managed to seperate the axle rod from BOTH nut ends..BUT I can't get the nuts 'tight' enough so that the HEX ends of the axle are flush against the fork legs. I used an impact wrench so now the NUTS are tight and one is beginning to get a little chewed up.
Basically the axle nut does not want to draw up flush to the leg & the axle extends over 1/4" out past the leg. Anyone think this looks correct ? & if so....should I just equally balance out the amount sticking out on each side?..
OR try & seperate & run a tap thru it & TRY to clean up the threads..
I can tell ya, I used an impact on one end & its gonna be a $###@%$###@##
to get looseAdditionally the nut end is very tight as it fits into the pinch bolt area in the lower leg..(pinch bolts are removed for installation) ..It is so tight I needed to use a mallet to drive in...does that seem right? ...seems very akward if a quick tire change was needed in a race (I'm not racing, but applying the thought of trying to change it)
whew....any comments are appreciated
Attachments
retro rocket
Husqvarna
AA Class
Mike
Just checking your pictures.... I just spotted those spacers I made for you... they look good!!
Have you resolved the braking issues??
Just checking your pictures.... I just spotted those spacers I made for you... they look good!!
Have you resolved the braking issues??
NICE**************************************** keep the pix coming. 
thank you ....
Tom... was wondering if you would notice!..the spacers look better in person..
I am slowly assembling...I can't wait to hear it run..
Also Tom...still working on the brake issues..
Just so everyone else knows...My front wheel assembly is going together slowly and being 'difficult'.. basically as I tighten the axle nut... the wheel drags on something.
Best I came up with is the hub is rubbing against the brake backing plate..and its just as I tighten the axle nut to the point where it touches the spacer.
I need to pull the wheel and look more closely..
any ideas are appreciated
Tom... was wondering if you would notice!..the spacers look better in person..
I am slowly assembling...I can't wait to hear it run..
Also Tom...still working on the brake issues..
Just so everyone else knows...My front wheel assembly is going together slowly and being 'difficult'.. basically as I tighten the axle nut... the wheel drags on something.
Best I came up with is the hub is rubbing against the brake backing plate..and its just as I tighten the axle nut to the point where it touches the spacer.
I need to pull the wheel and look more closely..
any ideas are appreciated
Just a follow up on my front wheel. I could not figure out what the 'dragging' sound was or what was causing it. I took the bike to woodys wheel works and they they "trued" it more.. within 1/16... (whatever that means).. I had them also check the back wheel and the parallel of the front forks....all fine.
whats great also is they didn't charge me for the 'fine tuning' on the front wheel...
(I had woody's straighten & true up the rims when I began this restoration)
I may get it running by the weekend...
so a question:
what Gear oil do people use in their Huskys...
I know it should be 80-90wt...
but how about synthetic?... what brands?
I know that there are hypoid gear oils....etc,,
Looking for input. (I don't see a search function here...probably just misssing it)..LOL
whats great also is they didn't charge me for the 'fine tuning' on the front wheel...
(I had woody's straighten & true up the rims when I began this restoration)
I may get it running by the weekend...
so a question:
what Gear oil do people use in their Huskys...
I know it should be 80-90wt...
but how about synthetic?... what brands?
I know that there are hypoid gear oils....etc,,
Looking for input. (I don't see a search function here...probably just misssing it)..LOL
oldhuskychuck
Husqvarna
A Class
i run Castrol GTX 4T 20-50 wt...change it often...
gawd Mike, id figure youd be riding that thing by now..
gawd Mike, id figure youd be riding that thing by now..
oldhuskychuck
Husqvarna
A Class
mike328;117377 said:
Rodger that...sounds like my project stable...
Getting there...LOL
just a few minor things, gear box oil, inline gas filter & petcock, fork oil, vent tube on gearbox vent, gastank cross over tube, adjust handlebars & front fender (fender slightly points to the left), gear shift lever, clutch cable metal straps on down pipe ....installations.
haven't ordered the number plates, as I am still deciding on them.
Side note, I checked my clymers service C-D for the fork oil quantity.
one part has 200 cc....
200 cubic centimeters or cc is equal to 6.76 ounces (US, fluid)
Another part of the service manual has 6 oz
6 ounces (US, fluid) is equal to 177.44 cubic centimeters or cc
LMAO...these bikes were all 'one off's'..basically hand made..
I spoke to John at Vintage Husky he said go with 6.5 oz. I am gonna use that amount, seems closest to the 200 cc's
6.50 ounces (US, fluid) is equal to 192.23 cubic centimeters or cc
just a few minor things, gear box oil, inline gas filter & petcock, fork oil, vent tube on gearbox vent, gastank cross over tube, adjust handlebars & front fender (fender slightly points to the left), gear shift lever, clutch cable metal straps on down pipe ....installations.
haven't ordered the number plates, as I am still deciding on them.
Side note, I checked my clymers service C-D for the fork oil quantity.
one part has 200 cc....
200 cubic centimeters or cc is equal to 6.76 ounces (US, fluid)
Another part of the service manual has 6 oz
6 ounces (US, fluid) is equal to 177.44 cubic centimeters or cc
LMAO...these bikes were all 'one off's'..basically hand made..
I spoke to John at Vintage Husky he said go with 6.5 oz. I am gonna use that amount, seems closest to the 200 cc's
6.50 ounces (US, fluid) is equal to 192.23 cubic centimeters or cc
Attachments
well got her running ..wow... what a thumper..
one of the glitches: not sure if its 'normal' ..but carb seems to leak gas.. around the bowl ...I will check that gasket & the gasket on the bowl drain bolt...
that expansion chamber drew some attention in the neighborhood...
REALLY drew some police attention as I took plug readings at 11pm...(j/k)
love the bike
one of the glitches: not sure if its 'normal' ..but carb seems to leak gas.. around the bowl ...I will check that gasket & the gasket on the bowl drain bolt...
that expansion chamber drew some attention in the neighborhood...
REALLY drew some police attention as I took plug readings at 11pm...(j/k)
love the bike
retro rocket
Husqvarna
AA Class
Ok Mike -
Congratulations... Thats a great moment.
I wanna hear a full report on getting it dialed in!!!
What case oil did you use in the end??
Nice work...
Tom
Congratulations... Thats a great moment.
I wanna hear a full report on getting it dialed in!!!
What case oil did you use in the end??
Nice work...
Tom