Houston, we have an Engine

Xumi · Posted: June 29, 2009, 12:46 pm Post subject: Houston, we have an Engine

Long overdue update.

Been slowly working on the bike in the evenings after everyone settles down.. bout an hour or so every night, slowly making my way through the laundry list of things that need fixing.

Finished the fork rebuild. What a pain in the #&$*(@&#. Now that I've done it, I think I could do it again in about 1/3 the time though. Even with all the excellent advice here, it was still damn near impossible to get those things apart.

Got the remaining crustified oil off them while they were off the bike, and stripped the clearcoat, then brought them up to a moderate polish. I'm going for more of a brushed aluminum look than the highly polished almost chrome look on the aluminum for the bike, so I'm happy how they turned out.

Went back through the carbs again and cleaned 'em a 2nd time.. Looking pretty good now, though I think the float height is off on the left carb. Sync'd carbs using the paper pull method.

Went through the electrics from front to back, cleaning, de-oxidizing, and greasing every connection.

Static timed the points.. I think I found one of the reasons the bike was originally parked. Timing was severely off.

Adjusted the valve clearance.

Finished the single petcock conversion... Turned out pretty nice, really!

Replaced fuel lines during conversion. The PO had apparently used much too large of lines in a prior attempt to repair, as they fit rather loosely.

Re-assembled everything so far taken apart.

Hooked it up to car battery via Jumper Cables...

Turned on the Key...

Hit the starter..

CHRRR - CHRRR - CHRRR - CHRRRR.

Turned on the fuel.

CHRRR - CHRRR - CHRRRR.

Gave it a tiny spray of starter fluid.

RRRR- sputter.

CHRRR - RRR sputter sputter.

RRR - RRR - Sputtter puttttttt..

sputter.. gave it a small blip at the throttle. .vroom!

Houston, we have an engine!

Let it warm up.. adjusted air fuel mixture to lean it out a tad, as I could smell it being rich.

Ran it through all gears sitting on center stand.. all gears run beautifully, and the clutch loosened up even more. Finds neutral both cold and warm now. Niiiice.

Hit the kill switch.. nice stop, and starts immediately back up on either kick or electric, so no hot start problems.

Checked charging circuit.. oops. Not charging. Will tear into that next. Probably another reason it was originally parked.

Turn signals still aren't happy.. Also need to dig into that.

Sorry for lack of pictures. My garage is so poorly lit as to make taking decent pics almost impossible. Next time it sees daylight I'll snap some of the progress.

pumps · Posted: June 29, 2009, 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

I'm pullin' for you brother. Keep at it. Sounds like the fruits of all your hard labor are close to paying off.

Retiredgentleman · Posted: June 29, 2009, 2:58 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Good job Xumi! Get that charging circuit working and the turn signals may work as well.

I'd recommend you adjust your mixture screws using the dead cylinder method.

Xumi · Posted: June 29, 2009, 3:19 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Thanks guys - it made for a VERY satisfying sound.

RG - What makes you think the charging issue and turn signals are related?

My guess is that the turn signals probably have wiring issues, as all 4 were disconnected, and 2 of them were missing when I got the bike... Probably just need to better sort out where each of them plug in.

Thanks for the reminder about the dead cyl method. That'll definitely be done, but I need to dial in my float height a little better first. Left side is sitting a bit high, I believe. Will tear down the bowls and get that right before finalizing the air/fuel mix. For now I just used the highest RPM method, which has served well in the past on other engines, and did a good job of smoothing this one out.

xsleo · Posted: July 1, 2009, 12:08 am Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

I have to agree, it is a very satisfying thing when you first hear the bike run. All the hard work is finally starting to pay off.
As far as lighting goes, the only thing that draws more juice than the turn signals is the headlight. If your charging system is not working properly, it can't charge the battery and run the electrics.
It won't run long on just the battery.

Retiredgentleman · Posted: July 1, 2009, 12:25 am Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Xumi;
The charging system is probably the first system that should be made to work properly on these bikes. A charged battery will only have about 12.6 volts, and if the charging system cannot raise that voltage, then you still only have 12.6 volts. Guess what.................the flashers don't flash at 12.6 volts. The stock flashers need about 13 to 13.5 volts to start flashing.

You also need to check that the bulb sockets are corrosion free and the grounds are good. Must use the correct bulbs............27 watts each, which are standard automotive 1156 bulbs.

Xumi · Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:16 am Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Thanks RG - that's exactly the info I was looking for! Good stuff.

I bought a new battery for it last night, and tore into the charging system while waiting for it to charge.

Once locating the connector between the rotor and the rectifier and regulator (how did I miss that big thing on my clean/grease pass through the electricals??), I immediately noticed two problems - the connector was horribly dirty, and the rotor coils were measuring high resistance.

I disassembled the brush assembly and cleaned the terminals. Brushes look good (still within service limits). Terminals were nasty, but cleaned up nicely.

After cleaning the connector and brush assembly thoroughly, the coil resistance was right in spec according to the service manual.

Next tore into the mechanical regulator... looks like someone soaked it in the ocean for a year! Rusted thoroughly, the contacts were stuck closed by something gooey.

Tore the regulator down as far as it would allow, cleaned everything up, re-assembled and adjusted to spec.

Tonight I want to remove the battery box entirely and inspect the rectifier, and give the area a thorough cleaning.

I swear this bike was dumped in a lake of mud, pulled out, and left to dry somewhere near the ocean.

jayel · Posted: July 1, 2009, 11:50 am Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Xumi wrote:

Tonight I want to remove the battery box entirely and inspect the rectifier, and give the area a thorough cleaning.

you'll need to ask Barb how to remove the battery box she's the resident expert on that Laughing

Xumi · Posted: July 1, 2009, 12:07 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

jayel wrote:

Xumi wrote:

Tonight I want to remove the battery box entirely and inspect the rectifier, and give the area a thorough cleaning.

you'll need to ask Barb how to remove the battery box she's the resident expert on that Laughing

Thanks Jayel, I noticed last night that it is going to be a challenge. I read up some posts in the vault, and know with a little patience that it'll come out (after all, I highly doubt they built the frame around the box!)

Retiredgentleman · Posted: July 1, 2009, 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Xumi;
Both the rectifier and regulator are nearly worn out on these bikes. Even though they were still working, I replaced them on my 78SE.

Replaced my rectifier with 2 bridge rectifiers and an old heat sink I had on hand.

Bought a VR-115 solid state regulator ( 1971 to 74 Ambassador/Jevelin/Hornet/Gremlin)

Xumi · Posted: July 1, 2009, 1:12 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Thanks RG,

I may end up doing that too.. not sure yet, honestly. The bike has 15k on the odometer, and other than the neglect, I think that's fairly accurate. If the mechanical will work for a while, I may use it, if not, I'll go for the Solid State.. looks like an easy enough mod to do.

xsleo · Posted: July 3, 2009, 2:41 am Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Yep, the reg/rect mods are easy and fairly quick. They work great.

Xumi · Posted: July 7, 2009, 4:18 pm Post subject: Re: Houston, we have an Engine

Looks like I'm in for a reg/rec conversion. I will bypass the regulator tonight to verify, but the coils on the regulator are measuring high, and everything else ohms out good, so I'm 99% sure it's the mechanical regulator. I just wish I'd measured it before I spent 2 hours dismantling, cleaning and adjusting it.

On the good news though, turn signals are now working!

Left side was easy... connector issue in the headlight bucket.

Right side was simple, but not as easy - the switch was in pretty bad shape. The right side wire was loose - cold solder it looks like, and all contacts were corroded, the switch had a lot of dirt in it, and all grease had long since turned to dust.

It took about 2 hours to go through the switch with an emery cloth, electrical cleaner, and a good plastic safe grease, but now it works smooth as the day it was new, and all turn signals work beautifully.

ON a side note, my bike has forgotton what the meaning of housebroken means, and has marked it's territory on the garage floor. I'm guessing shift shaft seal.

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