So more work on the bike

Well I managed to break a bolt hole on the right side engine block valve cover.
So I had to come up with a way to fix it without welding.
JB weld, a stainless steel collar from lowes, helicoil fix-a-thread.

tap the steel collar, got a 1/4" x3/4" x 3/8" I think, the 1/4" hole was a good match to the helicoil M6 thread saver, no drilling just tap the collar.
Then put 2 of those fix-a-threads in the collar make sure to use lock-tight, and then jb weld the whole thing into place.

Most likely you'll need to touch up the area with a drill bit to make it fit nicely.

AWESOME !!!!!

Ok, so I'm able to ride around town now.
Bled the brakes, and got the license plate on and brake light all ready to go.
I'm not a big fan of the mirrors on the bike, and I still have to figure out how to put the side covers on the rear back on, that'll be done once I pick up/find some cotter pins for the mounting pins.

Anyway, here are some pics.
Oh and it sounds SICK AWESOME.

Current setup

Got the tail and blinkers in, and almost finished up the rear fender.
Put some paint on it to see what it'll kinda look like.

I'm going to paint the chrome piece on the tail light since it stands out wayyyyy too much.

Seat

Yay I finally mounted the seat completely. Three anchor points should be plenty.
Two mount points at the old bracket and then the other is at the back of the seat into the fender.

It seems sturdy enough and comfortable enough for me. I'm not sure about having another person on the rear seat ...the bolt that anchors the seat into the fender will probably dig into their ass.
That's ok, because I'm not going to let anyone ride with me :)
Not that I don't like having people to ride with, I just don't like having the added weight, or responsibility.

More Rear Fender fun

Well I managed to shape the fender a bit more with some creative use of the rubber mallet, some cardboard and the picnic table...really high tech.

I also remembered to get some pictures of the bike in the sunlight so it actually looks nice.

So now I need to cut the fender down to size in the back so that it rounds out and mates to the frame nicely, then it'll be onto the seat.

Once that's done, brake and turn signals will get mounted and then it'll be off to the exhaust shop for some straight short pipes. :)

Quick Rear Fender

Well I've decided that the old chromed out rear fender that weighs a ton is gone.
Therefore, I needed to make up a new fender or at least buy something and then make it fit.

I had an idea for a short fender that just came to the end of the frame and filled in the gap left by the seat..which I have yet to mount.
So a quick trip to lowes for a small piece of 22 guage steel plate 12"x24", a rubber mallet, and a vice to see what I could make.

Ta-Da



Yeah it kinda looks like I took a pizza box and just stuck it in there but I did in fact shape it a little.



Anyway it's just the beginning since I'm going to round/cut the end a bit and then use the bolts to help hold it in place while I shape it a bit more. It is only 22 gauge, and not too hard to bend with my hands or shape with some wood and the mallet.

And here's a pic of the bike with the gauges, headlight, and most of everything put back on.

Timing Belts

Wow...timing belts are hard to get right. 10th time's the charm.
Without the help of my better half, and some coffee to calm my nerves it wouldn't have happened today.

So I get to ride 60K miles before those need to get changed again...I hope.

On top of the timing belts, I finished up the carburetors and got them back on.
Note to self, always check what you ordered to make sure you're actually using those parts and not the old ones.
Needless to say, I managed to get the carbs altogether, with the airbox assembled when I realized that I had ordered re-build kits for the carbs already.
So with that realization, I had to pull them back apart, and put the new gaskets, floats, and o-rings in.

So with the carbs together, they went back on the bike :)
Also, the shiny black intake manifolds on the engine I think look sweet.

Now here's the catch, I'm currently torn between keeping the rear fender or ditching it. I like the look without the rear fender, it makes the bike look shorter and more aggressive, IMO.
Although, without the fender it also means some more work before I get to ride. With the fender it doesn't look too bad either...

Well besides mounting the seat, and getting the exhaust made up there's not too much more.
There are a few things that I'll need to clean up, brake lines mainly because they are old, and the new handle bars made the first run down to the splitter have too much bend for my liking.