R80/7 + a newb = a long road to cafe

this bike is a learning experience for sure.

Since my last update I'be been struggling with a high idle (2200rpm), leaking cylinder base and deformed pushrod tube seasl, and incorrect timing. So I rebuilt the carbs will all new soft parts (and switched to the stock floats instead of the individual ones), I RE-sealed the cylinder and got new orings and pushrod seals, and fiddled with the timing until I believe I've learned the problem...

The good news is that the high idle is gone. I suspected a vacuum leak in the carbs and the rebuild seems to have fixed that. the cylinder doesn't seem to be leaking, but my pushrod tube seals are deformed again, and I was EXTREMELY careful about installation.. I have an idea that the pushrod tubes may be protruding out of the cylinder to far, but I'll have to take some measurements to be sure...

the timing? well, it's looking like I need to replace the timing chain. I cannot get the 'S' in the window at idle nor can i get the 'F' in the window at full advance. AND my points plate is twisted all the way in one direction. my guru buddies seem to agree that this means timing chain. What is ALSO probably means is that my bike might have 150,000 miles instead of the assumed 50k. which I suppose is not a huge deal especially with how much stuff I've already replaced

SO! Tomorrow morning i'll be ordering timing chain parts. good times However, even with the timing off, the bike runs pretty damn well and I've been putting about on it. I also made a cell phone mount that didn't turn out too badly...



I hung out with the SD Antique Motorcycle Club Saturday morning

spencer,
it's been a while since i visited your thread. Renner has stepped foot in the Hack section and it reminded me to visit Airhead section. i hope that his acknowledgement that he knows me doesn't sabotage his reputation among the Hackers. :eek1

i like the cafe build. it sure has transformed over the last year.

hope you're doing well. nice cover photo on AirMail magazine

keith

Thanks for your kid words Keith! and thanks for reminding me to post an update...

Long story short:
I never replaced the timing chain. I reduced the points gap and that seemed to do the trick. (thanks Ted Porter!) And right after I figured that out my dual plug parts came:) All went well with the install except it turned out that my brand new Dyna ignition booster was bad right out of the box. I'm currently waiting for the Beemershop to send me a replacement. Then recently i had some charging problems and it seems to be that used diode board I had just installed. Luckily John from ThunderChild diode boards lives in San Diego and we got that sorted out:)
At the moment, the only problem I'm aware of with the bike is some popping on deceleration. I just tighted and inspected all the exhaust joints and carb boots and I believe the popping is diminished somewhat and my next step is to really dial in the carb adjustments... but the bike is running nicely and I'm enjoying riding it around:)

some pics:


new dual plug parts!


advance limiting bushings on the ATU (this is how Ted Porter likes to do the timing on dual plugged bikes)


I changed the crankcase vent to the reed style...


new catch can


before i determined the diode board was at fault, there was much suspicion of the rotor, so the alternator cover was removed and everything cleaned and inspected (I'm almost due for new brushes)




new diode board and voltage regulator (the old regulator was working, but i figured "why not?")


I went out to a new local moto swap meet this weekend


I hope everyone is well!
Spencer

nice.

how do you feel about that handy points adjusting tool?

Hey Spencer....how you been???

HEY!:) I have largely been well! Thanks for asking. I hadn't thought very much interest remained in my project and life got in the way a bit so I kind of forgot about updating... But i have some updates I can report on (Sadly I've been having a lot of computer issues at home so I don't have many new photos available at the moment...)

Long story short: I continue to fiddle. and fiddle. and mess things up

I had to replace my clutch again. I went for a ride with the clutch cable installed incorrectly and due to some bravado AND some extenuating circumstances the clutch slipped all over the place and I smoked the shit out of it. sigh. all my fault for sure. the bike still ran "ok" but I'd worry about initial movement and in 5th on the freeway if I rolled on hard throttle the clutch would slip. so I pulled the clutch and saw that I had truly messed up the plates AND ruined the spring. let this be a lesson to everyone else - it happens faster than you think. I bought a new spring and sent the rest of my parts off to Southland Clutch for resurfacing. $300 later I was back in business

That's the big news, and I'm drawing a blank about other stuff...

I hope to have my computer sorted out soon and will post some fotos of the smoked clutch. I'll also be at Jan's local tech day on Saturday:) I continue to hang out with the ABC every chance I get.

I hope everyone is well!
Spencer

jeez, quite a bit of time has passed since my last update. where does the time go?!

Anyway, I'll start by posting some ISSUE photos, and end with some links to my hijinks...

The clutch issue! I mentioned briefly that I had had to rebuild my clutch. well for any one that cares:

of course, first I had to get to the clutch again...


both plates had heat spots, and the disc was reduced in thickness


apparently these spots are heat damage where the metal is now a different hardness than the rest of the disc - this is due to the heat "treatment" i gave the clutch by letting it slip so badly.


I took all my parts to Southland Clutch here in SD and they turned down the plates to get past the hot spots and recoated the disc with new friction material to thicken it up properly (sorry, no pics of the shiny new parts before I reinstalled). The clutch spring had deformed due to the heat and was below spec and just had to be replace. cost of resurfacing + new spring was about $300. sigh. but the bike is running great now:)

today's issue! at least one of my brake rotors had a slight warp to it and was not letting the front wheel spin freely. It wasn't bad enough to affect braking, but i didn't like it. I toyed with the idea of sending my rotors to Spiegler for their re-discing of the stock carrier, HOWEVER! I found out that there is a direct bolt on replacement from EBC (model number MD602RS & LS ((right and left sides))), for less cash ($188 each from Amazon). So after some deliberating and ordering, I got the new rotors this week and installed them today:)



new vs old rotors/carriers


the new rotors installed! the wheel spins so sweetly now! (my buddy John stopped by for moral support - i think he's the only other Airhead in SD this weekend - everyone else is in Death Valley!)


Hijinks!

We had a super fun Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride here in SD:


There was a very nice tech day at Aric's house around Xmas:






Then a great Vintage Bike Night at Trophy Motorycles



And then a tech day at Jan's after new years:








then a fantastic Mods vs Rockers weekend






and finally, I went up to Portland with my wife for the One Motorcycle Show. the weather sucked, but the show was fun:)







I think that's about it! If you made it to the end of this post, my thanks and congratulations

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Spencer

Thanks for the pics, Spencer! Have a great week!

Hey Spencer!

After 2 weeks of viewing this thread at work, I've finally finished reading it all. Awesome inspiration for me to get working on my bike!

I've got my R75 running well - though I think the timing needs to be adjusted and my new tires need to be mounted.

scott! i think Trophy will mount the tires for a small fee. bring the bike over we'll sort out the timing:)

Spencer - you have definitely inspired many of us. After just riding the bike and not doing much except inflating the tires all last year, I decided it was time to replace the tube rod tube seals. Well that turned into pulling the transmission to do a spline lube and that in turn....well let's just say after removing two more bolts and I'll be down to the bare frame.

Currently thinking about frame colors for powder coating. Leaning towards matching the frame color to the body color (a la /2 color scheme).

See what happens when you have nothing better to do than read forums?

I'll be re-reading your entire thread when the bike starts going back together. Wish we had same level of airhead support up here in North Cali.

Ha! That's awesome:) I agonized over frame color, my only advice is to not rush the choice I regret mine a bit, but such is life.

I had understood NorCal had a boat load of airheads - is that not the case in your area?

I've been looking at a lot of builds to view different paint jobs. I like your frame color and was thinking about going for a slightly lighter shade of gray until someone suggested the tone on tone look. I don't think I'm going to cafe it, just take it back to the OEM setup, but with some subtle changes.

Most of the Nor Cal airheads are in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not as many near Sac, which is where I am.

Back to the spanners!