Fresh Paint and Stripes!

I got my tank and fenders back from O'Neill's Auto Body in New Holland Pa.  Over all it looks great - there's a couple dust specks I may want them to buff out, but that's it.  I think the pinstripes look fantastic - I was worried about those since I insisted on hand striping.

I also shimmed the wheels and got everything else where it should be.  I shouldn't have to mess with the chassis again.

Now I just need my engine back from Tom Cutter at Rubber Chicken Racing and my mufflers from Epco Mufflers.  Cutter was in an accident recently, so that will slow his schedule.  Epco feeds me an excuse whenever I call, but I'm pretty sure I'll get them eventually.

Then I just have to finish the wiring and run the cables once the engine is in!  I think I'll be lucky to have it done this season, but we'll see.

Tins and Brakes

I sorted out the rear brake, which took me longer than I expected.  It was a bit like one of those bar puzzles made of nails.  I also mocked up the fenders and tank and tweaked them here and there.  I'm going to pick a painter and send them out in a week or so, so I wanted to make sure everything fit reasonably.

Roller!

I finished shimming, greasing and installing the wheel bearings.  It's all pretty straight forward.  I made a tool (a length of copper pipe) to keep the bearing stack together, heated the hub and slipped the stacks in.  I've got the newer wheel nuts with the rubber seals, so I replaced the seals.  I also swapped out the old inner felt seals with rubber ones from Benchmark Works.

 I ended up not replacing the wheel bearings - they looked almost new.  I just cleaned them with kerosene and brake cleaner and repacked them. Late last night I  realized I had put all of the top hat spacers in wrong on both swing arms, so I went out into the garage in my pj's and pulled the swing arms and fixed them.  Luckily, I didn't need to replace the seals.

I also installed the center stand and did a video about installing kickstand springs:

Tomorrow I'll fit the fenders and tank just for fun and also set up at least the rear brake if not the front as well.

The Final Drive Is Done

I popped open the final drive and nothing was sketchy - it looked good to my untrained eyes.  I was afraid I'd find rust, chipped gears, etc. While I was in there I replaced the cover gasket and the ring gear seal.   Don't forget to protect the new seal with a Coke can or something when you put the cover back on.

Heat is the key to getting these things open and then back together.  I heated the cover in the oven and installed it twice, but the ring gear bearing still didn't seat right either time.  Finally, I took the combined advice of Vech and Duane Ausherman and put the whole final drive in the oven for an hour at 200* and then tapped both gear shafts and gave it a couple good thumps with the ring gear facing down.  That settled everything.

I've still got some Honda moly 60 paste from my last shaft drive bike, so I coated the wheel splines with that.

I hit the final drive with some sand paper, grit infused nylon wheels with some Neverdull and then finished off with some Scotchbrite pads and Flitz polish.  I also got new polished stainless swingarm and drive plugs.

Next up is to get some wheels on this thing!

Beginning the Reassebly

Because I know my engine won't be ready soon, I've started assembly of the roller.  The front end is all sorted and on, the seat is on, and the rear shocks and swing arm are on. Like I did with the front shocks, I rebuilt the rears.  Other than to adjust the rear swingarm once the engine is in, I won't have to touch any of that stuff again.

A metric thread file came in really handy for the neck threads and front axle threads.

The wheels are pretty much sorted, I just have to shim  the rear bearing stack a little bit.  I got some shims from Duane Asherman.

I may put the front wheel on this weekend, but before I put on the rear, I want to dig inside the final drive a bit and see what I see (hopefully nothing bad!)  That'll be the last major operation on the bike until I get the engine back.

I thought using the BMW grease fittings would be problematic, but it was super easy with a decent chainsaw greaser. For the front, I did use Duane's tip of wrapping a piece of rope around the left side to keep the grease in.

I also got a good deal on a used 20mm x 1.5 tap to clean out the threads on the frame for the rear swingarm pins.

I replaced both sets of swingarm bearings which should have been pretty straight forward, but as is usual for me, I spent far more time fixing screw-ups than actually progressing.  I somehow thought it would be a good idea to use the old race to set the new race in place in the rear swingarm.  It worked, but the old race got stuck in the swingarm too and it took me a good hour to get it back out without damaging the new race underneath! I also destroyed two seals trying to seat them in place.  I got some new ones (as well as a set of extras) from Hans at Hucky's Spares.  These went in with no problem, so I have to wonder if my first set (which came with the project) were too big.  I really like dealing with Hans, it's very old school since you order through email and he gives you a discount if you mail him a check.

Like I said, next up will be the final drive, then I can complete the roller.

Clean Carbs!

I cleaned up and rebuilt my 38mm Bings and made my wife video it.  She's a sport.

I talked to Tom Cutter, and my engine likely won't be done for this season, so I think I'll install the swingarm and head bearings and put the bike together as a roller.  Then I can just wedge the engine in when I get it and finish the wiring.

More Stuff Cleaned Up

I've been spending my time cleaning and polishing (especially stainless bolts) while I wait for the engine to be done.  I love freshly polished aluminum against gloss black - it looks so clean.  I find it very satisfying when parts go from chipped, dirty and dull to fresh and bright.  I don't polish my metals to mirror shine - I'm too lazy for one thing - but I also like the warm glow created by less polishing.

I mentioned that instead of a turn signal indicator, I'm using that hole in the headlight bucket for my electric start button.  I tried to find a button that mimicked the original indicator.  Ridiculously, I think the thing I'm most proud of is getting the button to light up when I push it.  Originally I wasn't going to bother, but I think it looks really cool!

I placed the last of my big parts orders - I'll probably need odds and ends, but I shouldn't need anything else major.  I still need to clean the carbs, but then once the engine is back, it'll be assembly and wiring.  Paint won't come 'till the winter though (I think I might rattle can it for right now).

One other odd thing - I bought this project basically as a basket case bitsa bike, so I don't know how much of the 50/2 parts started life together.  What I do know is that several of the parts, including the brake linkage, steering damper, and various smaller pieces, were once painted metallic blue.  That would have been a bike to see!