Engine is in the Frame

I picked up my engine and immediately dropped it in the frame when I got home. It does look very nice.

With the transmission and all of the covers (including the deep oil pan) off, it went in without too much fuss. It did take me a couple minutes to realize that I had to tilt the rear of the engine upward in order to get the tranny back in position.

I shimmed the engine all the way to the right and still had to adjust the swingarm to the left of center a bit so that the driveshaft was in the middle of the swingarm housing. Hopefully that won't affect handling.

I've since ran the gauge cables (I needed to order throttle cables - I had new r50/2 cables, but they don't play nice with the R90 carbs. It also looks like I will have to modify the r50/2 clutch cable outer sleeve to work properly) and finished most of the remaining wiring. The rest of the wiring (and my completed wiring diagram) should be done this weekend.

I've all but given up on getting my mufflers from Tom at Epco. He doesn't seem to pick up the phone anymore. I've got some cheap Emgo mufflers I can use in the meantime. I was also disappointed to see that the crossover on the conversion headers he made me was significantly out of alignment. I managed to get them on, but I'll probably have to cut the crossover to ever get them off. Hopefully the misalignment doesn't cause leaks.

Almost there

Engine should be done today. Maybe I'll get a chance to slip it in the frame next weekend!

Engine work!

I worked with Tom Cutter for two days on my engine last week. I did all the cleaning and vapor blasting of parts while he did the disassembly and diagnosis. I still have the engine block and tranny housing to do, so I think I'll try to get back up there this week.

 Among the most painful issues found were: (1) one of the cylinders was rusted beyond honing (looking into nikasil plating), (2) the entire ignition system was hosed (will replace with an electronic unit); (3) one of the head covers was unrepairable (will replace with siebenrock racing repops)  and (4) kicker/tranny cover was cracked (he had an extra). The parts lists just keeps increasing and it's getting intimidating!

I opted not to get an aftermarket charging system, but we are upgrading to a later year that has a little more output. I also added an upgraded starter.

More Wiring!

I did the rest of the wiring that I could without the engine and ran all of the wires how I wanted them - that's about 95% of the wiring. I have no idea how the wires were originally  run, but I'm satisfied with the way it is.

I've updated the wiring diagrams to indicate the proper wire color (based on what I had available) and wire positions).  I'll post them when the bike is done.

The last step, once the engine is in, will be to wrap all the wire bundles in split braid loom.

I also tried a trick I heard about recently - hiding damaged chrome.  I rubbed a few spots (primarily the axles) with Rub-n-Buff Silver Leaf.  It basically fills the rusty pits in the chrome with a silver wax paste.  I've been told it should last a season, but we'll see.

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.