Been a while but I finally have some measureable progress to report.
In the last month I've been taking apart and cleaning and polishing the rear wheel parts. So today I finally got everything ready to go.
Significant to this was the lacing of the Rear Wheel with my new Buchanan Stainless Steel Spokes and new DID Rim. The first picture below is one I took before taking the rear wheel apart. It shows the ONE Step that no other document or description shows. This step is guaranteed to make you an instant Lacing wizard and gain you membership in the Secret Society of Wheel Lacers.
If you look at the first picture, It shows the Valve Stem at the bottom. The Spoke to the Right of the Valve goes to the Lower Side Inner Spoke and has a Green Arrow pointing to it. If you now move Up to the Upper Side, the Spoke just to the Left of the Green Hole on the Upper Side as indicated by the 2 purple lines is pointed to by a Blue/White Arrow. On the Upper Side, this is Hole number 1. Now count 5 holes to the Left and you come to the Hole pointed to by the Red Arrow. Follow the Spoke back to the Rim and it ends at the Hole immediately to the Left of the Valve Stem. Makes Lacing a wheel a 20 minute job!
Another interesting thing is the Hub bearings. I ordered the SKF 6304/2RS (Both sides rubber sealed). When I took the Old bearings out, they are NTN 6304Z bearings (Metal Sealed on the Outside only)! After re-reading Hondamans book and reading several build threads it seems that the preference is the rubber sealed bearings. So, tomorrow with any luck at all, the new SKF bearings will go in, since they are spending the night in the Freezer, patiently waiting to be installed. LOL
I also watched a couple of the Hack-A-Week videos done by forum member Dino, for which I am eternally grateful! Lots of good information in his Videos!
Thought I would also post the pictures of the Nice, cleaned and polished rear wheel parts. Not as good as the Front wheel, but I am getting really tired of sanding and polishing. LOL
I have new Cush Drive rubbers ready to go in as well. I also have a New JT Sprockets 48 tooth sprocket ready to go. After speaking with Hondaman and reading a few other threads as well as Hondamans book regarding sprockets, I did something that I hope will prolong the life of the new chain I will be putting in. I took my Dremel tool and put a 220 grit wheel on it. I then VERY lightly hit each tooth to hopefully remove just the casting grit off each tooth. Don't know how it will work out, but we'll find out.
Last thing. I ordered a set of Ikon 7610-1296 shocks to replace my VERY OLD 76F-1296 Koni's. It seems that Ikon does not have (or not willing to admit to having) rebuild parts for these old shocks. I did post a thread about rebuild the old ones. I got the information on a Guy that goes by the handle "rhgussa" on Ebay that rebuilds and sells these old refurbished Koni's. Made contact with him and he said that generally, unless someone has ridden their bike with these old shocks that have been sitting for a long time, the likelihood is that they only need to be taken apart and cleaned and have new oil put in. If you do ride on a set of these old shocks, the old oil will have gummed up and probably will cause the shock rods to bend. If that happens, you probably will need new shocks since parts are not really available. He did say that the seals and other internal parts are probably OK and only need a Good Cleaning. At some point, I will probably try my hand at rebuilding my old Koni's, but not just yet.
So, tomorrow with any luck at all, I will put the rear wheel back together and post my progress.
Charlie