Not a lot to report as life seems to be getting in the way. I got all the bearings and seals into the rear hub. I was putting one of the retainers into the rear and just wasn't thinking clearly at all (mind was pre-occupied with some work stuff). It felt bad right away but stubbornly I pushed on and eventually realized Hulk needed to stop but it was too late and didn't want to move in either direction. After letting penetrating oil work for a day I eventually got the retainer back out and it was trashed. Internal threads on the hub were gnarly too.
internal 1 by
Chris Neumann, on Flickr
internal 2 by
Chris Neumann, on Flickr
retainer by
Chris Neumann, on Flickr
I thought for sure I was at square one again. I talked with half a dozen machine shops in person and on the phone and all said the hub was done and couldn't be repaired. I decided to try one more place on the way home and the guy I spoke with told me to bring it on in. I got there and saw this little old man wearing shorts, a cardigan sweater, sandals, and mismatched socks. He looked at it and then told me to follow him into his shop. He quickly grabbed some taps and started looking for the right one as a chicken ran around the shop. When he found it he started going to work on the threads by hand. Out of ignorance, I almost stopped him because I was worried he might be making things worse. Shouldn't the precision of a lathe be involved here?? Slowly but surely, the retainer (threading in backwards to have fresh threads) started going in and I felt like a jerk for questioning him. He was able to fix both internal threads and the retainer that I managed to destroy. Then he tossed the retainer in the lathe and took a bit off the face to make it look new again. As he worked, he kept telling me stories about his childhood in South Africa and the chicken continued to do laps. I had the best time watching him work. In the end he charged me $50 but I would have gladly paid him twice that. At a time when it seems most of the nation has lost it's mind, he kind of restored some faith for me.
So I'm back on track but need to order new bearings and seals and get the rear hub completed. I've been searching high and low for the pieces I need for the rear caliper rebuild (both brake pad pins, a pad spring, a collar link that takes up the slop where the torsion bar mounts at the caliper, and a funky seal that I'd like to replace). I found one new pin but it cost me $25. Still looking for the rest of the stuff but Godffery was able to send me some links so I need to make some calls (thanks Jeff!).
About mid-week a box showed up and inside was a TTR400 swingarm that Cal graciously agreed to let go of (appreciate it friend). I managed to get it installed. Last night I loosely hung the exhaust again because I would love to grind off the passenger peg mounts when I get rid of all the ugly stock drum brake mounts/tabs but I use the right side one to support the muffler. Initially, my thought was to use a spring and hang it off the rearset to support the muffler but the bolt is pretty recessed on the back of it and that won't work. So now I'm thinking about welding a small tab onto the frame behind the rearset and using that to support the muffler but for the short term I'll use a P clamp.
swingarm by
Chris Neumann, on Flickr
