Topic: 1975 Amen Chopper

[BenelliSEI]

Tom..... thanks for th excellent photos! That oil tank looks identical to mine. Does it have a drain plug?

[BenelliSEI]

Tom..... thanks for the excellent photos! That oil tank looks identical to mine. Does it have a drain plug? Mine had an internal overflow pipe that appears to have been welded shut, before chrome Plating. My stopper plug looks like yours, but has a small breather hole in the top of the cap.

[Tom]

John no pins in the foot peg mounts and no drain plug in the oil tank, there is a small metal tube on the underside i was wondering weather it was for the crankcase breather? The oil tank cap i do have one with a temp gauge but you cant see it, I should send it back with was it $8 to get the filler moved and the drain plug fitted i wish.

[BenelliSEI]

Tom..... I think that pipe is an “overflow”. Mine’s in the left front and I can see it going 3/4 of the way up the inside. But, the tip at the bottom (outside the tank) is welded shut. It’s chromed right over, so a very early “fix”?

[Medyo Bastos]

I put my coils in a santee L-shaped electrics box.




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[754]

The tube  you see going up is the return line. I believe no check ball on it , oil wont run up there parked.

On mine at one time I had no oil pressure while on sidestand , but standing up it came back. Pulled a pump, checked it , and tried another pump I think..same thing., THIS is why I had the NOS pump all those years... bought it while trying to solve the oil pressure problem..
 Then one day a guy, looked in the tank with a strong light, and saw the tube lying there.  You could see it had broken off above the fitting end , INSIDE the tank... meaning if  bike was not running, al, the oil went in the sump.
 And when idling, there was not enough oil in the tank  to fill the feed line, till you stood the bike up ... or revved it up  and put oil back in the tank ..faster than it could run out.  It was fine while running, pressure stayed up..

 So Yeah, got a pretty good  idea where the pipe goes  to, and what its  function is.
 Many manufacturers  just  have tge line enter tank higher up, eliminates the problem.. Chopper guys like the clean look, all out the bottom.... only 2 lines on Amen .. clean looking..

[BenelliSEI]

Frank..... my Amen tank has the IN and OUT ports on the lower right side. I did notice the return fires in, and up a long pipe. Mine also has another pipe (about 5/16” OD), welded into the bottom, on the opposite side. No fitting at the bottom, it just pokes out for a push-on hose. Probably a vent? It’s welded shut, and chromed over, so obviously never used.....

[Tom]

John your tank sounds the same as mine but the small tube on left front is not welded shut on mine?

[BenelliSEI]

John your tank sounds the same as mine but the small tube on left front is not welded shut on mine?

Mine’s identical, but closed off and covered in chrome. I wonder if it was an overflow/vent that didn’t work as intended?

[Tom]

I was going to conect to the breather on the back of the case still got valve cover breather open to atmosphere?

[754]

 Ahhh , i got a tank outside here, did not grab it to look.
 The one in the pic, should be hooked up to rear of case vent barb..

[Tom]

Ahhh , i got a tank outside here, did nit grab it to look.
 The one in the pic, should be hooked up to rear of case vent barb..

Thanks Frank that’s what I figured

[Medyo Bastos]

I was going to conect to the breather on the back of the case still got valve cover breather open to atmosphere?

Yes, correct.


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[BenelliSEI]

Finished up the back end today. Polished all the chrome and there is a LOT! Rim, spokes, brake backing plate, chain guide (that bolts to the sprocket). Even the nuts and locktabs for the sprocket are chrome.

All the engines covers have done too. Add the oil tank, foot pegs and every component ahead of the handle bars (the entire front end) to that list........ At today’s prices, this bike probably has +$5,000 of chrome work!! I need to live longer, and more polish.....

[BenelliSEI]

Working my way forward..... took out the “switchbox” mounted under the tank, adjacent to the coil box. It’s well made, but sticks out like a sore thumb, no paint, raw aluminum. Good thing I got into it, one grounded, burned up wire that feeds the Hi-Beam circuit.

I was considering relocating it to below the carbs (next to the starter) but I really want to keep this build just the way “Pete” assembled it in 1974. I found a perfect paint match, so it’s going to become a bit less obvious. Sprayed it bright red a few hours ago!

Also trimmed the lic. plate bracket to align smoothly with the repro Drag Specialties “Knight Light” I picked up. Dusted it red too. Carbs are coming off next. They need a good cleaning and the floatbowl gaskets are leaking.

Have some photos, but can’t post today???

[Don R]

 I agree on the switchbox, it will look better now. Even a gorgeous bike like that can be improved.

[BenelliSEI]

Don..... just tried adding a photo to share and can’t do it...... Frank has noticed it too. Anyone else?

[Tom]

John I would have moved the switch box and coil box too, just me I don’t care for all the wires and boxes up the front. I am thinking of fitting the coils under the battery box out of sight?

[BenelliSEI]

Tom.... fortunately I’ve found an aerosol paint that is a perfect match for the original red that Pete used so I’m going to leave it where it is. He also cover all his wiring with a braided wrap, and I don’t want to take it apart. I did find a melted feed line to the key switch, so I will increase the wire size and make a few minor changes. Also adding a horn, so more to do.

[BenelliSEI]

Don..... just tried adding a photo to share and can’t do it...... Frank has noticed it too. Anyone else?

I still can’t post any pictures and when I visit previous pages, I can’t view the photos I posted weeks ago. Can anyone else?? thanks, John D.

[Oly]

Don..... just tried adding a photo to share and can’t do it...... Frank has noticed it too. Anyone else?

I still can’t post any pictures and when I visit previous pages, I can’t view the photos I posted weeks ago. Can anyone else?? thanks, John D.

I can't see your earlier pictures either John.  I'm getting the following message: "404 - Attachment Not Found".

[BenelliSEI]

Don..... just tried adding a photo to share and can’t do it...... Frank has noticed it too. Anyone else?

I still can’t post any pictures and when I visit previous pages, I can’t view the photos I posted weeks ago. Can anyone else?? thanks, John D.

I can't see your earlier pictures either John.  I'm getting the following message: "404 - Attachment Not Found".

Reported the problem......

[BenelliSEI]

Can’t post pictures, but still making progress. Since the electrical “switch box” is on the bench, there is lots more clearance around the Cam cover. Reset all valve clearances and did some cleaning and polishing. The cover is chrome, but Pete had painted all the cap screws black?? They are stainless, so the paint scraped of easily. Polished them, the cover and the adjuster caps. Looks great!

Started making some minor changes to the wiring harness. There is some clear signs of over heating and added a power lead for the horn I bolted on. The horn button is MIA on the stock LHS switch, but dug around in my junk until I found one that a previous owner had cobbled up. Moved the switch over and it just might work (glued in with JBWeld, but tested OK)!

[Medyo Bastos]

Fabulous, what’s taking you so long!


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[BenelliSEI]

Fabulous, what’s taking you so long!


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Enjoying the project. No schedule, no plans, no hurry. Also retired on our Farm and this time of year gets busy......