Thanks Scott, and to put your question into perspective, there are no "Donor Bikes" available here in Oz, so it's not like I could have just found a better one to restore, or of course, I would have. Australia has a population one fifteenth of the US, an "All Year round" riding season, and bikes built in 1969 have either long gone to the great scrap yard in the sky, are now highly prized restored collectables, or have been turned into "Post Classic Racers" and are only seen at race meetings.
The flipside is, yes, I could have imported a better candidate, but the shipping would be eye wateringly expensive. I would have had to have a clear title provided (not always easy for bikes that have been sitting in barns on your side of the pond for decades) and because Australia has a "No asbestos" rule now, the seller might have had to remove the brake shoes, clutch discs, and even possibly the gaskets before the thing could be shipped to Oz, then apart from the shipping fees and import duties, I'd have to obtain an import permit from the government first, pay an import broker to fill out a pile of forms, pay to have it unloaded into a store, and pay "X Amount" per day to have it sit in that store while I'm running around in ever decreasing circles getting paperwork signed, and organising for an inspector from the Australian government (AQIS) to go to the warehouse and inspect it to make sure that it is clean, doesn't contain any bugs that might breed and wreak havoc on Australian agriculture, and order that it be steam cleaned (at my expense) before he or she ticks the box to let me collect it.
How do I know all this? I imported a K0 that I bought from a member here 14 years ago, and "shipping and handling" cost more than the purchase price of the bike. The benefit of using an original Australian import frame is that when I go to get my "Historic Club permit" plate at our version of the DMV, it'll show up on their computer, they don't need to see a clear US title, and they couldn't care less about the engine number.
So back to your question. I've used the frame, swingarm, side and centre stands, top triple clamp, lots of nuts and bolts, the front axle, swingarm pivot bolt, engine mounting bolts, and any other pieces that I could salvage, that I forgot to ask Keith to sell me, including some internal engine/gearbox pieces, and I find myself ratting back thru the box of horrible original engine parts on a regular basis to find this widget or that thingamabob that Keith either didn't have, or fell thru a hole in the box.
Anyway, yes, it's been a nightmare, but the good thing is, it's still worth more money once complete again, than what it's cost me, as vintage Jap bikes here are becoming very expensive, so all misty eyed nostalgia aside, I won't lose money on it, not that I have any intent to sell it. I just need to keep Dion away from it, he had bought the wreck originally to restore for his dad who was very ill but is recovering nicely thank God, so I've stopped sending him pics of it's progress as he keeps saying how much he'd love to buy it when it's finished, for his dad..........
We've been in lockdown for a week tomorrow, and it's just been extended for another week. Of course, the last week has been fantastic weather for winter so I could have been out riding my K0 or K2, or the Triumph's, Harley, VFR750 or any number of other bikes, but nope, that's not gonna happen until they've got it under control, no-one's died here from Covid-19 this year, and that's the way they want to keep it. I'm still pissed off that I can't keep doing my weekly 100(+) mile rides until it's all over (until the next outbreak) but having to "Work from home" has been a bonus on these sunny winter days, I can get a good couple of hours work done on the little Suzy each day, which I find very satisfying.
One of my biggest problems is my failing memory. I was positive that I'd bought some OEM blinkers months ago, but I ratted thru my tubs of new parts and couldn't find them anywhere until I wondered if I'd accidentally put them in one of my tubs of new CB750 parts, and lo and behold, there they were! I quickly installed them so I wouldn't lose them again. I also found the clutch and brake levers that Keith sent me, and installed new brake and clutch cables, and was happy that both the brakes and clutch actually work. (well, as good as they can when the bike is stationary, it might be different once the bike is actually running, in a few days time.
You'd think that wouldn't have taken that long, but as you'd expect, there are always a few little gremlins. I think I mentioned that I had some problems with the clutch pushrods, and yep, I installed the new cable and even with the cable adjusters all the way out, I couldn't get the clutch to disengage. Bugger. OK, my plan was to take up the slop between pushrod A and pushrod B with ball bearings.
Only problem was, the ball bearings I have are 1/4" (6.25mm) OD, and the pushrod is 6mm. A quarter of a millimeter doesn't sound like much, but if one of those balls got jammed in the mainshaft, I'd be stuffed. The safer alternative was to make a 6mm "slug" out of the shaft of a stainless 6mm bolt, and install it between rod A and rod B. I only had a rough idea of how long it needed to be, so I machined it up, and installed it.
T350 Wednesday 2 Jun 2021 5 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
I always try to err on the side of caution, so it turns out it was around 5mm too long, and of course there was no way to retrieve it without removing the clutch cover and clutch assembly and pushing it all the way thru, but luckily I had a spare rod A from the rusty wreck that I'd almost beaten to death straightening before I realised that there was still one in the engine's bottom end that Keith had sent me, so I went to trim it with my hand held DeWalt band saw (a wonderful, wicked tool) but the rod was that hard (I probably case hardened it with all the heating and beating when I straightened it) that I had to cut the end off with my angle grinder.
This time it was perfect. No cable adjustment required at all, and just a little free play, so that cable should last forever, however long "forever" is. By this time it was dark, it was cold, and I decided that I'll wait till tomorrow to choose from the two sets of carbs that Keith sent me (I'm sure I only paid for one set, but there you go....) strip them, put them in the ultrasonic cleaner while I'm "working from home", pull them out, set them up, "Bench Sync" them, and install them, with the new cables. This poor old thing has been laying in a field since 1973, so I guess a few more days won't matter?
T350 Wednesday 2 Jun 2021 7 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
