This session will cover mating the engine and frame and, if I'm lucky, installing the forks.
This is the engine, which was refurbished by a friend. It's a major deviation from '74 in that it is a '77, but it will have to do until I can get a '74. Meanwhile, if you ignore the stator housing it looks just like the real thing... The paint is "Dupli-Color Cast Coat Aluminum", rated to 500 degrees and fortified with magical ceramic ingredients
First order of business was to remove the oil filter housing. Then the engine was balanced on its right side using a couple of boards. This is nice, soft yellow pine I'm using here, so I'm not concerned with marring the finish on the clutch cover, but if you use this method, you might want to cover the boards with some protective cloth, or whatever
With the engine ready, I turned my attention to the frame. I'm wrapping the engine cage with bubble wrap using two different sizes: 1/4 inch for the front frame rail because I wasn't sure that I could get the frame started with the 1 inch stuff; and, of course, 1 inch wrap for the remainder. It doesn't look very glamorous, but I'm more concerned with function here
Grasping the frame by the front and mid down tubes, I carefully lowered the frame over the engine. The trick is to keep the frame as level as possible while lowering it; then, when the bottom rail clears the oil pan, kind of "hook the pan with the lower frame rails and swing the upper part of the frame down onto the engine, resting it on the engine at the frame attachment points.
The bubble wrap is the way to go, IMHO, especially the one inch stuff. It works so well that, as I lowered the frame down, I had a hard time pushing it onto the engine. The wrap held the frame in such perfect suspension that, when it was half way down, I was able to walk away and set up the camera for the frame lowering shot. It was nearly impossible to touch the engine with the frame as the bubble wrap just didn't allow it. If I sound enthusiastic, I guess I am. I'll never use any other method. I was so pleased when it was done, that I nearly took it back off again just to experience the thrill one more time...
With the frame resting on the engine, I "pinned" them together using a couple of loose bolts on the lower front engine mounts. One on top
and one on the bottom. These pins help to hold the frame in position so that the real work can begin
Here is the engine mounting hardware: front mounting brackets, various spacers, and a whole lot of bolts, including the two big hanger bolts (BTW, I acquired these nearly pristine hanger bolts in one of those eBay "bucket o' bolts" auctions. I got easily $250 worth of usable materials from a $35 auction; well worth checking out). Not shown here is the rear engine mounting bracket, but it will be obvious when we come to it
With the pins holding the frame in place, I began the official assembly by inserting the lower rear engine hanger bolt. This will eventually support the driver's foot pegs as well as holding up the engine...
...it requires this little doughnut shaped spacer puck on the bottom (right) side
Next comes the upper hanger bolt and it, too, has a little spool-shaped spacer that it fits through on the left side of the engine. Something I need to mention here is that I've scraped away the powder coat on both sides of the mounting lug (inset) for frame to engine and general chassis grounding. I've smeared some dielectric grease on the exposed metal to cut down on rust here. More on this later
These two big bolts really pull the frame and engine together. I replaced the top "pin" with the lower front hanger bolt. The nut fits into a little alcove cast into the crankcase. I'm keeping all of these bolts and nuts loosely attached so that there is some "wiggle" room left to finesse the frame into position on the engine
Next I installed the front hanger bracket. It's pretty straight forward in function. I loosely attached the outer bracket on the inside of the frame with two bolts...
...while the inner portion rests on the engine and is attached with a large bolt whose corresponding nut and washers...
...fit into another little "alcove" cast into the crankcase
With everything together, the frame and engine was flipped over on its other side so that the remaining nuts, bolts and brackets could be added. BTW, the strip of carpeting I got from a local installer really helps to cut down on the wear and tear on both the bike and the knees...
And, once again, let's hope that this is the only situation where I see this side of the engine...
With all of the hanger bolts in place, and with the assistance of three women and a 3-year old child, I lifted the frame/engine assembly onto a small rolling platform I have that used to carry a Xerox machine (so weight's not a problem), then added the rear engine mounting bracket. This is another deviation from '74 in that this bracket was painted black, originally, but was left bare in later years.
A couple of things to notice about the above pic are A: the upper bracket bolt and the upper hanger bolt nut are only temporarily added at this stage as I'll be needing them for other applications later. For now, they're just helping to hold everything together; and B: the mounting "lugs" on the down tube have been scraped free of powder coat on each side, and the engine mounts have been cleared of paint as well (inset), so that a good engine to frame ground exists through the upper hanger bolt. All of these ground exposures have been daubed liberally with dielectric grease to try and keep corrosion at bay.
Another step I've taken in this direction is that all of the bare metal brackets, nuts, bolts, screws and washers have been treated with either a coating of Rust-Oleum "Rust Inhibitor" or Boeing "Boeshield T-9" in an attempt to keep corrosion down on these parts. I'm using the Boeshield in places like under the fenders and on the lower engine hangers as it's a bit heavier than the Rust Inhibitor and should help in these heavily exposed areas
Once the frame/engine assembly was complete it was time to turn to the forks. I want to install the front wheel and the center stand so that it will be a little easier to maneuver the bike around the garage. These are the forks: new seals, etc, filled with 5.6 oz of PJ1 20w fork oil and ready to go (NOTE: These fork tubes were badly rusted from mid-point up just where the headlight mounting "ears" fit, as you can see from the pic, but are otherwise in fine condition. They were sandblasted, then coated with Rust-Oleum Rust preventive paint. It doesn't really matter, after all; it will all be hidden behind the headlight mounting "ears" anyway
... which are mounted with the forks using rubber grommets, along with the fork "gaiters")...
The top fork yoke (or "Bridge", if you prefer) ties the forks to the head stem. Here it is with its chrome-plated nuts displayed (bolts, too!). Note the little "D"-shaped washer with the clamp bolt. This has special applications I'll cover when we get to it
I started mounting the forks by inserting the grommets into the headlight mounts (AKA "ears"). The bottom (largest) grommet is beveled on one side and flat on the other; I inserted the flat side against a little shelf on the inside of the "ear", with the beveled side pointing down. The top grommets fit down into a little "well" on the top of each mount and don't require any special orientation, so I just popped them in
Next, I attached the mounts by inserting the bottom steering yoke clamp into the opening provided in the bottom of each "ear", making sure that the grommet wasn't pinched and that it was aligned correctly with the clamp. These hang out together, making rude and suggestive remarks, just waiting for a good, stiff fork tube to be shoved up their...
With the headlight mounts in place, I placed the top bridge over the steering stem and secured it loosely with the big stem nut and washer, then grabbed the right fork, dropping the gaiter down over the tube (wide end down), and proceeded to insert the tube up through the bottom triple-tree clamp, headlight mount (make sure it doesn't pinch the grommets), and up into the top yoke clamp. Haynes' book tells me that "the bottom edge of the chamfer on each fork leg must coincide with the top face of the upper fork yoke". Whew! In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words...
Both tubes inserted in the clamps; it's time for the clamp bolts.
When inserting the bolts, I made sure that I included this little "D"-shaped washer in the gap on the top tube clamps
It acts as a spacer for the clamp; leave it out and you'll likely crack the yoke. The flat spot fits up against the fork tube
Once all of the fork clamp bolts, nuts and washers were in place and tightened up, I torqued down the big headnut, then finished up by installing the rear yoke clamp bolt and nut. I'm leaving the bottom yoke clamps loose at this point for "wiggle" room, and I'll want to give the front end a couple of centering bounces once I get the bike on the ground before I torque them down
The next items to consider are the "Gaiters" (No, not "Gators". Frankly, I wouldn't want one of them climbing up my steering forks. Just a little quirk I have...). They bridge the fork bottoms and the headlight mounts. There are grooves inside each end that fit into corresponding slots in the headlight mount and the fork bottoms. One thing I feel deserves special mention is this: the gaiters have these little drain holes in them
Make sure these are oriented down and to the back of the fork before you attach the gaiters as the gaiters are a
serious beeee-otch to move once they're in place. I speak from experience.
So, at last, here it is with an engine and forks. Next time I'll cover installing the center stand and front wheel
'til next time
