Topic: Terry's Boneyard Barn find Budget Suzuki T500 Reanimation.

[PeWe]

Your T500 look really fine, Terry!!

Do you dare to have a good looking stock Z1 out of sight in a remote storage?
It must be on many thieves radar or making some to thieves.

[Terry in Australia]

Your T500 look really fine, Terry!!

Do you dare to have a good looking stock Z1 out of sight in a remote storage?
It must be on many thieves radar or making some to thieves.

Thanks Per, yep I'd rather park it at the storage place, they have high fences and gates, and 24 hour CCTV. At home my back fence is falling over so someone could walk thru, push the bike out and I'd be none the wiser. If my bikes at the storage place were stolen, I'd have the video footage to show my insurance company. If they took all 7 of my bikes from the storage place I'd be around $100K richer, so I'd get over it......

[PeWe]

OK, that good storage place.
Like a good gated community to ensure personal safety as well as all belongings.

If you see increase of chriminals or chrime in your area, move to the bikes storage for better safety

I'm waiting for that development to happen here...

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, it would probably be safer than here Per, and much less chance of getting scratched or dented. I really have to start selling some of my surplus bikes so I can make room for the ones I want to keep until I fall off the perch......

[Terry in Australia]

Well it's another stinker today, so instead of doing a pie run I wandered outside to play with the T500. I'd installed the new speedo yesterday, but for some reason the speedo drive wasn't working? I jacked it up and dropped the front wheel and looked at everything. I'd rotate the wheel out of the forks, and the speedo drive would turn, but when I reinstalled it, it didn't work? Weird.

Then a small explosion went off in my tiny brain. There is a chrome dress cover for what should be a spacer that seats between the head of the axle and the RHS bearing, but there was no spacer there. As you all should know, I bought this bike in pieces, and while it had a front wheel attached to the forks, the spacer had long gone. I took some measurements, and machined up a spacer, did a test fit and made an adjustment by trimming 1.5mm off the OA length, did another test fit, tightened the axle down, and this time, the speedo drive turned freely. I screwed in the speedo cable and spun the wheel, and yep, this time the cable was turning freely. Sweet!

I also installed the NOS front brake cable. When I compared them side to side I was confused because the overall length were identical, but then I realised that the outer sheath on the repro cable was 20mm too short, making the cable 20mm too long, which explained why the brand new cable was at max adjustment. I installed the NOS cable and called it good.

I thought it a good opportunity to swap in the 13T NOS OEM front sprocket that Alan found on Ebay for me, to replace the 15T sprocket that came with the chain and sprocket set. To remove the sprocket cover to get to the sprocket you have to remove the left footpeg assembly, then the kick starter, the shifter pedal, and the sprocket cover, which is a bit of a chore. I did a comparison between the two sprockets:

T500 Saturday 22 Jan 2022 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Quite a difference. And quite a difference to ride too. I first adjusted a bit more slack out of the clutch to reduce the clutch dragging (it's still there, but not as bad) then started it on the first kick (gotta love that) and took off. The difference was immediate, no more slipping the clutch to take off, just take off like you do on any other bike.

I did an extended ride around the block (not too far, until I get it registered I don't want to draw too much attention to myself, which is difficult on a noisy smoke belching two stroke) and was happy that the speedo worked perfectly, and of course as I've only just built the engine the odometer will actually reflect my mileage since the engine build. All I need to do now before I take it in for it's Roadworthy inspection is replace both tyres and tubes.

T500 Saturday 22 Jan 2022 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[RAFster122s]

Cool! Nice progress, one step (two steps) closer..  what's on the punch list for finishing up the T500?

[Terry in Australia]

Well while all the big jobs are over, there are always little adjustments required along the way David, so I'm not sure if it'll ever be really finished, and once it's legally on the road I'm sure other little issues will materialise, so I wouldn't dare put a date on it. I suppose once I've done a 130 mile pie run on it and it doesn't need any adjustments along the way, or when I get home, I'll call it good.

[grcamna2]

Well while all the big jobs are over, there are always little adjustments required along the way David, so I'm not sure if it'll ever be really finished, and once it's legally on the road I'm sure other little issues will materialise, so I wouldn't dare put a date on it. I suppose once I've done a 130 mile pie run on it and it doesn't need any adjustments along the way, or when I get home, I'll call it good.

I'm glad for you Terry that you've got your nice Suzuki speedo turning and showing speed/kmh:when will you get it registered ?

[Terry in Australia]

Well I'd like to get it on the road sooner rather than later Bill, but I need to pay a big bill ($22K) this week, so it might not happen for another month or so. No biggie, my priority is my Kawasaki Z1-B, as 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the Z1, so it's my current priority. I need to get my shim kit (should be here by Wednesday) so I can set the valve clearances before I put that beautiful new gas tank on it, then install the refurbished, rare twin disc brake setup (it's arrived in Australia, but no idea when it'll be delivered) so I can get it registered as well. Hopefully they'll both be on the road by the end of summer, when the weather becomes much nicer for long rides.

[RAFster122s]

Dang, $22k...you paying for a vehicle... that's quite a drop in the bucket...

[Terry in Australia]

Nah, it's something I've been meaning to do for a while David. I need to reduce my debts to zip so that I can retire, and all this "Melting the plastic" on bike parts over the last few years has maxxed out my favourite credit card, so I'm going to pay it out this week and cancel the card. Not a huge issue, I'm on a 6 figure (USD) salary, but the interest rate on the card annoys me, so I'll fund my future builds with my money, not someone else's. I am thinking about buying a '73 Z1 as well this week, but that's another story.....  

[Alan F.]

I'm glad to hear that sprocket was just what you needed, that first launch must have brought a smile.

[MauiK3]

Waiting to hear about the 73 Z1!!

[ekpent]

Waiting to hear about the 73 Z1!!

Me too. If its listed for sale in the states on the internet they usually disappear very quickly if price within the ballpark. Should we say "pictures or it didn't happen" ?   

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, I am thinking about the Z1, it’s on FB and the seller is in Washington state. He pulled it to bits years ago, it’s in very rough shape and he asked what we (Z1 owners page members) thought it was worth. I’m currently the highest offer at $5K USD (the second highest was $800…..) and I had a good chat with him, he’s obviously after as much as he can get so I might offer him more, or I might just concede that I have enough projects. I did make contact with a guy in the US that ships bikes to Oz for a FB friend of mine here in Melbourne though, just in case I get serious…..

Brian's Z1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Brian's Z1 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Brian's Z1 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Brian's Z1 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[ekpent]

 When I click on your Flickr the pictures get smaller. Assuming its titled ? Your offer sounds very good and fair to the seller the second place guy at $800.00 not so good.  Thanks for the peek Terry.

[Alan F.]

That's $5k US? You'll likely have an opinion that that's about 1/3 less than it would cost locally right? I'm sure if things got dicey you wouldn't think twice about throwing another $1k USD at it if you had to. After a month or 2 in your care it'll take shape and honestly it'll be worth several times your investment. Your skills and process have proven themselves many times over, in my opinion you just can't go wrong.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, to answer Eric's question, yep it's got a title, I can't import it without one. Alan, a 1973 Z1 is out of my price range here, and I've no doubt there are guys with deeper pockets who would buy it as a "flip" project. It's not the very rare '72 build like Steve's so not up there in the "unobtainium" price range, and will need a lot of work and money invested to make it worth north of $20K USD so I'm not gonna stress about it, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. It's not like I don't have enough bikes.

[Alan F.]

That's how I've gotten under all 6 of my projects (for under $300 US titled mostly), or I'm just a cheap bastard...lol. Good luck either way.

Crap, just did the math, $110 average over the 6 bikes, 3 titled and the other 3 are under 300cc so easily Vermont Registered.

[desertrefugee]

Really enjoyed this one, Terry. 

Got a really good belly-laugh over the <cough> after shutdown in the smoke.

Onward and upward!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, the bike really needs a good blast somewhere to clear all that smoke, but it's so much fun to ride, it's just like a big dirtbike of the era with those wide bars. I'm looking forward to doing a decent ride on it.

[Terry in Australia]

So a year or so has passed since I posted here, and I'm sure that like me, you guys have pretty much forgotten about this bike. This morning, after fruitlessly looking for my F2 sidecover that came off when riding it yesterday, I decided to take another peek at the old Suzy. I had a real morale boost yesterday when my Roadworthy Inspector told me that I didn't have to have original pipes on my 1974 bike, and yes, even expansion chambers were OK. Woohoo! While I do have the OEM pipes they'd need a lot of work to bring them back, whereas the Titan Performance pipes are shiny and new, so I'm glad I don't have to take them off.

I wheeled it out into the sunlight for the first time in over a year, turned the key to "on", put the fuel tap on "prime", pushed the choke down and gave it 4 kicks, and it fired right up!

I'd bought the wheels from the US, with the Dunlop K70 tyres that still look like new, but are close to 50 years old, so when I was still building the bike I bought new K70's, but never fitted them. This is a roadworthy fail, so I decided today, as the weather is a bit cooler than the average 90 degrees of the last few days, to get 'er done. I removed the back wheel, and it didn't take too much struggling to get the old tyre off, and the new one on.

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 9c by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I reinstalled it, and whipped off the front one. It was much harder to get the old tyre off, and the new one back on again. The rim was pretty rusty inside, and the rim band had fallen to pieces.

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 8 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I cleaned all the rust off the rim on my wire wheel, and replaced the band. The new tyre was an absolute pig to install, I needed 3 tyre levers and 3 fcuking hands to operate them, but I finally got it on.

T500 Sunday 26 Feb 2023 9a by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I pumped it up, only to be rewarded with the sound of air escaping through the spoke holes. Fcuk! Never again, I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow. I put a cover over the bike as there was a sprinkling of rain, and dragged myself inside for a Tramadol and a hot shower. No biggie, I'm happy to be back on this project, and looking forward to putting it on the road, it'll make for an interesting comparison with the Kawasaki Mach III 500 I'm just starting to build. I've no doubt the Kawasaki will be faster, but I think the Suzy will be friendlier.......

[PeWe]

Too easy to pinch a tube, that's why I order some when they are on sale.
Tube need some air to get a round shape before using the irons. I learned the hard way when not inflating it a little, trusted my fingers making free passage for irons.
$$ Costed me tubes $$

If you can remove the tire, paint the rim inside where rust is grinded off.

[Remcod]

I always take em to the shop now. Done with flying levers and the sound you described after a tire wrestling match.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A536B met Tapatalk

[BenelliSEI]

Around here, the shops will only install tires bought from them. Some insurance BS is the usual story. I do my own. Occasionally costs me a +1 tube, but I also know it’s done right. I have a set of three very long tire irons that I keep polished and smooth. I also cut up strips of washer fluid plastic jugs to protect the rims. That plastic is really tough. A tin of tire mounting lube really makes it 10x easier.