B's Motorcycles

A few days ago I sold my XL250.  It was a great rider, with tons of available power, but with the addition of the 650 to our motorcycle family somebody needed to go.  The one who I traded it to was in the market for a good rider, and we struck a deal.  Sort of ironic, but I'm glad it turned out this way. 

The stator on the KTM needs to be rebuilt, and dad found a guy in Michigan that will do it for about $100.  Seeing as these parts aren't available just everywhere anymore, getting it rebuilt is probably a pretty good idea. 

I've been in possession of a 1981 KTM MC495 dirtbike for just over a year now and haven't done anything with it more than tarping it in my backyard.  Well, last weekend while I was back home for my brother's wedding, my dad (who just gave me his '81 Honda) expressed a desire to get a dirtbike to putter around his farm on.  He said he didn't want anything fancy or huge, just big enough that he could go where he wanted to go without having to worry about getting stuck.  I mentioned the old KTM at my house, and his ears perked up.  I showed him some pics I took last year when I brought home, and he seemed pretty interested but I didn't realize just HOW interested he was until he called me the next day to tell me he'd been poking around the internet and calling KTM dealers and other motorcycle shops.  Long story short...all of the parts it needs to run again are either here or on their way.  The tank and other plastics are being painted today or tomorrow (except the side panels, which I ordered new from Reproduction Decals) and it is entirely possible I may have it running by tomorrow.  At this point, it's a $400 project and I am hoping not to have to spend too much more before I know it's going to turn out the way I'm planning it to :)  Guess I'll know tomorrow, right?

Also, I installed a throttle assist on the 650.  I'm hoping this will help with the hand cramps on long rides - I'm taking it to Pittsburg next weekend.  That's a 4-hour ride, and I've been having trouble with 2.5...keep you posted.

Title says it all.  The latest chapter in my motorcycle adventures has me breaking into the engine of my new/old bike (registered today at the RC courthouse :) to repair a stripped bolt.  Some knucklehead overtightened a bolt that secures the cylinder head cover to the cylinder head and it's been leaking like a sieve ever since.  This is more complicated than it seems initially.  The fact that there was oil leaking from the bolt means that it has direct contact with the oil supply.  This means that the hole cannot simply be drilled from the surface - the engine needed to be disassembled down at least to the bottom of the bolt hole (to find the base threads).  More than 30 bolts and screws of various lengths stand in the way of removing the breather cover, valve covers and cylinder head cover, not to mention the fact that all of this happens while the engine is still in the frame.  Space is tight.  When I finally got the covers off, I found the accumulated waste of 20-odd years of use and abuse.  Burned oil, aluminum flecks, grit and grime covered everything - so I cleaned it all out before getting "down to business."  Speaking of goring, when you get a new, sharp drill bit that's shrink wrapped to the paper backing...be careful opening it.  I was ready to bore out what was left of the old threads and tap the new ones so I grabbed the bit I purchased just for this job and pushed it through the shrink-wrap...right into my thumb.  !!!!!!!!!!!  Blood!  About an hour later, when I finally got the bleeding stopped and my thumb all bandaged up, I got back down to business.  Tapping aluminum is possibly the easiest job ever done, so from then on it was smooth sailing.  Tapped the hole, reassembled, tightened all the bolts down to 10N as the manual suggested, 2 Newtons at a time in a careful, deliberate criss-cross pattern (took an hour and a half...).  Results are good - no leaks!  Still, I don't cherish the idea of ever doing that again any time soon. 

My father has seen fit to pass along the Honda CB650 Custom that was passed on to him a few years ago.  It's a sentimental favorite of mine - I had the tank welded, repainted the fuel tank and side covers for him.  Dad had boatloads of work done by a mechanic in Kansas City, and spent a long time cleaning and polishing.  The head gasket is a little leaky, and there are a few other quirks and leaks here and there, but it is the best ride I've had.  It looks sharp, and rides great - rode it all the way back from K.C. without a tick.  I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time on that bike. 

I finally fixed my bike - it took about an hour, and when I was done it ran better than it ever has...after a little tinkering, of course.  I rode to school today, and it bogged a bit at about 5.5k rpm's (like usual) so when I got home I adjusted the fuel-air and idle speed.  Eureka!  The thing runs great.  It still looks like crap, though.  I got a lot of nice comments on it, which surprises me because the bike is just so ugly.  I let one of my students take it for a spin around the parking lot - he seemed to enjoy it, and is now trying to convince his dad to buy my bike.  He's going to be sad when I tell him it's not for sale, not for sentimental reasons or its irreplaceable nature but because I'm not sure I could take money for it at this time and in its condition.