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The Rebuild from Hell
Updated
01/22/19
1974 T150V Refresh
Updated
10/26/24
1970 T120R Rebuild
Updated
10/26/24
A Trident Rebirth
Sold 7/4/2024
1970 T100R Rebuild
Sold 6/1/2019
1971 T120R Rebuild
Sold 6/22/2017
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 | Thursday, November 21, 2024 |
I originally bought this bike as my primary rider. It is a matching numbers, titled bike that has never been apart. It ran great and did everything it should but was a PITA to get into neutral - a common Trident problem when the clutch doesn't fully release. Then the clutch bearing went out. So, I put it on one of my benches to fix the clutch, service the front end, replace wheel bearings, and touch-up the paint where needed.
That was shortly before COVID hit. For some reason, Norton's started coming out of the woodwork for rebuilds, refreshes, basket case builds, and so on so this got put aside.
Somewhere along in there, I fixed the clutch, installed a Tri-Spark ignition and a Tri-Spark MOSEFT regulator. Since I was installing Tri-Spark I re-did the wiring. The wiring is about done (I know it looks like a lot to do in the headlight, but to me that minor.) Once the wiring is all done I'll change the fluids - been sitting too long and give it a good test - should still be fine but with a easy to find neutral.
The only other known issues are the left-side horn bracket is broken - I'll resolve that. The tires a fairly old now - they hold air fine, but I would prefer Avon RoadRiders on it. Right now I'm thinking of selling it with the current tires, but we could make a deal for me to install Avons (About $350). I rebuilt the carbs when I started on it and they should be fine, but of course, a new set of Premiers would be nicer. I have them, but it's more money again.
I was planning to sell the matching Trident I have but decided to keep it and sell this one. This one looks better as it has a nicely repainted tank, but the other one has oil leaks and original paint.
June 10, 2023 had a break from Nortons today while waiting for parts. This bike came off the stand a few weeks ago for a Norton that needed and engine rebuild. Today, I finished the wiring except the horns. The timing side horn just needs to be mounted and connected to the relay. The drive side horn bracket is broken - I have the piece. Need to decide how to fix it.
June 29, 2023 had another break while waiting for cylinders to be bored for this engine. Rather than welding the horn tab back on I installed two small, LOUD, horns; one each side using the top mounting bolt for the passenger peg mount. The wiring is all done and the tank is cleaned out - petcocks always leaked and it turns out that they had no screens so I will install new. Can't find the seat - I know I have a decent one for it!
I'm going to install the tank, change fluids and start it up. I have two people interested and both would like new Avon RoadRider tires and Premier carbs. I completely rebuilt the carbs when I got the bike and it ran perfectly. If one of them commits and really want premiers, I'll sell the installed set and install new - I have the new carbs. When I parked the bike, the tires were fine - now they are looking old and RoadRiders handle better so I'm not against changing them.
July 2, 2023 can a quick job be turned into a long job? Yes it can! Yesterday, I finished cleaning out the tank, polishing it and fixing some minor chips. Then I installed the new petcocks. So far, no issue. Then started the search for mounting hardware! After looking in every nook and cranny, I had what I needed. Then, it became evident that the threads were almost gone in the frame for the rear mount. Another search for the correct drill bit to go with the HeliCoil kit - why don't they provide one - Grrrrrrrrrrr! OK, that's fixed - time to install the tank. That went fine and as I was standing back admiring the bike I realized that the clutch cable was routed poorly.
Today, I removed the tank, re-routed the clutch cable and reinstalled the tank. This time as I was admiring my work I noticed that the spark plug wires were connected to nothing and they were poorly routed as well. There was no way to be sure which one went where so, you guessed it - off with the tank. OK, route them nicely to each plugs and put the tank back on. Finally, I could admire my work and find no reason to remove the tank!
I'm still have a lot of trouble walking and got a steroid shot in my foot on Thursday. Steroids make it hard to slow down and think. I don't do critical things like assembling engines when under their affect but a gas tank should not be that big a deal to install!
July 7, 2023 Finished up some small things, changed all fluids, found the seat and installed it. It's original and looks decent.
July 8, 2023 Big Day! A friend came by to visit - I put him to work. I got confused when I installed the Tri-Spark thinking the drive side cylinder was number one. So, the bike wouldn't start it was easy enough to figure out. So, we set it up correctly and started it up and checked that oil was returning. It was but was now low since the oil lines and cooler were now full. Added oil and it was time to strobe time it. That went fine.
So, test ride time. I still can't start or ride a bike, so he took it out and came back quickly - I forgot to check the tires. We filled them up and he went again. It handled a lot better with air in the tires! While riding, he lost and then found the taillight lens. I forgot that I was testing LED taillight bulbs and didn't tighten the screws!
His bike is a Norton Commando Combat, so a Trident is a bit strange to him. I asked how the front brake felt as it's all new and he said: "It works, I locked it up!". You won't do that on a stock Norton! Now it's thunderstorm time so he had to head home.
The primary reason for parking it in 2015 was to fix the clutch. It would barely disengage and finding neutral was nearly impossible. That's all resolved now.
July 9, 2023 I almost got to say "All Done". Nope, I have to get that sticker off the front fork and I have to change the speedo drive and maybe the cable. The speedo is not working and when you disconnect the cable from it and turn it, it turns - clearly cannot do that if the speedo drive is good. When I parked it, I know the speedo was acting flaky but I thought it was a dirty cable and cleaned to - apparently not! This bike is oil tight. The stain under it is from an different bike!
Still expecting whoever decides to buy this to ask for new tires and Premier carbs. noticed yesterday that the rear tire is installed backwards - not by me! Not sure how much it matter with TT100 tires though as it handles fine.
Once the weather improves I'll take it outside and post a bunch of pictures. for now, this one will do.
So, head to the bank, get a big stack of hundreds and come pickup your Trident! Actually, cash isn't required.
June 3, 2024 I haven't updated this in a long time. I've had a buyer quietly waiting for me to have time. Last we talked he wanted Premier carbs and new tires and on the last test ride the clutch was not releasing - tracked that down to a cable with too little free length. This bike is finally the priority!
June 8, 2024 This week has been a mess with a customer induced IT problem that I had to fix and with delivering a finish bike and receiving a bike to recommission. Got those done and things moved around in the shop so I can focus on this. First thing was to remove, check/charge the battery that I put in new a while ago and that has maybe 10 miles on it. It is not good :-(. Never fear, I have a good one. Talked to the buyer. He definitely wants the Premier carbs and I'm going to check if the pair of new tires I have are right for this bike (I don't remember why I bought them late last year and I haven't unwrapped them.).
June 9, 2024 OK, I've finally got the tires straighten out! The pair of tires I bought indeed are for this bike but could be used for a Norton. When I bought them, the supply of AVON tires was slim and none and it's not a lot better now. However the AVON Roadrider MK2 tires are pretty much what everyone likes. The biggest AVON makes for 19" rims is 100/90x19 and that's what I bought. The Trident came with Dunlop TT100 4.10x19 tires. In metric, they would be between 110/90 and 120/90. Put another way, the TT100s are 4" wide and the 100/90 are 3.5" wide.
I don't have experience with 100/90x19 on a Trident but plenty on a Norton. To me, the TT100s are better if you once in a while ride a dirt road or get caught in snow. The AVONs are a good bit better on dry pavement and in steep cornering. In the 70s I preferred Dunlop K70 or TT100 but today I prefer AVON Roadriders even though they are a bit narrower.
All that said, I'm happy to install the 100/90x19 or keep looking for some other road tires.
The truly annoying part of this all is that the bike came with completely worn out TT100s. I looked it up, I bought and installed the ones on it in November 2014 and the little knobs are not even worn off, the tires look new. I looked up the date code today; they were made in the 28th month of 2011! So, they were over three years old when I bought them and Dunlop specifies changing them at 6 years even if new!
Got the bike apart enough to get the carbs off, the clutch cable off, and the carbs apart. The carbs have less than 10 miles on the since I rebuilt them, but I 100% agree with installing Premier carbs - they are WAY better.
June 11, 2024 Yesterday, I was about to install the carbs on the gantry when I became confused. The carbs appeared to be Zinc rather than Aluminum. Both of the sets I have were Aluminum as far as I knew. I got the other set out which was markedly heavier - those absolutely are Aluminum. In the 900- and 932-series carbs, the Aluminum ones are much lighter weight. I've written AMAL to understand what's going on. Either set would work fine but I would rather that this bike have Aluminum since they outlast Zinc.
No answer for AMAL :-(. I did find the orders and it looks like my older order I specified Aluminum and my later one I didn't. The 900- and 932-series carbs are only available in aluminum so I thought the 600-series were too. Anyway, I dropped that for the moment and started on the clutch. It did have a too short cable but something is still not right. A while ago, I rebuilt three Trident clutches and ensured that they all released at 0.008" lift. Not sure why this is not and it's weird that when I pull the clutch the kick starter goes down without effort but the rear wheel does not release when in gear. I'm going to rig a clutch rod puller to manually disengage the clutch like I used when rebuilding them. That way I'll be positive that it is releasing and not the actuator causing me headaches. If it is somehow the clutch, I have another rebuilt on the shelf but it's a PITA to get to the Trident clutch so I want to be sure first.
June 12, 2024 OK, progress on both problems.
AMAL answered me.
I thought AMAL told me that all Zinc carbs are permanently out of stock. It turns out that is true for 900- and 932- series carbs and it's also true that standard (non-Premier) are also permanently out of stock. All that is mostly true for 600-series carbs as well. However, the PACKs for the Triumph and BSA triples are available in both. I have two sets. In both cases I ordered PACK 124 not PACK 124AL. The first set came as AL. The second as Zn. So, officially, it's my fault that I didn't get AL both times. The truth is, as far as I can tell, they have leftover Zn bodies and they are using them for Triples. The extra confusing things are that in around 2021 they started testing and adjusting all sets before they left the factory - the Zn set was tested and the AL set was not - I thought they were only testing the AL sets. No matter, I'm checking/adjusting the AL set and installing them.
The clutch is figured out. It was a bunch of
things:
- The cable free length caused the actuator to not be fully home so when adjusted, only half the ramp was available. I have several brand-new clutch cables all of which would be fine for pre-72 but all sold as 69-74! I had one correct new one.
- The clutch lever and mount were well worn. This reduced the amount the cable pulled. With those two resolved, the clutch almost worked and if I adjusted it tight enough it did work.
- Then I looked into the lever pivot. It was 7/8" which apparently is fine for pre-72. I searched all my stuff, and on line and did not find the (supposedly available) lever with a 1-1/8" pivot. As an experiment, I took a mount and lever from a Norton which has a 1-1/16" pivot and the clutch works. I could simply roll with that, but Norton uses alloy levers and Tridents are supposed to have chrome. The mount is identical and in perfect condition so it will stay.
- The clutch plate is brand-new and only has about 10 miles. After it's a little broken-in I suspect that it will not grab so easily.
June 13, 2024 I had company today so I didn't get all I planned done. I did go through the carbs, set the float heights and install them on the gantry. Still need to sync them ,but that is very easy off the bike. The fuel line has gone hard so I'm going to make a new one, then the cabs can go back on.
June 14, 2024 The silliest things get in the way! Got a call early this morning from my remaining IT customer telling me that they forgot a new Govt. report they were supposed to ask me to create and that was due today. Of course, their mistake became my problem. OK, that was all done around 12:30 pm and it was very hot outside, my shop AC is down, the "guy" who was supposed to come didn't and since a guy was coming, I didn't order the things to fix it myself. OK, so t'storms were supposedly coming which would cool things off so I worked inside on paperwork. Of course, no t'storms. So, I went to the shop at 6 pm. OK, it was cooler so I could work. Cleaned up from yesterday and started to make the new fuel line. Went to the bin to get eight new fuel injection hose clamps. I hate it when I use things up and forget to buy/order more! The old fuel line had old fashion hose clamps and they were used when I last made the fuel lines, so I didn't want to use them again. Went to the two nearby auto parts stores. Both had smaller and larger sizes than I needed but both were out of the proper size. So, I ordered from Amazon and they should be here tomorrow and cost half as much. In other words, accomplished nothing except a little cleaning and placing an Amazon order!
June 15, 2024 The guy showed today at 2 pm and the AC was fixed at 4 pm - Yes! The hose clamps arrived at 6pm. The only thing I did before that was re-plate the bolts that hole the front of the air cleaner to the carbs. They had a little rust but it was quick and easy to correct that.
The first picture shows the carbs with the hoses made and installed. This was actually the second try. The hoses to the tank must be angled just right to miss the air cleaner. On the first try, I made it all symmetrical - nope - doesn't work! So I took them back off the bike and this time tried them before bolting the air cleaner front back on. this banjo alignment is now good. I wish AMAL had 180 degree 5/16" banjos. They have 180 degree in 1/4" but I really don;t like 1/4".
The second picture shows them ready to go back on. they are on now, but I'll have to try again for a picture - none of the ones I took were good. Anyway, the carbs and air cleaner are on and I'm back on the clutch. Everything works but the ferrule on the cable end is wrong and is loose in the abutment it goes into. It works fine but looks bad so I want to try to fix it.
Besides the tires the other issue I have is that the seat hits the side cover when opened. A couple of years ago I collected all the Trident side panels I could find and sent them to my painter. He fixed all the cracks reinforced them, and painted them. I have to go through all the left-sides I have and see if there is a set that doesn't hit. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the seat so it must be the panel.
June 16, 2024 I've tried a few times to find the correct clutch cable abutment for a Trident. In studying today, I see the problem. Part 57-1645 is called an adapter and 57-2220 is the clutch cable abutment. The adapter screws into the inner primary cover and the abutment goes between the cable and adapter.
When you search for 57-2220, you find 57-1645! People simply have it wrong. I finally searched differently and found that there are Triumph abutments of various sizes available, and one seller has a set of four different abutments so I've ordered them. Hopefully one of them will be right.
I thought I was going to close the day with: "All done but the tires and tuning." Well, almost. Resolved the side-cover/seat issue but don't have the knob and special nut for the side cover - I need to find something else because you will absolutely lose the side cover if you stay stock - guess how I know - repeatedly! Personally, I like to zip-tie them, but then you must have a pocket knife with you in case you need to get into the battery area.
Then, while checking all switches, I noticed that the turn signal lever is broken. It works fine, but I need to replace the lever.That's not hard and I have plenty of spares.
June 17, 2024 The switch console is fixed. Need to work on getting that inspection sticker off the fork leg - they really mean for them to stay on! It was last inspected in 2015 but I got antique plates after that and with those there is no inspection. I made a half-hearted attempt to get it off a couple of years ago. I think acetone will probably get it.
June 18. 2024 I replaced some worn out rubber parts and then started on the rear wheel to change the tire. I completely forgot that having a Trident on the center stand is not enough to get the rear wheel off! Now I have to do some sketchy lifting to get it high enough. I'll lift it and put a 4x4 under the stand. I would have put on my lift but it doesn't have a drop out for the rear wheel and neither do my tables - I really don't like working down low these days!
June 19, 2024 In the late 80's I went to day three of a three-day motorcycle show in Washington DC. They had a contest that was going on for the entire show. It was to remove and install a tire. I was the last contestant and beat the fastest guy to that point by 20 seconds. I took home $100.
Today, after some really sketchy lifting and getting the rear wheel off, I finally got the tire off the rim! Pulled muscles, cut leg, another old man spot on my arm, but it's off! Only took me three hours!
As usual, there is some rust on the inside of the rim, but not bad. I went at it with WD40 and a brass brush and got the majority of it off. After I wash it, I'll use some rust converter on it. It's not really needed, just something I like to do.
June 20, 2024 Three doctor's appointments today slowed me down. Once I got back from them I washed the wheel, dried it, and treated the rust. I normally would have power washed it - this is the first time I washed a wheel in my kitchen sink. I haven't used the power washer so far this year and today was way to hot to get it running! I wash engine and gearbox parts often in it.
At about 5pm, "Superman Mode" kicked in from my steroid shot this morning so it was time to mount the tire. To make a long, miserable story short, it took until 8:30pm and of course, as always happens with tubeless tires on tube rims, the tires would not seat. By then I had hurt myself plenty for one day. I'll get it seated tomorrow.
I also planned to change the bearings but when I looked at them I remembered that the last time I took the rear wheel off was to install sealed bearings and a new sprocket so no need.
At least the front tire will be much easier - no security bolts!
June 21, 2024 First the good news! The tire held pressure overnight. I let the pressure out and went around both beads with soapy water and re-inflated and the beads popped into place. So, I put the nuts on the valve and tightened up the security bolts. Then put the rest of the rear wheel together and tried to put it on. Just wasn't strong enough to line it up and slide it into place so I put a flat jack under it and cranked it up to the right height and slid it in - simple! To put the chain and brake stay back on I needed the wheel free. So, with steroids still in charge - I figured I could just jack the bike up a little, kick the boards out from under the center stand and lower it down.
Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I was sitting in my roll-around stool when I attempted that half-baked, sketchy idea. It seemed to go perfectly but I was balancing the bike with my left hand, kicking the boards with my barely operation left foot, and lowering the jack with my right hand. That's when all hell broke loose. The front end flopped to the other side, one board was under the timing side center stand leg still and I had a lap full of Trident. Each time I tried to lift it, it got worse but I wasn't about to let it go down and get damaged so I stayed there trying to reach my phone to call someone to help me - could not reach it. So, in one extra dangerous move I moved my hands to better locations, power lifted my butt off the stool and dead lifted the bike. The picture of my left arm shows the damage that caused - it was undamaged before this, and the picture doesn't do it justice - it's red and swollen all the way to my wrist and the blood
blisters probably will be surrounded by a bruise later. Lost several spots from my left knee, got a blood blister on the back of my left hand, and probably pulled my right should muscles! But, due to steroids, I got into the problem and saved the bike in the end. After sitting a breathing hard for about 10 minutes, put the chain, brake stay, and brake rod into place but was way too tired to finish up.
June 22, 2024 Got the front tire mounted with no drama then started on that inspection sticker. Alcohol, brake cleaner, and brake fluid all had no effect. Lots of acetone and I was very slowly getting little bits of the layers off (three years' inspection sticker on top of each other). Then I tried Gumout spray carb cleaner. Still took an hour, but it is off. The carb cleaner is acetone and toluene. Since the acetone barely worked I suspect that straight toluene would have been faster.
With that off, the wheel went back on without drama. So, now I need to check everything over and assuming I find nothing wrong, it's time to test.
June 23, 2024 I think this bike is upset that I am selling it. The disk was dragging - while troubleshooting that, I removed the front wheel. When spinning the front wheel everything seems fine. I inadvertently spun the axle in the front wheel with it off and it is clear that one of the bearings is going. OK, no problem, I have them I'll just replace them. Nope! No I'm at war with the nut on the left side of the axle which is normally easy to remove. Lunch break, go buy a deep socket and let see if it will cooperate with my impact gun.
OK, no one had the socket, but I finally got the nut loose, bearings changed and the wheel reinstalled.
Final checks - right side petcock leaking. The flare on the new petcock to fuel line pipe was made poorly - had to put old on back on. The drive side carb float bowl drain was leaking - tightened and it was fine.
So, start it up - no problem. Check the oil level and that it was returning - no problem. Blip the throttle and it accelerated fine, so
the pilot circuit was fine. So, my stepson took it for a short shakedown (too hot for me and shoulders/arms are a mess from the other day). He came back needing a little less throw of the rear brake and the clutch not fully disengaging - AGAIN! The clutch was just a cable adjustment. But, there was a good bit of oil on the timing cover and his boot. Studied that for a while and realized that one of the screws for the timing window was missing. Fixed that and he was off again.
Now he came back with no clutch! OK, look into that. Adjusting the Trident clutch actuator requires magic and three hands. I didn't get the locking nut tight enough only having two hands. OK, off he went again, this time to check the mid-range. Came back with a smile and "only" three problems. Now the clutch was slipping when really getting on it - that should be an easy fix - we just got it too tight. In third, at half throttle when he blipped the throttle, it stumbled and then went. So, I need to raise the
needles a notch. The right side turn signal quit working - that's most likely a bad bulb.
June 24, 2024 Unbelievable! Two small simple tasks turned into a PITA! Even though the front brake was working perfectly, the brake fluid was slightly discolored, and I didn't remember when I last flushed it so time to get that done. First problem - opened the bleed screw and nothing would come out! Of course, when I removed it to see what was going on, plenty came out. The inside was very rusty and the little hole was clogged. OK, I had a similar one, but it had to flat a point on the business end. Off to the auto parts store shuffling along like a 90-year-old. They had one package that had two of what I needed - score! Get back to the shop, put in the new bled screw and same problem! It was not properly drilled through! Put in the other one, finished flushing and bleeding and that job was finally done.
OK, time to change the fork oil. The Trident uses ATF - guess what I didn't have! Went back to the same store and got that. Then the timing side drain screw gave me fits getting it out - finally did. On a Trident, the handlebars must come off to get at the fork top bolts and the handlebars are rubber mount - there is no room to get good access to the nuts so that took the last of my energy for today.
June 25, 2024 Finally a smooth day! I'm still worn out, but I did get the front brake finished and the forks drained and re-filled with 230 CCs of ATF. Also got the right-side turn signals working. The contacts in the handlebar console were corroded. Cleaned and applied dielectric grease and they work fine now.
Still need to touch-up the clutch - AGAIN!
Also need to ride it and see about the mid-range. AMAL says that the correct needle position is 2 and that's what I have it set to. Most of the time, they are right. Ethanol can cause leanness in the main jet but not usually in the mid-range of a Trident so I want to check that. I also noticed that the idle screw backed out. I need to figure out why that happened. It could just be a tired spring.
I REALLY hope to have this done and gone in mid-July. I REALLY need to learn to say no! I have three bikes arriving in July and one more wanting to come for an e-start install. And, I have a bike I've already started on that take priority over all those.
OK, old problem before new. I adjusted the clutch again and tested it. It disengages when the lever is just over half pulled. I'm sure it will work fine now.
June 26, 2024 Another day... I walked into the shop a strong smell of gasoline. At one time, I liked that smell - not today! This was the only bike with gas in the bowls so I knew that this was the culprit.
OK, old problem before new. I adjusted the clutch again and tested it. It disengages when the lever is just over half pulled. I'm sure it will work fine now.
So, the drive side bowl drain was leaking on the 23rd and I tightened it. It seemed to stop. Today, it and the center carb drain were wet. Ever since AMAL had bowl drains, I've tightened them with a coin. Every other bike I have is coin-tight and they do not leak. At some point, AMAL switched from thick, slightly flexible washers to hard fiber washers but even they seal. These would not. So, off with the carbs and I started on the drive side one. There was a small nick in the sealing surface. I really wanted to just change the bowl and I have 20 in stock but they are Zinc. So, surface plate and 1000 grit paper and flatten the surface until the nick was gone. Then I sat it on the bench on the drain plug with it coin tight, poured in a little gas, and it still leaked. I tightened it
more and tested again. Now it had a super-slow leak. I have AMAL gasket sets so I tried a new washer - same problem. Tomorrow, I'll try a different drain plug. If that doesn't work, I'll rob a bowl from one of my in-stock Norton carbs (the bowls are the same). Once I get this one right, I still have to figure out the center one.
I cannot imagine why they changed the washer material. The old material never leaked, and it was easy to drain the carbs many times without needing to change the washers.
June 27, 2024 More on carbs! So, I left the bowl filled overnight and when the weep turned into a leak. I took bowls from a new set of Norton carbs. Neither leaked. So, I started studying. In the picture below, notice the sealing surface. The one on the left came with this carb set. The one on the right came with the other carb set. Two of the three carbs in this set did not leak with the other drain plugs but the bowl I worked on yesterday still weeped no matter how tight.
I didn't
mention yesterday that I checked the bowl gasket surface and drain plug for being parallel and they were to about .0005". Today, I checked the drain plug/bowl interface. There was .003" gap on the side/back when the plug without the washer was snugged. In other words, the threads were not perpendicular to the sealing surface. So, back to the surface plate and 1000 grit paper. Once the sealing surfaces matched, the plug on the left could be tightened enough to stop the weep and with the plug on the right, a simple coin tightening was enough.
I have written AMAL about all this. At any rate, the carbs do not leak now and it's reproducible. I've also found that EMGO has drain plug washers that are similar to the old AMAL washers.
In theory, the plugs can be tightened and loosened with fingers, but as I said, I always used a quarter.
While I was at it, I moved the needle clips to the bottom slots.
June 28, 2024 I got a response from AMAL that wasn't really helpful and I replied the info above.
The carbs and air filter are back on the bike. Tomorrow the tank can go one and I HOPE there are no more leaks!
June 29, 2024 Important question: Why go forward when going backward seems so easy!
Expectation: Put the tank on, check for leaks, no leaks, ride.
Reality: "Feels Like" at 2pm 100F. Went to put tank on and saw what's in the first picture! Check the drain plug - not leaking. Feel the bottom axle cap - ATF. The seal in the bottom bolt that holds the damper is leaking so that fork must come apart to replace the fiber washer.
OK, leave that for now. Put the tank on and struggle with the wire harness and cables on the drive side. Although it's done as stock - why? Would be so much better with the harness on the other side of the frame. Also, the 50-year old wire protector has been driving me crazy as it is too short, to big, and won't stay put in the headlight. So, disconnect all the wires in the headlight shell and see if the harness will be better on the other side - it is, much better. Also, I have much better harness protector tubing than the original so can I change it? It was
difficult, but I got it done. Much happier now. The fourth picture shows why. It's several inches longer, fits into the headlight shell and extends far enough back on the frame to be tied down. The tank then dropped on with no effort, the cables can move around under the tank as needed and the harness stays in place properly.
I still have to connect the fuel lines and check for leaks but that can happen while I'm reconnecting the wires in the headlight. In that process I'm going to do a better job of routing so it's not such a rat's nest.
Tomorrow is again not supposed to be fit for humans outside, but Monday is supposed to be much nicer. My new target is riding Monday with all the latest problems solved.
June 30, 2024 Reinstalled the tank and turned on the petcocks - no leaks! Then redid the wiring. If I have time tomorrow, I'll test ride as it's supposed to be the only decent day for a while. Today at 11:30am, the "feels like" temperature was 99F. Since tomorrow is the first workday of July, I may be stuck on customer IT projects - hope not!
July 1, 2024 Retested all wiring - it's good and the headlight shell is much neater now. Reinstalled the battery and tool box and got started on the forks. It turns out that the drive-side has a very minor weep that didn't even drop on the floor and the timing side a more significant leak. Since the Allen bolts up from the bottom are sealed by aluminum washers (Norton on the brain, they use fiber), I just tightened them and will check tomorrow if there is any further weeping. So far, they are dry.
July 2, 2024 The front wheel is back on as there were no leaks. Got an email from an AMAL engineer today - he says they are working on a new washer similar to the old one that didn't. Their complaint with old one was that people would over tighten them and cause them to crack, and then complain about it. So they started machining the bottom of the bowl and using hard fiber. That usually works but then they don't work with the older carbs!
July 4, 2024 Disappointed! Today there was a small spot under the right fork. Probably only 4-5 drops, but more than none :-(. I thought I was done!
July 9, 2024 I have been fighting the right fork. Tightened it, cleaned up and it seemed OK. Next day, less dripped on the floor but still not none. Tightened it as little more and checked the next day. It was then losing 1-2 drops per day.
OK, today I took the slider off like I should have to start with. I also looked up the seal - dummy me. It's a Dowty washer inside the fork. It actually looks OK at first glance but must no be. Fortunately, I have some in stock. Ran out of go power so I'll try to get it done tomorrow. Between working on this and trying to clean/straighten up, I'm worn out. Being old sucks! I guess it's better than the alternative!
Also dummy me, I've let myself be talked into working on five more bikes this month and I'm already working on three! Two of the five are arriving tomorrow, but I won't touch them until the others are done and gone. Also, the Norton that was supposed to be picked up early last month is still here and in the way. Supposedly, it will be picked up this Thursday - I sure hope so!
July 10, 2024 Hot, hot, hot! Received two bikes to work on today - the "feels like" was over 100F and the sun was strong - way too hot for an old fat guy to help unload bikes!
Put the fork back together without issue and actually smartened up! I refilled it with ATF but didn't put anything else back together. That way, if it still leaks, I won't have to remove anything but the bottom Allen cap screw to get back in there. Assuming it's fine tomorrow, it will go back together.
July 11, 2024 No leaks! Put the front end back together and checked everything over and found the rear tire flat. At first I though it was the valve - nope. The tube had a defect near the valve and it was not pinched as no tire iron was used in that area. It was a high-dollar new Michelin tube! Replaced it with a different new tube. Then noticed that the muffler looked cockeyed from the rear so fixed that.
July 12, 2024 Supposed to rain all day but this morning there was a break so too a short ride. Everything worked well but the speedometer is suspect but hopefully that will correct itself if ridden some. I have refurbished speedometers, but this one has actual miles so I would rather not change it.
October 26, 2024 I had some help the last couple of days and he took this bike out for a ride. It's still running and riding great. The guy who wanted to buy it has decided on the 1970 Bonneville instead so this one is available for sale.
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Copyright © 2003-2024
Greg Marsh Enterprises
8116 Arlington Blvd. #171, Falls Church, VA 22042, (703) 200-4025
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