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Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:43 am
by wannabridin
Glad it arrived in such good shape! I'd had someone take a good look at the flanges and tough up the welds there. If you want it to look good forever: https://www.jet-hot.com/colors/

Thanks again for helping the build out and clearing up some shop space!

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 9:28 pm
by Lucien Harpress
A bit more progress on the water pump front, and... boy. I gotta tell you- this job is kind of a pain in the butt. In fact, it's a ROYAL pain in the butt. I don't envy anyone who does this with the motor in the frame.

The worst part about getting everything apart (not counting the screw I had to drill out) was getting it all cleaned up afterward. I did the best I could, but I suppose we'll see how well this is once I get some fluids back into it. Still, the new water pump going in was probably the easiest part.

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Getting the front cover back on? Woof. All the o-rings, gaskets, seals, combined with making sure they all stay in place while you jockey the cover in position was enough to give me the shakes. Thankfully, with a bit of luck, a new front bolt set from Robin, and a light hammer whack or two, everything is back together and (hopefully) functional.

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Next up is a new neutral switch, then I can either shift focus to valve and cam seals, or getting (more of) the engine cleaned and prepped for paint.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 10:43 pm
by desertrefugee
Nice work!

Do you have a new work space? As I recall, before you were crowded and it didn't appear to be all that well lit. Now it looks like you have both of the above and maybe even heat?

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 3:55 pm
by Lucien Harpress
No, not particularly. My younger brother moved some of his stuff out of the one side of the garage, so it was enough to slip in a welding table that I put the engine on. I had all kinds of floor space after I sold my GL1200, but that went away when I pulled the Valkyrie in.

Still, it's enough to do the tabletop engine work. Once the motor has to go back in I'll need to do the usual bike roulette. Speaking of which, future work may take a minute. Having to replace the clutch in my Jeep will do that to you. (Still, being a stickshift made it hurt a bit less than it could've.)

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:37 pm
by Lucien Harpress
After a prolonged period of sub-20 degree F temperatures, things have warmed up enough to get a bit more work done on my 1000. I've stripped a majority of valvetrain in prep for a bit of top-end work. The plan isn't to take the heads off, but do as much as I can "above" that.

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The big goal is to try to replace the valve stem seals without having to take the heads off. To this end I've heard the "rope trick" is pretty effective, so I'll give it a go. I'm also replacing the cam seals while I'm in here, along with the assorted gaskets around the rear belt covers, ignition pickups (points have been swapped out with electronic ignition), and fuel pump.

The order between painting, belt covers, and cam seals will be interesting. I'll probably end up painting the covers and the front of the heads before buttoning everything up, then do the rest of the engine once I'm 100% done with everything else. But that's a problem for FUTURE me.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:52 pm
by robin1731
Didn't that get new head gaskets before you bought it? If so it got new valve seals and cam seals at the same time.

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Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:14 pm
by Lucien Harpress
....oh. Whoops.

In any case, I figured I'd go ahead and replace everything. Mostly because it's already tore apart and I've already got all the seals on-hand. I just finished up the valve guide seals today, and will probably take this opportunity to clean some of the harder-to-reach areas in the front corners of the block. Then a bit of paint in the "hidden" front of the heads, and then I can start putting things back together.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2021 7:17 pm
by Lucien Harpress
If nothing else, I know how to stretch out a project. Thankfully, my Velosolex project was enough of a kick in the pants to get me to clear out some space- and the only way to do that was to get my 1000 engine back in the frame.

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I still have to flip it and do the top, and I for SURE painted over some dirt, but at some point "good" has to be "good enough". The biggest thing I still need to buy is a new neutral switch, and after that gets installed with a few minor gaskets, then the motor can go back into the frame and I can turn my attention to other areas that need it.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2021 9:44 pm
by desertrefugee
Good stuff Lucien. I know what you mean about too many projects. I have several simultaneous threads going myself. It was never my intent, but it sort of just happened. I need to tie some stuff up.

I tell my wife it's like money in the bank. Truth of the matter is, it sort of is!

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:39 pm
by Lucien Harpress
I've still got to do the starter motor and possibly the fuel pump (it looks good, but may not be an exact color match anymore), but unless I've missed some spots in the nooks and crannies, I'm pretty happy with this.

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At some point a PO had replaced the painted alternator heat shield with a chrome '77/'79 one, which was a rather popular mod. I went back and forth, but decided to backdate it to the correct painted look for the '76. On the upside, I did save the chrome one as well, in case I want to swap back and forth.

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I'm grabbing a neutral switch and some o-rings Friday, and once those are in I think it's time to get this back in the frame.

(I've got to find a way to plug the leak in the oil window wiper as well. The first attempt is going to be the rubber cap from a brake bleeder glued over the center screw with gasket material. I guess we'll see how well that works.)

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 8:19 pm
by desertrefugee
Jiminy Cricket. All these years with a GL1000 (a '78) and I never realized the earlier ones had painted alternator covers. I definitely prefer the chrome.

(Looks good, Lucien. Git 'er dun!)

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 8:55 pm
by Lucien Harpress
Oh, it gets better- I have no idea when it got changed, but the smaller clutch cover? The one that covers the clutch cable attachment mechanism and lifter arm? It's black.

Found THAT out when I tried to clean all the road gunk off and I never got to any silver. You can't see it, so it seems an odd choice, but it is what it is. Makes a much sense as chroming it on the LTD, I suppose.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:03 pm
by Lucien Harpress
There's three main reasons I pulled this engine.

1. Clutch refresh. DONE
2. Paint. DONE (enough)
3. Replace the neutral switch.

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I ended up ordering from cmsnl.com because (along with a couple o-rings I needed) it ended up being cheaper than buying a switch anywhere local. Pretty quick shipping. I've used that site for a while now when it came to looking up parts diagrams and getting part numbers, but I've just recently starting actually ordering parts from them. So far? No complaints.

Of course in my infinite wisdom I forgot to actually get the o-ring as well, and while I could probably reuse the one old one, it's too much of a pain to get to in the event that it DOES leak. So looks like a quick trip to the local bike shop for tomorrow is in order.

Still, we're getting closer to an engine re-installation.

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2021 4:51 pm
by Lucien Harpress
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Starter motor is back on, after a fresh coat of paint. I'll need to change belts and set valve timing before I can test electrical continuity- I'm pretty sure I scraped enough paint away between the starter case and the block, but we'll see.

(This photo also reminded me I still need to replace the shifter seal. I've already got that, so no big deal.)

Re: Yellow '76 Winter Freshen-Up

Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2021 5:44 pm
by Lucien Harpress
No update. I just pulled the masking off the valve and belt covers, just to get a good look at the almost-finished product.

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Both sets of covers ARE getting polished. Probably not mirror-smooth, but enough to get the corrosion out. The plan is to also hit the front forks, intake runners, and maybe-possibly carb caps as well, depending on how bad they are. But that's for a future update....