'85 1200 won't turn over by hand.

[John Schmidt]

Well, this is where I am with the 1200 repair and refresh. As you can see, it's painted, heads installed/painted, cooling tubes installed and new belts. That's where I'm having a heck of a time getting the right side timed right. Since the picture was taken I've marked the pulleys and the timing mark on the housing. Seemed like the left side set up perfect on the first try, but the right side wants to go a couple teeth either side of the housing mark. The flywheel mark is on the T1 mark, #1 is TDC, the left side marks are right on the button, but that #@%*^ right side has me talking to myself. Finally left it for evening, will go back in the next day or so and try "another 'gin" as my girls used to say when they were little. I also picked up some Harley fishtail mufflers for less than $50 to my door, wonder if anyone has any experience with them. I have no idea how loud they might be or how they'll sound but figured for the price I'd take a gamble. If you have tried or heard them, what can I expect? I held them up with the headers I bought recently and it looks like the end will go about 4" past the rear axle. Should be about right but I can always put an extension in if I need them back farther.



Picture is kinda fuzzy.

[John Schmidt]

New question and hope I'm not asking too many during this rebuild. I about have the engine ready to hang in the frame, a few more details; clean/install valve covers, timing belt covers, install new t-stat if I can find an over the counter equivalent, etc.. Right now I have the carbs upside down on the bench and wondering what the heck to do with that mess underneath. It looks very much like the PAIR valve system on the Valkyrie that injects fresh air into the exhaust passages. Most Valkyrie owners have removed it, desmogged as we refer to it, for the simple reason it gets rid of all kinds of vacuum lines. That prevents trouble at some point down the road by not having an air/vacuum leak. I want to do the same thing with all that crap hanging under the 1200's carb bank, so my question is; has anyone ever done away with it and what, if any, special adjustments or orifice covers did you have to make? I think I have it pretty well figured out but wanted to pick the collective brains on the board.

PS: We don't have vehicle inspections here if Florida. Quite a few years ago they came to the realization it was a waste of time and money....cost more to run than it took in and wasn't all that effective in getting junk off the highway.

[gltriker]

Have you resolved your timing belt installation quandry?

[John Schmidt]

Have you resolved your timing belt installation quandry?

Yes, snagged my neighbor when he was walking his dog last night. Took an extra set of hands to do it but think I could do it alone now. Turned it over by hand four full revs....all's well.

[gltriker]

s' Nothing like a Good neighbor!!

[John Schmidt]

Still another issue....timing belt cover bolts. If it isn't one thing, there's six more to take its place...or so it seems. The timing belt covers had already been removed when I got the bike, and along with numerous other items including partially disassembled carbs, it was all tossed in a large plastic tub. Today was spent removing over a quarter century of crap, crud, and corruption from the covers then polishing them on my bench mounted wheel. Then it came time to install the covers, knowing full well there is one long bolt(far left) and the other three are shorties. Well...that's where the trouble started. The longer bolt won't engage the threads and neither will the short ones....unless I remove the rubber insert and the cover ring. Then they work fine. Can someone tell me what I'm missing here? I checked the parts breakdown and have the right size/length, they just don't quite engage the threads without removing the rubber and chrome ring. The gasket around the edge of the covers are seated as designed so I'm at a loss as to my next step. I was wanting to hang the engine this weekend so I could clear up some bench space.

This project is getting ridiculous, sure hope it's worth it when completed. Shucks, I hope I live that long the way things are going.

UPDATE: I just discovered something re. the timing belt covers; '84 and '85 are different and that's why the bolts didn't fit. These were in the tub of "stuff" given to me when I got the bike, which is an '84. The engine is an '85 so as it turns out I cleaned and polished the set for the '84 since they're in better shape, not knowing there was a difference. When I bought the '85 engine, it came stripped of everything except the starter and heads so I had no way of knowing which was which....until today. I just spent time cleaning and doing a bit of polishing on those covers...all for naught. Oh well, moving on. I'll try to post things of more interest in the future, seems this is boring to most that have been restoring for a few years. This is my first restoration, most likely will be my last.