And away we go . . . . LTD style

[polkadot]

Think Barn Find! Think reawakening! Think one that has not seen the road in years! Think one that will make the prior owner (or their family) cry when Dad's bike lives again! . . . .

[robin1731]

MMMMMMMMmmmm, thinking the 79 KZ1000 LTD I just bought. Yeah, I just sold a 78 LTD. It's already running though. Funny, the PO said it had two dead cylinders. A full tune up and it's running well.

I'll keep an eye/ear out. You do know there is a very nice salvage yard just a couple miles from me. He doesn't always sell complete bikes but I have a little pull on the owner.

[Dog Boy]

Job well done Ern! Looks almost brand new!!

AL

[Fred Camper]

And you are close enough to Mansfield to go back for your trailer on Sunday. Awesome to see the improvements since winter storage.

[redwood]

Great job, great day! Thanks for sharing.

[polkadot]

Spoke to soon about leaks. After my ride I had a coolant leak from the top part of the bottom hose. Think I will jettison the original clamp there and go with another stainless plumbers clamp. The new hoses are just too small. No bigie, but it will have to wait for another day. Thanks for all the compliments guys. I am very proud of this old girl and I think I am almost as proud of this thread. I really enjoy these projects! Happy memorial Day weekend! Thanks to all of you guys that served!

[Fred Camper]

Maybe some ginger root?

[polkadot]

I took the grill off the radiator and tightened the hose clamp up just a shade. If that fixes the leak, great. If not, the I will put on a non-oem clamp. arrrgghhhh! By the way, this can be a very helpful thread: http://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17256 Thanks Steve!

[polkadot]

Took the bike for about a 50 mile ride yesterday after the radiator fix. NO LEAK! I then hit the header/exhaust coupling bolts with some VHT and we are in business! Just waiting on the chrome. I have rides planned for the next three weekends (deliver parts to Al and Greg in Columbus, Gilmore in Battle Creek and Cleveland for the Grand Re-awakening! )

[Fred Camper]

Ah. Just a pesky clamp then. Good news. Nice to see the rides planned. I do hope to attend Gilmore again on the 9th.

[polkadot]

While in Cbus, Greg took me to the Iron Pony. I found a nice set of bags for the LTD. Just can't use the bike without something. Found out my chrome will not be in till next week, so she will not be "complete" for Gilmore, but close.

[Fred Camper]

Kind of hard to get out of Iron Pony with your hands still in your pockets. Not been able to do that myself. Looking good, sad but she is welcome at Gilmore if she runs you know, chrome is optional.

[Fred Camper]

And Gilmore weather is way more optimistic that Greg Foresi suggested. Might has a brief shower on the ride back but that is about it.

[Fred Camper]

So Ernie, now that you have done restoration number two on the LTD, what was biggest deal during this spring?

I suspect the muffler, but there was much more going on for sure.

[polkadot]

So Ernie, now that you have done restoration number two on the LTD, what was biggest deal during this spring?

I suspect the muffler, but there was much more going on for sure.

Muffler was definitely the most expensive, but I probably should have done it this way the first time. Actually the bike is better off now than before the storage. My trip to Gilmore told me a lot about the bike and me. The ride there was super. It was the first time I had gone any distance without the windshield. No problem and I got 40.5 mpg. Very happy! It only took a short distance on the ride home to to realize that I had a really nice tailwind for the morning ride. Not so much on the way home. It was brutal. I was tired, sore and hanging on for dear life. The windshield goes back on! Another thing I realized is that if I am going to wear a helmet I need to get something I can stand. My head felt like it was in a vice. What I have is a good helmet, but not for me. I may need another trip to the iron pony! I am not sure how you guys that put lots of miles on long trips do it. I never thought I would say this but, Rat you are my hero! Thanks to a heavy throttle and a good headwind, the bike got 31.4 mpg on the way home. It ran great but does have just a bit of a stumble at 20 to 40 mph as I went thru some small towns. I will do some tweeking when I have time. I also felt good comparing the bike to the other bikes in the show. I believe that it competed well with the other non trailer queens. I enjoyed my time at the museum and talking with the guys (don't ask Doug how to get a Canadian vehicle transferred to the US unless you have a beer or two handy and GF says he will have both white bikes at Greg's BBQ for comparison), but shows are just not for me. Not sure what the plans are for the LTD, but hopefully she gets her last bits of chrome this week and a standard plumbers clamp on the radiator hose.