REBUILD

This is going to be a case of 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I put the engine back in the frame by lowering the frame onto the engine. 1. Because it's easier to do single-handed rather than when you've got a rolling chassis and 2. Because I don't have my forks swingarm and wheels available yet. I was also waiting for a 'O' ring for the cylinder head at this stage so the covers are not fitted properly and the head is only on loosely.
  Might as well refit the yokes and steering head bearings. Alloy on yoke is very soft so they polish up very easily. Oilway 'O' ring now installed, head torqued down new inlet rubber fitted and carb installed. New clutch gasket fitted and cover installed.
 
  Timing case reinstalled with new gasket and stainless points cover bolts .Ignition pickup & Ignition fitted. I scribed a slight line on the the pickup plate before removing, so it should still be set within a few degrees. If this was a high compression Desmo model I don't think I'd be quite so blasé though. As a few degrees over advanced is likely to result in a vicious kick-back! The process of rewiring begins. Second hand voltage regulator fitted but no entirely convinced by orientation and wether it should be mounted on the top or bottom side. New look-alike 6v horn fitted. I'll Investigate wether its charging or not later. I know the windings are ok from before, so if it doesn't work it will be either the red centre tap wire or the regulator. Why keep it 6v? well It's not difficult to do a 12v conversion but what's the point as we're no on 6v coil ignition? The alternator output is pretty feeble no matter what voltage you use and I think the number of revs required for a 'balanced charge' goes up. So no matter what you do the light are going to be shit by modern standards! If you want to ride at night my best advice is follow someone!
 
  More rewiring and New instrument holder fitted with reworked kmh/mph fitted. Revcounter purchased for £10 or about $16 at classic bike show. Old handle bars and levers put back on for now so I can try and find some good routes for the cables. Choke and Throttle cables connected as is clutch.
 
  Trial fitting of tank new seat and rear mudguard. I have both front and rear mudguards as new in orange. So it was rather tempting to paint my old blue tank orange, but as I also bought a slightly scruffy new shopsoiled tank I think its got to all be painted yellow as this is the original colour for 450's. Orange is the original colour for 350's. New Header pipe ring and Silencer also added after chopping a couple of inches off the header pipe which I didn't want to do but there was no way it would go far enough into the silencer otherwise.
 
  Well it all seems to fit albeit loosely. Now its time to tackle the electrics again! A lot of people are scared to tackle electrics but despite looking like the proverbial rats nest this is about as simple as it gets. I think its best to connect everything up out in the open to test it rather than in the confined space of the headlight shell.
 
  I've deviated slightly from original by running the grounds from the instrument lights into the headlight shell then running a separate ground back to the main ground by the battery regulator. Its also vital to grind off the powder coating from the surrounding areas where you need a ground connection or you'll get some strange things hapening. You can't rely on the bolts alone to make a connection with the frame. This also includesmaking sure that the engine is electrically connected to the frame.
 
  Hard to believe that all that spaghetti fits but it does. I also have an extra hole in my headlight shell which seems to be a mix of old and new parts. I'm not sure if it left the factory with this extra hole but it wouldn't surprise me either way. Proof that the beast lives again : check out the new exhaust colour!
 
  The great fork mystery; if anyone knows what bike the outer set are for please email me! When I got the bike these were the forks that were fitted. With a little help from the Bevelheads guys and parts books I soon realised that these were not the genuine articles; so after scouring e-bay I bought a set from America. To dismantle the forks fully you need to remove the hex screws which secure the damper rods. I believe that this can be tricky sometimes without the proper service tool as the rods spin round. There are 2 ways to resolve this: One use an air driver or Two make a tool to hold the top of the rod. Fortunately although mine were tight, they came undone with a sharp tap of a hammer on the spanner I used to get extra leverage on the hex key.
 
  As you can see from the photo above the 'new forks are much shorter! The old steering geometry must have been approaching 'Chopper' proportions. I was so surprised by the difference that I measured and checked the stanchions length out in the parts manual. And yes the length was correct for the year. After soaking in paraffin followed by a degrease and wash, the remnants of the old oil all came out. One of the nice things about Italian alloy is that it polishes up a treat. I don't know what type of alloy Marzocchi use but its very easy to polish out deep scratches. The yokes are even softer.Originally there were two sets of fork seals fitted as standard but the modern replacement seals I bought are double lipped and a lot deeper so only one set will fit.
 
New rim and tyre laced onto the old front hub. After much thought I decided to sacrifice the 'look' of the original trail tyres and go for grip. Hence the Avon Super Venoms. The brake and speedo drive plates were quite shiny after a polish before I got my greasy finger prints all over them! My wheel seems to have a extra washer fitted after the bearing cover which does not appear in the parts manual.
 
  Front wheel fully assembled. I've not fitted new wheel bearings yet (6202) but this is quite a simple job hopefully just push the internal spacer to one side and gently drift the old bearings out. Well that's the theory anyway! Whilst waiting for the 'new' rear hub to arrive I used the old wheel for now. New bearings (6004) in the sprocket carrier a new 530 chain and a good 37 tooth sprocket which came with a job lot of spares from a German e-bay auction. The 14 tooth front sprocket looked as good as new so it can't have run very far with the knackered original chain ( you could easily tie knots with it!) and hooked rear sprocket. I calculate that this gearing will give 100mph at 7000rpm (not that it will ever get there!) but it means at 71mph it will be reving @ 5000rpm and @ 6000rpm the speed will be 86mph. The new chain needed quite a few links taking out as came with 110.
 
  When the previous owner fitted the wrong forks they also had 'extend' the length of the centre stand for it to be of any use. I was going to bin it but as I haven't found a new one yet ( scrambler stands are longer than road models due to the 19" front wheel) I thought I'd have a go at rescuing it. So out with the trusty angle grinder and hacksaw. Half an hour later and we're back to some form of normality. With a bit more gentle grinding and sanding it can be made serviceable, though I don't think its ever going to win any beauty contests!
 
  Well it's back to square one with the forks as there was too much play between the stanchions and the sliders so off they went to get some bushes inserted. I temporarily put the old forks back in but set the height in line with the correct geometry. You can clearly see now how much longer they were. I can't even raise the handlebars to the correct position.Nothing much happened for a few weeks until I got the repainted tank and mudguards back from the painters.
       
  Rear mudguard fully fitted and light wired up. Tank with new pattern taps installed is a loose fitment until I get some 8mm fine pitch bolts.