Blogging the Build

ome of us old guy's may need to do a private screening just make sure the pictures are p.c enough i volenteer and i'm sure patton, OMR and plummen will step up as well.

Here is a pic of the bike, finally done. Lights are working, bike is running, just need to figure out why it won't charge the battery and tune the carbs a little... Leaking some gas after I did all the work to re-build them 4 times to stop the leaking..
I still need to put on the Saddlemen seat and the Memphis Shades windshield but I think it's the greatest bike in the world right now.. Not bad for a computer nerd that can't change his own oil for the most part.... Wrenching is more fun when it's all done and you have running results.
Thank you to all in the forum that helped me with my questions and to Wisner Cycles that provided the space, tools and technical expertise. Kody, you are the bomb buddy. Thanks for everything to you, Fish and Tom.

Congrats man. nice jobB)

Ok, so I only got to ride the bike a little bit before it got cold and I am not a good enough rider for the rain and last fall was WET.
But it's been sitting in the garage all winter with the battery disconnected and in the house to keep from freezing, the tank couldn't keep fuel though.
So I got a wild hair up my arse the other night and decided to take apart the petcock to see what made it tick... Since it is a vaccum style, I didn't think it should keep running gas into the carbs and losing it all.
After taking it apart and explaining to my son how I thought it should work, something didn't seem quite right. When the diaphram has vaccum, it's supposed to let fuel through but it was letting it through all the time. Then while putting it back together, I realized that someone had already put a new diaphram and spring in it... BUT, they put the spring on the wrong side of the diaphram. It was continually holding it open. I changed this around and it works perfect now.
I am now realizing that when you buy a used bike that is in a few pieces, don't trust the guy that you got it from if he never put it together himself. The bike had belonged to a kid before he got it and the kid had done a bunch of the work himself so this would explain why things were soo messed up.
It really does pay to take something completely apart a few times to really get to know what makes it tick and to understand it... Now I just have to figure out the battery issue. I think its the Stator but I bought a used Rectifier just in case... Only 10 bucks so worth it if I ever need one. Now I am gonna start it up and try to get readings from the stator to see if it is even outputting any juice and the right amount at that. Got the book in hand and ready to tear into her again.
Also, one of my boy scouts had a sissy bar and luggage rack for a Yamaha about the same year and I made that work on it too. Next beyond that is to change out the rear shocks for some Progressive 412 series that I got for a good deal, BRAND NEW and in the box.. Never installed.
Wish me luck everyone.

Nice read. Sounds like the bug bit hard on the bike building.

Some times i think i can get more problems worked out lying in bed thinking about them as i can trying to fix problems in the shop.

What is the voltage on your battery @ 4000 rpm's?

It should be warming up and you can charge your battery overnight.

You could have a bad ground or a wire plugged in the wrong way.

I was riding the other day and my bike wanted to quit running so i stopped by a friends house to charge the battery. The next morning after charging the battery i found a loose connector.

I have found the wires that run behind the connector bracket bad.

Have a great summer. Roy

The bug did bite hard.
There isn't any additional voltage going to the battery.
The wiring was a bit of a mess when I got the bike, I don't know where they all go and one being disconnected very well could be the problem.
I did have a ground wire that wasn't connected the first few days I rode the bike and then someone pointed it out to me as they were looking at the bike in admiration of my masterful skills.........
Sorry, day dreaming again. But really, it was unhooked but I don't know what it was for..
I'm gonna go through and check every wire on the bike and put some Dilectric grease on all of the connection points or at least make sure that they are all really clean before I do anything else. I will check the ouput of the Stator though. I read that this is the generator that runs the juice for the battery.
I am not really technical saavy, but I am not a complete idiot either. More of a computer nerd than anything.
I appreiciate the comments and assistance, keep it coming.
You can see more photos of the build at shannonappleby.blogspot.com also

congrats on the progress shannon!
been wondering how you were getting along.
i ordered some parts from j&p a few weeks back for a non-kawi project.can't say enough good things about those folks.
keep us posted,

leon

p.s. has the wifey found out about your adulterous motorcycle love affair yet?

The wife has found out about the bike, but still doesn't know that I got it for $100 bucks, she thinks my buddy Kody gave it to me for cleaning up around the shop and helping him with his website....
Anyway, I did check the output of the stator, it's only putting out like 6.5 volts and according to what I have been told on here, and elsewhere online, it should go to about 50 volts.
I haven't checked the rectifier yet as I am not sure how to do that yet. Gotta either look in the book or ask someone... (ANY IDEAS)... But I did get my license on Saturday, I've ridden it about 500 miles, charging the battery at stops and overnight at home.. Found that if I disconnect the headlight for daytime riding, the battery lasts much longer.. (Back roads, not much traffic)
So, the day I got my license, I took the little lady for a ride. She has hated this bike ever since I started working on it and says I cannot put any money into it... Well, after her first ride the first things she said were... It needs to be red. You need different foot pegs if I'm gonna ride this thing... You need a different Seat... How much is a Sidecar? Can you get a fairing thingy for it to block more wind than the windshield does? You need to get that charging problem fixed. Fix that oil leak, I don't want that blowing back onto my pants.. You need to get me a different helmet, a white one. I need a jacket, chaps and gloves... The list went on and on...

Now that she can ride with me, it's ok to spend money on this stuff. Before you know it, she's gonna want me to get a big ol' Harley Dresser... I think I'm gonna stick with the Jap bikes though... Wanna be an enthusiest and rider, not a mechanic... hahahaha... Don't tell my boss I said that though.

shannonbeau wrote:

So, the day I got my license, I took the little lady for a ride. She has hated this bike ever since I started working on it and says I cannot put any money into it... Well, after her first ride the first things she said were... It needs to be red. You need different foot pegs if I'm gonna ride this thing... You need a different Seat... How much is a Sidecar? Can you get a fairing thingy for it to block more wind than the windshield does? You need to get that charging problem fixed. Fix that oil leak, I don't want that blowing back onto my pants.. You need to get me a different helmet, a white one. I need a jacket, chaps and gloves... The list went on and on...

So it goes! :laugh:

Good to hear you're still making progress and enjoying yourself. The bikes are like fine wine and are to be savored. Oh, who am I kidding? Ride it like you stole it!!

My wife is like fine wine too... Aged but someone left the bottle open... Not worth what I paid for it... hahahaha
Just kidding, My wife is pretty cool. Or I wouldn't be with her anymore.

shannon did you figure out your charging problem.

I have ordered a new Stator, when it gets here, I'll install it. That is the only thing we can figure it to be... The wire wrapping looks burnt on it, I cleaned the magnet points on it but it is still below 7 volts output.