Well, I now have the rear brakes installed and am working on getting the rear sub-frame on the bike. When I get that done, I’m going to move on to the front forks and steering.
Here is the write-up on installing the rear brakes, rear brake pedal and mounting the polished rear wheel with the new stainless steel spokes and the powder coated battery box:
Here’s how the bike looks at this point.
Rear Brake Pedal and Wheel Installed
Final Result
After I got the engine and transmission installed in the frame, it’s time to add the swing arm and the rear drive. Here is the write-up I did for this part of the project.
And, you can find the write-ups for the engine and transmission installation work here:
Here are some of the pictures from the write-up.
Rear of Transmission with Drive Shaft Coupling (Upper Right) and Frame Protection
Powder Coated Swing Arm with Drive Shaft Inside
Swing Arm Pivot Pins, Lock Nuts and Plastic Caps
Swing Arm Boot – “OB” EN (Top) on Round Section
Measuring Swing Arm Gap to Center the Swing Arm
Sitting on Rear Tire to Tighen Drive Shaft Bolts
Swing Arm and Rear Drive Installed
It’s time to put parts back into the frame :-). The first to go in is the engine followed by the transmission. You can read about what I did here:
I used information from the following resources to plan this work.
As I had the engine stripped down, I was able to lift it into the frame by myself using some straps so my hands weren’t under the oil pan. The transmission isn’t very heavy, but there isn’t much clearance when the engine is installed and I had to remove the kick start lever or it wouldn’t fit.
Here are a couple pictures from the write-ups.
Polished Engine Ready to Install Into The Frame
Engine In Frame Resting on Motorcycle Lift
Left Side Shackle Keeps Side Stand on Pivot Pin (Looking Toward Rear)
Engine In Frame & Secured to Lift
Refinished Transmission Ready to Install in the Frame
Clutch Throw Out Assembly Parts
Frame Protection Before Inserting Transmission In the Frame
Clutch Throw Out Bearing Assembly Showing Direction and Order of Insertion into Bearing Housing
Transmission Install Job Done
The wheels are the next project to work on. The plan is to take them apart, replace the chrome spokes and nipples with stainless steel spokes, inspect, lube and set the preload on the wheel bearings. I decided to have Woody’s Wheel Works inspect the bearings and lace up the new spokes. Here is a link to the write-up on this work.
When I removed the bearing cover on the rear wheel, the left side bearing outer race had loosened and spun in the aluminum hub. There are various options to fix this including:
1. Using locktite on the outside of the outer race to secure it to the aluminum hub.
2. Staking the outer race to try and keep it captive in the aluminum hub.
3. Adding a shim around the outside of the outer race so it is captive in the aluminum hub
4. Buy a new hub.
I posted my problem to the airhead forum on the Micapeak site looking for input on these options and any other ideas. The consensus is:
I also got a response from two folks in Australia with a variation on shimming the outer race. Their fix uses a thin steel sleeve called Speedi-Sleeve, provided by SKF bearing company. It is designed for use on shafts that have been scored by the shaft seal. Adding a Speedi-Sleeve stops the oil leaking past the seal and retains use of the original oil seal. The sleeve that fits the R75/5 wheel bearing is #99157. It’s 0.28 mm or 0.011 inch thick so it adds 0.56 mm or 0.022 inch of material to the aluminum hole holding the bearing. It is installed on the outer race with a special tool. Then the bearing stack is assembled using the axle with a spacer and is put into the heated aluminum hub. This is the standard procedure for installing the bearing stack into the aluminum hub. When the hub cools, it contracts around the Speedi-Sleeve and outer race shell and should hold the shell captive to the hub. This is the solution I choose and had Woody’s install the Speedi-Sleeve.
Here are some pictures from the write-up.
Rear Wheel, Hub Cap Side
Rear Rim Has Deep Gouges
Brute Force Approach: Using Bolt Cutter to Cut Spokes
Front Rim with Cut Spokes and Hub Removed
Non-Distructive Approach: Removing Nipples with Power Screw Driver
Bearing Stack, Outside (Left) to Inside (Right): Bearing Cover & Gasket, Inner Bearing Race, Outer Bearing Race, Wedding Band, Inner Spacer, Outer Spacer
Cleaned and Polished Hub Caps
Woody’s Wheel Works Complete Front Wheel
I had replaced the leaking camshaft seal earlier and you can read about how I did that here:
The alternator has 97,500 miles on it, so I decided to replace the brushes. I hadn’t seen evidence of oil leaks from the front crankshaft seal, but it turns out its very easy to replace it when I was replacing the alternator brushes. I also cleaned the rust and flaking paint off the starter motor and then painted it to stop any further rusting.
You can read about what I did on both of these tasks here:
I bought the brushes at Euro Motoelectrics which is here in Denver, CO. I also picked up a hardened bolt to extract the alternator rotor from the tapered nose of the crankshaft.
Rotor Puller Bolt and New Brushes
These jobs went pretty quickly and were straight forward. I found I needed a 200/260 watt soldering iron to remove the old solder and solder the new brushes as they are soldered to a large plate that dissipates heat pretty well. My 140 watt gun wasn’t up to the task.
Old Brushes Removed from Holder
New Brushes Installed
Shaft Seal Puller Installed With Adjustable Pivot Pin Resting on Engine Housing
At this point, the engine work I planned is done. Here is the painted starter motor installed and the engine after polishing up the cases.
Painted Starter Motor Installed
Polished Engine
Polished Engine