Hard to believe it's been almost a year now. The engine is back together and in the bike, along with almost all the other bits. The wiring harness is finished and wrapped. I spent several hours today making a mounting tab for the left side cover and welding it to the frame. It uses a Dzus fastener in place of the stock Mk3 plastic quick release fastener.
Picture of the side cover tab:
And one of the bike with the cover attached:
I still need to reinstall the Tri-Spark ignition and time it, so I can fire it up again and make sure it runs properly. After that, I need to get the seat upholstered, fab up some sort of air filter arrangement, make a chain guard, sort out a front fender and mounts, run an oil tank breather hose to some sort of catch bottle, rivet the new VIN tag on the steering head, stamp the crankcase with a matching serial number, and it will be ready for a test ride. Actually, I plan to do a test ride as soon as possible, so probably without the fender and chain guard. And I'm sure there will be something I don't expect, that will need dealing with.
Its' good to be back working in the shop regularly again. I've lost a lot of time to serious family issues this year, but life goes on, and I'm getting my life in order again. It's just a bit different life now.
I'm making a serious effort to have the bike running and sorted in time for the local SoCal Norton club Hansen Dam ride in November. Looking forward to that.
Ken