rvich
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
- Messages
- 3,181
After about six months of fooling around I took the bike off the stands last night and started it up this morning! It took me six months to do what many might have done in a week, but the learning curve has been straightened out a bit.
I want to say thank you for all the wisdom and energy that goes into this forum. I have been saved from making a lot of mistakes and encountering a lot of frustration by reading the posts here. I have learned a lot. I still have a long way to go.
I also want to say that I will gladly spend my money with Old Britts and CNW. Old Britts deserves an award if for nothing else having a great web site that I used endlessly to look at parts ("I wonder what the thread is on that screw?") and have always been willing to talk to me about technical aspects. CNW deserves special mention if for nothing else raising the bar for all of us, but Matt is always willing to talk Nortons and give practical advice whether he benefits directly from it or not.
I also want to thank Jerry and L.A.B. for their efforts here. I know this is starting to sound like I won an Oscar...
I still need to put a timing light on the bike and adjust the front iso before I go riding, so who knows maybe I will be back tearing it down this afternoon. I doubt it, but it could happen. My little shop looks more like the scene of a frat party than the organized space I started with. The bench is scattered with tools, notes, my manual, reading glasses and a lot of beer bottles. There have been a few late nights recently.
When I started the bike I removed the left side oil feed from the head and zip-tied one of my latex gloves around it as I wanted to be sure I was pumping oil. I pulled it over to the right side so I could see it, tickled the carbs and gave the bike a good kick from the standing position next to the bike. I promptly charlie-horsed my right calf and had to wander around for about ten minutes before I could attempt a second kick (from the straddle position this time!). The bike started right up and immediately filled two fingers with oil...ah a good sign. I have gotten a lot done and I know it is only the beginning.
I better go get that front iso adjusted so I can get some bugs in my teeth.
Happy riding and wrenching to all!
Russ
I want to say thank you for all the wisdom and energy that goes into this forum. I have been saved from making a lot of mistakes and encountering a lot of frustration by reading the posts here. I have learned a lot. I still have a long way to go.
I also want to say that I will gladly spend my money with Old Britts and CNW. Old Britts deserves an award if for nothing else having a great web site that I used endlessly to look at parts ("I wonder what the thread is on that screw?") and have always been willing to talk to me about technical aspects. CNW deserves special mention if for nothing else raising the bar for all of us, but Matt is always willing to talk Nortons and give practical advice whether he benefits directly from it or not.
I also want to thank Jerry and L.A.B. for their efforts here. I know this is starting to sound like I won an Oscar...
I still need to put a timing light on the bike and adjust the front iso before I go riding, so who knows maybe I will be back tearing it down this afternoon. I doubt it, but it could happen. My little shop looks more like the scene of a frat party than the organized space I started with. The bench is scattered with tools, notes, my manual, reading glasses and a lot of beer bottles. There have been a few late nights recently.
When I started the bike I removed the left side oil feed from the head and zip-tied one of my latex gloves around it as I wanted to be sure I was pumping oil. I pulled it over to the right side so I could see it, tickled the carbs and gave the bike a good kick from the standing position next to the bike. I promptly charlie-horsed my right calf and had to wander around for about ten minutes before I could attempt a second kick (from the straddle position this time!). The bike started right up and immediately filled two fingers with oil...ah a good sign. I have gotten a lot done and I know it is only the beginning.
I better go get that front iso adjusted so I can get some bugs in my teeth.
Happy riding and wrenching to all!
Russ
