rvich
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
- Messages
- 3,189
I will throw my two cents into the pot. Don't go crazy on upgrades until you have a chance to get to know the bike a bit. Get it running, put some miles on it and then move forward with the confidence you will have built from the experience.
Spend some time studying the parts book or go to Old Britts and look through the blow up pictures of the parts groups. Plan on replacing anything made from rubber. This means isolastics, seals, o-rings, hoses, tires. This is going to get you into nearly every parts group on the bike but without having to do major surgery. Plan on replacing the lay shaft bearing, this will get you into the gearbox for a look but the job is not a bad one. Replace the oil in the forks, even better take them apart and clean them first. Might as well do those seals too. Pull apart the swingarm and clean it up and get new lube in there. Check it for wear and consider swingarm clamps as a simple upgrade. Spend time cleaning up the electrical system, check the wiring for bad connectors and check those switch clusters. Make sure your kill switch is in good shape! Otherwise it will cause lousy ignition. I rebuilt my master cylinder to stock. I figure it is easy to get back to it for an upgrade later. Pull the wheels off both ends while doing the other stuff and at least repack those bearings. Lube all those cables!
When I recently went through this process on a bike that had sat for 20 years in the back of a Jag shop it cost me about a thousand bucks. This included a Tri Spark ignition. It was the biggest expense on the list. But it also allowed me to remove some of the unnecessary wiring and dial in the ignition, thus making it a lot easier for me to figure out my Amals. This upgrade is somewhat controversial, so read up on ignitions if you want to go to electronic and decide for yourself. My points plate was worn out enough that I needed to do something with it.
The above work will not include many difficult jobs and you will feel like you know the bike well when you are done.
Russ
Spend some time studying the parts book or go to Old Britts and look through the blow up pictures of the parts groups. Plan on replacing anything made from rubber. This means isolastics, seals, o-rings, hoses, tires. This is going to get you into nearly every parts group on the bike but without having to do major surgery. Plan on replacing the lay shaft bearing, this will get you into the gearbox for a look but the job is not a bad one. Replace the oil in the forks, even better take them apart and clean them first. Might as well do those seals too. Pull apart the swingarm and clean it up and get new lube in there. Check it for wear and consider swingarm clamps as a simple upgrade. Spend time cleaning up the electrical system, check the wiring for bad connectors and check those switch clusters. Make sure your kill switch is in good shape! Otherwise it will cause lousy ignition. I rebuilt my master cylinder to stock. I figure it is easy to get back to it for an upgrade later. Pull the wheels off both ends while doing the other stuff and at least repack those bearings. Lube all those cables!
When I recently went through this process on a bike that had sat for 20 years in the back of a Jag shop it cost me about a thousand bucks. This included a Tri Spark ignition. It was the biggest expense on the list. But it also allowed me to remove some of the unnecessary wiring and dial in the ignition, thus making it a lot easier for me to figure out my Amals. This upgrade is somewhat controversial, so read up on ignitions if you want to go to electronic and decide for yourself. My points plate was worn out enough that I needed to do something with it.
The above work will not include many difficult jobs and you will feel like you know the bike well when you are done.
Russ
