RETURN OF THE REDNECK DONOR BIKE!!!!!! IT LIVES!

update:

so I took apart the carb and sure enough, a piece of the tickler valve ended up lodged in the seat of the float valve. i am springing for a tickler rebuild kit and already got new float valves. a bench test of the valve seems to have remedied the problem.

I sprung for the heavy duty hagons, so that's all taken care of...

I also just got done cleaning out the leaking tank with the acetone/drywall screws trick as reccommended by Caswell.... this week I'll be resealing the tank with the caswell stuff and I should FINALLY be all sorted out with the mechanicals of the redneck 71 basketcase....(other than re-painting the tank where I stripped the paint off to find the leaking area) I had used house of Kolor UC 35 clear coat on the tank and I'm happy to tell you (though sad to have to strip it off) that it's some TOUGH clear coat.


....just in time for riding season! I FINALLY think I'll be able to register it and start commuting to work here and there. 8)

take care , all

karl

Update on the redneck donor bike:

the Caswell stuff took care of the gas tank leak, the new petcocks got rid of the drippy fuel line, and the tickler rebuild kit cured the leak coming from the tickler hole. It fires up on the 2nd/3rd kick and purrs nicely. MAN I forgot how FAST these bikes are!

ONe problem I need a little help with: I got the OldBritts rear brake cable with the built in brake switch. If I tighten up the cable to
make the brake work well, the brake light won't shut off. If I back off the adjuster enough to get the switch to work right, the brake is really spongy and I can barely stop the bike.....

anybody else have that issue? I'm wondering if maybe the brake pads (which are one of the only original items left on the bike) need to replaced to give the actuating arm a little less travel. Also , routing the cable is a bit tricky.

any ideas?

thanks in advance:

Karl

p.s.... I already e-mailed Ella and Fred and am waiting for their response as well....

Hi all:

I am so excited about getting my bike (nearly) completely done! i need to get it registered and inspected and it needs a horn. (on order) but other than that, it starts on the first or second kick and is running smoothly....
I took some better pix that I thought I'd share:

first, the "before"



Now, some shots from today










thanks to you all for the nice comments and help I have received throughout this build. It seems as though most of the major bugs are out of the bike now: I've only snuck up and down the side street I live on (much to my wife's dismay) but it pulls strong, sounds GREAT and actually stops pretty briskly. This should be a fun summer!

take care, enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Karl

That is just amazing. Gives some of us hope when starting off with a pile of rusty parts.

Looks great, bravo

Jean

Definitely one of the more dramatic "before" photos!

Great project thread.

You aren't anywhere near Hyannis are you? I saw a similar Norton out there last summer.

I'm in Harwich, and it was still in the basement last summer......

thanks for the lovely commentary that I was fishing for 8)

It really has been a fun ride... and now I'm ready for the fun riding!!!!

kfh

Summer on the cape will be a great place to ride. With the Norton you can get around all the tourists. I also enjoyed your thread, it great to see them come back from the dead like that.

Thanks, All: Now if we can just get the weather on the Cape to cooperate.... though after 20+ years I know that May can be anything from frost to 90 degrees..... really doesn't settle in to summer until mid-June

kfh

This is why I never go there before August, probably not at all anymore except for the occasional party.

The first long haul on the redneck donor bike

Today I did it! I logged pretty near 100 miles for the first time since the rebuild. I'm a happy camper. My shakedown cruise brought to light a few things:

1. I have to tickle it (with my newly rebuilt tickler) even when all warmed up. But if I do, it fires on the second kick, tops: usually the first.

2. I have to borrow a timing light: it's backfiring a bit on deceleration . I tried to dial it in as close as I could (like I used to do with my volkswagen beetle) but I can tell it's off a hair, but it pulls STRONG throughout the whole rpm range.....(though I didn't push it hard, given they're new jugs, rings, and pistons) . But I did nudge it up around 50-55 briefly and the thing I noticed is it loves that speed! the vibration smooths right out, and it seems that no matter how much throttle I gave it , I had plenty to spare! (insert kid like giggling here!) 8)

3. I'm calling Mr. Mikuni just as soon as I can scratch up the doe: I'm a less is more type of guy and don't really enjoy pfutzing with carbs all that much. As I said, it pulls STRONG, but at low rpms and cruising, it's jerky. It is resisting all attempts to dial in the Idle, though I do have it pretty much o.k. for now.

4. It turns heads everywhere I go! people come up and want to know what it is, then come the invariable stories about their first experience with a norton. Even the Harley guys are impressed!.

5. 56 year old butts have their own mileage meter. I was glad to get off at the end of the ride as things were getting a little uncomfortable 'down there' 8)

All in all...... I'd give the first ride a b+ I'm going to change and inspect the oil in another 100 mi or so and see what (if any ) little bits shake out.

kfh

That's excellent. Down to the niggly punchlist stuff.

A 52-year-old-butt has a very similar response to extended mileages on old bikes as a 56-year-old one does...

Well Done !

If it's popping and banging, needs lots of tickling and is rough at the bottom end, it sounds lean. Are those wretched pilot drillings really clear ?

You'll soon toughen up in the nether regions. Look on it as part of the breaking-in process

....and they really start to fly at 5000.

I can only imagine a ride on the Cape today, I usually go in August. Was it a bit on the cool side?
Kudus to you for getting her up and running. I think she'll shake down for you, watch eBay for Mikunis, I've seen the entire kit go by a few times.

If it's popping and banging, needs lots of tickling and is rough at the bottom end, it sounds lean. Are those wretched pilot drillings really clear ?

Click to expand...

That's the question of the day, I guess: The left side, which is missing at Idle was the one that needed the most work when i took it apart way back when. Now that I have a better understanding of how the pilot needle works I might as well see if I can save myself a $500 dollar bill and try and get these babies right.

The plugs are pretty sooty, so wouldn't that indicate a rich mix? However, it's still in it's early break-in stage, so there may be a fair amount of oil working itself around the rings......I did have to add about .75 of a quart today

And Cookie: I went from harwich out to wellfleet via mostly back roads. when I left the house at about 9 a.m. I brought but didn't need a wind breaker.... it warmed right up and the wind subsided nicely by noon-ish when I got back to the house. Surprisingly, except for that stretch of rt 6 , the traffic was mostly quite light.

As for the back side, mine's pretty tough (and well padded :roll: ) and I ride a bicycle probably 2000 miles a year, so it was just a different type of derriere issue but I can get used to it!

thanks for all the feedback, folks

Karl

The other thing that comes to mind is how much slide and body wear you have. I knew mine was toast when I'd touch the slide and it went nuts.

the slides seem pretty snug: If I can believe the speedo when I got the bike it only had 4k miles, so Iam inclined to believe the mileage based on the carb condition.

whaddevah: there are two mikuni sets on 'the bay' now: will keep watching.

kfh

I think I have a couple of 34s in the garage but they are jetted for a BMW. Seems like getting the whole kit would be the best deal. Even if you get a deal on the carb redoing it adds up.

I'm going to pull apart the left carb and check it's jet openings: If I can save a few bucks this season that's a good idea as my wife and I are going to Ireland for a week in august and having a few extra euros in the pocket would be good.

thanks to all for your help and encouragement!