Ricks '75 MkIII Roadster resto/furb

grandpaul · Nov 7, 2016

Pre-heated the oven to 250F, set the cases in there and the outer races fell out in less than 4 minutes. No tapping, nothing; just "clunk".

Next batch of new parts arrived today: Shocks, headlight shell, brake pads, gasket set, handlebars, master cylinder overhaul kits, clutch & speedo cable, headlight wiring harness, kick rubber & isolastic gaiters

More parts from 3rd batch of parts- Main bearings, iso gaiters, rear hub cush rubbers, shifter rubber, oil tank rubbers, shift shaft seals for primary.

grandpaul · Nov 7, 2016

Case halves spiffy clean after a soda blast and a bath in fresh Simple Green 5:1 with water.

Crank cleaned & re-assembled

Rods installed on crank with new bearing shells, nice and slippery.

Torontonian · Nov 7, 2016

Clean. Like a surgeon. :|

grandpaul · Nov 8, 2016

I still need to manually clean the mating faces of the case halves before I apply some Loctite flange sealer and button it all up.

Danno · Nov 8, 2016

This will be a virtually new machine when finished. I'm sure the price will reflect that! :shock: :lol:

grandpaul · Nov 8, 2016

Danno said:
This will be a virtually new machine when finished. I'm sure the price will reflect that!

Virtually, but not entirely. The existing paint job (a respray) is very nice, the left side electrical switch / clutch lever perch is an almost new Sparx unit, fork stanchion tubes are like new, as are clutch plates, primary & cam chains, plus other items that have near zero wear, no discoloration, and will simply be thoroughly washed and re-used as-is.

grandpaul · Nov 8, 2016

Good stuff for engine assembly.

Specifically designed for engine & transmission cases with flange faces.

Assembled crank (with rods, shell bearings, and main bearings), and cam (with thrust washer) is all that lives inside the bottom cases.

Crank spins so nice and free, as does the cam.

grandpaul · Nov 15, 2016

Set the cam timing (can't see the dot on the intermediate gear, but it's timed right)

Rear iso unit, rocker oil tube, double row rear wheel bearing, and tranny bushing for shifter shaft. ALL new parts are here now.

grandpaul · Nov 15, 2016

New +.020 pistons & rings

JCC = Cycle Craft / Emgo / Hepolite

Danno · Nov 15, 2016

If it needs tires, Bike Bandit is running a sale right now. I just got a pair of AM 26 Avons for the flood bike for $182 and change. Free shipping.

grandpaul · Nov 15, 2016

Nice to know.

grandpaul · Nov 18, 2016

Chrome parts arrived, half the batch...

The other half of the batch of chrome parts.

Polished hubs and new rims are on their way to Buchanan's to be laced up and trued, tires are on the way here.

I'll be picking up the powdercoated stuff next week; by the time we return from Thanksgiving in Austin, the Cad plated & polished stuff will be here and assembly can begin in earnest.

grandpaul · Nov 28, 2016

Powdecoated parts unpacked. The powdercoaters masked only the basic holes, NOTHING else. They got a new guy doing the masking and he totally overlooked my specific instructions. Now I need to spend a couple of days cleaning up all the important bits; what a nightmare.

Tires, tubes and rim strips awaiting built up wheels to return from lacing.

All the cad plated hardware sorted after carefully laying each "before" photo out and checking each and every item. As it turns out, nothing is missing!

Polished parts confirmed on their way back. Should be able to have the completed chassis & suspension with transmission in place by this weekend...

gortnipper · Nov 28, 2016

What a drag on the powder coating. I thought it was bad enough cleaning the overspray on the bearing and bushing bores from my lazy painter.

Does the cad plating on the kick shaft spring get all the way inside the coils?

grandpaul · Nov 28, 2016

gortnipper said:
Does the cad plating on the kick shaft spring get all the way inside the coils?

Enough to where it's shiny where freshly coated, and reasonably shiny & clean in between where it isn't seen.

APRRSV · Dec 2, 2016

Hi Paul,
Does Burbank also do your chrome work?

Ed

grandpaul said:
Burbank Plating in Pacoima, CA.

Yes, I use "white" cad. They also have "silver" but it's too bright.

They have a minimum batch charge of $160+ but you can send them up to 150# !!!

(This was barely 20#)

grandpaul · Dec 2, 2016

No, chrome is done in Dallas by a San Antonio family.

I've spotted a new place that I want to try, they seem like a bigger, more professional outfit. The people I work with now take a long time (month and a half) to do a few parts, I'd like to see if I can get the same or better service & price with quicker turn-around.

mudplugger · Dec 2, 2016

brilliant write up so far, I have learnt a lot by reading this. you must know these bikes inside out to put all the nuts bolts washers etc in one big bag, I waste a fair bit of money on postage by doing bit by bit strip and build. your way is much better and must be a lot quicker. I guess I need a bit more know how and confidence yet.
do you re plate all the nuts washers etc to keep originality or does it work out cheaper?

grandpaul · Dec 2, 2016

It is cost-effective to re-plate ALL of the fasteners, then replace any that are the slightest bit pitted. I've never even come close to having the minimum charge batch limit of 165#, so it costs the same to re-plate 1/4 of the bike's hardware as it does to do the whole bike, plus any other stuff I have laying around (this time I didn't scramble to round up all the stray hardware all over the shop, garage, and bins).

I use the structurally sound scruffy leftovers to bolt together rolling projects for sale or mock-up.

I did print the pix of the "before" batches that I already posted, then laid each photo out and matched each and every part to make sure nothing was lost (took pix for the record, just didn't post them). Result - not one piece missing.

grandpaul · Dec 2, 2016

Jewelry arrived from the polishers!

A bit of a hiccup with incorrect rims that were dropped shipped to Buchanan's to lace up to the hubs; I'll get that straight next week...