1962 Superhawk Restoration: Here I go

[jensen]

Hi,

Are your contact points lubricated (contact between advance shaft and points sliding surface) ?

Jensen

[Spargett]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I have the electronic ignition installed.

Hi,

Are your contact points lubricated (contact between advance shaft and points sliding surface) ?

Jensen

[e3steve]

No apology necessary, Scott. We saw the EI installation on the video clip.

[jensen]

Hi,

Let the engine run and take a screwdriver, place it on the cilinderhead, and listen to it.
Place it against the position's of the rocker arms pins (as near as possible) and put your ear on the shaft. Listen to all for of them and compare for yourself the difference in sound.

Try to lower the rpm, as low as possible, and listen to the frequency of the noise.
Unscrew the rotor cap, mark the rotor with a orange sticker or something and compare the sound with what you see. If the sound is in the same frequency as the rotor then look for piston pin wear. If the sound is half of the frequency of the rotor then look for a top end problem like a valve, rocker pin etc.

First be sure that it is not valve clearance.

Jensen

[Spargett]

That sounds like a pretty empirical plan of attack. I'll give it a shot as soon as I can (too many rainy days around here without a garage to work out of). Thank you for the info.

Hi,

Let the engine run and take a screwdriver, place it on head, and listen to it.
Please it against the position's of the rocker arms pins (as near as possible) and put your ear on the shaft. Listen to all for of them and compare for yourself the difference in sound.

Try to lower the rpm, as low as possible, and listen to the frequency of the noise.
Unscrew the rotor cap, mark the rotor with a orange sticker or something and compare the sound with what you see. If the sound is in the same frequency as the rotor then look for piston pin wear. If the sound is half of the frequency of the rotor then look for a top end problem like a valve, rocker pin etc.

First be sure that it is not valve clearance.

Jensen

[Spargett]

On Sunday the 3rd, I was in an accident.

I was riding in some beautiful rolling scenery of the Sierra Nevada foothills. As I approached the crest of a tall hill there was an immediate sharp left turn. I wasn't able to slow down or make the turn fast enough. I low-sided after holding onto the edge of the road for as long as I could.

I suffered a broken clavicle, bruised lung, hematomas, and misc. lacerations. The ER thought my spleen was ruptured, but it turned out to be okay.

I was able to repair the minor damage the bike endured on the side of the road by replacing the snapped clutch lever with the front brake lever, and using the rear brake. I then road approx two hours to the hospital.

I was amazed by how little damage there was to the bike. I'll have to repaint the left crankcase (one large scratch), chrome headlight ring is scratched, new left side grip, new clutch lever, slightly bent handlebar, and bent shift lever. It got me all the way home without missing a beat after taking quite a hit, after firing right up first try and idling once I was able to muster the strength to pick her up with a badly broken collarbone.

Lesson learned: Never assume a road is going to continue on it's expected course unless you can see so visually.

I'll be out for a few weeks at least for a very painful recovery, but look forward to riding again as soon as possible. Fortunately I'm young (26 years old) and in great shape, hopefully I can heal quickly enough to start wrenching soon and take this opportunity to have a few things improved that I've been meaning to do. Make the proverbial lemonade.

Stay safe, and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. Here's to doing this again soon!

[Vince Lupo]

Oh man -- that is terrible! Hope you have health insurance! Are you able to still work and function okay?

Those photos almost look like they were taken by the TSA.....