Thanks for the input, it reinforces my decision to go with the AGM. I've been riding with the headlight on and checked voltage when I get back- it's well over the 12.5 volts. I have a battery tender on it, but it looks like I don't need to worry about forgetting to hook it up unless it's setting for a long period.
Spent my Saturday riding around. went to a couple of events, got a few thumbs up and compliments, makes the work worthwhile.
Got my first 100 miles on it and did an oil change. Cleaned the filter. there wasn't much in it, a couple of small aluminum flakes (guessing I missed them after tapping some holes) and a small amount of the normal black goo. I got a little frustrated putting it back in place trying to get the chain on. I used a chopstick but still had problems. Maybe the later ones are easier, this one filter just barely fits through the hole in the side cover . I worked on it Saturday night for a little while, the covered it all up and came back Sunday morning and it went right on. I ended up using a long o/r pick with a 90 degree end to place the chain. I guess it's just a matter of getting the right combination.
I broke down and pulled my rear hub and recentered the sprocket as best I could. Much truer now, but not perfect. Do they usually run perfectly centered, or is there some variation? If they're usually perfect I'll need to get a new hub. The sprocket is already new.
Another issue is the paint around the gas filler starting to lift. I cut it back some and put some gas proof sealer on it. If that doesn't resolve it I may have to go to a body shop and have them clear coat it with a two part paint. Unfortunately it's hard to come by good DIY paint locally- good old California enviromental regulations.
The labor of love (& nostalgia) begins!! 1963 CA77 DreamOnce I see a potential problem I can't just hope for the best for long, just have to dive in and figure it out. I got to thinking that the way the breather nipple sits in there, there is a chance if getting water into the engine when washing it without a hose on there. So of course I broke down, looked it over good and got a new piece of hose and worked out a way to install it the breather nipple without tearing anything apart.
63 CA78
Stan, Good on your part, I never even thought about water during washing. I think it would be difficult but not impossible to get water in there. The worse thing I thought about was the engine getting messy if it developed some blow-by. Glad you were able to connect the vent line. The bike does look good. Cliff
I found a good used hub. I could see the difference, centering casting areas were gone on my old one, so I thought I had it licked. No such luck!! When I put it on it was nearly the same as the old one. I beginning to think the sprocket bore must be slightly off center. Every 90 degrees of rear wheel turn the chain goes from tight to loose, or vica versa. Not a serious amount of difference, it can be adjusted so it's in spec on either end of the tight/loose cycle, but just irritating. Speaking of irritating, rode to town before installing the hub and my clutch cable broke. New one should be here today, so there's my next project. 63 CA78
Got my new cable from Retrobikes. Perfect fit. I was able to replace it without taking anything apart, just pulled the rubber plug in the right side cover. I was really surprised at the difference it make at the lever. It was much easier to work the clutch. The old cable was lubed but must have had some drag on in inside. I also notice the chrome piece on the handlebar end of the new cable didn't have as sharp a bend.
63 CA78
BTDT I figured it was either drop the engine or figure a way to hook it up with engine in place. I disconnected the horn, started humming the snake-charmer song, and fed it in from the back. Using long-nose pliers, I was able to get the hose onto the breather. It took 40 minutes, but it was worth it to not have to drop the engine.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||