What a concept - A Girl Bringing Back Her 1966 Super Hawk

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:52 pm

The silly tires I have on the Old Girl have to go, too. And not just because they're ancient and weathered! They look totally off on that bike. What was I thinking? Oh - that's right - I wasn't!

Another project will be the front forks. One of them has a leaky seal, and that will have to be changed.

The rear shocks have little mileage on them. I replaced them just before the bike broke down and was taken off the road. They came from JC Whitney and as I remember they looked exactly like the originals that were on the bike. I've futzed with them a little, and they clean up nicely. The plastic shrouds on the top portion of them have a lot of scratches, but I think with some judicious cleaning they can be made presentable.

Then, there is the exhaust system. I don't want to think about that, yet!

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:29 am

From Scott Pargett:

"As time goes on, I've begun to learn and understand the process more. More importantly, how profound Murphy's Law can be. Especially in the context of 50 year old machine's, who's history we do not know before we got ahold of them.

Two philosophies that have caused me the most setbacks were, 1: being overly optimistic about the state of specific components, and not being as critical or detail oriented. I think these two things were fueled by inexperience. 2: It can be very scary for someone to tear open a transmission or take apart your cam when you don't fully understand them. The fear of making a bad problem even worse, or doing something undoable. But letting fear control you is no way to go about anything, especially mechanics.

I feel like at this point, I've just about gone through every single nut a bolt in the deepest darkest pits of the bike which has left me with much confidence and knowledge about the machine. And as I delved into each new foreign territory I always find myself saying, "Man, I really wish I would have done this earlier". Upon retrospect it seems insane and naive to imagine just hopping on a riding without doing so first.

I think the other reason people aren't compelled to tear down and go through each piece of the bike with testing is the fact that they simply just want to ride it. I know I did. What attracted me was not the thought of lying on my back, sweating in a 110° garage covered in oil and cuts troubleshooting and disassembling parts and theories that for some reason beyond my logic or knowledge, isn't working, it was riding. An open road a special bike. The process of repair is bittersweet. I can be an awful experience at times when things are working right, but you also gain invaluable knowledge and pride from your craft. A position I've fallen into and learned to understand and fully respect.

At this point I've learned so much, and still have a lot to learn. But I am still eager invest equipping myself with the knowledge and patience it takes to bring a beautiful machine that had one foot in the grave, back to the timeless, high performance, reliable motorcycle it is."

Amen.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:52 pm

Hell. I was cleaning the center cases today, preparing them for splitting, and I discovered a repair that I had no idea was there. That means it's been on there for more than 40 years, because I didn't do it. Now I have to decide on whether to replace the center cases. I think I'll wait until I get them apart and see what the damage is on the inside of the case before I decide on what to do.

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:56 pm

For those of you who would ask "how could you not know about that?" (a totally legitimate question), well here's how. The repair was in an area hidden by the header pipe on that side. It didn't leak oil, either (although it might now). The big one - I was a teenage girl when I bought this bike. Oh, I took care of it, but there was an awful lot I didn't know back then (and the breadth of that statement gets wider with each project I start on this bike!).

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:57 pm

The good news is that the new transmission arrived today. It is totally pristine!

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:35 pm

I spent a quality hour sanding and cleaning on the area where repair is on the bottom case. The photo shows what I discovered. I think it's going to be okay. As I said, I'll have a look at the inside of the case to get a feel for the "quality" of the repair. The stuff used looks all the world like JB Weld. I didn't know JB Weld was around in the '60's!

Here's a shot of the oil pump. It looks clean and quite good! The inside of the engine doesn't look too bad, either. Tomorrow I'll disassemble the clutch - maybe split the cases, too.

jerry · Post by **jerry** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 4:14 pm

Dear Sarals, Since you will be splitting the cases for your new transmission installation I strongly suggest you get the bottom case welded. You will have total peace of mind regarding the integrity of the repair. Just have the 2 case halves bolted together when welding is done and distortion will not be a problem. With careful cleaning up of the welded area on the outside of the case nobody would know of the repair. All the best Jerry