Project Clean Out the Closet - aka the Frankenbike

[umberto]

I got all my parts in this week, and started the motor rebuild. I started by reinstalling the KIPS valves in the head, and replacing all the gaskets and seals. I then removed the old piston, lubed up the new rod bearing and went to install the rings on the piston. That’s when I ran in to a snag. Wossner did not offer a piston in the slight over bore size, so I had to go with a Wiseco. I got a forged piston so I’m not concerned about durability, but I am concerned with their employees and their ability to count. A two groove piston requires TWO rings, which is something the quality control folks at Wiseco are still discovering. So here I am, stuck waiting to call Millennium on Monday to get another ring. 

In the meantime, I did some painting on the clutch cable holder, ignition and clutch covers. The head is ready to install and the piston is on the rod, so I’ll be ready to put it all back together once the second ring arrives. Hopefully I can get it completed and broken in over Labor Day, and on to a new home after that.

[umberto]

My son christened the bike with a new name.  He calls it the Frankenbike, or Frank for short.  I think it's pretty fitting.

[SHLEPY]

not bad for a parts bike it will be the one you keep...ive got so many parts I have forgotten just what out there..hmmmm

[sandblaster]

not bad for a parts bike it will be the one you keep...ive got so many parts I have forgotten just what out there..hmmmm

Do I have a kx100 cylinder of yours?

[umberto]

not bad for a parts bike it will be the one you keep...ive got so many parts I have forgotten just what out there..hmmmm

I need to sell a bike to keep Mrs. Umberto happy.  She never said I had to sell a complete bike.   

[umberto]

I've been busy with family stuff (thank goodness it's weddings and birthday parties instead of funerals), so I haven't had a lot of time in the garage this weekend.  Today I did get to finish one makeover that I started yesterday.  I think you all remember the "V-TWIN" ignition cover:



How it came to me with the awesome wrench clutch holder.



Even after I added a much better cable holder, it was the definition of redneck chic.   

I painted the cover and sanded off the paint on the letters, and I also painted the clutch cable holder I made.  I think it looks a ton better.

[sandblaster]

Definitely looking better...
Nice job

[umberto]

Definitely looking better...
Nice job

Thank you!  I was really pleased with the difference it made.

[Pmcg]

That looks a ton better. 

[umberto]

That looks a ton better. 

Thank you Pmcg.  I'm glad to have it fixed, it was really bothering me.  I just wish I knew why someone would put V-TWIN on it with a marker.  Of course it may have been the same guy who did the wrench mod, and many PBRs could have been involved.   

[umberto]

I talked to Millennium Technologies this morning about my missing ring.  The guy said that he normally sees people "missing a ring" when somebody breaks one, but that he had seen a couple of people lately that had legitimately been missing rings.  He had me check the part number and it ended in 97, when I needed a 79.  It seems the employees of Wiseco quality control might need to get new glasses.   

[umberto]

I got my rings in on Thursday evening, and was able to get the cylinder on the bike and torqued down.  The part numbers were very strange, and the guy I talked to at Millennium told me that he thought they had sent me two single rings instead of a package of two rings.  He thought that all their packages of double rings were wrong and so they just sent me the single rings.  Quality control is evedentially not on their most important things list.    

Anyway, I buttoned up all the electrical components and gave it a kick to see if I had spark.  Unfortunately, I did not even get a whimper.  My multi meter took a big shock from an electric drift trike project that my cousin (now nicknamed Sparky) and I were working on, so I needed a new one to test the components.  I found this one at Home Depot, and I really like it.  It's a Klien Tools MM 400.  It was a little more than the Bosch one I had, but it works a lot better and is simpler to use.



After finding a link to a copy of the 94-98 service manual, I looked up the OHM values for the various components and started testing.  The CDI leads were all in the middle of the specs, and the coil was as well.  The connections for the pickup on the stator were also right in the middle.  Unfortunately the ones for the copper coils wouldn't even register, so it's off to be rebuilt and that's where I stopped.  At this point I just need get the stator and flywheel, the left radiator, the pipe, and the silencer installed and I am ready to kick her over.  I have new tires for the bike, but I'm going to replace those when I'm done breaking it in. 

Here is a picture of where I stopped:

[Pmcg]

Thats the worst!  I remember trying to get the 500 to fire for the first time.  Kicking it like crazy, testing everything.  Glad you found the issue at least.  Some drift trike pictures are probably in order as well. 

[umberto]

The drift trike project is currently stalled, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to get back to it this fall sometime.  I'll post some pictures and video when we get them done.

[umberto]

So life kind of got in the way of this build.  I couldn't get spark, got involved in getting my AF bike ready to go, had back surgery, went through busy season at work, got distracted by actually riding my AF bike, and had a seller send me the wrong parts I needed to get spark.  Anyway, I'm supposed to get the correct flywheel and stator tomorrow and I've got another coil already installed, so hopefully I will have spark this week and be able to start her on Friday or Saturday.  Once that is done, I just need to put the radiators on and get her broken in.  I'll hopefully have video this weekend to share.