Ricks '75 MkIII Roadster resto/furb

APRRSV · Dec 3, 2016

Paul,
Your polished jewelry looks priceless. Who is your polisher and what did he charge you for that batch?

Ed

grandpaul · Dec 3, 2016

H&H Polishing in Charlotte, NC. They've been doing all my polishing going on 15 years now. They also do a lot of NASCAR work.

The whole batch including return shipping was over $450. A bit higher than usual, because I had them drop ship the wheel drums to Buchanan's for lacing.

mudplugger · Dec 4, 2016

polishing in the uk can be expensive, but you get what you pay for, I polish some of my own, I am always happy with it until I get the professional stuff back, they have much more powerful polishers for a start, your lot looks fantastic.

grandpaul · Dec 4, 2016

I tried wheel polishing ONCE.

I start out at a disadvantage, temperatures around here typically hovering between 90-100+ F.

I was DRENCHED in sweat, COVERED in black soot, and my arms were ACHING after 1 hour, polishing one simple Triumph timing cover to a finish nowhere near the above bits.

Never again.

"A man's got to know his limitations"
-"Dirty" Harry Callaghan (Clint Eastwood, in 'Magnum Force')

grandpaul · Dec 5, 2016

Spent an hour with the dremel burr, that's an hour I hadn't planned on. Anyway, cleaned up the tranny cradle, yokes, frame holes and steering neck.

Swingarm mounted to tranny cradle and lubed, sub-assembly mounted to frame with shocks and rear isolastic unit. Rear end done.

I.D. tag installed, forks assembled with all new seals & bushings, yokes installed with new bearings & spacer, forks installed with headlight ears. Front end done.

Wheels are going to take a while. Talked to the supplier who claimed the Central Wheels rims thet they sent to Buchanan's were spec'ed wrong. I'm going to be be a bit beyond "miffed" if they don't pay pick-up shipping and cover shipping on the CORRECT wheels they'll send in a couple of days. Anyway, this won't be a rolling chassis for a while, a week at least.

Danno · Dec 6, 2016

Was the dremel work cleaning up powdercoat overspray and areas they should have left bare metal?

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Yes.

They plugged SOME bolt holes, should have been tape "dotted".

They partially taped the yoke holes, but for some reason, not completely.

They plugged the tubes for the isolastics, but didn't mask the lips the way I carefully instructed.

They did mask the swingarm bushing/seal areas on the swingarm and tranny cradle, the ONLY thing they did correctly.

mudplugger · Dec 6, 2016

is that Central wheels in the UK :x

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Turns out the rims WERE correct (just heard from Buchanan's a couple of hours ago).

So, on with the program...

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Heated the transmission case & inner cover at 350F for 15 minutes, then dropped them on the front deck from about 10" up and out popped the old bearings. Had the new bearings in the freezer a while before putting the cases in the oven, so they dropped right into place with absolutely ZERO fuss.

Transmission shifting quadrant & camplate properly timed, cluster installed "by the book". Again, zero fuss.

Outer cover was a piece of cake with new inner & outer gaskets, all seals & o-rings replaced.

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Horn was rather scruffy indeed.

Totally refurbished horn, like new.

Tranny installed in it's cradle, and snugged down nice and tight.

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Battery tray & horn installed before the rear fender goes on, and before engine goes in. So much easier.

Most of the electrical gizmos in place

Coil brackets loosely in place, still need to install the ballast resistor & capacitors first, then install the coils later (to keep them out of the way of installing the head).

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

Turns out the rims WERE the correct ones, Buchanan's are at work on them and I should have them by next week.

Scout63 · Dec 6, 2016

Thanks for the detailed report and pictures Grandpaul. They are invaluable for me in charting my first Norton rebuild. Very much appreciated.

gortnipper · Dec 6, 2016

grandpaul said:
Tranny installed in it's cradle, and snugged down nice and tight.

How do you tighten down the sprocket nut fully without the chain and rear brake? In a vise with a chain?

grandpaul · Dec 6, 2016

gortnipper said:
How do you tighten down the sprocket nut fully without the chain and rear brake? In a vise with a chain?

Exactly! I keep a couple of sections of chain under the bench...

grandpaul · Dec 7, 2016

Installed handlebars & headlight shell. Already hit my head on the bar once...

New double row bearing installed in the sprocket, overhauled the speedo drive & re-packed it, spindle in loosely till the wheels arrive next week.

Calipers ready to be built back up, took 1 hour flat to get them on the bike.

A couple of items a day, and it'll be done in no time at all!

Just got word that Buchanan's already laced the wheels up and are shipping them today!

grandpaul · Dec 8, 2016

Messed with cleaning the oil tank and a few other grungy parts, then installed the rear fender. What a poop!

That's it for today, I've been messing with a KLR650 than blew a balancer system spacer...
(Yes, it already had the doohicky mod)

APRRSV · Dec 9, 2016

Hi Paul,
I just noticed that, among your polished jewelry, there appears to be a shift lever. Is this an alloy item for a '75?

Ed

grandpaul · Dec 9, 2016

APRRSV said:
polished ... shift lever. Is this an alloy item for a '75?

Yep.

Ricks '75 MkIII Roadster resto/furb

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