Spares: The Big Gasket Roundup

Clutch inspection cover

Points base plate

Rocker cover

Clutch outer cover

Points cover

Alternator cover

Cylinder to crankcase

Head cover

Exhaust to head

Combustion chamber

Late oil pump (top); early (bottom)

Early oil screen?

Pack included in the newer set.

Pack included in Roxy's spare set.

New gaskets from the new set.

Astrid's original alternator cover with a small tear.

Viola's original gaskets.

Roxy: Charging System Test

Tested Roxy's voltage at idle with lights off and on.  Multimeter was attached to batter positive and ground to engine block.

At idle I was seeing 7.75 (and climbing).

With lights on I saw 6.85 volts (high and low beams measured the same).

Roxy: DIY 5mm Screws Tested

Somewhat shocked to find the screw worked.  And I was able to thread it with my fingers the entire length.  It did cinch down tight at the end, though.  I'm wondering if that's too loose...?

Then I cut 3 more screws to see how the die would hold up.  By the 3rd one (4th overall) it was getting a bit hard to get the screw to bite in at first.  Also seemed like the screw was turning crookedly.

Yet the finished screw looked good, with clean threads at the right pitch.

It would be perfect if these socket screws weren't hardened alloy, but they don't seem to sell them any other way.  And I can't find regular pan heads in #12-28 either.

Still, if you could cut a half dozen screws before the die gave out, you'd still come out a little ahead of eBay.

Roxy: DIY 5mm JIS Screws Continued

Ok, the second attempt to cut these 5mm JIS screws.  This time using #12-28 socket cap screws.  Amazingly, the #12-28 pitch is almost exactly 0.9 to begin with.  The problem is just that the screw is much bigger than 5mm, so you have to remove a lot of material.

Turning it through the die was definitely work, and you can feel the metal cutting.  Was worried how well the die itself would hold up cutting the alloy.


The screw before cutting.  It's already 0.9 to start.

About halfway through and you can see how much material has to be removed.

The finished screw.

Compared to the original.

Checking the pitch on the gauge.

Now I just have to TEST IT...

Viola: Air Hose Measurements

The S90 carb-to-air box hose should be 1-3/8" (a bit smaller than the CM91).  Hoping I can find the same blue hose at the hardware store just in the slightly smaller size.

Viola: Coil and Condenser Confusion

As usual, Viola's PPO marched to the beat of his own drummer.  He was either a mad genius or a total nut  Maybe a bit of both?

Took a closer look at the condenser and coil today.  The condenser was unusual in that it only had one green wire coming out of it.  Usually there would be two: one green and one black.

The green wire from the condenser went into a connector that joined the green wire from the coil and the green wire that goes out to the points.  Finally there was a red wire coming out of the coil that ended in a mail bullet.

Fabrication: Pencil Caddy

So not technically a motorcycle-related project, however all this welding practice and metal forming skills will eventually (hopefully) be used in creating seat pans, rear sets, light mounts, and who knows... maybe a gas tank one day?

It all starts with the first fumbling steps...


Drew the pattern on this 22ga steel sheet the night before.

Getting my cart set up at the shop.

Did the big cuts on the hydraulic shear.

Turret punch the relief holes and handle screw holes.

Corner notch the small square cuts, followed by an out-of-focus shot of the Beverly shear, used to cut the little triangle next to the relief hole.

And finally, finger brake for the bends.

Normally, you'd then weld the sides together, but I learned that you can't weld 22ga at 50amps with a 1/16 electrode (it just melts the metal).  The calculators don't go lower than 1/16" for some reason, though obviously it can be done.  Figured I'd read up a little more before attempting that.

So I left the sides unwelded for now.  Added some 6mm bolts, washers, wingnuts and orange paint. Dimensions are 9" long x 4" wide x 1 1/2" tall.

Viola: We Have Ignition

Ignition coil, that is.  Looking back at the old post where I first dropped her engine, I saw that I already determined that the coil wasn't mounted on the engine where it should be (no surprise there).  Guess I just never bothered to find it back then.

But following the HT wire back up the frame, it was quite clearly mounted at the top under the seat.  A hole had been drilled through and there was a nut holding it in place.  A little fiddly getting it out of the battery compartment, but just took a little twisting.

Clearly not the stock coil, which was probably why it couldn't be mounted on the engine points.

There's a black wire from the coil that joins with the condenser and a green wire that is the green wire leading to the points.  Then there was a red wire from the coil that ended in a male bullet that was detached.