Ivy: VIN Verification

VIN verification for Ivy with Officer Wong at the CHP station on 8th. 

Nice conversation with Dave on the way over.

Run Ivy Run: Bonus, Bonus, Bonus

One of those rare garage sessions where everything just seemed to go right.

First off, found the leather punch I already had for making belt holes makes an almost perfect 6mm hole.  Score.

Used that to make a new belt strap to hold the tool kit behind the seat (sitting on the rear fender) instead of on the back of the seat.  Not sure which one is better long-term but at least I have the option now.

First bonus of the day: the first strap was a perfect fit across the top of the seat for the passenger handhold.  Again, not sure if it looks better or worse with the passenger strap, but kind of a nice throwback to that vintage oddity.

Next up, found that using the thin metal rod instead of the thick wooden dowel made a world of difference.  Was very easy to route the tail wires through.  At first I was taping the wire to the end of the rod, but found that it was 1) hard to keep it in place as I pushed it through and 2) was hard to remove the tape once it was in.

TOP TIP: realized it was much better to just wind the wire around the rod a few times to hold it.  Then it was a simple matter to unwind it once it was threaded through the frame.


With all the tail wires routed (brake light, tail light and ground wire), I installed the new 4-way ground splitter.  Connected up the brake wire ground to that.

Next bonus, found that it was just as easy to run the rod through the front of frame to route the steering head wires.  Didn't actually do any re-routing yet, but greatly encouraged by this.  I did connect the alligator clip for the horn ground wire to the new 4-way split.


And the final bonus, found that the 3d printed wire guide that I couldn't use for the wiring turned out to be perfect for holding the disconnected alternator wire bundle in place.

Run Ivy Run: Fanny Pack

Took a nice run down Lake to Ashley's Cafe.  Has the perfect parking spot and outdoor seating.  They serve dry cappuccino, but I guess you can't have everything.

Felt like the idle was weak during the whole ride and when I got back, I just let it die at the garage.  Wouldn't hold idle for more than a minute.

Came back down in garage gear.  Battery was fine at about 6.28V.  Spark plug looked ok, though noticed it was a D8HA.  Checked the gas flow through the carb and that seemed fine, too.  Noticed that when it was not idling well, turning the throttle screw seemed to have no effect... interesting.

Decided to swap out the plug for a new D6HA.  Started it up and she seemed a little better.  Then dialed the air screw out from 2 1/4 turns to 3 1/4 turns and that had her running strong.  But a bit weird that the screw would need to come out that much. 

Not quite satisfied with that result.  Probably need to invest in an aftermarket carb (with the gas line on the right!).

After that. rigged up the new Hide&Drink tool roll using the leather strap from Springfield leather.  Bolted it using the holes for the fender.  Came out rather well, to be honest.  Not sure if it's the best look (hanging it off the bottom of the left side seat is still best, I think), but at least I can carry it now.

Finally tested the first version of the 3D printed cable guide and it was way too big (as expected).

Ivy Shakedown #7: Legion of Honor

Nice run up to the Legion of Honor.  Sunny, bit windy, though.  Clean ride.

Run Ivy Run: Sunday Odd Jobs

• No joy hooking up the engine guard.  It hits the exhaust and so doesn't line up with the bolt holes.
• Switched the gas cap gasket to the new one, even though the old one looked just fine.  Will see if we get any more spills.
• Stole the right hand bag from Roxy.  Bolted it up pretty much the same way but added an extra keeper bolt in the middle.
• Added gas.
• Lubed the chain.

Run Ivy Run: Honk, Honk!

Wired up the horn.  Added a 3-way splitter to the power wire, but did a stand-alone ground wire for now.

Also used the new 30mm socket to torque the stem nut to 58 ft-lb, which was hard!  Really thought something was wrong because it seemed to take forever.

Ivy Shakedown #6: Another Lesson Learned

As I was rolling the bike to door, I hear a scraping sound every time the wheel made a full rotation.  Upon closer inspection, realized the flange bolts were totally loose and hitting the back of the chain cover bolt!  They'd been heavily scored!

Another lesson learned.  Not only did I never lock down the keepers, the bolts were not even tightened down!

Tightened them up (but didn't torque).


On the plus side, had a perfect clean ride for Shakedown #6.

Run Ivy Run: New Clutch & Shakedown #5

As expected, there was significant wear damage to the inside of the clutch cover.  The band of metal that holds the arm in place was very worn down.  Any further and it would have hit the arm itself.  Lesson Learned!

Went on to install the new (correct) pin-type clutch.  There was zero tension on the cable, which made it a breeze to install, but had a worrying moment when I thought there was too much slack to even engage the clutch at all.

Then realized that I could also use the extender in the middle of the cable (which had been hidden behind the tank).  With that adjusted, the take up and engagement was perfect.

Added 500mL at first.


Shakedown Rd #5

Good, clean laps.  Got her up to 3rd.  Shifting was smooth and deliberate. 

Came back to the box, found the oil level wasn't even registering, so added another 100mL.

Shakedown #4 & Demolished Clutch

Hectic testing session...


Started with a normal garage session.

First, checked the valve clearances.  They were closer to .07 than the .05 they should have been, but I was only checking to make sure they were not less than that.  Figured I would not adjust them yet.

Then tested idle using the battery from yesterday without charging it first.  She started and ran a solid idle for 10 straight minutes.

Would have swapped the carb but only now realized that the gas line is not only on the left, but angles DOWNWARD!  Would make for a very awkward fuel line.


Decided to just take it on a run.  Immediately got the slippage issue.  Did two laps that way and then boxed.


Changed and went back down for garage session #2.  Started off by draining the oil, then removed the exhaust and foot pegs to get the clutch cover off.

Found that the oil filter was almost clogged by a combination of gunk and also metal shavings!

Had intended to just swap that clutch for the one from the model engine, but ran out of time, so just brought them back up for inspection.  Good thing, too...


Took the clutch apart upstairs and it was DEMOLISHED!  The friction plates were fragments.  So mystery solved.

More concerning was that the clutch outer cover was very badly scored.  That could have explained the noise I'd been hearing at first (which disappeared once it was worn down.)  Also explains all the shavings.  That can't be good...  Hope the filter caught them all.

Took apart the pin-type clutch from the model engine to double check it.  Friction plates were 2.5mm and looked in good nick.  All the big springs were exactly 26mm as they were supposed to be.  Stole the little outer springs from the new eBay auto clutch.  Should be good to go.

Need to check what it was that scored the clutch outer cover and if it caused any damage internally.

Also, don't forget to add OIL!!

Ivy Shakedown #3: Quick Run

Went out for laps.  First few laps were fine, but the got the clutch slippage again.

Came into the box briefly, went back out and same issue.

Also wouldn't seem to hold idle.

Run Ivy Run: Clutch Adjustments, Odd Jobs

Attacked the clutch issue with a clear head and no rush to ride.

Decided to measure how much the clutch adjust affected the travel at the engine.

• At rest, the clutch arm is 41mm from the holder.
• With adjuster fully in (as close to switch as possible), travel = 35mm
• With adjuster 5mm from switch, travel = 32mm

The problem is that even at full in, there's zero slack, so I can't prove that the arm is completely disengaged.  But I didn't feel like removing the clutch cable to find out.

But with a fully charged battery (#2 batt @ 6.43V), decided to run the test.

With adjusters FULL IN, she held a clean idle and didn't feel any clutch slippage in 1st.  Will need to do a few shakedown laps to set this as baseline.

Odd jobs:

• adjusted clutch 
• re-routed the brake light wire through the ignition hole (and was able to run the brake switch cable up through the battery door)
• changed the angle on the shift pedal (and felt much better)
• tightened up the rear brake (and felt much better)
• tightened up the brake switch to match
• new 8mm bolt and spring washer on the exhaust!

Ivy Shakedown #2: Mirror and Fenders

Added the new Dime City mirrors (same ones that Roxy runs).

Got a very shiny, aftermarket fender for $75 (but still made in Japan).  Looks great.


Shakedown Round #2

• Warm day, not ideal for slow runs
• Ran a few good laps, very clean shifts to 2nd
• Felt like there was no slack at clutch, so box to tighten adjusters
• Then felt like clutch was slipping, so box again to loosen 
• Noticed the kickstart was not clearing the exhaust, didn't fix right away, only to realize later the nut had vibrated off!
• Engine also started to stall out even with clutch engaged.  Could have been clutch or maybe battery dying.