Red: Close Call

Cut a gasket for the left crankcase cover using the Fel-Pro cork-rubber 1/16" material.  A bit fiddly with all the holes, but actually not as much trouble as I would have thought.

Drained the oil and installed it, but in doing so discovered the chain was covered with small metal filings!!

Both bolts on the front sprocket were so loose they were wobbling in place!

That then caused the sprocket itself to be loose and grind.  Luckily it seems like the teeth themselves where ok.  The grinding took place lower down.

But had to then completely remove the chain for cleaning.  Brushed and scrubbed it and hosed it down repeatedly until all the shavings were gone.

Put LocTite on the bolts when re-installing as well.  Lubed the chain as usual.

Close call!

Red: Chain On!

Not really sure why I pushed off doing the chain for so long.  It actually went so easily, I felt like maybe I was missing something.

Set the wheel as far forward as it would go and ran the chain all the way around.  Top tip: do this with the rear wheel locked in place!

Marked the link that had to get popped out and noted that there was plenty of slack on the chain at that point.

Popped the link, which was as easy as before, and then installed the master link.

Then only had to dial the chain adjusters back a few turns before it pulled out the slack.

Job done!

Also labeled some of the wires in the box, but stopped short of actually shortening anything at this point.

Red: Plastic Chain Guard

Didn't actually realize this was plastic until I got it, but it's perfect as a "weight saver" on the cafe bike.  Now the plastic battery cover actually makes sense, too.

Roxy: Chain Cleaning and Lube

Gave the chain a good cleaning and lube.

Ivy: Chain Guard Painting

Primed and painted the chain guard.  Went fine except I went to move it slightly where it was drying on the roof of the car and ended up toppling it over.  Not the first time I've messed up a few hours work right at the end!

Also swapped out Roxy's front valve core.  I'd been seeing a weird issue where the air pump would shoot to 100+ psi when filling that tire and it would also take a long time to just go up a few pounds.  Swapped out the core for a new one and job done.

Ivy: The Big Score

A rare and important find.  Scored this very good condition chain guard for just $45 when one just like it literally sold for $100 earlier that day.  I bid $96 on that one and lost.  Then this one came up with a Buy It Now price and even had a best offer available.  I must have literally opened my phone a few minutes after they posted it.  Turns out it's the same seller I got that mystery (and unusable) swingarm from, so maybe that evened out.

I also think it's from the same bike that I got the nice tank from since it had that same bad off white paint job to it.

Bolted right in place though I ended up using a longer bolt in the back than what stock called for.

Sanded it down with 80 grit to prep for painting.

Red: Gold Chain for the Lady

Mounted the Late engine into the frame (went in much easier this time).  Added the new (used) front sprocket.  Stole the shift pedal from Viola.

Seemed to shift ok sometimes, but would hang up other times.  Though I later realized that I may be missing the 6mm washer for the roller guide.  Need to check that.

But even then, feels like the pins and the fork aren't quite "aligned".  Like the drum can get stuck in a place where the fork can't reach it.

Moved on to the chain.  Ended up breaking the chain 3 times.  Called Motion Pro to ask if they recommended grinding down the rivets and they said they did, just because it prevents overdue stress on the chain breaker.  So I used the grinding attachment on the Dremel and that worked just fine.

Finally installed the chain with the rear wheel at the #2 tick mark using 100 links.  Everything seemed to roll smoothly.

Garage: Chain Breaker

Got the new Motion Pro chain breaker and chain press tool.  Tested it on Viola's old 428 chain and it worked like a charm.  I did not grind down the rivet first but that didn't seem to matter.

Roxy: Annuals

Roxy got a new spark plug and I also cleaned and oiled the air filter.  Lubed the chain while I was at it, too.

 

Viola: Sprocket Count

Viola's sprockets are 12T up front, 45T in the rear.  Stock would be 14T/45T.

Roxy: Minor Service

Cleaned and lubed the chain.  Gave her a WD40 wipe down.

Roxy: Jiffy Lube

Quick five minute lube job, no cleaning.

Roxy: Chain Slack

Chain slack was up to 1.0" so it was time to adjust.  Dialed the axle out just a few turns to bring it down to between 3/8" to 1/2".


Before...

And after...

Roxy: DuPont Teflon

Cleaned and re-lubed the chain with DuPont Teflon Chain-Saver.  Hope it lives up to its reputation for having zero fling-off.

Used 2 parts Pine Sol to 1 part water for cleaning.

Also realized that simply adding cardboard under the center stand is enough to get the back wheel off the ground (duh).


Nothing like a clean chain!

9/20 Update: a little fling-off, but definitely nothing compared to what the Lucas did.  Unfortunately, any saddlebag on the left side will inevitably get sploshed over time.  But will definitely be sticking with the DuPont.