Restoring a classic '85 Honda Magna VF500C Motorcycle


Just what I need, another motorbike...

(October 2006)
As if the three Magnas I already owned weren't enough, we bought another one for Ann, this time a smaller 500 since she was not comfortable with the bigger ones. Actually, more like not comfortable with potentially damaging one of mine. She took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) basic rider course to get her endorsement, but dumped the bike on the quick stop and instantly failed.

The idea was to get a bike for her. Something she could practice on and not worry about dropping it or something bad happening to it. Something a little smaller that she would be more comfortable with. Something I would eventually fully restore, but not until after she had more experience with riding.

It all started when she found it listed on Craigs List for $750. She called me at work and asked what I thought. I told her I was already busy with the other bikes. I asked her why she couldn't just ride one of the V45s that already ran. Stupid question. I told her I would think about it, but to keep looking.

And she did. She found another listing for a '83 Shadow (VT500C) for $900 and emailed it to me. I told her it was a V-Twin, not like the V45s I was used to, but I would think about it and keep looking. And she did. It was maybe a week later when she called me at work saying they reduced the price of the Magna 500 to $650. She asked if we could at least go take a look at it after work.

So we did. We took the truck, just in case (bad idea in retrospect). We threw the old front door in the back so we would have a 'ramp' of sorts (another bad idea). When we got there, it was sitting out front waiting for us. The owner told us it made a loud 'ticking' noise, but other than that, everything worked fine.

It started right up and did make a rather loud ticking noise, so I took it for a ride to see what else might be wrong. Well, right off the bat I noticed a severe lack of power, which I attributed to badly adjusted valves and also would explain the 'ticking' sound. Even though I was thinking it was just the valve adjustment, I thought maybe we should pass this one by.

I told Ann that she probably wouldn't be riding this one right away. At least not until I could do a good mechanical check and inspection and adjust the valves. Told her I could probably fix whatever the problem was if not the valves, but again, it would have to wait until we had the parts and I could get to it.

I was thinking the lack of power could also be an ignition problem like I had on the 750. I told her that even though I could fix pretty much whatever ailed it, we should probably pass on it. She looked like the kid Christmas had passed over. I knew we should have just walked away, but I let her emotion sway me. Big mistake.

She relies on me to make those kind of decisions. At least that what she says. I knew she wouldn't be riding it any time soon. She was giving me the impression she had to have this bike. So I asked if they would take $600 cash. Sold! Uh Oh...

Thank goodness the previous owner had a ramp, because I realized using that old door would work, but then where would I put the door after the bike was in the bed of the truck? We just ran the bike up the ramp and onto the door and strapped it in. When we got it home, we looked at each other and sighed. Now how do we get the bike off the door to get it out of the truck bed to use as a ramp to get the bike out of the truck bed?

We decided the ramp worked so well, we would just buy one ourselves. After all, this wouldn't be the only time we would use it. So off to the store Ann went. She called me from the store and described the different types and prices, weight ranges, etc. We decided on a folding aluminum one. It wasn't the cheapest, but it seemed to offer the features we wanted. So back she came with a nice folding aluminum ramp.

We had to put it together, but it went together quickly. The hinges actually held the two parts of the ramp at an angle when fully extended. I would definitely recommend the type that has a 'hump' in it. Once you get the bike rolling, it rolls up the steeper part of the incline and then slows on the more level part of the ramp, making it much easier to keep it from rolling back down. Then one of us holds the bike while the other climbs into the bed to finish rolling it in.

Just what I need, another motor'broke'...

And broken it was. How bad it was broken we didn't realize until after I pulled the head covers off and adjusted the valves. We started it up and it was still making that loud ticking noise so we shut it off. I checked the rest of the bike over. When I got to fluids, I noticed it was low on coolant. So I started adding water, and out the exhausts it poured, first at one muffler joint, then the other.

The previous owner said he didn't know much about fixing bikes, but what do you have to know to see that water pours right out the exhaust? He obviously wanted to get rid of it, probably not because they were moving, but because he knew something really bad was wrong with it. I know, Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). But this kind of thing is just wrong.

He was laughing all the way to the bank I'm sure. Sure I could go back and confront him about it, but I knew I should have walked away to begin with. The title is already signed over to me but I haven't transferred it yet. Why bother until it runs? Besides, is he really going to return my money and take back the bike? Not likely. Karma works for me.

Now the fun begins, for both me and my son. Nick was ready to start wrenching on this bike. Unfortunately, I was still in the process of restoring the 1100 so parts of it were laying everywhere. No room to do (another) major engine rebuild. I had to finish rebuilding the 1100 engine, but even when that was done, I still had most of another one laying in pieces across two roller cabinets.

A quick and dirty assessment...

So we took the quick and dirty approach, taking apart as little as possible to determine the problem and go from there. First thing we did was loosen the front exhaust pipes and remove them. Then we added water and watched it pour straight out #2 cylinder's exhaust port. No water was coming out of the exhaust from the rear cylinders, so we narrowed it down to the front head, front head gasket or front cylinders.

Next we began to remove the front head. First the radiator came off, then the carburetors, then the head cover and the water pipe. Exhausts were already off and the oil line was the only thing left besides the head bolts. Well, we snapped off two of the head bolts that held the top cam chain guide in place. I began to wonder if the previous owner really knew more about fixing bikes than he let on.

I knew on these V4s the center four head bolts also hold the top cam chain guides in place and get torqued down as tightly as the others, but how to avoid breaking them off in the crankcase? It could also be attributed to running the engine without coolant and warpage. In any case, if it wasn't the cylinder block, we had some really nasty drilling and extraction to do.

We loosened all the other bolts for the cams, holders and cam chain sprockets and removed them, carefully labelling what position the cam holders came from. After removing the cam chain tensioner, the front head was finally off, with a little 'gentle' persuasion from the mallet that is. Then the realization...

This motor'broke' is down for a LONG time...

I immediately saw the head gasket had blown at the bottom of #2 cylinder. When I looked closely, I saw at least half the head gasket in that area looked like it had rusted away, leading to a much smaller, weaker section that gave way. Uh oh, let's look at the... yep, the water jacket around the #2 cylinder sleeve had a nice chunk of the casting missing and a crack that ran nearly it's entire length.

Schmidt! This meant a new engine, or at least a new crankcase set. This engine had been run without coolant for too long. From the looks of the head gasket, the damage to the water jacket caused the failure of the head gasket and not the other way around. It was as if someone took it apart, saw the damage, and just put it back together hoping it would hold. When it didn't, it was time to sell it.

I gave Ann the bad news. She was bummed. Really bummed. Her idea of practicing just went out the window and now we had yet another bike that needed to have the engine rebuilt. I felt bad for her. Saying I expected something like this didn't help either. She had already emailed the owner of the Shadow and he replied saying he had a relative interested and it was no longer on the market.

The pressure was on. I was trying madly to finish the 1100 engine rebuild enough to just get it out of the way so I could start working on this one. I knew it would be at least a couple of weeks to get there though. Ann had that 1000 yard stare. I really felt bad, but knew there wasn't much more I could do. I was already looking for parts on eBay and needed to see if Jack had an engine for it.

Before I could get to Jack's or even talk to him, Ann got an email from the guy with the Shadow, saying the 'family' deal fell through and it was back on the market, still $900. She forwarded it to me and asked if we could take a look. This was the one I thought we should have bought to begin with since the guy (supposedly) rode it back and forth to the University of Central Florida (UCF) every day.

So now the question was what to do with this one? We've been looking for a decent 4 stroke Honda dirt bike for Nick since Spring 2006. Maybe one that needs some TLC or even one in parts he could put together. Most we've found are 3-4 years old and more than half the cost of a new one. In decent shape, but way too expensive.

After further discussion, we decided that if we got the Shadow 500, the Magna 500 would be Nick's. We went to take a look at the Shadow that weekend and offer the guy $700 cash, hoping he was desperate enough to take it after the last deal fell through. Not to happen, but that's a different story. We did end up buying it and managed to get it running well after a couple of weeks of tinkering and eBay parts.

We can rebuild it... make it stronger... faster...

So Ann told Nick the Magna 500 would be his, but now he wanted to work on it every chance he could. He was happy to be helping and to be allowed to help. I was glad for his help. I kept him busy and it let me get more work done on the 1100 so we could start working on the 500 engine. He was taking everything off the bike that he could and we were running out of room to store it. I needed to get the 1100 engine into the frame to free up the bike jack it was sitting on to get the 500 engine out of the frame.

I did manage to get the 1100 engine installed with Nick's help and we went to work getting the 500 engine out. I had Nick take off all the covers and pieces parts that would be in the way of getting the engine out, then he disconnected all the electrical connections to the engine. I drained the oil then manuevered the jack into place. We removed the engine mounting bolts and the sub-frame and the engine came right out.

Nick didn't want to stop, so I helped him get the rear engine head off. He still didn't want to stop, so I had him take the engine covers off revealing more stuff that needed to come off. I got another empty bin and he got started on the clutch. I had to get the impact wrench out to get the flywheel and starter clutch bolts off the crankshaft. Came in handy for the clutch locknut too.

To get the flywheel off, I had to use a brass drift and some persuasion with the mallet since the flywheel removal tool I had for the other Magnas was too big. That left the oil pan and oil pump for Nick to work on. Once that was done, we split the crankcase and removed the connecting rods and pistons, the crankshaft and cam chains. That's where we were around Thanksgiving 2006. The engine was pulled and the heads off, just needed the bench space to rebuild it.

Too much like work...

Well, the 1100 came together little by little and shortly before Christmas I had it up and running. Nick was chomping at the bit to get busy on the 500. So I put him to work cleaning and degreasing the crankcase halves we found on eBay while I worked on the 1100. It must have been too much like work for him though. Every time I asked when he was going to finish cleaning the rest of the engine, he said he had something else to do first.

I really can't blame him, but it needed done before we could move on to the next step, measure the parts and clearances and record them. Christmas had come and gone. I think it helped when I showed him the now empty bench space ready for his engine, because he finished cleaning the rest of those parts that day. I cleaned out the parts washer the next day, rebuilt the circulating pump for the umpteenth time and put clean degreaser in.

Nick was still ready to go, so I disassembled the pistons and rods and he cleaned them. We got all four done that night along with the transmission countershaft and gear set. I measured the piston assemblies and the cylinders after he went to bed. I like to keep a rebuild record, so I started a new one for this bike.

We lucked out with the eBay crankcase - the markings were identical to the old one. The markings denote the main bearing journal sizes, and being the same, we could re-use the original bearing inserts. Over the next couple days, I cleaned and measured the transmission mainshaft and measured the oil clearances with plastigage with Nick's help cleaning the engine main bolts. So far, so good. Everything is within service limits.

That leaves the heads, cams, rockers and valves. But first, I need to order some oil seals before I can mate the crankcase halves. One is for the clutch pushrod and the other is for the output shaft to the front sprocket. Since they both fit inside the engine, I'll need to wait until I get them to put it back together. But until it's back together, I don't have space to take apart the heads.

As usual, I agonized over yet another Service Honda order. It should be getting easier, but with 5 bikes to order parts for, it isn't. The rear turn signals stems have been discontinued, meaning they didn't make enough back in the 80s to last this long. I can probably find something that will work from a different bike, it can be longer or shorter, just as long as the bolt pattern fits the fender. The seals should be here next week though (Feb 2007).

Making it look new...

Awhile back I had the local PPG dealer match the Candy Wineberry Red color that it and the Shadow 500 share. The original paint is a kind of burgandy wine color candy over a metallic base. The PPG match was nearly $80 for a quart! It's a pearl metallic base coat / clear coat system so I don't have to be perfect at spraying candy just yet.

The guy at the paint store said it probably wouldn't cover a light base very well, so I should stick with a darker primer. I like the JP377 black epoxy primer, which is what I bought and plan to use. He said it would probably take two if not three coats to cover that. With the lighter base it could take five, six or more coats.

I finally found a tank for the Shadow 500 on eBay and bought it with the idea I can restore it without taking Ann's bike offline. Now that it's cold here, she won't be riding much anyway. Once it got here I sanded and primed it and the spare rear fender. The tank is waiting for 'icing'. Once they're painted, the Magna 500 parts are next. It won't be long now though.

I'll post the results once I get that far. The side covers and rear fender are in pretty good shape except for the sun fading. The fuel tank is a disaster. Multiple dents on both sides, not as badly sun faded though. All the decals are in great shape. Hopefully I can re-use them if I can remove them without ruining them.

Back to Basics...

With the Service Honda order finally here last week, last weekend (3 Feb 2007 - Happy Birthday Kristal!) it was time to start rebuilding the engine since painting the Shadow 500 parts was out of the question due to the cold weather. I now had the two oil seals I needed to put the crankcase back together. I wanted to work on something, but it was too late to start on the engine that night. So I cleaned and scrubbed the rear inner fender, tail light and licence plate bracket. A little armor all on the faded plastic and it looks good as new.

All week long I had been looking for the replacement cam chain tensioners I bought knowing the parts would be here soon. I looked in every box two or three times. I kept passing over the box with the radiator shrouds in it, but finally one last look and there they were. I cleaned them and the originals and compared the two sets. I thought the originals were deeply grooved and worn and the replacements were nice and new and smoother. Wrong.

Turns out the originals were in better shape than the replacements. So I bolted the originals back into their respective crankcase halves in anticipation of installing the pistons, rods and crankshaft. Time to put the rings on the pistons and the pistons on the rods and the rods on the crankshaft. With Nick manning the manual, I began to put together the pistons and rods. It was slow going and Nick was getting bored. I got out the ring compressor and in they went: one, two, three, four.

I could tell Nick wanted to help with the crankcase, but I didn't feel comfortable letting him install a $50 set of rings on his first try when I'm still afraid of breaking them myself. Hopefully with Nick's help I can get the heads apart tonight, measured and back together too. This time he can help with installing the cams and setting up the valve timing. They need cleaned first though.

Jay showed up on his new 2007 Honda Shadow 750 to show off his new sissy bar and saddle bags he just had installed, but I was up to my elbows in the engine and couldn't really stop to entertain. He didn't stay long anyway, and his arrival distracted me enough to forget to put the last piston pin clip on the last piston I had just installed in the engine. I took it back out, and the piston pin had already moved out against the cylinder wall. Good thing I noticed it before I finished putting it together.

Nick and I did manage to get the pistons and rods back into the crankcase. With the pistons and rods in, I installed the rod caps and nuts and torqued them down. Nick mentioned that his engine internals class at school used a deflection type torque wrench compared to my 'clicker' and asked what the difference is. I told him the deflection type lets you watch as the force increases. If my clicker is broke or jammed, I could break off a bolt with knowing it was about to break. The 'clicker' is much easier to work with though.

I transferred the mainshaft and countershaft gear sets to the upper crankcase and installed the new oil seals. It was time to eat, and I didn't want to start spreading the liquid gasket material until after supper so I could take my time. I took a break after supper then got back to it. I wanted to take my time because every time I went to start assembling the engine I thought of something else I still needed to do BEFORE I put it together and didn't want to have to take it apart again.

Nick had already cleaned the engine main bolts, but the other case bolts still needed cleaned. I consulted the parts fiche to determine which of the remaining bolts went underneath and which went on top. Once that was done and they were clean, it was time to start spreading the goop. It's a RTV type liquid gasket material, spread thinly on both crankcase halves' mating surfaces, that cures once the halves are mated. It is the only thing stopping oil from leaking out between the two halves.

Nick watched TV while I put the engine back together. I just finished torquing down the last of the case bolts when he popped back out to the garage. He said "Wow!" We talked a little bit about what was next and went back in the house. I figured we were pretty much done for the evening. Anything else we could do involved cleaning the parts first and it was too cold to 'play' in the water.

Awww Schmidt...

Last night (5 Feb 2007 - Happy Birthday Stevie!) I degreased the heads and my heart skipped a beat. Nick had taken them off the engine a while back and I hadn't looked at them all that closely. I should have. All but two of the eight rocker arms are shot. Total junk. That loud 'ticking' noise I heard was the cams grinding hollow spots in the rocker arm faces. Where the rocker faces are supposed to be convex, they are now concave. Not only was this engine run without coolant, it looks like the rockers were starved for oil too.

The cam lobes have flat spots on them, corresponding to where the rocker faces are eaten away. Thankfully the lobes are hardened and still within the service limits. I'm not sure what effect the flat spots will have on replacement rocker arms, but I know it can't be good. Heads on eBay for this bike are few and far between and Honda wants $46.15 each for new rocker arms if they even have them. Times six and that's $276.90!

The VF500F Interceptor has different heads, but uses the same rocker arms. I see parts for it on eBay more often than the VF500C Magna, so I'll look for them as well. I found a set of each, one set from an '85 Magna, which look to be in fairly good shape, but how can you tell from one picture of each? The other set is a rusted, beat up pair from an 86 Interceptor with two broken rocker arms and two broken valves and everything else appears to be rusted solid.

I may send a question to the seller of the Magna set asking for more pictures, what shape the rocker arms are in and whether he'd be willing to sell just the rocker arms. Doubtful considering he wants $100 and $15 shipping a piece. At $230, they're cheaper than 6 new rocker arms and I'd have a bunch of spare valve parts. No cams though... he wants $80 a pop for those. Maybe I'll call or stop by Jack's and see what he has.

Stuck Again...

So here we are again, stuck waiting on replacements for severely damaged parts due to someone else's impatience or incompetence. This gets more frustrating every day I work on it. Nick asked how much money just parting it out would bring and I told him probably more than selling it outright fully restored. He asked why don't we do that then? Since he won't be able to ride it even if it is restored for a couple years anyway, why not take the money and put toward a dirt bike he can ride? He's pretty bright (and his Mom didn't even give him the hint).

I'll let him come up with a spreadsheet of parts and their prices on eBay. We can compare to new part prices using the Service Honda page. We can also compare with the prices Magna 500s are going for on Craig's List. I've already got nearly $1400 invested in this thing and it still needs at least $300 in parts. The most I'll ever be able to get out of it is probably $2000, so it's time to start thinking about cutting the losses. I hate to throw in the towel, but this one's quickly becoming a basket case and it's already pretty much in pieces.

I just went ahead and started a part out spreadsheet to get a rough idea what the parts would be worth vs. the restored version. I'm already up to $2495.00 and that's not including anything after the headlight on the parts list. It does include all the engine parts. Even if I guessed high by 25% that's still $2000.00, about all I could get for it fully restored. It should be a no brainer at this point, but I'm still struggling with the decision.

After all the work Nick and I already put into it, even more is needed. But will it balance the shipping and tracking headaches I'll have parting it out? Nick knows he won't be riding it for at least 3 to 4 years and with this realization, he no longer seems motivated to help. He already knows we'll put the money we make from it toward a dirt bike for him either way. If only I could find those rocker arms...

On The Back Burner...

For now, it's going on the back burner. I'm busy with Ann's Shadow restoration and it's getting to the point where I'll have it done in a week or two. The 1100 is patiently waiting its turn and I eventually need to get the work on the 700 done. That will give me time to look for those rocker arms, or a set of heads, or worst case, an engine.

(21 Feb 2007)
Well, I don't know if you'd call it worst case, but after two weeks of watching I found an engine in parts on eBay for $50 and another $45 shipping. Still cheaper than Jack's for an entire engine ($200) and much cheaper than Eric's Cycle Salvage eBay store for just the heads. The part out sheet is showing $2800 roughly up to the rear brake panel parts. So maybe $3000 altogether if I'm lucky. I'm sitting at $1500 invested with another $65 worth of chain and maybe another front fender since the one we have will need painted to cover the road rash.

If I can get $2000 from it once it's restored, I'll probably just sell outright to avoid all the tracking and shipping headaches. Anymore surprises though and I may change my mind. It will be nice to finally get that engine off my bench in any case. Of course, it means more work for me but I can finally get the rest of its carcass out of the way of getting the 750 out of the garage. Hopefully this will do the trick.

We're Cooking Again...

(28 Feb 2007)
With the delivery of the eBay engine about the time I was waiting on parts for Ann's VT500 restoration, I was able to take the time to go through the three boxes of parts and see what I'd bought. I soon found 2 of the pistons, three of the rods and cams, the crank and the oil pump were missing. I wrote the eBay seller a quick note asking him if he overlooked a box, and sure enough, he did. He shipped it that Monday and I soon had the other three cams I needed.

The heads had arrived with the first three boxes and all the rocker arms look good. All four cams look good and measure within service limits. The rocker arms and shafts are within service limits. I soon had the original valve train out of the original heads and it measures within service limits with a few exceptions. The oil clearance using the original heads and holders with the replacement cams is very close to the service limits across all bearing surfaces. The replacement heads, holders and cams are only close on the outboard bearing surfaces.

The choice is made, use the replacement heads. When I looked for the replacement engine serial number for the rebuild spreadsheet, my heart skipped a beat. The Magna engines start with PC13E, but this was a PC12E. Turns out its a 1985 Interceptor engine, not a Magna. The pictures I was looking at on eBay looked to be wrong for the description or vice-versa. Actually, there are two different types of Interceptor heads, and I bought the Magna version. Thankfully, the heads are identical in all the right places.

(5 March 2007)
I soon disassembled, cleaned and measured the replacement valve train. I degreased the replacement heads and have the valves lapped so far. I had to swap a couple of original valves for the replacement ones since the replacements have some pock-marks that won't come out. The manual says the valves can't be ground, only replaced. Next steps, install new valve seals, reassemble the valve train, install the heads and cams, clutch, starter clutch, alternator, etc., etc.

(9 March 2007)
I got off work early Friday so Ann and I could ride for Bike Week. She didn't want to venture as far as Daytona though so we took a ride down to Orlando Harley, about 50 miles, and she did very well. Ann complained she was having problems shifting on the way home, so Saturday morning I checked out the linkage and took her bike for a test ride. I didn't have any problems and it seemed to be working fine. We're riding to Orlando Harley East and South when she gets home from work.

I noticed her bike leaking coolant on the driveway after the test ride. She had parked it in the grass Friday night when we got home so there was no way to tell it was leaking. Fixing it meant draining the coolant and changing out the weak clamp on the hose to the water pump. I held off fixing it since I figured she would want to ride when she got home. I held off working on the Magna 500 heads for the same reason.

But Ann didn't get home from work early enough. Had I known we weren't riding, I would not have waited. It's probably a good thing though. Sunday when I got up and managed to make it to the garage, I noticed her bike leaked more coolant, so I knew it was time to fix it. First I wanted to make some progress on those heads. I was going to start on Saturday, but held off thinking we were going to ride. I'm not making that mistake again.

Ann got home from work early enough to ride but not early enough to make it to both Orlando Harley East and South though. So much for collecting the other two puzzle pins. I fixed her coolant leak quickly and she made some late lunch. When we were done eating I hopped in the shower. We were ready to ride but got a phone call as we were heading out the door, so Ann headed to Publix while I helped Tim with his C++ homework.

We thought about heading out to Mt. Dora for some ice cream and window shopping, but by the time we were ready to ride, it was already 4:00 PM Sunday. Mt. Dora is pretty much 'closed' by 5:00 PM and it takes about 40 minutes to get there. So yet another year has passed we didn't make it to Daytona, or even Mt. Dora. But...

We Missed Bike Week? Not Again...

(12 March 2007)
Mom and Dad scheduled their Daytona timeshare for Biketoberfest this year, so all is not lost. With Bike Week 2007 over, I can get back to work on the heads. Sunday while I waited for Ann to get home from work, I managed to get the valve train installed in the front head and the front head and gasket loosely installed on the engine. I need to install the cam chain tensioner, tensioner arms and cams and holders. First I need to get the rear head rebuilt.

After that, the starter clutch needs to go on and the clutch cover for the timing marks so I can set the valve timing and finish installing the cam chains and set the valve clearances. I may be able to finish the rear head rebuild tonight, it depends on how fast I can get the valves installed. The front head was a real pain in the back. Literally.

Getting those cotters installed in the keepers is difficult to say the least. I tried doing it the way I did it on the other engines, but it wasn't working. After the fourth failed attempt, I knew it was time to try something different. Installing the keeper and compressing the springs then trying to place the cotters just wasn't working and seemed impossible to do. It would probably be easier if I had the proper valve spring compressor, but I don't think so.

I finally ended up placing both cotters in the keeper, placing the keeper over the valve stem and then compressing the springs and guiding the cotters into position. This approach took at most two tries compressing the springs, usually just one. It still took hours to do just the eight of them in the front head. I still have the rear head to do tonight and I'm not looking forward to it. Maybe it will go quicker now that I have a system that works.

It's quickly approaching the time I will need the rolling chassis back together and ready for the engine, i.e. cleaned up and painted and whatever else needs done before the engine goes in. There are a number of places on the frame with rust showing through the paint - especially the battery box which, unfortunately, is part of the frame on this bike. It's metal, not plastic, and welded permanently to the frame.

Even though Nick did a thorough job dismantling the bike, I told him to stop when he got to the components beneath the seat, mainly so I could see how it all fit together before it came apart. I may have Nick at least scrub it up in preparation for paint. Everything needs polished and there's still a lot of cleaning left to do too, not to mention the new paint job.

I'm debating whether it's worth putting all that time and effort into it for maybe a couple hundred dollars more when it comes time to sell. Courtney has been lamenting the cost of fuel to get around to work and school and what not in the Jeep. I told her if she wants to take the course to get her motorcycle endorsement, she can use it to practice on to get used to a motorcycle. We'll see what happens.

Heads up...

Finished the rear head last night and loosely installed it. Had more issues with those blasted cotters. It took 4 and 5 tries for some of them! Still need to install the cam chain tensioners, cams and holders and torque the heads down. With that done, I'll be able to set the valve timing and adjust the valve clearance.

I keep thinking it would be nice to have a test bed or engine stand to try out the engines before they go in the frames. Then I wouldn't have to do a bunch of extra work just to see if the engine starts. If the parts haven't been painted or polished yet, it seems silly to put them all back together just to take them back apart and put them back together again after the engine is tested. Just a dream...

(15 March 2007)
I was able to get the heads, cams and tensioners loosely installed. Still need to set the valve timing and clearance. Ann and I are taking the weekend off and going to Mt. Dora for a much needed getaway, so if it doesn't get done tonight, it won't get done until next week at the earliest. Well, not until we get back Sunday afternoon anyway.

I really need to at least get the frame out of the driveway since Courtney wants to have a garage sale Friday and Saturday and I don't want people walking away with parts of the motorcycle. Not sure what to do with it since everything still needs polished and the frame still needs cleaned and painted before I start to put it back together. If Nick wasn't so busy with his electric scooter, I'd have him busy on that already.

(20 March 2007)
Ann and I took last weekend to get away to Mt. Dora. It was a wonderful weekend all to ourselves. Before we left I moved the rest of the 500 carcass into the garage in preparation for Courtney's garage sale. The engine heads had to wait until we got back. I took the rest of Sunday off and didn't really get back to it until last night.

Nick helped me out by scrubbing the rest of the gunk off the frame. I hit it with some spray degreaser and he got at it with the brush. After we hosed it down I filled a bucket with hot, soapy water and had him scrub the wheels and front forks. Then he cleaned up while I blew it all dry with compressed air. He headed for the showers and I looked up the valve timing procedure.

I started with the rear head. The manual says to align the rear timing mark on the starter clutch I had loosely installed on the crankshaft and the proper markings on the cam chain sprockets with the top of the head. I installed everything correctly and got it all torqued down. Then I moved on to the front head and made a potentially disastrous error. The manual didn't say to move the crank to the front timing mark, but I made the assumption it did. I lined up the cam chain sprockets, installed everything and torqued it all down.

I don't know what made me decide to test it, but it's a good thing I did! As I turned the crank through top dead center on the front head, it got really hard to turn, as if something was binding. I checked to make sure the cam chains were installed correctly and they were. Then I watched through the spark plug hole as the piston came to top dead center and realized the exhaust valves were coming to their maximum open position at the same time. The valves were hitting the piston at the top of its stroke.

Done it now, 'aven't ya?...

OOPS! I had already turned the crank through a few strokes and it was difficult to turn each time the front piston came through top dead center. Then it hit me... I hope I didn't bend the valves! After all this work it would really suck to have ruined the valve job I just completed. I knew the front head valve timing was wrong but couldn't figure out why. So I just set the timing by eye to be what I would expect for any engine, exhaust valves just closing and intake valves just opening as the piston reached the top of the stroke.

I looked at the alignment marks on the cam chain sprockets and saw that they were roughly 45 degrees from where I thought the manual said they should be. Then I noticed the rear head alignment marks were in roughly the same position. Now it finally dawns on me I don't remember where in the manual it said to move the crank from the rear timing mark to the front timing mark. It's starting to make sense. A 90 degree shift in the crank position corresponds to a 45 degree shift in cam position.

I read that section of the manual twice just to make sure. Nowhere does it say to turn the crank from the rear timing mark. That's what it was. Damn! Now I get to take it all back apart and do it right. Turns out I was only off by a tooth on the intake cam by just eyeballing where I thought it should be. After I got it all back together and torqued down, I ran the crank through several revolutions without a problem.

I'm really hoping I didn't bend those valves. Maybe I should have taken the front head all the way back off and checked them. I could try a compression test once I get the clutch and starter installed before it's too late to do something about it. I'm not sure whether the new head gasket is reusable after taking the head back off though. I'm gambling that just loosening the head bolts and torquing them back down as I have already done will be okay. I don't know for sure.

Looking ahead, the frame and sub-frame are rusted in places and will need paint. Maybe I'll have Nick work on the paint prep tonight. He's been anxious to help, so I'll let him. Meanwhile, I still need to set the valve clearance and polish the head covers to finish up the heads. I may get started polishing the front forks so we can get a rolling frame together enough to install the engine. But that means polishing the rear end components and shocks as well. And don't forget the wheels and engine covers.

While I'm thinking about it, the engine and covers could use a new coat of paint too. I may just wrap the old head covers in newspaper and stick 'em on there to keep the paint out. They're yellowed with baked on oil staining, most likely from being overheated. The replacement covers are in great shape and should polish nicely. I'm not looking forward to all this work just to sell it though.

Done it again, 'aven't ya?...

(21 March 2007)
I'm ready to throw in the towel again. This blasted bike must be haunted by ghosts, possessed by demons AND inhabited by gremlins. I swear to God, if one more stupid thing happens to this restore, I'm just going to blow it up. Last night while trying to get the starter installed so I can test the compression, the starter clutch and starter gear needed installed first to allow the starter itself to turn the engine over.

To do that, I needed to install the clutch before the starter clutch, at least so as not to have to take it apart again just to put it back together. I cleaned and installed the clutch guide, oil pump drive sprocket and chain and the clutch outer and inner. As I tried to torque down the locknut on the inner without the proper holder tool I should be using, the whole thing started turning. I decided to put the rest of the clutch pack together and worry about it later.

That was my first mistake, not using the proper tool and just delaying the inevitable. Once the clutch pack and judder spring and seat are in, the pressure plate and throwout bearing go on and then the clutch springs. But there isn't clearance for the 27mm socket to fit on the locknut with all that in the way. With the clutch pack in the way, not even a screwdriver as a holder tool works, as I found out the hard way.

It's one of those, "I know I shouldn't be doing this..." as I'm doing it moments before I suddenly break off one of the four spring towers on the clutch inner. Damn! Damn! Damn! I knew I was going to do it as soon as I did it. Now I have to take the freshly oiled clutch pack back out, remove the locknut and the (now broken) clutch inner, clean the spare clutch inner I have from the spare engine, install it and still tighten down the locknut to the specified torque, then put the clutch pack back in.

It's a repeat of the valve timing nightmare from the night before. Put it together, screw something up, take it all back apart and put it back together again correctly. I don't have the time or patience for this. Not having that stupid holder tool, I came to the conclusion that my original idea of just using the uncalibrated impact wrench would be good enough so that's what I did.

I have no idea if it's on there with the specified 43 to 51 footpounds of torque. I do know it will take an impact wrench to get it loose. If it comes loose later once the engine's in the frame and running at least I can put it in gear with the brake on and use a torque wrench then. That is, as long as nothing gets destroyed inside the engine if it gets loose. Okay, another disaster narrowly averted. All that's left is installing the clutch springs and keeper bolts.

Really done it this time, 'aven't ya?...

Hard to imagine screwing this up too, but I did. The manual doesn't give a torque specification for tightening down the keeper bolts, just "Tighten in a criss - cross pattern using 2 - 3 steps". Well guess what? On that third step I broke off one of the keeper bolts in the only clutch inner I have left. By now I'm ready to just pick up the engine and throw it across the garage.

Once I regain my composure, I look through the box of bolts from the spare engine to find another clutch spring keeper bolt and found all four of them. It's as if this is supposed to be a test of my patience every step of the way. I had to use a jewelers' screwdriver to coax what's left of the bolt out of the clutch inner by gently tap, tap, tapping at it for half an hour. Once it was out, I put its replacement in and just snugged the keeper bolts down for now.

At this point I'm afraid to do anything else. Maybe I'll try to put the torque wrench on them set for 7 footpounds, the minimum for a 6mm bolt with a 10mm head, and cross my fingers. I did end up cleaning the starter gear and shaft and the pulse generators and installed them, but I was waiting for one of those bolts to snap too. If I could have easily figured out which of the twenty or so O-rings in the gasket set was the one for the main oil gallery plug, I would have installed it too, completing the right side engine internals.

With three "Ahh Shits" in the last two days I called it a night, at least in the garage. It was almost midnight anyway. I gathered up the manual, the package of O-rings from the gasket set and the digital caliper and went in the house. I brought up the parts fiche page for the gasket set on the computer and printed it out. Then I searched the other pages for each part number and wrote down what they were for and how many. I sorted, measured and put them in individual 'coin' envelopes and labelled them.

It took about an hour, but the time and frustration it will save me in the garage is worth it. It will probably be at least another month or two before this one's finally together and running. I just hope it's worth it. Maybe I'm just trying to rush things since there are other projects I need to get to, even beyond the other bikes, and I need the space in the garage. I'm thinking I should just put the better part of it together and hold off on polishing the easy to get to stuff and painting the 'tins' until later when I know it's running.

One day at a time

(22 March 2007)
Even that will take a couple weeks. Taxes are looming, the fence needs replaced, Ann wants to tear out the bar and repurpose the patio. It never ends. Tonight I want to finish setting the valve clearance. Then I want to temporarily install the starter and perform a compression test. I didn't do this on the other bikes mainly because I didn't feel I needed to. My concern is the front head exhaust valves. If those numbers look good I'll probably check the rear head numbers too.

Beyond that it's one day at a time. I need clean the head covers and polish them and the front forks. Then the top fork bridge, front wheel and speedometer sender. At least that way I can start to put the front end back together after the frame paint gets touched up this weekend (hopefully). I'm also saving the rear end and exhaust parts that need polished for this weekend. I may have Nick start sanding the rusted rear exhaust pipes tonight though.

If I can get that much done, and that's a pretty big if, the rest should fall into place little by little as I have time in the evenings after work next week. My goal for this weekend is to finish whatever needs done to install the engine. Bare minimum is the front end back together and the frame and engine paint touched up. Anything after that is gravy.

Last night I very cautiously torqued down the clutch spring keeper bolts without breaking any more of them. After replacing the main gallery oil plug O-ring I installed it. That should close out the right side engine internals. Then I cleaned and installed the alternator coils and rotor. I scraped the gasket off the cover, cleaned it and the bolts and loosely installed them. There's a nice deep gouge the shape of the gearshift lever arc on the outside.

It would take a lot of work with a file and a lot of sanding to get that to look good after it's polished though. I need to look and see how bad the replacement cover looks, determine which would be easier to restore and start with it. Since I'm seeing surface rust forming on other polished parts, I looked at the Zoop Seal kit the night before last and discovered it takes a few hours for the two part mixture to set up before it can be used.

Once the parts are polished, they first need cleaned with the cleaner, which is a concentrate mixed with water. Spray it on and wipe it off until it's 'squeaky' clean. Then the two part mixture is applied, filling the pores, and must cure for up to 24 hours. Then the final seal is applied over that and rubbed until the glaze from the mixture is removed and the part shines. It's just one more thing I need to do to keep things looking new.

(23 March 2007)
Well I didn't get anything done on the motorcycle last night. When I got home from work Ann wanted to start working on the patio and the bar had to go. We started taking it apart and managed to get all the trim loose, splitting just one piece. Then I took the GenAire grill out and removed the countertop. After a couple more screws, the two piece cabinets came apart. We took them off what was left of the old indoor / outdoor carpet, pulled it up and cleaned the tile.

After careful consideration we realized I'd have to build a new cabinet since the old ones are too big and too well constructed. I can't just cut one up and put it back together again. I was hoping to put it off until this weekend, but now it looks like it may take even longer than that. If I can just dedicate this weekend to getting this bike back together, I'll have more time and the space in the garage to start working on these other projects.

So tonight the valve clearance for sure and as much polishing as I can handle without totally wearing myself out. Tomorrow we need to paint so we can get the rolling chassis together by Sunday at the latest. I want to hear this thing running by the end of next week, but I may be pushing too hard. It will still need a lot of TLC to get it looking nice, but at least I'll know it runs and it will be worth the effort.

Constantus Interruptus

(24 March 2007)
Needless to say, the valve clearance didn't get set Friday night. My get up and go must have got up and went... so to speak. Saturday morning Nick and I rode to his job in Mt. Dora on the 700 and Ann rode her Shadow 500 to work. When I got home I cleaned up the kitchen in preparation for cleaning the head covers for polishing. I started on the valve clearance adjustments and got all 16 valve adjusters done in a little over and hour. Then the fun began when I tried to torque down the adjuster locknuts.

The manual says 6 - 9 footpounds, but I was lucky to get 5 before the threads began to strip. Once they are stripped, the entire adjuster has to come out, locknut and all, and must be swapped with one in the original rocker arms. Half of those had the same problem. I don't know if my torque wrench just doesn't read accurately at the extreme low end of its range or whether age and overheating has caught up with the adjuster hardware.

The cam has to be rotated to engage the rocker arm and valves enough to get a socket on the locknuts in order to tighten them. After stripping a couple I realized something was wrong. Just one more pain in the @$$ with this stupid bike. I backed off to 5 footpounds and was able to get most of them to tighten without stripping. That would have to be good enough. Why is everything about this bike so dainty?

I had to go back through all of them and and replace the stripped ones one at a time with a good set from the originals. Then I had to re-adjust the clearance and tighten them down again. To boot, Ann listed the bar on freecycle.org and someone was on the way to pick it up. He called while I was another hour into replacing the stripped nuts and asked when was a good time. I told him now would be a good time since Nick hadn't called from work to say he was done yet.

I was worried he would get here while I was still working on the valves. He lived just a couple miles down the road. Another hour later I finally had it all done. I double checked the clearances and took off the gloves. Yet again on this bike, something that should have taken an hour took three. At this rate I won't have it back together until the middle of Summer.

The guy for the bar still hadn't shown up and I began to wonder if he got lost. Not wanting to waste time, I started cleaning the head covers and was in the middle of the second one when he finally got there. We moved the bar pieces out front to his truck in tge drivewat from around back on the patio. He managed to get it all packed into his Ranger pickup with the cabinets hanging out one side and the countertop hanging out the tailgate on the other side. We started talking and Nick called to sat he needed a ride home from work.

He was done but wanted me to bring the truck. I was really looking forward to riding out to pick him up it was such a beautiful day. It was hard to agree but I did. We got home a little before Jay showed up. We started catching up and Ann pulled in on her bike. Party at our house! We all went out to the patio. While Jay and I were talking web design, Ann and Nick snuck off to the store to get some beer, but she only got a six pack.

When I saw it was Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat I wanted some too but I knew that a six wasn't enough. I asked Jay if he wanted to ride along to the store and he asked, "On the bikes?" How could I refuse? So I put on my jeans and boots and off we went. In the past when Jay was riding the Rebel 250 I would nail it on the 700 and leave him in the dust. This time he was on his new Shadow 750 and he nailed right off the corner and left me in the dust. I had to downshift to catch up! Paybacks...

Alcohol Abuse?

I strapped two more six packs to the back of the 700 at the store and home we went. It was a fun ride, albeit short. They were rattling pretty good back there and I was waiting for a bottle to fly out of the six packs every time I hit a bump. We can't have that! It would be alcohol abuse! Another needless to say, I didn't get anything else done on the 500 that night.

(25 March 2007)
Sunday morning I started on the head covers. I finished cleaning the second one and setup to polish them. Nick didn't have to work and was eager to help. That is, until I told him I needed the rust sanded off the frame and the rear exhaust pipes, which he hates to do. He did a half-hearted job and decided to go do something else. I didn't let it stop me from polishing the head cover.

I had it about half done and realized I would need to sand off whatever was used to seal them originally and to clean up the oxidation where the sealing compound was scratched and had exposed the metal to the elements. There was a lot of 'ripple' in the cast metal too, as best I can describe it. I don't know if it's from the original casting process or heat fatigue over the years.

The first one polished up pretty nice but wasn't absolutely smooth where the 'ripple' was still there. I started sanding the other cover and got halfway through it when Ann called to say she was on her way home from work. She wanted to go to Walmart when she got home so I had to stop and get in the shower.

I hadn't eaten all day but she just had lunch. She said Courtney had called her earlier and wanted to come over for dinner. I wanted to go to Chile's so we met there after we were done at Walmart. A few margaritas later and I didn't feel much like working on the bike anymore. Besides, I had already showered and would have been covered from head to toe in dirt again had I sanded or buffed the remaining head cover.

(26 March 2007)
So here we go again. I hoped tonight I could get the remaining head and engine covers polished so I could prep the engine for painting. I wanted to get the front forks polished too but would be lucky to get the other head cover finished. The rear exhaust pipes still need done and the frame sanded, prepped and painted before I can get the engine back in. I really want to get the front fork seals on the 700 done this week too, so the 500 may have to take back seat to that.

I told Jay I would ride down to Performance Honda with him next weekend and I'd really like to at least have that much done. The service manager has / had a Super Magna and I'd like it to look as good as it can without actually painting it and finishing the rest of the polishing. I really want to get the 700 done since I've been riding it to work and the 750 doesn't have a luggage rack. It's really hard to keep my lunch cooler strapped down to the 750 seat.

Using the cooler as a back rest helps, but it still likes to move on me, and the last thing I need is a distraction like that while I'm riding. It's bad enough the ignition switch is still 'persnickity' when turning the forks to the left lock. That click-click-click up front is still there and I have yet to figure out what it is. It seems like there's always more to do and not enough time to do it.

Sick? When was the last time you went potty?

(27 March 2007)
I had to take today off work. Why is it every time I eat something that doesn't agree with me it doesn't hit until the wee hours of the morning? I didn't get much sleep and the alarm went off way too early. I just couldn't get started. My digestion was off and I had no energy. I didn't feel much like eating until the afternoon and even then it was just tea and toast. I was still feeling clammy but at least the nausea was gone.

I wanted to get something accomplished but knew I shouldn't over do it. I looked at rearranging the numerous boxes of parts but decided to just find the other alternator cover. I saw it was in great shape except it was for an interceptor, which is painted black, not bright polished like a Magna. That didn't stop me though. I tried using some acetone to melt the paint and it did. That was enough for now.

After soaking the cover in acetone I was able to easily wire brush the paint off it. Then I scraped the old gasket away and cleaned it. Whew! Got to go sit down again. Later I decided to polish it with tripoli. It cleaned up nicely but I just didn't have enough left in me to do anything else. Ann called to say she was on her way home. That would be nice, to have a little time together just to talk.

Ann got home from work and we both decided to take a nap, or at least try to. Courtney and her boyfriend (now her husband) Esnel showed up, so that was the end of that. Come about 4:00 PM I was really starting to get hungry. Looks like the worst of it has passed. Ann needed me to get something out of the garage for her car, so I looked around and decided to try to finish sanding the other head cover and the rear exhaust pipes. It took all my energy. When I was done I had to go sit down again.

After supper, I was feeling a little better and kept thinking I should go do something. I don't like sitting and doing nothing. It drives me nuts. But I knew I wouldn't have a lot of energy to do anything with, so I conserved it. When Ann went to bed, I had to go close up the garage and decided to try to buff the head cover. I got about half done and had to put it down. It was just too much.

A little later when there wasn't anything on the TV, I debated whether to go back out and finish buffing since I had already cleaned up. I finished the tripoli step on the head cover and decided to try the emery step on the rear exhaust pipes. It brought back their metal sheen but the rust has penetrated deeply into the metal, leaving some nasty pock-marking. So I called it quits and cleaned up for the night. Bedtime. I hope I'm feeling better tomorrow even if it means I have to go back to work. 8^D

(28 March 2007)
I'm feeling better today, thank goodness! I got to work and still felt a little clammy, but at least I wasn't as tired as yesterday. The day dragged on as I tried to get things to work but nothing did. I hoped this wasn't foreshadowing of what to expect when I got home. I want to get this polishing done and the engine prepped for paint. I've been saying that for the last couple weeks now and it's really starting to irritate me that I can't seem to get it done.

And now for a brief intermission

(5 April 2007)
I took a brief respite from the 500 to get the 700 front forks rebuilt. The lack of progress on the 500 helped me make up my mind. I had to drill out one of the front fork bolts on the 700 and 'borrowed' one from the 500. Also in the news, I got a parts bike for Nick to part out on eBay, a VF500F Interceptor. I needed to 'borrow' its fork bolt. It kept me from polishing the 500 fork sliders last night and I don't want to wait for parts to get here to do it.

The first thing I had to do was clean up the mess left from the earlier 500 engine rebuild, still not quite done, and the one left from working on the 700. I did a lot more than just rebuild the 700 forks, but that's a different story. With the benches organized, and unneeded tools and lubricants put away, I was able to get back to the 500 engine. I had to dig through the bins of 500 parts to find the oil pump and related pieces to finish up the bottom of the engine.

I cleaned the parts first, then disassembled the oil pump. It has some scoring on the inside of the cover, but no worse than others I've worked on. I finished cleaning the internals and reassembled it. I put a new O-ring on and mounted the pump to the engine. Then I put the pressure relief valve and the bridge pipe on with their new O-rings. Last was the oil pickup tube, but the gasket set didn't come with a new rubber seal for it. I'll check the spare parts first but I may have to order a new one.

With that much done I cleaned the oil pan, put a new gasket on and installed it loosely, that is I tightened the bolts by hand. Next I turned to the gear shift case. I removed the old shaft seal, cleaned it and scraped the old gasket off. After installing a new shaft seal I 'glued' the new gasket to the case and put some anti-seize on the engine side to (hopefully) keep it sticking to the case and not the engine, just in case I need to take it back off.

It's a trick I just read about and decided to try out. If it works, it will save both time and money by not having to by a new gasket every time I take it apart. I wouldn't expect the gasket to last forever, but if it isn't torn apart just because the case is removed it should still work. I oiled the needle bearings and new seal and installed the case hand tight.

There are 7 bolts holes in the gear shift case, 2 threaded and 5 pass thru, with two of those taking a dowel pin. I had to find another dowel pin since I was missing one. Then trying to figure out what bolts go where from the parts fiche was a challenge. The four bolts it shows are four different lengths. I took my best guess, and when I had all four sticking out the backside by the same amount, I knew I had it right. I surmised the fifth pass thru hole was for the chain case that goes on top of the gear case.

It was a good guess, but I had to stop and do some more organization to be able to get to the bin that held those parts. At least it freed up a couple more bins for Nick to use to hold the Interceptor parts. I grabbed the chain case, the clutch slave cylinder cover, sprocket parts and the bolts, which presented a new puzzle. Which bolts go where? After getting them all in place I decided it was time to clean up and call it a night.

Sidetracked again

(14 April 2007)
Well, got roped into another project again. Ann wanted me to help Es work on his dad's '69 F100 Frankenstein. Something about male bonding and such. His Dad got this pickup truck from California with a '77 Granada 302 and a C4 automatic, and what looks like the power steering and column from the same. It has an aftermarket air conditioner that doesn't work, mainly because the pulley on the compressor doesn't match the engine pulleys. Not much else is working either.

The main issue was the carburetor. The original 6 cylinder 240 CID engine had a manual choke on a single barrel carburetor but the Granada 302 V8 has a 2150 2 barrel with electric automatic choke. His Dad was saying it needed a new carburetor, but they were too expensive at $200-300. So I figured we could just rebuild the 2150 and install the missing wire to the electric choke. My brother had a '76 Granada, affectionately known as the 'Nada, and I was familiar with how it worked and what was involved.

The kids were supposed to bring it over Saturday morning after I got back from taking Nick to work. Turns out his Dad wanted to be involved in driving it over but he didn't get off work until after lunch. While I waited, I was able to get most of the front end pieces polished for the 500. When they finally showed up I was just finishing up one of the fork tubes. We chatted a bit and Es took his Dad back home while Courtney picked Nick up from work. I took that time to finish polishing everything short of the white compound, except the front wheel.

After getting the number off the carb and calling the parts store to see if they had a rebuild kit, I sent Es to the parts store to pick up what we needed. I removed the carb, tore it down and soaked it overnight Saturday. Sunday I put it all back together, pushed down on the gas pedal to set the choke and it fired right up. Es and I took it for a test drive. He says it runs better than it has in the last 7-8 years they had it, but then I knew it would after seeing how nasty that carb looked.

The kick-down for the tranny was set pretty good but the steering was loose and sloppy. The original drum brakes in the front have been replaced with disks from an Econoline and probably the power booster too. They seem to drag, maybe the booster's shot, and the left rear locks up on hard braking. Thinking Es wanted it for a daily driver, I continued to troubleshoot and repair everything else to make it road worthy.

The headlights, reverse lights, instrument lights and dome light didn't work. The turn signals did work but didn't cancel. The AM radio 'pops' the speaker when switched on, but that's about it. Maybe check the antenna connection under the dashboard? Need to tell Es to check. The wiper motor and fluid pump work but the rubber tubing dry rotted. I took out the headlight switch and buzzed it out first, don't ask me why, I already knew it would be ground related.

I managed to get the headlights working, after sending Es back to the parts store Sunday to get a new headlight to replace the burned out one, and sanding back the half-assed paint job that's rusting through at every seam to get a good ground. I managed to figure out why the rest of the lights didn't work, fuses and grounds. We had a '70 F100 Explorer on the farm, back in the day, and nearly every problem we had with it was a bad ground.

The rest would have to wait until next weekend, I still had to download TurboTax to apply for an extension to file my tax return, so the truck sat in my driveway. Next weekend came and went, but the kids didn't come over. I took advantage of the 'time off' from Frankenstein and sanded the rust off the 500 frame and reserve tank. I started masking off the areas that didn't need paint but stopped shortly after I started. It needs a thorough cleaning and prep for paint before I mask it.

I tinkered here and there on Frankenstein during the next week. I managed to get the reverse lights working after taking out the taillights and reseating them for a good ground. Still need a license plate light fixture though. After taking the electrical tape off the turn signal switch connection to the steering column I realized I shouldn't have. Only the original harness side still had the plug and the pins from the new column were just pushed into it.

Great, more wiring nightmares! After buzzing it out I had a sketch of the schematic. Nick and Es had found some online resources for the original '69 wiring diagrams, which helped immensely! Now all I need is the '77 Granada diagrams, and shop manuals for both. At that point there wasn't much more I could do without parts or fuses, but I was getting sick anyway. I had to call off work Thursday AND Friday and needed antibiotics.

It's Alive!

(28 April 2007)
Last weekend we finally got back to Frankenstein. The kids came by and Es and I went to work taking the steering wheel off to see what we could do about the turn signals not cancelling. Once we had the turn signal switch out, Es and I were off to the parts store, thinking it was going to be $50-60 for a new switch assembly. The guy surprised us when he asked if we wanted the whole switch or just the cam.

The cam was less than $10, but they didn't have it at that store, and we'd have to wait until Sunday morning to pick up. We picked up the rest of the things we needed, including new wiper arms, tubing for the washer fluid, and a new licence plate light fixture. Later that evening I took the turn signal switch apart to get out the old cam and clean up the switch.

Nick had to work Sunday, so Ann and I dropped him off and headed for the art and garden show, then Home Depot, then pick up the new cam, then go pick up Nick. We get something to eat and a couple of draft Guiness downtown in Mt. Dora while we're there. By the time I got home, I had lost the motivation to do much else. When I did finally get back to it Monday night, I realized I should have waited for the directions when taking it apart, but it seemed to work fine. At least it was cancelling now.

I put it back in the steering column and plugged it back in, but would need another set of eyes to test it. With Ann's help I figured out that it wasn't working correctly. The new cam looked to be a perfect match to the old one, and I am sure I put the contacts and springs back in correctly, but the right brake light would not remain on when the left turn signal was on unless you 'jiggled' the turn signal arm.

After messing with it until it got dark I still couldn't get it working. I threw up my hands in disgust and gave up for the night. Tuesday night I finally got it all working and managed to button it up and get the steering column back together, the steering wheel on, and the turn signals cancelling. I took it for another test drive and soon realized I had just put more time into it than it was worth. I had forgotten how bad the steering and brakes were.

I told Es he would have to take it somewhere and get it put up on the rack to see what's going on with the front end and the brakes. We can do the work, but I don't have a lift or the alignment or diagnostic tools. It's still sitting in the driveway. Last night I finally finished cleaning the garage enough to get back to the 500. Tonight maybe I'll actually finish cleaning and prepping the frame for paint.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

(5 May 2007)
I finally finished the frame prep and painting! It took a while since almost everything was still covered with grease, oil, and grit. Nick cleaned it best he could with degreaser and hosed it down, but I had to followup with brake and parts cleaner and a rag. Then I followed that with pre-sanding cleaner. I primed all the bare metal with engine primer, then hit everything with what gloss black engine paint I had left. I ended up running out and used the rest of the black rustoleum I had. Hopefully it will withstand the heat.

I also painted the mainstand and the auxiliary fuel tank, but had to use the semi-gloss black engine paint. Looking back, I should have used the engine paint on the frame and the rustoleum on everything else. Guess we'll see how it holds up over time. I let everything dry overnight Saturday and installed the fuel tank and mainstand Sunday morning.

I finished polishing the forks, top bridge, front axle and spacer, and headlight mounts. All that was left was the front wheel. I started using the spiral sewn buff but it seemed to be clogging up and leaving compound on the edges so I switched to a ventilated buff. That did a better job but the shaft drive kept wanting to twist up on me.

I knew I was overloading it and about the time I was done with the brake side I caught the buff just right and twisted the shaft drive cable in two. Damn! I tried to clean up the other side with steel wool, but it just didn't do the trick. I decided I could always take the wheel back off when I had a new shaft drive and finish it later. What I needed for right now was a stable frame I could put the engine into.

I had to clean and repack the steering stem bearings before I could put the top bridge and forks on since the movement was rough and labored. Both the top and bottom bearings are ball bearings. The top set had very little lubrication left and looked as if it had begun to rust. I cleaned both thoroughly, repacked them with grease, and reassembled the stem. After setting the adjustment nut, I put a new lock washer on, and tightened down the locknut with the impact hammer.

Once I had it where I liked it I installed the top bridge, washer, and nut loosely on the stem. Then I inserted the fork tubes and torqued down the lower clamp pinch bolts. I torqued down the top bridge nut and then the top bridge pinch bolts. Next was the front fender, but the underside was filthy and greasy. I let some brake and parts cleaner soak in, then scrubbed with a brass bristle brush. I poured off the dirty cleaner, soaked and scrubbed over and over again, until it was clean.

I realized I needed to polish the speedometer sender before I could put the front wheel on. I looked for it and couldn't find it with any of the other parts. The only one in sight was the one still connected to the cable, but I couldn't remember if it was for the Magna or the one Nick took off the parts Interceptor. I looked up the parts numbers and they are different. Damn! I asked Nick if he remembered which one it was but he couldn't. So he went and looked at the pile of parts for me.

Turns out I had the Magna one, so while I polished it, he polished the fender with steel wool. When he was done, I let him mount the fender to the forks. Then he helped me get the front wheel on by holding the back end of the frame while I got the axle in. It was getting late, so I grabbed the rest of the front end parts out of the box, like the instrument cluster and ignition switch, and put them on. We got cleaned up and called it a night.

No more worries...Rest In Peace my friend

(11 May 2007)
So here it is next weekend already, well actually Friday night, and I haven't done anything on the bike all week. I lost my best friend of twenty years, Tim Brothers, to a traffic accident Tuesday of this week, 8 May 2007. May he Rest In Peace. His wife, Kathy, called me Wednesday morning as I was leaving for work to let me know. I was in shock. Every day of the nearly three years he was in the Middle East we worried about him. Turns out we should have worried more now that he was back.

Some moron thought doing over 100MPH in a Ford Mustang on a four lane highway was a good idea, until he lost control, crossed the median, and hit Tim head-on. Tim was in his Buick Riviera on his way home from work when the Mustang ploughed into him, instantly killing them both. This smashed the engine completely out of Tim's car, and caved in the left side halfway down the car. The Mustang broke into pieces. What was left of it hit a van carrying high school seniors from Maryland, sending their driver to the hospital in critical condition. Here's a link to the local news report.

I've had four years to think and mourn, and I still can't believe it. Everyone in my family took it hard. We knew him for 20 years and never thought there would be a time he wouldn't be there. Every time I check my email I see the messages from him and realize I'll never get another. The most haunting is the one I got the night before he was killed, inviting me to open a g-mail account. I still see his smiling face, waving madly as only he could.

We went to his Celebration Of Life, caught up with his family we did know, and met some of his family we did not know. His son, Tony, had us laughing and laughing, recounting stories of growing up and riding the 700 Tim sold me. I ran into some old buddies we used to work with over on the Space Coast, so all in all, it helped. We weren't there right from the beginning (traffic sucked) and missed the Air Force Honor Guard and taps - kinda glad since I wouldn't have made it through taps.

Back to the Grind...

After a week of no progress, I got back to it. I finished prepping the engine for paint and cleaned the water pipes and oil line and test fit them. The oil line is flat black and only had a few minor scrapes, so I just painted the water pipes and the bottom of the engine and let it cure over night.

The next day I masked the engine covers, head bolts, rocker shafts and all the other shiny stuff I didn't want black paint on. Then I hit the rest of the engine with paint and let it cure over night, first removing the masking. The next day I installed the new head cover gaskets and the head covers. Next was the oil pipe, and the starter, and finally the water pump, hoses, and remaining chromed water pipes.

I finished polishing the rear exhaust pipes and loosely attached them with new gaskets. I loosely installed the drive sprocket and the engine was now ready for installation. That is, after I finished polishing the engine mounting nuts and bolts. Since I had to wait for the paint to cure, I polished the rear drum brake backing plate and the shocks as well. Those went on quickly and left me with a nasty looking brake stay arm, so I cleaned and painted it and the sprocket cover.

(15 May 2007)
The more I wanted to put that engine in, the more things I remembered needed to do first. I wanted to give the paint time to cure and still had the rest of the front end and wiring harness to put back together. After all, if I wanted to start the engine once it was in, at the very least I would need the starter button and the harness together and working. And that would mean handlebars. I polished them first and installed them.

Next was the electrical controls. They were badly sun faded but I found that a bit of elbow grease with some extra fine (0000) steel wool brought them back to life. First the throttle (right) side, then the choke (left) side. I polished the turn signal mounts and installed them and the replacement turn signals. Next I polished the replacement headlight bucket and the instrument cases after disassembling the instrument cluster.

After reassembling the instrument cluster, I mounted it to the top bridge and moved on to the horns and fuse box. The horns were in pretty good shape and just needed some touch up paint. The chrome rings shined right up with steel wool. I tried buffing the plastic fuse box and case with some plastic compound, but all it did was shine up the dull, chalky looking finish. Next was the headlight bucket, where the harness comes to together.

What a Mess!

(19 May 2007)
I pulled all the wiring and connectors inside the headlight bucket. What a mess it is inside there! I tried to use the harness routing diagrams in the manual, but they are so vague as to be useless. Well, not quite... After trying two different arrangements, neither of them allowed the the headlight to fully seat.

I looked and looked at that picture in the manual and the geometry of the light and saw that the turn signal wiring and the ignition switch connector was to one side and the rest of the connectors on the other side. I tried to get that kind of arrangement and it seemed to give the most clearance. Finally the headlight fit.

I already had the battery charged and installed it, the relays and sensors, and the starter solenoid. I turned the key and nothing happened. All dark. So I pulled the connector to the starter solenoid and opened the fuse cover. The main fuse was blown, but there was a spare! I tried to slide it out of the holder and it broke into two pieces. Damn! Where are those jumper wires? With the fuse now jumpered out the lights came on.

The left rear turn signal worked at first but then stopped working. I had to rework that socket, as it was badly rusted, but apparently I still didn't have it right. After a little fiddling with it, it kept working and I moved on to the other systems. Everything that was connected worked. The next step was to get that engine in.

Finally! The Engine's In!!!

(20 May 2007)
I set the engine on the bike jack, and after removing the side frame, I maneuvered it into position and got the first engine mount bolt in. Then the next and the... oops, polished two of the same bolts and missed the third. Once it's polished, in it goes. I connected the starter cable and cranked the engine over. Sweet!

Next were the hydraulics. I cleaned and disassembled the front brakes, after using the master cylinder to pump out the caliper pistons. I polished the pistons, greased the seals, and reassembled the caliper with new pads. Then I tore down the master cylinder, cleaned it, and rebuilt it. After installing the caliper, I mounted the master cylinder, and routed the front brake line.

Similarly, I used the clutch master cylinder to pump the piston out of the slave cylinder. I cleaned and reassembled the slave cylinder, rebuilt the master cylinder and mounted it. I routed the clutch hose and called it a night. The next night I managed to get the chain on but had a hard time getting the side plate on the master link. After working it and working it with a pair of pliers, I think I was finally able to get the keeper clip on securely.

(23 May 2007)
With the chain in place I was able to tighten the drive sprocket bolts. Now I could install the sprocket cover and the clutch slave cylinder. I held off adding hydraulic fluid and bleeding and went to work on rebuilding the carbs. What a nightmare. I had to drill out two screws, one on the vacuum cover of #4 and one on the bowl cover of #2. Unfortunately, the screw for the vacuum cover was cross threaded at an angle and there wasn't enough left to get vise grips on.

It could wait. The main thing was to get them disassembled and soaking in carb cleaner. I have two of the Gunk brand gallon buckets with the parts baskets, so #2 and #4 went for a swim. While they were soaking I finished taking #1 and #3 apart and scrubbed the non soakable parts. I stopped to eat supper and took a break to give them at least a 3 hour soak. Then I went after #4 with a brass bristle brush. After blowing it dry I reassembled it with a new float valve and seat. Repeated on #2 and got #1 and #3 soaking and took another break.

(25 May 2007)
Well, I fell asleep and had to finish cleaning #1 and #3 Friday morning. I took the day off work since Ann's sister and brother-in-law were flying in for the Memorial Day holiday. I had #3 almost done when they arrived. I quickly finished it and got #1 out and left it unassembled on the bench. After cleaning up we spent the rest of the day catching up, then went to meet Jay to celebrate his 21st birthday.

Visitors

(26 May 2007)
Saturday we left for Ft. Pierce to go visit Ann's cousin. I drank way too much beer (if there is such a thing) and forgot all about it until Sunday afternoon when we got back. Ann's sister and brother-in-law went on from Ft. Pierce without us down to the keys, so that gave me some time to finish up. That is, once I finished scrubbing off all the love bugs I picked up on the trip! Once #1 was together I started reassembling the carbs on the air box.

After a number of false starts I finally managed to get #4 on loosely, then #3 and #2. The air tubes had to match between #2 and #4 and the fuel tubes between all three. With those installed I moved on to #1 and getting the fuel and air tubes in the correct position. All the while I had to figure out which choke link went where and get those installed. When I was down to #1 I realized I had forgotten to install the throttle linkage between #3 and #4. I did manage to get it installed without having to take it all back apart.

(27 May 2007)
I set the assembly on the bench and connected the fuel bottle to check for fuel leaks. I had a BIG one on the number two carb. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from other than the bowl gasket since I didn't have any new ones the proper size. I drained the float bowls and removed #2. I coated the old one with rubber gasket dressing and sealant and buttoned it back up. No leaks this time. Good.

(28 May 2007)
I left the assembly sit overnight to verify that it didn't leak. I had the day off for Memorial Day so I moved on to installing the assembly on the engine. But first I had to get the bug and tar remover after what was left of the bug guts on the truck. Once that was done I cleaned the carb boots and set them in place. I connected the throttle and choke cables and tightened them down.

I had to use the trick of cocking the boots at an angle partway between the carbs and the engine heads. They were still being difficult but after a little oil around the openings they popped right on. I connected the fuel bottle and checked for fuel leaks again. So far, so good. I gapped and installed the new spark plugs, pushed on the choke and cranked it over. I fired right up! Most excellent! I called it quits and went swimming. I spent the rest of the day with the family.

Hydraulics

Tuesday night I decided to finish up the hydraulics. I removed the clutch master cylinder cover and added fluid. Using the mighty vac I pulled the fluid through but didn't watch carefully and drew some air. More fluid and I worked the clutch handle until the bubbles were gone. I stopped when I had a strong lever action and the clutch was working.

Then I moved on to the front brakes. They went a little slower though. It seems like I have to pump the handle while alternately opening and closing the bleeder screw. Once they pumped up I had a good solid feel on that handle too. Later I noticed a slow drip from the master cylinder seeping from around the sight glass. I got the super glue we bought for Nick's balsa wood planes and ran the bottle around the sight glass. Problem solved.

(1 June 2007)
I decided to take a vacation day Friday to help get the bike finished up this weekend. I spent most of the day cleaning and polishing the remaining pieces I hadn't gotten to yet. I spent most of Saturday installing those pieces and installing what remained. With the hydraulics completed and the new chain in, I was able to install the remaining engine cover and chain guard. I adjusted the chain and torqued the rear axle to specification.

It's really coming together now. I had cleaned and 'sanded' the rust from the exhaust chamber, thinking that would be good enough, but now that I looked at it I knew I needed to get the high temp paint after it. Before I could paint and install the exhaust chamber and run the engine to cure the heat paint on it, I had to install the radiator and the rest of the cooling system.

Cooling

The original radiator looked as if someone tried to repair a major hole with JB Weld or the like. When we bought the bike it looked to have been laid down in an accident and probably the cause of the radiator damage. I found that it leaked and was probably the cause of the cracked cylinder and blown head gasket. I had already obtained a replacement from eBay, complete with all the shrouds, but it needed cleaned and tested.

The thermostat, hoses, and remaining water pipes were rusty and corroded inside, so I spent the rest of the night cleaning them. The next morning I was able to finish installing the rest of the cooling system and filled it with coolant. Then I painted the exhaust chamber with high temp paint.

While I waited for that to dry I torqued everything to specification and installed the front exhaust pipes loosely. Then I polished the exhaust shields and mufflers with steel wool. The only bad looking piece is the right side shield which has some nasty rash, but I was able to polish away the rust so at least it's presentable.

Once the exhaust chamber was dry to the touch, I installed it and the mufflers loosely then torqued everything down. Now the big moment we'd all been waiting for, will it run and hold pressure? I attached the auxiliary fuel bottle, set the choke and cranked it over. It started right up and it went to about 3500 RPM right off the bat. I adjusted the idle down but it wouldn't go below 2000 RPM.

It's Alive!!!

I started scratching my head, then remembered I had forgotten to put the screw in the manifold port. The heads were from an interceptor, and apparently it uses the manifold vacuum port to operate an automatic fuel valve that the Magna doesn't have, or need, since it uses a fuel pump. Once I installed that screw the idle dropped and the engine stalled. I started it back up with one hand on the throttle and the other on the idle adjuster.

When she finally came up to temp, the fan came on and cycled. Now I knew the cooling system was intact, held pressure, and operated correctly. I decided to synchronize the carbs with Nicks help. We got them all set within half an inch of mercury and she purred nicely and revved even better. I was ready to ride. Too bad the bike wasn't (yet). I turned it off, removed the fuel sender, filled the reserve fuel tank and put the sender back in.

I fashioned a temporary fuel line to catch the fuel in the fuel bottle and let the fuel pump run until it was filling the bottle. Then I put the fuel line on the carburetors and tightened the clamp. Next, I loosely connected the reserve tank lines to the main fuel tank, installed it, and tightened the mounting bolts. I put the seat on and snapped it into position. Now she's ready to ride!

I grabbed my jeans and boots and put them on. I grabbed my helmet, gloves, and cell phone (just in case), and took her for a short test ride around the neighborhood. Nice. Very nice. I decided to take a longer ride around the circle, about 5 miles. At first I took it easy, but evenyually worked it up to 50 MPH or so. I shifted up and down through the gears and romped it a couple of times. I tested the brakes and they worked well too. I brought her 'back to the barn' and there she's sat since.

The only major thing left to do is paint it. The tank was in good shape inside. but I let it sit so long it's probably going to need coated - etched to remove the rust at a bare minimum. The good news is it seems to perform better than the Shadow 500 twin. The bad news is it's chain drive, not shaft, like the Shadow. Ann says she may want the Magna instead of the Shadow. We'll see.

Update

(15 April 2008)
This bike has been ridden many miles by Ann as a replacement to her Shadow 500. Once she rode it, there was no comparison to the Shadow. She wanted this one. It was a good thing, too, since she and Courtney passed the basic rider course and got their endorsements. We needed a bike for Courtney and now she could have the Shadow.

Ann and Courtney both rode this bike, but Courtney liked the Shadow better. Both complained of erratic and troublesome shifting. I had noticed that sometimes the shift lever wouldn't go down once in first gear, but wrote it off as a quirk in the over-complicated mechanism. It didn't seem to hamper or impair shifting so I thought nothing more of it. Until...

Ann and Courtney both complained shifting was getting increasingly difficult. For Ann, the Magna 500 and Courtney, the Shadow. So Jay and I decided to take them for a test ride. Jay rode the Magna and I rode the Shadow. Besides the diminished power on the Shadow, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Jay found it annoying that the shift lever sometimes didn't go down once in first gear. We both like to use the "shift once more to make sure it's in first gear" method, so it is a bit disconcerting when the shift lever acts as if it's jammed. Jay decided kicking it down harder was the answer. It wasn't...

We brought the bikes home and Jay commented on the 'flaky shifting'. I told him I had noticed the quirk, and as complex as the mechanism was, maybe I needed to check it or replace the used parts with some new ones. Well, we decided to ride down to Tijuana Flats that evening for supper. What a mistake...

About half way there Ann was visibly having trouble shifting. She slipped the clutch enough to get her going after stopping at the light, but it just got worse. She wasn't able to down shift, so ended up getting stuck in high gear. I tried it a few times but it was definitely stuck. After we had dinner I quickly rode home, came back with the truck and loaded up the broken bike.

It sat for months until I got a chance to have a look at it. The shift mechanism is a real Rube Goldberg though and more overcomplicated than on the other Magnas. Instead of using an arm to push or pull on pins on the gearshift drum, it uses a planetary gearset to rotate a gear fitted with sprung pawls that engage the gearshift drum (items 10 & 11 in the diagram above), and plates, and pins, and a bunch of other extra nonsense.

It would have sat even longer except Es was looking to practice a bit before taking the basic rider course. Ann and I had gotten him a gift certificate for Christmas 2007 to take the course. He has never ridden a motorcycle before. He's never even driven a stick shift before. Talk about a double whammy!

Well, it turns out when Jay kicked it down so hard, he broke the part of the mechanism that handles the down shift on one of those pawls. The other one still worked just fine, which is why it would shift up, but not down. Thankfully I was able to find another mechanism in the spare engine parts and swap it out.

Once it was all buttoned up, I donned my gear and took her for a test run. The shifting was spot on, but the shift lever still refused to go down when in low gear. This time, every time it was in low gear though, so I have to conclude that's the way it's supposed to work. I don't like it, but then again, I don't have to ride it.

By now Ann had tried the 750 on for size, fell in love with it, and wouldn't give it back. So now the 500 sat for another month, waiting on Es to do some practicing on it. When he finally did want to practice, I got it out of the garage and noticed it had been leaking something. So I started it up and took it for a test run. It died before I could get two blocks away.

Turns out it did the same damn thing the 1100 did, drained an entire tank of fuel into the crankcase and onto the garage floor through the carburetors. Great! I just ran the engine with oil way too thin until it stopped running. What else did I just ruin?

Es was able to practice with the Shadow while I drained the oil, put on a new filter, and added new oil. This time I only put enough fuel in to keep it running, not enough to start the siphon effect and drain through the carburetors again.

That's where she sits nows, in the garage almost out of fuel. Es needs to hurry up and take the course before he and Courtney move to Kansas (another long story). Besides, until he uses the gift certificate to take the class, Ann and I can't get our free advanced rider course. She just bought a new Harley Sportster and Courtney is riding the 750 now.

We figure it's time to go learn more about the handling of our bikes and find out what they can really do. Nothing as extreme as MotoGP, but enough to inspire confidence when we need it to get out of a tight situation, if we manage to get into one.

Bulletin...

(8 October 2008)
Courtney and Es are NOT moving to Kansas, but Es does not appear to be any closer to getting his motorcycle endorsement either, so the V30 still sits there waiting on me to take the carburetors back out and fix them. I did find the problem when rebuilding the V65 carburetors though. Looks as if the float valve seats in one of the rebuild sets I bought on eBay was defective, as if the seat angle was wrong or incorrectly ground, but only on two out of four carbs. Looks like the other two must have ended up in the V30 carbs. Too bad I can't figure out who I bought them from so I don't buy from them again!

Still sitting...

(27 July 2010)
Well, the V30 has sat for nearly two years now, getting in the way and taking up valuable space. I was laid off back in April of 2009 and still haven't gotten around to fixing this thing! I'm putting the Shadow up for sale to see what I can get for her, and if it's good enough, fix the carbs on the V30 and list her too. No sense letting them sit and collect dust when someone else can get some use out of them. They're great starter bikes, and until I get back to work, we can use the money too!

STILL sitting...

(8 May 2011)
It's coming up on 3 years now since I've done anything other than move the V30. I listed the Shadow for sale on Craig's List last year to see what I could get for her, and only got two hits! So much for selling her or the V30... To make matters worse, I am out of work again. Two countershaft bearings and a blown head gasket later, the 700 is down for a total rebuild again - hoping the third time's the charm. To add insult to injury, I misspoke and now Ann's pissed off at me, her Mother's Day spoiled. Last, but not least, today marks four years since Tim was tragically killed. RIP Tim. So I'm thinking the last thing I want to do today is touch a motorcycle... Maybe someday I'll be less of a "glass half empty" type person, but today, I seriously doubt it.

More to come...? Stay tuned. Until then, here's my "vanity" pic on the CMSNL site.

Previous 1100 Saga Back to Summary Next Shadow 500 Saga

Things done...

  • Magna 500 Before Restoration
    • Adjusted valve clearance to (hopefully) fix 'ticking' noise. It didn't.
    • Added water to radiator and watched it pour out the exhaust system.
    • Removed front exhaust pipes to find where water was leaking from.
    • Added water to radiator and watched it pour out #2 exhaust port.
    • Removed radiator, front head cover, cam chain tensioner, cams and head.
    • Found cracked #2 cylinder after breaking off two head bolts.
    • Cleaned wheels.
    • Removed rear covers, clutch slave cylinder, chain guard, front sprocket and chain.
    • Removed pegs and shift lever.
    • Found used crankcase on eBay, purchased and received.
    • Purchased and received gasket set from Honda.
    • Pulled engine.
    • Removed rear head (breaking off third head bolt), water pump, water and oil pipes.
    • Purchased and received another radiator, side shrouds and covers.
    • Purchased and received another headlight (the correct one) and bucket.
    • Purchased and received another front disk rotor, close to wear limit though.
    • Ordered and received new head bolts - put them in Nick's Christmas stocking.
    • Disassembled, cleaned and measured engine parts.
    • Ordered new seals and turn signal stems. Rear stems discontinued.
    • Rebuilt engine and transmission. (6 Feb 2007)
    • Disassembled, cleaned and measured cams and rockers - rockers destroyed, cams have flats. (14 Feb 2007)
    • Obtained replacement rocker arms (actually an entire engine) from eBay.
    • Received, sorted and re-boxed engine parts. Wrote seller about missing cams, crank, etc. (21 Feb 2007)
    • Received and sorted remaining box of engine parts.
    • Inspected and measured camshafts. (28 Feb 2007)
    • Disassembled original valve train, cleaned and measured.
    • Measured oil clearance with original heads and replacement cams.
    • Measured oil clearance with replacement heads and cams.
    • Disassembled replacement valve train, cleaned and measured.
    • Lapped valves and seats of replacement heads. (7 Mar 2007)
    • Cleaned heads, installed new valve seals and valve train. (12 Mar 2007)
    • Installed heads, cams and chain tensioners. (15 Mar 2007)
    • Set valve timing incorrectly, realized mistake and corrected. (19 Mar 2007)
    • Installed crankcase seal plate, bearing stay, clutch guide and oil pump drive sprocket and chain. (20 Mar 2007)
    • Installed drive gear, clutch, starter clutch and gear and pulse generators.
    • Sorted and labelled gasket set O-rings to ease remaining installation.
    • Installed main gallery plug, cleaned and installed alternator coils, rotor and cover. (21 Mar 2007)
    • Adjusted valve clearance.
    • Polished alternator and head covers.
    • Started polishing rear exhaust pipes.
    • Cleaned and installed oil pump, oil pipe and oil pan.
    • Cleaned and polished forks, clutch cover and top bridge. (14 April 2007)
    • Polished rear exhaust pipes and all retainers.
    • Cleaned and sanded rust off frame and reserve tank. (28 April 2007)
    • Cleaned and installed starter, no compression test because blasted thingy too big to fit.
    • Finished paint prep and painted frame, mainstand and auxiliary tank. (5 May 2007)
    • Installed mainstand, auxiliary tank, inner fender, electronics and (loosely) regulator.
    • Polished front wheel and installed wheel, forks and top bridge.
    • Polished sissy bar and grab rails.
    • Polished drum brake backing plate, shocks and axles and installed. (12 May 2007)
    • Ordered and received replacement chain and installed.
    • Polished instrument cluster and ignition switch and installed. (15 May 2007)
    • Polished handlebars, switches and headlight and installed.
    • Finished polishing/painting clutch cover/engine and rear exhaust pipes. (18 May 2007)
    • Installed water pipes, hoses and pump. (19 May 2007)
    • Installed engine and rear exhaust pipes. (20 May 2007)
    • Cleaned and rebuilt carburetors and bench synchronized. (23-25 May 2007)
    • Reassembled carburetors. (26 May 2007)
    • Adjusted and lubricated throttle and choke cables and installed carbs. (27 May 2007)
    • Rebuilt, installed and bled brakes and hydraulics. (29 May 2007)
    • Rebuilt, installed and bled clutch hydraulics.
    • Installed new oil filter and added oil. (30 May 2007)
    • Installed headlight bucket, electrical connections and tested electrical system.
    • Routed electrical connections in headlight bucker and installed headlamp.
    • Replaced headlamp after low beam then high beam burned out???
    • Installed rear fender, sissy bar and grab rails.
    • Cleaned and installed replacement radiator, thermostat and hoses and added coolant.
    • Finished polishing front exhaust pipes and installed.
    • Started engine, warmed up and checked for leaks or other issues.
    • Polished brake lever and painted brake stay and installed. (1 June 2007)
    • Finished polishing mufflers and installed remaining exhaust system.
    • Adjusted chain drive, drum brake, brake lever and switch and torqued axle.
    • Cleaned and polished rider and passenger pegs and installed.
    • Synchronized carburetors and adjusted idle.
    • Borrowed replacement mirrors from 1100 and installed.
    • Test rode.
    • Ordered new seat cover, recovered seat, and installed.
    • Tuned and re-synchronized carburetors - leaking fuel like a sieve!
    • Ordered replacement mirrors for 1100.
    • Purchased new air filter and other items.

Things left to do...

  • Magna 500 During Restoration
    • Remove leaking carburetors.
    • Re-rebuild leaking carburetors and re-install.
    • Drain fuel fowled oil and remove ruined oil filter.
    • Add new oil and install new oil filter.
    • Install new air filter.
    • Strip, repair and paint the fuel tank, fenders, rear cowling and side covers.
    • Find source for rear turn signal stems or suitable replacement from another model.

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Last Updated: 10 Jan 2018