Restoring Nick's Classic '82 Suzuki RS175 Motorcycle (A Dirt Bike At Last!)
(25 September 2008)
Nick finally gets his dirt bike! We'd been back and forth on this forever, at
least the last year or two. At first Ann and I looked at getting him a late
model Honda, new or used, mainly since we already have Hondas. What we found was
a new CR100 Honda cost as much as I could get from selling one of the 500s. It's
hard to take, and even harder to finance...
We had him look on craigslist and cycletrader for used ones, 4 - 5 years old, but found they hold their value very well. At most we could expect a $300 - $400 'discount'. At that point, why not pay a little more than $2000 for a new one? Again, hard to take, and even harder to finance. We could tell he was getting frustrated with the situation and we felt bad about getting his hopes up.
This went on for quite a while, pretty much look only to find nothing was different from the last time we looked, then forget about it for awhile. Finally I told Nick we probably weren't going to find a used one for a low enough price unless we looked for one in parts that we could put back together. He didn't find too many of those either, at least not Hondas. He did find a bigger Kawasaki, but they wanted $700 for it. Then he came across this Suzuki 175, with a second parts bike, for $250...
Read on McDuff...
Sounds more like what we're looking for, go on... Give him a call. Engine was rebuilt like new when he first bought it, but now needs a new piston and rings, transmission solid, copy of the shop manual... Sounding good. How much was it again? $250? Do you think he'd take $200 for it? Nick says, "I'll go ask him." Answer's yes. Next thing I know, we're taking a trip over to the guy's storage unit to have a look.
The first thing I see is an outboard motor laying on the floor, then I spy the rolling chassis leaning against the wall. He apologizes for the mess and we start chatting about the bike. He looks for all the parts but can't find the second set of forks or the manual. Turns out he has a photocopy the previous owner had made for him. I set up the ramp and we loaded the rolling chassis up. It was missing the kick stand, so Nick held it as I strapped it in.
We load the rest of the parts, the second frame, a second set of rims, some five gallon buckets, and are still able to put the tailgate up. The guy says he'll let us know if he finds any other parts and the manual, which are probably in his other truck over at his Mom's in Deltona, where he'll be visiting next weekend. We exchanged phone numbers and were off.
So... Now we've got our work cut out for us. We leave everything sit in the back of the truck overnight and the next day. I told Nick we need to make some room in the garage before we start working on it. That night after supper he disappears into the garage. Turns out he cleaned off the end of the bench as best he could, until he ran into my spare 700 parts and the Jeep head, all of his own doing.
Nick is the most motivated I've seen him since he worked on vacuum cleaners at the VacStop. So as a reward when I get home from work Friday, we empty the parts from the bed of the truck and get busy working on separating them. Nick did most of the work and I suggested he organize them based on frame versus engine. I gave him a couple of small rubbermaid plastic storage bins, some small cardboard parts boxes, and a couple of milk crates for the bigger things like the engine cases, jugs and heads.
Before we knew it, we had everything sorted and started looking at the pieces we had and comparing to the online parts fiches. It was getting dark and the bugs were out so we left the frames and wheels outside in the truck and brought the rest of the parts inside the garage and closed the door. It was apparent we needed more storage space, so I told Nick he should put together some of the metal shelving and mount them over against the wall by the new benches.
(27 September 2008)
The next morning he helped me get the rolling chassis down off the truck and was
right on to the assembly of the shelves. Then he went through
all the rest of the parts still left in bags and such, sorting them,
scrubbing rust from them, and finally storing them on the shelves. Next thing I
know it's my turn to start helping and remove the flywheel... or at least the
home made, makeshift flywheel puller that's attached to it. Later.
Preparing to ride his dirt bike...
Ann and I decided I should get the Shadow out and get her running - mainly to give Nick something to practice on. That way he can get used to riding so when his dirt bike is finally running, he'll have some idea what to expect and how to control it. The kids are coming over for supper so maybe Es will want to practice too. We grabbed a couple beers and a seat on the sidewalk to watch Nick go at it.
First he practiced 'duck-walking' it up and down the driveway and turning around in the cul-de-sac until he had a good feel for the clutch. Then we had him try leaning and turning and he nearly took out the neighbor's mailbox! We had previously told him he needed to look where he wanted the bike to go - I told him that's exactly why it happened. He fixated on the mailbox and not hitting it, but by fixating on it, that's exactly where the bike went.
No biggy, but we could tell he was a bit shaken up, so we had him practice quick stopping from first gear up and down the driveway until he was comfortable with stopping too. He began leaning and turning with confidence as he turned around in the cul-de-sac after each stop. He had the 'look where you want to go' down pat and by now he was looking like a pro!
The kids showed up for dinner but Nick was doing so well and enjoying it so much we didn't want to interrupt him. He just looks like a natural. He wanted to go on to learn shifting but we said we should probably give Es a shot at practicing too. By the time he was up on Sunday it had already begun to rain so nothing much more until Tuesday.
Overhaulin'
After supper we get back to the engine. There's this big, rusty piece of plate steel with some holes drilled in it with three long socket head bolts and a nut brazed to it with a long bolt threaded through it (and a jam nut?). I noticed the socket head bolts are 'leaning' sideways and I'm worried they're bent. In removing them I see not only are they bent, but they've also been cross-threaded into the flywheel. Wonderful.
I pulled out a drawer of 6mm bolts and select three shorter ones. We prepare to do battle with the flywheel as shorter bolts are threaded through the puller and into the flywheel, ensuring the plate is parallel to the flywheel, and starting the big bolt toward the crankshaft. As I try to cinch it down I realize it isn't going to be that easy. It's going to fight us the whole way. So what else is new?
After removing everything from the flywheel, Nick notices the end of the crank is mushroomed and in pretty bad shape. Wonderful. I told him it's probably a partially sheared key and we'll have to drill it out, maybe even grind the end of the crank to get it off of there. But it's too late to start on it tonight so maybe he should go get cleaned up and we'll do it tomorrow. He agreed he was ready to call it a day, and once he was showered, we spent the rest of the night surfing the web for more information on this beast.
(28 September 2008)
I slept in Sunday morning, awakening to Ann outside the front door, gardening.
It's been so nice here the last couple of days we've been able to open the house
up and turn off the air conditioning, which is a good thing since it started
acting up. We had someone out to have a look at it and 3 pounds of freon later,
it's working again. In any case, I get moving, and once Nick is up and moving we
move to the garage to begin the 'operation'.
I get out the cutting oil and the battery drill, chuck an appropriately sized bit and begin to drill, only to realize the battery is just about dead. Nick and I look at each other, put the battery on the charger, and head back inside. It's back to surfing for more info. I told Nick we're going to need a manual to do much more. He mentions that he hopes we hear from the guy about it and I decide we need to try to find one online.
Nothing on eBay or anywhere else he can find. I remembered we had bought a reprint of one from repairmanuals.com for the VF500 and searched there. Turns out they don't have anything for the RS175, but they do have one for an '81 PE175, so I bought and it should be here by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Once the battery had charged we headed back to the 'operation'. I (finally) managed to drill all the way through. We fitted the 'puller' and tried again. No luck. I went to a larger bit and ended up breaking it off in the keyway. Knew it was going to happen. This time I fitted the 'puller', greased the center bolt and put another wrench on the brazed bolt.
I cross my fingers and hope the brazed nut doesn't break lose. It didn't, but the flywheel finally did as I punch myself in the stomach with the wrench. Finally! The flywheel is shot and maybe even the crankshaft, but at least now Nick and I can continue tearing the engine down. And continue he does. Nick is bound and determined to get those engine cases split. He has a one month plan of having this bike up and running.
I'm very proud of him. He has demonstrated to me that he knows when he needs help and asks me for it. In the past I have lost patience with him (and usually my temper) when he lets himself get frustrated with things and then takes action that destroys what he is trying to make work. In any case, he knows when to stop and ask questions, so it's obvious he is serious about this and doesn't want to screw it up.
After many consultations with Pop, multiple references to the online fiches, and some of Pop's help and experience, he has the cases split. It's only then we see the main and crankpin bearings are hardly moving and full of 'gunk', meaning they're probably ruined. A new set of main bearings is around $45 and the crankpin is pressed in, so there's probably no way for us to replace that bearing short of visiting a machine shop or buying a press.
I can tell Nick is contemplating the setback but not letting it weaken his determination. He asks if there isn't someway we can use the other parts we have to at least get one put together. I know he doesn't want to stop, let alone slow down because of a few parts and I don't want to be the one to tell him he might want to. Instead I try to clean out as much of the 'gunk' with the engine degreaser and finally get them all moving again, albeit 'crunchy'.
I leave it to him to get some high pressure water going through those bearings, alternating with the degreaser to help free up as much more 'gunk' as possible. He does manage to get everything working smoothly with the exception of the one main bearing and asks if we can just buy the one new one. I told him we can probably use one of the others we have in the other engine case and not to worry about it too much.
That's when we decide it's time to stop for the evening and he gets cleaned up. We have a dicussion of where to go next. I'm thinking we should put together an engine from the best of all the parts we have to get him going. If it lasts a week, a month, or a year will make the difference whether we need to rebuild the other engine with all new bearings, rings, piston, etc.
Sour Grapes
(29 September 2008)
That's where we're at now. Nick is off school tomorrow. I'm taking off too
since they just 'shell gamed' me at work again today. Last time they did it I
lasted a year before I transferred to another team. It figures once I find where
I want to be they decide they want me somewhere else. Guess it wouldn't bother
me as much if the transfer made sense, but it's just to give a returning, former
manager a team again. I know, sour grapes...
(30 September 2008)
I took off work today since Nick is off school so we could spend time together,
just us 'Stewart Boys'. He wanted to learn and practice shifting, so we got out
there about 11:00 AM and started today's lesson. I had him practice his quick
stops a couple times to make sure he still understood the brakes, then had him,
speed up,
turn around and try it again.
I asked if he was still comfortable with it and he said he was ready to go. I explained shifting to him, or thought I did, and had him try it going down the street toward the other cul-de-sac, performing a quick stop there, then turning around and doing the same thing on the way back to our cul-de-sac.
As expected, the first couple of times his shifting was labored. So I explained shifting in more detail to him. Pull in the clutch while rolling off the throttle a bit and pull the shift lever up, then let the clutch back out while rolling back on the throttle slightly. The idea is to practice doing that as smoothly as possible.
He practiced until he was comfortable going faster and began to lock up the rear brake with the tire smoking, something new and puzzling to him. So I explained the quicker the braking, the more weight is transferred to the front wheel from the rear wheel, and that's why it was starting to happen. He would have to apply more front brake and less rear brake to compensate.
By the time he stopped I was getting a bit nervous since he was pushing himself and the bike to the edge. I think he kind of surprised himself when the stop sign at the end of the road came toward him a bit quicker than he thought it should have. I've seen it time and again, instead of getting on the brakes emergency stop style, the feet go down Fred Flintstone style. By then he was turning into, then turning around in, the neighbor's half circle driveway at the end of the street.
Taking The Next Steps
(17 October 2008)
He's getting pretty good and pretty bored with the Shadow. He wants his dirt
bike running, and keeps sending me links for a new chain and sprockets, but
we're having a hard time finding a gasket set for the engine rebuild. I tell
him we can hold off buying the chain and sprockets until we have the engine
running - no sense wasting the money if we can't get an engine running. Finally
a gasket set shows up on eBay, and we snag it, and take the next step toward
accomplishing that goal.
Meanwhile, we turn our attention to the jugs and pistons. At first we figure, no problem, choose the best looking piston and best looking jug and off we'll go. Wrong. The issue? Two different sizes, one standard, one oversized, and neither looking very good. The only other piston is fried. More searching on eBay... Same as before, nothing.
Nick doesn't let that set him back and looks for something else he can work on, getting a rolling chassis together. He manages to cobble together one from the best of the duplicate parts we have. Since we have nearly two sets of parts, I told him we should try to put as much of the two together as possible. That way, if one stops working or is down for maintenance, he'll have another to ride. He's not interested in looking that far ahead, as far as he's concerned, just getting one running is the task at hand.
(18 January 2009)
Ann finally decides what kind of kitchen cabinets she wants, so not much more
gets done until after the kitchen remodeling is finished. Christmas comes and
goes. Nick has gone about as far as he can without the remaining parts he needs.
In the process, he finds he needs a set of handlebars - the ones we have are for
a bicycle - and the hand controls aren't the correct ones either. The front
forks aren't in the best shape, one set is missing the mud covers, and both need
rebuilt and new seals. Finally eBay has some auctions with the pieces he needs.
One seller has a jug, piston, and forks. Another, a seat, jug, head, and
throttle control.
While we're waiting on the latest acquisitions to arrive, Nick tears down the frame to prep for painting. He paints the swing arm and cleans and polishes the forks. Looks like we're back in business. As it's going back together, he asks about a headlight and taillight. The ignition is a magneto, so no battery to run the lights, just another coil that supplies just 6 volts - unregulated no less. I tell him he can have the old V30 bucket and light, but there's a big difference between 6 volts and 12 volts, so he should try to find a different bulb.
He's upset that the rear fender isn't the correct one, and still wants that taillight, so I tell him he can use the old Shadow fender and one of the spare taillight assemblies I have for it. Again, we discuss finding a 6 volts bulb. He test fits the fender, makes the necessary cuts and holes to make it fit the frame. Next he fashions some brackets for the taillight assembly that fits in the fender. Then he makes the harness modifications to connect it all together. Last is an all over paint job in red, even though the original plastics color is yellow. He never ceases to amaze me. Now all we need is a running engine!
When the jugs and forks and such finally arrive, Nick's ready to get started on the engine. First things first. He cleans up the jugs and pistons and we get a better idea of what will work together. I break out the cylinder gauge and mic's and we set about measuring and starting a rebuild record. One of the jug and piston sets is what looks to be 1.5mm over, and the other set is pretty close to standard. We decide to go with the standard set and Nick starts to put together his needed parts list.
The one thing we have left to find is a crankshaft. We have one from the spare engine, but it's pretty well rusted, and the crankpin roller bearings are a bit too "crunchy" without further cleaning or all out replacement. Unfortunately that involves pressing out the crankpin, unlike ALL the other engines in this garage, which have connecting rod caps and half-shell bearing inserts that can be easily removed and replaced. More searching on eBay.
I take that back... there is one more thing we need, a clutch cover. The only one we have is cracked, with no hope of repair. In fact, a repair had already been attempted by the previous owner, but was a sad attempt and wasn't going to cut it. More searching on eBay. Problem solved 4 February 2009. Still not having any luck finding a crankshaft though.
Lets Get This Party Started!
(3 April 2009)
Well, I was more than shell gamed... Got laid off today - remotely no less! I
called in to let "Bob Bitchin" know I wouldn't be in and was told to call back
at 10:00AM. Wonderful. Great. I have a bad feeling about this... When I call
back, I'm put on speaker with HR as well, promising my personal effects will be
boxed and shipped to me... FedEx Ground no less.
The best thing I can say is they offered a generous severance package, so I signed the waiver and collected my money... minus taxes that is. But this is a good thing, now I'll have time to catch up on all that stuff I've been putting off, like getting my 700 rebuilt for this year's meet and helping Nick get this dirt birt back together and running.
Now that I have all this time on my hands, Ann puts me to work. We spend a week outside, cleaning up around the yard and making some improvements to the grounds in general. She's wanted to dig out the planter by the pool for quite awhile, so now's the time to do it. I do as much as I can to get the first two out, but the last one's being stubborn, and I'm spent. Ann enlists Nick's help for that last one while I sit on the patio, watching and recovering, as I drink a beer or three... Ann's not real happy with me.
Meanwhile, I put together a spending spreadsheet to track the money remaining from my severance and the unemployment funds, helping me project when the money will run out. I do my best to take everything into account - mortgage, bills, even gasoline. Looks like I need to be back to work by Christmas, before that if we want to have a Christmas this year. Before Halloween would be better. Never having to go back to work would be best. 8^D
I even add going to the Super Magna Owners Group annual meet in August, including rebuilding my motorcycle, the Jeep, and Nick's dirt bike. So Nick puts together a list of parts we'll need just to finish rebuilding the engine. As usual, I agonize over the list before ordering, but we finally settle on what we'll need first. New main bearings, carb rebuild parts, fork rebuild parts, missing running gear parts, etc., to the tune of $350 or so.
Come Together, Right Now
(6 June 2009)
While we're waiting on them, Nick gets started on cleaning the rest of the
engine parts, and I get to (finally) fix the aluminum siding I had to tear out
of the atrium when the hot water pipe in the laundry room wall sprang a leak. We
couldn't find an exact match, so we chose vinyl siding similar in size and color.
We could then plant some shrubs, or something dense, to hide the differences
when I was done.
To do it right this time, I had to remove the hot water tank to get at the other side of the wall, and finish what I couldn't at the time. While I was at it, I wanted to tear out the so called "permanent" fix the plumber made... a piece of plastic crimped between the hot water tank and the existing copper, leaving a huge, gaping hole and no way to rough in the wall behind the tank. At least he put in a union like I asked. While I had the tank out, I installed a union on the supply side so I could remove the tank with relative ease in the future, but replacing the plastic would have to wait.
Getting back to the story at hand, we were never able to find a replacement crankshaft, so Nick cleaned up the one we had as best he could. Between the two of us, we were able to get the connecting rod bearing "crunch" cleaned up enough to entertain using it to rebuild the engine. Nick has already installed the new main bearings and reassembles the kickstart shaft in one crankcase half and the transmission in the other crankcase half. After a quick test fit without the crankshaft, it's time to lubricate the crankpin bearing and button it up. The crankshaft definitely looks out of place next to all the nice, clean, bright metal.
The next step, assembling the clutch, took some figuring in the way of tool making. Nick pops in to ask if I have a "clutch spring tool"... Nope. All the clutches in all the other engines in the garage have retaining bolts, not pins. To make things even more complicated, the springs actually thread into one half of the clutch while the pins hold the other ends of the springs in tension against the other half. Hence the need for the "spring tool". Near as I can tell from the manual, it's just a a hook with a handle, and probably many $$$. I quickly fashion one from some 12# copper wire wrapped around a short piece of dowel. Works like a charm... well, almost.
After hours of one of those "need three hands" operations, the clutch is done and the cover installed. If you look closely, you can see the makeshift tool in the background. It worked well to pull the springs up to insert the pins, but getting it out once the pins were placed was difficult at best. With that done, the magneto / alternator, flywheel, and cover are next. It's really starting to come together now.
Nick pops in again looking for the piston ring compressor and the next thing I know the piston and jug are installed. All that remains is installing the head and mounting it in the frame. Then comes the airbox and carburetor.
Stayed tuned, much more to come... Until then, here's my "vanity" pic on the CMSNL site.
Back to Summary
Things done...
- Sorted parts from 5 gallon buckets into boxes, bins and crates.
- Consulted online parts fiches and ordered shop manual.
- Removed flywheel from 'good' engine after drilling out partially sheared key, mutilating crankshaft in the process.
- Disassembled 'good' engine crankcase.
- Cleaned crankcase halves and bearings.
- Obtained gasket set and seals.
- Measured parts, verified tolerances within specification, and recorded in spreadsheet.
- Painted frame and assembled rolling chassis.
- Rebuilt engine.
- Obtained carburetor rebuild kit and rebuilt.
- Obtained replacement frame parts - levers, switches, taillight, chain and sprockets.
- Painted Tins.
- Rebuilt engine.
- Painted Tins.
Things left to do...
- Fire it up and ride the Hell out of it!