1971 Single sided swingarm fastback (2011)

J.A.W. · Nov 23, 2012

Bloody brilliant pix posts, cheers, M.A..

motoalchemist · Nov 23, 2012

Snorton74 said:
And still so much wknd left! Lookin frwd to engine build pics.

Yes, but sometime my wife has plans for me that I didn't make, lol

Hobot · Nov 23, 2012

From the big bad 1%'rs to us timid proper Brit bike types, SMBO is universally understand to mean she who must be obeyed. Will be interesting to hear ride reports and how it confuses on lookers.

Snorton74 · Nov 24, 2012

motoalchemist said:
Snorton74 said:

And still so much wknd left! Lookin frwd to engine build pics.

Click to expand...

Yes, but sometime my wife has plans for me that I didn't make, lol

By the looks of your shop she gives you plenty of time for you. That's a keeper.

motoalchemist · Nov 25, 2012

Snorton74 said:
motoalchemist said:

Snorton74 said:

And still so much wknd left! Lookin frwd to engine build pics.

Click to expand...

Yes, but sometime my wife has plans for me that I didn't make, lol

Click to expand...

By the looks of your shop she gives you plenty of time for you. That's a keeper.

yeah, ya know i do need to remember that once in awhile, I am very lucky when itg comes to my time with bikes. she is a keeper!!. Of course that green ZX6 you see in the backround is her bike. So she completly understands my passion for working/riding on bikes.
As a matter of fact, here she is working on said Ninja....this was a few years back when I had bought her some new Galifer rotors.
and she installed them herself

1971 Single sided swingarm fastback (2011)

motoalchemist · Nov 25, 2012

Anyway, sorry for off topic pics, back to the Norton project,

I wasworking on installing the gearbox and tourqed up the upper gearbox bolt...but I missed that one of the adjuster blocks was not seated all the way..and as I tightend the main bolt it caused the threaded adjuster to bend....dammit!!!

so I took it all back out and will have to heat this up and straighten it out

Hobot · Nov 25, 2012

Your photos are a mind trip, a glowing wife doing her on motorcycle maintenance and Commando modification that is beautiful done yet some how so wrong...
Hope the bent over sight is the worse of any hang ups to come.

J.A.W. · Nov 25, 2012

No apologies required M.A., great thread, great pix, & I `ll [almost] resist the temptation to include any potentially ambiguous quips about getting lovely wifey to hold on to your twanging assimilator `til you get the fixings tight in situ..
Hey, & apologies in advance if I am out of line...

motoalchemist · Nov 25, 2012

J.A.W. said:
No apologies required M.A., great thread, great pix, & I `ll [almost] resist the temptation to include any potentially ambiguous quips about getting lovely wifey to hold on to your twanging assimilator `til you get the fixings tight in situ..
Hey, & apologies in advance if I am out of line...

no worries man, this is a motorcycle forum. lol

grandpaul · Nov 26, 2012

Great stuff. When my (then, future) wyfe told me about overhauling the carb on her brother's Trail 70 so she could go tearing around the neighborhood with her best friend on the back, I knew she was a keeper!

motoalchemist · Nov 26, 2012

grandpaul said:
Great stuff. When my (then, future) wyfe told me about overhauling the carb on her brother's Trail 70 so she could go tearing around the neighborhood with her best friend on the back, I knew she was a keeper!

Yep thats the early signs of keepers, I'm glad we brought this up..it's reminded me of how luck y some of us are. And here I was considering trading in for a newer sportier model......and I'm not talking about the bike!

grandpaul · Nov 26, 2012

motoalchemist said:
And here I was considering trading in for a newer sportier model......and I'm not talking about the bike!

That can get MIGHTY expensive; don't ask how I know this, although I wasn't even the one that initiated the trade-up!

motoalchemist · Dec 2, 2012

grandpaul said:
motoalchemist said:

And here I was considering trading in for a newer sportier model......and I'm not talking about the bike!

Click to expand...

That can get MIGHTY expensive; don't ask how I know this, although I wasn't even the one that initiated the trade-up!

Yes I know, I have been through and upgrade before...big $$$$

motoalchemist · Dec 2, 2012

Just wanted to update you all onvthis weeks progress. Of course I never get as much as I want to done. Things Like family and Job keep getting in way

This week I decided i am going to prepare the cylinder head. I have new guides, valves and on the left you cansee my little home made removal and installation tool

Close up of tool, took about 20 mins on a lathe. gunna have to madeanother cause the smaller diameter is worn and doesnt fit quite as tight in guide bores as it should...this is important to install a guide undamaged

First, Bake Head at 250 degress for one hour. This is an autoclave , those hoses are the vacuum lines which I dont need, i just used it as an oven.

HEre is a pic of the old guides about to be punched out. Unfortunatly i didnt get a pic of the head with guides out . I had heat gloves on and I couldnt handle camera

motoalchemist · Dec 2, 2012

Here is the head with new guides installed and about to be final reamed for valve stem fit. works best with a piloted reamer and a bridgeport. but Ive had good luck doing it carefully by hand

After reaming, I have this stone on a long shaft that fits perfectly in guides. Using a high tourqe, low RPM drill motor i ever slightly cut a new seat .... just enough to allow proper seat width and 360 degree contact....this stone is another home made tool. Bar stock shaft and the stone was just a cylinder milled to a 45 degree angle on a lathe

After cutting with stome, I lapp in seats by hand useing progressivly finer lapping compound. In this picture you can just make out the gray rings around the new valves and the seats, this is what you want , a dull gray symetrical ring.

motoalchemist · Dec 2, 2012

After all machining drilling and lapping, i wash the head. Here is the head about to be washed in a just under boiling water detergent solution. it is very acidic and aluminum shouldnt be in it for very long, couple of minutes at most. after vigorous wash it gets submerged in a hot water tank for 15 minutes. the result leaves the head squeaky clean and it brightens the aluminum, and no swag to damage valve train

cjandme · Dec 2, 2012

Very Nice !! When I was a kid I remember helping my Dad hand lapp the valves and seats on his '69 Mustang cylinder head, it had a 6 banger in it and we had over 100,000 miles on it by 1975. I'm looking forward to removing the head on 850 and installing new valve guides if need be. My garage isn't as well equipped as yours though. Cj

Hobot · Dec 2, 2012

Al is not very reactive to acids but sure is to alkaline solutions such as strong detergents so limit time in dish washer hot baths and rinse well soon after. Nitric acid can be used to dissolve a steel stud out of Al w/o hurting the Al threads or surrounds. Head alloy is a darker alloy than the cases or covers so I wonder if the detergent brightening effect is d/t dissolving some the alloying toughening elements out of the surface. I have brass wire brushed my heads with phos acid and didn't get brightening just more shiny smoother darker head surface.

motoalchemist · Dec 3, 2012

hobot said:
Al is not very reactive to acids but sure is to alkaline solutions such as strong detergents so limit time in dish washer hot baths and rinse well soon after. Nitric acid can be used to dissolve a steel stud out of Al w/o hurting the Al threads or surrounds. Head alloy is a darker alloy than the cases or covers so I wonder if the detergent brightening effect is d/t dissolving some the alloying toughening elements out of the surface. I have brass wire brushed my heads with phos acid and didn't get brightening just more shiny smoother darker head surface.

This solution is more of a detergent designed for degreasing without solvents, and it does brighten Al just a bit . Funny though, we aren't suppose to dunk Ti in this tub, separate tub for that metal.