Total Motorcycle Community Forums

hey, im jason and i am 17 years old. i am working on a motorcycle that has not run in 30+ years. my father drove it in atlanta georgia and one day, after he saw a dog get nailed, he quit riding it just like that. it then sat under a house in a basement for 20 years. so the condensation rusted the rings to the cylinders and i now have a locked engine. i took the engine off the bike and have it on a table (my uncle told me to do that...he used to race them, now he restores them). i need several things; how do i unlock the engine without too much cylinder damage; after i get it unlocked, what should the next step be; when i get it running i want to make it a show bike...is it possible to nickel plate aluminum?

here is what i know about its current state...
carbs are clean (although the tank had 30 year old gas in it)
the oil pump had 2 stroke engine oil of the same age
i will need oversized pistons and bored cylinders


assume that i know the mechanical part of the whole deal, cause i understand 2 stroke engines...i am just so young i dont know where to start. i would love some answers.
thanks,
Jason

Welcome to the forums.

Looks like you've got a real project on your hands. I can't really offer any advise on getting everything moving again, as I don't have a whole lot of experiance, but I can know everyone else will be full of ideas. Why don't you take some pictures of everything, and post them up here. That way everyone can have a look at what yoru seeing, and might be able to make better suggestions. If your looking for somewhere to host the images I use http://www.photobucket.com/.

Well good luck, hope to hear more about the progress you make, as I'm in the same boat, only being 18 and restoring a bike (although sounds like yours will need alot more work then mine). I hope your prepaird to make a good investment into this bike, because if its been sitting for 30+ years, its gonna need alot of work.

Edit: I'd suggest you drain thsoe fluids and replace them with new ones. Check out the inside of your gas tank, and if it is free of rust and grim, fill it with new gas so that the inside dosn't rust out.

Edit again: You might get better responces in one of the Total motorcycle Garage sections of the forum. index.php?c=3

There. Moved to a more appropriate section.

Good luck on getting your bike restored and running again.

Hey Dude. Jumpin' in with both feet ,eh?

O.k..... well it might have been easier to unstick your engine with it still in the frame, just to have i supported, by no matter. Yank the plugs and pour some good penetrating oil down the holes and let it sit for a day or so. Reapeat if needed. Then jump on the kick starter untill it rolls over. You are only doing this to make taking it apart easier, you will need to completely refurbish the engine. There are shops that can recondition the cylinders to original or oversize if you like, and the outside can be polished to a nice, chromey shine. So can the crankcases. And the crank, crank bearings and seals will all need to be replaced/reconditioned. Clutch is probably fubared too..... so basically the whole engine needs major lovin' inside and out. Dunno what your pipes are like, hopefully they are perfect.

Your carbs might look clean, but I bet they ain't. A good and serious dismantle and clean session will be needed. You can polish the beejeezuz out of the outside of them too, if you like. Do that when they are stripped and vulnerable spread out in front of you, or your going to have to strip and clean them again.

Then all you have to do is redo all the wireing, strip and paint the frame and bodyparts, polish up the wheels and forks and shocks and such.... pieceapiss.....

What kind of shows do you want this bike for? If you want to enter it as an original condition bike, then all the above goes out the window, except rebuilding the engine. Then you have to match or replicate original finishes and exact parts, that's a whole nother world of hurt......

So seeing a dog get some lovin' really made him stop riding?...... that musta been a hellva blitch he saw.....

As far as getting the engine freed up, I had to do the same thing on an old 302 I was rebuilding for my mustang. The best thing we found to free up cylinders is called "Marvel mystery oil". You should check it out, the stuff works great. Good luck on your project, it sounds like you have a lot of work to do.

yea dude, the dog scared him suposedly. anyways...the kickstarter is gone...broken off. but not the part that slips on the arm of the kickstarter gears. in other words, the kickstarter broke in half...the part that you step on. dont know if that is clear. anyways. will all the wire have to be redone? where are some good motorcycle part sites? what do i do after i get the pistons free and cylinders off and everything? i know i have to crack open the crankcase and clean that up, but is there more i need to do in there?
jason

that kickstarts going to be a dogs, when i first started, i looked a t aold handa that had the same broken kickstart and the part was gonna cost like 200$ because the only place I found a shaft was a junkyard 3 hrs away and it takes like 8 hrs to get it out(remove engine, split case remove shaft) and then replace it the new bike. Too much of a PITA. Sounds like you're gonna have a nightmare trying to find ALL the parts needed for the bike like gaskets and gears and dodo.

As for the wiring, you may or may not have to rewire it. Best bet is to find a wiring diagram(internet) and the do continuity test on all the wires, find the start and end of each wire, use a multimeter and make sure they are all good and go from there

GOOD LUCK!!

make a list of the parts you think you will need and try to total up what it will cost to get it running then add another $1500.00.sometimes these things turn into endless money pits.i have traveled that rough road too many times.

led_zeppelin wrote: .........when i get it running i want to make it a show bike......thanks,
Jason

Maybe show bike has a slightly different meaning to me than it does to you, but yes, I would say redo the wireing, as well as everything else. If you just want a runner, that's different, you can just patch what's buggered since what it looks like doesn't matter. Still gonna need to do the whole engine to get any sort of reliability from it, though....

If you still have the two parts of the kick start you could have a welding shop weld them back together for you for around $10.00.

I would find a shop that will TIG weld it for more strength.

If you have no luck finding some place mail it to me and I'll weld it up for you.

I did a quick Google of your bike and there are plenty of clubs and forums on your bike.

You might have more luck getting info with people that own the same bike.

It also looks that parts are readily available not the cheapest parts but not the most expensive either.

I agree with every one to put some penetrating oil down the jugs and let it soak for a few days adding a little more every day.

If you can't get it to turn over buy the kick start after a few days then pull then:

1-Pull off the heads
2-get a good piece of a hard wood (Oak Banister pieces are always good fits into the cylider with out hitting the walls)
3-cut wood into a manageable size
4-with oil still in the cylinder smack the piston down with the wood and a small mallet.

Make sure to work the piston in the down piston first then over to the other one making sure not to hit the cylinder walls.

Try not to drive the piston all the way down.

Just get them moving enough to slide the jugs off.

You don't wont to damage the crank then the party will be over.

Good Luck Mike