It's starting to actually look real

Well I am starting to get that wow feeling. I've been looking at lots of the old photos as I am putting things back together and trying to figure out where things go. The engine looks a ton better and I can't even begin to believe I am using the same front swingarm/fork as the one I started with. It is just night and day. Here's the swing arm before and after. There is also another picture of the swing arm below.



And here's the engine before and after:





I went ahead and installed the rear brake & drum, the piston & chamber, the stator & flywheel, as well as the spark plug and most of the engine wiring. I also started rebuilding my front fork, well at least the front axle & brakes and everything else I could do without the fork.

Here's what I learned on this part of the rebuild.

1. The rear brake actuator is your key to making the rear brake install easier. Start with the brake pads with the spring on. The brake actuator should not be all the way slid in. Put the ends of the brake shoes with the metal pads around the actuator. As you slide the actuator in you can slide the brake shoes on to their posts.

Here comes the hard part. At the same time you are doing this find someone to help you slide the brake lever and spring on to the actuator as it slides down.

That was the easiest way I found to do the rear brakes. Otherwise you are fighting that spring trying to lever your brakes on. This also works the same way on the front brake but is actually a lot easier as you don't have to worry about sliding all those parts on there right away as you have a much more open and unobstructed area.

Don't forget to grease up the actuator.

2. Don't drive your piston engine studs too far into the case. Otherwise you might not have room for the washers & nut. This is especially true for the one stud that also has the long nut used to hold the piston cover. Otherwise my piston install went real smooth. I did heat up the actual piston with the hair dryer and put the wrist pin in the freezer for a little bit. It slid right in without any real fuss. I also lubed up my piston chamber with 2 stroke oil.

3. The front fork is almost equally frustrating putting it back together. Here's my tips on that. Heat up the swing arm on the big bearing side. Drop the bearing in and use the old bearing as a punch. Tap it in with the rubber mallet. Shouldn't be too hard. Next install the seal and next install the axle from the hub side. This should be obvious as the axle wouldn't be able to go in any other way. Be sure to add some grease to the seal as well as the axle itself.


The smaller bearing is a real bitch to install. DO NOT try to tap it in. There is a much easier way to do this bearing. With the axle all ready in flip over the swing arm and drop in the small bearing. Now take the washer and slip it on and take the nut and start to tighten it. You will need to put the hub, woodruff key, and castle nut on to the axle because you don't want the axle to spin as you tighten the nut. As you tighten the nut it should push in the bearing. Just keep doing this until you figure out the bearing is in all the way.

You may need to position the axle with a few taps. This might not make sense but when you tighten the nut against the smaller bearing it also pulls the axle as well. If you pull to far the axle really digs into the seal and gives lots of resistance. Your front axle will have some resistance because of that seal but it shouldn't be too bad. You want the axle to be a little bit out from the seal.


3. Putting the swing arm back together proved a little perplexing. Somehow I ended up with a couple of bags that just said front fork bits. That wasn't good. I wish I had done a better job of bagging and also taking pictures. It took me a while to figure out exactly where each part went. I would strongly suggest you pay particular attention to where the suspension spring meets the pivot rod. There are a couple of very specific washers that go in a particular order that you will need to be absolutely sure you get right. This was a real bitch to figure out and put back together. The spacing is very very tight, as it should be. Take lots of pictures as you pull that section apart. Again make sure you lube everything up as you are sliding that rod through.