Seat Covers, Bases, Rust and Ruin.

I ordered a new seat cover off Ebay because I just happened across it ,and thought I'd better snap it up (that's me all over!). I'm certainly nowhere near that stage yet but at the end of the day - it doesn't matter what you do first.

But maybe I should have had a better look at the seat before splashing out on a new cover!

 

 

Time to get the old cover off and check that seat base.  Looking a little corroded!

 

The staples are very rusty but, with gentle leverage, came out of the plastic strips that are rivetted to the seat base.  Any sharp bits left were taken out with a long-nosed pliers.

So, as the cover came off, the donkey was able to see the carrot.

 

Unfortunately, the base was worse than I first thought.  Not impossible but it might be better to source another seat rather than try and repair.  I'll have a think about this one.

 

The foam, which I thought was in bad shape, didn't turn out to be too bad.  A good wash and I think it's reusable.  Yes I'm serious.  It's still nice and soft and the rough sections shouldn't show once the seat cover is fitted.  I've seen worse.

Sorry if you thought that there might be a shiny new seat sitting at the end - that's how it goes sometimes.  Half the battle when restoring bikes is maintaining the motivation when the rust crumbles in your hands - oh, and money, money's always a problem!

Spend time thinking about the solution - not the problem.

The Carburettor: Bing 84

Anyone who's tried to strip an old carburettor will know of the hardships involved: blocked airways, damaged screw heads, seized jets.  The state of the outside didn't bode well.

Nevertheless, it needed to be cleaned - it needed to be stripped.

Using a mixture of WD40, soapy water and carb cleaner, I managed to get the outside clean enough to work on.

The quick release clip for the float bowl moved with ease. 

A few taps with a screwdriver handle to separate the bowl from the cork gasket and it was off.

It wasn't pretty but I set to work with the carb cleaner and screwdriver and it began to clean up really well.  In fact, the float bowl is in superb condition compared to my military 250 Can-am.  Having sat in a pond for years, the military version's had begun to rot out.

The float pivot slid out like a new one!

The float needle - looks in reasonable fettle to be fair.

Like a bought one!

The entire carb came apart as if it was put together yesterday.  Not bad for 35 years old.

Take note of every jet, spring etc.  Easy to lose parts so take your time and keep your work area clean.  When unscrewing jets, use a quality screwdriver that fits the slot properly.  Brass jets are easily damaged but I'm pleased to say the pilot jet was in superb condition.

If you have access to a compressor, blow out all of the airways/jets and check that the air is passing right through.

The only thing I need to get is the tickler mechanism as it's rotted slightly.  I'll finish the cleaning/polishing when I fit it.

Vinegar - one week later.

I wasn't sure what to expect.  The vinegar was definitely doing something because the colour had turned dark brown (the rust magically dropping off?).

So, a quick wash off in water was in order.  The parts were coated in a grey/black residue which needed washing off and a quick rub with a wire brush.

The pliers will rust quickly after being in the vinegar so wash them, and WD40 them, straight after.

The next step was to tidy the threads up using a thread chaser kit.  A tap and die set would also be fine for this but I didn't have a large enough die.

This is a great kit - not that expensive either considering it's Snap On, and it has got me out of a lot of trouble over the years. 

It has slots placed within the thread of the "chaser" nut so that any swarf cleaned from the threads can stay away from the bolt, preventing further damage.

You can see the slots more clearly here on the tap version.

I'm pleased with the results.  Not all the bolts have come up to this standard but I'll perservere and replace only the parts that I need to.

Progress - removing the flywheel.

At last, things have started to move on the bike.  Well, slightly - I've been taking it apart and cleaning the odd part.

The corrosion under the generator cover was quite intense.  I had a puller for the flywheel but it wasn't even going to attempt to start on the rusted thread!  Time for a Dremel  with a tiny wire brush - it worked a treat.

A puller is a wise investment.  I've damaged flywheels before when thinking a lever and a sharp tap to break the taper is enough to remove it.  It doesn't always work and one damaged flywheel is worth a lot more than a puller.

So, with thread nicely cleaned, it was time to see if it would screw on.  Plenty of WD40 and slight persuasion and it was soon screwing on easily. 

 

Ideally you need it to screw on all the way.  It's very tempting to get it on a couple of threads and try to remove the flywheel, but very often this will strip the vital first threads.  Persevere until you get it on properly, then tighten the bolt in the middle before applying a sharp tap with a hammer.  This is how you "break" the taper.

Tighten the bolt in the middle again if the flywheel hasn't dropped off.  Then apply another sharp tap.  Repeat the process, always tightening the bolt, until it releases.

And there we have one undamaged flywheel.

Shed Sanctuary and Inner Peace.

Do NOT Enter!
It's not that long ago that I spent more time in the garage, or shed, than the house itself. Why? Because sometimes you have to be at one with your project. People all too often get in the way; chatting at you idly, words just floating past as you try to concentrate on the next job. There's something about the inner peace I get from being alone in my favourite environment. 

As a kid, mates used to congregate at our garage because I was always busy working/playing on something, from pushbikes to 'crossers, sometimes even Dad's '61 Triumph. That was me, it was where I learnt the hard way about taking things apart, and trying to put them back together. And things didn't exactly change as I got older.

I could stand for hours staring at my bikes, literally in freezing conditions. I didn't care - a thick padded shirt on top of my overalls, a fresh brew and I was set for the evening. Procrastinating, problem solving, admiring and so on. To the outsider this maybe viewed as weird and boring, but to the enthusiast (ooh that sounds lame) it's a reason for living. 

So should we feel bad about this need for alone time, being at one with machinery? No way! We only pass this way once and it should be enjoyed as much as is humanly possible. If that involves deep thought about the next repair, ride or restoration, then think away. 

Parts Cleaning with Vinegar - it ain't just for chips!

Cleaning ya bits.
So what do you reckon?  I'd heard about the wonders of using vinegar on rusted parts to bring them back up like the proverbial shiny pin.  Had to be worth a try, vinegar is as cheap as chips (doh) and the parts could be cleaning themselves while I carry on with more pressing tasks.

So, couple of bottles of Black and Gold white vinegar later, I had a small acid bath in action.

One rusty bolt

I'll check again in a week.

One snag I have come across today when I walked past - saw some fizzing going on in the vinegar and thought "Great, it's doing the job!"

In with the long nosed pliers to grab whatever it was that was fizzing to find the rear brake adjusting nut as clean as a whistle.  Unfortunately, it was aluminium and half the size it should have been!  It was literally crumbling in my hands!  Yes, vinegar is far too strong for alluminium parts so from now on, we'll stick with steel!

A Scotch in the hand is worth a bike in the bush.

Creepie Crawlies.
It seems that precautions are needed when restoring anything that's been lying around in Australia for a few years.  So far I've come across spiders, woodlice, some sort of centipede and, worst of all, ants.  Now, I'm none too fond of ants and, to be fair, they were none too impressed at being poked around by me when the stripdown commenced - but they had to go!

The handlebars and the front hub were absolutely full of the little buggers and I'm seriously hoping I've seen the last of them. 

Now back to the project.

The corrosion does look quite severe but I'm hoping there are some good bits left underneath.

The air filter (long since disintegrated) complete with nest of some description.

The ants were calm at this point.  It was when I tried to remove the anchor plate that they went nuts!

 

The linings had plenty of life left in them - shame they were no longer attached to the shoes!  And yes, the hub was full of ant eggs.

She's wearing the wrong mudguard and the seat is a little dilapidated but this just adds to the fun of restoration.

When you begin the stripdown, always label everything and put it away in boxes.  I'm not too concerned this time because I'm familiar with Can-am's but, had it been another make, I'd be labelling it all.  Photos also help with the obscure parts.