Recycling and The Art of Motorcycle Repair.

A mangled 1973 Honda Z50 brake pedal that was in the junk bin. Sometimes when I hang onto stuff like this I question whether it would better to just toss it into the recycle bin.

The hammer handle was used for a grab handle on the 1948 BSA WM20. Putting this bike on the rear wheel stand was awkward and required lifting the rear of the bike by the fender. Hickory is an extremely strong and durable wood, and the patina from years of use fits with the appearance of the bike. The vertical steel parts of the handle were formed from 3/8” tube.

The Z50 brake pedal was used to make a rear stand foot lever. Hollow, tapered, curved pieces of metal are not easy to come up with, and the pedal middle section made for the perfect solution. The end was welded up to form a rounded tip. The combo of the grab bar and foot lever allows you to put the bike on the stand using one foot and hand, with significantly less difficulty.

The tank from Fabian Campos “Morrison” Honda CB500T was dented in a spill and is getting repaired.

A device made to push dents out of the tank. The bent piece of rod fits inside the gas tank filler hole, and the tip is placed on the back of the dent. The thin piece of rod touching it is used to determine exactly where the tip is once it is inside the tank. Once the tip is in place, the tank is pulled using finger pressure near the dent, where you can feel the progress.

Here the dent is mostly gone. requiring only a small amount of body filler to smooth it out.

Working on Jason Lee’s motorized bicycle. It needed a basic revival and clean up. Some of the rusted parts were re-plated or painted. This is the before picture.

Bolts and covers after zinc plating. The motor mounting plate was repainted and polished stainless hardware was used to bolt it all together.

The before of the rear chain roller.

After some reshaping and plating. Once again stainless bolts were used to hold it together.

Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Greeves, Honda. Builds, revivals, prepping for sale.

The look the client was wanting was a modern bobber, with a more compact appearance. The bike is a family legacy bike, and some of the original elements are being retained as a tribute to its original owner. The tank and fenders will be mostly black, saving the red side panels on the tank, and matching the fenders. The original rear fender was bobbed (a few times) and the front fender will be a shortened version of the original one. The handlebars are for mock-up only and will be replaced with some lower ones. The chrome on the wheels, shocks, and forks will be blacked out.

Without the foot and hand controls, the bike already looks a lot less cluttered. Mid foot controls will replace the factory forwards. The bars and cockpit will be kept minimal with Motogadget m-Unit controller, instruments, and controls. A solo seat and fender seat bump will be next.

The S&S 124cu in. engine will be largely left alone aside from a new starter, decomp valves, new pipes, and some cosmetic touches. The shocks were put in a more upright position to raise the rear of the bike.

On the 30th of this month, DentonMoto is going to have some bikes for sale at our Movie Night. The showing is at Andy’s on the Square here in Denton, and this beautiful 1962 Greeves 250 motocross model will be one of the offerings. This is a picture fresh from the barn, but the bike is undergoing a good cleaning and revival.

That front end!

Another one for sale will be this cherry 1973 Yamaha CT-1, with all the original finishes in great shape. 175cc’s of two-stroke sweetness.

A new rear tube is on the way to perk up the rear end.

The 1975 CL360 will be looking for a new owner at the movie night.

And finally, this 1971 CT70 custom with 108cc engine will be at the sale. Tons of new parts, but original paint and chrome.

Sorting out electrics on the 1948 BSA WM20, cleaning out bung holes on the Triumph 140

The contacts and rotor feeler contact have been resurfaced and reassembled. So cool these older parts can be serviced and refreshed. Lucas electrics sometimes referred to as "the Prince of Darkness," are hopefully in good working order now.

There was a rat's nest of wires around the battery box, with a lot of redundant and non-original wiring. Most of this was stuffed in the battery box, but still did not look very professional. Because of a parasitic drain on the battery, it was decided that a battery key switch was needed as well.

More of the loose hanging wires. One of my other passions is circuit bending electronics, and this sort of dodgy mess makes me cringe. 

A small cylinder was fabbed up from 22 gauge steel to hold the battery disconnect switch. An existing bolt was used to mount it behind the battery box.

The after picture with the key switch fully mounted and wires tucked away. Some of the wiring was wrapped back into the wiring harness, some shortened, and some straps added to hold everything in place. Inside the battery box the wiring is more compact and tidy as well.

Once again, it is the small details that need attention. This is the bottom of the fiberglass tank on the 1971 Triumph TR6C dirt bike. The petcock bungs on both sides had weeping leaks that needed addressing. An inspection revealed several faults. First thing wrong is that a layer of paint was left on the mating surfaces. This will naturally turn to goo and funnel fluid under the paint layer, destroying the surrounding paint. On each side there were two steel washers used  to seal the petcocks. It is a wonder it did not leak more than it did.

After the paint was removed, an even worse problem was the deep gouges on the brass bung mating surface. Don't know whether to blame the painter of mechanic, but this is not what I would consider attention to detail on the part of either. Ultimately, whoever put these petcocks on should have taken care of these problems.

The bung on the opposite side was gouged even worse, concealed by a layer of paint. Clearly not just an oversight, but a consistent fail. There was a lot of red residue from gas that wicked up under the tank.

After several minutes with 320 wet sand paper and a honing stone, most of the gouges have disappeared. The remaining ones were removed and the other side dressed down as well. Super important to keep the honing device flat and perpendicular to the bore.

Lastly, the footpegs for the 1975 CL360 arrived and got fresh hardware and paint to spruce them up.