Finished!

Finally, the completed bike! After completing the rebuild, I added a set of Chase Harper saddlebags and some other extra bits. This is a nice studio shot a friend of mine did of the completed project.

Broken Camshaft Tip

Just found out that at some point the camshaft tip (lower part of the photo) had been broken. In order to hold the advance unit in place on the shaft, someone tapped into the tip of the shaft and the advance is now held in place with an allen screw and washer, with a small circlip of some type in between to keep it tight.

Almost Finished?

With the new Corbin seat in place, I'm only waiting for a new headlamp rubber gasket and I'll be able to finally assemble the headlight.

Then, I'll go through the whole bike one more time to recheck torque settings, adjust cables, and make sure there isn't anything I've forgotten.

Work In Progress

Haven't had an overall shot of the work in progress for a while, so here it is. I've got the handlebars and controls mostly back on, and the big task at this point is installing all new cables. I put the tank in place to make sure all the wiring and cables avoid hitting spots they shouldn't.

Also at this point, the carbs are back in place, since I'm done adjusting the top end (except for a teeny problem on the right side I'll discuss later). Back to work!

Ignition Switch Cover Dilemma

As I was installing the ignition switch cover on the headlamp bucket, I realized that the little brass post for the plastic slider spring was missing. Since I had bought the new (used) headlamp bucket on ebay, I still had the old one. The original still had the brass fitting attached, but as it turns out, the fitting (right) was riveted into the bucket and was not reusable.

Long story short, I needed a quick fix. I broke apart an old spark plug (left) and snipped off the end, just below the washer-like lip pictured. Then, using an extra washer inside the bucket and another one on the outside, I had a new post! I used a little blue Loctite to secure it in place. And the fix is hidden from view by the chrome ignition switch cover.

Restriping Chrome Panels

The black stripes on the chrome battery covers and the fuel tank panels badly needed repainting. I wiped the panels clean, and scraped off any loose bits of old paint. Then, I carefully masked off the areas I didn't want to paint with masking tape, even curving the corners to match the original paint job. I used a large sheet of paper to make a window that covered the remainder of the panel.

I used a matte finish trim black, available at most auto parts stores. It's an aerosol product, and I used four or five coats, letting the paint dry between coats. After I removed the masking, I touched up a few small areas the paint missed by spraying some paint in a jar and brushing it on with a touch-up brush.

Clutch Throwout Bearing

The throwout bearing sits in the back of the gearbox, where it is normally held in place by the clutch arm assembly. My model /5 has the ball bearing type, as pictured. Some later ones had "needles" instead of the ball bearings. Moving the gearbox around the shop during disassembly, I've been careful not to lose this piece, as it drops out fairly easily once the clutch assembly is removed.

On reassembly, the throwout bearing should be lubed with non-moly NLG1-2 grease, the same stuff you use for other bearings (fork, wheel, etc.) After lubing, insert the bearing back in, then put a drop of regular moly grease on the tip of the clutch rod (you can see the rod sticking partly out in the center of the photo). Then you're ready to reassemble the clutch arm parts.

Gearbox Reattached

Here's a view of the gearbox back in the frame. Notice that I wrapped parts of the frame with towels to prevent scratching. Even though it's not that difficult to put the gearbox back into the frame, you will scratch it if you're not careful. Also, make sure you put it in from the left side of the motorcycle.

Clutch Spline Lube 2

Here's a view of the clutch side. You can see the clutch plate and, in the center, the spline. Same thing applies here as in the last post -- grease only the outer portion of the spline surface, and don't get any grease on the front surface of the hub. Any excess grease may find its way onto the clutch plate and you don't want that.

If you are worried about having applied too much grease, an option is to slide the gearbox on all the way, then back it off a little and see if any grease has been forced out of the spline area. If so, you can wipe the excess off and slide the whole thing together again. The two halves should fit tightly together without a hitch. Piece of cake.

Clutch Spline Lube 1

Ready for the clutch spline lube. There are plenty of articles out there on the subject, so I'll just go over the few important points I've learned. Number one, notice the beer in the background. Important. Equally important is number two, the gearbox. Make sure that all mating surfaces (basically any of the flat surfaces you see in the photo) are cleaned with solvent. These surfaces must sit tight against their counterparts. There is no gasket between the gearbox and the engine housing. Next, apply a fairly thin coat of grease to the splines (the teeth in the center). Don't pack the "valleys" full of grease, just coat the outer splines. Do the same on the clutch plate splines. I use straight Honda Moly 60 Paste for this. Make sure there is no grease on the front of the hub, only on the splines. At this point, you can also place a drop of regular moly grease on the tip of the clutch rod you see in the center of the hub.

Center Stand Springs 2

The right hand side shackle is smaller and only has the one hole for mounting the right center stand spring.

The most important thing is to make sure the springs attach to the underside of the posts on the center stand, as you can see in the lower left of the photo. If you attach the spring over the top of this post, the spring will not retract properly when the bike is off the stand.

Center Stand Springs 1

Now that I have the engine back in the frame, I've attached the center stand springs. The front engine mount bolt has a shackle on either side separating the engine from the frame. Shown here is the left side shackle, which has holes for both the side stand (below) and center stand springs. My original side stand is shot, so I won't be reinstalling that. However, the shackle gets installed like before since it's also used for holding the center stand spring.

The right hand side shackle is smaller and only has the top hole for the center stand spring.

Engine Back In the Frame

Mounting the front tire back on finally gave the bike more stability again. And since I had done a preliminary cleaning of the engine block, I decided to put the engine back onto the bike at this point. Unless you're really going to tear into the engine, it's just as easy if not easier to get at any necessary parts with the engine in the frame. For now, I just lifted it back into position (sounds easy, huh?) and slipped the two engine mount bolts through the frame.

Front Fork Reinstalled!

Here's the front fork assembly reinstalled into the frame, along with the headlamp bucket. The fork springs are sticking out of the tubes until I place the front tire and fender mount bracket on and am ready to put in the new fork oil.

New parts to note here: polished top fork nut (31 42 1 230 478); rubber front tank support (16 11 1 230 031); upper (31 42 1 230 696) and lower (31 42 2 000 385) rubber headlamp bracket gaskets; chrome turn signal brackets (31 42 1 233 941) and fork boot clamps (07 12 9 952 121). The fork boots themselves were in great shape, just needed a little cleaning.

Headlamp Bracket Spacers

After almost 40 years of wear, the rubber spacers between the bolts, headlamp brackets and bucket were in sad shape. A trip to a local supplier scored me several pieces of 1/16" and 1/8" thick rubber sheeting, which I've been cutting up to use for various parts of the restoration.

For these spacers, I just traced the actual washer, cut the rubber with scissors and cut a hole (no need to be too exact here) in the middle. Looks great and is enough to protect the headlamp bucket from getting scratched!

Steering Head Bearings

Time to reinstall the front fork assembly into the frame. I read a bunch of information regarding this procedure. The important thing (besides the obvious prep cleaning of parts) is to use the proper grease for the top and bottom bearings and the bearing races inside the frame. You need to use a grease that doesn't contain moly, such as Chevron NLG2 Super Duty (this product spec came from Snowbum's article). Personally, I went to my local auto parts store and found their generic brand (Carquest Extreme Pressure Premium Grease), which can be used where any NLG grease is specified. This grease is red in color, just like Chevron's.

With the bearings and races packed with new grease, put the pieces together and you're good to go. Follow your manual for the instructions and torque settings and refer to your disassembly photos if you're not sure where something goes!

Frame ID Plate

Got the new frame ID plate (51 14 1 231 087) installed. I had used a Dremel to saw off the old rivets, then had the frame powder coated. In order to install the new ID plate, I used a 5/64" metal bit to drill through the old holes. Then, I just tapped the rivets in with a mallet.

Center Stand

After powder coating the frame, the first thing I did was attach the center stand. The old one was in bad shape, so I decided to buy a new /5 stand from Hucky's (46 52 1 230 201). The old bushings did not fit loosely in the holes on the new stand, no doubt because of the powder coating. I used a rounded file to file down the powder coating on the stand and that did the trick. The bushings should be a little loose and not snug in the holes. I added a little moly grease to the bushings as I installed them. I also used a little Blue Loctite on the threads to make sure the nuts won't come loose.

I also replaced the rubber bumper (46 52 1 231 815) with a new one.

Paint and Pinstriping

As the frame and other welded parts were being powder coated, I had sent the remaining metal and fiberglass components to a body shop for painting. Fitzgerald Body Shop (920.337.2222), also in Green Bay, had done some work for Nick's, our local BMW dealer, so they were familiar with these bikes. They handled not only the painting, but also did a beautiful job on the hand pinstriping, as you can see on the fenders.

The parts I had painted included the front and rear fenders, gas tank, headlamp bucket and headlamp bucket brackets. I had the body shop leave the pieces unbuffed for a higher shine.

Powder Coated Frame!

The black powder coated parts look fantastic. The powder coating shop I used is Spence Industries in Green Bay, WI (920.662.0720). If you're in this neck of the woods, I'd highly recommend them. They also topped off the powder coating with a high gloss protective coat. Thanks to Nick's BMW for the tip on Spence Industries. Now the reassembly can begin!