My 77 project that will turn into a cafe racer/ Bobber with a kick

[Fred Camper]

I would go with the speed tripple if it fits you. A bit more unique on an old wing.

[wingrider]

Never sat on a Speed triple...wonder if they will give me the support I need when I'm attempting to slide myself off the back when I hit the laughin' gas? I would guess a Gunfighter would give pretty good support.

[ole496]

Lucky for you I live close AND have a gunfighter seat. You could put it on your bike and try it out anytime.

[wingrider]

Lucky for you I live close AND have a gunfighter seat. You could put it on your bike and try it out anytime.

Oh, believe me, I've thought about just seeing if I could sit on your bike....that would certainly be enough for me to tell.

I am also working on seeing what type of crash bars my bike came with...they were in pieces when I got it, and am not entirely sure how they fit on. I am looking for a particular type....

I was all set to pull the trigger on a set of Hondaline crash bars, but I think they will interfere with the NOS bottles hanging on the front of the frame tubes, so I am actually looking for a set that weren't shin busters, but they did interfere with syncing the carbs. Being I am going to be running Webers, I won't have that trouble. They will still help in the event of a tip over, but will be out of the way for other things.

I just need to dig mine out of storage, and see what I really have.

[BusaRider]

The Speed triple is no slouch in performance or power, its 120 hp on a very light bike. The seat is firm, actually I would call it very firm. I can ride about an hour and need a break.... Definitely not a good touring seat. I would think the gunfighter would have much more cusion and comfort. I'm not sure how much hp you are making, but from my experience, bikes with 170+ hp start testing my ability to hold on. I have always felt I wouldn't be able to hang on to the handlebars, before sliding was an issue. That said the goldwing ergonomics are different and could be more of an issue....

[wingrider]

My guess is my bike will be making some where around 100 hp at the rear wheel....but having never played with spray, I am not sure how hard those additional 40 horses might hit.

I know a Speed triple can really go, but as you pointed out, the ergonomics are slightly different in the frames...which may lead to more slipping off the rear of the Wing with the Triple seat.

[wingrider]

Well, now that I have the tire all mounted up on the newly powder coated rear Lester, I figured it was time to get working on the rear of the bike.

I decided I better look at the rear caliper, as I was planning on sending it out to get PC'd as well. Wouldn't you know, that both pistons are rusted solid in the caliper. :-( I am fearing that it is junk.

Looking into options to get a bit of an upgrade out back for a brake.. even though I know it doesn't do a whole bunch, I still need one, and why go stock?

Anyone have any suggestions as to a good alternative?

[Fred Camper]

A Cafe means it will not be a two up bike. So no good reason to upgrade the rear brake as the stock one has plenty of capacity already, in fact the rotor could have been downsized as a mass savings. So no reason to upgrade as far as I can tell.

[wingrider]

You are probably right....I haven't totally given up on this caliper yet, but so far I really didn't want to break out my new master cylinder to try and push out these stuck pistons.

I just heard from my powdercoater that he has a set up for doing just that, so maybe I'll see if he can break em' loose.

You are right..nobody will be crazy enough to ride with me....my wife might take a cruise around the block, but this ol girl is going to be a one person bike.

[wingrider]

Well, not to much to update...more parts were sent off for far away powder coating. I also sent the rear caliper to see if the pistons can be pushed out, and have that coated as well.

I have been in talks with a local lady that does powder coating to do the frame. I have used her in the past, and wasn't overly impressed on her time management, nor her quote, but being she is one of the only ones around that does odd jobs, she'll have to do.

The frame is almost ready to go out for coating, and I figured I had better look at the swing arm to get that done at the same time so they matched. I pulled the drive shaft out of the swing arm, and found that someone REALLY liked grease! The entire rear portion of the swing arm was full of grease. No seal that I could find. At least it wasn't dry.

I plan on doing the swing arm bearings from Old Fogey, so I should be good to pound those out, but I wonder about a couple things. One is the bushing on the swing arm back by the rear caliper....keep it in, or try to push it out?

The other thing is the drive shaft. There was a bit of what looked like rusty grease flung around where the CV knuckles would have been spinning. The joint has only a slight bit of side to side movement in it, but no clicks or hitches noticeable. I don't want to put this thing back together only to find that the joint gives out in a short while, but from what I have read, they cannot be easily taken apart. Is that correct?

Here are a couple pictures of a close up of the joint itself...hopefully it shows the rusty, crusty grease.

IMG_0530.JPG

IMG_0531.JPG

Should I just put her back into service, or should I replace this as a precaution?

[Fred Camper]

Well, not to much to update...more parts were sent off for far away powder coating. I also sent the rear caliper to see if the pistons can be pushed out, and have that coated as well.

I have been in talks with a local lady that does powder coating to do the frame. I have used her in the past, and wasn't overly impressed on her time management, nor her quote, but being she is one of the only ones around that does odd jobs, she'll have to do.

The frame is almost ready to go out for coating, and I figured I had better look at the swing arm to get that done at the same time so they matched. I pulled the drive shaft out of the swing arm, and found that someone REALLY liked grease! The entire rear portion of the swing arm was full of grease. No seal that I could find. At least it wasn't dry.

I plan on doing the swing arm bearings from Old Fogey, so I should be good to pound those out, but I wonder about a couple things. One is the bushing on the swing arm back by the rear caliper....keep it in, or try to push it out?

The other thing is the drive shaft. There was a bit of what looked like rusty grease flung around where the CV knuckles would have been spinning. The joint has only a slight bit of side to side movement in it, but no clicks or hitches noticeable. I don't want to put this thing back together only to find that the joint gives out in a short while, but from what I have read, they cannot be easily taken apart. Is that correct?

Here are a couple pictures of a close up of the joint itself...hopefully it shows the rusty, crusty grease.

IMG_0530.JPG

IMG_0531.JPG

Should I just put her back into service, or should I replace this as a precaution?

I suggest you get this posted in the Goldwing Technical Forum. They are not that common to fail, but I would look for expert input based on where you are at.

[wingrider]

Will do, thanks Fred!

[past in time tony]

Cool build going on here. I left the bushing in my swing arm and the heat of powder coating didnt seem to make it any worse for the wear. I have had a cb750 swinger done also and the shock bushings were fine after coating. I just ordered webew manifolds for my gl1000, was wondering who you sourced your carbs from? Good luck with the rest of your build! Tony

[wingrider]

Thank you much! It is fun when I get a chance to work on it. Other projects compete for space in the garage.

I got my carbs from a guy on The Samba...another member let me in on who to get them from. The info is found here:http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1168754

Guys name is Ron...if you need more contact info, just let me know.

[past in time tony]

Thanks!