R65 Project Going Back Together

[flybot]

I got my dads old R65 back in Sep of last year. It had been stored in a garage in socal.  I had it shipped from Los Angeles to Kentucky. Dad bought the R65 in 1983 and apparently parked it in '86 with a half tank of gas. He's sure he drove it longer than three years, but I dont think so. It has 6400 miles on it.

I started tearing it down a few months ago. Besides needing all new fluids, seals, carb rebuilds, grease, etc, the frame needed to be sanded down and repainted. The body work is in great condition. I havnt had too many problems really. The main problem areas have been:
Engine- Had a hard time getting it out of frame. Went in much easier.
Fuel cap- rust welded to tank. It got destroyed. Found a new/old one on ebay $$$
Fuel tank- 27 year old gas smells wierd. All the coating in the tank is chunking off and light rust in tank. I took it to a shop and they think they can do an acid treatment and not trash the paint. So far so good, but they are not done yet.
Front Brake- Having a hard time sourcing a brake line. Mine is the single Brembo caliper, with a single hose to the master cylinder.
Having a hard time sourcing the correct new master cylinder. The brake fluid had turned to crystals in the cylinder.

I found a great way to clean some of the metal work to look like new. I used a cleaner for concrete driveways that is a light acid. It made the wheels, fork lowers, transmission, and diff look fresh out of the mold. It does not work on the front engine cover, engine block and cylinders/heads. But Ill take what I can get.  

Its going back together now. I love the way its turning out. Ill post some more pics as I go.

I got the engine and transmission back in yesterday.

[Mike V]

Nice work! Very low miles.  No water damage in the transmission?  You're going to love this bike when it's back on the road.  Great machines that do everything quite well.  Would love to see more pictures.

Finished my total restoration a couple of years ago and hungry for another project after looking at your photos.

Keep the thread alive...

[Red_Hen]

Nice work!
You & Mike V have a great eye at Resto work - its an art after all!

[luckyd20]

wow your engine block look soo clean!!!! did you paint it?

[flybot]

Thanks for the comps.

I did not paint the engine. I cleaned the engine first with simple green, then my fav engine cleaner- Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner. Ive been using this on my cars for years. Spray on, let soak 10 min, rinse off. I then gave the stubborn spots a dose of brake cleaner.

As for water damage in transmission. I hope not! I didnt open it. But the oil had no water in it and it was stored in a dry location. So, Im expecting it to be ok.

[Red_Hen]

What did you use to scrub the block?

[montmil]

Going to be a stunner when it hits the streets. [smiley=thumbup.gif]

You'd have more work space if you'd move that nasty red four-wheeler outta the garage.

[Ed Miller]

You'd have more work space if you'd move that nasty red four-wheeler outta the garage.

I could make room in mine.  No!  I didn't mean that!  I'm trying to do without cars, just motorcyles and a pickup.  And bicycles.

[luckyd20]

Thanks for the comps.

I did not paint the engine. I cleaned the engine first with simple green, then my fav engine cleaner- Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner. Ive been using this on my cars for years. Spray on, let soak 10 min, rinse off. I then gave the stubborn spots a dose of brake cleaner.

As for water damage in transmission. I hope not! I didnt open it. But the oil had no water in it and it was stored in a dry location. So, Im expecting it to be ok.

Scrubbing Bubbles! Never thought of it! I've used simple green but there are some tough spots! I'll give it a shot!

[Cano]

Very nice!

[Adrian]

This is a wonderful looking engine - I hope to get mine lookingthe same eventually - great piks and thanks for sharing - some useful tips about cleaning the alloy ..... good luck ...

[Adrian]

Hi again Flybot - could you let me know which of the Simple Green products you used on the engine thanks - do you mean the Simple Green degreaser  --- Adrian

[flybot]

Hello,

Busy the last few days.

I used the Simple Green in a blue bottle. I think its for aluminum. After letting it soak I just go over it with a plastic stiff bristle brush. I use the same brush after letting the Scrubbing Bubbles soak for a few minutes.

The real cleaner is the Scrubbing Bubbles. I just use the simple green as a first step degreaser, so all the scrubbing bubbles has to to is work on stains.  

The bike is getting back on its own two feet. Front wheel is on. Working on getting the swing arm and rear wheel on next. I need to look up swing-arm instalation. More pics later.

[luckyd20]

So is it easier to put the engine back in when the frame is on the ground? It seems like it'll be easier mounting it back on the frame without having to fiddle with a lift to secure it to the frame.

[flybot]

So is it easier to put the engine back in when the frame is on the ground? It seems like it'll be easier mounting it back on the frame without having to fiddle with a lift to secure it to the frame.

I thought about it for a while before putting it back in. It took all of a few minutes with a helper. It was easy to get the engine back into the frame, by hand. I could pick the engine straight up by myself. But you need a person on both sides to wiggle it into the frame. Then I just moved the frame around the engine to line up the mounting bolts. Thats better than having to horse the engine around the frame to line them up. The pan of the engine sits flat on the ground. I dont have a good fit on this bike with my standard motorcycle lift. The kick stand mounts are all in the way.