Teardown Teidum

Steel in my hands. The feeling of metal in your grasp and the ability to maneuver it. Wielding a wrench that twists, a blade that cuts, or the machine that provides power assist delivers the sensation that all gearheads recognize. One need not be a gearhead to know what I am speaking of. The golfer who swings the fast and light club which yields perfect shots. The billiards player who shoots with accuracy. A seamstress with a complete workspace, cutting and marking utensil es, threads and all that is needed to stitch the majestic fabric.
Once equipped with the proper tools I promptly removed the head. Some traces of blow by between the cylinders, but the pistons and cylinder walls are free of damage. The head itself will be decked and given a proper valve job down the road. The cylinder posed a bit of a challenge to remove. Two of the cylinder nuts gave up a battle being risen from the dead. I had to dig deep into my resources to crack these nuts. Several wrenches did not fit. Yes, even the new ones. Boogered edges and years of corrosion prevented anything I had from working them out. Files to clean the edges, the torch to head it loose. Modified and then broken tools, no, not the new ones. Finally, as I near my end, I picked up the magic distributor wrench and plucked the first one loose. Huzzah!
One or two slips and a few choice curses later the second and much more ornery nut finally broke loose. Several turns of the magic wrench and I noticed the stud had turned loose of the engine case. The stud turned loose clean without damage to the threads. The nut however is presently welded to the stud and trapped in place by the fins of the jug. This is one reason why shops have a cutoff as to how old of a machine they will work on. Fubarated fasteners is the biggest killer of time and leading cause of bloody knuckles.
The jugs pulled off nicely and the cylinders are not scored or damaged. Piston shirts look good and there was no side play on the rods. The connecting rods are a nice stout aluminum variety. A pleasing discovery. I managed to pull the stator and the clutch before calling it quits. The stator does not look promising. Most likely it will need replacement. The clutch plates 50% junk without question. The steels need cleanup and inspection. Once I ave the rest of the assembly apart it will be inspected and gone through completely. This project is a complete re manufacture. No part will be out of tolerance or spec when have finished.
I will wrap this up, having mentioned the end when the tear down is not even complete yet.

Nut-in to it

Being good to people does pay off. Positive returns do not happen every day, when they do arrive, it is usually a windfall. I am a parts man by trade. I started nearly twenty years ago selling auto parts. I learned a great deal over the years and have always maintained a fair and positive disposition with my clients. Customers walk into a store looking for a product. Clients seek out a solution to consult with a specific individual. Me. My clientele seeks out my services knowing they will get the right product handed to them at a good price, along with any other information needed to accomplish their task. So how does this have anything to do with my chopper project? Allow me to explain.
Once I discovered the need for special tools and parts not readily available through my profession, I began to put the feelers out through my clientele. I have to thank two people not previously mentioned in earlier posts. Randy and Flockie. Randy receives first accolade, as he supplied me with a gasket, seal, and hardware kit to start te project. Flockie deserves my gratuitous thanks for giving me a set of Whitworth wrenches and sockets. Yes, he gave them to me. I had been asking around for anyone looking to sell a set. Flockie responded that he had tools and was willing to sell them. A week later he presented them to me and refused any type of payment. I am still beside myself. How cool is that. Thanks to the two of you, my project is still rolling, and the engine is being stripped.

Once again: Randy, Flockie you have my thanks. If by some off chance this bike makes it into any magazines once I am finished, you will receive credit on the build sheet.