[Jim D]

It;s been a few days since working on it. Too cold-no heat. Today I got some heat and the weather is better. I saw a video on proper cleaning and lubing the clutch linkage in the side housing. I'm going to do that today. My clutch lever has been very stiff after hooking up the cable. I was also pulling on the clutch switch connector in the lever and the wire popped right out! I'm not sure if it is repairable. I haven't found a replacement switch yet. Can I just delete it? and connect the wires together? I think it's there so you can't start the engine while it is in gear and the clutch engaged.

On another note, I have hooked up the carb and air cleaner assembly on the right side. It took quite a while-tedious. Today, the left side hopefully gets hooked up. Then I hope to get to doing several electrical checks. The wiring all looks good so far. I'm cleaning and spraying connectors as I go.

After I get this stuff done, I hope to get to the front brakes. I cleaned the hoses and cylinders out and put a kit in the master cylinder. There are no leaks, but I have no pressure build up while bleeding. This will probably be a day in itself. I did find out that I hadn't cleaned out the tiny port in the m/c. I did that and still no pressure. I ordered a new seal for the brake piston and will try to reverse blead the system. Wish me luck!

I forgot to mention that I tried to reuse the 50 year old brake pads just to see if I could get the system to work-nope. I also got new pads for it. The hoses all look great. The bike has not spent a lot of time outdoors.

 

[Rockatanski]

I've disabled the annoying clutch switch on two other bikes by linking the wires so you should be able to.

Did you ever get pressure in the brake system? I've tried to reverse bleed/fill, spilled fluid all over, and reverted to the old fashioned way which works well enough.

 

[Jim D]

Thanks for the reply Rock. The only way I was able to get pressure in the front brakes was to replace the master cylinder with a new one. I wasn't able to hone the old master cylinder, so it would never build up enough pressure to feel confident. The new one works great! I reused the original cap and it looks good. now that I have tightened up the rear brakes, I have what I feel is great brakes-and smooth too!

 

[Jim D]

I am going to put this bike up for sale very soon. I have recently found that I'm not physically able to handle a 500LB bike after having torn rotatory surgery five months ago. My shoulder strength will never be what it was. It took me a while to accept that. I could barely get it on the trailer to take it through inspection. It runs great and smooth, but I am just getting too old for a bike this size. I still have a 250 Rebel though and I can handle that.