03-13-2017, 05:50 AM
Last month, due to the help of two of my local ADV friends, I acquired this 1966 Honda CL77 Scrambler. The bones of the bike appear good, it came with two large boxes of parts, a second correct rear fender, and a bucket of "stuff" including duplicate parts, valves, oil pump, etc. One of these two ADV friends, who is a excellent mechanic, had already gone through the motor and replaced a few things including the cam chain and a bent valve. He had gotten it to the point where he was able to ride it around his yard and shift through all of the gears. However, he got busy with work and other projects, and it sat collecting dust in his shop. After a couple of phone calls, it was loaded onto my trailer.
I bought this bike as I want to learn more about working on them. I am pretty good at the easy stuff like changing fluids and adjusting valves, but that's about it. I also want to ride with my friends in the Moto Giro events they keep talking about, but most importantly, I want to spend time with my 11 year old boy, Gabriel. Hopefully, I will instill in him a fondness for occasionally getting his hands dirty, turning wrenches, and less fondness for his Play Station. He might actually enjoy this and remember the fun he had with dad when he is my age.
Still having fun...Let the cleaning begin...I hope I can get this mess back together...I have to or my boy won't be very impressed with me! Only three small "mystery" bolts found on the lift, not bad.
I had to apply for a Vermont title as the bike only came with a bill of sale. Turns out, vintage bike guys have been using this "Vermont trick" for years. It's 100% legit and legal.
Here's how it works:
http://www.motorcycleconsumernews-digita...pg=28#pg28
Vermont welcomes anyone to register a bike in VT by paying sales tax and submitting a legit bill of sale. A few days later, they send you a plate and registration, but no title as they don't issue titles on bike >15 years old. So, with my VT registration, bill of sale and plate, I went to the Virginia DMV today and transferred the bike to VA in my name. By doing so, Virginia, who requires titles on all vehicles, issued me a new title in my name for the bike. Woo Hoo! Now with the bike officially mine, I can start spending some money on parts and getting her looking a bit more fancy.
While disassembling the bike, I noticed that the inside of the fuel tank was rusty and one of the previous owners made a novice repair of a leaky seam on the front of the tank that looked awful! The tank also had three small dents that needed repairing before painting. I looked at using a $50 kit made by POR 15 to treat the rust and seal the tank. I had read mixed reviews regarding these treatments and how you had to follow the instructions exactly or they wouldn't work. I also read something online about how one guy had luck with using a radiator shop to fix a rusted out, vintage tank.
So today I stopped by Kenny's Radiator Shop (3213 Lanvale Ave) in Richmond, VA. Kenny, and his shop, immediately looked like the real deal; both were greasy, full sleeve tats, a bunch of old biker and hot rod pictures on the walls, unpainted cinder block walls, and a "NO CREDIT CARDS" sign scrawled in marker...cool place.
Anyways, Kenny turned out to be a really nice guy, who is a rider, who offered to remove the hideous "repair" done previously, silver solder the leak at the seam, chemically remove the rust from my tank, protect the inside with a layer of "Red Cote" sealer, offer a lifetime warranty against any future leaks AND repair all three dents by filling them with lead instead of Bondo...for a mind blowing price of $110. I will be sure to post up some after pictures when I get the tank back on Tuesday.
I also ordered 3 pounds of "Super Durable Wet Red" powder coat today...once that arrives, a bunch of this stuff will be dropped off with my powder coating man. He has some leftover "chrome" powder coat for the rear grab rail, front fender trim, side stand and exhaust heat shields. Once I get my fuel tank back, I'll take the fenders, tank and side panels to a couple of paint shops for quotes. I'm going to have it repainted in the stock sliver color.
03-12-17: Power coating complete!
I bought this bike as I want to learn more about working on them. I am pretty good at the easy stuff like changing fluids and adjusting valves, but that's about it. I also want to ride with my friends in the Moto Giro events they keep talking about, but most importantly, I want to spend time with my 11 year old boy, Gabriel. Hopefully, I will instill in him a fondness for occasionally getting his hands dirty, turning wrenches, and less fondness for his Play Station. He might actually enjoy this and remember the fun he had with dad when he is my age.
Still having fun...Let the cleaning begin...I hope I can get this mess back together...I have to or my boy won't be very impressed with me! Only three small "mystery" bolts found on the lift, not bad.
I had to apply for a Vermont title as the bike only came with a bill of sale. Turns out, vintage bike guys have been using this "Vermont trick" for years. It's 100% legit and legal.
Here's how it works:
http://www.motorcycleconsumernews-digita...pg=28#pg28
Vermont welcomes anyone to register a bike in VT by paying sales tax and submitting a legit bill of sale. A few days later, they send you a plate and registration, but no title as they don't issue titles on bike >15 years old. So, with my VT registration, bill of sale and plate, I went to the Virginia DMV today and transferred the bike to VA in my name. By doing so, Virginia, who requires titles on all vehicles, issued me a new title in my name for the bike. Woo Hoo! Now with the bike officially mine, I can start spending some money on parts and getting her looking a bit more fancy.
While disassembling the bike, I noticed that the inside of the fuel tank was rusty and one of the previous owners made a novice repair of a leaky seam on the front of the tank that looked awful! The tank also had three small dents that needed repairing before painting. I looked at using a $50 kit made by POR 15 to treat the rust and seal the tank. I had read mixed reviews regarding these treatments and how you had to follow the instructions exactly or they wouldn't work. I also read something online about how one guy had luck with using a radiator shop to fix a rusted out, vintage tank.
So today I stopped by Kenny's Radiator Shop (3213 Lanvale Ave) in Richmond, VA. Kenny, and his shop, immediately looked like the real deal; both were greasy, full sleeve tats, a bunch of old biker and hot rod pictures on the walls, unpainted cinder block walls, and a "NO CREDIT CARDS" sign scrawled in marker...cool place.
Anyways, Kenny turned out to be a really nice guy, who is a rider, who offered to remove the hideous "repair" done previously, silver solder the leak at the seam, chemically remove the rust from my tank, protect the inside with a layer of "Red Cote" sealer, offer a lifetime warranty against any future leaks AND repair all three dents by filling them with lead instead of Bondo...for a mind blowing price of $110. I will be sure to post up some after pictures when I get the tank back on Tuesday.
I also ordered 3 pounds of "Super Durable Wet Red" powder coat today...once that arrives, a bunch of this stuff will be dropped off with my powder coating man. He has some leftover "chrome" powder coat for the rear grab rail, front fender trim, side stand and exhaust heat shields. Once I get my fuel tank back, I'll take the fenders, tank and side panels to a couple of paint shops for quotes. I'm going to have it repainted in the stock sliver color.
03-12-17: Power coating complete!
