This is the start of my restore/build thread. It's going to be slow going...
Here she is today:
When I bought it I rode just over 2 hours on it to get home. The engine feels nice and tight and quiet, but is not running smooth at all - lots of hesitation and surges through the midrange. Idle and top end seem OK.
Long term plan is naked conversion, upside down forks, clip-ons and rearsets. Ideally I'd like (wire) spoke wheels as well, but that's way off.
Short term plan is getting it to a state where I can ride it comfortably. First issue (other than the engine) is the mirrors. The plastic ball socket is worn out on both side and they will not stay in place. I bought some bar end mirrors on eBay assuming I could just loosen the existing bar end weights, give them a bit of a tap to dislodge the quill (or similar) device that was keeping them in place and pull them out. Wrong. The thread they screw into seems to be a permanent part of the bars. So, first bit of fabricating coming up - over to dad's place to use his lathe to turn down the bar ends a bit so my bar end mirrors will clamp on.
I've got a few days off work coming up and am really tempted to take the covers off and check the valves (as the pre-requisite to cleaning and adjusting the carbs) , but at this time of year the shops might not be open and I might have trouble getting shims if I need them. Oh for screw adjusted rockers
Have to make a few phone calls.The other obvious issue I have is the front forks - they are sooo soft. There is also rust pitting in the seal travel area, but strangely they are not leaking - maybe there's no oil left in them
Also strangely the extreme softness kinda feels right on the highway - I guess the chassis geometry is designed to work with them. As I said above, my long term plan is some newer forks. For now I will probably just put some fresh oil in them and see how they go.I'll update as I make progress - don't hold your breath waiting for me...