Page 3 of 8

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 4:57 pm
by Grey_Ghost
ConnerVT wrote:For the past few years, a small part of my day job entails writing procedures, work instructions, and Job Breakdown Sheets (JBS). I mostly fly a desk now, supporting factory automation, but spent many years turning wrenches on semiconductor production tools.

The carb tuning procedure I just shot from the hip, relying on my questionable memory. But I've gotten real good at pulling the carbs off my T500, adjusting/rejetting, and putting everything back together. I usually pull the seat, battery box, air box, then the carbs. Do it enough times, you can get back on the road in under an hour.
Your skills are apparent in both areas!

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:00 pm
by ConnerVT
Thank you, but the praise is likely unwarranted. If I was that good, I wouldn't have needed to take the bike apart for the past 6 years, looking for a happy place for the jetting. :lol:

What is nice about the T500, is that it is very forgiving, and not difficult to get running well on the street. With a motor that has no vacuum leaks, you can be a degree or two off on the timing, a 1/2 turn of the idle mixture, and most riders won't know the difference. Some people go to great extent to squeeze every extra amount of performance from a 50 year old design, but I found it fun (and humorously amazing) just to tool around on a bike which the motor only requires 9 moving parts to run - 2 pistons, 2 connecting rods, a crankshaft, 2 carb slides, and 2 ignition points.

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:35 pm
by sportston
ConnerVT wrote: I found it fun (and humorously amazing) just to tool around on a bike which the motor only requires 9 moving parts to run - 2 pistons, 2 connecting rods, a crankshaft, 2 carb slides, and 2 ignition points.
Yes it's great isn't it? That is the engineering beauty of a 2-stroke. Simplicity itself.
I find it hard to get too excited about any other engine as much. Nothing else has as much character, charm and ease of maintenance. And have you ever heard a 4-stroke sound as beautiful as a well-tuned 2-stroke in full song? Never!
4-strokes are high maintenance divas, beautiful in their own way, but I'd much rather live with a dirty little minx with a heart of gold and simple tastes. :)

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:47 am
by Grey_Ghost
Howdy all,

It has been a bit since we last posted, but nothing significant to report on the progress until now. I managed to track down a new slide for the carburetor on eBay, plus some O-rings for the idle, mixture, and choke through a dealer in Utah. We spent some time yesterday finishing up the cleaning, polishing and painting of all the carb bits and finally re-assembled the right side carb.

We also got the cylinders cleaned and painted.

Currently, we're waiting on UPS to deliver some wintergreen oil which will be used to restore the carburetor boots. We've seen this used with varying degrees of success, so we're keeping our fingers crossed it will work. If it doesn't, oh well. It's just money!

Next step is dragging the crankcase up to Utah to finish cleaning and painting. Then on to engine assembly!

I would like to throw another inquiry out there about where I might be able to track down some transmission gears for this engine. I have been looking and asking around, but can't find anything. Any leads are greatly appreciated!

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:39 pm
by Suzukidave
Nice work cleaning up the parts :up:

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:19 am
by sportston
Looks great. What sort of paint did you use on the carbs?

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 8:41 am
by Grey_Ghost
sportston wrote:Looks great. What sort of paint did you use on the carbs?
Thanks. The paint is just a plain-jane, high heat, gloss black aerosol.

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:00 am
by sportston
That is quite a contrast to what the carb used to look like.
Just thought you might want to think about removing the paint from the part where it clamps to the rubber on the engine side. If the paint flakes, cracks or degrades it might give you an inlet air leak, which can be a pain in the bum and sometimes cause engine damage due to a lean mixture.

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:28 am
by Grey_Ghost
sportston wrote:That is quite a contrast to what the carb used to look like.
Just thought you might want to think about removing the paint from the part where it clamps to the rubber on the engine side. If the paint flakes, cracks or degrades it might give you an inlet air leak, which can be a pain in the bum and sometimes cause engine damage due to a lean mixture.
Thanks for the tip, Sportston. It did dawn on me after I had painted the carbs!!

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:57 am
by sportston
Lol. We all have 20/20 hindsight!

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:02 am
by Grey_Ghost
Howdy,

It's crazy how life can change. My wife was recently diagnosed with breast cancer so the last month or so have been a blur as we have begun the process of treatments and doctors appointments. Needless to say I have not been back to California to pick up any parts on the bike. Instead, I have turned my attention to the wheels and tires recently.

We pulled apart the front wheel assembly down to its components and began cleaning that recently. The rims are in good shape for being 40 years old. Mostly lots of dirt and grime built up on everything. The spokes polish up very nicely with a wire wheel and some attention to detail.

By the way, in a recent post I mentioned I was going to restore the rubber intake boots for the carburetors. I used a mix of 1 part wintergreen oil and 3 parts rubbing alcohol and let them soak for about a week in a Ziploc bag, checking regularly. This process works miracles! Both boots, which were rock hard, are now soft and pliable with a lingering essence of wintergreen. I highly recommend trying this if you have any old rubber pieces that you want to salvage. I found the oil online through a livestock feed and supply store (it is used as a liniment on horses).

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 3:28 pm
by sportston
I hope your wife's treatment goes ok. Amazing how well you made the carb rubbers fresh again! I would never have thought of using horse liniment. However did you think of that solution?

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:10 pm
by Grey_Ghost
sportston wrote:I hope your wife's treatment goes ok. Amazing how well you made the carb rubbers fresh again! I would never have thought of using horse liniment. However did you think of that solution?
Thanks for the thoughts. We're all praying for her!

The rubber restoration I have seen done on YouTube a few different ways, but the wintergreen oil and alcohol always seemed to yield the best results. There was one video in particular that compared different ratios of oil-to-alcohol as well as other methods (e.g., soak in brake fluid). Figured I had nothing to lose since I would have needed new boots anyways. I've had the boots out of the solution for about three weeks and they haven't hardened or changed at all. The oil was about $18 for a pint on Amazon. Here is a link if anyone is interested...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00562VC ... ref=plSrch" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:30 am
by sportston
Its the thought of wasting the alcohol that worries me. Did it still taste ok afterwards?

Re: 1974 T500 Father and Son Build

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:01 pm
by Grey_Ghost
Howdy all,

Not a lot of progress, but we are still moving ahead. Since the last update we pulled apart the front wheel and cleaned and polished the hub and spokes and reassembled the entire wheel. Then we scabbed together a po' boy truing stand with a step ladder, a screwdriver, and a C-clamp. Twasn't pretty, but it worked!

When we pulled the hub apart, the brake surface had a lot of rust that looked like it be too much to overcome with a wire wheel. Not to be discouraged I knocked down the rust with some 220-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper and some warm water and to my surprise it all came off and the wear surface of the drum was perfectly smooth!

My son pulled apart the triple tree and got the frame completely down to its bones and it is currently his class project for his autobody/painting class at high school. He thinks he should have it back by the end of November. We will work on getting the rear wheel cleaned and polished before he gets the frame back.

Once that is done, then begins the next step of reassembly. He's pretty excited to be getting to this step.

I haven't got any response from anyone, but I will continue to inquire...Does anybody have a line on some transmission gears for this bike?