Success!

This oil tank is off of the bike.



All I had to do was cut that freaking bolt in half.


Todays purchases are courtesy of EBay
A set of chromed battery case / oil tank holders ~20
A set of rocker oil lines ~15

Forward Progress and Finances

I was trying to get the battery case and the oil tank to come off, but found out the hard way that there are several (yet to be identified) parts directly connected to these two.

So now the battery case, the voltage regulator, and what I think is a fuse box, are off the bike. The oil tank is still attached due to a stripped nut. In the process of getting to the oil tank and its various hoses, I took off the old tail pipes.

This is the one f@#$ nut thats holding the whole business back.


Below you see where the battery case used to be. Its now laying in a bucket of de-rusting acid.



Spending to date on the bike to date:
Bike - 1700
Towing - 100
New pipes (EBay) - 50
New oil lines - 20
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Total 1870

The projected total cost is around 4K, but that includes painting and powder coating. I'm not even going to tell you how much I've spent on new tools.

Stay tuned to see if I can stay under budget.

Work and Working Conditions

I need a space to work on the bike. Jesse has graciously offered up his garage, but as he is currently in the process of finding a new place to live, I'll need to look for a more stable environment.

For now I am using the sun room behind the cottage as a work space. Its cramped and basically open to the elements, so it is far from ideal.


Current bike status:
I've purchased new braided oil lines and cooler looking (louder sounding) pipes off e-bay.

Tank & seat are off. The tank looks to be in pretty good shape, but the seat is beyond repair.

The back fender is off of the bike as well, and it turns out to be a custom deal (read: pain in the arse). I have the stock front and back fenders, so I may choose to go with that.

I've been trying to remove the oil tank, which is bolted to the battery holder, which is rusted to hell. I'm going to need to buy specialty tools for this shiaza.

For the rusty stuff, I've used an acid based solution on some random nuts and bolts. Works like a charm.



Also, here is a pic of the 'new' pipes, and a shot of my 'workshop'.

Getting it home

First step to restoring this basket case HD is buying it, and towing it home. The purchase was done through three easy installments (thank you New Job for the money, and Doug O. for his understanding), and the towing was accomplished through rental of a trailer and my buddies truck (thank you Dave R. for the truck and the credit card, thank you Gold Coast Rental for only charging me one day).

Here it is, as it sits on my lawn.



Notice the rust. That will need to be dealt with.