My Vintage Racebike

[RacinNinja]

A couple of you showed interest in the old iron I posted a pic of. I promised a story and I shall do my best to not bore you to tears with it. There will be pictures!

A long time ago, before I was born, my Dad got together with his buddies and decided to turn his dirtbike into a race machine. Dad raced with OMRRA (Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association) from 1978-1980. Then I happened and he stopped racing to provide for little old me and my sister. He and his friend managed to get 1st in 250 GP and 500 GP on this bike before he stopped racing. They went up against things like BSA Goldstars and other big singles in the 500 class. A few years ago Dad started talking about fixing it up and going racing again but there were two small problems: He didn't have his bike and he never came to get it. It sat in my shop. This is where the fun begins......

A couple weeks before Fathers Day in 2012 I get a very wild hair up my ass to make this thing run and "give" it back to my Dad. I had heard lots about it but it had sat neglected for 32 years and I sure as hell had my work cut out for me! To add to the fun, I had no idea what any of the mods he had done to it were. None. All I knew is it had a 1972 Honda XL250 frame and power plant.

First thing I do is start the tear down and I'm greeted with this. Um, sure I wanna go through with this??









Luckily the Mikuni VM's are super easy to work on and parts are readily available. Next I removed the front fairing and set it aside. This piece is truly Unobtanium as it came from Dick's Racers Supply in 1977.



So, you think FMF invented the PowerBomb header eh?



So far so good! 32 years of grime though....uck.



A little TLC, a few Meguairs products and hey! There's paint under there after all!!





Shhh....it's nekkid!

[csmith12]

Cool!

[RacinNinja]

Next, I take my super special secret magic cleaning solution (Purple Power), a scrub brush and a hose an hour or so worth of time and it's transformed!















A good long soak in some carb dip really turned that old Mikuni around. I might have a shot at making it run after all!!









Little elbow grease and some more Meguairs for the fairing.





Hmmm...I think these grips are still useable. Nothing a little duct tape won't fix.



I didn't take pics of the mechanical part. I did open the top end and dump copious amounts of fresh oil through it with the drain plug out to flush and yuckies out that I could get to without disassembly. Lots of kicking over to be sure oil got to where it needed to go.

Houston, we have ignition!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7bkGuZlWwo

By the way, there was some crud in the exhaust. My pup was very, very interested in the pulses of air coming out of the megaphone.....until it popped! HAHAHAH!

[RacinNinja]

So here we are, literally the day before Fathers Day and the last of the parts I need arrive! Complete master cylinder rebuild kit, Hurst Airheart rebuild kit for the rear, and caliper rebuild kits for the CB500 calipers. Sweating bullets here...all this needs to be done so we CAN RIDE THE THING!!

11 PM the night before Fathers Day. It's done. It runs, it goes, it stops. Mission accomplished! But the fun is just beginning..........













So, I had this all planned out. I KNEW he was going to want to go out to the shop and look at it as soon as he got there. I, however, need to go to the store to get beer for the occasion. I left my wife, my sister and my Mom with very specific instructions: DO NOT let him go out to the shop! I'l be gone for 15 minutes!! We had a treasure hunt set up with written clues and old brake parts and such for him to follow and finally find the bike. I leave.

I come back to the house, pull into my driveway and guess what I saw? MISSION FAILED!! Dad was in the shop, door up looking at his bike all by it's lonesome in the bay. I get out of the car, he looks at me and I say.......What the **** are you doing in my shop????

His answer: Does it run?? BAHAHAHAH! Love my Dad.

Of course it runs! So you can imagine what happened next.....









Yup. Totally worth it.

[RacinNinja]

I know, I know. Title of the thread is My Vintage Race bike, right? Yet, here I am giving it back to my Dad.

The purpose of this was to get my Dad back into racing since it was on his bucket list and let's face it, none of us are getting any younger, amirite? So I ask him on this day....you're gonna go racing, right? His response: You're gonna ride it too!!

And so it begins. It changes every year, of course, like any good race bike does. The engine here is.....worse for wear, let's say. On the tear down, we really couldn't figure out how it even had compression, let alone ran so well! Piston, scored. Cylinder walls, roached. Overhead, worn out. Well crap. Solution? Bigger is better! I find an XL350 motor, with a whole bike, for $400 bucks. Done.

This is what the race bike started life as, many moons ago. This one is the engine donor bike. It runs too!



We build it. Hardface the rockers, new piston, new bearings, new WebCam and the list goes on. It's a 40 year old machine....HAHA!

We get a new cushion made for the seat.



I have someone hand make a new windshield since the original didn't survive storage and it ended up in pieces. Yep, it's a it cloudy but it will do!



New engine, new exhaust, new Cone Engineering muffler, new Mikuni VM38 carb. Getting there!



Dad's old. He was 60 at this time. Out of shape. So, the first race is a bit wet and he makes me test ride it at the races. Didn't have to twist my arm too hard!



The next day was a bit better, much drier!



My lands, my body positioning really sucked! All crossed up, head cocked, YUCK!!





Here's some pics of the form it was in for the 2013 season. I even managed to get the tires sticky in the wet!

[RacinNinja]

Next round is dry so it's Dad's turn. I didn't do all this work so that just me could ride. Hey, it's your bucket list, YOU deal with it!

So he did.









We run into a problem this race. It's smoking and Dad comes in off the track, I throw it on the stands and he tells me it's squeaking! Huh. Something in the overhead maybe? Open it up, check the valves, nope, everythings fine here! Drain the oil, a few sparklies but we figured it was clutch. Nothing to be concerned about. Goes out again and it's smoking more and more but he finishes the weekend with a smile on his face!

We tear it down. How on EARTH this thing still had enough compression to bout break your leg kicking I don't know. It's done.





Carb was jetted improperly, too rich. That's caused by ring wash. The fuel washes the oil out from around the piston and dilutes it so it can't lubricate any more. I believe my Dad now when he tells me it was squeaking! So we rebuild it.

Again.

[RacinNinja]

I manage to score a brand new in the box, with sticker!!! Venolia forged piston for this bike, 1 MM over for the awesome price of $25 shipped to me on Ebay.

I will never, ever, find anything like that again. Sleeve bored, gaskets ordered, rings made, engine rebuilt.

Main jet reduced. We take it to a dyno tuner in Seattle. Premier guy, really knows his stuff and tunes just about anything with two wheels or 4.

Still rich. Take the main jet down another three sizes and we're finally there. A whopping 30 HP and 22 ft lbs (!!) of tq out of this old girl. HUZZAH! No more cooked pistons.

We race.

Body position is better now. I'm learning!



I'm also scraping.....



I think the pipes a little on the low side, eh??



Time for a skid pad!



We finish out the season with a few red and blue medals to hang on our shelves. Time to rest. And plan.

I find this for sale.....and it's spotless inside!

[RacinNinja]

For tonight, I leave you with this.

It's winter 2013.

Plans are being made, parts are being collected. Thoughts are had, beer is consumed and the holidays are upon us!

[csmith12]

Enjoying the pics... your dad looks pretty happy.

[spooph]

This is awesome! Keep it coming!

[Motofool]

Precious memories of younger years fly inside my old head now !!!

[CC Cowboy]

Extra special super cool!

[backinthesaddleagain]

Awesome. Love those old school front fairing.

[RacinNinja]

Thanks everyone! It's been a whirlwind the last three years with all the racing and building etc. Every year something changes, even if it's just little things. This year we will have two bikes out at the same time. Finally, a Father and Son race instead of sharing a bike!

I'm currently out of town but will continue this thread this weekend when I am home.

[Jono]

Now I'm searching Craigslist for vintage bikes.... Thanks!

[choneofakind]

Cut doggie, fantastic bike! Thanks for sharing with us.

[psych0hans]

Thanks for posting this, good luck to you and your dad he's one lucky man!

[RacinNinja]

Originally Posted by psych0hans

Thanks for posting this, good luck to you and your dad he's one lucky man!

I would contradict this and say that I'm one lucky son!

He taught me everything I know, including how to do what I did for him. All my mechanical/welding/wrench turning skills I learned from him.

He spent my childhood busting his hump working swingshift so that I had the the child hood that I did, not wanting for much.

I like to think of this as making up for lost time, doing the things now we weren't able to when I was younger.

I am the lucky one to have this man for my Father. It's the least I could do.

[RacinNinja]

The last pic I posted is the new bike at the end of the 2014 season. Between racing and other things, we managed to acquire parts and get a rolling chassis done.

For the 2014 season, we did some mods to the original bike. I painted the exhaust with VHT Ceramic to stop the rust that was forming.





I managed to crack the frame also....no idea how I dun it but I did.



I made the cover of our Vintage Days race program!!



I also managed to high side the old girl that round. I was chasing down a BSA 750 triple for 6 laps. I was determined to pass him on the last corner of the last lap. He could beat me on the straight but I was much faster than him on the corners. I paid for it. I got lazy and sloppy, leaned the bike too far and drug the pipe, causing the rear tire to lift. Pics of leather and body carnage below. Note that those are bruises, NOT scrapes. The leathers did their job.



My boots did too. Ankle was a little bruised and my shin above the boot.



Leathers just had some scuffs. Yes, those are Bilt leathers and no, they did not explode on impact nor come apart at the stitching.

[RacinNinja]

Dad raced this year too but not as much. Shoulders and knee bugging him a bit. The next pic is something I am naturally good at when racing. Consistency! It's also my downfall and keeps me from going faster. I have mastered the art of doing the same thing at every corner, all my shift points, etc. Take a look at the last three lap times! Maybe I should drag race instead!



And, I made expert! On the same bike my Father did back in 1978. Man, that was an awesome feeling and an awesome day.



Last but not least, we managed to secure 1st place overall for 500 Vintage, the class we ride in. It's not because we're the fastest guys out there, not by a long shot. We do show up to every race, rain or shine and finish every race, rain or shine. Remember folks, to finish first you first must finish! Don't give up just because you aren't the fastest.



And the 2014 season came to a close. 2015 had some interesting twists and turns....

[choneofakind]

Nice!!

VHT exhaust paint is good stuff. I've had really good luck doing the primer first, like they suggest, then the color of your choice. Also, I attempted to bake it to cure it... came out lousy. I ended up blasting and redoing my header, then just running it to heat cure it. They say it will cure on it's own in 7 days, but that's not true. You have to heat it to get it to cure properly. After that, it holds up really well.

[RacinNinja]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Nice!!

VHT exhaust paint is good stuff. I've had really good luck doing the primer first, like they suggest, then the color of your choice. Also, I attempted to bake it to cure it... came out lousy. I ended up blasting and redoing my header, then just running it to heat cure it. They say it will cure on it's own in 7 days, but that's not true. You have to heat it to get it to cure properly. After that, it holds up really well.

Yes, the primer is a plus! I use that too. I run it in per the instructions. I think it's like 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 20 minutes then done! Still smoked a bit on race day but not that much.

[RacinNinja]

Winter of 2014....Dad has an idea to resurrect the original engine. This one is special...it has unobtanium parts. It contains a Powroll 347 kit to take an XL250 motor to 347cc via larger piston and 9.5mm stroke! This engine had a habit of eating the sandcast pistons that Powroll used though. What happens is that the cam bearings (cylinder head) wears out, allowing the timing to drift. At high RPM's, you get detonation and the piston goes kerblamo!

We find a good cylinder head and get another WebCam and more rockers hardfaced. New valve springs with the proper pressure for the camshaft.

Next, we take the stroker crank and rod to a machine shop and have a new big end bearing installed and also have the little end bored and a bronze bushing installed. I find a proper piston on Ebay and purchase it. We then send it to my Dad's machinist friend who flycuts valve reliefs on the piston. Engine assembled and in the frame!





Next up, we decide the 32mm carb originally installed is too small. We to a 34mm for more top end. Now for another trick bit of kit. We have another unobtanium part, a genuine Bassani pipe for the XL 250. This little bugger is LOUD and provides a performance increase.







It is a bit ugly though.....having been installed on the farm bike for 2 years will do that. Time for some cleanup an a new heatshield!





This pipe crosses behind the engine under the carb. Because of that, we heat wrapped the pipe where it crosses to prevent the fuel boiling in the carb bowl.



Custom hanger Dad machined out of aluminum.



We also decide that those yellow number plates are HIDEOUS! Now that I'm allowed a white background, it's time for a change. Dad has the mold for the original seat and made three of them but only used one. We take a new, unmolested seat and molest it! Numbers fir on the tail perfectly, no need for plates now.

[RacinNinja]

And, we race!





I find out very quickly the carb isn't set up right at all. Too much fuel on the top end, it's putting the spark out!! We reduce the main jet in an effort to make it better and it works....OK for now.

After the first round, I take the carb down and check the needle jet. That's the part inside the carb the main jet screws in to and the slide needle moves in and out of. Yup, WAY too big for this 4 stroke. I order a new one from Sudco and install it. MUCH better!

Round 2. Kicking ass and taking names until the second practice. I'm coming up a slight up hill and the engine starts missing. Cutting in and out. I coast to the top of the hill, pull off the track at the corner workers station and wait for crash to pick me up at the end of practice.

Well, poop.

Saturday for us is only practice. Both races happen on Sunday. Seeing as how it's only 11:00 AM on Saturday, Dad and I make a beeline for his house, 2 hours away, to pick up the 350 engine. We arrive at the house to a hot lunch fixed by my Mom (AWESOME!), grab the engine, carb and exhaust parts and zip back to the track. 4 hours round trip.

Engine swap takes 1 hour, another half hour and it's running. Race on Sunday, everything peachy!

We tear down the engine and find this:



The crown has collapsed. Good thing I stopped when I did or we could have had a BIG MESS!! Come to find out, the previous owner of the piston had cut back the underside of the crown under the pin bosses. None of us noticed this and it led to the crown being very thin. Too thin! No bits of metal on the spark, though it is a bit rich. No bottom end damage.....all we need is a slug and a barrel hone and we're good!



Earlier in the year Dad had arthroscopic surgery on his knee and it's taking a LOT longer to heal than the others he's had done. He's out for pretty much the entire season. So once again, it's all me on the bike this year.

At the next round, I get a challenge from my photog buddy. Find me on the track and flip me off and all your pics from this round are FREE!

Challenge accepted.

[RacinNinja]

Since Dad didn't race this year and no other changes were made, I'm just going to post a few of my favorite pics of the season. Some of these were taken by my wife who is an amateur photog when she's not busting her hump at school and work.

These are from my photog buddy from the finger round.







These are my wifes pictures.











Hard on the brakes!

[RacinNinja]

Another year in books. WOOT! Thing is, Dad hasn't ridden much. That will change for 2016...guaranteed!

It's time to get rid of that low slung exhaust. Of course, no one makes pipes for these old things anymore so it's time for some DIY. Yeah! We also are going to a local motorcycle show for vintage iron in January. I have a lot of work to do!

I find a shop locally that mandrel bends all their pipe. I go buy a few things....



This is another added bonus. No more removing the entire pipe from the head! It's not going to cost us an exhaust gasket when we need to change things now.



The first iteration of the pipe.

[RacinNinja]

Unfortunately, I do some maths and realize this pipe is too long. By quite a bit. Hmmm...I really like the way this looks but numbers are numbers! Time to change it up.

I cut it off at a bend and make up a mount for the pipe.



Shorten it to the proper length and end up with this. Yes, it clears my leg just fine and shouldn't be an issue.

[RacinNinja]

Since there is a show coming up in January, I need to seal a small drip that we've had for a while now. I also need paint up the motor and do a few things that I think will look HOT!

Not much to the old girl with the engine out, eh?



Since it's cold in the shop, I bring the valve covers and points cover in to the house. Start with 250 grit, then 400 grit, then 800 grit, then 1200 grit and finally some Mothers All Metal Polish paste. End up with some nice looking bits!



Next, I take the alternator cover off and have a look.



The gasket surface on the motor gets scraped and cleaned with a scotch brite pad. I hate scraping gaskets. A lot.



The engine cover gets fully dismantled. Clutch arm bearing cleaned and greased. Coils removed. I have a large sheet of glass from a coffee table so the cover gets plane sanded to be sure the surface is square.



Outer surface gets sanded as well and reinstalled.



Kind of hard to see in this pic but I take 4 hours and hand file all the fins. They are round and have a crappy casting from the factory. I want them square and shiny. After the filing, I use 200 grit on a block, then 400 grit and finally 800 grit. I stick it in front of the wall heater in my shop......Some of you may know where this is going....





VHT primer.







VHT Black! Gloss black, of course.

[RacinNinja]

This little bit will get sanded and polished.



And this bit



First round of sanding. Stainless allen cap screws installed on all the covers for some bling and anti-corrosion reasons.







Fins have the paint removed now. It's pretty easy to get off if you polish it before you paint. Paint doesn't like to stick to it.



back in the frame!





Polished the hand made chain guard also. It's aluminum.



Other bits reinstalled.



Fairings and seat!



The pipe got tig welded and a coat of VHC Ceramic in metal color.

[RacinNinja]

Now, about that second bike. After stripping the gas tank, we found out it had been wrecked before. There was a rather large dent on the front right side where the for tub had hit the tank and crushed it in. Someone had filled the dent with Bondo and painted over it. We only paid 60 bucks for the tank so it's not that big of a deal. Cut the dent out, reform it and weld it up! It will take a little bondo to make it perfect but not that much.





Dad lives 2.5 hours north of me and only has a garage to work in. His work needs him at their location down in my neck of the woods. So, he packs up the bike and the tank and a few other goodies and hits the road to stay with me for a couple weeks.

At this time, his frame is a roller with the engine installed. We need to make tank mounts, front fairing mounts and a seat mount for it. We're getting close now!





We begin by welding a plate to the head stock to mount the fairing to.



Next, we come up with the bolt on plate and tube for the fairing mount.



Front fairing inside



Another piece of tube and a flat bar and it's almost done!



Not bad!







There are some other bits made but I don't have photos of them. I'll get more when I have the chance as the bike is now back with Dad up north.

We had to make a new tach mount that wasn't on the bars as the cable would not clear the mount we made for the fairing.

[RacinNinja]

Last piece of the puzzle complete! Had to have a mount welded on the muffler and then make a bracket to mount it to the frame. Triangulated and safety wired.

It'll go on the dyno in a couple weeks to see where the new pipe puts the power. Is it racing season yet?

Welder did a great job on the mount.

[Yamahawk]

Very nice bike, and very nice story. My dad passed away in February 2004, but I had a great time installing a Warn winch on the front of his 1975 International Travelall All wheel drive. Using some 8" channel iron, and a torch and welder, he sat and watched me do the work, as he had a stroke back in 1997 that took a lot from him. I had the pleasure of doing that for him a couple years later, as the winch was a present from my mom to him the year of his stroke, and he never had a chance to install it. So, I commend you on being able too share that bike and restore it for/with your dad. I wish my dad could see me race, but perhaps I could share with my oldest daughter, as she likes bikes too! God bless you, and your dad! I was born in Seattle, btw, and grew up on interlake Ave. N. between Green Lake and Lake Union!

[RacinNinja]

Originally Posted by Yamahawk

Very nice bike, and very nice story. My dad passed away in February 2004, but I had a great time installing a Warn winch on the front of his 1975 International Travelall All wheel drive. Using some 8" channel iron, and a torch and welder, he sat and watched me do the work, as he had a stroke back in 1997 that took a lot from him. I had the pleasure of doing that for him a couple years later, as the winch was a present from my mom to him the year of his stroke, and he never had a chance to install it. So, I commend you on being able too share that bike and restore it for/with your dad. I wish my dad could see me race, but perhaps I could share with my oldest daughter, as she likes bikes too! God bless you, and your dad! I was born in Seattle, btw, and grew up on interlake Ave. N. between Green Lake and Lake Union!

My condolences on your loss.

There is no time like the present! Time is priceless. Make the most of it. Invite your daughter to a race. See what happens.

And thank you. The memories from this are irreplaceable.

[Yamahawk]

Thanks, she has been to one of my races last year, and she was very scared watching me lol... it's different when it's your dad, she said... she was ok watching all the other racers, but when it came to me, she was concerned that I would get hurt. I hope she comes more often this year. My youngest daughter has been out a couple times to watch, but she doesn't ride, and is a nurse hehe...

[RacinNinja]

So, I did manage to secure a perfectly clear nice windshield for it. Gustaffson plastics in Florida had one that is a perfect fit! Looks much better with this piece now.

[RacinNinja]

On to the nitty gritty technical details, for those that are curious.

1972 Honda XL250 frame and swingarm
1974 Honda XL350 engine
Mild port and polish
WebCam 55-221
RD Valve Springs
Titanium retainers
Hard faced and welded rocker arms
Stock points ignition with stock Honda coil, good for 9K RPM redline (power falls off at 8200 anyway)
80mm Forged Venolia piston, approximate compression ration 10.5:1, custom milled dome
Stock bottom end and transmission
38mm Mikuni VM carb
Custom made 1.5" exhaust, tuned for length
Cone Engineering muffler
K&N air filter

Honda CB500 complete front end
GSXR 14mm master cylinder
Triumph Billet fluid reservoir
19" Excel rim
Avon AM26 90/90/19 tire
Tomaselli clip on bars
Stock clutch perch with kill switch

Honda CB500 front wheel in the rear, disc machined down to smaller diameter
18" Excel rim
100/90-18 Avon AM26 tire
Custom machined sprocket adapeter
Custom machined caliper carrier and brace arm
EBC Semi Sintered pads (best we can get)
Hurst Airheart master cylinder
Hagon 10 way adjustable shocks
Custom made folding rear brake pedal to clear kickstarter
Honda 305 Superhawk shift lever

Hand machined footpegs
Hand machined bar ends
Hand made tach mount
Hand made fiberglass seat

Dicks Racer supply front fairing and gas tank
Gustaffson Plastics windscreen

30 HP and 22 ft lbs of torque on old pipe, have another dyno run scheduled for the new pipe

[RacinNinja]

So, the new pipe design was a success!!

How much of a success? I do not know yet. It went on the dyno today but I did not have my jets nor time for a full tune.

It made the same HP and TQ as the old pipe but was so rich it was putting the spark out. This means the new pipe created more velocity in and out and the tuner estimates it will gain us another 2-4 HP once it's jetted properly. SO STOKED!!

In other news, bike #2 is 95% complete. All it needs is a belly pan, seat foam installed and a tune. Looking good! My Dad sure knows how to build a good looking bike.

[HoneyBadgerRy]

That is sweet! Take a picture of the dyno graph when you get a chance.

[RacinNinja]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadgerRy

That is sweet! Take a picture of the dyno graph when you get a chance.

I will for both bikes. The 350 and the stroked/bored 250-340.

Eager to see how they compare.

[Alex]

Looks fantastic!