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Another one of those rebuild stories R50/5

barrettnjones

New member
Here in my cozy (heated) Vermont basement during the winter of 2011-2012. I'm what I believe to be half way through and thought I might contribute to the forum that I've so often come to for resource.

Back story:
Owned (but no longer):
2003 F650GS (20 state, 4 Provence trip back in 2006. 10,200 miles)
2007 R1200R (multiple Bum Burner rides up and down the East coast & out to SD)
2010 R1200GS
Sadly, the last bike I had to part with because of the wonderful addition to my new family. My son was born in December of 2010. We found out we were expecting just one week after taking delivery of my dream bike.

Well, you know what DIAPER is spelled backwards?

So alas, I sold the dream bike (the payments of which were the likes of a nice automobile). But only after promising to own a bucket list bike, a /5.

I found a running '72 down in Mass, purchased it, & rode it up (plateless, that was a fun day, July 4th even). The title said it was a '71 but the build date on the side of the frame says september of '71 making it a '72. Running the VIN confirmed this. It took some convincing and a lot of southern charm (I'm from NC but that's another story) to get the VT DMV lady to properly register it in VT as a '72. Unfortunately it's too old for the state to deem it worth titling.

I rode it until Thanksgiving '11 then began the fun.
So here we go.
Hopefully I can make this bike last another 40 years and give it to my son.

Disclaimer: I'm no mechanic. I like taking things apart and figuring out how they work. And then (hopefully) making it work better. My day job is teaching high school math so I'm usually a pretty logical person. If you think there might be an easier way of doing something please let me know.
 

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the starter. Check out the oily end to the starter. Definitely a leak down in there some wheres. Rear Main Seal?
 

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Handle bars removed. 49,821mi on the old girl. Had to saw the steering dampener knob off as it was really rusted on.
 

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Front cover, headlight, exhaust, see ya later.
Luckily the exhaust was removed with little trouble. I'm keeping the bird's nest in the headlight casing untouched. That mess is intimidating as hell and it all works anyway. I just hope I can hook everything back up the way it should go.
Oh ya, there's the right side rockers. Things look pretty good in thar.
 

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There's a piston! That was an exciting day. Check out the burnt carbon casserole on that puppy.
 

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It's only a matter of time until one of these engine studs either takes my eye out or dead legs me while walking by.
 

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Reality check.
Here's the bike up on the hill in my sleepy VT village, Maple Corner, in early October '11. Yeah, I know.
But that's really the name of our village.
It's like living inside a Norman Rockwell.

You may be asking yourself. "hey, that bike looks pretty good. and he said it ran. why in the hell is he doing anything to it? and why am i thinking without capitalization?"

Well, from 3 feet away the bike did look good. But any closer then you began to notice that the frame had the cancer and if it wasn't dealt with that ****s gonna spread. And check out those oil spot on the ground below it growing before my very eyes!

Don't get me wrong. there's a lot of good about this bike. My favorite good is the paint on the tank and headlight casing. Looks a little weathered but original. Never repainted. And weathered like an old friend can feel. It's also complete. There hasn't been any confused young non-mechanic type whose gone through it and messed anything up. I'll be first young non-mechanic type to have that pleasure.
 

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Timing cover came off pretty easy. Check out that timing chain! More on that later. Much more.
 

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