My M750 Rebuild

[Mr Gazza]

Oooh.......It's a reel of tape....

[utopia]

The tape will do you no good when your reg/rec fails.
Apart from that, the electrics aren't too bad these days.....but old reputations die hard.

Slightly saddened though I am, by the prospect of a 750 getting the treatment, I nevertheless like your project and look forward to seeing the finished bike.

Probably a step too far but I think I remember that someone (louigi moto ?) built a monster "café racer" and used multistrada forks.
Perhaps not the best for that particular project, they would however (I think) offer a little extra length at the front on your bike, as well as possibly a softer set-up.
Just a thought.

[Flip]

Originally Posted by Taff666

Thats the kind of look I'm after, but I'm thinking sticky road tyres, maybe more Supermoto than scrambler.

Yep I get it!!

It would definitely be worth getting a pair of ride height extenders either from Rich at Lougi Moto- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOUIGI-MOT...item2336a79095

Or here from an ex DD racer- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUCATI-MON...item3a9f534dce

Originally Posted by Dookbob

There are some realy nice bits of kit creeping onto this thread now, I love the little racer.

If you like the little bike and as you're so close you really need to get yourself along to the Donington Park Classic Festival this August and pop along and say hello to it plus you'll see plenty of lovely old bikes being ridden the way they were intended to be.

http://www.crmc.co.uk/calendar/

[utopia]

Yeah, pop along to that this year if you can, Dook.
Its a brilliant day of old-school bike racing, with close access to an amazing variety of machinery and riders.
There will almost certainly be a few of us going again this year.
In fact I'm hoping to be more active in organising stuff this year, so I'll keep you informed of this and other midland based outings.
Oooh, the smell of Castrol R, the overrun of a big single, and the fearsome, ripping shriek of a 2-stroke spannie.
And you can marvel at the spindliness of the forks on just about anything !!!

Sweet talking guys you monster riders.

Sorry about the hijack but did you get my pm dookbob ?
Keep me informed of these meets geoff !

Originally Posted by Dookbob

I have a pair of the same handlebars as yours for my M600 current restoration, I couldn,t make my mind up about them, but after seeing yours on the bike I think I will use them.

Yo Dookbob

Please don't forget that I have had to order 200mm longer front brake and clutch hoses and throttle cables to allow for the extra height of the handlebars (an often overlooked expense - by me!)

[Flip]

Originally Posted by utopia

Yeah, pop along to that this year if you can, Dook.
Its a brilliant day of old-school bike racing, with close access to an amazing variety of machinery and riders.
There will almost certainly be a few of us going again this year.
In fact I'm hoping to be more active in organising stuff this year, so I'll keep you informed of this and other midland based outings.
Oooh, the smell of Castrol R, the overrun of a big single, and the fearsome, ripping shriek of a 2-stroke spannie.
And you can marvel at the spindliness of the forks on just about anything !!!

Yep all of that but I have no idea what you mean about the forks.....I mean, with nearly fifty years between being made my mountain bike has almost 'caught up' with it's 32mm forks compared with the little racers' 35mm Marzocchi items.

Picked the Monster up from Longlife exhausts in Swansea today. Don't think I can call them silencers because there is no silencing in them, other than the usual removable baffles for MOT purposes.



Not a bad job done, but I need to grind off some of the baffles where they stick out further than the end of the can.



I'll also tidy up the welds a bit and then its off to the chromers for the existing downpipes and new end cans - can you guess what my next question is going to be?



Can anybody recommend a good quality chrome plater?

[Mr Gazza]

I believe Stainless Steel can be plated to good effect, but it's cheaper to just polish them up yourself.

The Ramble Continues......

So I started to trim down the seat pan and foam (what was left of it after my garage mouse had devoured half the foam over the last couple of winters)

I wasn't liking what I saw!





Forgetting about the mouse munching, it was the way the seat pan sat about 30mm above the frame rails, it just wasn't a good look.

So I decided to make a new seat unit. I am keeping the front part of the original seat pan, that dresses up the back of the tank and has two lugs on the underside that locate next to the shock rocker, and am building a new rear half of the seat.

I cut out a base board from plywood and glued a load of my Mrs' flower arranging foam to the board.



This stuff is easy to shape.



This is my second attempt.



Still not there yet but finaly got to where I wanted it and today is going to be glass fibre day (After I get my KTM MOTd)

Seat unit coming on, shown with rear brake light/indicator combo in position (but not wired in!)







Have never used fibre glass before, messy but brill!

OK, so the time has come to remove the engine from the frame (frame away to powder coaters as soon as I have the cash)

I have removed engines from bikes before but always out of a cradle type frame before (Jap bikes only)

Read the Haynes bible and came up with this as a one man method

Bike on the bench, engine chocked up, frame suspended on rafters - NOTE - THIS METHOD IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR GOLD WINGS OR HARDLEY MOVINGSONS!!



Next move, undo shock, swinging arm pivot point fixings making sure not to lose any of the circlips, shims, thrust washers etc (There's bloody loads of them!!)

Now raise bench slightly to fully support engine weight as below



Remove engine bolts, one each side at the front and one through bolt at the back, catch all the bloody washers/spacers again hoping you've got them all and thinking you know where they go on re-assembly!!

then lower the bench until the frame (still suspended from the rafters) clears the engine - job done!



Was a doddle to do alone, unlike a "normal" frame where 1 of you has to crouch (bending your back into the worst shape possible for lifting) reach into the frame to jiggle/remove the motor while someone else knock out the bolts.

I'm thinking it should be quite simple to do this in reverse and lower the frame back down onto the engine - or am I being optimistic??

As your frame will be stripped for powder coating, putting it back on should be simpler.
Just lower the completely naked frame onto the motor (its relatively light)
- and then start cutting away plastic coating until the frame mates up to the motor mounting lugs!

Started polishing up my exhaust pipes - before and after pic




The motor after first coats of etch primer and satin black. Lots of awkward little places to rub down with my awkward big hands!!