De-rusting and re-assembling

Today's work involved scrubbing, for the most part. Cub had been kept in a barn of some sort, from what I can gather, and therefore was covered in the usual layer of barn grime. The rear wheel rim was also spotted with surface rust, and some of the bolts were similarly in need of some polishing. So, with the help of my friend Henri, I did just that. The wheels are in better shape now, and the bike is generally brighter for being cleaner, which is always nice.

In other news, I finally found a locksmith with a storefront today, and dropped off my ignition switch so that they could work on making me a key for it. With some luck, I should have some news on Monday or Tuesday about how easy it'll be. I also picked up some classy fuel line today, though about two inches too little, unfortunately... a double male adapter and two inches of extra line should do the job, so it's not the end of the world necessarily. I also used today as an excuse to put the seat and the foot pegs back on and inflate the tires, so I could do the motorcycle equivalent of a high-speed taxi test. Riding it around on the driveway like a toddler on one of those pedal-less trikes, I can say that at least the brakes work well enough to stop me, though how well they work at higher speeds will be a test for another day. On a side note, one of the odd quirks about leading-link front suspension is that the bike tends to pitch up pretty dramatically when you apply the front brake, which is sort of odd. It'll take some getting used to, I suppose.

And, of course, a photographic update of my progress. Yes, that's oil in the plate below it. The right crankcase gasket is a bit leaky, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if I wound up having to replace all of them at some point. I'll get to that when I've moved out of "make it run" and into "make it run better."

-The Proprietor

Ah good, a fresh tankful of electricity...

Well, I've been ignoring Cub lately, but UPS delivered a package earlier today that will allow me to change this.

See, a while back, I got a hold of a new air filter assembly for the bike. It's in generally good condition- though the gaskets are a bit old- and fit right on without any fuss. I like when parts do that... it's always a huge pain in the ass when things don't quite match up model to model, and retrofitting isn't usually a good idea for something that old, etc etc. With the filter attached, the list of things I wanted or needed to do to the bike before trying to start the engine for the first time in however long shrank down to "battery" and "ignition switch."

The battery came- a brand new, unprepped Power Sonic 6N2-2a-3. It's a conventional lead/acid three cell battery, producing six volts at 2 amps (as the name suggests). It looks a bit different from the MBQ6K pictured in the parts fiche at CMSNL.com (here: Honda 50), but some research told me that it's the current compatible model. I'm not picky- as long as it does the job properly, I'm happy. So the next few items on the agenda:

1. Have battery prepped at Twist N Scoot, install in Cub.
2. Acquire a key for the ignition switch and rewire it, or hotwire it temporarily.
3. Replace the oil and ensure the gaskets are solid.
4. Run something through the gas tank to flush it, connect the fuel lines and give her some gas.
5. Pray to the internal combustion gods and press the start button.

If all goes according to plan, the engine will be upgraded to "running" status shortly. I'm a bit concerned that the transmission might need some work, which would be frustrating. Fortunately, I have a shifting transmission from Spare's engine, though getting at it could be tricky. Worst comes to worst, I guess. Once the engine is up and running, I should be able to just put a chain on and start test-riding to work out the bugs. I'll need mirrors to make it street legal, of course, but I can worry about those in a bit. Audrey's looking forward to riding, and I can't say I blame her. Once Cub is rideable, I can start polishing the chrome and replacing the plastic to make the bike really shine. Ideally, we'll get some good usage out of her and turn some heads in the process.

The Proprietor

Incidentally, if anybody finds a big trove of Cub plastic fairings and covers online, let me know. I'm looking for the front plastic, its related hardware and the side plastic, all in white.