Here’s a page for visitors to post pictures of their rides and write about their experiences. Enjoy!
From Darrell in Ohio:
Awesome! A tire replacement video sounds great. I bought 2 of the NRC 77 “front” tires like you said. I’m hoping the front fender adjustment is easy… Do you know if those come with tubes? Probably not, but I’m assuming any 14″ tubes will work. My current tubes hold air but they are getting a bit flat after a couple of weeks. I’ll order 2 sets of those break pads your posted.
I have had a bunch of weird things happen to me with this project. I didnt really understand how the carb works, but when it was leaking fuel I took it apart so many times that I feel like I know what im doing. I had a piece of rust block the float pin and it drove my crazy.
Kind of a similar story with the turn signals. I just assumed my back bulb was burnt out. but I took the covers off both of them today and saw the filaments were still in tact. All I had to do was reseat the bulb and I had all 4 lights blinking and working! I’ll still use yours as a spare.
When I first got the bike running I had assumed that the bike needed a 6v battery to start… Once I figured out it didn’t, I keep the new battery unhooked for awhile. I had no clue the 1980 model didn’t have a voltage regulator, so my working headlight quickly stopped working. I am trying to find some help on how to take it apart to verify the bulb has blown, but I’m pretty sure it is. I bought the C70 bulb which you recommended. I’m hoping that is an easy install as well. I will follow your instructions to the T when I get it!
I also bought a K&N air filter to replace the air box. I’m hoping the improved airflow will help with the 4 stroking. It seems to be maxing out at 25mph. My goal is to get it a little above 35 so I can drive it to work. It’s technically a motorcycle in the state of Ohio, so when I go for my licence, I may try to use it on the exam 🙂
These are just a couple of my experiences learning with this. Maybe you could put it on your site as well if you think they may help others. I can keep you up to date if you would like! If not, no worries at all. Let me know what that video is up, I’ll keep checking for it when I get these tires. Thanks!
Reply: You have many options for the front fender adjustment with those tires (which don’t come with inner tubes). I took off the fender stays and took them to a local bike shop and he searched around in his parts bin until he found some that were a bit longer and a bit wider. I used those for mine. You’ll raise the fender some but don’t raise the fender so far that there is no shock travel (fender moves up and down with shock as you travel over bumps). Same bike guy told me that newer inner tubes have less rubber in them than older ones and puncture more easily. I try to reuse the old tubes when I can. If they have a small leak or hole, I just pump some Slime in and seal them up.
Generally, if you have a two position key switch (just “Off” and “run”) then you don’t have a regulator. Qt50’s with a three position switch (“Off”, “start”, and “run”) had a regulator installed under the seat. You can add a regulator to older bikes easy enough. Your headlight is more than likely blown. To install C70 headlight, just take the chrome headlight ring off of old headlight and place around the C70 light. I take some small screws, nuts and washers and after drilling two small holes through headlight ring and C70 headlight housing, I attach with that hardware. I take a little Loctite and put it on the threads to keep screws and nuts attached.
You should be able to get it to 30 mph no problem. Beyond that, you will need performance parts like an MLM exhaust, 60cc top end, bigger carb or combination thereof depending on how fast you want to go. With any performance upgrade that allows more air into the engine, you will need to increase the size of the main jet in the carburetor to avoid engine failure.