Subject: RE: Checkin in
Author: Ian Adkins
Date: Jul 27, 2003, 7:15 AM
Post ID: 1713928169
Charlie & Pete,
Sounds like you guys had good days. As for me....I woke up early Sat morn to
head down to Ed's. Our plan was not to ride so much as to get some needed
work done on the bikes.
My 70 Ambo was in need of a new rear tranny seal on the output shaft. With
part in hand I rode the 60 miles to Ed's arriving around 830am. We proceeded
to get to work on the old girl without delay. When I restored her a couple
of years back I never touched the tranny so I was assuming that the seal was
original and had done its job. This was obvious when we pulled the swing arm
reveiling a fair bit of tranny fluid in the u-joint and noticing that the
seal lip was indeed hard.
With the back end off.....we inspected everything and all looked good. It
appears that the rear end seal is starting to leak but that will have to
wait for another day. As for everything else....all looked as it should. By
noon we were done and on to our next project which was to replace the front
wheel bearings on Ed's disc Eldo. With sound advice from Greg Field we drove
the old bearings out and the new ones into place correctly.
By 3pm we were done and the rest of the day was consumed with discussion of
Loops, BBQ'd food, liquids, and planning for the Cruso rally to come. It was
a great day.
As I was winding my way through the twistys, on the way to and from Ed's, I
was noticing how the bike had become part of me. Inputs into the bike were
not so much mechanical but rather instinctive...much in the way that when we
walk we don't think about putting one foot in front of the other...it just
occurs. I feel the same way when working on the bike......when I do so I
become so much more connected with the machine, understanding her nature.
There is something truly special about these bikes...
...Ian
| -----Original Message----- From: Charlie Mullendore [mailto:Ambo-@netscape.net] Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 12:26 AM To: Loopfram-@topica.com Subject: RE: Checkin in Hi Pete, Sounds like an enjoyable day except for the running out of gas part! I had a semi-fun day even though the bike only shows three more kilometers than before. Kilometers?! In the morning, the dude who bought the Gravely garden tractor I sold on Ebay came up from NC to pick it up. After he left I push mowed a while then wound some more string on the trimmer - boy the excitement! It was getting a bit too hot for comfort working outside, so I sat in the nice cool shop and pondered what to do. The little baggy with two new Falcone clutch throwout bearings (Thanks Gordon!) sat on my work bench, so I decided to finally make some progress on the customer's bike. After a half-hour of fighting to get the old one out it finally released it's grip after liberal application of the "electric fire wrench" (heat gun), vise grips and a pry bar. The new one fit in without any fuss and the cover and cable were back in place quickly. Spurred by this accomplishment, after lunch the petcocks from my Stornello were swapped in to temporarily replace the leaky originals and a front brake cable was adapted from a used Ambo one. I flipped on the left petcock, "tickled" the carb a bit, then pulled in the compression release and kicked it around until the little arrows on the flywheel and case aligned. Another heave on the kickstart lever resulted in a slow, rhythmic thumping not unlike that of the tractor that left earlier. Great! Put the petrified seat back on and dropped it down onto the wheels, pulled in the clutch and engaged first. Eased out the clutch and the old beast lunged forward and rolled along through my yard under it's own power for the first time in nearly twenty years. Overall gearing seems quite tall, so it's not under I get out onto the road that second is necessary - this thing is supremely torquey. Front brake lever comes way back to the grip, but the rear is powerful and progressive even though the heel activated pedal takes some acclimation. Up and down the road and around the yard I go, feeling like a kid with a new minibike. Might have been only a few more kilometers showing on the speedo at the end of the day, but it was definitely a kick to ride. As soon as the owner supplies me with a new seat and I get it mounted, more kilometers will accumulate quickly. Maybe even ride it on the Nostalgia Run this year and to the Moto Fest! Obligatory Loop content - wish I had one of these to go with the Ambos! Cheers, Charlie. p.s. Took some pics today, will post then a.s.a.p. so y'all can see this thing! Pete <plsch-@aol.com> wrote:
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Bike show this
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