As I mentioned in the other thread last week I was picking up a dismantled 500SL last weekend. Well I got the bits and have had time to do an audit to see if anything is missing I'm glad to say that everything appears to be there bar perhaps a few fasteners. The first owner stripped the bike with the the intention of restoring it owner and got as far as powder coating the frame but for whatever reason never got any further. Three years ago he sold the bits to the next owner but it turned out to be more than he was up to so it has fallen to me. The previous powder coating on the frame is showing rust in the nooks and crannies and various chips from being moved around so I'm going to have it stripped and redone. I'm having a problem with the swinging arm. The alloy adjuster blocks have been left in and are stuck in there. I've been applying WD40 and with difficulty can get them moving, just, but I'm struggling to see how I'm going to get them out. I can use the cast in bolts to draw them out so far but once they reach the end of the swinging arm I haven't figured out how to get them any further. Any ideas welcome. Here are a couple of pics.
Hi Derek. I had the very same problem a month or so ago. I made a slide hammer arrangement. Rod screwed onto the stud sticking out. Then whacked the mass along the shaft. It took quite a few slides to,get them out ( typically moved a mill every whack). Good news is they eventually come out. The inside of the swinging arm needed a good clean with a small flapping wheel. Quick clean up of the alloy and it ended up as good as new. Hope this helps Keith mm ( he of the other pantah allazzura project a few posts down!)
This 500SL looks very promising, so good luck with it. Looks like a 1981 or 1982 bike, judging by the fairing.
It's registered 1/10/1982 and has only done 29,600 km, about 18,400 miles and I'm happy that every thing is there and not too scabby. The original owner from new until 3 years ago was apparently the president of the Manchester Honda Owners Club. Once I get the blocks out of the swinging arm the next job will be to get it and the frame re-powder coated. Meanwhile I'll take the heads off and check out the engine. Hopefully I'll at least have a rolling chassis in a couple of months.
I did consider heat and may resort to that since I'll be getting the swinging arm re-coated, but thought that perhaps the alloy would expand more than the steel making them even tighter. But on thinking about it, the alloy at that point has a far greater mass than the steel tube around it and won't heat up as quickly as the steel which would have the flame directly on it anyway. And I definitely don't want to break the adjusters off.
I hope the frame number on the headstock has not totally disappeared by the time you have finished this.
That had occurred to me Pete. I've going to have it stripped back before re-coating but I'll clean up the frame number before hand and instruct the powder coaters to keep it clear.
Agreed, but the previous coaters obviously weren't, the frame numbers are barely legible. Another coating like that and be gone.
Got the alloy adjuster blocks out of the swinging arm. No heat needed. After soaking in WD40 since Monday I was able to draw them out using the cast in screws and a suitable sized socket. They are cleaned up and sliding nicely now
Today I took the heads off. It doesn't look too bad in there although there is evidence of mild contact between the pistons and inlet valves which have been replaced at some point. I'll be checking out the heads this week.
The frame is off to the powder coaters. I have re-juvenated the instruments and dash. I have the heads off and after cleaning them up and giving the seats a light grind I need only one opener shim. They also need all the valve stem seals replaced. It seems that the bearings in the support blocks have been replaced but with ones which are sealed on at least one side. I'm inclined to pull the seal on this side, although I'm reluctant to pull out the bearing to remove any that might be on the other side.
It is normal for the bearings in the camshaft support blocks to have a seal on the inside. This encourages the oil feed to pass along the camshaft drillway and come out of the cam lobe holes (thus lubricating the rockers), instead of just pouring out through the bearing. I would not advise pulling the oilseal out of the bearing.
I got the frame back from the powder coaters yesterday. They made a fantastic job. They stripped it back to bare metal and re-coated it. Properly this time with a primer and the frame number is easy to read. I'm very impressed with the result. I'm still waiting on one opener shim but other than that the heads are rebuilt with new valve stem seals and are ready to re-fit with new belts too go on. Today, I thought I'd remove the starter and give it a paint to smarten it up. I was a bit disappointed to find that the starter intermediate pinion doesn't have a hole in it to allow access to the retaining screw behind it. I don't really want to remove the flywheel so that I can remove the intermediate gear so that I can get the screw out.
This is very surprising. I have never seen an intermediate pinion without a hole for the starter screw. Are you sure? You have to turn the pinion round to find the hole! Incidentally, Pantah starters are a bit basic and need more than a coat of paint. The plain bush at the carbon brush end could do with a clean and a bit of grease (which is the only lubrication it is ever going to see). The commutator may well be full of carbon dust. The earthing connection screws are pretty feeble, and you might be able to replace them with more robust ones. Then give it a coat of black paint. Pantah starters are not the same as later Ducati models and cannot be interchanged.
Well it's got holes Pete, but none of them seem to line up with the starter motor screw. Thanks for your advice on the starter, sounds like it would definitely be better taken off.
Well the starter is off and I did have take off the flywheel and intermediate gear. As you can see from this photo the starter motor screw is directly behind the gear teeth, so no chance of getting it through a hole. So I'd better make sure the starter is good as I don't want to have to do that too often. Apart from being shorter, what's different from the later Ducati starters? Is the hole spacing different or is there some other reason the later ones won't fit. I had the starter off my 907ie a week ago but it's back on so I can't make a comparison.
I can answer my own question now. The later, longer, starter motor will foul the oil pressure switch on the Pantah.
