Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I wasn't going to do a resto this Winter because we are trying to sell the house and this Winter was suppose to be devoted to working on the house. As fate would have it a member of the NE Dirtbikes site, Oldschool, AKA Tom, came across this H1B. He had a buddy who is a tree cutter and cut some trees for a guy who had no cash but had this bike in his basement. The guy asked Tom if he knew anybody who would give him some cash for it and that's where I came in. Some barn fresh pics,











Near as I can figure this bike has not seen the road since 78 or 79.

I started a thread on the NEDirtbikes site so here is a few clips to bring this thread up to speed.

Paint and powdercoat ready to go. Powdercoat is buy a company near where I work and paint is by a guy in my dirt bike club, The CT Ramblers.



Rear hub before,



And after, with a new DID rim, bearings, spokes, tube and tire. The front got the same treatment except with paint instead of sand and polish.



I had this dust cover from a group parts but lying around so that went on the front along with new bolts and lock washers for the disc.

That is looking very good Sir. I will be starting one of mine soon. The further along you get the more exciting it gets!

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1969 H1, 1971 G3SSA, 1974 G5, 1973 H2A, 1975 S3A, 1975 H1F, 1973 Z1, 1988 HD FLTC, Captain America chopper, 2000 Excelsior Henderson, 1965 Bridgestone BS90

The tank was surprisingly clean on this bike but I stll lined it anyway. I use the Caswell kit and have had great results. I can't see going the work and expense of a full reastoration without it.

Steering head bearings got replaced with tapered head instead of the fall on the floor type.



Fork lowers before,



And after,



Lot's of Zinc plating with this bike. I know some parts are OEM Chrome or maybe Nickle plated but I have found a polished Zinc is pretty damn good. I have a few bikes with the polished Zinc look going back 9 years now and none have faded. IMO, with the lead times of Chorme small wheel parts and such can be Zinc plated and polished faster and keep your project moving. Here are the rear axle components before and after.

Before and after of the rear backing plate using the Zinc polish and some hardware store parts for the air vent wing screw. The brake shoes and springs were also replaced.





New swingarm bushings also are installed.



So with some reproduction shocks that got us to a rolling chassis.

Then it's off to the engine. A before and after of the cases. I know there is more than 1 way to skin a Cat and there is some difference of opinion on this but I bead blast them with a super fine bead. This means lots of cleaning in the parts cleaner tank prior and some Dremel wire brush to get the stuff that just don't want to leave it's comfy 40 year old home in the cracks. The fine bead does not seem to pick up fingerprints and other crap after cleaning either.

The crank came out and was in very good shape.



It came back from Dave Singleton looking great!




A nice touch is the new Case Nuts and Washers. Though few will see them I think they are a great detail.






Before the motor went into the frame the carbs got cleaned, rebuilt, and acid washed.

The motor in the frame with the new reproduction pipes. I love a stock look and these pipes really bring it home, if only I didn't have to have the Wife work nights for them.





So now this thread is up to speed on my progress. I got a call today from the painter and the paint will be ready tommorow. I stopped by to check it out while the last clear is drying and it looks Fantastic! I can't wait till Saturday to start mounting the tins and am anxious to post what this bike looks like with some color.

If any of you other guys are Orange fans you will love how the tins came out. They might even look cool with KTM on the sides.

First class job !......been doing mine this winter, man it's a lot of work.........very rewarding

THX Phil