Well. My friend Kevin whom is an extraordinary welder of all things metal now has my inner primary and the images of the race brace in his possession. I hope that I adequately impressed upon him the fact that this 60202-79 inner primary casting is irreplacable. I trust him to always exceed expectations in all things that he does but one can’t help but be nervous under the circumstances.
On the 8th I ordered a new mainshaft sprocket extension from bikebandit.com. They were the only place I could find that had one specifically listed for my bike. E&M lists one for 1970-1991 softtail. Seems to me that this is a pretty bad description since there were no softtails in 1970…. No picture available so I decided not to try my luck. Now here I sit having placed the order on the 8th and there has been no progress on processing the order. Bikebandit says 8 “working days” for them to get the part in (but it’s on its way they assure me.) Here I sit with no ride.
It’s been 10 days now since I got the inner primary off. During this interval I have realized that the “complete engine” gasket set I ordered for this project contains a standard 4 speed primary gasket and no inner primary gasket at all – also couldn’t find an alternator o-ring in the package…. I located a silicone beaded primary gasket set at JP Cycles. Ordered it online and had it in 3 days.
I suppose that worse things could happen. It could snow before I get my sled put back together. Until I get everything back from friends/vendors I will fill my time with honey-do items and Texas Holdem. Some how neither of these things offers the same soothing of the soul that comes from a nice long ride. I’m waiting and bumming.
Dan – thanks for your blog, I just found it, I’m the original owner of a 1982 FXR. Quite a few years ago I did a frame-up rebuild and at that time I converted the primary from the original dry to wet (no vacuum lines, etc. If you are interested I can try to recall what I did and the parts that were used – it involves changing the primary from being sealed under vacuum to being sealed under pressure. If there’s any other info I can give you please let me know.
BTW – the vibration that you have might be related to the way the exhaust attaches to the frame. If you have the vibration once you have the bike back together you might try – temporarily – disconnecting the front pipe from the rear pipe where they are joined together at the mufflers to see what happens.
Bob Johnson
California