MKL's 1973 R75/5 LWB Toaster
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Admiring Randy Long's Handiwork 4-09
Steady Progress: With riding season here in full swing, the R75/5 Project is still getting its fair share of attention, along with all the other needy bikes in the stable. In the past 4 months, I've continued to organize all my parts, as well as send out others for refurbishment. Above, as you can see, the heads have been completely reworked by Randy Long in PA. The finished products are excellent, with new valves, unleaded seats, and repaired exhaust port and spark plug threads. Long also lightened and balanced the flywheel as shown below.
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Randy Long lightened the R75/5's flywheel from 7.8 pounds to 5.8 pounds 4-09
Engine Disassembly and Cleaning: Tom Cutter tore the engine down to the block, and I cleaned and degreased all of the internal components. I then had the block and all of the other associated covers soda blasted and acid washed, and they look pretty good now. See below:
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Engine Block and some covers after soda blast and acid wash 4-09.
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The tranny housing got the same treatment, and is now back at Cutter's for reassembly.
Polish & Chrome: This was a rather sordid tale of good and bad. The aluminum sent out for polishing came out great, as shown below. Unfortunately, the same vendor royally screwed up the chrome, which was returned with bubbles in it. Worse, he badly dented my toaster tank side panels, which are now back out for straightening prior to being re-chromed. So basically, everything sent out for chrome has to go back out again. Lesson learned - get chrome plating at a reputable chrome plating shop, because trying to save in this instance only winds up costing you more.
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Polished bits will add "bling" to the bike 4-09.
The Bosch Starter: I disassembled it and found everything in good working order, except for a worn bushing in the nose cone. I've primed it, and will paint it gloss black once I take care of the bushing.
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The old Bosch - still ticking after all this time 4-09.
What Else? My vacillations continued until finally I settled on a cafe theme, so we're back to that, and staying there! The Knoscher-seat is at Gary Maucher's, where he is building me a custom cafe seat. Ross Thompson in Canada has my gas tank for minor dent and blemish repair, and he's taking care of the toaster side panels as well. Once all that returns, I will have everything I need to paint, and I've found a good local painter now. I'm leaning towards a red, similar to what Harley uses in its "Firefighter Edition" bikes. In addition to my transmission, Tom Cutter has my Bings in for rebuild, and once he's done I can give him the engine as well. Stay tuned for updates!