Messages

Having watched this issue for a while now, it appears to me (AND THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, MIND YOU!), you'll never be able to totally eliminate the poseurs and/or agitators from the site.

However, as Ted suggested, restricting forum participation to POG members will help some and simply ignoring the obvious idiots, to the greatest extent possible, will help more.

By the way, the tenet of "Free Speech" doesn't apply to this site (or others like it) so all types of "spam", human or electronic, can be filtered with impunity.

Keithuu

I am truly surprised that you can't simply transfer the title, Joe. Michigan recognizes two types of titles- the first is an "off-road" title which is not much more than another form of Statement of origin and the second, which you possess, is an honest-to-gosh, unrestricted, "street" title. When I purchased the bike, I transferred a similar Ohio title with ZERO difficulty or question.

Maybe if you were buying a combine or a manure spreader, Iowa would be a bit more reasonable[]



Keithuu

Hey Mike;
In my opinion at least, you may as well start gathering parts for the resto cuz' for darn sure you're not gonna get what you think it's worth[B)]

The Voice of Experience

Keithuu

Theoretically, the bike is sold, but until my pockets are filled with dinero, the deal ain't done. I'll advise if the program goes south[^]



Keithuu

It would certainly be convenient, Mike. Contact me off -site later on and we can hook up[]

Keithuu

Thanks to Rob and Mike for the kind words and generous offer. It is indeed difficult to part with the bike, even tho' we haven't "known" each other that long.

What is truly amazing is how little value folks seem to place on these milestone motorcycles. I watch the vintage game pretty closely and I am constantly surprised at how many people are willing to pay $5,000 to $6,000 for restored Bultacos and Huskys, for example. Without taking anything away from either of those fine marques, and accepting the fact that some of these (not all!) are concours quality restorations, the apparent disparity in value between them and our favored brand is difficult to accept [?]

Rest assured that I will not give the bike away nor will I resort to the economic-driven savagery of parting the thing out. Hells bells, I might just wind up keeping the thing [8D] Could be worse, eh?



Keithuu

Hello, folks;
After trying all sorts of "grip-grabbing" techniques over the years, I find the best (for me, at least) is to spray Cyclo brand carb cleaner liberally inside the grip, pop that sucker on, position it quickly, and voila!, it is on - period. It usually only takes a minute or so to dry. The best part is that if you switch grips later, there's no residual goop to clean off[8D]

Keithuu

In a related matter, has anyone used Caswell sealer on plastic tanks? I used the stuff very successfully on my '75's tank but my grandson's XR100 "breathes" enough thru the plastic to totally distort tank graphics[:0] At $35 a pop for NOS Honda stickers, I thought I'd try the left-over Caswell from my Penton project to hopefully stop the wheezing.

Keithuu

I finally got thru to Caswell and they proclaimed the sealer A-OK for plastic. They recommended dropping a handful of drywall screws into the tank (and removing 'em, of course!) to roughen up the inside.

My (limited) understanding is that, under the "like design" criteria, my '75 would qualify for Vintage Sportsman if the rear shocks were mounted vertically so as to meet the 4" travel limit.

Keithuu

Before I mess with the timing, I've been advised to try an Iridium or other "precious metal" plug. Apparently a standard plug has too much resistance to allow the nice fat spark it needs to light the motor at low kick over speeds with the MZ-B. The finer electrode (logically) ought to help the situation a lot. I'll report later.

Keithuu

Rod;
Pretty sure I did it right - found TDC rotating the flywheel clockwise, reset the dial indicator, and backed it up (counter-clockwise) 2.2 mm. Took a "few" tries to get the rotor seated while maintaining the setting but it eventually worked out.

Unless I hear a better idea, I think I'll soften the timing to around 2.1 mm BTDC (I think that's the factory setting) and see if that has a positive effect. I left the bike at my cottage so I won't be able to conduct the experiment for a week or two. Sigh!!

Keithuu

Raymond;
The bike is a 250 and I am indeed optimistic about the MZ-B's performance. The bike has been a 2-3 kick starter with the Motoplat so I can't hope for much better in that department. It runs fairly strong with only a slight mid-range roll-on flat spot which I attribute to a minor carb glitch, possibly just a needle tweak. I'm looking for a little more consistent fire and increased reliability cuz' we all know that a 30 year old Motoplat can become a "Motoflat" real quick.

Interestingly enuf, when I pulled the mag cover for the first time (I bought the bike with a fresh rebuilt engine), I found a notation on the flywheel indicating that the timing was set at "2.01 BTDC", which it is. The MZ-B's instructions say to set timing at 2.2mm BTDC so, despite the fact that I'm using premium unleaded, I'm a bit concerned about detonation. Hopefully that small change won't become problematic or detract from the ease of firing the old girl up. Stay tuned.[^]

Keithuu

The Wagner 4000 fit pretty well, tho' I did have to notch out the ring to accomodate the little "nubs" on the glass (3 places). I clear-siliconed the lamp in place both fore and aft, tho' it appears that the headlight will be held securely in the shell by the ring.

I was hoping to be able to re-use at least one of the headlight rubbers but the shape of the Wagner precludes both. I suppose it would be possible to modify the small rubber ring but I figured silicone would function as a shock absorber just as well.

The large retaining rubber is hopelessly oversize for the 12V. light due to its more rounded back.

With any luck, the MZ-B will go on this weekend and the lights will shine[8D]


Keithuu

Between the tips and the photos sent by Michael, I think I've got it right. The clutch cable now runs along the left side of the frame, through the loop, above the tank bumper, and down thru the brace loop. Works great, no kinks, and even seems to pull easier.

I switched the throttle cable to the right side, again thru the loop, and above the tank bumper. Once I got the relationship between the clutch, throttle, and brake cables sorted out behind the headlight, all seems hunky dory.

In deference to Doug, I was able to utilize the loops for the cables since I'm using a strap on the tank, not the cable retainers, so there's plenty of room. []

Keithuu

Thanks for all the tips. It sure sounds like the "lefterly" routing is the way to go and I'll give it a try. I forgot to mention that I'm using a Terrycable, not N.O.S., so I can't be 100% sure the length and thickness are the same as original.

Right now, the throttle cable is routed thru the left loop and seems to work fine without kinks or binding, but then it's a lot thinner than the chubby clutch cable.

Michael, I would indeed like to see your pics if you'd e-mail 'em:D

Keithuu