A meticulous restoration of a CB72 '67 (and a SS50Z K3)

[Richard Pitman]

A few months after I first got my Hornet I got knocked off it by a van driver. This resulted in my right acromioclavicular joint becoming separated. Basically, this is a lump of cartilage that attaches the end of the collar bone to the shoulder blade. At the time, I had the option of having it repaired with screws and plates, but this would have meant immobilising my right arm for up to 12 weeks. The other option was to just leave it flopping about * , which is what I opted for, as at the time, with dependants and elderly relatives, being the sole driver meant that I really couldn't cope with 12 weeks immobility.

* This cartilage doesn't heal up again once separated.

Doc said that it might give me grief in later life, and that I wouldn't be able to do any heavy manual work. I'm happy to say that more than 25 years later I don't have any aches in that area ( hips and knees are another story ), and I've done quite a bit of manual labour over the years without issues. Only downside is that it looks a bit weird, the end of my collar bone being quite mobile under the skin, and it may have contributed to my shoulder getting dislocated in a fall a few years back. That actually hurt a lot more than the original injury did.

On the other hand, (wrist actually ) my wife had her fractured wrist screwed and plated, and she still has aches and pains in that area.

 

[jensen]

Thanks everybody !, and as a real elderly I had a mid afternoon sleep. I didn't expect getting so tired from walking 4 miles. My wife, who is working from home, let me sleep on the couch.

When I was 15 years old, I was hit by a car doing 80 km/hr (50 mls/hr) when I crossed the street (with traffic lights). I had green light, his was red, and according to whiteness, he didn't have his light on (it was early in the morning), so I never saw him coming. At first, I tried to stand up after the crash, and saw by bone (leg) sticking out of my trouser, so I put it back in my leg, and tried to stand up again, which didn't work out as I expected, and fell again on the tarmac. I lady, laid me down on the tarmac, and covered my body with a blanket (it was winter, wet and cold), until the ambulance came to pick me up.

Since that day, I still have some titanium hardware in my leg, with a few screws as well. It never hurts, or give any pain whatsoever. The only thing is that when the atmospheric pressure changes, I have an itch in that area, knowing that the weather will change





It's also the reason why I walk so much, 50% of the muscles had to go, since these where punctured badly. The whole muscle structure is different between the left leg and the right leg.

Nothing to complain about, because before the operation, the surgeon said to me that it was very likely that they had to remove the leg from the knee. I remember I was explaining to him it wasn't my fault, and that it wouldn't be fair. I remember that I was also explaining to him that I did put my bone in myself after the accident, and that it didn't stay, so the only thing he had to wrench it down (I was under influence of a cocktail of adrenaline and morphine ).

I don't know if that helped, but when I woke up, and felt my leg, I was as happy as you can imagine.

After my study, I did an internship at the Rotterdam University hospital. and one day, during lunch I told this story. One of the surgeons invited me in his office, because he wanted to the see the work of his colleague, he was very impressed and told me that it was the surgeons own personal decision to save my leg.

I spend half a year in the hospital, due to operations, skin transplants and rehabilitation.

Once in a while a think back on the moment that the surgeon said to me that I would probably be missing a leg from the knee down, and realize how lucky I was in the hands of a true professional.

 

[LongDistanceRider]

Getting older isn't for the weak or faint of heart

 

[ballbearian]

he was very impressed and told me that it was the surgeons own personal decision to save my leg.

Sometimes good things happen that almost defy logic or common expectations. I would probably describe your surgeon as not only a true professional, but gifted and inspired.
You stand and walk today on two good legs. One, as universally given. unaltered. The other, repaired by skill and faith.

You must and will continue, it is your witness.

 

[Richard Pitman]

Some surgeons do go the extra mile. I was fortunate to be under the care of such a person myself some years ago, when I had a bowel resection as part of treatment for rectal carcinoma. In many instances, the standard treatment leaves the patient with a colostomy bag for the rest of their life. My surgeon told me straight that this was quite likely going to be the outcome for me, but that she would do her best reconnect my plumbing, so that I would still have normal bowel functions. Last thing I remember when being wheeled into theatre was her surgical registrar whispering not to worry, they'd fix me.

I ended up with a temporary ileostomy ( stoma bag ) for six months whilst my guts settled down, followed by another operation to close that stoma, a longer and more involved course of treatment than if they'd gone for the colostomy option.

My lady surgeon was there all the way. I also remember in the days following the first operation, the spinal block for pain relief hadn't worked, and they were worried about the amount of morphine I needed, She turned up in the middle of the night to see me, despite have worked all that day, and the next.

And then she ended up leaving our hospital, due to some petty back biting amongst her male surgical colleagues. I was so fortunate not to have been under the care of one of them.

 

[kbongos]

My youngest stepchild had braces bolted in her back to straighten it out. She recovered well with a few weeks bedrest. The xray pictures of the hardware looked horrifying to me, but I guess they know what they are doing these days. My brothers wife had this done 50 years ago and says she was in a full body cast for a long time, and her back is doing fine(as far as I know) 50 years later.

That is quite the scar on the leg there. You probably saved your leg stuffing the bone back in at the tender age of 15. And thanks to the surgeons with good mechanical skills to rebuild us humans.

 

[jensen]

Like mentioned in another thread, I'm waiting for the CB72 frame and parts (painter), so in the meantime the first maintenance on the CD50H. Since I completely rebuild the engine, and put the first couple of hundred miles on the odo, it's time for finishing the bike.

- oil change, valve adjustment, etc.
- replacing the old mirrors with the original round ones
- take of the old mufflers and put a NOS one back
- mount a side stand to the bike, it's better for my back

Will take a couple of days.

 

[kbongos]

Wow that CD50H is a cute little machine, looks brand new!

 

[jensen]

Bought it when I got 16, disassembled the bike after buying a motorbike, and assembled the moped a few years ago, engine was rebuild, some parts are re-painted. I started my two wheels motorized life with this moped and I will probable end my two wheels life with this small displacement fun bike

 

[jensen]

Yesterday I made two NOS mufflers ready for installation (one for the CD50H and one or the SS50H), and that's a time-consuming process. First of all I clean the inside of the mufflers (mainly dust), and let it dry in the sun. Then I coat the inside with heat resistant paint (no rattle can, but old fashioned pouring fluid paint inside the mufflers, while I close all holes with rubber stoppers (I have a bag of all kind of sizes). With turning the mufflers upside down, and turn it over the length axis I make sure the paint reaches every corner. After a while I pour the rest of the paint back for re-using.

After the paint dried, I use Rustol Owatrol oil (thanks @raydike), to further protect the mufflers from rusting. After finishing the inside, I start working on the outside, adding heat resistant paint at the top of the mufflers, and at the back at some area's.





I do this two or three times, making sure that all hollow area’s between the steel parts are protected.



The end result is a muffler that is protected from the inside out, the only thing I have to do is make sure that the outside stays shiny.

Oil is changed, electrics are checked, mirrors are underway, just like the side stand.





And while I'm at it, I will replace the main stand bold, paint the main stand, and lubricate the main stand pivots, and adding a grease nipple so I can grease it without taking the main stand off ( and the muffler). The main stand bold is also the pivot for the brake pedal, getting lubricated this way too.

 

[kbongos]

As always @jensen your level of OCD is beyond reproach! Nice work. I hope you will not be restricted to riding 50cc or less but if that happened you will be all set.

 

[tomeben]

Yesterday I made two NOS mufflers ready for installation (one for the CD50H and one or the SS50H), and that's a time-consuming process.

Made? Gosh that’s great work, side/main stands included!

 

[ballbearian]

The time and effort is justified for those rare NOS parts. It would be a very long timeline to see how much longer your preps will make them last, beyond our mortal spans, I'd expect.
I'm curious if the Rustol Owatrol oil treatment could also be used on some good but used pipes and mufflers to halt or impede any further oxidation. I assume this is an internal treatment, as well. Could it be re-applied every year, or so?

This is taking it to the next level, I call it the Jensen Level.

 

[jensen]

I'm curious if the Rustol Owatrol oil treatment could also be used on some good but used pipes and mufflers to halt or impede any further oxidation. I assume this is an internal treatment, as well.

Curious too, however, Rustol Owatrol is not high temperature resistant (resistant until 175 deg Celsius / 347 F), and will, over time deteriorate, especially in the header. For me it's the first time using it, so I have to get some experience while using it.

This is taking it to the next level, I call it the Jensen Level.

In the end I'm a lazy guy, so I better do it one time right, saves a lot of work / money in the future.

 

[jensen]

Finished, and the next bike (SS50), while waiting for the CB72'67 painted parts, is already on the lift, to be finished the coming weeks.

 

[jensen]

I rode the CD50 half a day, I got home when it was dark. I had a good day, and brought back memories that I made in my young years.



Just before getting home i re-feuled. I forgot the mileage of these bike.



Two liter for 96 km

 

[kbongos]

Good to see you are back in the saddle again!

 

[RobMan]

For those of us still into miles and gallons that equals 112.9 mpg if the online calculator is not lying. Pretty darn amazing!

 

[jensen]

For those of us still into miles and gallons that equals 112.9 mpg if the online calculator is not lying. Pretty darn amazing!

And for those with the US currency, that is 10,04 USD / gallon.....

 

[RobMan]

And for those with the US currency, that is 10,04 USD / gallon.....

I remember back in the 80's when I was stationed in Spain and Germany and having to buy gas on the economy and not have any gas ration coupons on me. Always hurt the wallet and felt crazy paying for one liter what one gallon costs back in the states. Totally understand the need for smaller fuel efficient vehicles.

 

[ballbearian]

I wonder how the break down of actual cost, fees and taxes compare.

 

[jensen]

21% of the the 2,00 euro are the actual costs (0,42 euro), the rest are taxes, additives, transport etc.

 

[ballbearian]

I think it is similar over here. The smaller proportion tells a bigger story.

Even if I have to mount a weedwhacker motor on a bicycle, I won't give up my internal combustion conveyance.

Your little 50s are elegant efficiency.

 

[jensen]

I never thought the CD50H would give me so much fun. I took the CD50H to work for the first time. Since these small displacement mopeds are not aloud to use the main roads, I have to use the bicycle lanes (for those who are not familiar with the Dutch bicycle culture, our bicycle roads are in most cases better then the roads, smooth tarmac, and wide) and that was a bit of a puzzle. I planned a route on maps, but there were a few surprises in RL. The shortest route, one-way, was 74 km / 46 mls, and since these small displacement mopeds are limited in power and maximum speed by law (max speed is 45 km/hr (28 mls/hr), it took a while to cover the distance. On top of that, I had to make a stop several times due to my back (just out of precaution). All in all, it added a few hours (2,5 hrs, one way) to a working day of 8 hours. I got up very early, started my moped at 6 in the morning, and arrived around 8.30 at work. I tried another route home, which was much nicer, but longer (92 km / 57 mls). Since it wasn't my turn to cook dinner, I got home at 9 pm, and dinner was served.

My CD50H runs a little faster, around 55 km/hr (35 mls/hr) due to a different flywheel (one with a ignition timing advancer instead of a flywheel with a ignition timing retarder). The standard carburettor of 12 mm is unchanged, however, I put the needle one step higher, and changed the main jet (1 step bigger in size), these changes keep the engine cool (espacially the exhaust valve). I also replaced the original oil pump with a 200% increased version. In the standard set-up (retarded igntion timing and standard jetting, the bike has a better mileage, but overheating causes burned valves and increased piston wear.

I use Castrol 10W50 or 10W60 synthetic. These small engines don't have an oil filter (just a screen), so a regular oil change is mandatory.

Looking back on a beautiful day (the weather was good too), from sunrise to sunset, and certainly worth repeating.


The bike in the morning sun.



And in the evening sun. I didn't have my camera with me (Nikon D7200, just too heavy in my backpack), so I had to depend on my iPhone. These iPhones always give a glare or a spot when shooting directly into a light source.


The mileage was also stunning, I added 225 km / 140 mls to the odo in the past days, and had to add 3,2 l (0,85 gal) of fuel, resulting in mileage of 71 km/l (167 mls/gal). Since the shortest distance to work and back is 120 km, my travel allowance is 33,60 euro a day. I had to add 3,2 l (2,21 euro/ l), 7,00 euro in total, so I "earned" 26,6 euro due to travelling with the moped (but it took me 5 hours in total, making 5,3 euro/hr )

The bike performed flawless, not one missed beat, no overheating, not one drop of oil underneath the engine, and perfect idling at the traffic lights (no rpm measurement on this bike, but I did set the idling speed to 900 rpm).

I choose Michelin Anakee street for this moped, a good tire for the money.

 

[stl360+450]

I'd say you and the iPhone took a really nice picture, lens flare aside.

I guess it is well known to everyone there that the mopeds are legal on the bike lanes? In the US, you'll see mopeds and scooters using bike lanes adjacent to the street (at the shoulder), but motorized vehicles are generally prohibited from designated bicycle paths. E-bikes that observe a speed limit may be permitted or go unnoticed.

 

[jensen]

I guess it is well known to everyone there that the mopeds are legal on the bike lanes? In the US, you'll see mopeds and scooters using bike lanes adjacent to the street (at the shoulder), but motorized vehicles are generally prohibited from designated bicycle paths. E-bikes that observe a speed limit may be permitted or go unnoticed.

In the Netherlands it's more complex (I think). Different rules apply in built-up areas (municipality) and rural area's (outside municipality). In a village or city you have to use the normal roads, it's not legal to use a motorised vehicle on the bike lanes. The speed difference between mopeds and cars is relatively low, so more or less save. Outside a village or city, you have to use the bicycle lanes, since the speed difference is high, thus dangerous for the mopeds. And as usual, sometimes there are exceptions to these rules, mainly to increase safety, minimising the risk for accidents.
Bicycle riders are protected by law, when in an accident with a car, or moped, the least weakest road user is always to blame from an insurance point of view. The percentage of quilt, is depending on the age of the bicycle rider.

Just to give an example:

A few years ago, I got home with my car, and was waiting (standing still) to cross the street from the mid-lane. An old lady crossed the road, lost her balance, and touched my left mirror. She couldn't hold the bicycle and fell. She broke her ankle.

- I was standing still, and had my winker on
- The lady was crossing the street at a point where it wasn't aloud.
- Everting was captured on camera from the local petrol station.

Since her age was over 80, and she was a driver of a bicycle, my insurance was 75% responsible for the costs. Since she lived on her own, she needed help, so she was temporary admitted to a nursing home for 3 months.

Legally I wasn't guilty, so no fine for me, but my insurance had to pay 75% of all costs. In the end, my insurance premium went up.

 

[kbongos]

That mileage is incredible. I did have an interest in getting a smaller 125cc machine, like a virago, for short city drives, just for the better mileage, but never got one. I do enjoy my raw horse power of my 450cc and it's worth the lower mileage just for the fun factor.

That's a wild story about the 80 year old bicyclist. We have what is called no fault insurance in MN, but there certainly is some fault assignment by the insurance companies. I was parked at school with Escape to pick up child and someone behind me got distracted and just rammed into my back end. I don't carry the collision insurance(for getting repairs), just the required basics to cover liability, as I drive old vehicles. It is about half the price. I did get paid a decent amount by their insurance, did my own repairs, so it was sort of a win for me.

 

[RobMan]

Just sat down to my computer this morning and saw your photo of the horses in the meadow with the sun peeking over the treeline in the background which I have set as my computer desktop and thought that you had not posted any photos recently. Understandable with the back issues but I was delighted when I went to VHT and opened this thread and saw that you were out on two wheels and stopping to take and share some photos of your bikes and beautiful homeland. I wish we had bike lanes in the US like that where I could ride my S90 and not feel like I was impeding traffic and could take longer rides.

 

[jensen]

Glad you enjoy the pictures !

I wish we had bike lanes in the US like that where I could ride my S90 and not feel like I was impeding traffic and could take longer rides.

Highly illegal to ride a S90 on a bicycle lane in the Netherlands . Only mopeds aloud with a maximum displacement of 49,9 cc and a maximum (construction) speed of 45 km/hr.

 

[RobMan]

Glad you enjoy the pictures !

I really do enjoy them you are quite a good photographer thank you for sharing.


While my S90 is street legal in the US for all roads except freeways and Interstates there are too many other drivers that get impatient if stuck behind a small displacement bike for me to feel truly comfortable in traffic. I will probably continue my Sunday rides in the neighborhood but heck I get some wind and it motivates me to get the 450 going.

 

[ancientdad]

While my S90 is street legal in the US for all roads except freeways and Interstates there are too many other drivers that get impatient if stuck behind a small displacement bike for me to feel truly comfortable in traffic. I will probably continue my Sunday rides in the neighborhood but heck I get some wind and it motivates me to get the 450 going.

I cringe when I think of how many days I rode my CT200 and S90 to school back in the late '60s and early '70s. Never took the interstate, but still had to navigate many roads with 55 to 60 mph speed limits in the roughly 12 miles to get there. Rarely felt threatened then and I don't remember many times when anyone tailgated me out of impatience, but it would be a whole lot more risky now with the lunatics we have everywhere today in the US.

 

[Richard Pitman]

Much the same in the UK. Back in the early 70's when I commuted to work on my new CB175, riding at 60mph I overtook most of the cars that I encountered on that daily journey. Partly because most of them were driving at 40-50mph, partly because my stretch of the A44 has plenty of bends, most of which I could negotiate without slowing down, and had the chamfered footrest rubbers to prove it. Most of the cars back then were relics of the late 60's and early 70's, with basic suspension, brakes and cooking engines. A Mini Cooper S was regarded as a high performance vehicle with a 10 seconds 0-60 time and 100 mph top speed, on around 70 bhp..

Most basic shopping hatchbacks can equal that these days, often with more than 100 bhp from tiny turbocharged engines, and of course most mainstream cars have warp speed performance these days. Back on that same road on a 175 these days I can just about keep up with the flow, but get blown into the weeds by any half way enthusiastic driver. And I don't scrape my foot pegs these days, can't comprehend how I used to manage that.

 

[ballbearian]

A 5 hour moped commute? That is true grit.
Even though it's souped up, that is still scenic enjoyment speed.
I bet that little guy has some kilometers on it.

 

[jensen]

I bet that little guy has some kilometers on it.

Yes, indeed, almost 32.000 km, but only the crankcases are the same, the rest of the parts are mostly replaced. I bought this moped with 2000 km on the odo, at the age of 16.

 

[jensen]

I used the moped for travelling from my student residence to the home of my parents in the weekends (at the age of 16 I moved out to another city). One-way distance was about 80 km, so weekly 160 km, plus short distances from my student flat to school, friends, beach and girlfriends.

 

[ballbearian]

I used the moped for travelling from my student residence to the home of my parents in the weekends (at the age of 16 I moved out to another city). One-way distance was about 80 km, so weekly 160 km, plus short distances from my student flat to school, friends, beach and girlfriends.

With multiple girlfriends, it was good it didn't have a GPS tracker on it. Incriminating evidence.

 

[jensen]

With multiple girlfriends, it was good it didn't have a GPS tracker on it. Incriminating evidence

One at the time. A woman is a handful, no room for two at once, and it's not in my nature to eat from two plates at once .

I got a PM from @stl360+450, that I was not very active on the forum lately (thanks Brody !). I had 3 weeks of holidays (Denmark), and when we came back, my (work) email box exploded when opened. First things first, I had to clear out my inbox, reply to the highest priority mails, and prepare and plan for a few trips abroad.

Last night I had some time to work in the shed, trying to finish the SS50Z K3, Dutch version. In the meantime I got my CB72 frame, rear fork and main stand back from the paint-shop. The other parts like headlight, head light ears and front fork parts do have the original paint on them, which I am painstakingly restore by touching up the spider webs that protrude through the paint. the original paint on those parts are in relative good shape, and it would be a shame not to keep them in the way these parts came from the factory.

I'll send some pictures later from this process.

And, since the forum is used to nice pictures from landscapes from me, here are a few that I made during my holiday. For people who don't know were Denmark is located, I added a small map of Europe.



Greenland is also part of Denmark, with a surface area 50x larger then Denmark itself.




Endless and wide beaches at Rømø, a Danish island close to the border of Germany, also close to the German island Sylt (home of the **** leader Hermann Göring). Since Denmark is north of the Netherlands, it's normally colder and wet, however, we were very lucky and we didn't had any rain within the 3 weeks we spend in Denmark.



Denmark, consisting of a lot of Islands, it's hard not to find yourself on the border between land and sea.



Since Denmark has a rich history of Vikings, we had to visit the Vikings ship Museum in Roskilde and many other museums (since my youngest son is studying Archaeology it's a kind of "must"), were Viking treasuries were displayed (Vikings under the leadership of Leif Eriksson "discovered" America's continent, actually New Newfoundland, in the year 1021, long before Columbus "discovered" America in 1492).




Early morning walk on another beach at Møn, empty as usual.



And a nice picture from my early morning walk in the Netherlands, back home.

 

[ballbearian]

Beautiful shots. Glad you had good weather and no 3 dog nights.

 

[stl360+450]

Sounds like a great holiday. The Viking ship museum would be very interesting to see, but that early dawn photo back home is gorgeous. That deep orange sunrise is not something I think I've seen much, if ever.

 

[jensen]

I think that Orange is due to our royal family, the full family name of our king is Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, koning der Nederlanden, Prins van Oranje-Nassau, jonkheer van Amsberg, or in English, Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Lord of Amsberg


The orange part is added to the flag at a special occasion with the royal family. The colour Orange is also used by the supporters (army or Legion) of our national soccer team when we play an important game or when Max Verstappen races (F1) like in the video below

 

[boddy]

I had a chance to visit the Viking settlement in Newfoundland about 9 years ago. It was a reconstruction but there were also areas were you could see the outlines of other buildings. You could enter the buildings and see what life was like centuries ago.

 

[jensen]

Nice, yes, same style of housing.



Here, one of the houses we've bin, you see my wife and son studying the details.

 

[jensen]

As mentioned in a previous post, I got my frame back from the paint shop, the paint is not 100% gloss, but not satin either, but right in between, so 75% gloss. I have a NOS rear fork and the "gloss-match" is perfect. The paint that my guy used is directly applied to metal, no layer in between. It's an industrial paint, designed to apply directly on metal. The depth (black) is a little darker then RAL 9005.

My painter does a frame two times, as can be seen below. since there are a lot of edges, angles, and dead spots, the bottom first, and later the top.





I also spend some time to add a main-stand to the SS50. The bike came without a main stand, and are very difficult to get (expensive when you're able to find one, NOS or used).

Luckily I had a few "unknown" main-stands, and after some comparison I found one that would be a good replacement. However, the pin that holds the spring sits on the wrong side. Unfortunately our welder is on holiday, so I had to be a little creative.





As promised a few shots from the headlight of the CB72 :

 

[jensen]

Yesterday I went to the Nationale Veteranen Treffen, or in Englisch, national veteran meeting. Not a military thing, but all about old bikes and mopeds. I took the CB450 K0 out (it's a 1 hour ride from my home), and went together with a friend of my with a Norton Commando 650 (also a twin).

Lot's of bikes, but a overwhelming amount of mopeds like Honda's. Yamaha's, Suzuki's, Kawasaki's, Zundapp's, Kreidlers, Sparta's (Dutch brand), Puch's, Tomos, Eysink (Dutch brand) and many other smaller brands as well.

I took a few pictures of bikes, some really nice ones, but unfortunately, most of them where trailer queens.





Also a very nice CB450 K1/K2, not all original (see the US-style high seering tube), but in general a good example of how a Dutch / German K1/K2 should look like. I didn’t meet the owner, I think he was lurking around, looking at the other CB450 (mine). The plate tells me it's an imported bike, but still, a nice bike (and not a trailer queen either).



A nice Kawasaki twin (2-stroke), in mainly, original condition. A rare bike here in the Netherlands.



Another Kawasaki Twin, a trailer queen (tires were clean).



A Honda CB360 in used condition, and a rider as well. Almost 89.000 km on the odo. I spoke the owner (his age was 76), it was his commuter bike for decades. He bought the bike new.



A widowmaker, a typical trailer queen, perfect restored in every way, to valuable and too nice to ride I think.



Another rider, a Z1000.



And another trailer queen, perfect restored, but the owner rides the bike a few times a year.



And the SS50Z K3 on the stand at home. It was raining cats and dogs at the veteran day, and the field became very muddy. Hence my shoes in the background. We also had a few heavy showers while riding home, cleaning the bike a bit. But the clay on the shoes didn't wash away.

The SS50Z K3 is a lot of work to restore. The bike is very complete, and the only difference between a moped and a motorbike is the amount of cc's (or cubic inches). It will take another few weeks before I can start with the CB72. The SS50Z K3 has to be finished first.

The vertebra fracture is causing a lot of delay in throughput, but I'm happy I can move, walk and work without pain and discomfort again. Recovering is a slow process, but in the meantime I'm back on the level I I was before the accident. I'm 57 years old, but my bio-age is back to the 30's. No matter how much I run, walk, or doing exercises, my legs stay above the 35 years old .

 

[stl360+450]

Thanks for sharing the photos from the bike meet — it's neat to see a Widowmaker there. The well-maintained CB360 and its 76-year-old owner remind me of the backstory for your CB400F. The tank on the SS50 is beautiful!

It's also good to hear that your recovery has been steady.

 

[RobMan]

Thanks for sharing the photos at the meet and while I have always felt a little sad about a trailer queen I understand especially the widowmaker, my Kawasaki 400 S3 triple scared me more than a few times when it hit the power band unexpectedly. Glad you got to meet the owner of the 360 and I am sure he appreciated a chance to talk with you as well. Well done on the recovery, and happy to see you are where you can do some riding.

 

[jensen]

Found some time to work on the SS50H, and tonight the engine finally ran after some carb work, ignition adjustments and other minor issue's. The electrics were done earlier, so everything was working correctly like lights, horn, winkers, neutral light etc. Next job is the front wheel brake and adding a muffler.

 

[jensen]

Yesterday I mounted the seat, installed the battery and put back the side cover, replaced the brake shoes in the front wheel, lubricated the front brake cable, adjusted the front brake and checked the front brake brake light switch. Ignition timing checked, static and dynamic, it starts with a kick, so all is well. All I have to do from here is to install the muffler, and add a licence plate. The carburation needs adjustment, but that will be done after installing the muffler and while riding the bike on the street. The cylinder and piston are new, as many other parts in this engine (crank, valves. transmission shafts etc.), so being careful the first 100km.

It means that the bridge will be empty, but not for long! I'm so exited to start the build-up of the CB72' early '67 (Dutch version), half a year later then planned, but sometimes life throws unexpected things at you, one has to cope with and accept it.

It also made me aware that nothing is for ever, and the years of riding are not endless, hopefully I'll be able to ride for another decade (or two), but I'm not the one who's in charge of that.

Finally after 348 posts, this thread will cover it's title, no more in-betweens in the in-betweens thread.

At @ancientdad , maybe time for a title change? My suggestion would be "A meticulous restoration of a CB72 '67 (and a SS50Z K3)", because I think that the restoration of my C77'64 dream deserves it's own thread

 

[ancientdad]

At @ancientdad , maybe time for a title change?

Done.

 

[jensen]

Thank you !