Victor’s Ace B Project!

[Tether]

After spilling ball bearings all over the shop floor I develop this method for this.
Make two rubber bands from old inter tube. Secure the frame so that it will not move. Put the rubber bands on the lower clamps and stretch over the steering stem. Place a towel or something under the work area to prevent any dropped balls from bouncing. Remove the top nut and remove the balls, place in baggie and label as top. Carefully remove the rubber bands and slide the steering stem out, be sure to check for balls that may stick inside.
The process for assembly is basically the reverse using sticky grease to hold the balls in place.

[viclioce]

Well I have i new set I was planning to use anyway. But it pissed me off that it didn’t stay still! But I’m over it. I can save these as spares & put all new ones in this steering head! Victor

[viclioce]

This Rustoleum is giving me fits!!! I missed some areas yesterday. I let it dry over night & went to spray over areas missed & the dry paint is wrinkling! Arggggggh!!!! It didn’t do this with the paint & primer in one! Damn it!!! I may strip it down and do it again! Not a happy camper right now.... Victor

[Tether]

With that paint, or most rattle can paint, you need to get it all on within an hour or less or wait at least 48 hours. Even after 48 hours it’s best to hit it with a light sanding to get the sheen off. I found this out the hard way of course.
Bob

[matt glascock]

I feel your pain, Victor. I have had the wrinkling disaster even after waiting 4 days between coats on an Ace 90 frame. I agree with Bob. Multiple light coats in rapid sequence seems to be the best approach. There is still a blanket of profanity hovering over northeast Iowa supporting this notion.

[viclioce]

Well, I can tell you this. The paint & primer in one did not react the way the Rustoleum Red did! Same company too. Don’t know if it was becauses this Red was glossy, or another reason. I’m going to let it dry for 48 hours & sand it with 60 grit. I’ll try to feather it on and stop overspray from getting to the dry paint. Two spots in particular. One is on the top frame rail where it meets the steering head. No too bad because the tank will cover it. The other spot is the rear fender mounting tab at the back of the frame. Seat mostly hides it, but I can mask the back of the frame and just repaint the tab. Shouldn’t be too bad to remedy. Just need to persevere through! But I’ll never use Rustoleum Glossy again!

Both bolts were broken off in the steering head which hold the front of the tank. They were so rusted in place that all I could do was drill a new hole & tap with a 6mm tap. Both holes threaded & bolts thread in & out. I guess that’s the best I can hope for, even if the drill went slightly off center. Victor

[matt glascock]

Good move, Victor. I ended up doing the same thing after fiddling around with a screw extractor for like a million years - and I didn't even have to deal with the rust factor!!

[TheBevman]

No it’s the other one, the Ace B+ which has the overlay. I’m not home right now so I’ll post you a pic of that wheel tomorrow!

For now I’ve really sprayed it down with PB Blaster. I’ll let it sit over night & then try something with heat leverage! I’m sure that will do the trick! Victor

Thanks Victor, I'd really appreciate a picture of that overlay sprocket carrier when you get a chance. Also, I'm glad that you got the steering stem nuts off with less than drastic means too.

I've had the "DPO snapped off tank bolt" problem too. On my M94, and I couldn't drill that thing out to save my life. I even went and got a set of high speed hardened bits and still no luck, not sure if it was grade 8, stainless steel or something salvaged from a superhero . In the end I finally had enough and ground a valley through the mount, taking that broken off bolt and a lot of meat out in the process. I then had fill it in with weld, drill and re-tap it. Drastic measures but it worked and the tank doesn't hum near as much now, thankfully.

Keep up the good work.

Bev

[viclioce]

Well, I’m just glad it worked! I was afraid of a repeat of the tap breaking off in the hole like it did for the CW! Victor

[viclioce]

Removed the front forks. They were the older style which had the bigger cap nuts and had lots of rust & pitting.

I had a second set with the smaller cap nuts and the Allen bolt in the bottom which holds the dampener in place. All I needed to do was stain both sets, move the big nut which holds the bushing (I stole one from this set for the CW!) and remove & install the seals O rings top and inside with the seals.

But one spring was decidedly shorter than the other and a section appeared to be cut off, making the spring unuseable!

Bruce to the rescue! I emailed him to send me a spring and the fork spring guide which was also missing.

Now a question. I removed the forks from this triple tree without issue. However, putting them back in is proving to be an issue. I removed the fork tubes after removing the fork caps. They slid right out. However, I can not get the fork tubes to clear what appears to be a small lip in the aluminum top tree. It seems neither set will clear this and I even used a large, flat blade screw driver as a wedge to pry the rings open and still no go. Even with the cap nuts off the fork tubes.

I’ve never had this happen before. The forks were always a bit tighter in the opening of the lower tree but the upper one the forks always slipped right through, & you could adjust the height to be flush with the top of the fork tubes, or move the tube up a bit higher to play with the fork geometry. But no go. What am I missing here that they won’t slip right through the top tree hole???? And it does it with either sets of fork tubes. Am I just not getting the opening spread far enough apart?

I can only push the fork tubes up to this inner lip & then I have to screw the fork cap nuts in. And I don’t believe the cap nut is threading all the way into the fork tube..... Victor

[viclioce]

Well I got some more work done this evening until about 8:30 p.m. I still need to strip the shifter cover & the clutch cover. May take them & have them blasted. We will see.

I got the motor all assembled & into the frame with the carb mounted, mounted the brake pedal & rear brake rod, foot pegs are on, kickstand & spring mounted, handle bars, speedometer mounted, and coil mounted to frame!

Bruce is sending me a set of fork springs. In the mail Monday morning! Once the forks are done, I can mount the tires on the wheels & get them on the frame so I’ll be a roller with a motor.

I was in need of a good wiring harness, but Alan is sending me the one from his Ace 100 since he bought it for off road use only & won’t be using the lights. In fact he’s sending me everything electrical from his Ace 100!!!

So she’s moving along at a good pace now! Victor

[viclioce]

Does anyone know any tricks to make it easier to get these rubber fender grommets through the rear fender mount holes? I’d love to hear them! Victor

[viclioce]

Bump... Victor

[Dale]

Grease.
If the rubber is dry and/or brittle, soak it in a zip lock bag full of brake fluid for several weeks to a month.

[viclioce]

Well, I decided it was old & brittle. So I cut off the rings and used the rest like a spacer & let the bolts hold it, until the new one comes! Victor

[viclioce]

A little more done! And my springs came in the mail! Thank you Bruce! Victor

[TheBevman]

Grease.
If the rubber is dry and/or brittle, soak it in a zip lock bag full of brake fluid for several weeks to a month.

I've found that the brake fluid trick works but... the part will swell, for a while, and then start to contract again and weep brake fluid. So keep it away from certain painted parts. Just FYI. I've also had great luck with immersing rubber parts in Armor All. I put them in a zip-lock bag with a bunch of Armor All and let them stay in the sun for a week or so.

Bev

[viclioce]

Well... I thought I had the 2 tires for this bike. Turns out this rear wheel is an 18” instead of a 17”! I guess the DPO changed the rear wheel. So I ordered an 18” and a tube & rim liner. Oh and I painted the rear mud guard to match the frame since it was original and was very faded.

Got the front end finished and the front tire mounted on the rim & bike. Also mounted the tank and polished it with chrome polish. Alex says he wants the 50th Anniversary badges on the tank so off to the Club web site I go for those! The tank still has those dings in the front. Need to weld that steel ball bearing onto some rebar..... Victor

[taber hodaka]

DPO? The 100B's came with 18" rear tires models 92_, 92B and the 92B+. DPO?? am I wrong the ace 90 ace100 had 17 " tires on the rear? --------------Clarence

[viclioce]

Dunno. I’ve got an Ace B+ with a 17” rear. I’ve got a Road Toad with a 17” rear and one with an 18” rear. I just “assumed” all the Aces came with a 17” rear wheel. Victor

[viclioce]

I stand corrected Clarance. The B & B+ did come with an 18” rear. Thanks for the info! So my B+ had the wrong size rear wheel on it! Victor

[viclioce]

My 18” rear tire arrived today! Time to go mount it up!!!

[viclioce]

Wow. Don’t have a rim liner???? OK. Just wrap the rim with Duct Tape!?!?! Well, the tape isn’t as “old” as the original Nitto tire. But, man that’s old duct tape! But I can’t believe it was Paul who did this. I’m guessing the PDPO.......
Victor

[viclioce]

Got the chain on today along with the kickstart lever. Side cases are finally having paint removed! Can’t wait for that wire harness to arrive!

Does the chain guard look too high in the back, or is it just the small rear sprocket? Victor

[viclioce]

Side covers are now stripped. I’ve applied aluminum polish. Just waiting for drill battery to recharge. Takes about 1/2 hour. Victor