Victor’s Ace B Project!

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Bev. Finally remembered to take a picture of the overlay sprocket for you! Here it is! Victor

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One down, one to go! Victor

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Am I getting carried away? Victor

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Shift cover now done as well! My nephew does like the red lettering! Victor

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Parts came in from Alan today! Now I can move ahead and finish the Ace B, as soon as my back pain goes away..... Victor

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Well after 2 trips to the ER, 5 days of Morphine & Valium and a near 7 days of constant TENS unit use, I’m back down to just my regular meds and maybe an occasional TENS unit dose.

The good news is, it now doesn’t hurt any more to work on the Ace B than it does to sit in my recliner, so I spent 3 hours out in the garage working primarily on wiring.

I also sanded and hammered out a small dent in the top of the headlight bucket which Allen sent me, and painted it! It should be dry and cured enough tomorrow, to be able to mount it and finish up the wiring.

Installed the horn, wrapped fresh electrical tape around the main harness wires coming up from the stator, power wire brushed the ignition switch & key clean, combined the best of parts from the 2 tail light assemblies I have to make one really good one. Only thing missing there is the reflector holder which mounts to the tail light.

I also need that small plastic Hodie logo cover for the left side of the battery box. Anyone got a spare with which they can part?

Electrically what’s left is to install the brake light wires, front & rear, install the AC/DC emergency switch into the bucket, and complete the wiring connections inside the headlight bucket! Maybe need to find a brake switch spring or two in my containers of loose parts! Also going to change out the light/horn switch which I repaired with the one Alan sent me which only needs a light cleaning! And I need to add the fused link between the ignition switch and the positive side of the battery! I’ve said it before, I really like using the mini blade fuse holders when redoing these bikes. 5 amp mini blade fuses are easy to carry and much less fragile than the old style glass tube fuses.

A few pics just to show progress has occurred! I may actually be bolting on the exhaust, adding oil & premix, & kicking this one over soon for its first new “Ring-a-ning-a-ning-a-ning!” Getting close!!! Victor

[givergas]

like your attitude victor. were about in the same place as our builds go i just got my wiring on and close to hearing it fire up also, looking good....albert

[viclioce]

Well, Terry had a used wire connector cover which he mailed out to me today! As soon as it arrives I can paint it so it looks fresh, and mount it once it’s dry!

I found my box of Red Reflectors & mounted a set on the rear rack. The front brake is now working & I will be headed out to Ace Hardware for a few different springs to get the front brake light working properly.

I bought a 1” diameter steel ball bearing. I’m off to the garage now to weld the ball bearing onto a section of rebar which I can bend into different arcs that will, hopefully enable me to tap out the 2 dents in the front of the gas tank! I’ll keep you posted on if/how well this contraption works! These are the 2 dents I’m attempting to remove! Victor

[dirty_rat]

Good luck on the dent removal. Those tanks are a very heavy gauge metal. Hopefully it will work, keep us posted.

[viclioce]

Well, I was able to make the tool. But to my surprise, the tank had been lined in the past, and rather thickly. So, it appears the liner was absorbing way to much of the impact. It was like trying to hammer out a dent with a piece of very dense 1/4” foam between the dent and the hammer! So the tank is just going to stay like it is. Maybe If another Ace tank comes along..... Victor

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Everything on but the exhaust, a mirror & grips! Can’t get exhaust to line up by myself. Maybe tomorrow a grandson can help me. Victor

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More done today!!! Got my wire cover from Terry & got the exhaust mounted!

Waiting for a kickstand to arrive in the mail! Victor

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Looking for spark but not finding it. Had a very difficult time gapping the points but I think I accomplished a good gap. I’m not sure the condenser I mounted is good. But I have 3 new ones I bought. Going to swap out the condenser this weekend. If it’s not the condenser, I found another coil, an un-rebuilt one, but complete. Sooner or later I’ll get spark. Just hoping for sooner. I may have to replace those points as well. But I’ve only pulled the flywheel 3 times so far. Victor

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Got my petcocks & fuel line on yesterday. Just need an in line filter to connect to the carb. Victor

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Got the filter in tonight! Victor

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Well I tried gapping the points, but when I removed them I figured out why they wouldn’t work! Installed new points and condenser. You can see how worn the old points were!

It got too dark even with my LED workbench light to finish up gapping the points and it’s after 8:00 p.m. now. So I’ll finish it tomorrow! Victor

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I HATE when I get stubborn electrical issues! It makes me just want to walk away from a project.

I’ll clear my head with a nice motorcycle ride today. The high today is predicted to reach 80*F. It’s in the low 70’s now. Going to head out & ride until maybe 4pm! Victor

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Well, the ride went 8 miles & I picked up a nail at 65 mph! Made it over to the side of the highway & called for a tow truck. While waiting for the tow, I guy pulled over who does roadside assistance! He plugged the rear tire & got me aired up! When I asked him what I owed him he said “No charge, I’m a biker too!” Rode the bike home and ordered a new rear tire. Victor

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All the electrical problems got worked out under the electrical thread I started. I had put in a set of “extra” new points and the rubbing block broke off! Tested so many other things trying to figure out what was wrong. It wasn’t until I pulled the stator to do an exchange with another that I discovered what happened with the brand new points.

The good news is I got great spark with my coil I rebuilt. I followed Kelly’s video instructions to a tee and it proved to be a good strong spark!

My nephew will be up this coming Saturday to assist in the final assembly items and I’m going to let him do the first start!

Then it will be test all the lights, adjust the front brake light spring and brakes and do some heat cycles. Then we will be off to Motor Vehicle to title & register then bike in his name! Thankfully, I don’t have to go through Vermont to get it re-titled!!! Victor

[viclioce]

Well, today, she is officially done! Waiting for Saturday morning to get her for the first start up! Just need to go buy mirrors!

Giving my nephew the opportunity to be the first one to kick her over and hear her fire up! But that is Hodaka #6 that I’ve finished! Victor

[matt glascock]

She's a beaut, Victor. Way to go!!

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Well, 2 Aces & the Road Toad! The Wombats are in the garage! Victor

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The garage is getting full! From back to front,
1973 Combat Wombat Model 95
1972 Ace B+ Model 92B+
1975 Road Toad Model 99
1970 Ace B Model 92B
1976 Wombat Model 03
1997 KTM 50
Purple fender from 1987 Suzuki VS700
Not shown 2003, Suzuki VL1500 LC

[viclioce]

Well my nephew kept standing me up. So I worked diligently on starting the Ace B today!

First I put fuel in the tank. When I opened the petcocks, the carb overflowed. Pulled it off and found the float arms were irregularly bent. Straightened them out and leveled them again. Reassembled and no more leak.

Kicked her over a few times and she started but the throttle stuck wide open! Turned her off. Checked the cable to make sure it wasn’t kinking. Nope.

Pulled the carb top off. The spring didn’t appear to be strong enough any more for a quick return. Pulled a replacement spring out of my carb box and changed it.

All of a sudden, the needle falls out of the slide and the clip is gone! Fortunately, I had another slide with a needle & clip. So I took that clip.

And while I’m doing all of this, I had to remove the retainer wire on the idle screw. And, of course, the wire retainer broke from bending it open & closed too many times. I trimmed a piece of spring wire off of the old, weak spring and carefully bent it to replace the idle screw retainer wire. Know that spring steel is much harder to bend than the type of wire usually used. But it worked.

Reassembled carb and kicked her over again and she started. The idle was too low to keep the bike running, but a few more kicks & idle screw turns and she was holding a steady idle with it not being excessively high.

Double checked the air screw. Tuned it all the way down to 1/2 turn open before it stuttered. Turned it back up to 1 1/4 turns and she seemed happy. This carb has a 30 pilot and a 95 main and seems to be doing well without appearing to be running lean. It also has a cylindrical Uni pod filter on the end of the carb instead of the OEM Ace air box. I don’t like those air boxes. They seem to perform inferiorly to a K&N or Uni pod.

By the time I finished all this she had completed a heat cycle. She was also leaking some exhaust from the exhaust port/pipe junction. But she was too hot to touch now. I’ll let her cool off over night and check the position of the new exhaust gasket and confirm whether the pipe is not centered in the exhaust port straight tomorrow.

All in all a productive afternoon. And, I was talking Alan thru his Ace 100 B+ tranny reassembly all while working on the B, via FB Messenger! Great to hear her ring-a-ning-a-ning! Victor

[viclioce]

Well I had a slow but steady oil leak on this one. Wasn’t sure if it was the gasket on the clutch cover or if it was still leaking from the oil drain plug, or some other issue.

So, I pulled the motor out of the frame and turned it in it’s side. There was new oil on the bottom of the outer cases. Wiped it clean and checked for possible “weeping” along the bottom of the clutch gasket. Nothing jumped out as being a clear source of a leak.

Pulled the drain plug and drained the remaining oil. It had leaked roughly 8 if the 20 ounces filled in, 12 ounces remaining. The drain plug had a thin flat metal washer but no red oil plug gasket. I had 2 new drain plugs with new red gaskets. First plug went in & the gasket ripped apart. Pulled plug and replaced gasket. This time I put it on snug but not “gorilla fist” tight.

After replacing the drain plug, I removed the clutch cover to inspect the gasket. Sections of the gasket were stuck to the inner case edge, and the gasket tore. I had to scrape the case free of stuck gasket with a razor blade. Thought I had a spare clutch gasket on the bench, but alas, I couldn’t find one.

Ordered a new batch of (3) clutch gaskets & waited for them to arrive. They came in Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It’s been cold & snowy so I haven’t been out to install yet, but I’m hopeful that these replacements will end the leak issues. Then I can get back to freezing my butt off figuring out why the headlight won’t light!

Happy Holidays to you all!!! Victor