Toilet Handle Redux

Old Gold, and his flapper friend.

I know everyone is champing at the bit for another blog about the flush handle on our toilet, so I decided it was time to deliver.
This post is actually somewhat interesting; I promise.

We got our first water bill and were shocked to learn we used over 14,000 gallons of water in the last 50 days.  I am pretty sure 90% of that goes to watering the lawns, but I decided I should try to conserve a little more in the house.

As anyone knows who has showered at the house, there are no gains to be made there.  We also have a super efficient washing machine, so the biggest target is the toilet, especially since Chrissy doesn't agree with my philosophy that it is alright to go seven days without flushing if there is just pee in there.

Anyway, we got an adapter that lets you select between two flush volumes.  There's a little flush for "liquid waste" and a full flush for when you've got a full load to dispose of.

The best part is, the handle replaces the tacky gold one in the guest bathroom.  I started with one, and if all goes well, I will retrofit the master bath soon.  So far, everything is working well, and the new handle looks much better.

If you're considering doing this, I recommend you inspect your fill valve before beginning.  If it's fine, don't bother buying a kit that includes a new fill valve.  They try to bundle that with the dual flush unit and say how they work together to save water, but there is usually no need for it.  Save your money and just get the flushing unit.

This is the unit I got:  http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202267979/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=dual+flush&storeId=10051

Reluctant Rotor

Last time, I stopped after loosening the bolt that holds the alternator rotor to the crankshaft.  That's not the end of the story for removing it.

It turns out the rotor is wedged onto a taper on the end of the crankshaft, so you have to forcibly pull it off to remove it.  The way you do that is by removing the bolt, inserting a small rod in the hole, then re-installing the bolt.  When you tighten the bolt, the end of it presses against the rod, which presses against the crank and the rotor is forced off.

That is all good in theory, but it is pretty stressful to actually do that on your own bike.  I had no idea what kind of unholy bonding had taken place since this thing was last taken apart (1977?).  I get pretty nervous when it seems like harm could come to vital components like the crankshaft.  Luckily that particular component is a piece of hardened steel, so it should hold up pretty well.

Anyway, I cut the head off the bolt in the above photos (as the service manual recommends) and slipped it into the hole.  I searched in vain for my tub of grease; it seems to have vanished.  I eventually decided to lube the threads of the bolt with old motor oil.  I threaded the bolt in and started tightening.  And nothing happened.  I started getting nervous.  I put a little more torque on it and still nothing.  I backed out the bolt and it looked fine.

I re-lubed and tried again.  This time I put quite a bit of torque on it and started getting the sinking feeling that something was yielding.  Back the bolt out again.  Looks fine.

I went for it again and after cranking on it pretty hard, the rotor finally popped off.  I pulled out my little rod and discovered there definitely was some yielding going on.  It developed a hell of a dimple where the bolt was pressing on it, not to mention a subtle S curve.  That thing was straight when I put it in there.

So, everything came out fine in the end.  Big sigh of relief

Miracle Product: Rolling Stool with Tool Shelf

This is not really a miracle, but it is one of the most convenient things I've used in a long time.  I can roll around the garage and have a selection of tools handy wherever I go.  Brilliant!

The Strip Show

Now that I have determined the engine, transmission, and clutch all need to be closely inspected, I have started really pulling things apart.
Additionally, since I will be relocating the battery and all the electricals are in rough shape, I have decided to pull all of that off and replace most of it as well.  I just need to be very careful, since we all know electricity is magic and is more or less impossible to understand.

Notice that I strapped the bike to the lift.  Sometimes I'm smarter than I look.

I pulled off the seat and tank again and started going to town.  First up were the carburetors and then the airbox and starter cover/intake.  Next up were the giant ignition coils.

I want to start on the exhaust, but I need a special wrench to avoid destroying the fancy fin-nuts.

Rear wheel removed, fairly easily.  Had to deflate the tire to pull it out.  I also discovered why there is so much space to the left of the wheel in rear swing-arm.  It's so you can remove the wheel.  I think I have an idea of how to cover that up a bit.

Notice the hammer on the floor.  I said it came off fairly easily.

The front wheel came off easily as well.  Note to self:  spacer goes on the left.

Next up was removing the alternator.

 

Then I ran into a problem.  When trying to unscrew the rotor from the crankshaft the engine kept turning, which is actually a good sign.  That engine rebuild may not be needed after all.
Anyway, I had to figure out a way to keep the engine from turning when loosening the fastener.

I decided to remove the starter and jam a screwdriver in the teeth on the flywheel.
Here's the giant starter, with a ghetto-fabulous setup to remove a bolt that is ridiculously difficult to access.  That is a 1/4 inch wrench that I used to loosen a 13mm nut.

Once I got the infernal starter off, I had a lovely assistant hold the flywheel while I unscrewed the alternator rotor.

And that's where I left things.
This really escalated quickly.

What I Have Learned

Piece of cake.

Now that I got the spark plugs out and the motorcycle on the lift, I have learned some things.  All of them bad:
1.  The right cylinder looks pretty bad inside.  There appears to be some rust and possibly even standing liquid inside.  This means a complete engine tear-down/rebuild is probably needed.  I choose to view this as not a bad thing (hopefully it isn't an expensive thing), but a learning opportunity.

2.  It seems I can only get the transmission into first and neutral.  This indicates transmission problems.  Another learning opportunity.

3.  In first gear with the clutch released, the back wheel spins freely but the engine doesn't even think about spinning.  So it would seem I have clutch problems.  One more learning oppo....who am I kidding.  This thing is a disaster.  And I love it.

New Toys

I needed a spark plug socket for this project, so that meant a trip to Harbor Freight Tools.  $1.99 later and I was ready to pull some plugs, but I can't go into Harbor Freight and not buy a ton of other random things.

I ended up buying the socket, a dead blow hammer, some shop rags, a 40-drawer small part storage unit, a shop stool and a motorcycle lift.  The lift was on sale and I used the standard 20% off coupon, so I got a great deal (at least that's what I'm telling Chrissy).

Worst Case Scenario

The absolute last think I wanted to happen was to have a bolt break off in the engine block.  And that's exactly what has happened.  Although now that I'm really thinking about it, I think it technically broke off in the timing chain cover, so that's slightly better.

I was trying to remove the alternator cover on the front of the engine (see below) and even with all the penetrating lube I could throw at it, the bottom bolt did not want to budge.  It started turning with a lot of resistance, and eventually snapped.  I wasn't going crazy on it or anything; I only used a standard Allen wrench.

I think the bolt may have been bent, because there was some impact damage to the cover right at the head of the bolt, so this may have been unavoidable.  So it goes.
It wouldn't be fun if everything went exactly according to plan.

The reason I wanted to get this cover off was to see if there was any way of turning the crank under there.  I wanted to test if the engine spins freely.  Turns out I will have to dig deeper to turn the crank from the front.