Well, here's the first post in the thread covering the Resurrection of Son of Hidalgo, the 1998 EN500LTD that I purchased from JazzDad as a project for my son Daniel.
Daniel will be 16 years old in 2019 at which time he will be legal, in Texas, to ride this 500cc, 45hp machine. Between now and that time we will be working to make things *perfect* so that his early motorcycling experience will be the best that it can be.
Here is a list of things that have done so far:
04-16-16:
1) The trip home from picking up SoH was quite eventful with rain and tornadoes. Christopher (friend and fellow Ironbutt rider that took me to pick up SoH.) and I missed a tornado by less than 20 miles on the way home. We were watching the weather radar *very* closely for about an hour near Sweetwater, TX.
04-17-16
2) I found that the fuel petcock was plugged on the RES side, probably because of lack of use. I cleaned it and added fresh fuel to the tank. The fuel tank still has lots of gunk floating around so cleaning of the fuel tank will be a priority during the resurrection process.
3) The battery was dead and, according to JazzDad, not expected to live. The battery has taken a charge and seems to be working okay, for now. A new battery will be installed before putting the bike on the road.
4) The alleged 'performance enhancing hole' in the airbox that was covered is really the only place where air can enter the airbox. The problem was that the hole, by itself, lets in too much air. There is supposed to be a 'snorkel' that fits into that hole so that the right amount of air gets through. I installed a 'snorkel' from a parts bike.
5) I did a quick initial inspection of the engine and started it up. No unusual sounds and it revs properly.
04-20-16
After doing some initial carb adjusting we took it around the block. The engine seems to be running good. The carbs still need to be synced.
04-24-16
6) I replaced a few missing screws, bolts, and panels. These include bolts for the headlight bucket, screws and inside panel under the right side cover.
7) Replace terminals on the Ground wire from the starter to the battery terminal. The cable was working well but I wanted it to 'fit' better.
8) Ordered a few maintenance items from ronayers.com. Front fork seals, battery strap and cover, valve cover gasket, coolant tube o-rings, and carb bowl o-rings. These should be in in a couple of weeks. The next installment should be then.
Daniel will be 16 years old in 2019 at which time he will be legal, in Texas, to ride this 500cc, 45hp machine. Between now and that time we will be working to make things *perfect* so that his early motorcycling experience will be the best that it can be.
Here is a list of things that have done so far:
04-16-16:
1) The trip home from picking up SoH was quite eventful with rain and tornadoes. Christopher (friend and fellow Ironbutt rider that took me to pick up SoH.) and I missed a tornado by less than 20 miles on the way home. We were watching the weather radar *very* closely for about an hour near Sweetwater, TX.
04-17-16
2) I found that the fuel petcock was plugged on the RES side, probably because of lack of use. I cleaned it and added fresh fuel to the tank. The fuel tank still has lots of gunk floating around so cleaning of the fuel tank will be a priority during the resurrection process.
3) The battery was dead and, according to JazzDad, not expected to live. The battery has taken a charge and seems to be working okay, for now. A new battery will be installed before putting the bike on the road.
4) The alleged 'performance enhancing hole' in the airbox that was covered is really the only place where air can enter the airbox. The problem was that the hole, by itself, lets in too much air. There is supposed to be a 'snorkel' that fits into that hole so that the right amount of air gets through. I installed a 'snorkel' from a parts bike.
5) I did a quick initial inspection of the engine and started it up. No unusual sounds and it revs properly.
04-20-16
After doing some initial carb adjusting we took it around the block. The engine seems to be running good. The carbs still need to be synced.
04-24-16
6) I replaced a few missing screws, bolts, and panels. These include bolts for the headlight bucket, screws and inside panel under the right side cover.
7) Replace terminals on the Ground wire from the starter to the battery terminal. The cable was working well but I wanted it to 'fit' better.
8) Ordered a few maintenance items from ronayers.com. Front fork seals, battery strap and cover, valve cover gasket, coolant tube o-rings, and carb bowl o-rings. These should be in in a couple of weeks. The next installment should be then.