The Elephant that was a Duck

[El Camexican]

Give me a shout later when your done your stuff. Gonna be at a party on the corner of 9 and 27. You should know people there. I think you're staying across the street.

I'll be out till at least 2:00, so no promises, but if I can I will. Thanks!

[El Camexican]

Is there any way we could get a paper napkin blueprint for the build plan?

Give me a few days, I need to find my red crayon.

[M.Pargiello]

Nice score! Always a fan

Makes me miss this one



Desmodromic valve systems are really cool, and sound even better!

[El Camexican]

Finally got the Duck imported and home last Wednesday. Had to leave a bunch of parts at the border due to avoid some taxes, but I will get them here at some point.

So Friday night about 8:00pm I cracked a fresh jug of rum open and got to it. As of 10:00pm Sunday (just as the wife was about to call a 24 hour divorce lawyer) the following was done:

Replaced the timing belts
Replaced the brake lines
Welded up a cheesy tool to remove the front axle
Replaced the front discs
Replaced the pads
Rebuilt the carbs
Modified the battery box to hold the lithium battery
Washed the bike
Attempted to fire it
Removed and beat on the fuel pump till it worked
Attempted to fire it
Removed carbs again to get the injector pumps to work (the carbs have no choke circuits)
Fired it on the first revolution, sounds as mean as ever!
Repaired the horn and passing light switch
Moved the clip-on back to keep the horn switch from getting messed up again
Replaced the stock clutch slave with a Yoyodyne unit
Rubbed some shine back into the paint, plastic is in incredible condition
Polished the clutch up to look pretty
Removed the exhaust system only to discover I am missing mounting hardware for the upswept pipes
Took the cast iron brake disc rings off the aluminum hubs and sent then for sandblasting
Started the slow process of filling paint chips with a paint pen

Still pending..
Looks like I either didn’t get, or lost the muffler mounts for the upswept pipes that are going on it, so I’ll have to make a set, got the right side done tonight
Needs a set of clutch plates, ordered a few days back
Clutch line looks like crap, so it will get a braided line to go with the fancy slave
Have a CF rear fender and a new set of K&N air filters on the way
I have a carb leak, may have pinched an O-ring, or it got swollen when I accidentally used brake cleaner in place of carb cleaner, will need to fix that. Update: petcock does not shut off, had to thread a bold into the line and my garage reeks of fuel.
Ordered new K&N air filters

That should be about it. I was really tempted to tear it down to the frame a week back, but it’s still in really good condition for being 22 years old, so I think I’ll wait till the valves need adjusting in a couple thousand miles and perhaps get crazy with the polishing at that point.

By the way; the tiny little 480 amp Anti-Gravity battery spins the engine like the plugs are out of it. A new lead acid battery would only turn that engine a dozen times before it wouldn’t spin fast enough to start back in the day. This battery spun it at least 50 times while I was sorting out the fuel issues and still had enough juice to fire it when everything was right. I’ve charged it since, but I am in awe of what it has for power. They claim it can start a car and after seeing it in action I have no doubt.

[bkm]

That thing is so damn cool. It's one of those mechanical marvels you just sit around sipping on your favorite cocktail enjoying it's company.

[El Camexican]

Got the cast iron discs blasted last week. Sure enough it’s been raining ever since, so the humidity is making them start to rust again. I shot the non-contact areas with cast iron coloured engine paint to keep them pretty for a little longer.

I also cut 75mm off one set of the D&D silencers and put them back together on the upswept pipes. Thought they looked better like that.

The new clutch is in it and the oil & filter has been changed, but I’ve been unable to ride it yet due to a carb leak I can’t fix until I get back State side to pick up a set of float needle seats and another base gasket. I also want to see if I can get the solo seat to fit onto the Corbin seat.

[El Camexican]

Had a chance to tinker a bit on the weekend, so I changed out the clutch line and got the carb leak fixed. Bleeding the clutch line turned out to be a nightmare. Not sure why it wouldn’t gravity bleed, but it didn’t. Ended up with fluid all over the place, big mess.

So when that was done and cleaned up I fired it up. I had to remove the cables to pull the carbs, so I guess my attempt to visually sync them was off enough that it only lite one cylinder at first. Once the other one started firing I was able to get the idle speed set.

Once it warms up “violence” is the only way to describe what a rap on the throttle invokes. Unfortunately until it’s warm it burbles, spits, choughs chokes, gags, sputters and hangs up.
The 41mm FCR carbs are full race, no choke circuit, independent idle adjustments and as I’m gathering from bits and pieces on the internet, if I put large enough pilots in it to get it to idle when cold it will be way to rich when it gets hot.

Enough complaining. I warmed it up and went around the block. I whacked the throttle from idle a few times in first gear and the rear tire just lite up with next to no forward motion. Kind of neat to stick around to feel the percussion of the exhaust bounce back against your body from the cement houses on either side of the street. Its loud, eyeball fluid distorting loud.

So its back in the garage again for some detailing. I started with the upper triple tree that had some damage from a key chain. It also had a textured finish and a very defined casting line, so it got a little clean up, but not before I snapped a security bolt off flush with the tree while taking off the ignition.

[El Camexican]

During the final years he owned the bike the owner decided to make himself a set of foot peg hangers. He pulled the originals, measured everything up and got a buddy to weld bar stock into the configurations he need.

He then (for the first time in his life) he cut and drilled all the patterns and holes on a conventional mill and then made the required bends. He figures they had a combined 100+ hours into them when for whatever reason he stopped working on them, so I ended up getting them along with all the other spare parts.

I’m stuck waiting for parts to arrive and the authorities seem to have misplaced my importation documents making it impossible for me to plate this thing, so I decided to use the down time to try and fit them up. Turns out he had them very close to perfect. Not an easy task when you consider that the right hand side is a hanger, peg, brake lever, return spring, stop light switch and rear master cylinder mount all in one that mounts to within 3mm of the swing arm on one side and 1mm of the exhaust on the other. The left side is just the hanger, peg and shifter.

It took some cutting, grinding and adjusting to get it all together, but in the end another 8 hours of labor had them polished and fit up. They weight only about ½ what the stockers do. Needless to say I have sent him photos of the fruit of his labor along with a big thank you for a job well done.

[200X FT]

Great job on the Duck. Awesome job. I immediately got the "bolts in a washing machine" reference to the engine sound. The Lloyd Bros. brought their duck to a local 1/2 mile (im a flattracker) and had people yelling left and right that it was gonna blow. LOL . Yeah it blew, doors off that is . Supertrapp mufflers on it As far as "eyeball fluid distorting" exhaust notes go, I could tell you about the time "new" Triumphs came by with open megaphones.... or the Kawasaki S3 triple with stinger pipes.... LOL

[El Camexican]

As far as "eyeball fluid distorting" exhaust notes go, I could tell you about the time "new" Triumphs came by with open megaphones.... or the Kawasaki S3 triple with stinger pipes.... LOL

Thanks Bud! If we’re going to talk loud bikes let’s cut straight to the chase. This is one of Old Man Honda’s first attempts to dominate the smokers with a 4 stroke. I have never heard one in person, but legend has it that the men who road, tuned and were near these things for any amount of time all suffered permanent hearing loss. Turn your speakers up and watch this video. Somewhere around the 50 second mark you’ll get what you came for and then some. How about the 18,000 RPM red line?

[200X FT]

Its funny you posted the RC166 clip for I was lucky enough to hear one live at Vintage days Mid-Ohio one year. I was probably only eight or so and I remember my dad telling me "this is the only time in your life you're going to hear this". And if I remember correctly, I believe John Surtees was grand marshal that year and he was the one riding it. Also, what about the RC 116, the 4 cyl., 50cc, 22,000 RPM redline racer Sorry to jack your thread, just sharing notes. Keep up the good work!

[jb2wheels]

The RC166 clip is worth the threadjack!

[El Camexican]

Sorry to jack your thread, just sharing notes.

Are you kidding? I constantly jack my threads. This will end up being about aliens before I get the Duck plated, carry on, please.

[200X FT]

Thanks. Couldn't get the pic of the S3 uploaded, so here's some Italian for you. Buddy I race with, Paul Bailey, built this beast. 750 Laverda. That's Paul, with the bike. Sounds pretty darn good

[El Camexican]

All done!!!

Finaly got State side to pick up the parts I was waiting for and the stands to lift the bike properly. Got home and spent the next 8 hours as follows:

- Replaced the clutch master and removed the stock choke assembly
- Changed the rear sprocket and cleaned the chain
- Put the cast iron front discs back on
- Lubed the speedo cable
- Greased the clutch rod bearing
- Changed the clutch spring retainers
- Fixed a leaking bleeder on the clutch slave
- Polished the rear brake carrier
- Replaced the rear fender with a carbon fiber part
- Cleaned and waxed the rims
- Adjusted the shifter position
- Re-routed the fuel vent hose
- Replaced all the windshield, mirror, hand control and gas tank bolts with gold anodized aluminum bolts. They are SUPER light!

Any other changes will have to wait till the valves need adjusting in a few thousand miles as I plan to take it down to the frame at that point and get crazy with the polishing. A lightened flywheel may be in the future as well as I can’t seem to find anyone on the net that is displeased with the mod.

I pasted a crappy video of it running today below. I wish I could get Mr. Big Wheel to produce them for me.