Subject: Re: My Loop takes its first roll

Author: Darrell Dick

Date: Mar 10, 2002, 5:31 AM

Post ID: 1709816817

======== An American Classic ===========================
There's a good reason why Reader's Digest has long been one
of America's favorite magazines. Find out why that's true by
trying a risk-free subscription now!
http://click.topica.com/caaacQ3b1dfltb1xC1la/TopOffers
=================================================

Darrell,
Nice job. Why do you have grab bars on the back? Are you adding a
pillion
seat? Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: Darrell Dick <ddic-@juno.com>
To: <Loopfram-@topica.com>
Cc: <tammy_-@hotmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 09, 2002 8:28 PM
Subject: My Loop takes its first roll

============================================================
Crack of the Bat, Click of the Mouse. Taking someone
out to the ball game is great, but when you can't make
it to the park, Baseball Weekly is the next best thing to
being there! Sign up here!
http://click.topica.com/caaacQ2b1dfltb1FlG8a/TopOffers
============================================================

Well my project is really starting to shape up now. This week's

part

infusion seems to have gotten it to the "real" bike stage. I had

the MG

Cycle boys send me a set of petcocks and cables. Voila! no more

fuel

leaks and the cables are the right length. Thanks, Rick and

Gordon. The

bike lit up nice and runs steady. I think the the motor is going

to be

sweet. Thanks, Brad Kopp. I should have done it before, but I

noticed the

headstock was notchy, so I tore it down and washed the 30 year old

grease

out of the bearings and re-lubed. Nice and smooth, now. I rode it

a few

hundred yards too. It is a little too muddy around here to do

more.

Some background.. I bought the hulk of a '71 Ambo back a couple of

years

ago. It was very rough and butt-ugly, but mostly there. After a

while I

pulled the motor. When I lifted the heads, I found the cylinder

were in

sad shape(serious chrome flaking) as well as the pistons (broken

rings).

I found the sump was loose, so I decided to pull the lower end

down too.

Well, now the rear main journal was slightly undersize. So I

started

shopping for rebuild parts. I happened to connect with Brad Kopp

through

this list who was breaking a V700. He said the motor was in good

shape so

I bought it for much less than what a rebuild would have cost.

Turns out

the V700 motor is in real nice shape. I bought another Ambo parts

donor a

little while ago to replace some of the other worn or missing

stuff. It

looks like Kev Graff is going to resurrect the remains of that

beast.

Well I just got the sheetmetal back from the painter and it looks

great.

Since this bike is a real Frankenstein creation, I didn't feel

compelled

to go for an restoration. Instead, I made it the way I wanted it.

It has

BMW maroon metallic paint with silver accents. John Prusnek

supplied the

decals (Thanks, John). I bought a Harley Shovelhead seat off Ebay

and

added that to the mix. There was nothing left of the electrical

system so

I rewired it my way. I built an aluminum switch panel and mounted

it on

the handlebar clamps. I used automotive style switches, push-pull

for the

lights and spots, push buttons for horn and dimmer. I put

everything on

heavy duty automotive relays. I used the stainless steel Ford

tailight I

was talking about recently. The horns are Fiaam look alikes from

the

local tractor store. The mufflers are left overs from my BSA

Lightning.

I'm real happy with the way it turned out. As usual, I'll have

more

invested in it than I anticipated, but I sure had a lot of fun. I

still

have a lot more to do before it's road worthy. I need tires and

there is

a lot of details to be sorted, but it's a bike now! Take a look,
http://communities.msn.com/GuzziParts/ambofirstpix.msnw?Page=Last

. The

pictures aren't very good. When the weather is better, I'll do a

better

job.

Thanks for listening!

Darrell Dick
Imlay City, MI

======== An American Classic ===========================
There's a good reason why Reader's Digest has long been one
of America's favorite magazines. Find out why that's true by
trying a risk-free subscription now!
http://click.topica.com/caaacQ3b1dfltb1FlG8f/TopOffers
=================================================

==========================================================
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Get the latest weather,
sports, and lifestyle news you can't afford to miss, all
at a price you can afford to pay! Click now!
http://click.topica.com/caaacQXb1dfltb1xC1lf/TopOffers
==========================================================