Down to the Stator

With the engine out of Icarus, I removed all the necessary bolts to get down to the stator.  I was careful to mark all bolts with tape so I could put it back together properly. In the process, I spilled oil and coolant everywhere, and made an absolute mess.  Each part I took off I cleaned throughly in Simple Green and prepped to be ready to go back on bike.  The stator was remarkably easy to get down to once the rear engine cover was off.  There were obvious parts of it where the plastic wire covering was chipped away and it was contacting the engine block.  One area in particular had a wire that was pinched between the block and the stator body.  These spots ground out the stator and prevent the bike from putting out the voltage necessary for running and charging the battery.   The new stator and CDI I planned on putting in the bike allowed me to remove the extra piece below, which looked remarkably like the Iron Man energy source the Arc Reactor.

With the stator out, I put in my order for a new Ingitech unit and a rebuilt stator from Custom Rewind. I also ordered a full seal replacement kit.  

I returned to the bike and began cleaning out the carbs to restore them.  To my surprise, under the grime on the outside, the carb interiors were remarkably clean! My intent was to remove the air box and install cone filters, so I also got the old jets out and put in new ones.  I put in new 90 and 120 jets, and replaced seals throughout the carb.  

While cleaning the carbs, I decided to use some compressed air to blow out areas I couldn't get to. I hadn't removed a small rubber plug that gets squished down when the carb top is on, and with the first jet of compressed air, this little stopper ejected at light speed and shot across the shop, never to be found again.  After hunting the internet to find a replacement for this little guy, I discovered that many people have made this mistake before me and have used Bic pen butts to temporarily replace the lost part.  Since I had ample time while the stator shipped, I went ahead and ordered a few new ones that one of the forum users recommended.  

The rebound spring for the butterfly valve on my carbs was wired in place instead of fitting around the post where it is intended to sit.  To fix this hack repair, I took some string and threaded it past the post and around the hooked end of the spring.  Pulling and wiggling, with great effort I managed to pop it back in place, which gave the valve significantly more torque when returning to the throttle off position. 

Naming the Beast and Starting the Rebuild.

 After riding the bik for a week, I discovered that the battery issue and electrical problems generally resulted in the bike dying before I made it to my destination.  After numerous sweat inducing roll starts around the hills of SF, I decided it was time to get into this monster and fix it.  On my way to Tech Shop to start my project, the bike died halfway up Gough and I rolled to a stop on a side street.  Stepping off, I began running next to the bike to roll start it.  Next to the busy street, I was rushing and let the bike lean a little too far past it's balance point.  Unable to right the teetering moto, I let it drop for the first time.  Standing there looking at the overturned bike was like looking down at a dead beloved pet; I was starting to get attached to this ugly monster.  On my way to the shop I realized that the bikes inability to make a successful trip was like Icarus, getting too close to the sun, and never making it to his destination, and thus my ride had it's new name.  

My first mission was to remove the fairing and excess plastic.  Shortly after, I soon found myself disassembling the entire beast, to get things down to where I could actually fix this mysterious stator, that I now understood as the electrical heart of Icarus.  Having unbolted the engine, I turned to brute strength to get it off it's mounts where it had faithfully hung for 30 years.    It didn't come easily, but eventually separated, and the remainder of the bike sat gutted on it's center stand.  In 5 hours I had taken my running bike and created a mess of parts and bolts, that with luck, would go back together.

I jokingly climbed under my bike where the engine was and simulated a 1 Noah power bike. With the engine out, I began reading up on the steps I needed to take to get down to the stator.  

As originally purchased, it was a machine designed for cruising around costal roads. I showed up to buy it, cash in hand, having never ridden a motorcycle in my entire life.  The add divulged that it might need a new stator (a mystery part to me at the time) but that it ran nicely once started.  I asked the gentleman selling it to ride around so I could hear it, then bought it on the spot for slightly less then he was asking as I clearly needed to fix a few electrical bugs.  He tossed in 3 helmets and a padded jacket so my brother wouldn't kill himself riding back to Tech Shop.  Our parting words were "Thanks, oh... first gear is down, right?" I'm sure he was terrified that we were going to immediately destroy the bike and likely ourselves.