1970 SL100

[Gilk51]

Thanks for all of the detail on this, Dennis, it has been fun watching the progress.

 

[bmcdonau]

Thanks guys.

I got a surprise on c-list today, there was an SL100 tank for sale in Boerne so I went out and took a look. Cosmetically its better than any I have although its pretty rusty inside. I have a one tank that's pristine inside tank, but all beat up on the outside. I bought this one and have already begun stripping-will post pictures later.

Turns out they actually had several SLs and other smaller Hondas along with a 1972 350 Harley with 2200 miles on it. The SL tank came from the father's bike he rode as a kid and they had an SL350 that belonged to the grandfather. They also had another SL100 that was complete, but a non runner.We had a nice chat about old bikes and riding in the 60s and 70s. I offered to buy both the SL100 and SL350, but they turned me down. You don't know until you try!

 

[bmcdonau]

Well, I got a disappointment today, I had found two of the fork parts in Australia, and it turns out the guy only had one so I'll have to keep looking for the other. I did buy some correct NOS shocks so I have one end suspended! I have to wait until next month to buy the fork tubes anyway. I did find a NOS rear rim so when I get all the fork parts it'll be on two wheels.

I dropped all the painted parts off at the sandblaster and they are done, but I won't be able to pick them up until Friday. It was $60 for everything but the skid plate which I forgot to take. I am using the silver engine paint, which is a ceramic paint, to paint the silver parts, but I need to get some durable black paint for the air box and skid plate. I think I'll probably end up buying it from Eastwoods, I like the looks of their frame paint.

I picked up this gas tank, it was in much better conditon than either of the ones I had.

It needs cleaning inside.

I stripped it down to bare metal and found lots of rust beneath the paint and a pinhole.

I'm not a good welder, but It stopped the leak.

I kept at the rust, spraying it with phosphoric acid and hitting it with a wire wheel until there was very rust left and what was there was black.

Here's the outside finished.

I have some cleaner and sealer coming from POR15 to finish the inside. Once its cleaned and sealed I'll finish sand the outside and shoot it Candy Sapphire Blue.

This is another project I'm looking at, its off a '75 CB400F. Looks like **** outside, but is pristine inside. I don't know how to put it back in shape yet. I'm contemplating welding something to the outside and pulling it out or just cutting it open and hammering it back into shape and rewelding it back together. It has the early type nonlocking gas cap.

Finally, this engine has a good case I need to fix the cam adjustment on my CB400F. Once the SL100 is done I'll start on that.

 

[bmcdonau]

Makin' progress.

I managed to buy two side covers on e-bay and didn't spend too much. I had to bid on about 30 of them to do it though!

This is what it looked like when I started. One only had the original candy ruby red paint although it was scratched up. The other (with the decal) had the original ruby red paint plus silver and red.

I used a random orbital sander on it for the flat part, then the real work started. I spent the better part of this afternoon sitting on the back porch with a piece of sand paper.

I started with one NOS fender and one I bought cheap.

The NOS one was understandably in better shape than the used one.

After I cleaned it up I found it it originally had been candy apple green.

It was also bent a little.

You can see they mounting brackets are uneven here.

I put it in a vice and pulled and pushed and even used a hammer on it and got it fairly square.

But it also cracked. My usual bad welding job, but its solid.

and it didn't clean up too bad.

I also had to reweld one of the spot welds that came loose.

Then I spent a lot of time with paint stripper cleaning all the parts I'm going to paint.

Then I sanded them and sprayed them with phosphoric acid to stop the rust.

Finally, there was more sanding (and sometimes more phosphoric acid) and filling and priming. I had the biggest part of the frame parts sand blasted, but I still had lots of little pieces left and the tins to strip. I'm going to end up painting some pieces that were just zinc plated. I'm going to figure out how to do that later and I'll strip them back down and plate them.

I also took apart another front hub and found a better one than I had, all it took was a little degreaser and mother's aluminum polish. Then I put the innards back in it and stuck it into the rim.

Here's the speedometer gear drive.

Back in the rim and ready to go.

Once I get the frame painted I can start putting it back together. I'm still missing some parts such as the headlight and taillight and I can't find the rear brake stay, but I'm sure I had it somewhere.

The shocks came in.

I need to sort through all the new stuff to find out what I'm still missing. I need to keep better records, but then I'd know how much I spent and it'd scare me.

Hopefully I'll get the frame painting done this week and figure out how I'm going to get the sapphire candy blue out of Du Pont paint.

I still have to sort out the forks since I'm missing a couple pieces. One of the fork tubes I have is rust free so I need to locate one other good one to make a set. If I can find a used one it will save me $350.

 

[owtcast]

 

[david_]

Coming along nicely. Can't wait to see paint.

 

[bmcdonau]

The frame is finished! I used steel wool to smooth the primer instead of sand paper. It gets into the nooks and crannies better.

Here's the silver pieces drying.

Rear hub and front backing plate. I found a backing plate in better condition, but this one was ready to paint so I shot it too.

The frame. I think I need tbuild or modify something to hold the frame by the neck so I can rotate it to shoot the paint.

Swingarm and kickstand.

Steering stem and what honda calls the step, it holds the footpegs.

The engine mounting brackets

Honda's welding has gotten better over the last 40 years.

The air box and a few other pieces are black. I don't know why, but that's the way they came from the factory. I used an Eastwood semigloss for these parts. The air box was tough to paint, with all the angles and brackets. I couldn't avoid overspray you can see on the back of the box.

Skidplate, airbox and cover and ignition stay.

Skidplate and inner fender

 

[bmcdonau]

I'm ADD so I tend to jump around from task to task and this bike is making it worse. I've got a lot of new or replacement parts, but I'm still finding I don't have everything I need. I've had to go back and order a nut or bolt and I still need one fork tube.

I started to install the air box

I found a NOS air filter, it even came oiled. I put it together and went to install it and found I'd neglected to order the rubber bushings that go between the frame and air filter box. They're cheap, but it'll take a week to arrive.

I went ahead and installed these new grommets.

They hold the side panels on the bike.

Next I installed the inner rear fender.

I used off the shelf stainless steel bolts, grade 8.

Then I moved on to the rear hub and relaced the wheel.

First, I cleaned the wheel bearings.

I changed the solvent once to make sure I got all the old grease out of the wheel bearings. I ended up throwing one away and reused one.

I used a socket to drive home the cush bushing. One the bushes were installed I laced the wheel.

Here's the hub with the spokes installed. There are two spokes, one with a 90 degree bend and one with less than a 90 degree bend. The 90 degree bend goes on the outside and the one with less goes on the inside.

The old spokes left these indentations in the aluminum hub so I don't have to figure out how to start lacing the rim. Saved me a lot of head scratching I'm sure.

Here it is partially laced.

The finished wheel. I hand tightened up the spokes so the wheel became rigid and easy to handle. Next I installed the bearings and the rest of the hardware.

The bolts just slip into the bushes.

This is important, the bolts have a flat spot on them which is supposed to engage with the sprocket so the bolt doesn't turn when you tighten it. I got smart and tightened them up in the sprocket and tried to stick them into the hub, but they weren't lined up with the holes in the bushings and had to do it again.

This circlip is actually what holds the sprocket on the hub. You can see the bearing and seal underneath the circlip.

Once the special washers are installed you pinch them onto the nuts and the sprocket is secured to the cush drive. Then you snap on the circlip.

Now I can true the rim.

The completed rim, which is a NOS item.

I derusted and sealed the tank using POR 15 products.

You clean the tank with marine clean, then derust it with metal prep and finally apply the sealer.

Once I cleaned the tank it started leaking.

I guess the cleaner pulled the gunk out of this pinhole. I welded it up and everything was good.

One it was cleaned and etched, I applied the sealer which should fix any potential new pinholes. The sealer is strange stuff, its not just a top coat like creme. You get about 7/8 of the sealer back out of the tank and I dumped it in a large, flat, plastic container so it could dry quickly--it ate right through the plastic. The directions say you can apply it right over rust as long as its not loose so it must chemically react with the rust.

I also dropped these off to be rechromed. The small wire bail was originally zinc plated, they the plater I use doesn't do zinc.

This holds the speedo cable to the front fender.

These actually look pretty good except for some surface rust.

I also built the step which holds the footpegs.

I was able to buy everything except the small springs which keep the footpegs extended. Luckily I had a pretty good set.

They looked pretty good when I was done, unfortunately I couldn't press the rubbers on to the pegs. I had to disassemble them and use a vice to push them on.

It actually went on pretty easy considering.

I also used a vice to install the bushings into the swing arm.

I tried to install the bushing and it went almost all the way on and then stopped. I reefed on it until I thought something would break and finally figured out that the center part was flexing and actually hitting the other side of the vice. I stuck this socket on the swing arm which gave it room to flex without stopping the vice.

Finally I installed the steering stem race. They went in pretty easily with a punch and hammer.

 

[Tom]

Looking good Dennis.

 

[Marc B]

It's easy to see this little SL is gonna be better than new when done.

 

[bmcdonau]

I installed the air box with new hardware.

I cleaned up the rear brake plate and installed both the front and rear brakes.

The rear brake plate was a little beat up, but it cleaned up nice.

I reused the old brake shoes, they hardly looked worn.

The brake lever attaches with a bolt in this slot in the cam.

The cam opens the brake shoes to provide braking action.

Both wheels finished.

I was going to install the engine in the frame so I rechecked the static timing, points gap and valve clearances. I have since decided to wait until I get the title straightened out to install it.

I prefer this type of gauge for these old bikes with rockers.

They slip right into the rocker cover hole.

I spent a couple hours at the paint store and finally decided on Lazer Blue Candy over Cosmic Dust base.

I'll spend the next few days preping the parts for paint and hopefully will shoot it next week.

The last of the fork internals will be here next week as will the steering stem seal, races and nut. I found a NOS light bucket and ordered the headlight and hardware from Honda. I had ordered all the cables from Honda, but the ones they sent were black and not gray so I've been looking for gray ones. I have a throttle and clutch cable and need the brake and speedo cable. I still haven't found a taillight and I still need one fork tube. I'll probably end up rebuilding one fork and just use one of the others until I can find a tube.

If I had gotten the title issue straightened out at the DMV I'd reallly think about putting it together, but I'm going to wait until I get the okay for the bonded title. It's not in their computer system and is not reported stolen so I'm confident I'll get the title, but why take chances. I should have that straightened out by the end of next week.

 

[bmcdonau]

I painted the body parts today:

I always use white as a base for candy colors. The primer is dark and sanding leaves an uneven color which can telegraph through the translucent candy colors. I forgot to take a picture of the white though.

The basecoat is silver which is very bright over the white.

This was a nice color by itself.

Then I shot blue over the silver.

Here's the blue after one coat. I put on two and it didn't look "blue"enough so I used a third coat and I think that was too much. It's close, but a little darker than I think it should be.

Here's the parts after the clear.

I can't get a picture that really captures the color and density of the paint. Its close to what I remember, but I think its a little dark. The color is sorta in between the two pictures of the tank above.

I'll wait a week or so and paint the white stripe on the tank and put the decals on the side panels. A week later I'll put more clear over the stripes and decals.

 

[Marc B]

Beautiful blue.

 

[bmcdonau]

I put the white stripe on today, it came out pretty well, exept I think it went on pretty thick, I'll see if I can take it down a little before I clear coat it next week so there isn't such a big step between the white and blue. If it ends up really pronounced, I'll put multiple coats of clear on it, sanding the step in between coats.

 

[bmcdonau]

I should have expected the forks wouldn't be any different than the rest of this project---cursed from the beginning.

I took one pair of forks apart a month ago and instead of oil, they were filled with water. The internal parts that hadn't disintegrated were corroded beyond use. The fork tubes were pitted beyond use too.

That was okay, I had another set that felt a lot better when I compressed them and one of the tubes had very little pitting and the other had no pits where the fork seals meet the tube. They would do until I could afford replacement tubes from Frank's Engineering and Maintenance. Just to be sure I managed to find all the internal parts for the forks so once I bought the new fork tubes they would be brand new except for the fork lowers.

In the meantime I did find one NOS fork tube on e-bay that was reasonable so I bought it, but when it came in it didn't look like the tubes I already taken apart. I sent them back and got my money back.

Today I took the second set of tubes apart and they don't look like the ones I already took apart, in fact they look like the one I bought on e-bay! Holy crap, my head is starting to hurt.

The one on the top is from the second set and the one on the bottom is from the first set. To make matters worse, the Honda parts breakdown shows the bottom set for all four years, 1970-1973, while the Clyner manual shows the top set!

The fork lower are the same for both sets as you can see from these pictures. The one on the far right has been polished.

Getting them apart was a real challenge, the PO must have changed the fluid, he used gear lube from the way it smells, and replaced the allen head screws with philips head. Naturally I couldn't get them out with a screwdriver and because they are recessed in the lower fork tube I couldn't use an impact driver. I ended up drilling out the screw head, then after seperating the upper tube from the lower using an easy out to remove the rest of the screw.

The PO also used some kind of glue to hold the screws in--probably why they wouldn't turn for me.

I had plenty of screw to grab and turn, but it just snapped off and I ended up with this.

I can use the seals, and drain screws I have to make the top set of forks usable and then when I can afford the new fork tubes I can order new seals and screws for them

 

[james.cain]

 

[bmcdonau]

Well, the **** nightmare continues.

I have an appointment at the SAPD Auto Theft Unit on the 3rd and must have a rolling chassis with a motor to get the VIN verified. This is an interim step toward getting the bonded title.

I was going to get it on two wheels today and put the engine in it tomorrow, but the **** shocks won't fit.

Here it is with the swing arm installed. I put new bushings in it and bought a new swing arm bolt, but the one I received is diffrerent than the one I took out.

Here you can see the one I took out. The K0/K1 model attaches the muffler support to the end of the swing arm bolt, but the K2 model doesn't. The bolt I received doesn't have this stud on the end. This one is not in good condition, I'll look for a better replacement.

I started to install the shocks on the swing arm and the bottom bushing wouldn't fit onto the bung on the swing arm. ***? I pulled out the old shocks and they have the same size bushing as the NOS shocks I bought. Then I looked at the swingarm itself.

They are both off 1970 SL100s, the serial numbers are only 226 numbers apart! We tend to think that all bikes coming down the assembly line are the same, but after messing with these little bikes its obvious they aren't. Before sending theh swing arm off to be sand blasted I held both swingarms up and thought they were the same. I'm going to have to put the other swing arm on the bike for the inspection and blast and repaint the other one for the bike. I'll also have to order two more swing arm bushings.

After some appropriate words I went to work on the other end of the bike. The steering stem install went a little better.

21 balls on both the upper and lower bearings.

Grease the lower race and stick the ball bearings onto it.

Then you push the stem into the headstock.

Then install the upper ball bearings in the race.

Then install the upper race and nut.

That done, I tried to sort out the forks.

Here are the seals I pulled out. They are a two piece unit unlike the ones I got from Honda, which are one piece. What it looks like is that the outer piece is actually hard plastic that serves as the upper bushing and the inner part is the seal.

Here you can see the difference in size between the new and old seals. I 'don't know what I'm going to do here. Maybe just put another washer in it to take up the space.

Here are the fork internals, the seal is a fiber washer which fits tightly into the fork tube bore. The tubes were so corroded inside there is no way I could install these parts. I'll have to wait a couple months to order new ones. In the meantime I'm using the other forks without oil or seals just to get the front wheel on the bike.

 

[EnduroRdr]

Interesting that you need to present a "rolling chassis" to get a bonded title?
All I needed to do was do a "Pencil Tracing" of the frame serial number for one of my bonded title ventures. (the other required nothing but the bond since I had an MSO for that one).

I would be curious as to why you have to present a rolling frame and not just a static frame or "Tracing of the frame". Why required to roll?

BTW looking good, impressive work!

 

[bmcdonau]

Interesting that you need to present a "rolling chassis" to get a bonded title?
All I needed to do was do a "Pencil Tracing" of the frame serial number for one of my bonded title ventures. (the other required nothing but the bond since I had an MSO for that one).

I would be curious as to why you have to present a rolling frame and not just a static frame or "Tracing of the frame". Why required to roll?

BTW looking good, impressive work!

I was told it was because they have no record of the vehicle in their system. I tried to present the tracing like it says in THEIR directions, but they said I had to have some form signed by a vehicle antitheft unit of a PD, Sheriff's office or DPS.

 

[bmcdonau]

Well this is embarassing

After taking the refurbished swing arm off and putting the old one back on I decided to just put the old shocks on too. No point in putting the new ones on with the old swing arm. First one goes on with no problems, but the second one is too loose at the swing arm. What?? It doesn't have a bushing!?? Then it hits me, the lug isn't bigger, the old bushing is still stuck on the swing arm! I took a look at the refurbished swing arm and sure enough, one of the lugs is bigger than the other one.

Movin' on.

 

[bmcdonau]

Tomorrow I take it down to get the VIN verified by the anti-theft unit of the SAPD. Once that's done I can get the paperwork from the DMV for the bonded title.

I have the engine back in the frame and the wheels and front brakes on. I had a hard time not throwing everything on it, but that would be premature. I've found myriad parts that I forgot to order, hardware and stuff.

I need to polish that cover.

Those handlebars are off a larger bike. I should have measured the distance between those grooves before I had them rechromed.

I need to replace the upper pinch bolts and spacer.

Missing the screw in the middle and need to replace the axel nut.

Missing the shock mounting nuts and axel nut.

I'd like to find a new dipstick.

I have a clutch problem, the lever doesn't move anything. I measured the fiber and metal plates and they were in spec. I must have assembled it wrong. I can work on that in the frame!

 

[Marc B]

What a headache but you display great poise, it's gonna look so good.

 

[The Big Spank Daddy]

WOW! I'm so impressed with the outcome so far.

Just curious...what has it cost so far and about how many man hours do you have in it? And would you do it again?

 

[bmcdonau]

Rough estimate:

1st bike $125
2nd bike $60
NOS exhaust $250
Seat $70
two gas tanks $100
Fenders and side covers $100
NOS hardware $400
paint $300
E-bay parts $350
NOS speedo $50
NOS tail light bracket $50
Headlight $75
sand blasting $75
NOS wheel $75
Tires $90
chrome plating $61
Machine shop $90
total $1971

 

[Curtis]

Interesting build there Dennis!
Been down this road myself trying to keep mine running oh so many years ago.

I am down to 4 XL 125 and a bunch of spare parts. At one time I had 24 of them.
One of them has a TL motor in it so it serves as my hunting bike.

I've been hanging on to mine with hopes of rebuillding them for my Grandkids.

Love seeing the old restored Hondas.

Sorry I'm late to the build.