Early work on the Yellow Hornet

Since I've gotten the bikes, I have done quite a few things to them to make them street legal and attempt to make them run better. When I first got the Yellow Hornet, I put a lot of effort into clearning it up and getting the electrical system working so that it would be fully street legal. Then, after my ride at Corral Canyon, when the bike developed a high pitched whine in the power band, I rebuilt the top end (and the clutch).

  • Cleaning - cleaned the bike top to bottom, including detailing the engine. Generally did not polish the chrome, tho I did put some effort into cleaning the rear shocks.
  • Battery - got a new battery on the web.
  • Turn Signals - found used housings and new lenses on ebay. Got a variety of 6V bulbs from auto parts stores and motorcycle stores. Installed them.
  • Flasher - Had a heck of a time getting a flasher that worked well. After 4 or five "used" ones that didn't work, finally got a new one that worked (for a Honda CT70) and installed it into the system.
  • Headlight - Could not find the original sealed-beam bulb, so I ended up using a new bulb inside the old sealed-beam bulb!
  • Ignition Switch - Rebuilt the ignition switch and checked all the wiring. Several solder connections in the switch were bad.
  • Turn and Bright Switches - Also rebuilt the switches for the Turn Signals and High beam which had multiple broken solder connections internally.
  • Electrical - After much careful analysis and testing, I modified the electrical system to use the higher voltage coil on the magneto for the main charging circut. By unplugging one wire and plugging another in, I was able to improve the system's re-charging of the battery.
  • Rear Brake Switch - From Junkyard
  • Tires - installed the new Tires that came with the bike when I bought it.
  • Rear Brakes - were fading so I installed NOS shoes.
  • Front Forks - Replaced the seals. Twice. Still leaked. Ended up using the front forks from the Green Hornet, after replacing their seals. At this time, they don't leak!
  • Carb - Disassembled, cleaned, reassembled.
  • Top End - Put in a new piston/ring set. Actually disassembled whole motor, cleaned all parts, and reassembled with new gaskets, piston and rings. Did not bore the cylinder, and did not change any bearings or seals.
  • Clutch - Put in new clutch plates. Accidentally broke the clutch basket, so had to use the one off a spare engine I had purchased. It had some play in it, and manifests a noise on hard usage.
  • Kickstart Oil Seal - got rid of that nasty drip!
  • Silencer - Bought a NOS silencer, and then while trying to install it, found that the original was crammed INSIDE the exhaust pipe and broken! Got it out and installed the new silencer, cutting the noise the bike makes significantly.

Early work on the Green Hornet

The Green Hornet was in such good shape when I got it, that I did not need to do as much to it. However, I still put a lot of effort getting it into tip-top shape before we took it out for it's first ride!

  • Carburetor - as I mentioned before, the carburetor was not set up correctly when I got the bike. What an improvement when I opened the air screw!
  • Tires - the bike came with a nearly new rear tire. I found a new front tire and had it installed.
  • Wiring - when I got the bike, the kill switch (ignition) would not stop the engine and the lights did not work. Turned out to be a disconnected connector! Easy!
  • Bulbs, Lenses - had to replace a few lightbulbs and put some NOS lenses on to really spif it up!
  • Electrical - got the old battery filled and charged, and made the same modification to the system that I did on the Yellow Hornet to improve the charging cycle.
  • Clutch - never had any problems with the clutch, contrary to the previous owner's description of the bike. What I did find was that the clutch adjustment screw was loose (floating) and the set screw had never been tightened. I set these up and adjusted the clutch and it works just fine!
  • Forks - the forks leaked a little when I got the bike. I came across some brand new (NOS) forks, purchased them ($170!), rebuilt them and put them on the Green Hornet, then used the old ones as replacements for the Yellow Hornet (after rebuilding em). Neither bike leaks significant oil out of the forks now!
  • Cleaning - I spent over a week cleaning the bike, mostly the chrome. Polished every spoke and every bit of chrome.
  • Front Fender - Repainted the front fender.
  • Misc - replaced a missing screw and asbestos washer on the exhaust pipe guard, and replaced the spring that holds the exhaust pipe to the cylinder.
  • Kick Start Seal - the only leak was from the kick starter. When I replaced the seal, which can be done without disassembling the motor, the drip went away and now the bike doesn't leak a drop of oil!
  • Brake Lever - Replaced the brake lever with a NOS part.

So, even though it may seem like I've done a lot of work to the Green Hornet, in reality, these were mostly superficial changes. It ran really well on the trip to Sequoia, and so I don't plan to rebuild it or do any more work on it soon (though I have begun garnering parts for it's eventual rebuild).

Next - Rebuilding the Yellow Hornet ...