R100S/6 ....more progress

Did a bit of scrounging at the local motorcycle salvage yard and found an "as-new" heavy duty shock absorber ($25.00) for the side car. The one in place was shot and acting like a pogo stick. I intended to install a motorcycle air shock but the salvage yard ones available all looked like leakers....plus they were pretty large and would not clear the tight mounting areas. Also picked up an old Hodaka tool tin and some new in line fuel filters.
The shock fit well after a little modification of the lower mount. The spring is under minor compression with the chair unloaded so took some effort to install. Took it for a spin yesterday and she rides much better.

I had one Henry's floor board mounted on the left but the side car mounting sub frame would not allow conventional mounting on the right side. Finally came up with a pair of BMW clamps in my parts bins which fit perfectly on the side car frame. I was going to weld a bracket on the frame but the clamps worked great.

The temperature was in the low 40's yesterday and the bike still started miserably....not sure where the problem lies. She just doesn't like cold starts! Must be a choke circuit issue some where.

Mounted the small Hodaka vintage tool bin right behind the luggage rack. I'll store some additional parts / tools there. I don't really like the chrome though....might have to spray paint it black....

I remounted the Heinrich tank & black QSL seat. This time I made some rubber cushions and fitted them around the ignition coils under the tank. The right coil was rubbing against the inside of the tank. The tank seems to clear the brake master cylinder just fine. The fuel consumption with the 1000 cc engine makes the bigger tank a must. I swapped out some BMW OEM hand grips and installed some side reflectors which I hadn't got around to installing.

Some Fine Tuning for the R100S / Sidecar

Over the past few trips I was able to calibrate the Acewell Computer. Finally got the MPH setting real close by watching mile post markers for a few hundred miles. The initial setting is based on wheel / tire diameter but I found it was reading slow. By getting the odometer set properly that will in turn set the speedometer where it should be.
Really like all the multiple functions / options of this unit.

Spent some time the past couple days working out problems with the R100S tug.

Received an over size 90/120-18 tire with a Lester Wheel I had purchased. Mounted it up on the rear but had to grind off a small amount of rubber on the ridge to clear the swing arm. It was rubbing there as mounted. The Lester Wheels were money well spent.

Both valve covers had seemingly unstoppable leaks. They both must be warped. Finally ended up using two gaskets on each head which stopped the leaks in their tracks.

I had rebuild kits for the 40MM Bing Carbs so tore them down and replaced all gaskets, seals, diaphragms, etc. Found two bad choke assembly gaskets and the diaphragms were paper thin but not punctured. I saved the old ones for spares.
The headlamp interior was dirty and dusty from its' life sitting in the desert. I pulled the assembly apart and cleaned everything up. Much brighter now.

The bike was experiencing a low speed wobble again so I pulled the triple tree top off and found the steering head bearing lock nut had loosened itself up. Retightened and then dug into the friction damper I had installed. Found that the rubbing area for the friction damper sat right on a weld so had minimal contact area. Added in a large washer which changes the contact area to a larger surface and avoids any contact with the welds. This should take care of the issue.

I installed this MAC large oil pan a few weeks ago. Double checked the bolts...have a small leak at the drain plug for some reason.

I dug out the "Twin Max" carb synchronizer I purchased two years ago and finally figured out how to use it. After some trial and error I got both BMW's carbs synchronized. The Twin Max is very sensitive and I was surprised how fine the tuning scenario is on the Bings. Both bikes are now running as they should.

I found that the ignition points were mis-aligned. I changed out with a new set, replaced the spark plugs with new, set at a proper gap. Rigged up my timing light and set timing as specified.

I've had to reset the valve clearance multiple times on the right cylinder for some reason. Don't know if the machine shop screwed it up or what. I'll have to moniter that as we run up some more miles.

Hughsville Ghost Town....Stuck

We'd been planning a drive over to Hughsville, which was an old mining town. Hughsville was developed during the late 1800's, dying off and coming back to life during WW2. Shortly there after the area shut down. There are still some residents there today.


The hay crop this year is huge. The Little Belt Mountains in the back ground.


Square Butte to the north.

An old homestead

A big rattlesnake...someone finished him off with a 9mm and removed his rattles.

This place was large in its' time.

The "road" towards Hughsville from the North is signed as "unimproved'. This turned out to be an understatement. Climbing higher and higher the road became very narrow and boulder strewn. Some spots in the trees were so narrow I had to pull in the truck mirrors. The road started to switch back up and eventually was about 8' wide and was only a notch cut in the mountainside. Darian, riding as a passenger was on the outside edge. The right tires had only a few inches to the edge. The last steep section was loose rock and about a 1000' drop into the canyon. My adrenalin was going for a while.

Finally made it to the top and commented that I would not want to be here in the rain.

Over the top of the mountain and we headed down. approaching a washout I mis-judged my route and we slid into a very big hole, high centering the truck.

The weight of the truck was on the running board and the frame. Not going anywhere....
Luckily I had purchased some chains and two come-a-longs yesterday for work. I shoveled around under the running board and then the rain came...

It poured rain for nearly an hour with sleet and a lot of lightning. The lightning was very close so we sat in the truck hoping the storm would pass. Came to the conclusion that we might be spending the night in the truck.

An hour later the storm subsided and I started rigging chains up to the closest tree...about 75' away. Using the two come-a -longs we drug the truck back 10 - 12 feet, at 1/2" at a time. Took both of us to pull the winch handle with the white behemouth on the other end....

The right rear tire was nearly off the ground.

Luckily that tree was right where it needed to be....and I had enough chain.

Took us about 1 1/2 hours to drag the truck out of the hole...then we had to carefully plan on how to get around it...no way were we going back the way we came in after the pouring rain. Road down the mountain would have been too dangerous.

Finally figured a way around the 'Pit' and gassed it through...the aftermath below....

A mile or so down the mountain we entered Hughsville...

A lot of structures ready to fall in on themselves...

Quite the operation here...ore was hauled by a small gauge railway over to Monarch MT.

Collapsed building atop a tailing's pile.

A number of old cabins about.

Remaining foundations

An old steam boiler

We finally made it to the highway...took us three hours to travel 30 miles....below is a view of the "Sluice Box" area....made it home safe and sound!

I won't be going back over that mountain again anytime soon.