some bonanza questions

[markus]

I stripped down what once was a BC 1500 yesterday to get a better idea of overall condition etc.

Real beauty aint she:smile:

First off, whos bright idea was it to use phillips heads bolts to hold the fenders on? Didn't they think about what a PITA they were gonna be to try and remove along with 40+ years of corrosion:doah: :wink: There was an "L" bracket attached to the front bolt of the seat pan, what was that for (this was a Hodaka powered bike in a previous life)?

Everything was going fine till I started on the rear springs, they must have been taking it off some "sweet jumps":

Is there a replacement spring available for these by chance? They are shorter than the fork springs.


Took me a while with some brake fluid (great for breaking rusted bolts free) but I got the wheels apart, Did manage to bust one bit for my impact driver, Luckily I was able to still get a grip with another bit on the head and get it out. I did snap the head off one of the bolts though on the 2nd wheel.

How delicate are the kidney beans? I need to get the bearings out so I can blast the wheels and refinish them. Since they have that ledge on the inside the only place to apply force is to the center of the bearing. They look like originals so they have been one with the wheel since this bike was put together. I think I can fashion up a puller with a cam seal installer but I am still a little worried. Should I be?

Oh yea, I'm thinking "cafe" bike:shrug:

 

[trailhopper]

I just got a 1300 so I will be interested to see your progress. Maybe the L bracket was for the gas tank since the tank on the Hodaka was under the seat towards the back.:shrug:

Also you should be glad you got fenders mine had none and I am not looking forward to spending $75 per fender down the road. Good luck. You should put this in a project log thread.

 

[bigevilone2]

Just use the repro front fork springs on the shocks. You will have to apply a little pressure to get them back on but you can do it. I put the shocks together then push down on the shock and put the bottom bolt in part way to hold the shock together Your lucky it was the inner spring that broke, the outer ones are hard to find.

 

[markus]

Trailhopper, this bike came stock with fiberglass tank as seen in the 2nd pic. Evil ed made that one for me :thumbsup: Slywilly let me know that the Bracket was actually for the coil on the Hodaka bikes. Not making a Project thread for it because nothing more than disassembling, cataloging, and cleaning up the small parts will be done for now. I got 2 other Bonanza's that are in better shape I will probably start redoing here shortly though:smile:


Ed, thanks for the tip on the spring! nice, easy solution:thumbsup:

 

[Marcsally]

New to the forum. I normally do resto`s on older Jap bikes and ATV`s. I own a bike shop in SE Ne. But I have a chance at buying two of these bikes. 1970 Bonanza BC 1500`s. Hodaka engines. Both are complete, run and have clear Ne titles. Just curious on what I need to offer. Any help would be appreciated. Also if I do buy them, where would I find parts?