THE 414

[mainline]

you learn something every day. Lucky I'm not doing it up, I'd have replaced the levers thinking they were bent

[All Things 414]

After much deliberation I've started on the VE.
Originally it was going to be a concorse resto but after serious deliberation with fellow VMXers it was decided to model the bike on this scenerio.
The year is about 1981 and the poor owner of this bike has campainged it for the last two years. It's still running like a train but looking a little "tired".
Due to a lack of funds and the latest model 414 being little changed from this model, he's decided to stick with it. He strips the bike, cleans everything that can be cleaned, repairs whatever is repairable and only buys new when it's in the interest of reliability. It wont have the weird little front plate on it or any of the other stuff that would have been ripped off it after it arrived home from the dealer.

The biggest reason for going down this path is that under all the dirt and shit on this bike it turned out to be in really good condition and done little work. If I'd done a concorse resto it would have ended up propped up in a corner never to be ridden and I sorely want to ride this bike. So here we go......

[All Things 414]

I pulled the top end off it and discovered it was on its original piston. Everything looked really good as there was little wear.
After taking the clutch cover off I discovered that the locking tab on the clutch was original and had never been removed. So I stopped there. I really couldn't see the point in splitting the casings just to have a look. So it was on with the new (second hand) shift shaft (thanks Montynut), set the timing, blast the head and barrel and paint them. Pop it all back together with some new rings and that's the motor sorted.
Even the lead from the ignition is pristine with no cracks or breaks. Everything under the casings looked like new.

[All Things 414]

Frame is in really good condition. The only bit of rust was on the lower frame tubes and a bit of surface stuff where sidecovers etc had been rubbing. So acting out the part of our budget '81 racer I cleaned up these areas and touched them up. Swingarm is a little sadder so it's getting blasted, then painted.

[All Things 414]

It had the original seat on it however it was torn down the right hand side of the lower base area. Other than that it was in good knick and I really wanted to keep it as the repo covers (appart from being a lot thinner) dont have that line that runs a couple of inches up from the bottom. My local upholsterer ran a piece of thick material all the way around the bottom for me for 20 bucks. It matches up on the other side and made it a lot easier to fasten the cover down. Grouse!

[All Things 414]

Nearly anyone who's owned a post '78 cappra will tell you of the woes of the fuel tank leaking from the taps. They are held onto the tank by two screws that purchase onto some nuts moulded into the plastic. When people get heavy handed with them or the taps take a belting, they distort the seal and they leak like buggery! Every plastic tanked cappra I've owned has suffered from this problem. People pour silastic into them, put extra gaskets and all types of crap in them hoping they'll seal or completely seal the tap off and run just the one on the other side!

No. You have to pull out the nuts from the plastic, throw them to the shit house and drill out where they used to sit. Then make up a plate to go on the inside of the tank that the taps can screw into. Then take a couple of days off work because that's how long you'll be fiddling around trying to get the tap and the plate to match up however once you get it screwed up, they'll never leak again.

* I did have a spare tank for this bike but in keeping with the theme I fixed this one up instead of taking the easy way out.

Just waiting on the swingarm and pipe to come back from the blasters and then a little more.....

[Freakshow]

Hey 414, how cheap are those stands ? seen em at super crappy and for $50 i grabbed some, ment i could get some of me bikes of those milk crates they have been living on for a few years.

sweet price huh and actually work as well as the more expensive ones.............  i like .

[All Things 414]

Yeah they're pretty grouse. $55 I paid for mine. Better than the $100+ ones I've been buying from my local shop over the years.....

[Hoony]

....... throw them to the shit house and drill out where they used to sit. Then make up a plate to go on the inside of the tank that the taps can screw into. Then take a couple of days off work because that's how long you'll be fiddling around trying to get the tap and the plate to match up however once you get it screwed up.

 

[mx250]

I can see your conundrum Ross. That frame looks incredibly good and unexpectedly so looking at the Ebay pixies.  I think a race bike with some period patina is a good choice.

You'll be able to have your own race team shortly. Can ya see it; three 414's sharing the holeshot, one pivot turning on the tight inside, one flattracking the middle line and one berm shotting the out side .

[montynut]

Still think it needs a small oval number plate with the little bump in the corner for the Monty sticker beats those ones that need 20HP just to push through the air and you can see from space

Sounds like you have heaps of spare fuel tanks

[All Things 414]

Slowly, slowly......

[HL400]

Bloddy hell Ross looks like it will be ready next week end if you get your finger out.  HL

[All Things 414]

Just waiting on a couple of 'special' bits to arrive and it'll be out there Henry.
As in keeping with the 'theme' the guards are some shitty old ones that i had to clean up as are the sidecovers. More deliberating about the rear guard as it had holes in it where someone had ran it with a tail-light (not this bike). So the holes were filled, the cracks welded and all-in-all they look pretty good (and cost me bugger all). I'm sure I'll be rewarded for all that hard work by sending it all cart-wheeling down the track and breaking every bit of plastic  .

[Stan S]

Just waiting on a couple of 'special' bits to arrive and it'll be out there Henry.
As in keeping with the 'theme' the guards are some shitty old ones that i had to clean up as are the sidecovers. More deliberating about the rear guard as it had holes in it where someone had ran it with a tail-light (not this bike). So the holes were filled, the cracks welded and all-in-all they look pretty good (and cost me bugger all). I'm sure I'll be rewarded for all that hard work by sending it all cart-wheeling down the track and breaking every bit of plastic  .

Hey Ross, these sidecovers looked ok on the 79 414 also