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The Real Reasons Why We Go To Church

UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
So a guy at church today comes up to me and says, " hey I have a pw80 I want to give you".

After picking my jaw up off the ground we talked about it for a bit. I'll probably go grab it tonight.

The main thing he said is that it needs a crank. So it's not a perfect runner, but without seeing it yet I figure I must still be money ahead. My daughter Ashlee's birthday is at the end of this month and needs to get off the jr50 she has been riding. I think it's great that these are the bikes I have been looking at. And now one lands in my lap.
The next problem I have is I know nothing about these bikes and I'm completely slammed at work right now. I'm also taking the family to Oregon next week. So I have no time.
So what's it like to swap the crank on this? Pretty quick? Should I just drop it off at a shop and let them get it running? Anyone on here want to tackle this for me?
Maybe these bikes aren't worth a rebuild?
What do you think?

On a side note, I'm assuming he does not have a title for it. What do I do with that? I want it to be legal.

Thanks!
 
jeeper

jeeper

I live my life 1 dumpster at a time
Location
So Jo, Ut
Title is not really a big deal. The DMV has a packet you fill out. Goes pretty quick.

I have never done the motor in an 80, but they can't be too bad.

Good score. Enjoy!
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
That's good news on the dmv.

What do you guys think about buying the parts? Cheap eBay stuff or dealer or???
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
I just picked it up. The head and jug are off the bike. I can see the piston has lots of scaring so I know it needs to be replaced as well as the jug. He originally told me he thought the crank was bad but playing with it tonight I'm not so sure. It spins really smooth and I can't feel any play in the bearings. He told me the jug has been off for around two months which makes me nervous as it was outside but it looks pretty clean from what I saw.
I'm thinking just buy a new piston and jug and try running it. What do you think?

Oh and it if matters he told me his boy was out riding it and it just stopped running. It didn't seize up.
 
jeeper

jeeper

I live my life 1 dumpster at a time
Location
So Jo, Ut
I'm calling a low compression issue.. have Lindsay machine hone it and give you a new piston. should be less than $200 or so...
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Nice score! If I thought guys giving away motorcycles was a regular thing I could get religion pretty quick. I'd love to get my boy a bike.
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
So I tore this thing down tonight to bare frame. I'm at a bit of a cross roads with what to do with it. Half of me says powder coat the frame and swing arm, the other half says rattle can it. The biggest issue I have right now is the wallowed out swing arm bolt hole. Before I tore it down I noticed quite a bit of left-right play in it. I was hoping for warn bushings. That was not the case. I don't really want to just run it this way. Can it be drilled out a bit and have bushing installed? Drilled and put in larger bolt? What say you guys?

Also, what are your thoughts on replacing the piston and jug? PWonly.com has a kit for $100. Seams pretty cheap. Rocky Mountain wants $300 for just the jug! I wonder if the machine shop listed above could fix the bolt bore issue while repairing my original jug.

Thanks for the input so far guys. I'll get some pictures up soon.
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Oh, and I wonder if I made a mistake taking the forks off. I've never taken forks off before. After removing the top triple clamp I hit the frame a few times with a hammer. At the moment it came loose a million ball bearings went everywhere. I think I got them picked up, but I was wondering if there is supposed to be some sort of cage for them or what's the deal with them?
 
jeeper

jeeper

I live my life 1 dumpster at a time
Location
So Jo, Ut
A pw is not a high dollar bike. You will spend more having it painted than the bike is worth. IMO, rattle can jobs always look bad within a short while. Wipe the bike clean and reassemble.
 
jeeper

jeeper

I live my life 1 dumpster at a time
Location
So Jo, Ut
I am having a hard time visualizing.. Can a washer be welded to it to give it the proper size home again?
 
UNSTUCK

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Thought about that. Just wonder if that would last very long. All that load being placed on two 1/8" thick washers vs the 6" long tube from the factory.
 
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