I will return the motorcycle to its original light silver color, so the non-standard blue paint had to come off.  For this work I used Aircraft brand paint remover.  This blue paint was rock hard and initially resisted the paint remover, so I had to lightly sand the surfaces to allow the paint remover to do its work.  The paint eventually surrendered and flaked off as expected.  At this point I discovered a few areas with very thin body filler under the paint.  The paint remover also removed the body filler, so I’ll need to fix that before priming the panels.

I also began the process of reassembling the engine.  The alternator rotor needed to come off, which required an M16 1.5 fine thread pitch bolt to be screwed into the rotor.  My local hardware store only stocked M16 2.0 standard thread pitch bolts, so I had to order a single bolt online.  Armed with my special bolt, the alternator rotor easily popped off as I threaded the bolt into the rotor.  This allowed the old crankshaft seal to finally be removed.

I disassembled all the transmission pieces, cleaning each piece with solvent before reassembling them with engine assembly lube.  The engine assembly lube has graphite and molybdenum to aid in lubricating the engine during the initial start-up, before the oil has a chance to circulate the first time.  I was quite pleased with the condition of the transmission gears.  I wasn’t able to find a single tooth that exhibited any visible wear.  The gear “dogs”, which engage the gears when the transmission is shifted, looked like new, without the slightest rounding.  This transmission should shift nicely.

The crankshaft was cleaned and the bearings lubricated before being set into the crankcase.  The camshaft drive chain was installed at this stage.  All engine seals were replaced as I reassembled the engine’s lower end.  I stopped at this point but will pick up next time with the installation of the pistons, cylinder and head.

The first thing I noticed was how smooth the ride was.  The crude original wheels were anything but round and balanced, so these new rims and tires felt great.  The new leading-link front suspension handled well and tracked nice and true on the road.  The custom wiring design has been good so far, with all-LED lighting and an electronic turn signal flasher.  No blown fuses so far.  The hand-made leather seat was much more comfortable than I expected – a very pleasant surprise.  I could ride in that seat all day.

The test ride did reveal a few minor issues.  The ignition timing needs adjusting, and the clutch cable could use a quick adjustment as well.  The neutral switch is wired correctly but the neutral switch isn’t working reliably, so I’ll need to look into that.  Otherwise, the bike feels good and ready for use.

Since the Dnepr didn’t originally come with metal toolboxes, there were no existing mounting points on the frame.  After some searching I decided to use brass plated copper Munsen rings, which are designed to suspend pipes from above.  The Munsen rings were available in the diameter I needed, and the brass looked great against the black painted frame.  Since the base metal was copper, the rings should flex as needed under stress and not crack.  Besides, the toolboxes were not heavy.

To mount the electrical components inside the toolboxes, I planned to use 1/4″ plywood.  I could have simply painted the plywood, but in a case of overkill, I naturally chose walnut burl veneer to cover the plywood.  The veneer was inexpensive and readily available, and while nobody would see it unless the toolboxes were open, I thought it would add a classy touch to the project.

I used a contact adhesive to glue the veneers to the plywood.  Once the panels were cut out, I lightly sanded the veneers before spraying a satin polyurethane on all sides to seal the wood and bring out the beauty of the burled grain.  The location of the toolboxes couldn’t have been better, too – right next to the battery box.  Therefore, most wiring will be completely concealed from view – a big improvement over the original Dnepr design.  The left toolbox would contain a new switched fuse panel, electronic turn signal flasher for the LED signals, and the master battery toggle switch that previously hung below the rider’s seat.  The right toolbox would house the voltage regulator, rear brake switch, and another toggle I added that would allow the right turn signals to be switched between the motorcycle and sidecar in the unlikely event I ever opt to ride the motorcycle without the sidecar.

I’m pleased with the appearance and functionality of the toolboxes.  While I won’t be doing any intentional foul weather riding, the electrical components will be shielded from weather and dirt, and there will be no ugly exposed wiring.  I still need to mount the rear fender lights before I begin creating the custom wiring harness.  I should make more progress at the end of May.  Stay tuned.

I didn’t want to get into wood fabrication work, so I set off searching the web for a small wooden knob.  Proving that just about anything can be found on eBay, I found a seller in Ashington, West Sussex, England, who appeared to have just the piece I needed.  $6 for a set of 4 wooden tool handles and $5 to ship them.  Certainly reasonable prices.  These handles are designed for use on awls or files, for the serious woodworker.  For me, they are Dnepr reverse lever knobs.

I took a rotary tool and cut around the original plastic knob until it came loose.  Not much on the Dnepr is over-engineered, but this knob was incredibly secure – obviously molded in place.  I reshaped the tip of the steel lever on a grinder, and drilled a few holes in it to help give the adhesive something to grab.  I then drilled a series of holes in the wood handle to form a slot.  The drill press made this work fast and easy.

I intended to use a regular wood glue like Titebond, but I came across something in my adhesives inventory that I didn’t recall buying … JB Weld Wood Weld.  It’s a 2-part epoxy that has a wood-like appearance, and should be relatively hard when cured.  I filled the handle slot with epoxy, as well as the lever tip and the holes I drilled into it to ensure that I had epoxy in all the right places.  I tapped the handle into place and wiped away the excess epoxy.

Hopefully the handle will stay in place – I think it will.  It will certainly look nicer than the ugly mustard-colored plastic knob, even if nobody notices.

I lubricated all 5 cables before routing and connecting them.  Once I get to the point of securing a wiring harness in place, I’ll do my best to hide the cables, or at least mount them so that they are less noticeable.  On the handlebar, I had to make some adjustments to secure the inverted hand levers, but I love the vintage look of these levers.

The rear axle and drive shaft were also installed.  Since many fasteners were only hand-tightened to test each part for proper fit, I removed many fasteners and applied a thread lock compound before re-tightening.

It will probably be a few weeks before I make more progress.  Thanks for checking in.

I then slipped the left exhaust pipe and muffler into place for a few pictures.  I like how the bike is coming along so far, but as the temps slip into the freezing range, I’ll soon be setting up the heater in the garage for future work.

I also mounted the rear swing arm with new bushings.  In the picture below, the seat is just resting on the frame for visual effect.  I hope to mount the engine in the frame next weekend.  Stay tuned!

In order to elevate the frame for painting, I used 3 ladders to create my “redneck paint booth”.  This will allow me to hang multiple smaller pieces such as the fenders and assorted brackets that will be primed next.  I still have to finish removing the old paint from the sidecar frame, and I’m also working on preparing the sidecar body for priming, filling seams and low spots created by the factory spot welds.

Stay tuned … I’ll get more pictures up next weekend.

The paint stripper is nasty stuff, but works very well, and is probably the fastest way to get to bare metal.  It goes on thick, and starts working in seconds.  You can actually hear the paint bubbling up and falling off.  Sometimes a second application was necessary.

The leading link fork I bought from a seller in Poland was mostly “new”, but the fender that shipped with it had the same horrible quality black paint that the rest of the bike originally had.  So, the paint was stripped from the new fork and fender.  When the black paint was stripped away, the original “God-awful Orange” paint was revealed.  What factory paints motorcycles this color?  The original fender had the same terrible white pinstripes that appear to have been applied with a white magic marker.

A few weeks ago, while test-fitting the new fork to the frame, I noticed that the upper half of the fork yoke threads were stripped.  I had no metric dies this large, but since this part had the critical job of keeping the front of the motorcycle connected to the rest of it, I decided to buy a replacement, along with a new nut, to ensure that all threads were good and strong.  A seller in Kiev, Ukraine had one for $27, so I bought it.  The new yoke had great threads, but was painted in “Gloomy Gray”, so it too was stripped of its paint.  I would love to chat with the Ukrainian that selected the original factory paint colors.

The sidecar fender was almost perfect, but the original rear fender had some damage that Uncle Graham artfully bent back to shape nearly 2 years ago, before selling the bike to me.  The fender still had some ripples in the steel, but I figured that I could further work the metal and apply a body filler to smooth the ripples.  A few weeks ago I noticed a rear fender on eBay for a good price, located in Ohio, so I grabbed it.  This rear fender has no damage, so that will save me some time and should look better.

I’m currently stripping the paint from the sidecar and sidecar frame, but once all the paint is removed, I’ll spend a few days fixing some dents and ripples in the sidecar and hand-sanding all the parts.  I have a gallon of 2-part automotive primer waiting to be sprayed, but not until all the body work is completed.

The new rims arrived from Germany and look great.  They are better built than the original rims, and lighter, too.  They have a hard powder-coated black finish that is durable and looks good, too.  I figured that this might be a good opportunity to replace the wheel bearings, so I bought a set of 8 Timken bearings, 2 per wheel hub.  The Dnepr toolkit included a set of spanners that make the removal of the bearings easy and simple.  The old grease was hard and dry, but the original wheel bearings appeared to be in good condition.  I’ll clean them and set them aside as spares.  Once I replace the wheel bearings, I’ll lace the new rims to the hubs using the new stainless steel spokes.

The new 2-into-2 exhaust is much nicer than the original Dnepr 2-into-1 system, and is a replica of the original BMW design, including the fish-tail style mufflers.  The chrome is a high quality, and the pieces fit together nicely.  These chrome exhausts will really make a strong visual impact when they are installed.  I can’t wait to hear how the engine sounds with the new mufflers.

This weekend I’ll focus on cleaning the hubs and installing the new bearings so I can move on to lacing the new rims on the hubs.  Stay tuned!