Part VII: Like a Big Puzzle

The contents in the various boxes and crates are steadily dwindling. When I started this project 3 months ago the shoebox-sized plastic bin I use for random fasteners weighed about 10 pounds and was fist-deep. Now the tub weighs less than a pound and the layer of hardware is shallow enough for me to poke through with one discerning finger. “It’s like a big puzzle.” my wife observed as I fished around the few remaining zinc-plated pieces searching for the right bolts to mount the tank to the frame.

The previous owner dismantled the bike completely; if it wasn’t welded in place, it got removed. Assembling the little MB5 (still perched in the corner of the living room) is exactly like putting together a 3-dimensional puzzle, but instead of a photograph on the carton cover I have my Haynes manual, a handful of low-res pictures off the internet, and the parts schematics at Cheapcycles.com. Not only does the site have full parts explosions, but for each threaded fastener the site lists the diameter and length, which has helped assure me that I’m using the right bolts in the right places. Because if I use those two wide-shouldered 6mm bolts to hold the headlight in place, what’s going to secure the seat to the frame?

My wife’s observation got me thinking, and the more I ponder the concept, the more I realize how much I’ve applied a puzzle-solving strategy to building this bike. You look for an easily identifiable feature – say the lighthouse in a coastal puzzle – and find all the pieces that look like they are part of that scene. That’s how I put the engine, wheels, frame, forks, and other components together. Once you get one component fully assembled and put in its place, the ancillary constituents seem to rise out of the tired cardboard boxes and find their positions. I’ll find an oddly shaped spacer or washer in the bottom of a box and have no idea what it could be for, but then a week later it’ll come to me and I’ll know exactly where it goes.

If the MB5 is a puzzle, it’s like that faded amusement that’s been in the family for decades. And just like that well-used puzzle the MB5 is missing a few pieces. The matchbox-sized rectifier has gone astray, as have the shifter, ignition coil, and oil cap. At some point someone mangled the wiring harness, and the battery has long since released its last electron. The closer I get to having a complete motorcycle, the more I’m being held up by those puzzle pieces that have been lost to mom’s vacuum. Tracking them down has proven to be a challenge, and often times I’m forced to order parts individually from different sources, which is tedious and expensive. But I guess tracking down random parts for a rare, quirky little bike is just part of the experience.

Resources:

Caswell Plating
Epoxy tank sealant
caswellplating.com

Treatland.tv
Malossi 70cc kit treatland.tv

Perk LLC
Case gaskets and technical advice. Supplier of hard-to-find moped parts. perkllc.com
(317) 371-8530

Rusteco-Rust
Removal treatment for the MB5's gas tank.
rusteco.com
(800) 787-8326

Haynes Manuals
Invaluable technical information and diagrams.
haynes.com
(800) 242-4637

Huntington Beach Honda
Various OE parts such as gaskets, grommets, and seals.
hbhonda.com
(714) 842-5533

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Check out earlier posts from the series:
Mechanical Meditations: Part X
Mechanical Meditations: Part IX
Mechanical Meditations: Part VIII
Mechanical Meditations: Part VII
Mechanical Meditations: Part VI
Mechanical Meditations: Part V
Mechanical Meditations: Part IV
Mechanical Meditations: Part III
Mechanical Meditations: Part II
Mechanical Meditations: Part I