1962 Superhawk Restoration: Here I go

[Spargett]

I've got two questions.

1. How do you keep the bolt for the foot peg and the shift lever tight, but not too tight which causes the lever to stick in place. My concern is that the bolt would work it's way out leading to an unfortunate accident if there were ever a time when most of your weight was on that peg.

2. After boiling the rubber stopper for a good amount of time to loosen and expand it, I tried getting it onto the center stand. Even after boiling it took so much force and twisting to get on half way that I could see the powder coat rippling. I was thinking of trying it again with the addition of some sort of lubricant, but I've gotta say; it was brutally tight the first try. What methods do you use?

Here's a quick shot of the linkage moved back.

[Vince Lupo]

Try hair spray, carb cleaner, or contact cleaner spray. It will give you some lubricant, but it will evaporate. Is that rubber new?

[LOUD MOUSE]

Drill the bolt
Castle nut
Cotter pin. ...................lm

I've got two questions.

1. How do you keep the bolt for the foot peg and the shift lever tight, but not too tight which causes the lever to stick in place. My concern is that the bolt would work it's way out leading to an unfortunate accident if there were ever a time when most of your weight was on that peg.

2. After boiling the rubber stopper for a good amount of time to loosen and expand it, I tried getting it onto the center stand. Even after boiling it took so much force and twisting to get on half way that I could see the powder coat rippling. I was thinking of trying it again with the addition of some sort of lubricant, but I've gotta say; it was brutally tight the first try. What methods do you use?

Here's a quick shot of the linkage moved back.

[cknight]

Hi Scott, if you have had the shift lever replated, there may be a buildup on the ends of the barrel portion that the bolt goes through. The bolt should bottom out tightly on the footpeg bracket before the shift lever runs out of sideplay. The gentle use of a belt sander (medium grit) will effectively remove the excess plating, but be careful to avoid cracking and peeling the chrome where you want it to remain. A total side clearance of about .010-.015" should be fine. You may also want to reposition the lever that bolts to the shift spindle, so that there is a 90 degree relationship to the shift rod. This will provide the best leverage for proper shifting. Regards, Chase

[Spargett]

But the bolt doesn't stick out from the back of the step arm bracket enough to put a nut on it. Should it?

Drill the bolt
Castle nut
Cotter pin. ...................lm

Cknight, so it should all tighten up with the lever having the ability to spin freely? The shift lever is an NOS purchase.

Hi Scott, if you have had the shift lever replated, there may be a buildup on the ends of the barrel portion that the bolt goes through. The bolt should bottom out tightly on the footpeg bracket before the shift lever runs out of sideplay. The gentle use of a belt sander (medium grit) will effectively remove the excess plating, but be careful to avoid cracking and peeling the chrome where you want it to remain. A total side clearance of about .010-.015" should be fine. You may also want to reposition the lever that bolts to the shift spindle, so that there is a 90 degree relationship to the shift rod. This will provide the best leverage for proper shifting. Regards, Chase

[cknight]

Hi Again Scott, yes, you should be able to securely tighten the bolt and still have the shift lever swing freely. If the surface of the foot peg bracket that the shoulder of the bolt tightens against has been deformed from numerous installations, that could also contribute to the lack of clearance. If so, it would still probably be easier to narrow the shift lever tube, than to resurface the bracket. If you insert the bolt all of the way into the shift lever, you should see the shoulder of the bolt protruding out of the opposite side slightly. Regards, Chase

[Spargett]

Thank you, simple solution!

Hi Again Scott, yes, you should be able to securely tighten the bolt and still have the shift lever swing freely. If the surface of the foot peg bracket that the shoulder of the bolt tightens against has been deformed from numerous installations, that could also contribute to the lack of clearance. If so, it would still probably be easier to narrow the shift lever tube, than to resurface the bracket. If you insert the bolt all of the way into the shift lever, you should see the shoulder of the bolt protruding out of the opposite side slightly. Regards, Chase