CA95 project(s)

oldjeep

oldjeep

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Jan 7, 2025
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Location
MN
Picked up this whole pile of parts yesterday. Plan to make 1, maybe 2 bikes out of it and give away or sell the rest. 3 CA95 frames, 1 CA160 frame. 2 engines, 7? wheels including a couple new rims, one already laced up and the other the hub has been polished and the spoke kit came with. Need to finish up my FZ600 project before getting too carried away, but will get all the parts sorted and cataloged this week so that I know where I am at.
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Just for fun. Last 2 projects.
2003 Triumph Speed Triple that got piled into the back of a car
1986 FZ600 that some genius took the head apart in the 90s and put the valves in the wrong place. Still finishing up the FZ600. Just sold the Ducati - pretty bike but prefer the inline engines.
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Got the parts all inventoried. There is close to enough parts to build one bike. Unfortunately the loose engine has a cracked case. The one still in the roller has other issues but might be able to make 1 from the 2. Was planning on jumping straight to paint, but first will build a motor.
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Ouch, thrown chain maybe and some head fin damage. The two best whites are the later types (square ended fender braces), the chopped one is an early with the pointy braces. Strangely the 160 used pointy ones even though they were later, 1967ish.
No matter, the lower cases were pretty much the same on the 150's, so extra parts is good for now. Surprised the neutral switch seems semi intact.
 
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Working on finishing off a couple of the other projects this week so that I can get the complete CA95 on the lift, yank the motor and fix whatever is keeping the front wheel from rolling. All the brake kits for the FZ600 showed up and the new covers for the Speed triple seats showed up too. I had previously used some of Volcanos covers for the bike, but after I repainted it from black to BRG it seemed like it needed brown leather. Talked to them a bit and they agreed to make me some. Showed up this weekend and it definitely completes the look.
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ballbearian said:
Ouch, thrown chain maybe and some head fin damage.
No matter, the lower cases were pretty much the same on the 150's, so extra parts is good for now. Surprised the neutral switch seems semi intact.
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Maybe it's because that area was targeted intentionally, note the rearward portion of the upper case where the front sprocket covers is still intact, a thrown chain would have cracked most or all of the upper horizontal area. I'm wondering if someone broke it out intentionally because it just happens to be where the engine number should be. Seems someone might have tried to stamp the number in the right crankcase cover because of it, maybe not even the right number. Small inset pic is of the same location on a CA95 from BaT.

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That number on the side is the Wisconsin issued VIN for the bike. I have the paperwork for it. Funny that I couldn't find that number on the frame itself ;)
 
oldjeep said:
That number on the side is the Wisconsin issued VIN for the bike. I have the paperwork for it. Funny that I couldn't find that number on the frame itself ;)
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Some states include the engine number on the title with the frame number, most only use the frame number. It could have been a lost or rebuilt title situation previously that led to the state-issued number. Weird that they would stamp the number into a removable cover, the screws that hold the cover on the engine are plainly visible.
 
ancientdad said:
Some states include the engine number on the title with the frame number, most only use the frame number. It could have been a lost or rebuilt title situation previously that led to the state-issued number. Weird that they would stamp the number into a removable cover, the screws that hold the cover on the engine are plainly visible.
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MN does that - engine number on title transfer (but they don't print it on title). Huge pain when you go through as many bikes as I do. Had to take the fairings off the Ducati to find the number
 
Good thing this bike is light. Had to wheelbarrow it onto the lift since the front wheel is seized. Tonight will fix whatever is wrong with that front wheel and yank the engine out of it. One positive thing from today. Color will be Porsche shark blue/VW Cornflower Blue
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The frame number is on the left side, low, about 5:00 to the round air filter hole. At least you have an upper chain guard, most lowers have gone the way of the dodo bird.
Oil can... said the Tin man.
 
ballbearian said:
The frame number is on the left side, low, about 5:00 to the round air filter hole. At least you have an upper chain guard, most lowers have gone the way of the dodo bird.
Oil can... said the Tin man.
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I've got some other chainguard part in one of the bins. Not sure what it is - but seller said it was rare
 
Didn't look yet. The bike on lift is not the one I am building. The better frame is in other garage. The one on lift I am going to start yanking parts from- engine, chain guard and then free up axle or brake so it rolls.
 
Harvest complete. I'm always amazed at how easy rusty old Japanese hardware comes apart. Only thing that required heat and hammer was rear axle.
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oldjeep said:
Harvest complete. I'm always amazed at how easy rusty old Japanese hardware comes apart. Only thing that required heat and hammer was rear axle.
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Naw, you're just better than they say you are.

Why don't your rear fenders have cracks? 2 of mine were/are afflicted.
 
Stripped the good engine and got a small start on the other one. The bad one had a cylinder full of rust and I can't get the cylinder off, so left it to soak for the night.
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The bad engine was basically a boat anchor. The piston rings and cylinder rusted to a point where it never would have come apart and everything steel in the case was seized solid. Grabbed the sawzall and cut the cylinder into 3 pieces and then when I couldn't get the wrist pins out even with an air chisel I bisected them. Thankfully the case top was in decent shape - the only part I really wanted.
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Ordered up some starbrite aluminum cleaner/restorer - figure I'll try to make the engine shiny. Had the top case soaking in a bucket of water/degreaser and it is close to cleaned up. Normally I would just bolt stuff like this down to a piece of plywood and use the pressure washer, but it being winter here (intermittently), I think I might break out the steamer for final cleaning before shining stuff up.

Ordered a few things from Thailand today for the engine, gaskets, seals and a wiring harness. Need to inspect the cylinders and see if I can just do a stock sized ring set or if I need to do something else.
 
Got the upper case cleaned up, might polish the outside of it when the motor is together, but clean enough for a non show piece. Started dropping a couple assemblies in it, but won't get far since my seals and gaskets are on a slow boat from Thailand. Will get the lower case cleaned up next and drop the crank and anything else that goes in from this side set in and out of the way.
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One question - the pictures in my manual copy are not clear enough to tell and I did not take a picture of the assembly together. WIth all these parts in the top of the case. SHould that "foot" indicated with the arrow be above or below the gear?
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ballbearian said:
Motor is upside down so is this correct in the pic?
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Seemed to be wrong in picture, the kickstart and ratchet seemed to work with the foot under the gear. I hope so anyway since that is how I put it in.

Edit - found this vid, which verifies I put it back in right (not the way it was in that picture I took)
 
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ancientdad said:
Maybe it's because that area was targeted intentionally, note the rearward portion of the upper case where the front sprocket covers is still intact, a thrown chain would have cracked most or all of the upper horizontal area. I'm wondering if someone broke it out intentionally because it just happens to be where the engine number should be. Seems someone might have tried to stamp the number in the right crankcase cover because of it, maybe not even the right number. Small inset pic is of the same location on a CA95 from BaT.

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Decided to start dealing with this whole issue. Wish me luck. I found the actual serial on the frame, and I'll use the engine serial from the top case donor. Figure that this is gonna take a couple trips to DMV, but I really don't want to reregister it under the WI assigned number that got created when a couple owners ago they were too dumb to find the actual serial
 
oldjeep said:
Decided to start dealing with this whole issue. Wish me luck. I found the actual serial on the frame, and I'll use the engine serial from the top case donor. Figure that this is gonna take a couple trips to DMV, but I really don't want to reregister it under the WI assigned number that got created when a couple owners ago they were too dumb to find the actual serial
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Good luck, I think we've all known the pain of DMV ineptitude at least once in our lives and hope to never experience it again.
 
ancientdad said:
Good luck, I think we've all known the pain of DMV ineptitude at least once in our lives and hope to never experience it again.
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Typically I have pretty good luck with them - register 2-3 project bikes a year. This one is a bit different in that the re-numbering of the bike on the title in WI is something I would prefer to remove. If I wanted to take the path of least resistance, I guess I would just register it under the number they stamped on the clutch cover and move on with my day. I'm in no hurry, would prefer to get it done right even if I need a bonded title.
 
Gaskets and seals from Thailand showed up so I started putting the rest of the engine together. The dynamo is being a pain about getting onto the key, so decided to try tackling it again today. Should have it all in one lump tonight.

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ballbearian said:
What a great shop and workbench.
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The shop (extra 2 car in backyard) is the reason I bought the house 26 years ago ;) The house was a dump when we got it, spent the first few years renovating that before I got to start playing in the backyard. Used to build jeeps, then LBCs, then a streetrod truck and now bikes.

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FWIW - got the dynamo on this morning. Had a brain fart last night and wasn't thinking about the fact that I would need to turn while installing to get the one way clutch to seat.
 
Didn't get quite done, but it just needs a valve adjustment to button it up. Sprocket that showed up from partzilla looks mis-machined. The splines are way to shallow to actually work with anything.
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Eventually I think that I will fog the entire engine with aluminum paint and then replace all the external hardware with stainless. But that'll wait until it warms way up in MN and I can do it outside.
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Turned out that the carb kit that came with the pile of parts didn't actually fit the CA95 carb - regardless of what the box said. So I just cleaned it all up for now and put it back together. I'll have to find a factory kit eventually,
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