I more or less finished grinding down the flywheel fins. I think it would be a good idea to check the flywheel for balance before running the engine, but otherwise it is good enough for the flywheel cover to fit in place, reduce the overall width of the engine and protect my leg from unplanned surgery. Next up is to get the copper pan centered and drilled to fit onto the crankshaft.
SB
Hey Silverbear,
Merry Christmas brother. You may have this all figured out already, but I got a good tip from msrfan a while ago regarding balancing the flywheel. There is a simple little tool called a lawn mower blade balancer. It is basically a stepped cone that sits on a nail-like pivot. You place your flywheel on the cone spin it around a bit, and the flywheel will lean to one side if it is off-balance. This side is the heavy side and must be lightened. You then grind off material until the flywheel sits level on the balancer.
I have really enjoyed watching your build, there's something about watching the organic progression of ideas turning into a reality that is not pre-planned that is really appealing to me. It makes me want to start another build, which is something I have never planned on doing, my wife is already at her limit with me having the one bike.
Anyway, thanks for the vicarious enjoyment of a "figure it out as you go" build. I look forward to seeing all the next steps and reports of the first ride this coming spring.
You are a wonderful asset to our community and I am glad that you have shared your work with us.
Keep on keeping on,
Gilbert