Getting the tank, fenders, seat, and headlight bucket ready for paint. The tank needed a little bondo on top, and the seat/rear hump needed more layers of fiberglass to strengthen it and fix some cracks. Layers of fiberglass were also laid in the light bucket to strengthen the mounting holes, and to recreate the mounting for the light ring hook. The frame parts are back from powdercoat and are being pieced together. A shipment arrived from japan, with a Keihin PE24 carb and a Takegawa velocity stack and filter. Some Kitaco heavy duty clutch and valve springs, and non-fade rear brake shoes, and some raw rubber grips were also included. Still making the decision on the engine. The 82cc Honda Ape engine that was going to take the place of the original engine is on standby. The intake port on the original engine is 22mm opposed to 16mm on the ape. Everything available information-wise on this bike is in Japanese, so the particulars of the AC02 model are things I have picked out just by observation. My suspicion is that along with other upgrades like a hydraulic disk brake on the front instead of the usual mechanical one, there were other performance features. The casting marks in the intake port appear to confirm this was not simply a head someone ported. There would most likely have been a performance cam that went along with this set-up. The plan is going to be to get an 82cc jug up under this head, new clutch plates and springs, valve springs, the PE24 carb, and get it into the frame. The indecision is whether to just put the Ape engine in till the other can be built. Still have one more round of small parts need from the Netherlands, but waiting to make sure I get everything needed to finish the job.
