New Project: Wards 525 "The Wilderness"

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

For nearly a year I have been collecting parts to restore a Wards 525 that I picked up in Locust Grove, VA. Locust Grove is significant as two major Civil War Battles were fought there in 1863 and 1864. The first, "Chancellorsville," resulted in the mortal wounding of General Stonewall Jackson by his own men, and the second, "Wilderness," marked the first time Ulysses Grant faced Robert E. Lee. While the battle was deemed a draw, Grant's Army of the Potomac was able to continue their march on Richmond, then the capital of the Confederacy. The Wilderness marked a turning point in the war between the states.

Most of the main parts were with the bike. I have the original grips in great condition, the engine mounts are complete, and I have the kick stand. I needed a fuel tank, engine, clutch guard(s), front rim and brake drum. I'm still looking for a front fender. I plan on making the band brake bracket as finding an original has been fruitless AND I'd rather a readily available replacement band. The engine is a rebuilt H50 minibike engine with the throttle control. The jack shaft and drive sprocket will need replacing.

Unorthodox Creat's project log is going to be very helpful as I build this bike. I won't be doing a torque converter, though.

 

[buckeye]

You will love it when done.
One of my favorite riders.

 

[capguncowboy]

By far, my favorite rider. I just picked up another one this past week. They're made really well and comfy, just hope you never have to pick it up to put it in a truck. They are HEAVY.

Let me know if you have questions about measurements and such. I'd be happy to help any way I can.

 

[UnorthodoxCreat]

Looks like a great bike to start with. Definitely a fun rider. Everyone loves riding mine.

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

You will love it when done.
One of my favorite riders.

That's what I keep hearing and I want something big enough that I don't feel like I'm going to get thrown off!

By far, my favorite rider. I just picked up another one this past week. They're made really well and comfy, just hope you never have to pick it up to put it in a truck. They are HEAVY.

Let me know if you have questions about measurements and such. I'd be happy to help any way I can.

thanks, I'm going to need good photos of the brake brackets. I understand they are way over engineered, so I'm looking at simplicity.:thumbsup:

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Looks like a great bike to start with. Definitely a fun rider. Everyone loves riding mine.

You built an amazing machine. I hope I can come close and I really enjoyed your log. Will help me immensely.:smile:

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Started with jack shaft today. Experts need to weigh in--this is a single speed bike. Jack shaft drive sprocket counts at 30 teeth, driven sprocket is 12. Rear wheel drive sprocket is 36. This calculates at 5.5:1. Jack shaft has to be replaced. It's a #35 chain bike. What are your recommendations for the jack shaft sprockets?

I'm not even sure the rear drive sprocket is original. For a bike this big with a 5hp engine, it seems that the drive ratio should be at 6 or a little taller. Without documents, I don't know what it should be.

 

[capguncowboy]

Started with jack shaft today. Experts need to weigh in--this is a single speed bike. Jack shaft drive sprocket counts at 30 teeth, driven sprocket is 12. Rear wheel drive sprocket is 36. This calculates at 5.5:1. Jack shaft has to be replaced. It's a #35 chain bike. What are your recommendations for the jack shaft sprockets?

I'm not even sure the rear drive sprocket is original. For a bike this big with a 5hp engine, it seems that the drive ratio should be at 6 or a little taller. Without documents, I don't know what it should be.

I just checked my Owner's Manual for the Ward Gilsons.

All of the MW Gilsons used the same rear sprocket except the 2-speed 5-series bikes. Your jackshaft looks original, and your forks aren't chrome, so I'd say it wasn't a two speed.

That being said, I don't know how many teeth that model had on the rear sprocket.

 

[minibikin']

I ran a 60T on the rear of mine from OldMiniBikes. I just adjusted the J/S gears to give it 6:1 when I replaced it.


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]

 

[buckeye]

Mine has the same.
Fast as cap for a little then that's it.:laugh:

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Mine has the same.
Fast as cap for a little then that's it.:laugh:

Just to clarify: same set up as mine or what Chad had on his bike? Thanks!

 

[buckeye]

Sorry, same as you have now.
Don't have much top end but, gets there quickly. But, I also have a hot rod clone on it too..:wink:

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Sorry, same as you have now.
Don't have much top end but, gets there quickly. But, I also have a hot rod clone on it too..:wink:

Thanks, I'm not looking for speed but want this bike to pull smoothly on slight grades and trails.

 

[minibikin']

Depending on the engine, mine was perfect with 6:1. Your stuff looks to be original but I don't think anyone makes the 36T sprocket anymore. Mine was a two speed so it had the 60T. I can give you the part number that I used if you want. I think I changed the description to say Gilson so people would find it.


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Depending on the engine, mine was perfect with 6:1. Your stuff looks to be original but I don't think anyone makes the 36T sprocket anymore. Mine was a two speed so it had the 60T. I can give you the part number that I used if you want. I think I changed the description to say Gilson so people would find it.


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]

I did find a 36 tooth jack shaft sprocket at another vendor. I didn't pull things apart today to check on the rear sprocket's condition since I was debugging the ARCO's carb (something about carbs...). If you can send me the part number, I'll take a look. thanks!

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

A little surgery to remove appendages and growths....

Started with some small stuff today. My back was giving me fits, so I didn't want to go too crazy. A previous owner had welded an additional set of foot pegs on the frame tubes, so I removed those and then took out the home made scrub brake--yeech!:censure: then I removed the chains from the jack shaft (had to cut one, as I guess Gilson made them up and installed along with the jack shaft).

A little grinding and some sanding with a flapper disk, and the tubes look much better (and I'll stop walking into those pegs and scraping my shins all up).

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

A little archeology....

Tried to figure out the original color. I stripped the paint on the right handlebar and under the seat. The front forks had bright yellow underneath (which I think is a correct color), but the main frame of the bike is a blue...which led me to wonder if the bike was pieced together. Also interesting is the kick stand which is bolted and welded to the frame. I removed the chain tensioner from the front of the motor plate for safe keeping. I'm going to have to be creative in replacing the bolt. The swing arm on the clutch side was hacked up a little bit which has forced my hand on making a new bracket for the band brake. There are also a couple of extra holes through which the scrub brake was mounted--debating whether to get those welded up. Need to go buy another tool tomorrow to get the c-clip off so I can get at the jack shaft.

Lastly, I put the 525 next to a Ruttman Goose, just to show how big it is.

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Jackshaft question:

The size of the jackshaft at the bearing is 0.625" or 5/8". The jack shaft itself measures 0.75". When I order a new one, I'm assuming the jackshaft should be 0.625" in order to fit the bearings. Correct? Unorthodox Creat noted the bearings are pretty brittle in his build...so I know to be careful.

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Stripping the frame

Got a little bit of work done on the Wildebeast today. My attention had been directed toward leaves, leaves and more leaves, so when I finished the last I started stripping the main frame, handlebars and fork lowers. The handle bars were yellow underneath the blue but the lowers were all blue. Leads me to wonder if this bike was either damaged or at the end of a production run and Gilson just sprayed the handle bars blue over the yellow. This thing is built like a tank...and it's going to take a while to pick out all the paint.

 

[Dr. Shop Teacher]

Decision on jackshaft. Decided to go with a 60 tooth drive sprocket. Plan on going with #40 chain.
10 tooth clutch
14 tooth jack shaft
1.4:1

60 tooth drive
12 tooth jack shaft
5:1

That'll give me a 6.4:1 final drive ratio which I hope will give me plenty of torque for trails. The engine is an HS50.