The Little Bird Wren

Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#1
#1
This is a "One flew over the Coo-coos nest" type of deal. I have no idea why I got this bike, other than the great price and a TAV. :laugh: It is definitely too small for me to ride comfortably without modifying the bars.

Haven't decided if I will actually keep her, but will fix the stuff it needs and at least have it a rider.

Anyway, here she is:






Decent newer H35 motor. Runs decent but has a good amount of blowby and oil leaks.

 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#2
#2
Bike has had a lot of use confirmed by the oval shaped fork pivot holes. Bottom is worse than the top.




TAV needs work. Belt worn and oil soaked, Bronze bushing paper thin.




TAV is also bent. Surprised a little 3.5 did this but since the jackshaft support is just pressed into the backplate...



Maybe this one shows it better:




And the reason it was for sale, maybe?

 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#5
#5
So where was I? Oh yeah...

Front and rear wheels are 5" TriStars, I guess, with what looks like original tires, at least the patterns are right. Then you look at the sidewall and...



No biggie. They hold air so just going to clean them up and use them.

There is a bit of fender damage:





The rear is just bent, so should be a little hammer work to get it straight, but the front is cracked in two places I can see so far. A little welding, grinding, and paint is all it takes. Yeah right.


Can anyone tell me what this notch in the handlebar is for?

 
Outlaw Ace

Outlaw Ace

#6
#6
Not sure what it is but it's not a Bird Wren, I'm pretty sure it's not a Bird built bike at all with no fork neck gussets and those rear axle tabs . Sure does look like one at first glance though.
 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#7
#7
This is all the engagement the driver had on the shaft...




And the bends in backing plate:






I am not sure but I think the jackshaft is bent too. Anyway, I just found a large socket, set it on the garage floor, positioned the backing plate over it, and then one good hit with a sledge/with 2x4 in between/ reseated the jackshaft support in the backplate. Since it is not welded, it will be in about an hour, if I can get off the computer.

As far as the driven, some knucklehead decided to use a spiral lock on the ramp.




The great thing about having spare parts is this:




New on top, old on bottom. I decided to go ahead and get a yellow spring for it, so will be waiting to reassemble for a bit.

Side note: The TAV will not be going back onto this bike. It will be getting a bolt-on jackshaft instead. No new holes in the Bird. I have other intentions for the TAV.
 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#8
#8
Outlaw Ace said:
Not sure what it is but it's not a Bird Wren, I'm pretty sure it's not a Bird built bike at all with no fork neck gussets and those rear axle tabs . Sure does look like one at first glance though.
Click to expand...
It's SimpleTom's fault then. :laugh: That's what he said it was. :eek:ut: I was having my doubts too, after looking through a bunch of pics.

Not blaming Tom, Sorry Tom!, but it looked so close I decided to go with it.

On edit: I just watched a slideshow of all the Birds in the photo section and there were a few with no neck gussets. The rear tabs are way off though.
 
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Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#10
#10
My apologies for even doubting Tom. He had it right as the pic he posted in the "what is it" has the right axle tabs and no neck gussets.

On with the 1966 Bird Wren build!

 
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Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#12
#12
I am now rethinking just what I want to do with this bike. The reason being if this style frame was a one year thing, I might be more inclined to do a resto instead of restomod. We already know it is an early one, so....

My original plan was to just put the 3.5 Tec back on it after rebuild, run a jackshaft, and just make it a slow speed cruiser / rider. The jackshaft is because otherwise I think the chain would hit the engine plate. It would probably have the same teeth in and out to start with since the ratio will be 6:1. I could run a chain roller, but I have the jackshaft already and no mods to the frame.

I have ordered a new clutch, drum/sprocket, cables and old school NOS Cherry brake lever without the ball.

For a resto, I would need to find a 2.25hp Tec and who knows what else.

I am going to disassemble the frame and think about it over a nice frosty brew.
 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#14
#14
Back to our scheduled program...

The mess of the frame and forks... The Saga continues.

These are the front motor plate welds. It has apparently been redone at least once.



 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#15
#15
The seat mount was originally square, looking at the ad pic. It is now shaved to the same angles as the frame, and a back strap added.



And the ground down welds for the neck tube...



Why are my pics having issues? Overload?
 
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Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#18
#18
And now the forks. They are the reason a true restoration is probably gone.

I have seen worn fork bolt holes but...



This also shows why I think the fork bolt tube on the frame has been moved. The trees have been ground out for clearance. The lower should look like the upper.

Here is the fork bolt. Not original and if you look close, it is a larger bolt that has been lathed down and threaded. Best work I have seen on this so far.






The front fender mount which matches the fender nicely. The best part of the forks.

 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#19
#19
Looking at the forks from above, you can see how both tubes were bent out to clear the TriStar rims and tires.




Every weld on the forks was ground down, and most were undercut, and some I fear are almost all the way through the tubes.







 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#20
#20
This is the section that was bent wider. There is a lot of evidence of welds ground down. It is possible they were high speed forks and redone, but no way to tell now.










This one caps it off as to how bad the lowers are.

 
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