xkrebstarx

Sup dudes,

First time poster, so please go easy.

I found a pretty decent Shogun 300 on my ride home tonight. The frame is CroMo and is in decent shape. Everything else needs replaced (or at least I want to replace it). Is this a foolish endeavor? I'm looking for a bike I wouldn't mind beating up, so don't want to drop a ton of coin on it.

The gears system is pretty shot, so I was thinking about putting a single speed wheel+crank on it. Is that reasonable to do? Will I end up in a spacer nightmare trying to compensate for the missing gears between the dropouts? Any advice appreciated. I would also appreciate crank/wheel brand recommendations.

The fork bearing races are pretty rusty too. The bearings feel "ok" but I see a ton of surface rust. I assume swapping them for new ones is a must. Anything I don't know here? Like Shoguns having some exotic size races?

Also, I live in a weird seasonal town in NJ. The closest LBS is like a 2 hour bus ride (no car). So I'm assuming I'll be sourcing most of the parts/tools online.

Thanks in advance,
Mac

xkrebstarx

Maybe one more question:

Does anyone know if this is SAE or Metric hardware?

cb400bill

Thread moved from Mechanics to Classic & Vintage with 3 day forwarding.

JohnDThompson 

Should be fine for single speed conversion. What's wrong with the current crank and wheels? Lowest budget conversion would simply remove the derailleurs, run the chain on the inner ring in front, pick a cog on the rear and shorten the chain to fit.

Rust can be removed from chromed surfaces by rubbing with aluminum foil. Unless the headset races are pitted from the bearings, I wouldn't bother replacing the headset. If the balls are in retainers, you could replace those with loose balls and be able to add one or two more per race. Nothing exotic about Shoguns. Hardware is almost certainly metric.

xkrebstarx

Awesome, thanks.

The wheels aren't spinning freely. Not sure if they're bound up at the brakes or the bearings are shot yet. I also have to get the rusty chain off to check out the crank.

exmechanic89

The frame fits you, right? That's very important. As far as the wheels you'll obviously have to remove them and spin the axles to see what's up. And as the other poster mentioned, if you're just trying to get this thing rideable and want a SS, the easiest way is to pick a rear cog and permanently set the derailleur to it.
Btw you can find a ton of used parts on CL, which is where I've located most of my parts and frames for my builds. eBay too.

xkrebstarx

The frame is a little big, but it will work. I have an inch or so before the top tube hits my boys. I ride an All-City Nature Boy right now and love it. But it's pretty new, so I don't like leaving it outside for extended periods of time. Bike theft is a moderate problem here. I found the Shogun right outside my front door last night, so it was too good to pass up.

I pulled the chain off and loosened the brakes. The good news is that the wheels spin pretty freely with no play. Not like new, but good enough to cruise. Pretty straight to the eye too. They're ugly though.

The crank doesn't look so hot. It drags a bit right now, so I assume the bearings are boogered. Maybe I can clean it up, but I'm not sure until I get it out. I also notice that the "chain guard"* has a significant bend in it. (Not sure if that's called the "chain guard". It's the disc on the outside of the crank next to the largest gear. Picture attached.) I assume it's damage. Not sure if I could straighten it out without clobbering the gears. Thoughts on this?

The rear derailleur looks better than I thought. It functions smoothly, so I think a clean might be good enough to save it. Not sure if I want to go geared or SS yet though. I have no need for gears since my town is dead flat. I guess it will depend on the cost of replacing the crank (if this one isn't salvageable). Opinions welcomed.

xkrebstarx

In the picture of the crank I just posted, you'll see a large slotted screw head that appears to be holding the crank arms on the axel (or maybe it's a dust cover). Is there a special tool to remove that? Or just a large screw driver? I'd hate to strip it.

agmetal

My Shogun 300:

Grand Bois

It's a dust cover. Removing the crank requires a special removal tool.

romperrr 

That is a fantastic looking conversion. Perhaps you'd be mos qualified to answer OP's questions.

exmechanic89

You can find a lot of tutorials on pulling a crank arm but to answer your question, that slotted piece is a dust cover as you guessed. You remove it with a screwdriver, and underneath you'll see the actual bolt holding the arm on. You have to remove the bolt first, then use a crank arm puller tool, which threads into the same threads as the cover. It pulls the arm off by pushing against the axle. You'll definitely need to buy or borrow that tool, as you'd never get the arms off without it, they're pressure fit onto the axle. It's not an expensive tool though, you can find Chinese versions for around $10-15 on eBay I'm pretty sure.

And yeah the frame sounds like it will fit you fine.

xkrebstarx

Damn, that's sexy. What type of rims and levers did you put on it? The wheels are 27in, right? Anything else not stock?

xkrebstarx

Awesome. Thanks.

I'm pretty familiar with pullers for press fit pieces. I have a ton of experience restoring vintage motorbikes. First time bicycle refurb though. So I'll probably butcher the terminology.

agmetal

Nothing is stock except the frame, fork, and the clamp-on cable stop on the chainstay. The wheels are 700C Sun CR18 rims laced to unbranded Formula hubs, with Panaracer Pasela PT 35mm tires. The brake/shift levers, derailleurs, and crank are all Shimano Ultegra (6500 9-speed), and the crank has RaceFace 53/39 rings on it. Pedals are Wellgo pinned BMX platforms. Brake calipers are Tektro R559s. Headset is a fairly standard Tange one that I don't remember the exact model of. Handlebar is a generic Dimension compact drop bar, and stem is from Origin8. Current seatpost and saddle (not pictured) are a Campagnolo 2-bolt post and a 1961 Brooks B17 Competition Standard (predecessor to the Professional), both from my grandfather's boxes of parts that'd been lying unused for years.

xkrebstarx

Great info. Thanks a ton.

Spent the day stripping mine down and it looks ok. A few more rusty scrapes than I'd like, but I'm going to continue unless I find something major. I know it's blasphemy, but I do have a commercial grade paint sprayer I could lay down 2 component paint with. Might go that route if I can't contain the rust.

Hopefully I'll have some progress to report when the crank tools come. Thanks again, guys.

exmechanic89

I dont think you'll have any problem, right terminology or not. It sounds like you're pretty mechanically skilled and along with the many tutorials online and this forum you should be fine.

A couple things; when you disassemble the bike dont go too crazy taking everything down to it's individual pieces. You probably already know better, but I say that because I regularily see people on CL selling bikes they've disassembled and were gonna restore. Except they diassembled each individual component as well - brakes and deralleurs completely diassembled, for instance. Then they realize putting it all back together would be a task even for a pro mechanic, lol. And now it's all for sale cheap.

The other thing is sure, go ahead and paint the bike if you like. Lot's of people have done home jobs - I'd do it myself if need be. It's not sacrilege at all. Just do the prep work like anything else. Or, if you're not really concerned just do it quick and easy. It just depends on what your goals are for the bike.

xkrebstarx

Baggied, ziplocked, and labeled.

I've also been photographing the bits as I disassemble. That way I know the washer positions and such.

Speaking of, what do you guys do for torque values? Do the individual bikes have manuals or do you go by the nut size? I mainly work on Vespas and Lambretras. They have pretty specific torque guides, but that's only two manufacturers.

dweenk

I don't recall torque specs from that time frame. You sound as if you already know how to not eff it up.

Once the crank arms are installed, check them for tightness after the first few rides.

tricky 

Most people don't worry about torque spec. You start to get a feel for what it needs. Is this the best way to do it? Maybe not, but a lot of your standard metal parts will be ok with just going by your internal torque wrench. The exception would be newer carbon parts. Some newer cranksets have torque specs written on them. Thomson stems need care with their faceplate bolts not to crack the faceplate (or used to at least). But, you won't be using any of those parts on this build.

exmechanic89

Yep, totally agree with the last 2 posts. You can prolly look up the torque values but most people go by feel. As was pointed out it's not super important to get an exact value on most parts, unless talking carbon or titanium.

Keep us updated as your project moves along. I built up an '83 Univega Sportour last summer from a bare frame I got from 3speedslow here on the forums, and I've already put a couple of thousand miles on it. I also built an early 90's Stumpjumper mountain bike from a frame I got on CL which I also ride quite a bit. Lot's of satisfaction from doing your own work if you end up with something you ride a lot.

xkrebstarx

I'd like to replace the ball bearings in the bottom bracket. They're probably fine, but there is light pitting on them and they're cheap. Does anyone know the size? I don't have digital calipers to figure it out.

Besides that, the tear down is complete. Ordered some bits and will reassemble next week.

Pompiere

Park Tools site has a list of torque values for most common stuff. I printed it out and refer to it often.

exmechanic89

The size of the ball bearings can vary - maybe someone else here has a good guess? Btw, you could also replace the current vintage style bottom bracket with a cartridge assembly. They're much easier to install and are usually more weatherproof than what you have now. You can buy them for around $15 online I believe. Of course buying new ball bearings would still be a lot cheaper and will do the job, so up to you. If you do decide to use a cartridge unit remember when removing the fixed cup (on the drive side of the frame) that it has left handed threading.

oddjob2

1/4", same as rear hub. 11 bearings per cup.