After doing many restorations, We have determined it’s really best to start with a solid bike.
We search for bikes that have newly built motors, straight frames, and rust-free forks. This particular bike was located in Ohio and the previous owner had recently rebuilt the motor, the frame was repair free, and the forks were nice and clean.
Our next task was to scour the internet and swap-meets to locate a DG head, swingarm, and exhaust for the project. In a few months, all pieces were acquired and then the fun began.
The bike was completely disassembled, the frame was painted yellow. The forks
were rebuilt with new seals and the aluminum lowers were polished and clear-coated. The stock fork caps were replaced with DG air caps and some cool foam fork protecters were added to the lowers to complete the vintage DG look.
Next, the DG swingarm was bolted to the frame and a difficult-to-find NOS Pro-Tec chain guide was installed to control the chain. We had a beautiful and rare set of Marzocchi rear shocks in the shop and they were added to the frame and swingarm to finish out the chassis. The wheels received new satin black paint on the hubs and new spokes were attached to correct ’75 rims. We hand polished the new aluminum rear sprocket just to give the bike some more shine. The engine was a fresh build and we were able to verify this when we installed the DG gold head and found a shiny new piston waiting inside the cylinder. All of the engine fasteners were replaced with quality stainless steel allen bolts. The usually broken countershaf cover was upgraded with a brand new unit. The finished engine was installed back in the frame and a new Mikuni carb was attached with the appropriate billet aluminum intake and larger carb boot. The kick starter on the CR Elsinores is always a problem, all of
the kickers seem to be worn out and flopping around. We wanted something better for the DG bike. A trip to the motorcycle junkyard was in order and
after a couple of hours of searching, a quality aluminum kick starter that would fit the CR kick shaft was discovered. After a little bit of machining to
the kick starter and the rear brake pedal, the needed clearance to start the bike
was achieved. Next, we added the tank, fenders, and side panels that were painted bright yellow to match the DG theme. The seat was bolted in place with taller seat foam and the seat cover was custom made with the DG logo stenciled in back. Finally, the bike was removed from it’s stand and a NOS DG exhaust was bolted in place with gleaming new springs.
