modernizing a 76 360wr

hey guys,

Last year, I bought a 76 (or 77) 360wr along with a couple of 250wr. They all came in boxes, rusty and dirty. None of the bikes are complete. But, there is enough there to make a couple of bikes with extra parts.

An idea as I mentiond in another thread was to ride in some vintage motorcross. However, the bike only meets the criteria for post-vintage. My friends are in regular vintage, so I will find the appropriate bike to ride vintage if I really want to join them.

For the most part, this 360 will be ridden in the woods and maybe even a Netra Enduro if I am comfortable enough with it...along with getting a street registration.

Starting from a bare frame, what recomendations do you guys have for making this a better riding and more reliable bike? Upgrades to suspension like should I use later forks? Or longer rear shocks? Engine, not so much for increased power but more for reliability. Carb, a later carb? Ignition, or anything really. One thing I'd already like to do is put a set of Flexx bars on it. I have them on my Berg 550 and the Husky 430. Arthritis doesn't feel too good, so, anything that helps is worth it to me. Looking for mods that work or help avoid failure.

At this stage of the build I am planning and starting to gather parts. I should inventory what I already have. But, most of it is...eh, worn out? Or, might I say...junk?

thanks in advance,
Mark

To go street legal you would need to go with an MZB ignition to accomodate the crank ends you have in the 360. 12 volt is the only way to go for lighting and MZB will give you more than enough wattage

For your engine you really should tear down enough to inspect transmission gears, crank rod bearing condition, replace crank seals, check crank bearings,etc... That is the minimum for engine reliability as well as a new Mikuni 38mm carb is a very good choice. For front suspension I would think about using 40mm WR forks with RaceTech or YSS cartridge emulators. That would give you 9.5 in of nice travel and I would find a shock set to do the same in the rear. My suggestions are based on my age and desire to be able to get both feet near the ground when needed

Where would I find an MZB ignition?

The 40mm forks, are those like what would be on and 87 430wr? I do have a set of White Power forks from an early 90's 360. But, I was planning to use those on my 87 430wr.

Any particular application that I should look for when searching for the rear shocks?


thanks,
Mark

MZB is through Penton Imports and they sell to dealers only. Check with any current cycle shop that handle dirt bikes.
Phillip at www.husqvarna-parts.com has sold them

The 40mm forks started on the 1981 or 82 models. You would need to convert to taper roller bearings to use 1978 to 1989 Husqvarna front ends. If you have a 78 frame to build on that would be the way to go . I salvaged bearing cups from a scrap 78 OR frame and adapted them to a 1978 Auto frame

I have both piggy back and remote reservior Ohlins that I will be using but all need to be rebuilt. Check in the restoration section as several did 1978 ORs

The single best thing to do other than the basic fixes mentioned so far would be to add a front disc brake ... Rear disc maybe but to bring that bike up to something safe to ride, the front disc is really needed ...

One of my projects(the 78Auto frame ) is currently setup with 43mm IT490 forks with the DLS YZ hub. That is hard to beat

Tonight I looked at the frame numbers on the 3 bikes hanging from the rafters. two are ML and one is an MM. It appears the MM is a '79 frame. What is better about this frame compared to the ML?

thanks,
Mark

It would depend on the serial numbers on the ML frames. A 78 ML frame with the taper bearing steering neck will have a 29 deg rake making it equal or better to the MM if the MM went out to a 30deg rake for stabilty reasons. I am not sure when the rake went out to 30 deg. I believe if the rakes are equal, the MM has more rigidity due to frame reinforcement differences. The 78 WRs ML frame was the first year of the middle engine cradle tube. 77 CR ML frame had the 28 deg rake while the WR got it in 78. I have 2 ML frames with the ball and cone head bearings with the top rear shock mounts pointing up making them possibly 77 CR frames and (3) 78 frames: 1 Auto, 1 WR, 1/2 OR

Here are the numbers MM06987, ML15074---(has 360 stickers), ML18733.

Your MM is 1979, ML 15074 is 1976, and ML 18733 is 1977 WR or CR. Check the upper shocks on this one, if they point up build on this frame if you have the 360 airbox and related components

On the Vintage Husky site, if you have an 360wr with a frame ML15000 or up it is a 77. If you have a 250 with an ML16000 or up it is a 76. One frame has the upper shock mounts pointing up and the other has them pointing out and down. I am guessing that both of these frames have the older style steering head bearings? Both have an adjuster top and bottom. I also have a 79 frame. From an external view, the steering head is different. I assume it has the tapered roller bearings. I haven't taken any of the steering heads apart to verify. Is this assumption correct?
The plan is to build on one of these frames to work in the woods of New England, would I be best off the build the 79 frame? One of the thoughts I had was to put a set of late forks on the bike. I have a set of Ohlins forks with triple tree available to me from a friend that is parting out an '04 Gas Gas 450. i believe there is a chance that the tapered bearings might be the same.
The 79 frame has 15" shocks in the back. These shocks have remote reservoirs. Couldn't identify the brand. They are a reddish color.
Will there be an issue of putting the 360 into the 79 frame?

thanks,
Mark

You would probably not have to do much special to put the 360 engine in the 79 frame. There was an engine position change that occured about 1977 on the ML frames that forced a change in the engine mounts. You may have to play with the engine mounts and you will need the 79 airbox. You may want to get a 390 pipe as I think you may have trouble fitting the 360 side mount exhaust. Other than that I have a spare 78 frame that will take most or all of your 360 parts. The frame is for a 1978 125CR or 390 Auto. It has the 29° front rake but has the ball and cone stem bearings. If you want it pm me to make arrangements as I am flying to a company in Georgia for a second interview. If accepted I could be down there for upto 6 months contract.

I also have a set of leading axle triples and a set of 78 & 79 fork sets that need upper tubes. With a blueprint for the taper bearing caps I can let you have it all for a good price seeing you have the machinery to make the caps (4130 good material).

Isn't there some plate or lisceing to ride in those state forests in the western part of Ma that isn't a street plate. You need understand your state or are you intending on registering in a different state to the north as many do? I would think a hidden battery would make more sense if you could get away with that for the inspection. There are (havn't entered lately but the flyers seem to indicate this is the case) sound tests at enduros though if you are in the club who knows how far away it will be held if no uniformed law enforcement type isn't there. Asking what sort of suspention upgrades and wanting to ride in a vingage class don't go together too well from what I read on the internet.

As for upgrades, the 360 is a divided exhaust port. The current 125 is also though not near as wide a land. They have little holes in the piston to help lube that land which I didn't see on the only 360 I have had apart.

Will there be an issue of putting the 360 into the 79 frame?

Not to sharp on the years, the 360 and the parts to attach it to the swingarm can be migrated to the silver frames with the silver swingarm up to 1982.



Fran

Massachusetts has always had an ORV registration that covers motorcycles, snowmobiles, quads, and anything else used offroad that has a gas engine. That registration does not require lighting, while standard street cycle registration is stringent enough that most enduro riders I know in Mass and CT register in Vermont because they do not check the vehicle and are easier to register for non residents

Hello mark i am in the process of building a 76 cr frame into a more modern ride myself.I call it my husky 57.I mounted a set of 40mm trip tree on my 76 frame i think there off a 85 husky. The handle bar mounts are set back so the fork tubes can slide past the handle bars.I think it is the early 80s style, the bar mounts are in line with the tubes and can't be slid up.I had steel bushings made to slide over the trip tree shaft and welded to the flat bearing cup's.So i used the stock bearings on the bike.So far it works.I had to cut the steering stops back so i could get more turning radius.I also put on a vesco tank as not to dent a stock tank.I put a 79cr swingarm on the rear because its longer,stronger and has bearings.I moved the shock mounts back to accommodate a longer shock.I am putting a 77 250 cr motor in it so i had to make new front motor mounts there 1/4'' SS plate. The motor is'nt in yet i have new seals, gaskets to put in it yet and get the cylinder bored.83' sun rims front and rear i went that route cause i like the gold rims look and they have bigger brakes.A 79' wr up and thru exhaust pipe with a skyway silencer.This is a heinz 57 for sure.If the 250 is not enough motor I'll drop a 360wr motor in it.The true test will be will it handle in the tight stuff or is it going to be a two track bike.I'll find out in a couple of month's.
Tom.

Wow Tom, sounds like quite a mix of years coming together. I bought 3 Huskys in various boxes. 76, 77 and 79. I wonder how similar our bikes will be when both completed.

Any particular reason you used a 76 frame? I have the 76 and 77 frames, but aren't sure if I should build on the 79 frame. After the mods are done how much travel do you think your rear suspension will have?

Hey Jim, I have some various forks hanging around. I'd believe I can find something to work, if not, I'll get in touch with ya about them.

well mark i used a 76 frame because thats what i had.I got the forks from a local motorcycle/snowmobile salvage yard.They were on a 79 frame the frame is still there growed up in the weeds so if this doesn't work i will go get the 79 frame and go that way.As far as rear travel i guess i will have to check it out i've got a set of 15'' curnutts and a set of 16'' shocks so i'm thinking i should have plenty.

You will not be happy with the 76 frame for tight single track. I have a 76 frame at home that I am likely to cut up for spare tubing to derake some of my newer frames as I have several 78 spec frames that have 29° rake and yes I have experienced those in my previous life. The 1976 WR & CR frames were both 32° rake and not noted as being carvers in turns. The 1977 WR frame was the 1976 frame carried over while the CR got 29° rake. That CR frame was carried over to 1978 with the CR & WRs getting the taper stem bearings and the WR getting the center cradle guard rail. The 1978 OR frame was similiar to the WR with a more square shaped lower cradle with the WR center rail, but with the front rake kicked out to the same 30.5 you will find on newer frames until 1984

Hey Tom,
Did you ever get your bike together? My focus went to other projects. But, I am starting to get interested in getting it going again.

I believe I personally would go with the 79 frame it has all the newer or more 80's modern stuff on it and what it did'nt come with you can easily swap it over with out creating a frankinstein bike. I put 84 wr forks on mine and ohlin remotes in the rear with a 1 " spacer and still used the wr swing arm for a tighter wheel base and ease of front wheel lifting when needed.
I would also look for 85 and up triples trees because they did not use those rubber bushings that hold the handle bars on to the upper triple ,they were mounted solid, then you can run those flex bars or a dampner for your joint pain. You can use the older ones with the rubber bushings but they always get loose and jiggle the bars when they get some wear on them. If you really really want to stop when you really need to ( like on the street) I would go with the disc up front , my 87 has it and it is really a big difference over the drum. It would be worth it on the street not so much in the woods.
If you want to finish this bike and actually use it , try not to reinvent the wheel.
Just my 2 cents , I hope this helps .