The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

cantdecide

4 cracks on a donor nose cone fixed ahead of the bodywork and respray. It's perfectly solid now and fillers will take care of the pinholes.

H_Lime wrote: »

What's the craic with the system, stock or will you bang something stainless on her? Can or oem? Always nice to go stainless

Unless something handy comes along, the exhaust will stay standard for economic reasons. Honestly, I think the bike will get shifted on as soon as it's finished. I have no major attachment to the model or this one in particular. It's pretty similar to GSX1400 I've always had so if my mate hadn't taken the plunge on it, I would have left it go. Now it needs to be saved!! I think it'll go up for swap for a classic or an adventure tourer.

H_Lime wrote: »

Did the carbs need work?

They're feckin' FILTHY!! They were stuffed with varnish and corrosion so they're awaiting their turn!

H_Lime wrote: »

Was the motor quiet before the project, will you do the valves?

The valves will get checked and adjusted if necessary. We haven't heard her running to be perfectly honest but having the donor bike there means two bites of the cherry but I've seen nothing to believe it won't fire up and run like a champ.

H_Lime wrote: »

Sorry, ton of questions as I enjoy this craic.

Lol! Same same!

H_Lime

cantdecide wrote: »

4 cracks on a donor nose cone fixed ahead of the bodywork and respray. It's perfectly solid now and fillers will take care of the pinholes.










Unless something handy comes along, the exhaust will stay standard for economic reasons. Honestly, I think the bike will get shifted on as soon as it's finished. I have no major attachment to the model or this one in particular. It's pretty similar to GSX1400 I've always had so if my mate hadn't taken the plunge on it, I would have left it go. Now it needs to be saved!! I think it'll go up for swap for a classic or an adventure tourer.



They're feckin' FILTHY!! They were stuffed with varnish and corrosion so they're awaiting their turn!



The valves will get checked and adjusted if necessary. We haven't heard her running to be perfectly honest but having the donor bike there means two bites of the cherry but I've seen nothing to believe it won't fire up and run like a champ.



Lol! Same same!

I'd find it hard to sell a bike I resto'd, I tend to take things beyond what you might call an economic restoration. That's not to suggest my way is better or good, it ain't!
Case in point...

All my works started with oiling a throttle cable haha.

Never done plastic welding, will a chisel tip soldering iron suffice? Looks a good job done, skim of the magic stuff, sand and have it blown over.
Any closer to getting the weld taken care of?
So if it sells will you jump on the etv or something old?
I hope to start my 78gs1000 this autumn, I'd say the carbs will be gas fun altogether.

cantdecide

H_Lime wrote: »

I'd find it hard to sell a bike I resto'd, I tend to take things beyond what you might call an economic restoration. That's not to suggest my way is better or good, it ain't!

I normally wouldn't restrict myself like this but this is one where I need to be pragmatic with this one. Luckily, I think I can get a good result while staying under its value.

H_Lime wrote: »

Never done plastic welding, will a chisel tip soldering iron suffice? Looks a good job done, skim of the magic stuff, sand and have it blown over.

Yup. Using tie-wraps for filler. After some experimentation, I 'V'd out the cracks with a burr on a dremel. Then I wrapped some 80g paper around a long reach socket to cut the peaks back down. I did this on both sides of the crack. I'm pretty happy with the result.

I'll be painting this at home. It'll be my first time doing proper DIY spray painting.

H_Lime wrote: »

Any closer to getting the weld taken care of?

Unfortunately not. I'm kind of leaning toward working around it until I can van it somewhere after the restrictions are lifted.

H_Lime wrote: »

So if it sells will you jump on the etv or something old?

I'm going to have to roll with it. I'm really not made of money and I have two un-scratched itches - a classic or an adventure/ or touring so hopefully the Fazer will help me scratch one itch or the other.

H_Lime wrote: »

I hope to start my 78gs1000 this autumn, I'd say the carbs will be gas fun altogether.

That's like my Gsx1400's grandad! Post pics as you go, fella!

gn3dr

cantdecide wrote: »

Fazer update

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nA7h909A1U

Starting to look more complete.
I went back and looked at your part 1 video but work had already started. Do you have any "before" pictures.

They're not a bad looking bike. I think the tank on them is a nice shape.

Where are you located? Sounds like a hint of a Cork accent? I could weld the frame for you but you'd have to get the frame to me, located just outside Killarney.
You would be better of having it stripped down to the bare frame though for that work.

H_Lime

cantdecide wrote: »

I normally wouldn't restrict myself like this but this is one where I need to be pragmatic with this one. Luckily, I think I can get a good result while staying under its value.



Yup. Using tie-wraps for filler. After some experimentation, I 'V'd out the cracks with a burr on a dremel. Then I wrapped some 80g paper around a long reach socket to cut the peaks back down. I did this on both sides of the crack. I'm pretty happy with the result.

I'll be painting this at home. It'll be my first time doing proper DIY spray painting.



Unfortunately not. I'm kind of leaning toward working around it until I can van it somewhere after the restrictions are lifted.



I'm going to have to roll with it. I'm really not made of money and I have two un-scratched itches - a classic or an adventure/ or touring so hopefully the Fazer will help me scratch one itch or the other.



That's like my Gsx1400's grandad! Post pics as you go, fella!

The plastic welding is something I'd have to practice at I'm guessing, must watch a tutorial as I'm unsure about the zip tie is melted into the v. Hope I never need to do it tho:)
Are you using two pack to do the DIY painting? It was my hope to start learning that on this project but I chickened out. There's real concerns using 2k and it essentially poisoning ye. I had kinda taken it lightly but after reading up on it I bowed out as wasn't going to spend the bucks on the right ppe realistically.

I've painted panels with aerosol to a pretty decent finish but I wouldn't use it on a tank personally but that's just me and I could be wrong in that. I've yet to find a lacquer in a tin that is petrol proof.

I'm kinda disappointed I didn't have a crack off it tbh and may save up for the right kit. I have a room in the garage I could very easily convert into a booth as it has inlet and outlet pipes for air.

cantdecide

gn3dr wrote: »

Starting to look more complete.
I went back and looked at your part 1 video but work had already started. Do you have any "before" pictures.

Well my buddy who bought it for himself had partially stripped it and I'd done a little more stripping before I started shooting video so I'll have to try and get the other fella to give me any 'before' pics he might have for it.

gn3dr wrote: »

They're not a bad looking bike. I think the tank on them is a nice shape.

Where are you located? Sounds like a hint of a Cork accent? I could weld the frame for you but you'd have to get the frame to me, located just outside Killarney.
You would be better of having it stripped down to the bare frame though for that work.

I always liked them too!

I'm actually in East Cork so maybe a little further away than viable but thanks for the offer. There's still a decent amount of 3D space in there once the wheel is popped off again. It was my mate that looked at it before the lockdown told me he would do the job in situ so I went with his advice. I decided against stripping her completely because these bikes are a hoor to get the engines in and out of (even if you drop the frame over the engine sideways), there's no removable cradle bars on the bike.

cantdecide

H_Lime wrote: »

The plastic welding is something I'd have to practice at I'm guessing, must watch a tutorial as I'm unsure about the zip tie is melted into the v. Hope I never need to do it tho:)

It's honestly no big deal. The only real technique I'd recommend is V out the crack and squash the new material in kind of under the soldering tip. It's quite straight forward really. The clean up requires patience is all i can tell you.

H_Lime wrote: »

Are you using two pack to do the DIY painting? It was my hope to start learning that on this project but I chickened out. There's real concerns using 2k and it essentially poisoning ye. I had kinda taken it lightly but after reading up on it I bowed out as wasn't going to spend the bucks on the right ppe realistically.

I've painted panels with aerosol to a pretty decent finish but I wouldn't use it on a tank personally but that's just me and I could be wrong in that. I've yet to find a lacquer in a tin that is petrol proof.

I'm kinda disappointed I didn't have a crack off it tbh and may save up for the right kit. I have a room in the garage I could very easily convert into a booth as it has inlet and outlet pipes for air.

I'm for sure not taking it lightly either. I have a makeshift 'booth' in my shed and I'm going to get proper extraction going and will get a respirator too. The biggest thing for the Fazer for me is the learning. I've left a genocide of rattle cans in my wake over the years so I'm not too intimidated about the technique as long as I have the process and products down.

Do you can get a proper a proper 2k clear in a can? It has two chambers. Maybe I'm telling you something you already know.

H_Lime

cantdecide wrote: »

It's honestly no big deal. The only real technique I'd recommend is V out the crack and squash the new material in kind of under the soldering tip. It's quite straight forward really. The clean up requires patience is all i can tell you.



I'm for sure not taking it lightly either. I have a makeshift 'booth' in my shed and I'm going to get proper extraction going and will get a respirator too. The biggest thing for the Fazer for me is the learning. I've left a genocide of rattle cans in my wake over the years so I'm not too intimidated about the technique as long as I have the process and products down.

Do you can get a proper a proper 2k clear in a can? It has two chambers. Maybe I'm telling you something you already know.

Eager to see your results, did not know know you could get 2k lacquer in a can!

cantdecide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwt8jfgEiNY

H_Lime

cantdecide wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwt8jfgEiNY

Kewl yer poised to strike😉
As much dets as poss on the whole painting accoutrements, what size gun you go for? gravity feed? the moisture trap yada yada.
I hear you re the conflicting info. Piston heads has a few UK based tutorials by tasty fellas starting out with smarts and good methodology. Are you colour matching and by what method?
Good luck with it, kinda wish I did risk it for a biscuit now:(
If yer around North Cork I can loan you a decent cfm extraction fan with ducting.

Today I was a dope and forgot to take off my disc lock before moving off. Dropped the multistrada leaving a scratch on the fairing and breaking the left handgaurd/indicator :mad:
The handgaurd itself seems to be cheap enough but the led indicator is pricey. Which is annoying, it still works but one of the brackets that holds it onto the handgaurd snapped so I can't get away with not replacing that too.
All in all very annoying as I was planning on trading it in but then the lockdown happened. My ankle is pretty sore from trying to hold the bike up as it went down as well

H_Lime

Bummer Nialler, get yerself onto ebay, might find a clean 2nd hand part.

Set my air gap in project Drastics forks, 7 inches baby!

gn3dr

H_Lime wrote: »

Bummer Nialler, get yerself onto ebay, might find a clean 2nd hand part.

Set my air gap in project Drastics forks, 7 inches baby!

I see you have the Dude watching over your work:)

H_Lime

gn3dr wrote: »

I see you have the Dude watching over your work:)

The dude abides!!! :pac:;)

cantdecide

What forks are they from , H_L?

H_Lime

cantdecide wrote: »

What forks are they from , H_L?

89 Dr big CD, the one I'm meddling with presently.
You get my pm bud? It's not in my outbox so unsure.
How goes the rebuild!

cantdecide

What forks are they from , H_L?

lennymc

H_Lime wrote: »

The dude abides!!! :pac:;)

Those forks really tie the bike together, man

H_Lime

lennymc wrote: »

Those forks really tie the bike together, man

They're a very complicated fork Lenny. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.

lennymc

H_Lime wrote: »

They're a very complicated fork Lenny. You know, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.

You have no frame of reference here, H_Lime. You’re like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie

bladespin

In the process of getting the kwacker running again and have run into a leaking tank, what's best to seal with, have seen youtube vids recommending Por 15, Sloash etc but can't find it here, any suggestions?

H_Lime

bladespin wrote: »

In the process of getting the kwacker running again and have run into a leaking tank, what's best to seal with, have seen youtube vids recommending Por 15, Sloash etc but can't find it here, any suggestions?

Caswells. Get it in from UK.

bladespin

H_Lime wrote: »

Caswells. Get it in from UK.

Caswells

After a week's searching that's just glorious! Thanks

The QuietMan

I finally grew a pair and opened up the busa’s airbox for starters

Soundman

Not today, but a few days ago once parts came in. Been wanting to rejet the carb on my 04 Shadow VLX600. Took 2 months to get the parts from the USA and Italy due to the lockdown.

Took the carb apart, cleaned and scrubbed it, then realised that the bloody thing had already been jetted, and just needed a small adjustment of the AF D-screw.
What a waste of time and money in waiting for the jet kit since I didn't need it after all.

Either way, was happy with the results of the clean and adjustment since I've never taken anything apart on a bike before.

Anyone looking to buy a rejet kit? :rolleyes:

H_Lime

Good to see we're all hard at it in the temple of tool:)
Myself I've been righting some loom wrongs.





Doing clearances.


Renewing hosing.


And bolting bits on bit by bit.

lennymc

ah man, full floaters, i just hate them...

Looking good H_lime

When are you rebuilding the mower?

edit - am i seeing things, or are there two levers on the lhs bar.

H_Lime

lennymc wrote: »

ah man, full floaters, i just hate them...

Looking good H_lime

When are you rebuilding the mower?

edit - am i seeing things, or are there two levers on the lhs bar.

That mowers a survivor! It came from a good stable.
Full floaters are a sign of a high fibre diet, that or you own an 80's jap bike called a "big" and having a rising rate linkage to a monoshock was a big deal:pac:
Second levers decompression, won't start without it and you also use it to stop the bike to prevent kick back approaching tdc on compression which can cock up the starter gears/sprag. More "charm" you see:)

lennymc

charm is code for old stuff that has some kind of work around, and will probably kill you if it fails.
Like saying the TL1000S was charming....

galwaytt

lennymc wrote: »

charm is code for old stuff that has some kind of work around, and will probably kill you if it fails.
Like saying the TL1000S was charming....

indeed: rotary dampers: who knew, eh ?

blade1

H_Lime wrote: »

That mowers a survivor! It came from a good stable.
Full floaters are a sign of a high fibre diet, that or you own an 80's jap bike called a "big" and having a rising rate linkage to a monoshock was a big deal:pac:
Second levers decompression, won't start without it and you also use it to stop the bike to prevent kick back approaching tdc on compression which can cock up the starter gears/sprag. More "charm" you see:)

My second bike was full floater.
TS100

LollipopJimmy

Gace mine a good clean.

CJhaughey

I had a TS100ER but mine was twin shock. 94 reg.

lennymc

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Gace mine a good clean.

Looks like a very localised snow storm

LollipopJimmy

lennymc wrote: »

Looks like a very localised snow storm

It's like the inside of my pants when I hit the redline.

This snowfoam is class, not usually a fan of muc off stuff but this is the muc off snowfoam and it does a cracking job, I use it on my road bike too.

blade1

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

It's like the inside of my pants when I hit the redline.

This snowfoam is class, not usually a fan of muc off stuff but this is the muc off snowfoam and it does a cracking job, I use it on my road bike too.

What washer ya got?

LollipopJimmy

blade1 wrote: »

What washer ya got?

Just a Karcher K3 but I bought a decent snowfoam attachment from detailing shed a few years ago. The attachment was about 70quid if I remember right.

I have a really good wax on the bike which helps with cleaning.

blade1

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Just a Karcher K3 but I bought a decent snowfoam attachment from detailing shed a few years ago. The attachment was about 70quid if I remember right.

I have a really good wax on the bike which helps with cleaning.

Yeah I have a snowfoam attachment from detailing shed as well as snowfoam ( bil something or other)

I've a nilfisk 140.
Only gets used rarely though, on the car about 3 times a year and cleaning a bit of moss around the house.

LollipopJimmy

blade1 wrote: »

Yeah I have a snowfoam attachment from detailing shed as well as snowfoam ( bil something or other)

I've a nilfisk 140.
Only gets used rarely though, on the car about 3 times a year and cleaning a bit of moss around the house.

Bit hamber, good stuff that. You mean you dont clean your bikes after every ride?

blade1

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Bit hamber, good stuff that. You mean you dont clean your bikes after every ride?

A quick wipe down when I get back from a spin if it gets dirty.
Garden hose,a quick splash of bike cleaner, WD40 on a rag for a quick run to the wheels.
Hose down again and finally dry with a towel(keeps water marks from forming)
'bout 10 minutes.

Might give a bigger clean once a year .

blade1

H_Lime wrote: »

Bummer Nialler, get yerself onto ebay, might find a clean 2nd hand part.

Set my air gap in project Drastics forks, 7 inches baby!

Reminds me of me 3 weeks ago

zubair

Had these fitted today. Hopefully I'll get plenty of miles and smiles out of them.

H_Lime

Metz what Zub? Are they a performance or all rounder tyre?




Replaced the spurious gaskets I used when blasting the engine with oem. Swapped the original old oem crank end oil feed seal with a viton skf. Worn crap seal here can reduced oil pressure to the head and kill the top end:eek:

CJhaughey

I saw a grenaded DR650RS with the valve head busted off and stuck in the piston before, not sure what killed it.
Lots of these big singles don't like reduced oil flow, I know the NX650 engine went through three iterations of oil pump to try and sort the oil feed problems, the early ones had an 8mm rotor in the pump and the later ones had a 12mm, but the problem is the actual pump body leaking oil when it gets warm.
Especially around the seals.
Funny thing is the US market XR650L has the same engine and never had these issues, they got a pump with a proper seal..

H_Lime

CJhaughey wrote: »

I saw a grenaded DR650RS with the valve head busted off and stuck in the piston before, not sure what killed it.
Lots of these big singles don't like reduced oil flow, I know the NX650 engine went through three iterations of oil pump to try and sort the oil feed problems, the early ones had an 8mm rotor in the pump and the later ones had a 12mm, but the problem is the actual pump body leaking oil when it gets warm.
Especially around the seals.
Funny thing is the US market XR650L has the same engine and never had these issues, they got a pump with a proper seal..

Lot of these old bikes had foibles that if unaddressed could lunch the motor, the big being no exception. The cam, journals and rockers were quiet and pretty fresh on this one with 66k kms up on her.
Principal killers on these are running lean, that seal and excessive crap flange sealant clogging pick up/jets. If you sort that, the bogus cct and spring (head off) and the crank doesn't knock your golden so long as you kill the motor with the decomp to prevent kick back. They're a very understressed lump and plod along forever.
With the ring gap well in spec I didn't change the piston and she was just given a nice rehone and the head skimmed a tad. I hope she should do at least that again before she needs a new one. Time will tell.
What ya working on yourself?

CJhaughey

H_Lime wrote: »

What ya working on yourself?

I'm stripping the Montesa 315R engine, taking it slowly. I have already seen that I need a few pieces and parts are taking forever to arrive from anywhere.



Lucky that my NX only has 23k miles on it and I have a replacement Oil Pump to fit from an XRL next, just need a gasket.
Lots of knowledge around for the older lumps now gained through painful experience of owners through common failure modes.
Its a good time to have an older machine with all this info available to hand.
Don't worry I'm not going to chop mine up and make a Café Racer out of it.

H_Lime

CJhaughey wrote: »

I'm stripping the Montesa 315R engine, taking it slowly. I have already seen that I need a few pieces and parts are taking forever to arrive from anywhere.



Lucky that my NX only has 23k miles on it and I have a replacement Oil Pump to fit from an XRL next, just need a gasket.
Lots of knowledge around for the older lumps now gained through painful experience of owners through common failure modes.
Its a good time to have an older machine with all this info available to hand.
Don't worry I'm not going to chop mine up and make a Café Racer out of it.

Lol of I see another vid of a fella with facial hair bending seat frame rails I will cry:pac:
Whip up some pics of the montesa engine work. Mechanically are they sound, are you righting any factory wrongs, if there any?

Very true on the trickle down wisdom. The major stuff is all hard won fixes encountered day one shared. Thereafter they were tweeked/streamilned etc, case in point the upgrade CCT Spring remanufacture, a German dr guru did that.

Nice you don't need to split the cases for changing the pump on the dommie! Oil pressure is a must;)

lennymc

H_Lime wrote: »

Metz what Zub? Are they a performance or all rounder tyre?




Replaced the spurious gaskets I used when blasting the engine with oem. Swapped the original old oem crank end oil feed seal with a viton skf. Worn crap seal here can reduced oil pressure to the head and kill the top end:eek:

are you not going to clean it?

H_Lime

lennymc wrote: »

are you not going to clean it?

This one was to be my dirty one but then i oiled the throttle cable:(

Today I fixed my broken hand gaurd and indicator. Looked like I was going to have to take off all the bodywork and fuel tank to get at the indicators connection to the wiring harness. Fortunately there was a small bit of play in the harness and I was just barely able to access the connector by only removing one panel under the dash. Saved a lot of hassle!
Got the new parts from this crowd: https://www.bike-parts-ducati.com/