tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39978928209021664212024-03-13T10:07:09.043-05:001979 Suzuki GS 425L ProjectThis is about my project bike I acquired in fall of 2010. It's not a blog where you are going to see top dollar investments in unobtanium parts or quantum leaps in progress in each new post. I'm just a regular guy trying to scratch his itch to tinker and make a motorcycle better in the process without breaking the bank.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-43089266691811417442013-04-20T11:35:00.000-05:002014-12-04T04:33:30.319-06:00Assimilated<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In case you missed it I had to <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-end.html" target="_blank">sell the GS425L</a> when I moved to California.<br />
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So with big life changes comes ambitious undertakings. I created a blog to chronicle this Midwesterner's move to The Bay Area in California and my attempt to exist "With Only A Motorcycle." Of course this site will stay up for anyone who would need a reference. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try and answer them from memory. Thanks to everyone who has frequented the site over the years it has been a great experience writing for you!<br />
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So I hope you all will check out the new blog:<br />
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I have decided to migrate the content of this site over to my main site: <a href="http://www.juanbook.com/">www.juanbook.com</a> in the interesting of having one place where all of my content is located. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try and answer them from memory. Thanks to everyone who has frequented the site over the years it has been a great experience writing for you!</div>
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You can find all of the content on this site and any new content that would have been meant for this site <a href="http://www.juanbook.com/search/label/Oldbike">HERE.</a><br />
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And also a lot of my moto-related photos and interesting articles are now being shared <a href="http://www.juanbook.com/search/label/Moto">HERE.</a></div>
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Thanks for following this site and I hope you take a look at: <a href="http://www.juanbook.com/">www.juanbook.com</a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-2901491381713362012013-03-23T23:20:00.000-05:002013-03-23T23:20:41.797-05:00The End<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dX2l9ytIAhg/UU59zTt5odI/AAAAAAAAClw/YsNyOBTY_VI/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dX2l9ytIAhg/UU59zTt5odI/AAAAAAAAClw/YsNyOBTY_VI/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Hey everyone. After a long winter of inactivity I sold the GS yesterday. It was sad to see it go, but I am moving to California and it was going to cost nearly what it was worth to ship it there so I had to let it go. Once I get things established in Cali I will be looking for a new project to start though. Until then this site will stay up for anyone who would need a reference. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try and answer them from memory. Thanks to everyone who has frequented the site over the years it has been a great experience writing for you!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-48833466098694892772012-10-07T20:21:00.000-05:002012-10-12T20:28:05.207-05:002012-10-07 The Fall Crud Run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my goals for Oldbike this riding season was to put 1000 miles on it and be able to trust the bike out on the open road for long distances. I’ve been using it pretty much exclusively for commuting around town and putting around the near outskirts of Madison but that had pretty much been the limits of my riding. I was close to getting to the 1000 mile goal (75 to go) and the season is quickly coming to a close. One of the events that marks the impending hibernation that our motorcycles must go into is the Fall <a href="http://www.slimeycrudrun.com/history/" target="_blank">Slimey Crud Café Racer Run</a>. The fall run is always the first Sunday in October, with a corresponding Spring Slimey Crud Café Racer Run that is on the first Sunday in May with the two rides meant to bookend the Wisconsin motorcycle riding season. There is no official route for the run just a starting point of Pine Bluff, WI (most bikes part at The Red Mouse) and the ending point of Leland, WI (Most people parking along the road and across from <a href="http://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/article_0685a5ae-64a6-11e1-9178-0019bb2963f4.html" target="_blank">Sprecher’s Bar</a>). Anyone who rides in the Alphabet Soup, (what moto-riders refer to the vast numbers of lettered county roads of southwest Wisconsin as) has their own favorite roads so why set limits on the routes. It’s about a 100 mile trip if you take a fairly direct route. So that filled the bill for me. I have been wanting to take my Oldbike to the Crud Run since got it running this would be the day!<br />
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It was a cold day, I knew it was going to be a cold one so I didn’t even bother looking at the temperature, that true knowledge would not help motivate me. My first layer was my Under Armor cold weather compression top and bottoms, and wool socks. For the bottom the rest was simple just my riding pants and riding boots I figured the air cooled engine might do a little warming for my legs. Up top was a different story I put on a long sleeve t-shirt a zip up fleece and a Carhartt vest and on top of all that I had my riding jacket and it’s zip in liner, for my noggin the Scorpion EXO-1000 helmet and for the hands, my Burton snowboarding gloves. This proved to be just about the right amount of insulation. I made it to The Red Mouse in Pine Bluff at around 11:30am, a little late to see the peak attendance, a lot of the people get there much earlier have coffee, breakfast and bullshit for a while with the bikes starting to leave en-masse around 11:00am. By the time I had downed my coffee and wandered around looking at the bikes I was starting to feel a little warm so I decided it was time to head on up to Leland and cool off a bit.<br />
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I stopped by the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial and snapped a picture of Oldbike there under it’s own power and looking in much better nick than it was the last time it was there.<br />
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Here is the picture I took of Oldbike on the day I picked it up in pretty much exactly the same place, just with a Menard's rental truck underneath it! I thought it was good synchronicity to make a quick stop.<br />
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You might not be able to tell in the picture but that is the sign at Leland’s city limits. I had made it there! Oldbike rand good all the way up there holding sustained speeds between 60-70 miles per hour for the trip. The only complaints I got were on some of the steeper hills where the little 423cc engine bogged a bit in top gear and again in fifth when I downshifted too slowly and lose even more forward momentum. <br />
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I may have topped off the oil a little too much before I left as I had some oil seeping from the 30+ year old valve cover gasket!<br />
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But really Oldbike was none the worse for wear after making the trip, I think it was happy to be amongst friends of a similar vintage. I actually passed three other bikes of a similar age that looked about twice as pretty that had left their pilots stranded on the side of the road with unknown mechanical or electrical issues. It did make me feel a little crazy but I trusted the work I had done on the bike and my trust was rewarded.<br />
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I bellied up to Sprecher’s Bar and choosing to circumvent Junior’s “Famous” salami sandwich in favor of a Sloppy Joe and some hot chocolate. As I warmed myself inside I was amazed at how a place like this had managed to stay <a href="http://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/article_0685a5ae-64a6-11e1-9178-0019bb2963f4.html" target="_blank">open for over 100 years</a>, and felt buoyed the fact that the Slimey Crud Café Racer Run probably plays a big part in keeping this bar where you can drink a bourbon and buy a gun at the same time afloat throughout the rest of the year!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-60YdnBz7aT0/UHKqln2IrrI/AAAAAAAACEk/yGZFrQM-YGw/s1600/IMG_5113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-60YdnBz7aT0/UHKqln2IrrI/AAAAAAAACEk/yGZFrQM-YGw/s640/IMG_5113.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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It’s definitely a point of pride for Junior the owner and he updates the newspaper clipping with new peak attendance records when pertinent! You can see the web version of this article if you follow <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/44272777.html" target="_blank">this link</a>. <br />
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Having filled my eyes with enough vintage goodness for the day, pointed Oldbike back home and on my back through Sauk City I rolled over the 21000 mile mark accomplishing another goal for the year! We can probably count on our two hands how many truly good riding days that there are left before the riding season is truly over and on one hand, the good days that we will actually be free to ride. Looking ahead towards the off-season I’ve got plans to rebuild the front brake and get new pads and shoes all around. I plan on removing and inspecting the forks cleaning the internals and replacing fork seals if necessary. I’ll be learning about swingarm bushings and working to enhance the swingarm pivot and inspecting the rear shocks and assessing their performance/condition. New tires are on part of the plan too and of course a tear-down and inspection of the engine and it’s internals is on tap too. So stay tuned and I’ll try my best to keep myself and you entertained with more Oldbike goodness!<br />
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As always, thanks for reading!<br />
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One more post script <a href="http://www.returnofthecaferacers.com/2010/10/cafe-racers-and-slimey-crud-motorcycle.html" target="_blank">Return of the Cafe Racers has a little write up I'd like to share</a> about the Slimey Crud Café Racer Run. If you want to learn more make sure you look at the other hyper-linked test throughout the post there's some good stuff in there!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-68860789935400728582012-09-25T13:18:00.003-05:002012-09-25T13:22:13.797-05:00Fabricate a Front Fork Brace<br />
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As the café racer “<i>scene</i>”
pretty much exploded at the same time I bought Oldbike I fall into a chronological
category of people that have been wrenching on and riding vintage bikes
probably since before the bikes were considered vintage, definitely before
riding an old bike was considered to be “cool.”
Luckily I fell into the <a href="http://www.caferacer.net/">Caferacer.net</a>
forum purely by accident and/or dumb luck.
I looked around on the website and managed to largely avoid the virtual
berating/bashing that I have now seen hundreds of newbies go through most
leaving with their tail between their legs.
I say that I was lucky to find them because I have avoided doing a lot
of STUPID things to Oldbike just by browsing through the site. One of the first benefits I was able to take
away was in identify and understanding the phenomenon of the “L-bike” fad of
the 80’s.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcpy9r_rg2I/TZAOSZybZ6I/AAAAAAAAAXU/GqYebpxkitk/s1600/1979+Suzuki+GS425L+Low+Slinger+Ad+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcpy9r_rg2I/TZAOSZybZ6I/AAAAAAAAAXU/GqYebpxkitk/s1600/1979+Suzuki+GS425L+Low+Slinger+Ad+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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I might try and do a more detailed write up based on the
observations I’ve gleaned from <a href="http://www.caferacer.net/">Caferacer.net</a>
but for now suffice it to say that “L-bikes” do not make good café racers. Early identification of this fact saved me a
lot of wasted time and effort in trying to make a bike into something that is
not in its DNA.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y-HEXX1RU2Q/UFOXXGpQ6TI/AAAAAAAAB8I/4yWXzfRHGG8/s1600/2012-09-03+A+Ride+On+The+GS+02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y-HEXX1RU2Q/UFOXXGpQ6TI/AAAAAAAAB8I/4yWXzfRHGG8/s640/2012-09-03+A+Ride+On+The+GS+02.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Armed with that knowledge I focused my efforts towards
converting Oldbike into a sort of urban assault commuter bike. With that as a goal, the sacrifice of comfort
and utility in the name of outright speed went by the wayside. That doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in
making the bike run smoother, accelerate faster, handle better and stop
quicker. That is where this most recent modification
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Over the years I have seen a ton of people that have made
the mistake of taking off the front fender off their “café racer” project,
chasing the café racer “look.” Heck… the previous owner had done it to my bike.</div>
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Thankfully he had the
thing laying in a barn still. I’m not
even sure where the idea originated but I am pretty sure that when the original
café racer scene was going on I don’t think that people were pulling the front
fenders off their bikes. Maybe the
people who do this are making an attempt at saving weight, they are barking up
the wrong tree. I’ll go into a little
detail as to why; while the forks are held together by the triple trees and the
axel at the bottom of the forks this is not enough to provide the stability and
handling that you want in a motorcycle.
If you think about it, on a standard (non upside down) fork, the
skinniest part of the fork is what is attached to the triple tree. This is going
to give you front to back flex no matter what.
Now, each lower portion of the fork cartridge moves independently of
each other unless they are joined together.
Joining them with just the axle may seem like enough but it’s not when
you take into consideration all the forces that your front wheel experiences
with bumps, braking and acceleration many times not when the bike is
upright. Having that single point of
union will still allow the forks to compress and rebound at different rates,
affecting the bikes handling and the feel you get in through the
handlebars. The front fender gives you a
second structural union to between the two forks which forces them to move at
the same rate and keeps the front wheels’ attitudes as intended buy the
manufacturer and as desired by the rider.</div>
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I would always see the guys telling the newbies that if they
wanted to take off the front fender they needed to get a fork brace. I had no idea what one was but once I had an
understanding of the aforementioned workings of front forks, seeing one for the
first time made perfect sense.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAR5CpvqhVY/UGG4WDfRoeI/AAAAAAAAB_w/9hiS_pyz014/s1600/IMG_4997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAR5CpvqhVY/UGG4WDfRoeI/AAAAAAAAB_w/9hiS_pyz014/s640/IMG_4997.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Not to jump ahead chronologically in the photos but this is
the only one that I have that shows the inner side of the fender clearly. You can see that even the manufacturer had
attempted to bolster the strength of the connection between the forks with some
extra material. Even with the front
fender installed on Oldbike I got a lot of feedback through the handlebars,
there was so much vibration through the handlebars that I couldn’t tell what
the front end was doing, the useful information got lost in the (excuse the
pun) chatter.</div>
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Being that I the two sets of discarded handlebars as well as
some engine guards and a welder I got to thinking that I might try and make a
front fork brace for Oldbike. The
difference would be that I would mount mine over the fender keeping it in
place.</div>
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The above pictures are of the mounting brackets I cut off of
the engine guard, which you can see in the picture below.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0XhhD2Z4qco/UGG364gTzhI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/WgF0CbpLdVA/s1600/IMG_4966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0XhhD2Z4qco/UGG364gTzhI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/WgF0CbpLdVA/s640/IMG_4966.JPG" width="640" /></a>Above you can see the two sets of handlebars collected into
the front fender. I basically cut them
up into straight portions and curved portions.
An effort was made to keep the mirrored portions the same lengths.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LVejQAPNVLI/UGG37y_Rg6I/AAAAAAAAB-s/ISb8XTVPLGk/s1600/IMG_4980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LVejQAPNVLI/UGG37y_Rg6I/AAAAAAAAB-s/ISb8XTVPLGk/s640/IMG_4980.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The leading portion would be made up of four sections and
would be more “square” than the trailing portion which you can see in on the
floor in the above picture.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qAjaI7IS6E/UGG4Cj6WJSI/AAAAAAAAB-0/79b78IA_NQ8/s1600/IMG_4981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qAjaI7IS6E/UGG4Cj6WJSI/AAAAAAAAB-0/79b78IA_NQ8/s640/IMG_4981.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The trailing portion was made of three pieces and was more
rounded.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ELvIed6TGoE/UGG4EGF20_I/AAAAAAAAB-8/IVnH9pV0i2Q/s1600/IMG_4982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ELvIed6TGoE/UGG4EGF20_I/AAAAAAAAB-8/IVnH9pV0i2Q/s640/IMG_4982.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here you can see them tacked together.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ARK34JjpPi0/UGG4EkYGt4I/AAAAAAAAB_A/4nwAshj7H4I/s1600/IMG_4983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ARK34JjpPi0/UGG4EkYGt4I/AAAAAAAAB_A/4nwAshj7H4I/s640/IMG_4983.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Completely welded.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sgEQEWksZ4/UGG4PcMUhxI/AAAAAAAAB_g/rwYrPud1A-g/s1600/IMG_4985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sgEQEWksZ4/UGG4PcMUhxI/AAAAAAAAB_g/rwYrPud1A-g/s640/IMG_4985.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And with the welds ground down and one of the mounting
points attached.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MK-RDj8NNvI/UGG4WCgsNEI/AAAAAAAAB_0/1VvrkvRJis8/s1600/IMG_4988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MK-RDj8NNvI/UGG4WCgsNEI/AAAAAAAAB_0/1VvrkvRJis8/s640/IMG_4988.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is the basic layout I was going for.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAR5CpvqhVY/UGG4WDfRoeI/AAAAAAAAB_w/9hiS_pyz014/s1600/IMG_4997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAR5CpvqhVY/UGG4WDfRoeI/AAAAAAAAB_w/9hiS_pyz014/s640/IMG_4997.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5siakl-mu08/UGG4cCFNXrI/AAAAAAAACAE/EQpMdS-825I/s1600/IMG_4998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5siakl-mu08/UGG4cCFNXrI/AAAAAAAACAE/EQpMdS-825I/s640/IMG_4998.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once I got the first mounting point attached I was able to
put it on the fender and use the mounting holes and some clamps to keep
everything aligned.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSA1tsH4KAc/UGG4hjn3VdI/AAAAAAAACAc/wPatLwG6bSU/s1600/IMG_5002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSA1tsH4KAc/UGG4hjn3VdI/AAAAAAAACAc/wPatLwG6bSU/s640/IMG_5002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here it is completed.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0q9LvccnV0M/UGG4kG3dvmI/AAAAAAAACAk/hQDPD1wKX8w/s1600/IMG_5006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0q9LvccnV0M/UGG4kG3dvmI/AAAAAAAACAk/hQDPD1wKX8w/s640/IMG_5006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because of the clearance issues with the forks I had to
remove the front wheel and then slide the brace and fender up between the
forks.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jU_LPBALiTI/UGG4oS9UICI/AAAAAAAACA4/53Q6P1vBd-0/s1600/IMG_5008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jU_LPBALiTI/UGG4oS9UICI/AAAAAAAACA4/53Q6P1vBd-0/s640/IMG_5008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teZ5UdbnMS8/UGG4qdlS_4I/AAAAAAAACBA/6xFl0PQAGW0/s1600/IMG_5009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teZ5UdbnMS8/UGG4qdlS_4I/AAAAAAAACBA/6xFl0PQAGW0/s640/IMG_5009.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cVMMBaGunNk/UGG4qdTcDiI/AAAAAAAACBE/EA_3KlsFl-I/s1600/IMG_5010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cVMMBaGunNk/UGG4qdTcDiI/AAAAAAAACBE/EA_3KlsFl-I/s640/IMG_5010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And above are a few shots of the finished product. Things could still be cleaned up more really
but right now I am testing for function, I’ll worry about form later on. After the first ride I was amazed at the
difference the brace made. Almost all of
the extra chatter that I was receiving through the handlebars was eliminated,
and only useful feedback was coming through.
The front end was hugely improved!
I would not have expected such an improvement!</div>
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At first I had concerns about adding the extra weight to the
front end (the brace is pretty heavy) but I think that the improvements were
well worth the increase in weight.</div>
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Below I have a video if I took of the complete product,
installation and reactions after a first test ride.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5EKhoGWhaWg?list=UU6p5M6ih7UXfXbvV1SRWfHg&hl=en_US" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<br /></div>
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And as a bonus of sorts I made a video eleven days prior of
a ride on Oldbike Basically I took one of my gloves off, shoved it into the
breast pocket of my jacket and then stuck my iPhone into the said pocket so the
camera lens stuck out. Consequently you
get a view to the left side of the road I am on but I figured you could hear
how the GS sounds in all the gears and up to around 60-62 miles per hour in
places.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Pwdqr8_yzM" width="640"></iframe>
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Thanks to all who read the blog! Not sure what the next installment will
entail but I’ll try and make it sooner than later!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-10476951067691372712012-09-02T13:05:00.000-05:002012-09-02T13:05:34.629-05:00Change the Brake Fluid, Grind the Exhaust Welds, Bar-end Mirrors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4UyhmOZAGsg/UDfqzgvCiiI/AAAAAAAAB3E/hQ6ufeAnBxQ/s1600/IMG_4809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4UyhmOZAGsg/UDfqzgvCiiI/AAAAAAAAB3E/hQ6ufeAnBxQ/s640/IMG_4809.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hey everyone, sorry I haven’t been updating much this
summer. I’ve pretty much just been
riding Oldbike around so there hasn’t been too much to talk about.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMknzUz9wvo/UDfqwTJGw8I/AAAAAAAAB3E/zoXm4I3ILz4/s1600/IMG_4806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMknzUz9wvo/UDfqwTJGw8I/AAAAAAAAB3E/zoXm4I3ILz4/s640/IMG_4806.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One thing that I noticed in as I have been riding around is
that the front brakes were starting to feel spongy. Realizing that I never really did anything with
the brakes I decided that I should flush out the old brake fluid, bleed the
line and see if that helps the stopping.
As soon I opened the master cylinder I realized that I may have been
dumb to wait so long to check this. Look
at the coloring for the brake fluid! I’ve never seen brake fluid that dark!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVrB6QTHSkg/UEAErFMc4tI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Q9xnq62XZG0/s1600/IMG_4812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVrB6QTHSkg/UEAErFMc4tI/AAAAAAAAB6s/Q9xnq62XZG0/s640/IMG_4812.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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So I drained the fluid out of the system, using my MityVac…</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKLlv-FkpAA/UEAEx2k0ITI/AAAAAAAAB6s/l5hyOB5KJZ4/s1600/IMG_4814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKLlv-FkpAA/UEAEx2k0ITI/AAAAAAAAB6s/l5hyOB5KJZ4/s640/IMG_4814.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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…it goes pretty quick when there is only a single brake
caliper and brake line involved. The
inside of the master cylinder was coated in residue from the old fluid. I didn’t take a picture of that but here is
what it looked like after I cleaned it up.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqSdmyG1lnE/UEAEx8On4mI/AAAAAAAAB6s/tL4YmOkoSc4/s1600/IMG_4815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqSdmyG1lnE/UEAEx8On4mI/AAAAAAAAB6s/tL4YmOkoSc4/s640/IMG_4815.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGHoyCrw8h8/UEAE2a5jRRI/AAAAAAAAB6s/JPMtgMPduec/s1600/IMG_4816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGHoyCrw8h8/UEAE2a5jRRI/AAAAAAAAB6s/JPMtgMPduec/s640/IMG_4816.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The rubber in the cap was in good shape.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YtqLPZJTr-Q/UEAE5H21sSI/AAAAAAAAB6s/I2M-xZ5I9bo/s1600/IMG_4817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YtqLPZJTr-Q/UEAE5H21sSI/AAAAAAAAB6s/I2M-xZ5I9bo/s640/IMG_4817.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
I flushed and filled the system with Valvoline Syn-power
full synthetic brake fluid.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzQuSMDH-PY/UEAE5MGdW5I/AAAAAAAAB6s/o38IduIqY_c/s1600/IMG_4818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzQuSMDH-PY/UEAE5MGdW5I/AAAAAAAAB6s/o38IduIqY_c/s640/IMG_4818.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see in the background that this fluid is a million
times clearer than the old fluid. After
getting my hands dirty with the brake fluid change I felt like doing a little
more work. If you remember earlier I had
<a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/03/20000-mile-rebirth.html">welded
the exhaust system</a> pieces together in an attempt to get rid of the <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/08/mufflers-properly-reinstalled.html">exhaust
clamps</a> and completely seal the system from exhaust leaks. At that time I left the welds raw and didn’t
do any grinding on them, I had noticed some soot coming from a couple pinhole
leaks where I had welded so I decided that I should finally get the exhaust
off, grind down the welds and seal up the pinhole leaks.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8E_7ve3rBU/UEAE9FZxo7I/AAAAAAAAB6s/zDTYz6G6yAw/s1600/IMG_4820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r8E_7ve3rBU/UEAE9FZxo7I/AAAAAAAAB6s/zDTYz6G6yAw/s640/IMG_4820.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see that I welded the H-pipe to the headers and then
welded the reducers onto the headers and then to the Harley Davidson silencers that
the previous owner had put on the bike.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rz6X2TkYn34/UEAFASXl1TI/AAAAAAAAB6s/qhWFeN2QW98/s1600/IMG_4821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rz6X2TkYn34/UEAFASXl1TI/AAAAAAAAB6s/qhWFeN2QW98/s640/IMG_4821.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As I mentioned before that doing this makes the exhaust
slightly harder to remove and install because you have to pull the headers
apart to get them around the lower frame tubes in front of the engine but it is
doable and I don’t have too much trouble with taking them off and on. I just want to mention that in case anyone
else decides to do this. It was a lot of
grinding to get the welds cleaned up but after I got them looking good I got
the welder out and sealed two or three exhaust leaks and ground them down
again.</div>
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The end result looks much better.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8mLnvOwpk4/UEAE_EEoMrI/AAAAAAAAB6s/FttHb7mYr-M/s1600/IMG_4822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8mLnvOwpk4/UEAE_EEoMrI/AAAAAAAAB6s/FttHb7mYr-M/s640/IMG_4822.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nYDTSL2sDqw/UEAFDsOfgpI/AAAAAAAAB6s/m8qfhZmAB2M/s1600/IMG_4823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nYDTSL2sDqw/UEAFDsOfgpI/AAAAAAAAB6s/m8qfhZmAB2M/s640/IMG_4823.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am a point of conundrum with the exhaust system now. It’s obviously still a cobbly exhaust
setup. It’s completely effective but I
am trying to decide how much more time I want to dedicate to it. There are spots that are rusty the chrome Harley
Davidson silencers have some scrapes and scratches on them and so do the
headers. Do I want to try and dress them
up even more cosmetically? I could rough
up the chrome and get the wire wheel after the headers and paint them with high
temperature exhaust paint, but experience tells me that that sort of paint doesn’t
stay pretty forever. Should I just use
it the way it is and if at some point I l find a good deal on a MAC 2 into 1
exhaust for it do that. I’m still up in
the air about that. I definitely don’t
want to spend a lot of money on an exhaust seeing as how this one is doing the
job just fine.</div>
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The last thing I did to the bike was finally adding rearview
mirrors. These bar-end mirrors were
donated to me from a friend and were originally on his Speed Triple. The brand I believe is “Napoleon” and it appears
that they are no longer made but the <a href="http://canyonchasers.net/reviews/accessories/napoleon.php">reviews are
generally positive</a> about them. I
have to admit that they have great visibility and they look good!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHHRqGMl8cQ/UEAFEs1qhSI/AAAAAAAAB6s/hKBHkoxeN_I/s1600/IMG_4824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eHHRqGMl8cQ/UEAFEs1qhSI/AAAAAAAAB6s/hKBHkoxeN_I/s640/IMG_4824.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sRmVPsJRwUo/UEAFEkGXu-I/AAAAAAAAB6s/IHA-Hptsm3M/s1600/IMG_4825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sRmVPsJRwUo/UEAFEkGXu-I/AAAAAAAAB6s/IHA-Hptsm3M/s640/IMG_4825.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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That pretty much should bring you up to speed with
Oldbike. I’ve put on over 700 miles on
the bike this summer (all around town) and it have been very reliable now and
ton’s of fun. If I do more work on the
bike before fall I’ll make sure to update here on tap for the winter will be a
engine teardown and rebuild, should be fun!</div>
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Thanks to everyone for reading!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-3114144887029084452012-06-04T23:13:00.000-05:002012-06-06T23:13:50.883-05:00Goodbye to the Philabang’r<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaDWS1VcMBU/T806sPSResI/AAAAAAAABrw/YWXyA00f6SA/s1600/IMG_4401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oaDWS1VcMBU/T806sPSResI/AAAAAAAABrw/YWXyA00f6SA/s640/IMG_4401.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of the most random things about Oldbike from the very start was the writing on the left hand side (only) of the tank. I should have asked the previous owner what the heck it met but honestly I didn’t put much thought into it until so many people asked me what the deal was with “Philabang’r?” I had no idea and over the last (almost) two years it kind of became something of a likable quirk about the bike. When I was thinking about what to do next with the bike (for the most part I have just been riding it as of late) now that it is reliable, I put some cosmetic things on the docket this time. There were some suggestions to get keep the “Philabang’r” maybe in a new font or so far as to preserve the original and clear coat over it in it’s original form. I liked that idea in a kitschy way but in the end thinking about down the road when this project meets it end and it’s time to sell Oldbike it that it might be a turn off. So it had to go!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DlUP7jM70lA/T806y6wb1pI/AAAAAAAABsI/LJmugcIqNYc/s1600/IMG_4402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DlUP7jM70lA/T806y6wb1pI/AAAAAAAABsI/LJmugcIqNYc/s640/IMG_4402.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used a wire wheel and some 4-1/2” Perfromax rust and paint removers on my drill to take the paint off the tank. You can see (above) the Suzuki emblems mounting points that were “Bondo-ed” over. To whomever did the bodywork on the tank the fill work on the mounting points did a good job. I was surprised to find them under there!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ts1LNPOvb4I/T8060Mkf5UI/AAAAAAAABsc/edzzqLCy7Ac/s1600/IMG_4403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ts1LNPOvb4I/T8060Mkf5UI/AAAAAAAABsc/edzzqLCy7Ac/s640/IMG_4403.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
It wasn’t a one night job getting the paint off the tank I would do as much as I could stomach each night and then applied 3 in 1 oil onto the bare metal so that it wouldn’t rust.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UjH0a-bkTtA/T806zXvXVgI/AAAAAAAABsQ/V4J9fw8ZQtw/s1600/IMG_4404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UjH0a-bkTtA/T806zXvXVgI/AAAAAAAABsQ/V4J9fw8ZQtw/s640/IMG_4404.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I also must mention, MAKE SURE THAT YOU TAKE ALL THE GAS OUT OF THE TANK AND THAT IT IS PORPERLY AIRED OUT SO THAT THERE ARE NO GAS FUMES. The wire wheel on the bare metal can make sparks and that around gas or gas fumes can cause explosions. Some people may say that I should have used chemical paint removers but I have never had good luck with those and the mess that they create.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vk-9_V5hIyA/T8067bQFdKI/AAAAAAAABss/CiuasvHJ-tE/s1600/IMG_4406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vk-9_V5hIyA/T8067bQFdKI/AAAAAAAABss/CiuasvHJ-tE/s640/IMG_4406.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N_8AxODcwrw/T8067gOivNI/AAAAAAAABsw/e41UO3LsNXk/s1600/IMG_4407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N_8AxODcwrw/T8067gOivNI/AAAAAAAABsw/e41UO3LsNXk/s640/IMG_4407.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X37nFqpNys8/T806_vrcCzI/AAAAAAAABs8/necBie38_30/s1600/IMG_4408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X37nFqpNys8/T806_vrcCzI/AAAAAAAABs8/necBie38_30/s640/IMG_4408.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Once I got the paint off the tank it dawned on me that maybe I don’t need to paint it at all why not just go clear coat on bare metal? There are some dings in the tank (it is 30+ years old) and the methods I used to get the paint off were going to make polishing the tank to a mirror finish not a possibility (at least in my skill set). So I decided that I would so some polishing but not to a mirror finish.<br />
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<br />
Below you can see my first coat being applied on the tank it looked great but I put it on too thick and there were a few runs.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AF8wMwp037M/T807MabBsZI/AAAAAAAABto/u3AfItvJ4ZU/s1600/IMG_4417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AF8wMwp037M/T807MabBsZI/AAAAAAAABto/u3AfItvJ4ZU/s640/IMG_4417.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was to a point where I could almost see myself in the tank.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoKQvAlejy0/T807LYv6S-I/AAAAAAAABtg/deSIe_0Luh8/s1600/IMG_4420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AoKQvAlejy0/T807LYv6S-I/AAAAAAAABtg/deSIe_0Luh8/s640/IMG_4420.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Unfortunately when I was wet sanding the runs in the clear coat I burned through and had to take it all off and start over. And while I smoothed it even more with the wet sandpaper the second time the finish ended up being more satin.<br />
<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ow3YG-93KE/T807Mw_sWNI/AAAAAAAABtw/hGHDAVFERcE/s1600/IMG_4421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ow3YG-93KE/T807Mw_sWNI/AAAAAAAABtw/hGHDAVFERcE/s640/IMG_4421.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I actually like it better I have 5 coats of clear on it now and I think it is a huge improvement over the “Philabang’r.”<br />
<div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMG0gjg8Uqs/T807SuAbgpI/AAAAAAAABt4/ZNt8BZjp_dg/s1600/IMG_4422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMG0gjg8Uqs/T807SuAbgpI/AAAAAAAABt4/ZNt8BZjp_dg/s640/IMG_4422.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rqyHq1xSwtM/T807TXb3p5I/AAAAAAAABuA/0gAfJP6t9cY/s1600/IMG_4423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rqyHq1xSwtM/T807TXb3p5I/AAAAAAAABuA/0gAfJP6t9cY/s640/IMG_4423.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpdrF1ktwY4/T807Tgh6pDI/AAAAAAAABuI/Fxeofl7ESFo/s1600/IMG_4424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpdrF1ktwY4/T807Tgh6pDI/AAAAAAAABuI/Fxeofl7ESFo/s640/IMG_4424.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Of course, as one thing gets done another issue arises. I noticed a small leak where the shift shaft comes out of the case that will need to be addressed soon. It is a VERY slow leak and depending on the amount of work to do I may end up monitoring the oil level and making repairs when the riding season is over. Stay tuned for the next installment coming soon and as always, thanks for reading!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-192319106543298062012-04-28T19:21:00.000-05:002012-04-30T19:23:25.782-05:00Replacement Voltage Regulator/Rectifier Sourced and Installed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBEUgiDiL3s/T568BRYmjSI/AAAAAAAABrE/57g4roYbE5I/s1600/IMG_4300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBEUgiDiL3s/T568BRYmjSI/AAAAAAAABrE/57g4roYbE5I/s640/IMG_4300.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once I figured out that I needed a new Voltage
Regulator/Rectifier for Oldbike the first thing that I did was call a local
shop have I had been mentioning in a few of my past posts to see what they had
available. They informed me that they
did not have any used Voltage Regulator/Rectifiers available and the new ones
that they had were $100. After I called
them I checked with a local motorcycle bone yard that I have been going to for
parts, they told me that they had used ones for $45 and non OEM one for $100
(after testing their used ones I wasn’t able to get one to give me a good test
to that option was out). The next place
I went to was another local shop that is doing their best to stay afloat and in
the last few years hasn’t been carrying too much in stock and mostly order odd
parts, so of course they didn’t have the part in stock but they were able to
order the same non OEM Voltage Regulator/Rectifier for $79, so far that was
looking like the deal to go with.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Until I went to an site tied strongly with <a href="http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/index.php">GS Resources</a>, <a href="http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/">BikeCliff’s Website</a>. He had the eventual solution I went with laid
right out there for me. He had a <a href="http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff1/images/stator_compat.html">list
of other manufacturer’s</a> compatible Voltage Regulator Rectifiers, a tutorial
on <a href="http://members.dslextreme.com/users/cbsaunders/gs/Modifying_Honda_Regulator-Rectifiers_for_GS_use.pdf">how
to modify them</a> for use on the Suzuki GS and even a <a href="http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/r-r_replacement.pdf">tutorial
on how to install</a> them! Using all
this valuable information I found a used Voltage Regulator/Rectifier for a 1979
Honda Goldwing that would bolt right and work perfectly with a little wiring
work. I got it off eBay already tested
good from a power seller (shipped) for $24.
For that price it was worth the risk of getting a bad one and the wait
for it to get there.</div>
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Amazingly it arrived in two days!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-veEXSxK3UN4/T568FJViPzI/AAAAAAAABrM/eiGYYAw94HI/s1600/IMG_4301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-veEXSxK3UN4/T568FJViPzI/AAAAAAAABrM/eiGYYAw94HI/s640/IMG_4301.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see (above) there is a size difference between the
two (more surface area = more heat dissipation capability) but importantly the
spacing between the two mounting holes and the size are exactly the same. My came plan was to cut the wires off my old
Voltage Regulator/Rectifier and re-use the stock bullet connectors. Some people go through an extra step of
putting new connectors on, I think that if you clean up the contact points and you
get a good continuity test what does it matter? Electricity doesn’t care how
old your connectors are. Also, my soldering
skills aren’t the best so I figured the less soldering I do on the bike the
better. The first thing I had to do was
to get the Honda plugs off of the new (to me) Voltage Regulator/Rectifier. Really I could have just cut the wires but I
figured that some people might wonder how to get them off without cutting. Basically you just something narrow enough
but stiff enough to jam down into the end of the plug, below I am using a
cotter pin, I have tons of them in my odds ‘n ends toolbox.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QsOhad-7Xqc/T568GxxFZLI/AAAAAAAABq4/r9Vh6_EzI6Y/s1600/IMG_4305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QsOhad-7Xqc/T568GxxFZLI/AAAAAAAABq4/r9Vh6_EzI6Y/s640/IMG_4305.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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All you need to do is press your tool of choice where the
notch is in the connector, that will press in the little tab that keeps the
plug from pulling out of the connector and you can slide it right out. Just like that you’re connectors are out!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlk99ljCJKg/T568MJLtuSI/AAAAAAAABq4/Cr7LzSzn0F8/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlk99ljCJKg/T568MJLtuSI/AAAAAAAABq4/Cr7LzSzn0F8/s640/IMG_4306.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then I went ahead and cut them off anyhow!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yhN5RpQPLQ/T568Ne6b_0I/AAAAAAAABq4/SBEcdhovJY8/s1600/IMG_4307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_yhN5RpQPLQ/T568Ne6b_0I/AAAAAAAABq4/SBEcdhovJY8/s640/IMG_4307.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cut all the connectors off the old Voltage
Regulator/Rectifier, stripped the shielding back and soldered them to the corresponding
wires on the new Voltage Regulator/Rectifier.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBeAwqbnANk/T568QQPGQxI/AAAAAAAABq4/Nv8WzUnGoD4/s1600/IMG_4308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBeAwqbnANk/T568QQPGQxI/AAAAAAAABq4/Nv8WzUnGoD4/s640/IMG_4308.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the Honda the tree phases are all yellow, so you can pick
and choose whatever of the GS phase colors (yellow, white/red, white/blue) go
onto what yellow wire, electrically it doesn’t matter which one. Another difference is that on the Honda part
the ground wire is green NOT BLACK. The
black wire on the Honda part is a sensing wire, this can be connected to any
wire that is always on when the bike ignition is in the on position. The reason that it needs to be that way is
that the sense wire tells the Voltage Regulator/Rectifier what the system
voltage is at any given time, so if the bike start’s putting too high of a voltage
into the electrical system the sense wire tells the Voltage Regulator/Rectifier
and it lowers the voltage coming out of it.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7VoVNKdNvQ/T568VOifgNI/AAAAAAAABq4/hTVT6P__IIc/s1600/IMG_4309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7VoVNKdNvQ/T568VOifgNI/AAAAAAAABq4/hTVT6P__IIc/s640/IMG_4309.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I also have a ton of different colored wire of different
gauges in my odds ‘n ends toolbox. And being
that I was going to be running the (green) ground to the negative post of the
battery rather than to a common ground (the frame) I soldered in a length of
green wire more than sufficient enough to get the batter which I would trim
once I had the Voltage Regulator/Rectifier installed onto the bike. I did the same with the black (sense) wire.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jr4etD6eNvg/T568VKj2mPI/AAAAAAAABq4/T7XU8MpN04M/s1600/IMG_4310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jr4etD6eNvg/T568VKj2mPI/AAAAAAAABq4/T7XU8MpN04M/s640/IMG_4310.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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After all the soldering was done I took everything to the
bike and mounted it on there.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h1OU1ylrxz8/T568VVBHIxI/AAAAAAAABq4/IAiSKlbX1vg/s1600/IMG_4311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h1OU1ylrxz8/T568VVBHIxI/AAAAAAAABq4/IAiSKlbX1vg/s640/IMG_4311.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I made a video walking you through what I did which you can
watch below.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rHoXGajgXTs" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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All that was left to do was to test it you can see how that
goes in the video below.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-fBqzbY1mrM" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have ridden it a few times since then and so far the
highest voltage I have seen is a peak of 14.8V and with the bike warm and the
battery fully charged it will put out around 13.0Vat idle I would say that is
acceptable to me! Of course time will tell how this used part holds up
hopefully it doesn’t burn up in a week and I feel dumb for not spending the $79
on a brand new non-OEM one!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Thanks to all who view this blog! Stay tuned for my next post where I try to
take Oldbike to the Slimey Crud Run next weekend. If you don’t know what that is you can check the
<a href="http://www.slimeycrudrun.com/">link!</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-86966230279755608782012-04-24T11:02:00.000-05:002012-04-24T11:02:22.372-05:00Charging System Diagnostic Tests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxdtGddqhps/T5bBpHMKjsI/AAAAAAAABn0/otlimL85Idk/s1600/IMG_4250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kxdtGddqhps/T5bBpHMKjsI/AAAAAAAABn0/otlimL85Idk/s640/IMG_4250.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday I continued working through the diagnosing the
problems with Oldbike's charging system. A few days earlier I checked the
voltage at the battery with the multimeter and found that the bike was not
generating enough voltage to charge the bike.
So I went through and checked connectivity between each of the connectors
using the multimeter but beforehand I cleaned all the ends as you can see in
the above picture. I did notice that on
some of clear rubber shielding that there were what looked to be burn marks some
really bad like the on the voltage regulator/rectifier lead.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vz8SigMKUkY/T5bBpGsq0_I/AAAAAAAABn0/g7kt9vMQGeg/s1600/IMG_4251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vz8SigMKUkY/T5bBpGsq0_I/AAAAAAAABn0/g7kt9vMQGeg/s640/IMG_4251.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The leads on the two of the other voltage regulator/rectifier
leads also had small burn-type marks on their shielding.</div>
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vGkPmDFz9zU/T5bBuC-RSKI/AAAAAAAABn0/1jp9x4tUCuA/s1600/IMG_4253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vGkPmDFz9zU/T5bBuC-RSKI/AAAAAAAABn0/1jp9x4tUCuA/s320/IMG_4253.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I made a video of all the steps of the test that I did so
you can see the whole process that I worked through and the results.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/njky7cNEdYU" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
All these steps are listed on a diagnostic sheet of <a href="http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfault.htm">"The Stator
Papers"</a> on GS Resources.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end it would appear that I have a bad voltage
regulator/rectifier. I called around and
it would appear that there are two local shops that have a non-OEM replacement
part for $100 and one of those places also carries used ones for $45. I went to the one that had both and did the
same test that you saw me do in my office on the rectifier with the same
results on one that looked similar to mine off an 80 GS 425, all of the other
ones were different sizes and from different hear GS models none of which
seemed to pass the tests as listed out on "The Stator Papers." He even let me test the new non-OEM one which
seemed to not pass either. At which
point I began to wonder if I was doing the test right! He suggested that I bring my bike over and that
he would let me hook the used ones up to my bike and see if any of them worked
which seemed like a great suggestion so back across town I went to get the
Oldbike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I connected the multimeter to the gas cap cover on the gas
tank so I could see how the voltage across the battery behaved while I was on
the ride there.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4UKCm4z8YJY/T5bBx0KCqaI/AAAAAAAABn0/nwPksOl97wQ/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4UKCm4z8YJY/T5bBx0KCqaI/AAAAAAAABn0/nwPksOl97wQ/s640/IMG_4281.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's about a 15 mile ride one way and if I take the fast way
it would be a sustained 60-ish MPH and about 20 minutes which I have never done
on Oldbike before or it would be about an hour one way to take a street level
route. I opted for the fast way. The bike performed fine but of course there
were a few issues that came up. I don't
know why I didn't test this in the first place but I remember reading on
"The Stator Papers" that one of the phases bypassed the voltage
regulator/rectifier (something to do with people riding more with the lights
off in Japan). So on the ride over I
switched off the lights and the voltage went from a steady 12.4-ish Volts to a
varying 13.8-14.8 Volts which varied with the engine RPMs. As of right now I'm not sure what to do with
that information but I figure that is worth mentioning. The other thing that happened was that
another damn bolt vibrated it's way loose, this time it was one that mounted
the headlight bucket to it's bracket.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Zk8uS0FfgI/T5bBv-pToUI/AAAAAAAABn0/WqEr46ba9-s/s1600/IMG_4279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Zk8uS0FfgI/T5bBv-pToUI/AAAAAAAABn0/WqEr46ba9-s/s640/IMG_4279.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luckily I noticed this and was able to grab the bole before
it fell and pocket it. I pulled off the
road and finger tightened it back up enough to make it to the shop where they
guys let me use some tools to re-tighten it properly. Note to self: put together a tool kit for
riding Oldbike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bad news was that none of the voltage regulator/rectifiers
they had did anything to fix my problem.
I thought about buying one of the new non-OEM ones right then and there
but it only had a red wire and a ground, the other three were all yellow and I
wasn't sure if that would be right and wanted to bounce that off some forums
first it seems to me that if the order in which the wires were hooked up coming
out of the voltage regulator/rectifier that the OEM would not have been color
coded (maybe I'm wrong). None-the-less I
decided that it didn't need to be done right away and I'd go in search of
feedback first. On that note that is
where the project sits as of now she ran well at sustained speeds which is good
news though riding on a three-lane highway on a 425 is not going to be one of
my favorite things to do ever. If any
readers have any suggestions or feedback please comment below!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As always thanks for reading!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-50145143824473953072012-04-15T15:23:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:23:22.832-05:00Things Come Up When You Ride an Oldbike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnTxTfZdjxc/T4ruI47ckVI/AAAAAAAABhs/a7xIXb3ziL4/s1600/IMG_4145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnTxTfZdjxc/T4ruI47ckVI/AAAAAAAABhs/a7xIXb3ziL4/s640/IMG_4145.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I registered Oldbike I have been trying to use it as
much as possible in a sort of commissioning process just to see what issues
come up. Some of the things that have
come up I have already talked about in other posts because they were big issues
that required an entire post or two to cover what I did to rectify the
issue. With this post I just want to
cover some of the other little things that have come up as I have been
“commissioning” Oldbike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I work rotating 12 hour shifts that start or end on the 7s
this early in the year I have been commuting in the dark (yes those rides have
been cold) one thing that became immediately evident the first morning that I
rode the bike to work was that the backlight for the tachometer was burned
out. You would never notice it during
the day so that was the first thing that I decided to fix. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of the
tach in the dark with the light burned out but it was hard to see in the early
morning with my tinted shield.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is only one bulb in the back of the each dial
gauge. Getting them out is as simple as
removing the two nuts on the back of each gauge and pulling out the rubber
socket that holds the light bulb.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OFJWlnESHw/T4rvvmeI5JI/AAAAAAAABhs/ZJlYhaRvMc4/s1600/IMG_4155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OFJWlnESHw/T4rvvmeI5JI/AAAAAAAABhs/ZJlYhaRvMc4/s640/IMG_4155.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The bulbs in the my speedo and tach were the original
Toshiba bulbs bearing the numbers A12V3.4W (basically calling out that they
were for a 12 volt system and that the bulb rating was 3.4 watts) on it this
bulb is not made any more so I took the bulb to Batteries (& Bulbs) Plus
nearby and they found the most comparable replacement they could with a
matching sized base and a slightly larger bulb but that would be the tiniest
bit brighter (3.6 watts Vs. 3.4 watts) than the stock ones were but not tax the
electrical system any more. The replacements were EiKO brand Model #1893.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7p9AhsiV9DM/T5Bhbe3FVGI/AAAAAAAABmM/YpAcMckTz-E/s1600/IMG_4209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7p9AhsiV9DM/T5Bhbe3FVGI/AAAAAAAABmM/YpAcMckTz-E/s640/IMG_4209.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">They
did exactly what they were supposed to do, it will be nice to be able to tell
what rpm’s the bike is running at on those dark rides.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAkqdwC3l0A/T5Ae9kjZi4I/AAAAAAAABkc/sH48wVGSKAQ/s1600/IMG_4178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dAkqdwC3l0A/T5Ae9kjZi4I/AAAAAAAABkc/sH48wVGSKAQ/s640/IMG_4178.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next fix I had to do was find a permanent mounting place
for the license plate. You can see my
solution below.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bTUn0QNq-cE/T4rvfAnXvSI/AAAAAAAABhs/SZITJQwpjDg/s1600/IMG_4151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bTUn0QNq-cE/T4rvfAnXvSI/AAAAAAAABhs/SZITJQwpjDg/s640/IMG_4151.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The mount is made up from the remainder of the tail
light/license plate stalk that I <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/01/customizing-1970-cb350-tail-light-for.html">cut
up to make the shorter tail light stalk</a> earlier. I cut a small section out of the remaining
bottom portion and pounded it flat (see the detail picture below to get an idea
of what I cut out).</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l886sfJ8Lno/T5A2EVJNI5I/AAAAAAAABlw/XPCyh7DRs10/s1600/License+Plate+Mount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l886sfJ8Lno/T5A2EVJNI5I/AAAAAAAABlw/XPCyh7DRs10/s640/License+Plate+Mount.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I located the center line and drilled two mounting
holes in the license plate bracket and then lined the bracket up below the tail
light which is clear on the bottom to illuminate the license plate (a rule at
least in Wisconsin that I know a few people have been pulled over for
breaking). I have to admit to using
standard nuts and bolts washers and lock washers for this. They are just so much cheaper than their
metric counterparts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next issue came up on a ride back home from work after a
night shift one morning but I want to start with the ride to work and work
forward from there. I had noticed that
as I was riding the bike to different places that the bike seemed to be having
a slightly harder time starting each subsequent time. Undaunted I started on my way to work that
afternoon. Normally on days that I work
nights I like to head into work much earlier to avoid the chance of traffic
headaches and afford myself a more Zen state of mind when I have to start my
workday. I started the bike and the starter
barely seemed to want to turn over but the bike roared to life and I rode the
bike downtown. I stopped over at Qdoba
for some free chips and queso that I had received as gift for my Qdoba card
registration anniversary (I used to eat a lot of Qdoba). Back at the bike there was no joy when I
thumbed the starter button the lights dimmed and all I got was a click the
battery seemed to be dying. Being that I
was already closer to work than home I decided to try and kick start the
bike. That worked right away, and I was
off to work but the ride was not going to be a good one. Twice as the idle dipped, the bike stalled
and this was in pretty steady traffic so both times I had to push the bike out
of the way to kick start it again. At one point when I was new to Oldbike I
told the guys on <a href="http://www.caferacer.net/forum.html">Caferacer.net</a>
that I wanted to get rid of the electric starter to “save weight” to which one
of the members stated (I’m paraphrasing here) “…why would you do that? Do you
want to be the jackass who is holding up traffic while you try to kick start
your bike after you killed it? Or would you rather just thumb the button and
go?” I thought of that moment both times
as I wheeled the bike to the side of the road realizing that all those people
DID think that I was a JACKASS and that I would definitely have to figure out
what was wrong with my starter. I made
one more stop at a Ground Zero a coffee shop near my work and had to kick start
the bike when I left there and rode the two blocks to work where I had the next
12 hours to wonder whether or not I would make it home seeing as how the bike
had already stalled twice in traffic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next morning it was COLD…</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kjTvhpJGyic/T4rswEkWWII/AAAAAAAABhs/sTEPD5NKAYg/s1600/IMG_4147.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kjTvhpJGyic/T4rswEkWWII/AAAAAAAABhs/sTEPD5NKAYg/s640/IMG_4147.PNG" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
...and I was tired. I
had brought a pair of riding pants to go over my jeans and an extra layer to go
underneath my jacket as well as some snowboarding gloves to wear rather than my
regular riding gloves this combination had worked well in the high 40s but 3
degrees above freezing is a whole ‘nother story. One thing that I hadn’t anticipated was how
hard it would be to lift my leg high enough to kick start the bike with the two
layers of pants on this was a chore.
Also I had left my gloves and helmet off for ease of starting, what I
hadn’t planned on was that it was so cold that the bike wouldn’t idle high
enough to run so every time I let off the throttle to put on my gloves and
helmet the thing died and I had to kick start it again, I did that twice before
I put on my gloves and helmet before kick starting the bike a fourth time,
hopping on and speeding off towards home.
The cold on the ride home was tempered by the fear that at any moment
the bike would quit on me and leave me stranded, and the half awake half asleep
haze that you are in after a night shift.
To make sure that this didn’t happen I kept the throttle at 2,000 RPMs
at all the stops as the bike seemed to die when the RPMs dropped too low. Luckily I made it home though when I looked
down I saw the top triple clamp bolt was gone.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UHZdkn_N1Bc/T4ruA1dEIGI/AAAAAAAABhs/SQpp9IIkVJg/s1600/IMG_4146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UHZdkn_N1Bc/T4ruA1dEIGI/AAAAAAAABhs/SQpp9IIkVJg/s640/IMG_4146.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had never really checked the torque on it and it must have
been working it’s way out for some time and worked it’s way out on the ride
home helped along by all the high rpm stops to keep the bike running. Not spending too much time thinking about it
at that point I went inside to warm up and went to sleep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Two days later I went and checked online and found that an OEM
replacement head bolt and washer would be around $7, not too bad but as this is
a budget project I felt obliged to see if I could find a generic replacement
bolt that would fit locally for less. I
did some internal measurements of the threaded portion of the steering stem and
my best guess was that it was a M12 fine threaded bolt and the thread depth
seemed to be about 20mm so I had my target I just needed to find one. Sadly my go-to place for fasteners <a href="http://www.dornhardware.com/">Dorn True Value</a> struck out on this one
they only had an M12X20mm in coarse threading.
So I stopped by the Menards near my house and found a M12X25mm fine
thread. I thought that this would work
if I took into consideration that I was measuring from the top of the steering
stem which was recessed a bit in the top triple clamp and adding a flat washer
to this and a lock washer I took a gamble and bought the only M12X25mm fine
thread bolt that Menards had.
Fortunately I was right and the bolt worked perfectly.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjSea329TPs/T5Bhab3PycI/AAAAAAAABmM/JJxsYW1pQLE/s1600/IMG_4208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjSea329TPs/T5Bhab3PycI/AAAAAAAABmM/JJxsYW1pQLE/s640/IMG_4208.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also took the opportunity to look up all the torque specs
for the respective bolts in the steering system and to properly torque them
down. A cool thing was that the castle
nut tool that a friend of mine made for me years ago for my 2002 SV650s fit
perfectly onto it's 23 years older brother's castle nut too! I wonder if they use the same machine to make
those nuts?</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sccWt6Bc4xY/T4rvaW8dNWI/AAAAAAAABhs/ASmcUUJ9S9g/s1600/IMG_4154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sccWt6Bc4xY/T4rvaW8dNWI/AAAAAAAABhs/ASmcUUJ9S9g/s640/IMG_4154.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now the bigger issue was going to be what to do about the
starting issue I was experiencing. You
can’t do any good electrical diagnostic testing without a good, fully charged
battery. I noticed that the acid level
on my battery seemed a little low and since I had <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/04/better-to-see-you-with-my-dear.html">just
recently bought</a> Oldbike’s battery and it was a Yuasa a “good brand” I
called the place I bought it from the <a href="http://www.engelhart.com/">Engelhart
Center</a> and asked if the low acid might be causing what I was experiencing
they weren’t sure but they offered to re-fill the battery, fully charge it and
test it to make sure it was good free of charge (even thou later we would find
that it was 10 days outside of it’s year warranty). </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bIsmuU3sgy4/T4rurqCEJUI/AAAAAAAABhs/_72fpEWeVaA/s1600/IMG_4148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bIsmuU3sgy4/T4rurqCEJUI/AAAAAAAABhs/_72fpEWeVaA/s640/IMG_4148.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought that was really cool of them and in the end the
battery came back to me testing good so that was not the issue but something
was draining the battery.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After finding out that the battery was good I set about
fixing a glaring issue that has bothered me from the first time I looked at the
bikes battery closely for the first time.
The positive wire from the battery to the solenoid was very frayed and
looked like it had been cut shorter and had new ends put on it at least once if
not twice and due to the age and the angle that the wire had to bend the wires
were brittle and breaking.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBsvaw9FGkA/T5Ae-7YXRBI/AAAAAAAABkc/u-p20IY67Rw/s1600/IMG_4183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kBsvaw9FGkA/T5Ae-7YXRBI/AAAAAAAABkc/u-p20IY67Rw/s640/IMG_4183.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also wanted to replace the old tube style main fuse with a
blade style fuse.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PcRapp0N56E/T5AfIMOsfdI/AAAAAAAABkc/df-570ZGXs8/s1600/IMG_4185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PcRapp0N56E/T5AfIMOsfdI/AAAAAAAABkc/df-570ZGXs8/s640/IMG_4185.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The OEM replacement was
listed as unavailable but <a href="http://www.motorcycleperf.com/">Motorcycle
Performance</a> at least had a single wire replacement that I could modify to
be like the OEM one. You can see it in
the picture below along with the in line blade style fuse replacement I used.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxmULlu_jhs/T5AfS87MVQI/AAAAAAAABkc/kfQXPRauheY/s1600/IMG_4189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fxmULlu_jhs/T5AfS87MVQI/AAAAAAAABkc/kfQXPRauheY/s640/IMG_4189.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only issue that I talked
trhough with an EE friend of mine was the gauge difference between the
connectors I wanted to splice at each end of the in-line fuse. After some discussion we came to teh
conclustion that being that the only fuse in the system is that fuse that and
all of the other wire is the same smaller gauge that it shouldn't hurt. I am still open to comments on this as I
don't want to be stepping backwards in reliability the blade style fuse is
supposed to be an enhancement so if you have comments or suggestions on this
front feel free to share them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hyJCx67ZEb0/T5AfSrv1zGI/AAAAAAAABkc/xTv-z07BtkQ/s1600/IMG_4190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hyJCx67ZEb0/T5AfSrv1zGI/AAAAAAAABkc/xTv-z07BtkQ/s640/IMG_4190.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course I solderedall the
connections.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpkdNX797s/T5AfTq_dsDI/AAAAAAAABkc/8D7kDmGiJmw/s1600/IMG_4191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpkdNX797s/T5AfTq_dsDI/AAAAAAAABkc/8D7kDmGiJmw/s640/IMG_4191.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought about doubling the
connectors back but the with the extra length of wire I added I figured why add
the extra stress to the wire so I civered them with shrink tubing as is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YulmG6aBVMQ/T5Afax5dG5I/AAAAAAAABkc/W_JV4uNgji8/s1600/IMG_4192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YulmG6aBVMQ/T5Afax5dG5I/AAAAAAAABkc/W_JV4uNgji8/s640/IMG_4192.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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The last thing I needed to do
was to remove the factory applied shrink tubing from the replacement wire and trim
back some of the shielding cable to attach the break-off for the bike power
supply...<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o1p6_29qPzY/T5Afb1Hxa3I/AAAAAAAABkc/OEmoSMojzSs/s1600/IMG_4194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o1p6_29qPzY/T5Afb1Hxa3I/AAAAAAAABkc/OEmoSMojzSs/s640/IMG_4194.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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...solder the connection...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHEaQKSz3y0/T5Afe6znu0I/AAAAAAAABkc/4K7xvAVwJoQ/s1600/IMG_4195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHEaQKSz3y0/T5Afe6znu0I/AAAAAAAABkc/4K7xvAVwJoQ/s640/IMG_4195.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
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...and re shrink-tube the
connector and wires.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHs3vx1Vd8w/T5AiGNCMOvI/AAAAAAAABlQ/P49lbzjiNyo/s1600/IMG_4196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHs3vx1Vd8w/T5AiGNCMOvI/AAAAAAAABlQ/P49lbzjiNyo/s640/IMG_4196.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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Here is a shot of the
"new" wiring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS8ffc-lAFk/T5AiGKmvDkI/AAAAAAAABlQ/XHGYmeJVvFA/s1600/IMG_4197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS8ffc-lAFk/T5AiGKmvDkI/AAAAAAAABlQ/XHGYmeJVvFA/s640/IMG_4197.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
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And here it is back on the
bike.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7ZI1Fb1bhk/T5AiF_9Z3JI/AAAAAAAABlQ/2hHDpwQV180/s1600/IMG_4198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7ZI1Fb1bhk/T5AiF_9Z3JI/AAAAAAAABlQ/2hHDpwQV180/s640/IMG_4198.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
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For fun I took a picture of my <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333;">life's
worth of odds and ends that I have collected throughout the years. This is all
the stuff that as a man you keep because you "might need it" at some
point. Am I ever going to need a steering wheel puller or a lock plate
compressor? Probably not, but it's in there :-)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PF-0owJQh4/T5AiMUN28XI/AAAAAAAABlQ/tZyqeW9sn_U/s1600/IMG_4200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PF-0owJQh4/T5AiMUN28XI/AAAAAAAABlQ/tZyqeW9sn_U/s640/IMG_4200.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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The next test I did was to see if the battery was being
charged by testing the volts through the battery as the bike was running.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I used this helpful YouTube video as a guide on how to do
the test.</div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p6GnwkCXPi4" width="420"></iframe></div>
</div>
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<br />
<br />
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Below you can see my test and results.</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2wwdZcCkFmc" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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Right now I am poring over <a href="http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_statorfacts.htm">“The Stator
Papers” on GS Resources.</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Stay tuned for my next update where I will start working
through the different array of tests to run down my charging system issues.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks as always for reading!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-73372983277914809682012-04-12T16:15:00.000-05:002012-04-15T16:15:47.675-05:00Petcock Leaking Issue Solved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9U1Nhhr9M/T4rsmIz5UiI/AAAAAAAABhs/EgKh9Ualaqg/s1600/IMG_4140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9U1Nhhr9M/T4rsmIz5UiI/AAAAAAAABhs/EgKh9Ualaqg/s640/IMG_4140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the last update on the blog I called around and asked
some places if they had a replacement petcock spring available for individual
purchase, they didn’t and I got the same advice again, to stretch the spring
back out along with a suggestion from the boys at <a href="http://www.motorcycleperf.com/">Motorcycle Performance</a> that I try a
different o-ring for the vacuum plug (from a Kawasaki that uses the same style
petcock) If anyone is interested I can look up the part number I have it
written down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now I’ll start with the good news, I did get the petcock to
work as prescribed and am no longer experiencing leaks, even with a full tank
of gas! The bad news is that I couldn’t
tell you exactly what was causing the issue for me, I ended up doing three
different things while I had the petcock apart and now I can’t be sure of which
one really solved the problem. If I was
getting paid to do this I would take it apart and try each fix one at a time to
answer the question fully for any other readers that may be having the same
issue but alas I am not. What I will do
though is list off the three things I did countdown style starting with the
least likely to have been causing the leaks and ending with the most likely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">3. The o-ring: Once I got the petcock apart, I
compared the new o-ring to the one that came with the petcock rebuild kit and
it was the tiniest bit thicker than the other one which I would imagine would
move the contact point a little further up on the tapered hole where the valve
seats itself possibly giving the spring a little more oomph to keep the valve
closed.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I really don’t think that this
was the solution to my problem it </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> hurt things but as you will see there
are more likely candidates for the cause.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kd7b-7APOgc/T370-CQyhoI/AAAAAAAABcg/vzS3LKQoCTo/s1600/IMG_4089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kd7b-7APOgc/T370-CQyhoI/AAAAAAAABcg/vzS3LKQoCTo/s640/IMG_4089.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. The Spring: This
could very well have been part if the issue and I could tell that after I
stretched it again that I had gotten about 1/8’ more length on the spring and
when putting the petcock back together the resisting force when I compressed
the three sandwiched pieces together was a lot stronger than before but I still
think that the last change was the real culprit.</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ELXVyvzxhWA/T4T7iljW1LI/AAAAAAAABfk/DEtFljHWOhU/s1600/IMG_4133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ELXVyvzxhWA/T4T7iljW1LI/AAAAAAAABfk/DEtFljHWOhU/s640/IMG_4133.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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1. User Error: The one thing that I like to do whenever I am
having a problem with anything is to talk it through with someone else, a lot
of times you come to a solution just in the process of explaining the
problem. This was no different I brought
the empty gas tank, the gas and my testing setup over to my buddy’s garage to
see if we could make any headway working together on it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started out by talking through how I thought the petcock
worked, we would look at each hole and see if we agreed on what it did and why
and then move onto the next component of the petcock and try to determine the
function of it. Then we got to a tiny
hole, it’s location is difficult to describe so hopefully the words along with
the pictures will do a good enough job.
If you divide the petcock assembly into a front and back the front being
the side with the switch on it and the back side of the petcock being the
portion that houses the vacuum actuated valve we are dealing with the back
portion. Now in regards to just the back
portion, that is broken up into three pieces the front sandwich piece (the main
body of the petcock, the middle sandwich piece (the gray plastic piece that
goes between the vacuum petcock diaphragms) and the back sandwich piece that
has the vacuum tube flange on it).</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYBGXFy4JeE/T4svWTu26NI/AAAAAAAABiQ/230ZDL0Cwo0/s1600/Sandwich+Description.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYBGXFy4JeE/T4svWTu26NI/AAAAAAAABiQ/230ZDL0Cwo0/s640/Sandwich+Description.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As
we were looking at things we noticed a tiny hole on the front sandwich piece of
the back portion of the petcock. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PF0oV55pQGQ/T4sxIaJ4HCI/AAAAAAAABio/RTgyQxvJck8/s1600/Vacuum+Release.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PF0oV55pQGQ/T4sxIaJ4HCI/AAAAAAAABio/RTgyQxvJck8/s640/Vacuum+Release.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we noticed that the diaphragm material that goes
between the front sandwich piece and the middle sandwich piece also had a
similar hole as did the front side of the middle sandwich piece. This did not go all the way through the piece
instead the hole went into the center “ring” of the middle sandwich piece. The key point that needs to be mentioned is
that, <b><u>I did not have these three holes
lined up when I reassembled the petcock.</u></b> I didn’t even realize they were there.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rWTsyMLxbGY/T4T7n_tWxuI/AAAAAAAABfk/e_zPg57EI7U/s1600/IMG_4131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rWTsyMLxbGY/T4T7n_tWxuI/AAAAAAAABfk/e_zPg57EI7U/s640/IMG_4131.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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After some thinking (and drinking) we deduced that the holes
made sense and that they were there to make sure that there was not a vacuum in
between the two diaphragm membranes. If
there is the diaphragm will not move keeping the vacuum plug from closing and
just letting the fuel come out at will.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason that fuel doesn’t come out the hole is all the
tiny ridges that you see create individual seals that keep the gas in and allow
the air to purge out from the between the membranes as they move in and out.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S2P5mCXOwIY/T4T7mDgrRzI/AAAAAAAABfk/6Pzn9qSligA/s1600/IMG_4132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S2P5mCXOwIY/T4T7mDgrRzI/AAAAAAAABfk/6Pzn9qSligA/s640/IMG_4132.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So after I aligned all the holes properly and stretched the
spring and replaced the o-ring I re-assembled the petcock and tested it.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlRQO96FfpQ/T4T70PgPAHI/AAAAAAAABfk/u3SLyGGfjeI/s1600/IMG_4135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RlRQO96FfpQ/T4T70PgPAHI/AAAAAAAABfk/u3SLyGGfjeI/s640/IMG_4135.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started out just only putting about a quart of fuel in and
when I didn’t see any leaks I out the rest of the 3 gallons in and we set about
to the work of beer drinkin’ and smart talking and waited for the fuel to start
leaking out… It never did! I did put the
petcock to prime and that did start to dump the fuel out and I also tested that
when a vacuum was applied to the petcock the fuel also flowed out. So I brought everything home and let it sit
overnight and the next morning everything was still dry, a success!</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9U1Nhhr9M/T4rsmIz5UiI/AAAAAAAABhs/EgKh9Ualaqg/s1600/IMG_4140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q9U1Nhhr9M/T4rsmIz5UiI/AAAAAAAABhs/EgKh9Ualaqg/s640/IMG_4140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Really it is kind of frustrating that I missed the alignment
and the vacuum vent hole thing in the first place but I do have a complete
understanding of how the petcock on Oldbike works now and when I go back to the
original purpose of the project, to learn about working on bikes I guess even a
mistake is not a bad thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did replace all the vacuum tubes, overflow tubes and fuel
supply tubes before I re-installed the carbs.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IxEDhSLB1nI/T4rsftnIlHI/AAAAAAAABhs/W5Hh0oto6J0/s1600/IMG_4141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IxEDhSLB1nI/T4rsftnIlHI/AAAAAAAABhs/W5Hh0oto6J0/s640/IMG_4141.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tvTipxukVO8/T4rsjHqbcJI/AAAAAAAABhs/tvHG31LUzHk/s1600/IMG_4142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tvTipxukVO8/T4rsjHqbcJI/AAAAAAAABhs/tvHG31LUzHk/s640/IMG_4142.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After I got the carbs back in I made a quick video detailing
some of the things that I had learned as I have been taking the carbs out and
putting them back in over the last nearly two years. Maybe someone might find it useful. You can check that out below!</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u0u5wJ-79oQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that Oldbike is back on the road I started to identify
little things that you wouldn’t notice unless you are riding the bike I will go
through some of those things in the next post and one unexpected thing
too. I think that riding an old bike that
hasn’t been run for a long time you will probably always find something wrong
after each ride for at least a couple of years after getting it going again.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to all who are reading! You can expect another update within the week!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-40627466481742209862012-04-09T23:55:00.000-05:002012-04-15T14:39:12.885-05:00Epic Fail on Fuel Tank Petcock Rebuild<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This update has a number of YouTube clips that basically
detail what I found after coming home from the Easter weekend away directly
after rebuilding the fuel tank petcock which I covered in my <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/04/fuel-tank-petcock-rebuild.html">previous
blog</a>. When I came home and got out
of the car in the garage the first thing that I noticed was that the garage
smelled like gasoline (not a good sign).
Upon further inspection I found that there was a slow leak from the
petcock down various components to the floor. The first video is a (somewhat tongue in
cheek) word of warning on petcock rebuilds.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hIsIUhSUZvk" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best advice I can give you regarding rebuilding your
petcock is to not assume that just because you put all new parts in that everything
will be fixed. That is the mistake I made
the first thing that I did after rebuilding my bikes petcock is take it for a
spin and then fill the gas tank. THIS IS
A BAD IDEA! You definitely want to make sure that the petcock is functioning
properly before you do such a thing. The
next most important piece of advice I have if you do what I did and fill the
gas tank and have a petcock that is letting fuel flow freelyor if you just find
out that you have a leaky petcock for the first time; is to bite the bullet and
empty the gas tank rather than try to remove the gas tank and tilt is perfectly
so that the gas is not spewing out the lid or out of the petcock to do your
work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, you still have a little spillage when you put the drain
tube on the fuel fitting of the petcock but the mess will be much smaller.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zH27HOpGJ2s/T4OaubQ-EOI/AAAAAAAABes/l9WvhZSxvyU/s1600/IMG_4121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zH27HOpGJ2s/T4OaubQ-EOI/AAAAAAAABes/l9WvhZSxvyU/s640/IMG_4121.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s pretty easy to see what I did in the above picture but
to detail it out, I set up a 2.5 gallon gas tank (an important note is that the
1979 GS 425L gas tank does not hold only 2.5 gallons the full capacity is 3.7
gallons so plan ahead with two containers or on that will hole the entire
contents) on a 5 gallon bucket on the right side of the bike so that when I
rant the drain tube to the petcock that it wouldn’t have to make any hard
turns. You can see a closer look below.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H-0-pEKMILU/T4OaxTCG2hI/AAAAAAAABew/Tat7OGGl4DA/s1600/IMG_4122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H-0-pEKMILU/T4OaxTCG2hI/AAAAAAAABew/Tat7OGGl4DA/s640/IMG_4122.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After spending some time letting the
problem marinate I let decided that the only thing that I did not change when I
rebuilt the carb was the spring and decided that it must have weakened over the
last 32 years.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I talked to some of the old codgers at <a href="http://www.motorcycleperf.com/">Motorcycle Performance</a> who suggested
that remove the petcock, take it apart again, use an eraser to burnish the
contact points and the valve nipple, and stretch the spring that pressing the
valve nipple into the contact point.
Which I did, after doing the work, I had to figure out a way to do test
the work I did without re-filling the tank and making a huge mess in the process. In the video below you can see what I came up
with.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vZb_SvLX1vo" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I put about a quarter of a gallon into the tank and set the
petcock to reserve to allow flow from the lowest point in the tank results
follow in the video below.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VrM7opO1EmU" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
FAIL! As you saw that
did not go well. True it isn’t spewing
out as bad as it was before but that was about but that was with a quarter
gallon in it if you think about adding another 3.45 gallons into it the amount
of force being put on the valve with the added weight of the gas could have had
it spewing out just as badly. I decided
to leave that sit and look into why the gas was coming out of the float bowl overfill
tube on the left carb when the carb float should be shutting the gas flow off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">That
meant taking the carbs out again, so off they came!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N7opWb9MUEY/T4OayTMnOUI/AAAAAAAABe0/bNprpTwt9vY/s1600/IMG_4126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N7opWb9MUEY/T4OayTMnOUI/AAAAAAAABe0/bNprpTwt9vY/s640/IMG_4126.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I basically run down the findings in the video below. The surprise finding was that the o-ring between the spacer and the carb boot was sheared in a section, if I’m honest due to me being lazy and not fully removing the carbs before installing the gaskets and when I slid the spacers back into place the tight fit cut the gasket into two places.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cdlfBYHjeCA" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I took the spare set of carbs apart I found some interesting
things, see below.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4nlj1xUlZBg" width="560"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After getting the good float’s height set I basically put
the carbs together and that was it for the day.
I needed to find a source for some intake boot seals and find a cure for
the issues with my petcock before I could move forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Check back to see if I have any luck! More to come soon!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-55387770088489714002012-04-05T17:41:00.000-05:002012-04-10T17:49:23.944-05:00Fuel Tank Petcock Rebuild<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NJNuAuJfy9Y/T37x0Wl4PrI/AAAAAAAABao/wxrQWF1gbIo/s1600/IMG_4074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NJNuAuJfy9Y/T37x0Wl4PrI/AAAAAAAABao/wxrQWF1gbIo/s640/IMG_4074.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
In my <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/04/gs-heals-itself-then-pisses-itself.html">previous
post</a> I found that a leak that found a bunch of gas had leaked out of the
left carburetor while the bike was on it’s side stand. Since then it has happened intermittently
under the same circumstances though generally only after the bike has sat for a
bit and as soon as the bike is brought upright the leaking stops. After some web research I found that fuel
petcock issues are common on the Suzuki GS bikes and that the side stand
leaking issue is one of the symptoms of the petcock failing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8INBt9GZpM/T37xXAgFhNI/AAAAAAAABaY/FYFLkqo8Rls/s1600/IMG_4066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8INBt9GZpM/T37xXAgFhNI/AAAAAAAABaY/FYFLkqo8Rls/s640/IMG_4066.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another symptom is gas in the crankcase which would make
your oil smell like gasoline which is something I identified earlier <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/04/oil-change-and-interesting-development.html">when
changing the oil</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The general consensus seems to be that the issue with the
fuel tank petcock, which is vacuum actuated (it automatically starts the flow
of gas once the bike is running and shuts it off when it is not) is that due to
the old age the seal inside the petcock fails and or some of the other rubber
parts fail and then you have fuel being fed into the carbs all the time. Now my situation must be a two stage issue
there is the face that the petcock will not shut off and (I believe) the float
actuated shutoff in the carb is not working for some reason letting gas flow
into the float bowl until the it comes out the overfill tube. Another part of my hypothesis is that when
the bike is upright the flow of fuel does not stop, but the path changes into
the crankcase rather than on the ground.
Some people recommend skipping directly to replacing the old vacuum
actuated petcock with a manual petcock with a shutoff. I decided to rebuild the petcock on my bike because
it was the cheapest option ($24) to start out with. The manual petcock
can cost $79+ and an in-line shut-offs wouldn't keep gas from back-flowing into
the carb and proper fitment is not a guarantee so I was leery of that option. I lucked out and a local shop <a href="http://www.motorcycleperf.com/">Motorcycle
Performance</a>
had the rebuild kit on hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After
removing the petcock I took some shots of it from different angles which you
can see below.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVT3uNe_Yjc/T37x9a-sg5I/AAAAAAAABaw/fqT8UXjukSk/s1600/IMG_4075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LVT3uNe_Yjc/T37x9a-sg5I/AAAAAAAABaw/fqT8UXjukSk/s640/IMG_4075.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rUmfSCCeb14/T37ybgrGRKI/AAAAAAAABbA/Xt_m0_N0RMU/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rUmfSCCeb14/T37ybgrGRKI/AAAAAAAABbA/Xt_m0_N0RMU/s640/IMG_4077.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_-Olv7NEMOI/T37yu0q2e8I/AAAAAAAABbI/ZQvbhAVC-Ac/s1600/IMG_4078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_-Olv7NEMOI/T37yu0q2e8I/AAAAAAAABbI/ZQvbhAVC-Ac/s640/IMG_4078.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first part I removed was the front plate it
comes off with the two Phillips head screws you can see in the photo above and
below you can see a shot of it removed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oYoBbjiN0_Y/T37y2ggK1TI/AAAAAAAABbQ/-Uyg-NgvQHo/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oYoBbjiN0_Y/T37y2ggK1TI/AAAAAAAABbQ/-Uyg-NgvQHo/s640/IMG_4079.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Directly
under the plate there is a wave washer, this is meant to put pressure on the
switch which in turn keeps the back side of the switch pressed on the gasket
that is behind it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFxDb7f4S6U/T37zPxwq3rI/AAAAAAAABbg/P-CXvbIsi6E/s1600/IMG_4081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFxDb7f4S6U/T37zPxwq3rI/AAAAAAAABbg/P-CXvbIsi6E/s640/IMG_4081.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You
can see the gasket on the left and the back of the switch on the right. When set to the “ON” (normal) position the
hole at the 12:00 position feeds gas through the center vacuum actuated valve
from the from the taller feed tube in the tank. When set to the “RES” (reserve) position the
hole at the 3:00 position is feeds gas through the center vacuum actuated valve
from the lower feed tube in the tank. When
set to the “PRI” (prime) position the hole at the 3:00 position feeds gas from
the lower feed tube in the tank to a hole at the 6:00 position that bypasses
the vacuum actuated valve and dumps fuel directly into the carbs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYP8zPMKABM/T37zl04uxcI/AAAAAAAABbo/00T-elgvWTw/s1600/IMG_4082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KYP8zPMKABM/T37zl04uxcI/AAAAAAAABbo/00T-elgvWTw/s640/IMG_4082.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This
gasket can compact and flatten which can allow gas to the fuel bypass at any
petcock position causing overflow problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qKZt4u8Rv9I/T370KCiJaKI/AAAAAAAABcA/89VktS1lgbM/s1600/IMG_4085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qKZt4u8Rv9I/T370KCiJaKI/AAAAAAAABcA/89VktS1lgbM/s640/IMG_4085.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There
is also a gasket that goes around the outside of the switch that is included in
the rebuild kit that keeps fuel from leaking out around the petcock switch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fLj-9QhM_U/T37z_RHvuPI/AAAAAAAABb4/t5iojr8JoLs/s1600/IMG_4084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2fLj-9QhM_U/T37z_RHvuPI/AAAAAAAABb4/t5iojr8JoLs/s640/IMG_4084.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another
gasket that comes in the rebuild kit is the one that seals between the petcock
and the gas tank.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YizVJK4wX-o/T370Z4Gf1pI/AAAAAAAABcI/ouv2Df_07No/s1600/IMG_4086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YizVJK4wX-o/T370Z4Gf1pI/AAAAAAAABcI/ouv2Df_07No/s640/IMG_4086.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
On
the back side of the petcock is the vacuum diaphragm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_uUzyw-FUM/T370kYl2FoI/AAAAAAAABcQ/6xfjpCb4vXc/s1600/IMG_4087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_uUzyw-FUM/T370kYl2FoI/AAAAAAAABcQ/6xfjpCb4vXc/s640/IMG_4087.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kd7b-7APOgc/T370-CQyhoI/AAAAAAAABcg/vzS3LKQoCTo/s1600/IMG_4089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kd7b-7APOgc/T370-CQyhoI/AAAAAAAABcg/vzS3LKQoCTo/s640/IMG_4089.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suction
comes from the carb via a vacuum line to the smaller of the two fittings on the
petcock and pulls the metal plug with the rubber o-ring compressing the spring
behind it and opening the valve to let gas flow through the valve and into the
carb. Leaking can happen when the o-ring
shrinks and/or the contact point where the o-ring seals to the petcock has
inconsistencies in it’s surface. You can
see a demonstration of how this works below.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jb2OZ0sZEHA" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
After
you disassemble the petcock you basically just go about replacing the gaskets
included in the kit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cDRZ8FKXNls/T371Q8w7hPI/AAAAAAAABco/bI07UjTJIvM/s1600/IMG_4092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cDRZ8FKXNls/T371Q8w7hPI/AAAAAAAABco/bI07UjTJIvM/s640/IMG_4092.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDv-vrjJUz4/T371d1tKcOI/AAAAAAAABcw/1aagR279JCs/s1600/IMG_4094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDv-vrjJUz4/T371d1tKcOI/AAAAAAAABcw/1aagR279JCs/s640/IMG_4094.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Another
thing that you should pick up are some washers that have rubber in the center
to seal around the bolts that hold the petcock onto the tank lots of times they
are shot and are cheap but not included in the kit. The shop I got my kit from had them in stock
so I got them there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hS0v3PQf1k4/T371oZnx11I/AAAAAAAABc4/MLyMI-esSLA/s1600/IMG_4095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hS0v3PQf1k4/T371oZnx11I/AAAAAAAABc4/MLyMI-esSLA/s640/IMG_4095.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
You
can see some shots of the different gaskets after replacement below.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dv-dNSDRBkc/T3714JPj-uI/AAAAAAAABdA/NTGzXTlpuns/s1600/IMG_4096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dv-dNSDRBkc/T3714JPj-uI/AAAAAAAABdA/NTGzXTlpuns/s640/IMG_4096.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4eaEu2cv2Zg/T372Diwm7XI/AAAAAAAABdI/LdCVA48heXA/s1600/IMG_4097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4eaEu2cv2Zg/T372Diwm7XI/AAAAAAAABdI/LdCVA48heXA/s640/IMG_4097.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-auo1XdIuOwI/T372SZFevyI/AAAAAAAABdQ/kYy8ZtpWKkk/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-auo1XdIuOwI/T372SZFevyI/AAAAAAAABdQ/kYy8ZtpWKkk/s640/IMG_4098.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">I
used some grease around the switch’s gasket to make sure that it eased back
into position without doing any damage to the gasket. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t8V0LkO49Wo/T372dGjE6hI/AAAAAAAABdY/xU67Aa5EHG0/s1600/IMG_4099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t8V0LkO49Wo/T372dGjE6hI/AAAAAAAABdY/xU67Aa5EHG0/s640/IMG_4099.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
After
re-assembly I re-attached the petcock to the gas tank and that was as far as I
got today.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q91GJdTu7lU/T372xnqLX3I/AAAAAAAABdo/36JKzpVAtO4/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q91GJdTu7lU/T372xnqLX3I/AAAAAAAABdo/36JKzpVAtO4/s640/IMG_4101.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Stay
tuned for the follow-up on whether or not the rebuild fixed my issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thanks
(as always) for reading!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-53014929938371323062012-04-01T22:23:00.000-05:002012-04-10T17:25:26.205-05:00The GS Heals Itself then Pisses Itself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8INBt9GZpM/T37xXAgFhNI/AAAAAAAABaY/FYFLkqo8Rls/s1600/IMG_4066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z8INBt9GZpM/T37xXAgFhNI/AAAAAAAABaY/FYFLkqo8Rls/s640/IMG_4066.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2012/04/oil-change-and-interesting-development.html">last
update</a> I had found that there was white smoke coming from the right exhaust
and found that the left cylinder’s compression was 100psi and the right was
110psi after doing some looking through my Clymer manual I found that
page 48’s Table 48 listed the “Compression Specifications” for my bike. For the GS400 and 425s the standard is
130psi-184psi with the service limit being 100psi. That basically means that the motor needs a
rebuild. I am hoping that I will be able
to ride it through the season and then tear into the engine this coming winter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having said that, after doing some research online I found
some suggestions that said that taking the bike for a ride and running it relatively
hard might solve the issue. I figured it
couldn’t hurt so I took the bike to the gas station to fill it up and then put
about 5 miles on it running it at higher RPMs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I got back the smoke was gone, and it hasn’t returned
yet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JvRBNFl_QD8" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After taking the video I left the bike to sit in the
driveway on its side-stand and started to mow the lawn and when I came back to
the bike I found a bunch of gas had leaked out of the left carburetor and I
could see it still leaking out of the overflow tube. I quickly tipped the bike up and put it on the
center stand and that seemed to stop the leaking. The next morning I rode Oldbike into work and
it sat all day without leaking anything.
Definitely another thing to investigate so stay tuned for the follow-ups.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H7xVMLDPCPA/T37xhQ15XtI/AAAAAAAABag/sWNa6hM9WGs/s1600/IMG_4069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H7xVMLDPCPA/T37xhQ15XtI/AAAAAAAABag/sWNa6hM9WGs/s640/IMG_4069.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-32560223325594612222012-03-31T20:34:00.000-05:002012-04-08T20:49:27.239-05:00An Oil Change and an Interesting Development<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nSWZbY2we_A/T37wpLteK9I/AAAAAAAABZg/egzCdzlOLB4/s1600/IMG_4043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nSWZbY2we_A/T37wpLteK9I/AAAAAAAABZg/egzCdzlOLB4/s640/IMG_4043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
After my first successful ride away from the house I turned my
attention back to maintenance. First on
the list would be an oil change. I picked up a Hiflofiltro HF133 filter and some
Mobil Delvac 1300 Super SAE 15-W40 motor oil for Oldbike.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRO5p4pKfzA/TciptUSExkI/AAAAAAAAAhw/SjXWBBTLz6I/s1600/2011-05-05+Garage+Day+At+Stan%2527s+12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRO5p4pKfzA/TciptUSExkI/AAAAAAAAAhw/SjXWBBTLz6I/s640/2011-05-05+Garage+Day+At+Stan%2527s+12.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
At this point I can't even remember the
details of the forum discussion that brought about my particular motor oil
choice, it was a long time ago but I seem to recall that the decision was based
on the motor Delvac having the highest zinc content. None-the-less I have been using it in my 2002
SV650s (Newbike) for years without issue and it is around $13 for a gallon
which is a good price.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FsBPP2XYPgo/T3YFhJCFA_I/AAAAAAAABZQ/NDq7qQgFmIc/s1600/IMG_4033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FsBPP2XYPgo/T3YFhJCFA_I/AAAAAAAABZQ/NDq7qQgFmIc/s640/IMG_4033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
When I pulled the drain plug and the oil started coming out I noticed a
distinct gasoline odor, which is not normal (more on this in a later update) I
made a mental note of this and proceeded with the oil change. After the draining
from the plug I loosened the oil filter cover and let the oil drain from there
as well and removed the oil filter and cover.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
The filter was about as dirty as expected with the same gasoline odor.
the inside of the lid didn't have any metal deposites or gunk that would
indicate any issues, the gasket was pretty much pressed flush with the lid so
it was a good thing that the filter came with a replacement rubber gasket.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bhlRFqYLDEM/T3YFgVvbhMI/AAAAAAAABZQ/KAmhQGh2vuU/s1600/IMG_4034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bhlRFqYLDEM/T3YFgVvbhMI/AAAAAAAABZQ/KAmhQGh2vuU/s640/IMG_4034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
After I re-installed the (new) filter and gasket back in the engine and
made sure the drain plug was re-installed (very important), I added the new
motor oil. The Clymer manual stated that 3 quarts would be enough for an oil
change with a new filter I found that it was closer to 3.5 to get the oil to
the full line in the site glass.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Here comes the interesting part; when I started the bike to get the oil
circulating I noticed that the right muffler had white smoke coming out of it!
That was certainly a new development! So
I let the bike warm up hoping it would go away but it didn't go away so I took
the video, shown below, to document the issue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YNEK4sz5kGg" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
My first thought was that the piston rings were bad and that having
fully filled the crankcase with oil was allowing some of the oil to sneak past
the rings and burn up. So I decided that I should check the compression on the
bike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
I went to the local O'Reilly Auto Parts to see if they had a tester I
could rent. I was also hoping that they
had the equipment necessary to do a leak-down test too. They had the compression tester but not the leak
down tester. The rental fee is $40 but
you get it all back when you return the tool, a pretty nice deal!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zOAdf3MtVV0/T37wsMcfKDI/AAAAAAAABZs/DHaai0WwPLE/s1600/IMG_4042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zOAdf3MtVV0/T37wsMcfKDI/AAAAAAAABZs/DHaai0WwPLE/s640/IMG_4042.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
To do the test basically you run the bike until it is warm. While I was doing this the thing was still
smoking. After it was warm I pulled the spark plug wires and remove the right
plug and replaced it with the threaded end of the tester and snugged it up.
Then I put the gauge on the other end using the connector similar to that on an
air compressor hose.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGPdfif73yI/T37w7WX_9AI/AAAAAAAABZ4/pWHJKGNJTdA/s1600/IMG_4044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGPdfif73yI/T37w7WX_9AI/AAAAAAAABZ4/pWHJKGNJTdA/s640/IMG_4044.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Once that is done you thumb the starter switch to turn
over the engine and until the gauge hits it's peak, and record the number. Then you release the pressure with the valve
below the gauge.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/etVQPMMWYNE" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
My Left cylinder was 100psi and the right was 110psi the rule
of thumb is that they should be within 10-15 lbs of each other I need to do
some asking around to see what the lower acceptable limit is for the bike
though but those numbers seemed acceptable to me so I figured I'd have to look
elsewhere for the cause of the smoke. I
still would like to do a leaks own test to see how well the cylinder holds it's
pressure and for how long, if I can find the equipment to do that it will be
the next thing on the list to do.<br />
<br />
Check back for an update soon, I have a few to crank out and this is the first installment.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-42925452880827901422012-03-30T09:08:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:24:19.726-05:00A 20,000 Mile Rebirth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Td7xYyDmJ4c/T3WW-Hq5FSI/AAAAAAAABXw/VdG4M076Gdw/s1600/IMG_4030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Td7xYyDmJ4c/T3WW-Hq5FSI/AAAAAAAABXw/VdG4M076Gdw/s640/IMG_4030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the last week things had been looking up with Oldbike. I had been taking it for short rides through
the neighborhood and down the road with longer and longer distances each
time. The idling issues were alleviated
with a simple cleaning of the plugs and the battery is holding a charge without
issue. When I was out on one of my rides
I had a close call, riding past a police cruiser. With these things in mind I
decided it was time that I registered the bike to avoid any unfortunate encounters
with the authorities.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BcmWRn45BYM/T3WVe08QqeI/AAAAAAAABWY/GLnj7ofuzRM/s1600/IMG_4016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BcmWRn45BYM/T3WVe08QqeI/AAAAAAAABWY/GLnj7ofuzRM/s640/IMG_4016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
During the last week I had noticed some exhaust leaking from
H-pipe joints, I decided that some of my sub-par welding might be in order.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1EEOEfjDDM/T3WVeXo1yDI/AAAAAAAABYo/rhcievSOIOk/s1600/IMG_4017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1EEOEfjDDM/T3WVeXo1yDI/AAAAAAAABYo/rhcievSOIOk/s640/IMG_4017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also decided that I would try to weld the header pipe,
reducers and silencers together to avoid any exhaust leaks. </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ESfRbER-rJ4/T3WVc1rypRI/AAAAAAAABWQ/M0ftXSl-MHY/s1600/IMG_4018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ESfRbER-rJ4/T3WVc1rypRI/AAAAAAAABWQ/M0ftXSl-MHY/s640/IMG_4018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tgqs1Vp-8YU/T3WV528b84I/AAAAAAAABWw/ClXK-0uQy5s/s1600/IMG_4020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tgqs1Vp-8YU/T3WV528b84I/AAAAAAAABWw/ClXK-0uQy5s/s640/IMG_4020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once again my results were not pretty but they seem to be functional,
I will need to get a grinder to clean these up and to see if here are any holes
hiding beneath the ugliness. It should
be said though that if you d weld your pipes up like this getting them back on
the bike becomes a little more challenging and some "armstrong" power
is required to flex the headers around
the frame down-tubes and also that you should take care to make a number of
aligning marks <u>with the exhaust system still on the bike</u> if you don't
you could end up never getting them back on the bike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I got the welding done I decided to take my newly
registered bike out on the town. It's a
thrilling thing to take a bike that you took from a non-runner to a fully
functioning bike again. A thrill
balanced out by the awareness that of all the things that you have fixed and
addressed and the lack of doubt that you have in your own work. Your ears listen to every little noise and
you wait for the inevitable failure to strand you miles away from home. But when the failure does not come and you
are finally in the back in the garage the true feeling of accomplishment comes.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WipBNI42DFA/T3WWhQy6XPI/AAAAAAAABXQ/6MnJcr_HgRg/s1600/IMG_4025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WipBNI42DFA/T3WWhQy6XPI/AAAAAAAABXQ/6MnJcr_HgRg/s640/IMG_4025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I couldn't think of a better place to go on my newly minted
street ride than to visit a good friend with a project of his own in the works.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2Jn99wIBVU/T3WWbuiXLbI/AAAAAAAABXI/-EY99ZyqOcE/s1600/IMG_4024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W2Jn99wIBVU/T3WWbuiXLbI/AAAAAAAABXI/-EY99ZyqOcE/s640/IMG_4024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Though his is much more near and dear to his heart as he has
owned it since new; a 1972 Kawasaki H2.
he's been having some issues with the clutch as of late. If anybody knows whether or not the waviness
on the clutch basket is normal or not post up a comment on here.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MePwhi95af8/T3WXNutXqRI/AAAAAAAABYs/fDhZFWM4h2Y/s1600/IMG_4032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MePwhi95af8/T3WXNutXqRI/AAAAAAAABYs/fDhZFWM4h2Y/s640/IMG_4032.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ride was not without incident though with all the riding
I was doing was the speedometer cable finally gave way. When I <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/04/low-slinger-pops-its-first-wheelie.html">first
pulled the forks from the triple trees</a> I had forgotten that the speedo
cable was attached and stretched it a bit.
While it held up for a while it was not to last and finally the inner
flex shaft broke.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.speedandsport.com/files/cache/02bb20d4b82baa76f92dc1bbc3a505e4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.speedandsport.com/files/cache/02bb20d4b82baa76f92dc1bbc3a505e4.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I went to a couple of the local shops and found a replacement cable and also picked up an oil filter for a fresh oil change and a pack of bulk UNI filter foam and air filter oil as </span><a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/05/one-minute-of-reward.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I had identified earlier</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> that the air filter foam needed replacing.</span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tRXedUurYos/T3W6Y794smI/AAAAAAAABYY/vcm1-Ne2Hmg/s1600/IMG_4026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tRXedUurYos/T3W6Y794smI/AAAAAAAABYY/vcm1-Ne2Hmg/s640/IMG_4026.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bike's performance did not change much with the new
filter but it is good to know that it is no longer a lingering issue.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PKqAOHDrIE/T3WW4_Cs2iI/AAAAAAAABXo/ynVVCRPjXwY/s1600/IMG_4029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7PKqAOHDrIE/T3WW4_Cs2iI/AAAAAAAABXo/ynVVCRPjXwY/s640/IMG_4029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I wanted to stop and but some concert tickets at the Coliseum box office too and while en-route there I rolled the bike over it's 20,000 mile mark.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It felt good to see that happen, to take something that
really would have been destined for the scrap heap, or potentially to sit in
someone else's garage and collect dust and never run again and give it a new
lease on life. </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNDYxT07Og8/T3WXI9ztKgI/AAAAAAAABX4/DPumdDPvtic/s1600/IMG_4031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lNDYxT07Og8/T3WXI9ztKgI/AAAAAAAABX4/DPumdDPvtic/s640/IMG_4031.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Coliseum box office was closed when I got there but that
just means I have another reason to go out and ride Oldbike!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There's a lot more to be done with my project, so as always
stay tuned and thanks for sharing a milestone with me today.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-33083930567464270202012-03-26T11:26:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:24:37.473-05:00Quick Update (Fouled Spark Plug)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I pulled the plugs to check them out at the suggestion of a member at <u><span style="color: #00b0f0;"><a href="http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/index.php" target="_new"><span style="color: #00b0f0;">The GSResource Forums</span></a></span></u></span><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">and I found what might have been causing the idle issue I’ve been experiencing as of late.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first (left) plug, looks fine to me dry and not soot to speak of.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ACoBBl73-k/T2-3yAmOhRI/AAAAAAAABWA/Vd_T98g1sK4/s1600/IMG_3980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ACoBBl73-k/T2-3yAmOhRI/AAAAAAAABWA/Vd_T98g1sK4/s640/IMG_3980.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second (right) plug on the other hand looked sooty and a little wet. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qps1kYeHV7I/T2-3xv-XHLI/AAAAAAAABWA/C9236xf4IeE/s1600/IMG_3982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qps1kYeHV7I/T2-3xv-XHLI/AAAAAAAABWA/C9236xf4IeE/s640/IMG_3982.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I put the plugs back in as is and started the bike. Now comes the time where I admit to a newbie mistake that at this point I should not have made. The last time in the videos I just put my hand at the back of the exhaust and thought I was feeling hot exhaust exiting the pipe. This time I actually felt it at the header and could tell that the cylinder on the right was not firing. When I pulled the right plug again it was even wetter, so I cleaned the plug and dried it with some compressed air and put it back in. This time it ran noticeably better and both headers were heating up. I guess I’m not really sure that the plug didn’t foul when I was riding it last time but at the end of the day it was fouled and I missed it. I checked the plugs after the ride and they were both good. I plan on riding it every day after I get home and see if the problem repeats itself, also I am not going to charge the battery after each ride to see if that is an issue yet too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just though I would throw a quick update for my latest discovery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As always thanks for reading.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-24335809529062775732012-03-24T10:15:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:25:11.460-05:00Trying to Diagnose an Idling IssueThis update is going to be mostly videos, I was going to edit them into one long YouTube video but thought that it would be good to split them up so that I can comment on each part.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kxKJZcDkLIc" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
In this part I and just running you through what the bike has been doing and some speculation on what could be the cause.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q8Y9fO9Jvxw" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
Just a quick one of me attempting to start the bike from cold, had to set the camera down to give it a little gas to get it to start.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gsK9Th-8Y9g" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
Another quick one after seting the camera down to give it a little gas to get it to start it she fired right away, the I realized I forgot to take off the gas cap, which was one of the tests I wanted to try.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7OeMuTLkt6o" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
I start the bike again after removing the gas cap, I should mention that the ideal idle for the bike is really 1300 RPM so it was idling a little on the low side.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-1s4A0AcEH8" width="420"></iframe>
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<br />
As I was tooling around in second gear I decided to see if I could take some video while riding the bike (bear in mind that this generally is a BAD IDEA and shouldn't be attempted) I did get some footage although it's not the best. I really just wanted to give the followers an idea of how the bike was behaving while riding.<br />
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Sorry for the wind noise it's was a horribly windy day.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/McX2w4lbcbM" width="420"></iframe>
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Just pulling the bike back into the driveway, excuse the couple of camera jostles, I thought I had down shifted into first and had gotten neutral and had to put the phone down to pull in the clutch.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QZ9SLARA8l4" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
Upon arrival back at my garage the bike was still idling good when it stalled right on camera and didn't want to start again.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bVnSly-TJu4" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
When I was putting the bike away threw it on the charger and saw that the battery was pretty much dead, could there be something wrong with the charging system?<br />
<br />
In my next post, it looks like I will be doing some testing of the charging system, not sure what exactly yet I will have to consult the clymer manual. I will probably also check the coils too.<br />
<br />
Thanks for checking out the videos and the Blog. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post them!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-58467884904573041512012-03-14T17:23:00.000-05:002012-04-19T15:25:50.161-05:00Sync the CarburetorsWith the unseasonably warm weather I have found renewed motivation to work on OldBike. I decided that it was time to vacuum sync the carbs. This was not my first rodeo when it came to carb syncing; I have been doing this on my SV650s regularly for years. After looking through the Clymer manual I realized that there are some slight differences. Whereas the SV650s process has you attaching the sync tool to fittings on the carbs, the GS has holes drilled and tapped into the barrels of the engine directly after the intake spacer where you measure the vacuum. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BkG3v8bpDGs/T2jsMw0TLvI/AAAAAAAABVc/a-pyBc8LldI/s1600/IMG_3911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BkG3v8bpDGs/T2jsMw0TLvI/AAAAAAAABVc/a-pyBc8LldI/s640/IMG_3911.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had always wondered what the brass threaded tubes that came with my carb sync kit were for. I am sure glad that I never lost them.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNuZZjhZgVI/T2jsXV8kDLI/AAAAAAAABVc/z-QvM2a84-8/s1600/IMG_3912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNuZZjhZgVI/T2jsXV8kDLI/AAAAAAAABVc/z-QvM2a84-8/s640/IMG_3912.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
They thread into the holes that were drilled and tapped into the barrels of the engine giving you a place to attach your tubing. Once you have the tubes attached you can fire up the engine and start syncing the carbs. In the Clymer manual they go through a whole thing about setting up the synch tool to test at 2000 RPMs this is if you have the mercury filled monometer type tool. As far as I know the dial type that I have is not adjustable. I have always just revved the engine to a point where the needles settle down and try to match them by turning the adjuster screw. If I am wrong about that feel free to let me know on here. It didn’t take too much fiddling to get them matched, check out the video below to see the results.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qEUjpAsZeIQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
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After I did that I washed NewBike and took both of them for a spin around the neighborhood, by far the best riding weather I’ve ever experienced on a March 13th! When I got out of the driveway with OldBike is stalled and upon closer inspection I noticed that the vacuum connection to the left carb that tells the petcock to send fuel had worked its way out and was VERY loose and kept popping out. My hypothesis is that when in the bath of carb cleaning solution enough material was eaten away on the carb bodies that the brass part of the elbow fitting no longer fits snugly. I even tried the extra elbow fitting from my other set of carbs and the same issue. My solution was quite shad-tree if I do say so myself. I fished a Blatz can out of the recycle bin and cut a small ¾” long strip of aluminum, I stuck it into the hole that the elbow fitting goes into as deep as the brass portion would go and bent the remainder over 90 degrees. Having done that, for good measure, I put a small rubber o-ring on the brass portion of the fitting so that and air that might try to sneak out would be stopped. I used a tuning hammer to tap the elbow fitting back into the hole (with the strip of aluminum still in there) and the fit was much more sung. Snug enough that I got good squish on the o-ring, allaying any concern of a vacuum leak. Problem solved! Can you see the Blatz can in the picture below?!?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gge4OyHmIc4/T2jsUSqBWWI/AAAAAAAABVc/DlRHbqwupGs/s1600/IMG_3914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gge4OyHmIc4/T2jsUSqBWWI/AAAAAAAABVc/DlRHbqwupGs/s640/IMG_3914.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One thing that I will need to look at is that the OldBike seems to not want to idle when it warms up, I have to keep revving the engine and eventually that doesn’t even help. In my next post I will try and do some diagnosing of the cause!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7mQvxf2hQ0/T2js6RzdjTI/AAAAAAAABVc/HBu_9oAW2CU/s1600/IMG_3915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7mQvxf2hQ0/T2js6RzdjTI/AAAAAAAABVc/HBu_9oAW2CU/s640/IMG_3915.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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'Til then thanks (as always) for checking out the Blog, if you ever have questions or suggestions pleas post them below!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-25489869156262911082012-02-05T17:36:00.001-06:002012-04-19T15:26:27.118-05:00The First One Is Never Pretty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TM5AIf0pWog/Ty7wHBavlsI/AAAAAAAABSc/uNIyiGYexiQ/s1600/IMG_3771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TM5AIf0pWog/Ty7wHBavlsI/AAAAAAAABSc/uNIyiGYexiQ/s640/IMG_3771.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For a while I have been thinking about a welder, as always
being on a tight budget I was curious about the many low-priced flux-core wire
feed welders that populate the craigslist ads and harbor freight catalogs. I was pretty sure that I would not be happy
with the quality of the welds produced as I worked for two years around a welding
shop and growing up with a dad who is an ASME certified welder. I know what a good weld looks like.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i10D6CSuMBk/Ty8KXEwbk6I/AAAAAAAABTo/L7SWhnuSb1Y/s1600/Confederate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i10D6CSuMBk/Ty8KXEwbk6I/AAAAAAAABTo/L7SWhnuSb1Y/s640/Confederate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And here is my first weld ever! Yeah right!!! That is some amazing TIG welding
done by Josh Coker of </span><a href="http://confederate.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Confederate Motors Inc.</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
of course, producing a good weld is something I’ve never had to do. After talking to my Dad about what I wanted
to do, it turns out that he had a “Campbell Hausfeld Professional Welders Flux
Core 80” welder that he had bought 8 years ago sitting in a closet. These go for around $200 new. He used it for some projects around the house
including welding his trailer hitch onto his pickup. My Dad offered to let me
borrow it to try it out and see how I liked it which I was psyched up for. This way I could assess how this type of
welder performs.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vH_UkDNz1uI/Ty7xchd_v8I/AAAAAAAABSo/PmyusN_Cwgo/s1600/IMG_3772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vH_UkDNz1uI/Ty7xchd_v8I/AAAAAAAABSo/PmyusN_Cwgo/s640/IMG_3772.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had some parts that I had pulled off Oldbike when I first
got it that I figured would be as good a material as any to try out my welding
with. What you see in the picture above
is an engine crash-guard. It is pretty
heavy gauge steel. The part that I
wanted to try to weld was the lower mounting tab to the loose part of the same
mounting tab.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dyD3_hQ6gQo/Ty7xchXwyrI/AAAAAAAABSs/uOhdrvMITXI/s1600/IMG_3773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dyD3_hQ6gQo/Ty7xchXwyrI/AAAAAAAABSs/uOhdrvMITXI/s640/IMG_3773.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I used some multi-angle magnets to set the two pieces at a
90-degree angle planning to weld into the valley. This is about 1/4” to 3/16” thick, much
thicker than the material I will be welding for my project.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQoKxRWIXFc/Ty7xr3d7WkI/AAAAAAAABS4/xmIpNDihNnM/s1600/IMG_3774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQoKxRWIXFc/Ty7xr3d7WkI/AAAAAAAABS4/xmIpNDihNnM/s640/IMG_3774.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a shot of the first two tacks I welded to the
pieces. When I took the magnets off the
loose portion of the material fell to the ground. Not a very good start!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T5bzvtzav4s/Ty7zAQRWI2I/AAAAAAAABTE/YsYSxHCkgmM/s1600/IMG_3775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T5bzvtzav4s/Ty7zAQRWI2I/AAAAAAAABTE/YsYSxHCkgmM/s640/IMG_3775.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is a picture after the first pass it’s just ugly isn’t
it!?! It doesn’t get any better with the second pass.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qcZw8AyklGY/Ty7zYDVtKbI/AAAAAAAABTM/WInWV2jBKsw/s1600/IMG_3778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qcZw8AyklGY/Ty7zYDVtKbI/AAAAAAAABTM/WInWV2jBKsw/s640/IMG_3778.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is the second pass parts of it look better but just not
anything close to what I would consider a good weld. None-the-less I decided to test and see how
well it held up.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y76Ot85nc4w/Ty7zYekewdI/AAAAAAAABTU/0UY1-R-ITBs/s1600/IMG_3779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y76Ot85nc4w/Ty7zYekewdI/AAAAAAAABTU/0UY1-R-ITBs/s640/IMG_3779.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some discoloration on the inside of the two pieces, is that
heat penetration?</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UBU7wnqJ9c4/Ty7zuGcjI8I/AAAAAAAABTc/IQkZJRtEz08/s1600/IMG_3780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UBU7wnqJ9c4/Ty7zuGcjI8I/AAAAAAAABTc/IQkZJRtEz08/s640/IMG_3780.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A side shot of the weld, and last but not least you can see
a video of me beating on the weld with a hammer to see if it will break below. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qPX_AV2jGV0" width="560"></iframe>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will be continuing to practice on different
materials and different thicknesses before I even think of touching anything on
the actual bike.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-70420757641784716782012-01-30T17:40:00.002-06:002012-04-19T15:27:11.717-05:00Making Amends for Past Transgressions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-19Zl7DelIxI/TyXGOre6cGI/AAAAAAAABRY/n61Le2AFig4/s1600/IMG_3716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-19Zl7DelIxI/TyXGOre6cGI/AAAAAAAABRY/n61Le2AFig4/s640/IMG_3716.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You may have noticed that since the first ride on the bike
that the little cover that hides the one side of the clutch “release screw” and
a small grease-nipple has been off in all the pictures since. This was the result of a long battle with
some Phillips-head screws that ended up being stripped out. In </span><a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/05/clean-sprocket-and-pull-drive-sprocket.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">attempting
to take off the drive sprocket cover</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to clean behind it I boogered up three
Phillips-head screws and ended up having to drill them out to get the cover
off. Then when I was taking trying to
use and ez-out to get one of the remaining bolts that had held on the small
cover out of the drive sprocket cover I </span><a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/06/disappointing-string-of-setbacks.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">ended
up snapping the ez-out</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1nYW6nsJ5yQ/TyXGOdL6D7I/AAAAAAAABRc/dHnqJdqJeao/s1600/IMG_3718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1nYW6nsJ5yQ/TyXGOdL6D7I/AAAAAAAABRc/dHnqJdqJeao/s640/IMG_3718.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally I ended up </span><a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-ride-on-gs.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">chiseling
the surrounding aluminum</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from around the bolt to get it out. Talk about a headache!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jp1AFmw0cYU/TyXGNfF0z6I/AAAAAAAABRg/rcJgHrLD7XY/s1600/IMG_3720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jp1AFmw0cYU/TyXGNfF0z6I/AAAAAAAABRg/rcJgHrLD7XY/s640/IMG_3720.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Yesterday I finally made it all better. I started by removing the drive sprocket
cover again.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiRmughfyIQ/TyXGwk8Rl7I/AAAAAAAABRk/etVUmiTf0Vc/s1600/IMG_3722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiRmughfyIQ/TyXGwk8Rl7I/AAAAAAAABRk/etVUmiTf0Vc/s640/IMG_3722.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can see that current state that the drive sprocket cover
was in. I stated in an earlier post that
I thought that there was enough “meat” left to just tap the hole deeper down
and use a longer bolt, that was my plan of action yesterday.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLXUEBqh5QU/TyXGv7cWmnI/AAAAAAAABRo/jB5Du7RoBoc/s1600/IMG_3724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLXUEBqh5QU/TyXGv7cWmnI/AAAAAAAABRo/jB5Du7RoBoc/s640/IMG_3724.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
This is just a shot of the drive sprocket cover with the
clutch release cover in place.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OaCU9w9uy6o/TyXGuu00hmI/AAAAAAAABRs/N57IgfsdyX8/s1600/IMG_3726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OaCU9w9uy6o/TyXGuu00hmI/AAAAAAAABRs/N57IgfsdyX8/s640/IMG_3726.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPOVtOvSp78/TyXHQVHUhJI/AAAAAAAABRw/ufTANaUSdDI/s1600/IMG_3728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPOVtOvSp78/TyXHQVHUhJI/AAAAAAAABRw/ufTANaUSdDI/s640/IMG_3728.JPG" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I used my Dremel with it’s flex-shaft attachment to clean up
the area where I chiseled out the aluminum.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tfS_qx0Hg_s/TyXHSEOtXpI/AAAAAAAABR4/vLP0vo3tnhE/s1600/IMG_3730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tfS_qx0Hg_s/TyXHSEOtXpI/AAAAAAAABR4/vLP0vo3tnhE/s640/IMG_3730.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s62MgNhjhhc/TyXHOa3b6cI/AAAAAAAABR8/kfftSUXGDZE/s1600/IMG_3732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s62MgNhjhhc/TyXHOa3b6cI/AAAAAAAABR8/kfftSUXGDZE/s640/IMG_3732.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
That’s about as clean as I could get it without sacrificing
valuable material, so there are a few spots where you can see remaining divots
from my attempts to drill around the stuck bolt and ez-out.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zamFDvBFEk/TyXHwNB-lkI/AAAAAAAABSA/tcgdtrod7uA/s1600/IMG_3734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zamFDvBFEk/TyXHwNB-lkI/AAAAAAAABSA/tcgdtrod7uA/s640/IMG_3734.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXnzngaV5-A/TyXHtnEneuI/AAAAAAAABSE/fG2sQ_LuxEU/s1600/IMG_3736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXnzngaV5-A/TyXHtnEneuI/AAAAAAAABSE/fG2sQ_LuxEU/s640/IMG_3736.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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Looking at the back side of the cover it didn’t look like
there was any reason not to drill all the way through the cover to give me some
more effective threads after I tap the hole.
You can see in this second picture that it the drilled hole (on the
right) is pretty close to the one of the clutch release screw mounting holes I
made a note but a bolt that did not go past flush with the surface as it would
interfere with the correct mounting of the clutch release screw.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71ph4Qgd2Po/TyXHzvdm3OI/AAAAAAAABSI/WqPK2TP6-Ls/s1600/IMG_3738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71ph4Qgd2Po/TyXHzvdm3OI/AAAAAAAABSI/WqPK2TP6-Ls/s640/IMG_3738.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I brought the whole assembly to my favorite (only place in
town with a real selection of metric fasteners) hardware store <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dornmidvale" target="_blank">Dorn True-Value</a> to
find the right ones I need. This place
has everything I could ever need!
Unfortunately as mentioned many times since this is a shoestring budget
project, I had to go against my gut inclination to replace all the Phillips-head
bolts with socket-head cap screws (which they have a full selection of) and
only replaced the missing fasteners with new Phillips-head bolts.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIAWodzXtKQ/TyXIUXgCKmI/AAAAAAAABSM/Z93AtDMe-g8/s1600/IMG_3740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xIAWodzXtKQ/TyXIUXgCKmI/AAAAAAAABSM/Z93AtDMe-g8/s640/IMG_3740.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After I knew for sure what bolts I had (M5 X .80) for the
small cover I knew what tap I needed to use and was able to tap the hole. The ones that hold the drive sprocket cover
on are M6 bolts of varying lengths.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fhp3UBeLN9M/TyXITj8_-3I/AAAAAAAABSQ/p-Z2cX2zeSQ/s1600/IMG_3742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fhp3UBeLN9M/TyXITj8_-3I/AAAAAAAABSQ/p-Z2cX2zeSQ/s640/IMG_3742.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I took a wire wheel on the Dremel to the heads of the old
screws but you can still tell which ones are the brand new ones.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GbE3Mi4VroA/TyXITA7Mz9I/AAAAAAAABSU/fcNnkOoFTlU/s1600/IMG_3744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GbE3Mi4VroA/TyXITA7Mz9I/AAAAAAAABSU/fcNnkOoFTlU/s640/IMG_3744.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And here it is back on the bike again! It is a little detail and I have the feeling that
I could have ridden the bike without the little cover indefinitely but it does
feel good to have to fixed the mess I made.
I guess you could call it closure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
I think the next step that I am going to work on is testing
the compression on the cylinders, replacing all the old fuel lines and vacuum synching
the carbs. That will be next week some
time please check back for that update and thanks for reading!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-37334710278458828912012-01-25T21:05:00.002-06:002012-04-19T15:27:42.141-05:00Saying Goodbye to the Lollipops Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YeWhzJnyiAg/TyCc3y4r_kI/AAAAAAAABPA/_FXjY3WZVZk/s1600/IMG_3688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YeWhzJnyiAg/TyCc3y4r_kI/AAAAAAAABPA/_FXjY3WZVZk/s640/IMG_3688.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It's been a good three day break from work, I spent the last two days in the garage, yesterday building a shelf to get my beer fridge off the ground and up to a more serviceable height...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HxtkQMSu40g/TyC70KLEIoI/AAAAAAAABPI/kgg3PVmuDcE/s1600/12+8%253A34%253A29+PM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HxtkQMSu40g/TyC70KLEIoI/AAAAAAAABPI/kgg3PVmuDcE/s640/12+8%253A34%253A29+PM" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
...and today Making the spacers I needed to properly mount the rear turn signals onto the bike rear fender. Yesterday it was warm enough to work with the garage door open the whole day! Today was a lot colder but hey... Its January!<br />
<br />
I had some plastic spacers in my misc tool box from god knows what that looked like they would do the trick. Naturally they would need some tweaking to make the useful for the task I had in mind. First the holes in the spacers were too small so I had to drill them out. It is times like these that I wish I had more space in my garage, as it sits right now I operate out of three tool boxes and each time I work on something out come the boxes and subsequently all the tools I need and then when I am done everything ha to go back into the tool boxes (because I am a neat freak). It would be nice to have a work bench where everything that I use frequently could be laid out and a large tool chest to keep all my tools in one place. I am holding out hope for the tool chest not too much of a chance for the work bench though. It would also be nice to have a drill press for tasks like drilling out spacers etc...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYXxzcsBVIc/TyCbIPRer0I/AAAAAAAABPA/Ziy4mbAxkVs/s1600/IMG_3680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYXxzcsBVIc/TyCbIPRer0I/AAAAAAAABPA/Ziy4mbAxkVs/s640/IMG_3680.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is a good thing that I had 4 of the spacers because on two of them I did not do such a good job of drilling the holes so straight. If you look at my cobbly setup it's hard to believe I had issues right?<br />
<br />
Anyhow, as I am writing this I am realizing that I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures for this one. After drilling out the holes I went out and measure the angle of the pitch on the side of the fenders off vertical, which turned out to be 10 degrees off the vertical. I used a hacksaw to cut the angle on the spacers (a little tedious but it did the job). After I got the angle cut I trimmed the spacer down to 1/4" minimum thickness with the same hacksaw.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCgMjShuYs4/TyCbIafBozI/AAAAAAAABPA/zq2DnQhpfMY/s1600/IMG_3686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TCgMjShuYs4/TyCbIafBozI/AAAAAAAABPA/zq2DnQhpfMY/s640/IMG_3686.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I used the mounting holes on the back of the frame rails as a point of reference and center punched the point for the holes I wanted to drill 3/4" below and 1/4" rearward of the bottom center of those mounting holes.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pDCXkY2v6_4/TyCa81wtefI/AAAAAAAABPA/K2va1V9gGUo/s1600/IMG_3685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pDCXkY2v6_4/TyCa81wtefI/AAAAAAAABPA/K2va1V9gGUo/s640/IMG_3685.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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From there it was just a matter of running the wires through the wire loom in the underside of the fender, through to the top and re-connecting them. I cleaned them up with some zip-ties while I was at it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOaWMgr79HA/TyCcoiG3fAI/AAAAAAAABPA/Str2zLH-_so/s1600/IMG_3687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oOaWMgr79HA/TyCcoiG3fAI/AAAAAAAABPA/Str2zLH-_so/s640/IMG_3687.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-acmEmUMXvXg/TyCc5wVeNNI/AAAAAAAABPA/0QwwrKXhlLg/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-acmEmUMXvXg/TyCc5wVeNNI/AAAAAAAABPA/0QwwrKXhlLg/s640/IMG_3689.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vyEiMDOQsfM/TyCd22Mjb0I/AAAAAAAABPA/30ijVzwZRJU/s1600/IMG_3690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vyEiMDOQsfM/TyCd22Mjb0I/AAAAAAAABPA/30ijVzwZRJU/s640/IMG_3690.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
That was pretty much it. I am glad that once I had all the signals reconnected the flasher relay worked again which you can see in the video below.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
That is pretty much it for now. There will be some more engine troubleshooting coming up. Time to get this thing running reliably. I'd like to have that taken care of and have the thing titled for the Spring Crud Run! <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKT5tTER4fs/TyCd7u1H9vI/AAAAAAAABPA/wGdlW2gKZ7Q/s1600/IMG_3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKT5tTER4fs/TyCd7u1H9vI/AAAAAAAABPA/wGdlW2gKZ7Q/s640/IMG_3693.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thanks as always for reading!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-13583016927237798262012-01-13T17:38:00.000-06:002012-01-13T17:38:55.596-06:00Customizing A 1970 CB350 Tail Light for the GS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PI4x1zi1Mo/TwzF9Czqu9I/AAAAAAAABAo/xCQ6xqSJcWQ/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PI4x1zi1Mo/TwzF9Czqu9I/AAAAAAAABAo/xCQ6xqSJcWQ/s640/IMG_3600.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in November I <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/11/losing-gigantic-taillight.html">took the gigantic tail light off of theGS</a>, and had originally planned on using a small tail light lens that I had
literally found on the side of the road on a run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After comparing it to the size of the stock
turn signals (which I decided to keep and just shorten their stalks) it was
pretty obvious that the proportions were not right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Turn signals looked huge in comparison,
something had to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went out to
the local bone yard to look around and found that they had probably a thousand
huge tail lights just like mine hanging from the rafters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily after closer inspection they did have
a few smaller ones too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of them
had the mounting hardware to attach them to the fender as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the one that I really wanted, from
a 1970 CB350 did not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undeterred I
decided that it wouldn’t be too hard to modify the original tail light mount
and mount the new tail light to it.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7eBaQUs-2_M/Tw9lbVh4MCI/AAAAAAAABEY/YmaqAeEfQ9c/s1600/IMG_3608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7eBaQUs-2_M/Tw9lbVh4MCI/AAAAAAAABEY/YmaqAeEfQ9c/s640/IMG_3608.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I brought the new tail light and the old tail light to my
weekly (when my schedule allows) Wednesday night garage beer session at a
friend’s house to start the work, which can sometimes be a good idea if the
correct amount of booze and inspiration is applied, if there is too much booze best
case scenario nothing gets done, worst case scenario something gets ruined!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a lot of staring at the part and a good
amount of bullshitting I came up with a plan of attack that would net me the
desired results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, the license
plate would have to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mainly because
with a tail light half the size as the original I decided that it would look
ridiculous being that high up off the fender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the above picture you can see my plan of attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scribbled out areas would go, where my
thumb is, is the portion of the base of the mount that attaches to the
fender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using a straight(ish) piece of
petal that lat a 90-degree(ish) looking corner on it I drew lines parallel to
that portion of the base since the mount would be going back on the same part
of the rear fender the angle needed to be the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truthfully I eyeballed a lot of it and
freehanded the curve connecting the two straight lines on either side of the
mount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a drafter for 9 years so I
am pretty good at eyeballing things also the other drafter in the house
concurred that my lines were good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
little tab that you can see in the above picture is meant to be folded in and
under, making the portion of the mount where I will drill the holes to attach
it to the fender.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OMl4V6-G97Y/Tw9ldeHM_GI/AAAAAAAABA8/Jn1NQlLEhsY/s1600/IMG_3611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OMl4V6-G97Y/Tw9ldeHM_GI/AAAAAAAABA8/Jn1NQlLEhsY/s640/IMG_3611.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I used your basic run of the mill hacksaw to make most of
the cuts, holding the mount in a bench vise and working my way around the
piece.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R7lyxMeZm04/Tw9l6OPiDUI/AAAAAAAABBc/WLwGl-QVBYk/s1600/IMG_3613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R7lyxMeZm04/Tw9l6OPiDUI/AAAAAAAABBc/WLwGl-QVBYk/s640/IMG_3613.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a little discussion we decided that the last cut on
the curved portion of the mount should be done by a cut-off wheel.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-13Cfvllo_mo/Tw9l4h-SMPI/AAAAAAAABEg/MJXq09XkGWg/s1600/IMG_3615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-13Cfvllo_mo/Tw9l4h-SMPI/AAAAAAAABEg/MJXq09XkGWg/s640/IMG_3615.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2jdX0kjKWCc/Tw9mM4OjnEI/AAAAAAAABEk/t_hAFofyPdM/s1600/IMG_3616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2jdX0kjKWCc/Tw9mM4OjnEI/AAAAAAAABEk/t_hAFofyPdM/s640/IMG_3616.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJfGhPQfNL8/Tw9mPDxomTI/AAAAAAAABEo/7shwZaH5EC0/s1600/IMG_3617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJfGhPQfNL8/Tw9mPDxomTI/AAAAAAAABEo/7shwZaH5EC0/s640/IMG_3617.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After folding the tabs down (again in the vise) and drilling
a couple of new holes in the back of the CB350 tail light to align with the
mounts holes we were at a point where I was satisfied to focus on drinking and
smart talk for the rest of the night.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psEDNvPO_5Y/Tw9mOENlXKI/AAAAAAAABBs/h7iJAhd8agI/s1600/IMG_3621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psEDNvPO_5Y/Tw9mOENlXKI/AAAAAAAABBs/h7iJAhd8agI/s640/IMG_3621.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next morning I gave the CB350 lens a good cleaning in
preparation for the next step I had in mind for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In looking at the lens from a side view I
could see that there was about ¾” of clearance between the front of the tail
light lens and the reflector inside the lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bulb sticks out further than the reflector but conveniently it is
centered on the round raised portion of the lens and is still a safe distance
from the plastic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plan was to cut
away that excess plastic slimming down the entire tail light assembly.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qftiGzk5hr8/Tw9mnccSAfI/AAAAAAAABCE/6BGMRLGYmWQ/s1600/IMG_3623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qftiGzk5hr8/Tw9mnccSAfI/AAAAAAAABCE/6BGMRLGYmWQ/s640/IMG_3623.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can see how much of the lens material I plan on removing
in this picture.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fGfHlRIcu4E/Tw9m9OwZzKI/AAAAAAAABCk/b1vWUaytSGI/s1600/IMG_3625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fGfHlRIcu4E/Tw9m9OwZzKI/AAAAAAAABCk/b1vWUaytSGI/s640/IMG_3625.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OYc2ti4ZKHU/Tw9mma_70VI/AAAAAAAABB8/EAgpdtUTknM/s1600/IMG_3624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OYc2ti4ZKHU/Tw9mma_70VI/AAAAAAAABB8/EAgpdtUTknM/s640/IMG_3624.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Dremel workstation that I got for Christmas came in
handy for this portion, it basically changes the Dremel into a drill press with
adjustable height for the entire press assembly which can also be rotated in
15-degree increments up to 90-degrees off vertical for grinding and cutting
sort of serving as a third hand, also it has an extension and hooks to hang the
Dremel from when using the flex shaft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What I did basically was set the desired height and then pivoted the
piece around the cutter following the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now if I would have had a larger diameter cutting wheel I would have
been able to flip the lens over and cut the lens that way rather than having it
teeter on the round raised portion of the lens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This would have gotten me a better initial cut and resulted in less
filing to smooth out the edges but you make do with what you have.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdRiBauzkdY/Tw9m8aHGl0I/AAAAAAAABCc/MwvDQFCZy1M/s1600/IMG_3626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdRiBauzkdY/Tw9m8aHGl0I/AAAAAAAABCc/MwvDQFCZy1M/s640/IMG_3626.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was slightly concerned about cutting the transition
between the red plastic and the clear plastic on the lens and took it easy on
the transitions and things went smoothly.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RidavzUfN8A/Tw9m7mDf1MI/AAAAAAAABCU/6HoIYDwqNwQ/s1600/IMG_3627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RidavzUfN8A/Tw9m7mDf1MI/AAAAAAAABCU/6HoIYDwqNwQ/s640/IMG_3627.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This first couple of pictures look worse than it really is
the plastic just got so hot when I was cutting that it melted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two pieces weren’t really stuck together
and a little cleanup with a pocket knife took off the melted excess.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qCIQYftAs94/Tw9nbndK0gI/AAAAAAAABC8/bEMInuGdysA/s1600/IMG_3628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qCIQYftAs94/Tw9nbndK0gI/AAAAAAAABC8/bEMInuGdysA/s640/IMG_3628.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AHM7Yxt8qQM/Tw9nWID2Z_I/AAAAAAAABCs/B8bPy0u9yRQ/s1600/IMG_3629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AHM7Yxt8qQM/Tw9nWID2Z_I/AAAAAAAABCs/B8bPy0u9yRQ/s640/IMG_3629.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7j2JQvzWcA/Tw9nZWAVZ_I/AAAAAAAABC0/E6EzVI5Otys/s1600/IMG_3630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i7j2JQvzWcA/Tw9nZWAVZ_I/AAAAAAAABC0/E6EzVI5Otys/s640/IMG_3630.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did end up filing the edge of the lens I was keeping so
that it wouldn’t let water leak into it and also so that it would look less
cobbly.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEwIxbTli1s/Tw9n1ZVQlbI/AAAAAAAABDU/AXvN04tmJiQ/s1600/IMG_3631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEwIxbTli1s/Tw9n1ZVQlbI/AAAAAAAABDU/AXvN04tmJiQ/s640/IMG_3631.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rubber gasket had shortened over the years and would not
fit properly with the lens and the back cover of the tail light anymore, the
way I got around this was to break out the arts and crafts hot-glue gun and glued
one corner of the gasket down worked my way around the lens gluing and
stretching the gasket as needed, the glue was strong enough to hold the gasket
in place so that it properly sealed when reassembled.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEPtbkV9q9I/Tw9nzvuRQFI/AAAAAAAABDM/d7zjxLna5p4/s1600/IMG_3632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEPtbkV9q9I/Tw9nzvuRQFI/AAAAAAAABDM/d7zjxLna5p4/s640/IMG_3632.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For reference, on the 1979 Suzuki GS 425L the brown wire
going to the tail light is the running light, the white wire is the brake light
and the black wire with the white stripe is the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the 1970 Honda CB350 light the brown wire
is also the running light and the green wire is the brake light the grounding
point on the tail light is the little tab pointing down with the small hole in
it.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EkgeeTIZJYc/Tw9nxJXheBI/AAAAAAAABDE/AweM2nZriUQ/s1600/IMG_3633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EkgeeTIZJYc/Tw9nxJXheBI/AAAAAAAABDE/AweM2nZriUQ/s640/IMG_3633.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Connections are soldered together and I soldered the ground
wire directly to the grounding tab.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEQhm1C6AUU/Tw9oLhztoWI/AAAAAAAABDc/fH3cH8iguYQ/s1600/IMG_3634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEQhm1C6AUU/Tw9oLhztoWI/AAAAAAAABDc/fH3cH8iguYQ/s640/IMG_3634.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can see the tail light and mount attached to the rear
fender, the original mount used three holes in the fender to attach, but due to
the having much less space I could only use two for them this time around which
I lined up by hand and then marked the holes to drill on the mounts tabs to get
the right position before drilling the holes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9MAbtBlYoo/Tw9oMUZy-WI/AAAAAAAABDk/yu-orlEPPvk/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9MAbtBlYoo/Tw9oMUZy-WI/AAAAAAAABDk/yu-orlEPPvk/s640/IMG_3635.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I couldn’t be happier with the results, the tail light is
basically the same width of the fender…</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYdjJoZKGJ4/Tw9oNOrrkEI/AAAAAAAABDs/9ZoSmP6VlI4/s1600/IMG_3636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYdjJoZKGJ4/Tw9oNOrrkEI/AAAAAAAABDs/9ZoSmP6VlI4/s640/IMG_3636.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">…and it is slightly taller than the turn signal and about
twice as wide which I think are good proportions.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HGFvG7rwD0/Tw9okVcW4tI/AAAAAAAABD0/vR-Xldqou2k/s1600/IMG_3637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HGFvG7rwD0/Tw9okVcW4tI/AAAAAAAABD0/vR-Xldqou2k/s640/IMG_3637.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tz4eb9U8kY4/Tw9oxg2zURI/AAAAAAAABEM/o9pqGL2ONHk/s1600/IMG_3640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tz4eb9U8kY4/Tw9oxg2zURI/AAAAAAAABEM/o9pqGL2ONHk/s640/IMG_3640.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also think that the ¾” I took off the depth makes a big
difference too it just looks a lot better!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At a glance you really wouldn’t notice that anything is not stock and
that is kind of what I am going for, subtle improvements without sacrificing functionality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did take a short video of the initial test
of the tail light and a little walk around which you can see below.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9xqIVofW5CQ" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I still have to make some spacers for the rear turn signals
to properly mount them to the fender so that will be what the next update will
be about in the next week or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks
to all who stop by and check out the blog!</span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-78265942608621711902012-01-11T12:28:00.001-06:002012-01-12T17:44:30.869-06:00Properly Installed The New Seat and other Misc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cIO384v6rhI/TwzFJsVQ0bI/AAAAAAAABAo/FYvzATRtwUg/s1600/IMG_3594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cIO384v6rhI/TwzFJsVQ0bI/AAAAAAAABAo/FYvzATRtwUg/s640/IMG_3594.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A while back I <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/06/front-fender-reinstalled-new-seat.html">acquired a seat from a Suzuki GT 185</a> that was
a much needed improvement to the original king and queen seat that the GS 425L
came with. Since then I have pretty much
just had the thing set on the frame rails waiting for me to get around to
figuring out the best way to get the seat mounted properly. I had originally thought about keeping the
king and queen seat because I thought it would be nice to use when I took my
wife for rides but I finally realized that there wasn’t any real way to get the
brackets I needed to mount the GT 185 seat without scavenging the king and
queen seat. It had to go…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But first I’d like to brag about my favorite Christmas presents
that I got!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-23mrteSe1A8/TwzBee8okrI/AAAAAAAABAo/VgfIviyTRhY/s1600/IMG_3564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-23mrteSe1A8/TwzBee8okrI/AAAAAAAABAo/VgfIviyTRhY/s640/IMG_3564.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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First, I got a complete Athena gasket kit for the engine as
well as new carb boots, gaskets o-rings and clamps for the intake between the
carburetors and the engine, where I suspect I have air leaking into the
combustion chamber after the air and fuel is mixed.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amPgdpEopL4/TwzAqcUpe6I/AAAAAAAABAo/wUz8dFvXD5M/s1600/IMG_3556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-amPgdpEopL4/TwzAqcUpe6I/AAAAAAAABAo/wUz8dFvXD5M/s640/IMG_3556.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly, I got a Dremel 4000 along with the Workstation,
Flex Shaft, Collet Assortment, Cutting Kit, Sanding and Grinding Kit, and a
Cleaning and Polishing Kit! You will see
that I got to use some of these things already on this project!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5MXVFdMMNLo/TwzBqdTu0NI/AAAAAAAABAo/INGuAOdI5rU/s1600/IMG_3565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5MXVFdMMNLo/TwzBqdTu0NI/AAAAAAAABAo/INGuAOdI5rU/s640/IMG_3565.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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The first step to getting this seat mounted properly was
getting the seat pan separated from the rest of the seat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5xPZMRIMiN8/TwzB5KXhWaI/AAAAAAAABAw/OI6HZ4P4vas/s1600/IMG_3566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5xPZMRIMiN8/TwzB5KXhWaI/AAAAAAAABAw/OI6HZ4P4vas/s640/IMG_3566.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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The first thing that has to come off are the chrome accents
that are on the seat, they are held on by these fasteners basically they way
they work that they are flat before they are installed on the pin and when you
push them on the pin they bend out and when you try to pull them back off they
clamp down onto the pin even more. The
way I got them off was to just use needle nose pliers and wiggled them back and
forth until they worked their way back off the pin. Now the pin itself is made of a very
malleable material and I didn’t have any trouble with any of them breaking and
the fasteners themselves also came off without any being broken. Your results may vary, keep in mind most of
the stuff we (shade-tree mechanics) work with are old and should be treated
with a little more care than new parts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q10b6DO58mU/TbS0KDVcg7I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/k0AVYUVXGBo/s1600/IMG_1713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q10b6DO58mU/TbS0KDVcg7I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/k0AVYUVXGBo/s640/IMG_1713.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The seat cover itself is held on in the same fashion as
shown on the <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/04/seat-repair.html">king and queen seat repair</a> I did a while back. The material is stretched over the seat foam
and then hooked over teeth punched out of the seat pan. To get the seat cover off just pull down to
free the material from the teeth and then out and release it from the teeth
working your way around the pan. I used
needle nose pliers on this as well careful to not tear any of the stitching or
poke through the seat material.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-91-otObsA-Q/TwzB7a5fFcI/AAAAAAAABAo/7sewdkzoeYw/s1600/IMG_3567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-91-otObsA-Q/TwzB7a5fFcI/AAAAAAAABAo/7sewdkzoeYw/s640/IMG_3567.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you get the seat cover free from all the teeth it
should come off pretty easily there may be some remnants of adhesive between
the cover and the foam that hasn’t been my experience with either the king and
queen seat or this GT 185 seat I am working with.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NA77-DamsAE/TwzCDiTE4eI/AAAAAAAABAo/R0d3CnOVZlY/s1600/IMG_3568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NA77-DamsAE/TwzCDiTE4eI/AAAAAAAABAo/R0d3CnOVZlY/s640/IMG_3568.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There will be some adhesive holding the foam to the seat pan
I just worked my hand in between the pan and the foam slowly and the adhesive
gave way pretty easily without leaving any chunks of foam on the seat pan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uzGr0_j8KG0/TwzCjGOHMTI/AAAAAAAABAo/18P6t8jRS28/s1600/IMG_3572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uzGr0_j8KG0/TwzCjGOHMTI/AAAAAAAABAo/18P6t8jRS28/s640/IMG_3572.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The first part I aligned on the GT 185 seat pan was the lock
latch. I decided to use the one from the
GT 185 as the contact points were exactly the same. First I aligned the seat pan properly
relative to there the pan would be relative to the gas tank and made sure the
rubber pads on the seat pan were aligned with the frame rails. Having accomplished that, I placed the
locking latch in the proper position and held it that position with my hand and
removed the seat pan, checked to make sure that the latch didn’t move when I
removed the pan and marked the holes in the latch with a sharpie. The only
issue came as you can see above was that for the latch to be in the correct
position the latch was hovering over a valley in the GT 185 seat pan. What I ended up doing was using a longer bolt
and first fixing it to the seat pan with a nut and then adding a second nut to
adjust the height level to seat pan not in the valley and then placing the lock
latch where it should be and securing that with a third nut. What you can’t see in those pictures was that
there was a factory placed bolt similar to the one in the foreground inhabiting
the space where I put the height adjusting bolt that needed to be drilled out
because it wasn’t tall enough to accomplish what I did with the replacement
bolt.</div>
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Above you see the two mounting brackets that I need to
scavenge from the king and queen seat one will be simple to transfer as it is
just bolted on and I can remove it and drill holes where needed in the GT 185
seat pan and mount it using nuts and bolts.
The second one is welded directly to the seat pan so I will need to cut
it out and drill holes in it as well as GT 185 seat pan to mount it using nuts
and bolts.</div>
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The welded on bracket resided in a valley on the king and
queen seat which would be hard to get into and cut properly even with my new
Dremel so I drilled small holes in each corner being sure that when I connected
the dots to those holes on the other side of the seat pan that the lines would
clear the thicker portion of the bracket making it easier to cut only dealing
with the thin seat pan metal.</div>
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You can see I’ve connected those drill holes with a sharpie
and will cut along those lines to get the bracket free. It is much easier to cut in a raised position
than in a valley on the other side. As a
side-note, notice how much rustier the king and queen seat pan is than the GT
185’s. If you recall I <a href="http://79suzukigs.blogspot.com/2011/04/seat-repair.html">repaired a tearin the king and queen’s seat cover</a> which
appeared to have been there for a long time, this is the effect of moisture
getting into that seat foam and working it’s was down to the seat pan and just
sitting there causing all that corrosion.</div>
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As I got two of the lines cut I realized that I should
probably drill out the mounting holes on the bracket while I still had it
attached to the seat pan making it handy to hold still while drilling.</div>
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A couple more zips and the bracket was free! As a not for those who are curious, I went
through two of the Dremel heavier duty cutting discs to get the bracket
free. Also I am sung a regular corded
Dewalt drill to drill the holes, not the Dremel.</div>
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To locate where the brackets should go I first set the seat
ban on the frame rails and locked the latch into the lock giving me a fixed
pivot point to adjust the seat alignment around. I made sure that everything lined up as I did
earlier and slid the bracket that was bolted on the king and queen seat into
place and on the rear latch point and held it there while removing the seat and
marked the holes again with a sharpie.
Once I had that one located I did a similar process with the bracket I
cut out of the king and queen seat pan but this time I held I drew lines around
the bracket while the seat was in place on the bike to make sure I had the
proper placement. In the above picture I
am checking to make sure that the alignments make sense, since the seat frame
rail is straight the brackets should be directly in line with each other (they
were).<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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After that I center punched the markings on the seat pan and
drilled the holes. I used M7 bolds with
lock washers on the top side of the seat pan and flat washers on the bracket
side with ny-lock nuts to hold the brackets on.<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Here is the seat re-assembled I thought about using spray
adhesive to re-attach the seat foam to the pan but in the end did not I think
it should stay together just fine. If I
notice any abnormal shifting I may have to take it apart and glue them back together.</div>
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Back on the bike.</div>
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As a follow-up I did go back and put shrink tubing on the
wires I soldered for the front turn signals while I was at it.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTDovfY7-BI/TwzF4BbzA_I/AAAAAAAABAo/lajEIrDLeXY/s1600/IMG_3599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MTDovfY7-BI/TwzF4BbzA_I/AAAAAAAABAo/lajEIrDLeXY/s640/IMG_3599.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I also removed the old gaskets, carb boots, o-rings and
clamps and replaced them with the new ones I got. This was pretty simple as I had to take them
out anyhow to see what I was doing when re-routing the new (from the junk-yard)
throttle cable I got (the bike now has two non-broken throttle cables) down to the
carbs so I just re-placed them when re-installing the parts. The only tricky part in that process was
making sure that the o-ring stayed in place when sliding the spacer and the
gasket into place as the clearances are tight.
Now I will have to go through and vacuum synch the carbs and set the
idle again to see if the new intake hardware made a difference.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n-H87LiVcDQ" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PI4x1zi1Mo/TwzF9Czqu9I/AAAAAAAABAo/xCQ6xqSJcWQ/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_PI4x1zi1Mo/TwzF9Czqu9I/AAAAAAAABAo/xCQ6xqSJcWQ/s640/IMG_3600.JPG" width="640" /></a>Also on tap for next time, while I was at the junk-yard I
found a tail light from a 1970 Honda CB350 that is much smaller and more
proportional to the turn signals that I will be figuring out how to mount to
the existing bracket which will be lowered and then also I may shave some of
the depth off of the CB350 tail light lens to make it a little slimmer. I will also be making some spacers I need to
mount the turn signals directly to the rear fender.</div>
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Stay tuned for some more updates as they come and as always
thanks for reading!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-66444415230566229452011-12-11T14:32:00.001-06:002012-01-25T18:55:14.362-06:00Saying Goodbye to the Lollipops Part 1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZuwWvQahdM/TuT7n-o9mXI/AAAAAAAAA6M/GleTNI61Big/s1600/combined.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZuwWvQahdM/TuT7n-o9mXI/AAAAAAAAA6M/GleTNI61Big/s640/combined.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A while ago I stated that I wanted to clean up the look of the turn signals on the bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that I wanted to re-use the original signals and shorten the ridiculously long stalks that Suzuki deemed necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main reason for keeping the original turn signals is primarily a financial one and secondarily a cosmetic one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really can’t think of any new aftermarket turn signals that would blend with the looks of my 32 year old bike so combining that with the extra cost involved, I set about modifying the stalks to make them shorter.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWIsFkc2jY8/TuPNidackmI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/U9LWBXT7kGk/s1600/IMG_3192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWIsFkc2jY8/TuPNidackmI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/U9LWBXT7kGk/s640/IMG_3192.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had hoped that I would be able to have my machinist friend shorten up the original stalks and re-thread them but he stated that it would be too much work so my next plan was to find shorter bolts in the same diameter and thread pitch (M10 X 1.25) and have him drill out the centers which he found to be more agreeable.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPag3VSVA9g/TuPNiLLe4VI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/whMIbR2X_Dc/s1600/IMG_3190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPag3VSVA9g/TuPNiLLe4VI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/whMIbR2X_Dc/s640/IMG_3190.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After he drilled out the centers, all I had to do was hack-saw off the heads and grind a bevel on the cut end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJKzVzSRV9I/TuPNWrgVP9I/AAAAAAAAA4I/3VDqbCv-QnM/s1600/IMG_3191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJKzVzSRV9I/TuPNWrgVP9I/AAAAAAAAA4I/3VDqbCv-QnM/s640/IMG_3191.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These obviously, are much shorter than the original stalks.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WdTmj8kNNfQ/TuPN-EZHoPI/AAAAAAAAA4o/ugXvG1080ms/s1600/IMG_3194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" mda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WdTmj8kNNfQ/TuPN-EZHoPI/AAAAAAAAA4o/ugXvG1080ms/s640/IMG_3194.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I did add a nut to each signal to act as a small spacer to make sure that there was no contact between the turn signal and the headlight mounting bracket.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTjnyPA_Vwk/TuPN-ixawRI/AAAAAAAAA4w/Tn4Vjpt7Ozg/s1600/IMG_3218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTjnyPA_Vwk/TuPN-ixawRI/AAAAAAAAA4w/Tn4Vjpt7Ozg/s640/IMG_3218.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had to cut the connector on the positive lead off to get the wire out of the stalks since they were put on after the wire was run through the stalk and the connector was a larger diameter than the wire itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consequently then I had to re-solder the wire together.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cbYekInIELI/TuPOLmec_TI/AAAAAAAAA44/gvFe4gjCCcg/s1600/IMG_3219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cbYekInIELI/TuPOLmec_TI/AAAAAAAAA44/gvFe4gjCCcg/s640/IMG_3219.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FADyJH49Juo/TuPOYqAhS8I/AAAAAAAAA5E/2rjJ46GqeqM/s1600/IMG_3221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FADyJH49Juo/TuPOYqAhS8I/AAAAAAAAA5E/2rjJ46GqeqM/s640/IMG_3221.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">That was a pretty simple task and as I am typing this I am realizing that I used black electrical tape to cover the soldered bits when I actually have shrink tubing and a heat gun, so I will have to go back and re-do the job properly later. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_qQdL9WgiA/TuPO4_tix8I/AAAAAAAAA5o/9cUeyWuoQbs/s1600/IMG_3225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g_qQdL9WgiA/TuPO4_tix8I/AAAAAAAAA5o/9cUeyWuoQbs/s640/IMG_3225.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;">I was only able to get the front signals mounted as the rear signals were originally mounted to the luggage rack-type thing which I removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My plan is to drill mounting holes in the rear fender and mount the turn signal directly to that.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1wG2owcd50Y/TuPO3I4e8BI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/BKoZztAXric/s1600/IMG_3226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1wG2owcd50Y/TuPO3I4e8BI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/BKoZztAXric/s640/IMG_3226.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I am really happy with the results on the front <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and am sure that I will be happy with the rear as well once they are mounted but I will need to do some searching for a tail-light smaller than the original but bigger than the smaller one I had found on side of the road, proportion will be key.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WO0M6wZHlic/TuPPBDWYT1I/AAAAAAAAA5w/3Aq36nHFONk/s1600/IMG_3227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WO0M6wZHlic/TuPPBDWYT1I/AAAAAAAAA5w/3Aq36nHFONk/s640/IMG_3227.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JEJDnZOOZSo" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s it for now, thanks for reading, and look forward to some more turn signal work next time and I will be working on finding parts for the intake leaks on the engine as well.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3997892820902166421.post-18214392124469839912011-11-22T12:01:00.001-06:002011-11-22T12:10:16.287-06:00Losing the Gigantic Taillight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2I9vcgxNwcU/TsvXRLFkADI/AAAAAAAAA28/pNr9ZpKsW5E/s1600/11+11%253A08%253A39+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2I9vcgxNwcU/TsvXRLFkADI/AAAAAAAAA28/pNr9ZpKsW5E/s640/11+11%253A08%253A39+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a while since I have worked on oldbike, and this
last Sunday I decided to at least give “the ball” a little nudge to start it
rolling again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have heard it said
about any project that the trick to finishing it is to do at least one little
thing related to the project once a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I let myself fall off that wagon a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course marital, domestic, family, and social obligations will take
precedence to the work on oldbike (and they have) but there have been times where
I could have popped out for a bit and didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I guess I would say that I was a little burned out on the project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have gotten past the desire to make this
into a Café racer per-se and am firmly focused on tailoring this bike to my
needs not anyone’s preconceived notions of what it should be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now my vision is (and I think I’ve said
it before) an urban assault/commuter geared for quick acceleration probably with
a top speed of around 70-80mph perhaps with some sort of 0n/off road tires if
the make them and for some reason I want to be able to ride the things down
some stairs…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I took aim at the most glaringly ugly thing on the bike to
me, the huge tail light… it had to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really all it took was a 10mm socket and a wrench for the three nuts
that hold the light riser to the fender and a flat head screw driver to loosen
the wire looms that run under the rear fender to get the thing off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once I had it off I had to take a peek inside the lens just
out of curiosity and it is amazing how pristine the inside of the taillight
was!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure that it is exactly the same
as it looked on the day the bike was assembled 31 years ago!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jk6_6uy9rus/TsvXm0nO-RI/AAAAAAAAA3M/eXq5ZGCq7gI/s1600/11+11%253A10%253A14+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jk6_6uy9rus/TsvXm0nO-RI/AAAAAAAAA3M/eXq5ZGCq7gI/s640/11+11%253A10%253A14+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wr8S6trIYyc/TsvX0asqs-I/AAAAAAAAA3U/LrJSNiZkM-s/s1600/11+11%253A10%253A51+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wr8S6trIYyc/TsvX0asqs-I/AAAAAAAAA3U/LrJSNiZkM-s/s640/11+11%253A10%253A51+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2021UFvTJwk/TsvX_2ps4LI/AAAAAAAAA3c/rs1CLyLtWYw/s1600/11+11%253A11%253A45+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2021UFvTJwk/TsvX_2ps4LI/AAAAAAAAA3c/rs1CLyLtWYw/s640/11+11%253A11%253A45+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once off, the rear end of the bike looked so much more
spritely and light!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--iyFjcb5aEA/TsvYLwavYNI/AAAAAAAAA3k/wxWJKM6QWfc/s1600/11+11%253A12%253A31+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--iyFjcb5aEA/TsvYLwavYNI/AAAAAAAAA3k/wxWJKM6QWfc/s640/11+11%253A12%253A31+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D2JMpoWETH0/TsvYguQclqI/AAAAAAAAA3s/KOuvBQb5mp8/s1600/11+11%253A13%253A19+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D2JMpoWETH0/TsvYguQclqI/AAAAAAAAA3s/KOuvBQb5mp8/s640/11+11%253A13%253A19+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Things to come for the winter will be a search for new
gaskets and boots for the carbs and intake, perhaps a teardown of the engine
after that if the new boots and gaskets fix the warm idling issue to remove a
broken bolt for the cam chain tensioner and re-gasketing the engine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still need to manufacture some seat
mounting hardware to match the mounting points on the oldbike and once I do I
would like to lose those taillight/luggage rack mount points and weld in a
seat-look to match the contours of the rear of the seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with respect to the fenders I had
originally planned on trimming them but if this is going to be a true commuter
bike the full fenders would be nice for the inevitable rain I’ll end up
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will repaint the gas tank this
winter too but I kind of like the chrome on the fenders so those will get a
little cleaning and that will be it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
headers and mufflers are ugly; I’ll have to decide what to do about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I sit here typing the list keeps getting
longer! I would like to have the thing road-worthy by spring as a time table.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7AFdRg1tdKE/TsvYrGKutGI/AAAAAAAAA30/EMaJEg_fI84/s1600/11+11%253A14%253A42+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7AFdRg1tdKE/TsvYrGKutGI/AAAAAAAAA30/EMaJEg_fI84/s640/11+11%253A14%253A42+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am thinking of giving this little taillight lens that I
found (literally) on the side of a road while on a run, a try, though the only
issue is that if I plan on keeping the stock turn signals this might be a
little small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I might have to keep
looking for something more balanced.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQsZLg91XbU/TsvY1c-w0CI/AAAAAAAAA38/wxK5LDESdKY/s1600/11+11%253A15%253A24+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQsZLg91XbU/TsvY1c-w0CI/AAAAAAAAA38/wxK5LDESdKY/s640/11+11%253A15%253A24+AM" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So yeah… I didn’t do a whole lot of work for this post but I
need to get started somewhere and hopefully this little nugget will be the just
the nudge I need to get the project rolling again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks of course for reading!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0