what did you wrench on today??

[sam000lee]

Nice! I too make a few extra bucks with leather work. Been messing with leather off and on since '91. I love doing wallets but now most of my work is gun holsters
www.boriqualeather.com

Wow beautiful work. Those holsters are amazing as are the wet molded bags.

[Boriqua]

New coils, condensor, ignition plate plugs and wires for the SuperHawk.

Dude .. that is stunning!! I have to look it up just to find more details but wow what a looker.

[Grimly]

Molished a couple of temporary legshields for the XJ900 for this winter. Removable in ten minutes, I reckon.
These, combined with the extra height on the windshield and the hand guards, should give me enough to take the edge off the weather.

[steve murdoch]

Dude .. that is stunning!! I have to look it up just to find more details but wow what a looker.

Thanks for the compliments, Gents.
Most of it is a '66 with bitsa parts from a '67 donor.
I wish i could ride it but insurance up here is expensive. Even Vintage insurance here worked out to $400 and that is too much for something i would only ride a couple times a summer. In the old days we would just swap plates from an insured bike but being older and ahem, wiser it is not a chance i want to take.

[Mr.humbucker]

Do you have a website? Nice work. I bet if you embossed them with the Suzuki logo you'd sell quite a few here.

[rustybronco]

Made new mounting studs for the lower tank of the radiator and mocked it up. Waiting on the bulk rad hose to arrive. I still have to make new mounting cushions.



The air cleaner tube was crushed and cracked. Got most of the damage out. I still need to align the pieces and TIG them back together. I've got a bit of practice before I'm comfortable putting the torch to it.






Head gasket has been replaced. Need to re-torque the head and re-adjust the valves. I'll get after the body work late next year.

Up and running. https://youtu.be/YNZlqeSBSe8

[Burque73]

I sealed a couple of pinholes in my tank today to get ready for the por-15 liner. After pulling the float assembly I was able to get an inspection camera inside the tank where the leaks were (toward the front on the bottom edge). I didn't see any rust, in fact the entire tank is spotless inside! I've decided to fill these holes from the outside only and hold off on the liner until summer, or another hole opens up.

Trying to get the last bit of gas out of the tank was surprisingly difficult, even with the petcock and float removed. It reminded me of shaking a piggy bank trying to get coins out. I can't imagine going through the three step sealing process and trying to get the excess chemicals out, or making sure there isn't a pooling spot of sealer inside. In any case, this tank seems to have been lined before and looks great! Not sure why the holes opened up.

With the existing liner in place I wasn't sure if the prep chemicals would dissolve it or make a real mess, so another reason I will postpone installing the new liner. One final reason is the cold garage. The process would be so much more efficient in the summer time and I would also be able to go outside with those nasty chemicals.

The petcock bolts had lock washers instead of the OEM rubber coated washers, which allowed a slow drip occasionally. That will be corrected on reassembly.

[Buffalo Bill]

We shall come rejoycing, lapping in the valves

Lapping the valves using a tap wrench, spinning the valve on one side, lightly pushing in the valve on the other:

[johnod]

Thanks for the compliments, Gents.
Most of it is a '66 with bitsa parts from a '67 donor.
I wish i could ride it but insurance up here is expensive. Even Vintage insurance here worked out to $400 and that is too much for something i would only ride a couple times a summer. In the old days we would just swap plates from an insured bike but being older and ahem, wiser it is not a chance i want to take.

I'm paying less than that for classics that are worth more, check Dalton Timmis.
Nice bike.

[steve murdoch]

Thanks, John.
I have been with Dalton Timmis for 10 years on their Vintage program.
My '79 and '81 CBX are $368 a piece and have been very happy with them.
When i inquired about the SuperHawk they quoted me $386.00.
Add the $125 or so for an appraisal and it didn't make sense to me.

[johnod]

Thanks, John.
I have been with Dalton Timmis for 10 years on their Vintage program.
My '79 and '81 CBX are $368 a piece and have been very happy with them.
When i inquired about the SuperHawk they quoted me $386.00.
Add the $125 or so for an appraisal and it didn't make sense to me.

Living in ON wit bikes isn't cheap that's for sure. Like you're CBX.

[chuck hahn]

In reference to Bills post...some snug fitting rubber hose works well for lapping valves too..and it prevents any possibikty of that tap handle leaving any burrs.


Lapping the valves using a tap wrench, spinning the valve on one side, lightly pushing in the valve on the other:

[Brendan W]

'79 KZ400B decided to idle on one cylinder only and was hanging at 4000rpm.
Pulled the carbs and found the diaphragm was not seated properly on the top and there was a random speck of hard crystalline dirt in the pilot tube beyond the jet. Otherwise carbs as clean as a whistle. How it got in there is anybody's guess.
Much smoother now.

[dorkburger]

Since I discovered the issue a while back, I've had on and off obsessions about why / how my sprockets don't line up. It's beyond simple wheel adjustment, and the inside side of the front sprcket is heavily worn. I discovered that the bike was crashed hard, pieced back together, and parked in a dark garage for 12 years before I bought it. I read a while back that that its not uncommon for 1150 swingarms to twist, and on top of that, one axle cover had a big gash on it when I bought the cycle.

So off off it came last night for a look-see. It's out of whack by about an 1/8 inch. I suspect the sprocket side is pushed up based on the axle cover damage. If this is the case, it may well explain the misalignment.
This is actually great news.... Hopefully it will figuratively and literally put me on the right track. I have an arm from the parts bike that checked out good.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easily everything came apart after being bolted together and riding in the dirtiest part of a bike for 34 years... No stuck bolts, no struggles.

3 cents difference....
http://Damaged goods.... by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

[dorkburger]

More good news..... the swinger is also kicked over to one side by a 1/4 inch.... yikes.