what did you wrench on today??

[Brendan W]

Last night we had the first run of my home built particle detector. Technically it's a continuously sensitive alcohol/dry ice unit. It's built around a ten gallon fish tank.
It's a copy of what this guy did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVF4H7B6PsM 12:43 onwards for the fireworks.
We had an hour of muons , alfa particles and electrons. A guess, 100-200 per minute.
Looking at the muon tracks my brother asked if someone was clever enough could they arrange cosmic showers to talk to us through the muon tracks.
Now there is an idea.

 

[Nschultz]

got the tires mounted on my rims finally, and she fell over....damn hydraulic jack!!! looks to be minimal damage from the tip over at least. Broke the gauge hood, so now I need to find a replacement. Also looked at the brakes closer and the front rotors are toast....ugh. The axles are all rusted too, so before I put the wheels back on, i'm going to need to clean those up as well. nothing a wire brush and some sand paper wont handle.

 

[Boriqua]

Been having a devil of a time with idle so decided it wasnt a settings thing and pulled the carbs out. Although I dipped and cleaned them twice before summer they were pretty nasty so a little cleaning up, recheck float heights, install brandy new carb boots and clamps, put back together, go for a ride. Awesome ... purrs like a kitten at lights and roars like a lion when I get on it. So ... a good day in wrenching world in Mesa.

First time since I have owned the bike that I was able to drive at 10mph without it bouncing around.

 

[Burque73]

Been having a devil of a time with idle so decided it wasnt a settings thing and pulled the carbs out. Although I dipped and cleaned them twice before summer they were pretty nasty so a little cleaning up, recheck float heights, install brandy new carb boots and clamps, put back together, go for a ride. Awesome ... purrs like a kitten at lights and roars like a lion when I get on it. So ... a good day in wrenching world in Mesa.

First time since I have owned the bike that I was able to drive at 10mph without it bouncing around.

It's amazing how deceiving those boots can be. Looking good, feeling pliable doesn't necessarily mean they are still good. Mine were the same way. Same idle issue and it was maddening. Once changed, with new o-rings in my case, it was a great improvement.

So your four boots with same letter markings worked out fine, glad to hear it!

 

[Sandy]

Last week I got started on the winter cleanup of the semi-neglected 1000. Pulled the front end and controls apart and painted the calipers, master cylinder, fork brace and controls as well as finally install the braided brake lines I bought some time ago. The rest looked pretty good and just needed cleaning as well the calipers were rebuilt recently so nothing need there. Front is pretty much done so now to progress through the rest of it.

by soates50, on Flickr

 

[storm 64]

Very nice work Sandy. Your motorcycle is my inspiration. It was a reason I bought my 1000e also switching to spoked wheels.

 

[Sandy]

Very nice work Sandy. Your motorcycle is my inspiration. It was a reason I bought my 1000e also switching to spoked wheels. ��

Thanks Norm, I've had the pleasure of owning this one since 1992 and while being mostly original it was starting to show a little more patina than I cared for.

 

[Boriqua]

It's amazing how deceiving those boots can be. Looking good, feeling pliable doesn't necessarily mean they are still good. Mine were the same way. Same idle issue and it was maddening. Once changed, with new o-rings in my case, it was a great improvement.

So your four boots with same letter markings worked out fine, glad to hear it!

You are so right. The old boots had no discernible cracks and I could squeeze them in the middle but when I went to take them off it was a devil of a time getting them off the cylinder head. I had to gently use a screw driver to pry them off and as I did that you could here them cracking away. They were indeed hard as rocks. With the new ones being so pliable I was able to better align my air box and so my air filter box so it cleaned up the whole line to the engine. Bike ran like it was new!!

Going to turn my 2 mile ride to the post office today into a 20 mile ride through the desert!

 

[wymple]

While everyone is playing with bikes, I'm fighting my old Chevy truck. It's been pretty much gone completely thru mechanically, and runs great with lots of punch, but it has this nagging little problem of occasionally loading up & dying at idle. Got under the hood tonight in total darkness & found plug wires tracing. PO put them on new, but bought the cheap stuff. Never do that. Pretty sure that will clean it up. I got a low mile motor, put in a new timing set for the hell of it, all new gaskets, front & rear seals, plugs, thermostat, better steering box, idler arm, 4 new shocks, new tires. Damn shame it's 2 wheel drive, but I got it free & the frame & undercarriage is nice. Tomorrow I need to get into the 77 Goldwing I'm playing with, as I can't remember how strong the antifreeze is. Still need to wire the turn signals on it, too. I also need to tear the engine/trans out of my Guzzi for a shifting problem. The GS sits there begging for attention, but it's all cosmetic & may never get done.

 

[Jedz123]

Setup the new Jedz Shop... Nice to have a heated shop to work and drink beer in now!!

Put all the kids away and setup the RD on the bench for a tactful rebuild.

A tad cramped for 3 bikes... Plan to break ground next summer to expand a bit.

Right next to my desk sits my Yammy's

The Tux is in the Mud room awaiting use! I need some new mounts for my Puig Screen. Way to cold to go without one.

 

[lurch12_2000]

Setup the new Jedz Shop... Nice to have a heated shop to work and drink beer in now!!

Put all the kids away and setup the RD on the bench for a tactful rebuild.

A tad cramped for 3 bikes... Plan to break ground next summer to expand a bit.

Right next to my desk sits my Yammy's

The Tux is in the Mud room awaiting use! I need some new mounts for my Puig Screen. Way to cold to go without one.

That's great that you have a shop with heat to work on bikes for the winter. I know you'll be spending a lot of time there. Do you still have the Honda C90 relic? That RD is a cool old 2 stroke. That TUX is using valuable space and you really should get rid of....my way!! lol. Get yourself a decent four wheeler for the yard work and for muling stuff around. I didn't realize you had that seat on the FZ6.

 

[Jedz123]

No. Haha if I do trade out the TU250 I would get a Honda CB250/300 or SR400 or similar, nice little thumper. I love having a small light bike in the shop to run out in the cold and snow.

The daylong FZ6 seat is my friend Henry's. Its nice for long trips but too much if you want to attack corners. He let me borrow it a month or so ago.

I am in the works to get a little Can-Am Bombardier 250 to haul wood, supply and dirt around the property. Few hundred bones so no skin off my teeth.

The RD200 I acquired from a buddy. I swapped out the CT90 then. The CT90 was going to be Shan's bike but when she told me she lost interest I traded it out for the RD200. I always wanted to try running a small 2 stroke. Right now it smokes, too much, I think the reed blocks need to come out for cleaning. Bike starts one to two kicks or right off the e-start. Cool little bike. Tins are going to be sent out next month... RZ yellow paint job is in the works. I plan on cleaning up the bike and trying to chase the elusive over smoking issue...

 

[lurch12_2000]

A had a Russell day long seat on my old BMW K100LT. On straight up riding it was comfy, but the seat "ears" in traffic were a nuisance for stop and go or leaning into the curves. At stops I always had to scoot forward to put my legs down to avoid the annoying rub against my butt or upper thighs. I would never pay for one or part with my seat pan for 1-2 months waiting for a finished product from CA. The serious slabbers swear by them, which is rightly so.

 

[Nschultz]

Got my rear tire and chain all up together (530 conversion), new tires front and back, new pads for the rear and replace rotors on the front ( thanks Kochic!) and new pads. Finally got everything put together and took my GS1100e for a ride. Filled up the gas tank, and all was looking and feeling good. Rode it for probably 30 minutes and up to abou 70mph. The bike felt great!!! As soon as I got it home, it died in the driveway.....LOL. Battery is completely dead. I'm probably going to replace the stator and regulator/rectifier as a result. I don't actually know when the last time this bike was on the road, but she definitely moves out pretty good.

 

[earlfor]

No. Haha if I do trade out the TU250 I would get a Honda CB250/300 or SR400 or similar, nice little thumper. I love having a small light bike in the shop to run out in the cold and snow.

The daylong FZ6 seat is my friend Henry's. Its nice for long trips but too much if you want to attack corners. He let me borrow it a month or so ago.

I am in the works to get a little Can-Am Bombardier 250 to haul wood, supply and dirt around the property. Few hundred bones so no skin off my teeth.

The RD200 I acquired from a buddy. I swapped out the CT90 then. The CT90 was going to be Shan's bike but when she told me she lost interest I traded it out for the RD200. I always wanted to try running a small 2 stroke. Right now it smokes, too much, I think the reed blocks need to come out for cleaning. Bike starts one to two kicks or right off the e-start. Cool little bike. Tins are going to be sent out next month... RZ yellow paint job is in the works. I plan on cleaning up the bike and trying to chase the elusive over smoking issue...

I am guessing the old RD has an injection oil pump with a adjustment screw for output like my Kaw triples did. You can just tweak the oil pump back a tad. It usually normal for minimal smoke at low throttle settings up to about half throttle. Wide open throttle always produced enough smoke on my Kaw to mask a navy destroyer. LOL

 

[Guest]

took possession of a craigslisted harbor fright bike lift, used once and 175 bucks! Merry christmas to me (and my back)....

 

[Burque73]

took possession of a craigslisted harbor fright bike lift, used once and 175 bucks! Merry christmas to me (and my back)....

Cool! I've been eyeballing those. How does the front wheel lock hold, secure enough?

 

[Guest]

Cool! I've been eyeballing those. How does the front wheel lock hold, secure enough?

Haven't tried it yet, BUT the consensus seems to be that the chock that comes with is pretty much garbage and is better replaced with something more robust, like: https://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle-wheel-chock-60392.html

For what I paid, this is an easy upgrade.

 

[sam000lee]

I grabbed one over the weekend and so far love having a lift...prompted me to do my GS750 valves on Sunday.

Yeah the clamp (wouldn't even consider it a chock) is pretty much useless and I guess technically could `hold' a motorcycle upright but it would fall over if you sneezed. I would trust it + ratchet straps. So far I've just had the bike on the center stand.

 

[Jedz123]

I am guessing the old RD has an injection oil pump with a adjustment screw for output like my Kaw triples did. You can just tweak the oil pump back a tad. It usually normal for minimal smoke at low throttle settings up to about half throttle. Wide open throttle always produced enough smoke on my Kaw to mask a navy destroyer. LOL

Thanks for the input!!!

The motor needs to come out for a freshen up anyway, I was thinking the reed blocks should come apart and be cleaned. It's amazing how easy she fires up though...

thanks again!