what did you wrench on today??

[Burque73]

Gotcha. Glad that valve aint burnt.

I thought by the color difference it was toast. Do they crack when they're burnt?

Last time I checked the compression on my 850 they were all around 117. Not great but seems like that was still within limits.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

I've never burnt a valve. That would take long term abuse/neglect, or extreme built race engines & conditions as done by drag racers.

 

[Guest]

That's what I used, Aircraft and Auto stripper and that's what I expected to happen, I bought it at an auto body supply shop. I wanted to avoid using a wire brush or scraping so I wouldn't have to remove deep scratches.

Um no, it is strictly an aircraft paint stripper. Nothing on the can says "and Auto"

 

[wyly]

Ive been polishing and polishing and I've reached a point where I don't think the oem steel tank will get any better. Checking youtube for others who may have tried I never found any that went past a brushed steel finish(only with aluminum), maybe a low sheen or brushed finish is as best as can be done with low grade steel. Does anyone have a different experience with oem steel tanks? I plan to clear coat and add a yellow S(uzuki) decal in the future, the rubber tank bumpers and fuel cap painted in a bright red.

 

[steve murdoch]

I like the brushed aluminum look, Robert.
Sort of an '80s endurance racer look.
Got any fingerprints left?

 

[wyly]

I like the brushed aluminum look, Robert.
Sort of an '80s endurance racer look.
Got any fingerprints left?

nope, it's going to take a couple weeks before my Iphone's security system recognizes my fingerprints again.

 

[Brendan W]

Starter motor had been slow this last week or so with the odd complaint clack from the clutch.
On Monday it refused to turn at all after I stalled it in traffic. Rocked it in gear and pushed the button and it was ok ish.
Battery ok, no drops on feed or return cables.
Took it out and both brushes were well within limits but one was overhanging the comm by at least a mm and there seemed too much end float in the armature.
Cleaned up the reddish coloured comm and filed down the lip on the overhanging brush, rejigged the shims to take the endfloat down to about 1 mm.
Looking good, motor spinning fast and bike firing on the first or second compression stone cold.
We'll see. Find it hard to believe so little could make so much of a difference.

 

[Grimly]

Got the hokey-ass preload adjusters in place.
They seem to work.







There's about 12mm of basic preload in there because of the thickness of the washer and the protruding part of the threaded barrel, but that's fine as i had already tried a couple of 10mm spacers to see what difference they made, so knew I was on the right track.
The total available thread depth from zero adjustment to full (as seen in the pics) is 20mm, so plus the 12 gives me 32mm.
That works absolutely fine.

 

[bobgroger]

Bike Porn

Bike Porn

I just doubled the value of my bike
RS38. I have never had such shiny stuff....
For the 1260 dragbike. If they are too big I will just put bigger cams in.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Just doubled the value of your GS???? Come on Man…
Doubled the salvage value? ok.

 

[wyly]

I just doubled the value of my bike
RS38. I have never had such shiny stuff....
For the 1260 dragbike. If they are too big I will just put bigger cams in.

I recently installed tiny rs36s but then I don't have a drag bike. It fired up first try they're set up very well right out of the box.

I considered the practicality of putting pricey new carbs in old bike but I'm keeping the oem carbs so I can put them back in if I sell it and sell the RS36's separately. In the last few months I'll have put in $2-3K worth of upgrades in a bike that on a good day is worth $2-3k, our passion/hobby doesn't make any sense

 

[Buffalo Bill]

I'd like to put a RS36 rack in my track bike, because I've had a hard time tuning the CV carbs. I think I finally got them tuned right.
Same story, when that bike needs to go, it'll probably have to be parted out some to reclaim the component values.

 

[Guest]

Our hobby makes lots of sense if it is measured against accomplishments that satisfy responsible passions. $$$ can be over-rated.

 

[wyly]

Yeah it didn't make any sense to spend the time or money for a repaint but I was bored...today was paint and clear coat day

 

[wyly]

Put the tank protectors on, it came out better than I expected. Don't know if it's possible to polish it anymore but it does have a stainless steel look to it. The tank has awesome lines that were camouflaged by the OEM black, red and silver paint scheme.
Now I have to find the right product to stop it from rusting, anyone have experience with a product called EVERBRITE?

 

[Buffalo Bill]

lookin' mo betta

 

[Grimly]

Received another SU needle in the post, an AAA profile, and fitted it today.
The AAA is profiled to feed approximately 70 hungry horses on a tuned Mini 1000 (in the same ballpark for air demand), so I was fairly hopeful it would provide a reasonably close approximation to what I need here.
Instant difference on startup, almost immediately settled into a better idle than before. After some warm-up time, a bit of normal mixture and idle settings and the engine ticked over more steadily than it ever did before, so it's looking good. Flicking on the AFR gauge revealed the idle is a steady 12.6, so bang-on.
Wasn't able to do a test ride today as the wind was gusting up to 60+mph, so out on the road tomorrow with it.

In the same package was a hi-flow fuel inlet valve, normally fitted to fuel-guzzlers, but I suspect it's needed here to compensate for the gravity feed. I was never conscious of needing one before, but like a bolt from the blue it suddenly hit me - to rule it out, fit a bigger one.
I also suspect the petcock might not be flowing as much as it should, but will check that properly with a drain test both on the Prime and On setting. Last time I drained the tank on Prime there was no shortage of flow, but I've never checked it on the On position.

Once I get this carb sorted out properly, I can modify the spare carb for greater airflow and raise its capacity to almost match the next size up.
The carb in this case (currently fitted) is an HIF38 (1.5"), the next size up is the HIF44 (1.75").

 

[wyly]

I had dual custom brake lines made to replace the oem splitter system on the 1150. I cracked open one of the bleeders yesterday and was surprised to see fluid in there, I expected them to be dry I asked the mechanic if he bleed them at the shop, nope He'd put fluid in but that was all.

Well now that I'd opened it and let air in I expected to be bleeding everything, confirmed by zero resistance at the lever. I got my vac pump out and tried to bleed the left hand caliper, fluid and air came through but never a steady stream of fluid. I did this for an hr with my son and got no where. My mechanic told me when bleeding always start at the MC crack open the line and you'll hear air escape. I did that and still no brakes. Vac pump some more and still nothing, frustrated I went into the house to consult the forums technical advice..."GS with anti-dive are a pain in the butt, it can take many hr's" was the consensus.

Well now I'm concerned, I consult the shop manual which was no help. Dejected and confused what was I doing wrong? I have a coffee then an hour later I'm back into the garage give the lever a quick squeeze:eek-new: I have solid brakes WTH! I hadn't even bled the right caliper yet :-k. Hoisted the bike off of the front wheel spun the tire and squeezed the lever and it worked I texted my mechanic and he's as puzzled as I am.

There's some weird sort of black magic at play here. Not sure whether to trust the Moto Gods smiling down on me or continue the bleed process.

 

[Grimly]

The micro-bubbles slowly made their way up the line and dispersed at the surface of the m/c reservoir.
This is what happens when the old technique of strapping the lever back to the bar and leaving it overnight is employed as a last resort on a reluctant system.

 

[wyly]

The micro-bubbles slowly made their way up the line and dispersed at the surface of the m/c reservoir.
This is what happens when the old technique of strapping the lever back to the bar and leaving it overnight is employed as a last resort on a reluctant system.

that's what my mechanic said may have happened but in an only hour? And not having bled the right caliper at all?...I guess I should just be grateful for my good fortune but I can't help be suspicious.