Pic report of a touch of what I have been doing on bikes

[Leathel]

It seams every bike I own needs work atm, I took a few pics of some of the work so thought I would share........... Just because

Still more to sort yet, more bikes is not always more fun

[The emperor has no clothes]

Whoa ! You've been busy. I sure do like those bag mount/pillion floorboards you made some time back. 

[Leathel]

Whoa ! You've been busy. I sure do like those bag mount/pillion floorboards you made some time back. 

XR250 (1986)
Rebuild carb, replace and strip n clean front brake master and caliper (didn't replace the seals...tried to keep costs down)  Ready for some use on the old girl

TTR230 Rebuild carb, bleed brakes and free up brakes, needs a caliper strip but has seized pad pins..... needs more work to get 100%

DRZ400 Strip calipers and clean to free up the pistons, Rebuild card (Major PITA to remove it) service the rest ready to sell....... If my son doesn't want it

VL1500 (Friends bike that Jim used) drain carbs, charge battery give it a run, easy job

KTM525  Replace the steering lock (had no key for it) Fit an ignition switch (out of sight) Straiten and weld the crack in the front rim, fit some tires & new tubes (very stiff sidewall so Fn tight to fit)


Valk Remove carbs and fit new floats, fit new mix screw kit (mine had a couple of washers missing when I got it) clean coil mounts (a little rusty) replace cam belts, replace fan switch, Make jack frame, secure exhaust shield and mod/fit exhaust tips
Still going to teak the forks (lighter oil, too stiff) Make forward controls, make trailer, replace shocks, mod seat (old and foam is hard) and so many more things I can't remember atm

[The emperor has no clothes]

You are making me feel guilty. I haven't even washed my bike in a couple months.    (nice work on the bikes) 

[f6john]

I like the old sedan too, what is it?  I need to do all that you have done and then some more on my bike. I'd like to come and play at your house some time!

[Leathel]

I like the old sedan too, what is it?  I need to do all that you have done and then some more on my bike. I'd like to come and play at your house some time!

The old sedan is an Old Dodge.39? A customers car that I will work on when I get time, 2 more in the que before him

The bonus of owning your own business, can use some of the workshop as storage/bike work bay....the home at home is for fishing gear/rifle gear and the boat

[Leathel]

I got out for a ride yesterday and was pleasantly surprised how the new tips have changed the exhaust note, it's now a deeper growl down in the low revs and under acceleration but much quieter at cruise speed, doesn't drone like it did (pig tails removed and baffles punched)

The shorter open tips made so much more difference than I expected

A few pics from Yesterdays ride

[Leathel]

After fitting the Progressive fork springs the front awhile back it has been too stiff for my liking with 10W oil so I got some 5W oil
Had a look and figured slipping the RF fork out was easy enough so tipped the oil out, measured the volume and replaced with the same volume of 5W and back together in record time

A quick test ride and it's not too soft, Will go for a long ride tonight and see if I like it  

[turtle254]

only doing one side?

[Leathel]

only doing one side?

Yup

[Jess from VA]

Rather than going with a thinner oil weight, many (me too) went with a couple ounces less of the called for 10 wt.  Syringe it out without full disassembly?  Whether done by oil volume measure, or measuring from from the top.

I paid rather large money to get my forks rebuilt and Progressive springs added a long time ago.  And the front end might as well have been a hard tail..... shoulder jarring, teeth rattling.

The guy (at a metric dealer) had a long history of working on Wings, and swore he did the job entirely by the book (with 10wt), so he expected to be paid again to go back in.  I wouldn't pay, so I lived with them as is, and in a couple years they got more reasonable in stiffness.

I have also read multiple times that all MC fork oil is not the same; 10wt to 10wt, or 5wt to 5wt.  No clear uniformity among manufacturers of fork oils apparently.

[Leathel]

Rather than going with a thinner oil weight, many (me too) went with a couple ounces less of the called for 10 wt.  Syringe it out without full disassembly?  Whether done by oil volume measure, or measuring from from the top.

I paid rather large money to get my forks rebuilt and Progressive springs added a long time ago.  And the front end might as well have been a hard tail..... shoulder jarring, teeth rattling.

The guy (at a metric dealer) had a long history of working on Wings, and swore he did the job entirely by the book (with 10wt), so he expected to be paid again to go back in.  I wouldn't pay, so I lived with them as is, and in a couple years they got more reasonable in stiffness.

I have also read multiple times that all MC fork oil is not the same; 10wt to 10wt, or 5wt to 5wt.  No clear uniformity among manufacturers of fork oils apparently.

dropping the level will be stage 2 if required, I have a wire tie wrapped around the fork to check its travel while on the ride, I am about to head out on some rough roads... time will tell, I set the levels to spec previously. If the forks stop too short of bottoming I will lower the level and try again, but I don't want to go too low, need the oil/air to cushion it when it runs out of travel


With my daughters bike the oil level was set too high when we got it so it bottomed early on the oil, made for a stiff ride

[turtle254]

only doing one side?

Yup

Why just one side?

[Leathel]

only doing one side?

Yup

Why just one side?

The LH fork has no damping rod in it, no valving at all, just has oil to lube and create the air cushion over the level the oil is set at so weight of the oil makes no difference

[Leathel]

The wire tie shows I still have 40mm of travel with normal riding on undulating rough roads, I also tried some heavy braking over bumps and that took it down to 30mm travel left....It was a nicer ride but I may drop the level on both a little and try again when I get a moment

[Jess from VA]

I rode around on leaking forks for 3-4 years.  The leaks were minor, and one worse than the other, and I got multiple temporary relief from a seal mate cleaning.  But I was never able to tell a difference in good suspension all during the leaking (just me at 195lbs).  And once fixed (with complete disassembly and new parts/oil), I still couldn't tell any difference.  But I did tell my re-builder (Big BF) to leave out about two oz on each side.  

[Leathel]

I rode around on leaking forks for 3-4 years.  The leaks were minor, and one worse than the other, and I got multiple temporary relief from a seal mate cleaning.  But I was never able to tell a difference in good suspension all during the leaking (just me at 195lbs).  And once fixed (with complete disassembly and new parts/oil), I still couldn't tell any difference.  But I did tell my re-builder (Big BF) to leave out about two oz on each side.  

One of my workers had his VTX forks rebuilt and they messed up the specs for the fork level and it hashly bottomed out on rough roads.....but it was way low on oil.

I will drop the level some yet