|
I wear jeans now that the weather's nicer, but picked up some shin/knee pads to wear under for anything longer than a 20 minute ride.
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 14:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 08:22 |
|
|
Z3n posted:Old whitehairs or Ewan McGregor McGregor only rides a BMW because they gave him one. His real allegiance lies elsewhere... 
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 19:23
|
|
|
Doctor Zero posted:McGregor only rides a BMW because they gave him one. His real allegiance lies elsewhere... Moto Guzzi as I recall.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 19:43
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Any commonly known problems with the old 84-85 Honda V4 Sabre 1100s besides the cam oiling issues? Besides being balls fast (that's the same motor as in the V65 Magna isn't it?) I've heard that the motor is... a little wacky. Not unreliable, but just extremely complicated. I want one, but should probably have a few more years of wrenching on bikes under my belt, as well as a copy of "Mind Numbing Rage and the Art of Motorcycle Repair".
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 20:05
|
|
|
OrangeFurious posted:Moto Guzzi as I recall. I wouldn't be able to trot out that picture if I said that, now would I?  (But yes, you are right.)
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 20:07
|
|
|
Gr3y posted:Besides being balls fast (that's the same motor as in the V65 Magna isn't it?) I've heard that the motor is... a little wacky. Not unreliable, but just extremely complicated. I don't think I'm getting it because someone's already in line and I'm not motivated enough to cut. It is the same motor as the V65 magna. And for some reason, all honda V4s tend to be a little wacky.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 20:28
|
|
|
Gr3y posted:I want one, but should probably have a few more years of wrenching on bikes under my belt, as well as a copy of "Mind Numbing Rage and the Art of Motorcycle Repair". Be sure to also pick up a copy of "Why would they do this? Your Guide to Repairing Honda Motorcycles"
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 20:28
|
|
|
8ender posted:Be sure to also pick up a copy of "Why would they do this? Your Guide to Repairing Honda Motorcycles" Hondas are great because it seems like there's absolutely no communication between the engineers and anyone who ever works on the bikes. For example, on my 929: They obviously wanted more stiffness across the front of the frame, behind the headstock. No big deal, just weld in a supporting crossmember. Right across the loving top of the spark plugs.  You have to split your extension, drop the spark plug socket down the hole, attach the extension to the spark plug socket, attach the ratchet to the extension, and then when you pull the plug you have to carefully seperate each one as you pull them out or risk getting them jammed between the top of the engine and the crossmember. Don't have a 3 inch extension? Good luck ever getting those fuckers out!The bikes are fantastic examples of mass centralization, engineering at it's best, but the only thing that makes sense is that they were designed to be assembled once at the factory in perfect spec, ridden for 50k, and then thrown away. Z3n fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Jun 23, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 20:37
|
|
|
Z3n posted:The bikes are fantastic examples of mass centralization, engineering at it's best, but the only thing that makes sense is that they were designed to be assembled once at the factory in perfect spec, ridden for 50k, and then thrown away. planned obsolescence 
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 21:16
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Hondas are great because it seems like there's absolutely no communication between the engineers and anyone who ever works on the bikes. For example, on my 929: They obviously wanted more stiffness across the front of the frame, behind the headstock. No big deal, just weld in a supporting crossmember. as if i didn't hate japs enough already.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2009 22:58
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:as if i didn't hate japs enough already.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2009 10:34
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:as if i didn't hate japs enough already. ....says the guy with a Moto Guzzi
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2009 15:15
|
|
|
Ugh, my bike ran out of electricity yesterday. I was able to disconnect the headlight and get enough juice out of the poor battery to kick start it. I have done a modification to directly power the coils with a relay instead of going through the rest of the bikes systems so I was able to run with just the coils and a taillight all the way home. Also thank god for old bikes with kick starters. Seems like the charging system isn't completely broken as once I disconnected the headlight it charged back up a bit by the time I limped it 50km home. The rectifier was really loving hot after working so hard though. I was a little worried I was going to melt something until I hit the county roads and could get some wind moving over it. Also for reference to other old bike owners, the guy below will hand wind you a lovely new rectifier or regulator for your bike with all the stock connectors added. He offers a lifetime guarantee and I've heard nothing but good things about his products. Prices are good as well. I think I may have to purchase something from him soon. http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com/ 8ender fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Jun 24, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2009 16:34
|
|
|
8ender posted:Be sure to also pick up a copy of "Why would they do this? Your Guide to Repairing Honda Motorcycles" Unit pro link sure is a neat concept *impossible to adjust preload* 
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2009 18:02
|
|
|
8ender, I'm not sure that's the best path. I don't like the buzz box regulators. And you can't "hand wind" a rectifier. You'd be better off getting a solid state replacement. I suppose I should go look at what he's selling....... Looking at his products now. His rectifiers are box stock stuff from digikey, or any other generic electrical supplier. The're not $20, they're $2-5 parts. That's forgivable though. When I was reselling microswitches I had about the same ratio going. Checking his website, there's nothing there that's hand wound. He's just found good suppliers for the modern replacements. And sells them at good prices. His r/r combinations look good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2009 19:38
|
|
|
Nerobro posted:8ender, I'm not sure that's the best path. I don't like the buzz box regulators. And you can't "hand wind" a rectifier. You'd be better off getting a solid state replacement. drat, I guess my lack of knowledge about the mysteries of rectifiers and regulators showed in that post. I thought those things were wound. Either way everyone seems to be happy with the quality of his particular brand of magic boxes. I'm also embarrassed to admit I had to do a search to figure out how to measure resistance with my multimeter  I'm having a hell of a time diagnosing this system though. I'm actually doing better looking at some resources for troubleshooting Suzuki GS bikes as they used a similar three wire stator system. The resources for the KZ650 are really hard to come by because only the 1977 used a three wire stator with a separate regulator and rectifier. They switched to a permanent magnet setup the next year. Everyone on the KZ forums is getting the procedures for the two mixed up and the advice is conflicting. I'm leaning towards the rectifier being bad as the stator doesn't seem to have any shorts and I went through the process of cleaning and adjusting the regulator, which looked okay. I then did another test where I bypassed the regulator completely and still didn't get charging. I can get it to a low 13v at around 3000 rpm with the headlight disconnected, so it is still charging a little, but with the headlight connected I'm getting 12.5 which just isn't enough to break even, which I found out when the bike stranded my rear end. The only thing I have left to do is to confirm that the stator is putting out the right AC. Am I on the right track here? 8ender fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Jun 25, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2009 12:14
|
|
|
Hey 8ender, I don't know what you've done so far, but if the rectifier is getting hot, then it's working. However, if things are getting hot elsewhere in the wiring loom, that could be the problem. That was what was killing the charging system on my old VFR. Have a look at your electrical connectors, and things like the main relay housing for corrosion and/or melting. As a connector or plug gets corroded, it builds up resistance and acts like, well, a resistor. It will then get hot, start melting itself, and eventually grind the whole charging system to a halt.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2009 12:25
|
|
|
Linedance posted:Hey 8ender, I don't know what you've done so far, but if the rectifier is getting hot, then it's working. However, if things are getting hot elsewhere in the wiring loom, that could be the problem. That was what was killing the charging system on my old VFR. Have a look at your electrical connectors, and things like the main relay housing for corrosion and/or melting. As a connector or plug gets corroded, it builds up resistance and acts like, well, a resistor. It will then get hot, start melting itself, and eventually grind the whole charging system to a halt. I'm going to recheck the grounds tonight but when I limped it home and noticed the rectifier was getting real hot I checked most the the other wires by touch and found them to be okay. Just to confirm with everyone, when I set my multimeter to check resistance and put one lead on a ground wire connector and another on the frame I should get infinite resistance right?
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2009 16:17
|
|
|
8ender posted:I'm going to recheck the grounds tonight but when I limped it home and noticed the rectifier was getting real hot I checked most the the other wires by touch and found them to be okay. Just to confirm with everyone, when I set my multimeter to check resistance and put one lead on a ground wire connector and another on the frame I should get infinite resistance right? rectifiers are going to vary by design and heatsinking etc., but the one on the VFR gets loving hot. Ground to frame should be a short, ie. 0 ohms.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2009 16:25
|
|
|
Just ordered the most expensive and least comfortable way to get to Denmark with a vehicle. Ferry from Bergen to Hirtshals, no cabins available on the trip down so will be roughing it in the seating area, which is like big airliner seats in a room full of the crap people that actually take these ferries in this manner. Cheaper alternatives would be to ride to Kristiansand (near the southern tip) or Oslo and take overnight ferries from there. But it meant a Monday morning ride (after Sunday evening work) with a 500 km ride and the clock ticking. I'd be tired and I would be pressured by time. Might as well pay a bit more for no pressure and safety. The ferry terminal is a 5 min ride from home. First leg of the journey is just over 1000 km from the northern tip of Denmark to an internet friend's place. Then it's the Alps, two days in Tuscany and three or four in Provence ... by that point I'll have a figure on my endurance and see if I can make Normandy, either via Bordeaux for extra long journey or a straight blast sur l'autoroute. Or chicken out and go straight home. Either way, thousands of miles through a minimum of six countries, possibly two or three more. Hehe, I finish work on Sunday the 19th at 11 PM. Ferry leaves at 12.30 PM the day after. Ferry home on the 2nd of August, arrive in Bergen on the 3rd at 8 AM. Then to work by 3 PM.  This is the most hectic vacation ever. But also the best.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2009 23:53
|
|
|
Alright I tried a different multimeter and now I think I've narrowed down my charging problem. The stator is putting out a somewhat healthy 65v AC at 3500rpm so thats fine. With the regulator connected or disconnected I'm getting the same voltage across the battery so I think thats fine. The rectifier however is now showing resistance both ways when I reverse the leads on one wire, which I believe means its kaput. Even if it isn't I've ordered a new one anyways. Hopefully this solves all my problems.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 01:33
|
|
|
Well I put the new forks on today and... I need a new front wheel and axle bolt  Apparently a 2005 YZF600 front end is set up for a wheel about a half-inch wider than a 1995 YZF600 front end and uses a thread on one fork instead of a nut. There goes more money. redscare fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Jun 26, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 03:25
|
|
|
Ola posted:Either way, thousands of miles through a minimum of six countries, possibly two or three more. Man, that sounds like it's going to be an awesome trip. Is there anything specific you're going to hit up, or is it strictly for the ride? And I'm kinda glad that I sent my bike to the mechanic instead of messing with it myself, now. Apparently the Valves need adjusting, and when he opened it up there was just silicone(I would assume the Silicone gasket maker stuff) everywhere, he said. Thats way beyond my skills. Whoever was in there last just had no clue what they were doing.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 07:15
|
|
|
8ender posted:*charging system hell* The GS's came two ways. They did come with separate rectifiers and regulators, and unified r/r's. They work exactly the same. They are functionally the same as your KZ in every way. What you're looking at, since you get any electricity at all, is either a shot stator, or a shot rectifier. Both are easy to test. Now here's the silly bit, a shot stator and destroy the rectifier. Or a shot rectifier can fry a stator. You're kinda doing this backwards. Do a continuity/ohms test on the stator. If that's checks out, you can do some static tests of the rectifier. I bet you find that fried. I usually keep a spare r/r hanging around. Follow that GSR thing, if that doesn't help enough ;-) I"m here. Linedance posted:rectifiers are going to vary by design and heatsinking etc., but the one on the VFR gets loving hot. Permanant magnet regulators work by shunting power to the ground. They behave as a variable resistor to burn off the extra current. At idle, they should remain pretty damned cool 8ender posted:The rectifier however is now showing resistance both ways when I reverse the leads on one wire, which I believe means its kaput. Even if it isn't I've ordered a new one anyways. Hopefully this solves all my problems.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 07:41
|
|
|
Chairon posted:Is there anything specific you're going to hit up, or is it strictly for the ride? I'm staying with an internet friend in Tuscany and some friends in Cotignac, France. I've sort of plotted a route south through the Alps and compiled a mental list (soon to be a fully fledged spreadsheet) of other roads to ride. I don't know how many hours / miles I can do daily in the southern European summer so I don't want to commit to hotel bookings and so on. I really want to see the beaches and war memorials of Normandie, but it might be a little tight. We'll see! 
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 09:47
|
|
|
Nerobro posted:You're kinda doing this backwards. Do a continuity/ohms test on the stator. If that's checks out, you can do some static tests of the rectifier. I bet you find that fried. I usually keep a spare r/r hanging around. Sorry I must have not been explaining myself properly. I did end up testing the stator first and it seemed to pass the tests. Resistance across the yellow wires was more or less normal and it produced 65V AC power at ~3500rpm. The voltage was the same across all three wires. No indication of anything shorted to ground. I then tested the rectifier and got normal values (resistance with the leads one way, none with them the other way) on two of the yellow wires but I got really low resistance on one wire with the leads both ways. As far as I can tell from the guides this means one of the diodes in the rectifier is shorted. I then followed a guide from a Clymer manual on how to recondition the regulator. I cleaned and gapped the points inside and everything seemed fine there. According to what I can find online the KZ I have is an excited field setup and not a permanent magnet alternator. I'm not sure what that means except that it was a retarded setup that Kawi only used on the KZ400 and 1977 KZ650s. The stator on this thing is huge and pretty much the entire left side of the engine is just the stator and field coil.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2009 12:14
|
|
|
8ender posted:*confusion* Now, looking at bike bandit, it seems that there may be two alternators that may have come on your bike. http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/kawasaki-motorcycle-kz650-kz650b2-us-1978-generator-starter-motor/o/m3961sch88432 one is field coil, the other is permanent magnet. They're incompatible. Which do you have? :-)
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2009 04:11
|
|
|
Field coil. The 77' was the only year with the field coil.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2009 05:01
|
|
|
Ack, riding the Bandit in hot weather is like riding a lit barbecue grill
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2009 20:49
|
|
|
Phat_Albert posted:Ack, riding the Bandit in hot weather is like riding a lit barbecue grill  I just swapped back to my Jardine Ti exhaust system for a semi-related reason. The stock system is so thick that it retains a fuckload of energy (heat) and stays very hot to the touch at all times. The Jardine system is cool to the touch about 10 minutes after riding, and throws off less heat to me leg. Beyond that I looooove my naked SV. There is no directed heat anywhere at me while riding. On my ZX you can feel with your legs when the thermostat is opening/closing since your legs get nice and toasty for a bit, then cools off again.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2009 22:49
|
|
|
Well, if I ever get a track bike, I now know that I don't need a trailer for it. http://thereifixedit.com
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2009 20:44
|
|
|
Oakey posted:Well, if I ever get a track bike, I now know that I don't need a trailer for it. Holy crap, I never would have thought of that! I wonder of the front wheel is locked vertical somehow. And I hope the bike is in neutral.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 03:10
|
|
|
Haha, oh wow. My dad just talked to the Mechanic and he said he is 90% sure whoever was dicking around in the top end put the cams in backward. I mean honestly what the gently caress. Onc I get done with the inside of the gas tank, i'm giving it a rattlecan orange paint job. I'm already dicking around with stripper, I figured why not? And even if I mess it up, it'll still look better then it does. Heres what it looks like now. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 04:00
|
|
|
Chairon posted:Haha, oh wow. My tank had been spraypainted rattlecan black by the previous owner, I took it off the other day and spilled some gas on and all the spraypaint bubbled off way faster than it would probably come off with stripper. Spraypaint on a tank isn't the best idea, I'm still trying to figure out what else to use though.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 04:28
|
|
|
IAMKOREA posted:My tank had been spraypainted rattlecan black by the previous owner, I took it off the other day and spilled some gas on and all the spraypaint bubbled off way faster than it would probably come off with stripper. Spraypaint on a tank isn't the best idea, I'm still trying to figure out what else to use though. Rattle can paint is fine for the base coat, just make sure you finish it off with this stuff for a clear coat: http://www.eastwood.com/spray-max-2k-high-gloss-clearcoat-aerosol.html I made the same mistake and this stuff is amazing. Two stage clear coat in a rattle can.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 04:39
|
|
|
8ender posted:Rattle can paint is fine for the base coat, just make sure you finish it off with this stuff for a clear coat: Is there a flat one? Gloss and my lovely ratbike don't really work together that well.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 04:47
|
|
|
I appreciate the advice gents, But I do plan on either getting it painted by a body shop or going whole hog and doing it myself eventually. This is more to prevent any rust from happening(Thanks to the stripper I spilled on the paint, did I forget to mention that?  )and give me an idea of what color I want to end up with.Pink is out, Blue, green and red are overplayed. I'm thinking Orange or maybe a deep purple would look good. Or maybe Yellow, if I can find the right shade that matches my old car.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 04:51
|
|
|
Oakey posted:Well, if I ever get a track bike, I now know that I don't need a trailer for it. I'm going to laugh the day I see pics of anything other than HDs or dry-clutch Ducatis since they have separate gearbox oil. Since most bikes have shared engine and gearbox oil, there won't be a whole lot of oil in the box with the engine off, and even in neutral there's a lot of gears engaged...gearbox goes boom.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 08:45
|
|
|
IAMKOREA posted:My tank had been spraypainted rattlecan black by the previous owner, I took it off the other day and spilled some gas on and all the spraypaint bubbled off way faster than it would probably come off with stripper. Spraypaint on a tank isn't the best idea, I'm still trying to figure out what else to use though. You could use truck bedliner. The finish is rough but I like the look. Also resistant to gas spills! Just wipe the gas off with a rag and you're good.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2009 21:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 08:22 |
|
|
Bought my new baby yesterday! Yamaha XT 660 X Super-Moto! Can't wait to have insurance papers to get to ride it this weekend! Driving-report to follow...
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2009 13:34
|
|