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Replaced the hydraulic cam chain tensioner in the 675 with an APE manual one today. Jesus christ, the bike is so quiet now it's insane. I was seriously worried about the bike getting ready to blow up soon or something but turns out it was just the cam chain whipping against the engine case.
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Feb 5, 2013 05:05
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| # ? May 14, 2024 16:41 |
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the walkin dude posted:South Wedge. It's not bad here (up-and-coming, with lots of young people), other than the occasional poo poo dumped on my bikes (like partially-eaten pizza slices). I pull my bikes up into my little garden outside by my apartment's entrance, lock their rear tires with Kryptonite U-locks, and use covers. I spent some time right across the river from U of R, over in the southern tip of the 19th Ward. Pretty nice place. Then I moved about 1 mile, up by Chili Ave, and holy crap welcome to hell. Luckily I didn't get robbed until 2 weeks before I moved out. South Wedge isn't bad but it always felt oddly... dead/sterile. Don't know why. Henrietta was safe, convenient to school, but boring. Hit up Amy Rose in Scottsville for a plate sometime; it's far away but worth the drive IMO. I live in a good neighborhood in a nice town in California now, but by god people still throw trash into my yard all the drat time, I guess because I'm only a few blocks from downtown/the bars. Point being, people are shitheads everywhere. I miss Rochester, actually, although I'd miss the California riding weather. Content: I lost my key this morning and found it this afternoon. Then I rode the bike to the store. Does Seafoam make the exhaust smell stronger or did I just not notice it before? Also, this "new" bike for some reason seems to have the very slightest scent of dog crap sometimes after running, what the hell. I don't have a dog, so I blame the PO. Maybe I just need to wash the drat thing again 
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Feb 5, 2013 06:24
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BlackMK4 posted:Replaced the hydraulic cam chain tensioner in the 675 with an APE manual one today. Jesus christ, the bike is so quiet now it's insane. I was seriously worried about the bike getting ready to blow up soon or something but turns out it was just the cam chain whipping against the engine case. I should probably get around to doing this, they only added the hydraulic tensioners to the 09+ models, so mine has the springloaded one.
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Feb 5, 2013 10:04
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Hydraulic cam chain tensioners can go eat a dick. Fitting a manual one to the 690 has just been such an improvement noise and peace-of-mind wise.
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Feb 5, 2013 14:12
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I nearly destroyed my 250SX-F when I didn't set the ratchet correctly. The cam chain slipped on the second kick, had it started... Manual tensioner is on the way
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Feb 5, 2013 15:04
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theperminator posted:I should probably get around to doing this, they only added the hydraulic tensioners to the 09+ models, so mine has the springloaded one. It literally takes 20 mins to install and Hordpower sells them with the case cover gasket for like $60 shipped. Not baaadddd at all. edit: Whoops, mine was spring loaded too. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 20:26
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Not exactly my ride, but this weekend I turned this: into this:  For my new moped/motorcycle work space. Future upgrades include a vice and some pegboard.
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Feb 6, 2013 23:19
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Did some more work on the sidecar! Made a whole bunch of fiberglass parts. But no more welds. Sorry, I know you guys like my welds Reinforcing the side wheel fairing, and the driver knee cups:  Sidecar nose piece, bottom side, needs a lot of cleaning up:  Rear cowl:  JUST KIDDING MORE WELDS    
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Feb 7, 2013 00:04
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Here we go again.
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Feb 7, 2013 00:51
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Went and visited the bike in the garage, where it has been sittiing since I put it up for the winter. Holy crap was it dirty as all hell. I left the cover off so the person who owns the garage could move it easily. I cleaned it up best I could, then went in his house and played cards and drank his beer. Fair trade i suppose.
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Feb 7, 2013 01:07
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:JUST KIDDING MORE WELDS These suck. I got our TIG back in operation the other day. Want to have a weld-off?  e: in the first picture, that little pipe at the bottom isn't welded badly at all! Do that instead! e2: oh look at what I did in my spare time after work today. just needs a little filing and polishing. a real motorcycle mechanic can't let himself be outwelded by some hipster with an old honda hipster bike, can he? 
Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Feb 7, 2013 |
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Feb 7, 2013 01:46
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Today I turned an oil change into a pointlessly difficult ordeal. Here's how I managed to gently caress it up:
I'm going to pick up some more oil and try again on Friday. General questions: Did I gently caress anything up by running probably a quart too much oil for < 1 minute? Can I re-use the drain plug washer?
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Feb 7, 2013 03:55
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Safety Dance posted:I'm going to pick up some more oil and try again on Friday. General questions: Did I gently caress anything up by running probably a quart too much oil for < 1 minute? Can I re-use the drain plug washer? No. If you have too much oil the crankshaft will whip it up into a froth that sticks everywhere instead of dripping into the inlet like it should and you'll eventually starve the engine somewhat. 1 minute isn't going to do anything at all. Yes, you can probably reuse it if it's not all crushed and degraded, but might as well buy a new one since you're going back to the store anyway.
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Feb 7, 2013 04:26
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Brought it home.    for the low low price of a power washer. Meeting the seller was worth the trip alone, he had a '75 CB360 in great shape as well as a CB125.
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Feb 7, 2013 06:56
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I went camping for a couple of weeks in January (without my motorcycle, unfortunately) and came home to find a nice puddle of oil underneath my 990 adv. My investigation revealed that during my last oil change (2500 miles ago) I had pinched a tiny, 0.5mm section of the o-ring that runs around the oil filter cover plate. It hadn't leaked a drop throughout December, but when I put her up in the beginning of January the freezing temps and no engine heat cycles shrank the rubber just enough to make a nice static drip that accumulated for weeks. As I had to start riding again a week ago I just flipped the o ring so that the pinch was at the uppermost position and reseated everything as a temp fix. Finally last night I was able to get after this fix properly, in addition to hacking together a wiring harness for my new *HIDzz* that involved a time delay relay to avoid a hot restrike of the ballast on engine start. Essentially the parking lamp is the only light that turns on immediately with key turn, and 20 seconds later (plenty of time for gloves and crank) the low beam fires up. Without this delay the low beam would fire when the key was turned, and the momentary power interruption during engine start would cause the ballast to shut off in protective mode, remaining off until the NEXT engine start. Very annoying, but all is well now. It's getting pretty crazy behind my headlight these days, with all my hacked together wiring for heated grips, dual zone heattroller, high and low beam ballasts, and the relay, and I still need to tap in to the dash for my planned USB power outlet and trip meter switches. My next electrical project on this thing is making an abs kill switch and fuel map remote toggle, both of which are relatively simple. I can't believe how comfortable this dirtbike is becoming, she really will do it all. Hopefully my next hard offroad trip doesn't jangle something loose and cause an electrical fire.
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Feb 7, 2013 17:42
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:I went camping for a couple of weeks in January (without my motorcycle, unfortunately) and came home to find a nice puddle of oil underneath my 990 adv. My investigation revealed that during my last oil change (2500 miles ago) I had pinched a tiny, 0.5mm section of the o-ring that runs around the oil filter cover plate. It hadn't leaked a drop throughout December, but when I put her up in the beginning of January the freezing temps and no engine heat cycles shrank the rubber just enough to make a nice static drip that accumulated for weeks. Would the ballast go into lockdown if you used a starter relay instead? IOW, set a relay that kills the lights when you hit the starter button, then restores the lights when you release the starter button. I know some folks set their older bikes up this way to reduce the load on the battery. This interrupts the power though (by cutting the light circuit), so maybe that would cause the same problem you had before.
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Feb 7, 2013 18:27
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I'm like 50% sure that's what the bike does by default, it's not just dropping voltage due to start but actually killing the lights for a second. In either case, the power interruption would still kung fu the ballast in the same way. Once the lights have been on for several minutes they can tolerate power interruption pretty easily, so turning the high beam on/off is instant every time but the first, but that first cold start is sensitive.
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Feb 8, 2013 00:44
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:Once the lights have been on for several minutes they can tolerate power interruption pretty easily, Eh, I don't know. They'll light faster because the gas is still hot and ionized, but the initial strike is what mostly wears out the electrodes in an electric arc device. If you're constantly starting and stopping the arc you are going to wear out your tubes very rapidly. Once the arc is burning consistently the whole unit is pretty stable. Also, I hope that you're using a lamp designed for HIDs and not just a halogen reflector unit with a D2S-to-H4 retrofit kit.
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Feb 8, 2013 02:41
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Replaced the poo poo mirrors that came with it! The old mirrors, which had no angle and could only show me my arm:  The new mirrors, which will actually show me the road behind me. I got them for $10 each at the local shop: 
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Feb 8, 2013 03:15
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I hate that any mirrors that actually show anything behind you (except for bar-ends) look like mickey mouse ears sticking way up from the handlebars. Personally I use bar-ends for the good view, but I'd love to use mirrors in the stock mounting points.
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Feb 8, 2013 03:46
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Tuono mirrors are cheap, work well, and look great. I love the ones that came on my Ulysses, wouldn't swap them out for anything.
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Feb 8, 2013 04:06
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Sagebrush posted:Eh, I don't know. They'll light faster because the gas is still hot and ionized, but the initial strike is what mostly wears out the electrodes in an electric arc device. If you're constantly starting and stopping the arc you are going to wear out your tubes very rapidly. Once the arc is burning consistently the whole unit is pretty stable. You're right, the hot restrike still reduces life, I just meant that they won't be stuck turned off from it. If I crank the engine with the lights on, they will shut down and not come back on unless I cycle the ignition. Anecdotal battery wasting in the garage says that if they're already warmed up, they have a higher chance of remaining on. I used to be pretty militant about proper HID reflectors, having been blinded by many poorly aimed purple lights before. Then I found out that at the posted speed limit of 70 mph I can close the distance between the end of my headlight's reach and the front wheel faster I can react to avoid the 8 point buck crossing the road. Don't give a poo poo anymore, so I'm using what is available to me. I properly adjusted the cutoff line at the correct range, then walked down the street to observe it from an oncoming perspective. It's okay. I wouldn't mind having ten more lights on the front of this fucker.
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Feb 8, 2013 04:51
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New tyres on my VTR! Before:  After:  Old ones were Bridgestone BT45s that had been on for ~25000km and were worn down to the bars as well as being squared off to hell. New ones are Michelin Pilot Activs. Picked the bike up from the shop and followed the recommended scrubbing-in procedure by
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Feb 8, 2013 12:15
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Picked my SV up from the shop; complete with new set of Michelin Pilot Road 3s. Way too excited.
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Feb 8, 2013 20:42
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Shouting Melon posted:Still trying to figure out how I can wear the edges in a bit more without having to do something stupid like going knee-down on public roads. A brillo pad will scuff them right up.
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Feb 8, 2013 20:50
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Shouting Melon posted:Still trying to figure out how I can wear the edges in a bit more without having to do something stupid like going knee-down on public roads. They're called Track Days and they are the beset.
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Feb 8, 2013 21:40
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:
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Feb 9, 2013 01:54
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I think that one day we will all be dear friends despite this difference of opinion. 
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Feb 9, 2013 04:27
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I'm just bitter because it's next to impossible for me to retrofit an HID into my bike safely, yet it would be absolutely perfect because it puts out a ton of light and only draws 35 watts (equal to the standard high-beam). I came thiiiis close to buying a retrofit kit before eventually deciding that, in this case, the DOT probably does know best. Bought a more powerful halogen bulb and upgraded alternator instead. I would still like to put in HIDs if I could ever figure out how to do it. Maybe switch to bar-end turn signals, and add a pair of driving lights where the front signals currently are? Hmm...
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Feb 9, 2013 04:31
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:I think that one day we will all be dear friends despite this difference of opinion. But if your goal is to see well, you understand that the objection to HIDs in halogen housing is that they don't direct the light properly? You end up with about the same lighting on the road but with a lot of light spreading elsewhere.
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Feb 9, 2013 04:39
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Oh it's understandable, believe me I was a long time hold out. I decided the DOT could suck it while I was flying through the air post deerstrike; I commute to work before sunrise and home after sunset (15-18000 bike miles a year) and there is only one DOT headlight housing for my primary bike, so essentially everything aftermarket is in the gray area. A properly cut off HID beats the poo poo out of wide angle driving lights or crazy bright LED auxillaries as far as oncoming traffic is concerned.nsaP posted:But if your goal is to see well, you understand that the objection to HIDs in halogen housing is that they don't direct the light properly? You end up with about the same lighting on the road but with a lot of light spreading elsewhere. I understand this perfectly and it makes a lot of sense, but if I can see way farther than before and am not blinding oncoming drivers then who cares? Ambihelical Hexnut fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Feb 9, 2013 |
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Feb 9, 2013 04:53
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Ambihelical Hexnut posted:not blinding oncoming drivers I think that's where you and psaN and Sagebrush disagree.
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Feb 9, 2013 05:07
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FWIW there was a guy on turbobricks who did this "awesome" HID conversion on his stock headlamps. He drilled holes and installed projectors in his designed-in-the-mid-80s headlight housing. All I remember is being blinded by the fucker and him being all my car is brighter than yours. I found that a good halogen made my bike perform considerably better, but I avoid night riding at all costs due to my eyes.
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Feb 9, 2013 05:57
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disassembled.
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Feb 9, 2013 07:28
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I like to imagine that the engine was in the frame upon that table, and when you finally unbolted it, you just kicked it out triumphantly, and there it sits.
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Feb 9, 2013 18:41
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Looks like you're keeping busy; all the bikes in the background are tagged, I assume they're customers'?
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Feb 9, 2013 20:12
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Finished mounting the PR3 on the C14. While I had the wheels off, did some generic maintenance like putting a bit of moly on the shaft drive wheel splines, cleaned fork tubes, reset the pinch bolts when I tightened up the axle. Also, and more importantly, soldered in new batteries for the TPMS and it seems to work  Of course, it decided to snow today for the first time in 3 weeks, but the road was just wet so I still it out for a quick rip. slidebite fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Feb 10, 2013 |
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Feb 9, 2013 22:22
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Bucephalus posted:Looks like you're keeping busy; all the bikes in the background are tagged, I assume they're customers'? yep, and that's only half of them.
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Feb 9, 2013 23:58
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Installed woodcraft clipons and relocated the reservoir. I'm digging the clear tubing.
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Feb 10, 2013 00:32
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| # ? May 14, 2024 16:41 |
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I got the oil change done and aired up the tires, expecting to go on a ride this afternoon. I got on the highway headed out toward the mountains when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a guy in a pickup truck pointing at the back of my bike. I wondered if I was leaking oil, so I pulled onto the right shoulder and discovered that my tire was flat. Goddamnit! A guy on an 1100 (1200?) GS pulled up behind me and offered to help out. I followed him to a gas station and then to his house, and he gave me a ride to mine. I drove back to his house, borrowed his trailer (he doesn't have anything with a hitch, any more), and took my bike back to my place where it sits now. So, gently caress, new inner tube I guess. The guy's brother, it turns out, bought the condo below mine and is renovating it. They're good people. I did lanesplit on the interstate for the first time today, so that's pretty neat. It's hairy splitting next to tractor trailers.
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Feb 10, 2013 01:30
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