smallfrowne

Looking good.

Don't forget to only use bike specific scotchbrite sheets as well. I get mine from home bargains.

Yeah I usually start off steady with something softer than the aluminium, like the sharpened end of a toothbrush shiv. But I always end up reverting back to using the gouging power of a nice scrapey screwdriver or a Stanley blade. Just don't go mad and get the radio on, or anything to keep you going, it's quite a boring fiddly job but you've just got to do it. I often wander off to do anything else when the cramp and rsi creeps in. Scrapey scrapey la la la scrapey scrapey la la la laaaa. It sends me mad. Upside down on a wet floor with the wind blowing the oil and flapping everything about, it'll be something to savour.

Two almost-but-not-quite related things maybe? If a cog was in backwards surely all that would happen is that the dogs wouldn't be able to engage properly. Sort of like having two male ended connectors.

Toyota Prius also had a bit of bother iirc with an erratic throttle didn't it? Anyway what's the special pannier leaflet? "Do not exceed 130kph"? - this what was on snodder's K100 panniers, but he smashed it (the limit, not the panniers), as can be seen from his profile pic which was achieved avec luggage.

Just to chime in weeks after the event... I had an issue with the rear brake on my bike a few years ago. Going along at national speed it stuck on but the bike just felt suspiciously sluggish, then when I came to a complete stop the restart was obviously even more suspicious, setting off with the handbrake on always does feel odd. It stank. The brake had seen a good thrashing and I assumed the rubber seals in the caliper had a right good baking. I stopped to let it cool down and see if I could free it off, but just by waiting it freed off. The seals didn't actually completely die and leak but I replaced them anyway. It did it again. In the end I think it was due to a spec of some rotten detritus in the master cylinder. There are two little holes which I presume allows brake fluid to flow in and out of the system from the reservoir, one of which had this bit of a blockage - the hole was tiny anyway. I think maybe if the return hole was blocked then hot expanding brake fluid wasn't allowed to go anywhere except to push the pistons out and the brake on. Does this sound about right anyone? Anyway. Could it be something like this? On my bike it was something that happened only on occasion, I think it happened one other time previously as well but sorted itself out no drama (so maybe 3 times total), but after removing that spec of dust it hasn't happened since.

Oh dear I'm so slow. I've had a go at the brakes next, they were getting a bit crusty. Not so bad that anything was stuck though, which was nice. Ahh lovely r£d bags of joy. Fresh nipples with their new rubber wear, posh little o rings on them. New pad pins all round too, why not. Also in shot is a bag of exhaust studs - I might get round to that next. Oh and an egg to oversee the operation. Split, cleaned, and dried the calipers. Just used a toothbrush and a combination of Elbow Grease(tm) Degreaser and a can of WD40 knock off. Oh and gave the lips of the seals a good scraping with a dentist pick and a mini dremel brass wire wheel. They are always furring up, I think originally the calipers were anodised to stave off the ally corrosion but nowadays there isn't much left and they will corrode as soon as you stop looking at them. Gave the pistons a rub wi' bit a brasso, just to get rid of the scum on them. Luckily they mostly all seem OK in terms of pitting, what little there is is up near the top where the dust seal would be, and no one cares about no dust (ok they do but they're crap anyway, and new pistons are ££££). Even so the pistons should be poking out enough that the pitting misses the dust seals anyway. The rear pistons are quite a bit worse, probably still fine though. £20 for new stainless pistons or ~£18 for OEM ones off Mr Silvers, hmmm (each). Assembly next with a bit of hopeful red rubber grease to maybe please stop some corrosion (it won't) but it does at least mean you can assemble without getting DOT 4 all over the place. Still all quite boring. I might have a good crack at it this weekend though. This is the one. How far will I get? Will I open the garage door? Will I be too hungover? Will it be too wet? Too cold? I'm sure I'll come up with something.

There's some good pictures in the bogs if that's what you mean

Ahh Dr. 650

Ready for the Sinspelt Run.

Just ordering some uprated quick release springs for the seat as we speak.

Or a basket on the front

Perfect for nipping to the shops

Bah yes you're right.

Prefers chasing ducks in boggy ponds to fannying about with the obscene amount of springs in these carbs

Where was I? Ah yes, my shit hose cutting skills... I put the knife in the tool holder (I actually needed to put it in upside down) and put the hose over a piece of bar to keep it rigid. The perfect bit of bar just happened to be part of the dial gauge apparatus, a nice snug fit for the hose so it wasn't going to just slip. So, with the knife squared off against the chuck to get it about parallel I could then move the knife into position and use the tool post's height adjuster (thumb wheel at the top) to bring the knife upwards into the hose. Rotate the chuck by hand, turn the knob, rotate the chuck, turn the knob... Nice straight line. Just right. Lathes man - I knew I needed one for something. Pubs are shut but this Saturday's entertainment is sorted, by bringing inside the 1:1 technics set and trying to put it all back together without looking at the instructions With a pal:

There's "moly grease" and "moly (assembly) paste". Moly grease is yer usual lithium grease with a bit of moly in (to taste), and moly paste is the stuff up at 60pc, used generally quite sparingly on parts (eg cam followers) which would wear very quickly without the presence of a continuous oil feed following an engine (re) build say. It's lovely for metal on metal protection. I've never had a shaft to fondle, err fettle, but I did use some moly paste on a rear brake pivot. It didn't work for long once it had seen some rain and wet, and eventually seized up. But then that is definitely and orange to an apple comparison, it had no protection from the elements whatsoever, and I'm guesing that a shaft drive would!

Ahhhh that's better! Cheers me dears. Nothing like a faff, and there's nothing like the faff of a system migration.

Hmm it was a while ago now, but it won't have been ribena.

But then that was all a good few weeks ago now, pre second lock down. Somehow things weren't in too bad a shape What was the dial gauge doing on there though? hmmm Well, at some point I'd done a big order of red bags from Honda but I didn't pay the £2 each for replacement thingies for between the doins. Maybe it's easier with a picture. The things had perished. They're just bits of rubber hose. £2 each!! 8mm long. I was sure I had some hose in the pile which could be used, which there was in the end, a little snug maybe but not £2/8mm. But, there was a problem, I couldn't for the life of me cut a nice set of 8mm long hose pieces with even parallel cuts, even using a jubilee as a guide. Even using brand new stanley blades, or scalpel/craft blades. I was rubbish. I needed a better way.

Interesting. Not been on in a while and not done a lot to the bike either. I can't really tell where I got to last time. I wonder if there's a way to edit old posts, none of the links work anymore... Well anyway, at some point the carbs were like this: And then got taken apart a bit more And then, because my friend left to live in his French Chateau a week before the original lock down in March but not before lending me his ultrasonic tank (for another job) and he still hasn't come back, I still have have it around: That plus a good supply of carb cleaner of various flavours and things were getting cleaned up lovely. Until the breaker in the house tripped and an investigation was required: Oh dear, whatever that component was has had it. No direct replacement on RS Components, but similar was available (took a bit of working out) for £8ish and with an amp or 2 higher rating. It's a choke to suppress the high frequencies from getting out of the box into the main feed. Soldered back in (no pics) and job was a good un with a new fuse, phew. The cleaning could continue.

Hmm yes. Solid run of no broken bones ever and then I lost it on a moistly surfaced roundabout. Why does it hurt occasionally even though it must've healed be now?! Crashed the little vif at Coppice trying to go round the outside of someone who decided to fall off but that was such a lovely soft landing on grass. I found out recently that this person was local to me and the mot man knows him, he still has a limp (I went over his ankle). Then T boned in true smidsy fashion earlier this year. Still waiting on a payout for the blemishing of fine Italian leather and the ankle is still quite crunchy.

I think somebody (in China) has just knocked a load of these magnetic sump plugs out in a few sizes and then everyone and their dog has listed em on ebay. I got one but the magnet came loose. Probably wouldn't have jumped out but I just put a 'proper' plug back in.

I'm sure quite a few have been plundering in Wales. Looked a good laugh all that did. Apart from the maudlin bits of course.

What's the u turn count? I did quite a few.