fastbob

I could have printed you one I'm sure you could but would it survive 100 ° + temperatures , water and vibration ? Thanks for the thought.

Here we go then , after several hours of f*****g around with planks , levers , blocks and will power I finally got the engine bolts in . I thought I'd drag it indoors so I can gaze upon the fruits of my labour when the telly gets boring. Now all I have to do is stick the gubbins back on again. It seems such a shame to obscure the engine with pipes , the radiator and the tank . It kind of makes you understand where chop builders are coming from .

That's right, the actual valve assembly had been rattling around so much that it had formed a lip on the recess it sits in and it had been knocking away at the pointed brass tip of the temperature sensor. To be fair this engine did have a wicked vibration which is one reason its been swapped.

Just doing a bit of fettling on the cooling system and discovered that my thermostat has been rattling around loose in its housing for what looks like ages . This could explain why my bike was taking a bit longer to warm up because coolant could get past it even when closed . I can only assume that this has been caused by vibration because the thermostat body doesn't move . I've fixed it by fashioning a large , narrow washer from the lid of an Ikea lunch box. Took ages to do but it has done the trick. Strange . ( pic to follow )

I think you'll find Bob assists the cat. Bob IS the cat

Wow ! I just read the whole thing . What a brilliant thread and what a brilliant piece of work . And I do mean WORK, I love the way you don't shy away from getting stuck in and doing things by hand . For example the frame , many people would have chosen to have someone else blast it and powder coat it but you did it the hard way . Excellent, one massive LIKE for the whole thing . etc.

Did it have a notch or were they just stiff , in other words what prompted you to do it ? I had a notch,right in the centre, and in slow traffic the front wheel wondered. Was really unsettling. Thanks for that , I'm going to replace my steering head bearings !

It's totally changed the old girl. Forks next Did it have a notch or were they just stiff , in other words what prompted you to do it ?

Side panels or up my arse , I haven't decided yet . I’ll give you a clue .... it’s not your side panels. Oddly enough I've ordered three so my options are not entirely limited.

Missed what Tim ? No image, dead link . Now I've got it

And that's how you do that ! I couldn't get any proper assembly tape so I had to use masking tape , with poor results as you can see.

Ok , stage one , when you tackle a job of this size it's important to label all the gubbins that comes off the bike . Like this .

Would like to know your method, i have had these fork tops off quite a few times now, mainly to change the oil. My method is to soak in wd40 overnight then screw a 12mm fine pitch bolt into the slug, slip a flat bladed screwdriver in and pop the circip out. Mole grips on the 12mm bolt if needed to wiggle the slug out, do this when forks still in yoke and same when assembly. Red rubber grease on the seal and pack before putting the plastic cap back on keeps the worst of the weather out. My fork seals are the originals also the springs, still in spec. When it was new a 20mm spacer was used to preload the front a bit more and 5W oil was perfect for the damping. On the road had fork gaiters most of the time. Have done a few where you have to take fork leg out and use the fork spring to punch the slug out. Cloth over hole obviously. Rob Ok , I don't have any threaded holes in mine . Anyway , all I do is keep the handle bars on to use as a fulcrum and get the biggest Allen key in my toolbox with the short end on the slug . Pull up on the long end to push against the spring and pop the circlip out with your free hand . Then the plugs should slide out easily. Sounds like yours at a bit reluctant.

I see you have those Kawasaki forks with the slugs and circlips . I know a trick with those , let me know if you get stuck .

I know that digital cameras can be quite kind to bikes but that looks stunning just as it is . Coincidentaly my ER5 is approaching 77000 miles and the only issue is a very slack primary chain . So as soon as I've had a cup of tea I'm going to begin my engine swap by dropping out the old engine today . See my thread in this section . Good luck with the refurb.

I'll mention it to the owner, there hasn't been much progress I'm afraid because the poor chap has been ill for a week . By the way I've just ordered myself some Ichiban Moto stickers, badass ! You know where you can stick your itchybum stickers !! Side panels or up my arse , I haven't decided yet .

And presumably when it is your fault you can quickly erase the footage .

Mate , so sorry to hear that progress is slow . I could never understand why the bones were not screwed together in the first place but I'm not a doctor. That x-ray you posted still comes into my head every time I'm tempted to ride in jeans , especially in the hot weather we had . So far I have always worn my armoured leathers and boots so although I haven't had a spill some good might have come from your misfortune . Keep soldiering on and know that some day all this grief will be behind you.

Morning, pardon my ignorance, I've never driven a car , but five separate cameras on one vehicle ? Is that common then ? What's the purpose please ? Also where do you mount them without fear of them being nicked ? Or have I misunderstood ?

According to Money Saving Expert and various other sites banks have now set aside money to pay back to customers who have been miss sold Added Value or Packaged bank accounts. I'm pretty much ok now but for most of my life I've buried my head in the sand regarding my personal finance. I don't have one now but for many years I had a Barclays Additions account which was sold to me when I went cap in hand for a loan . Because I never actually needed or used any of the extras such as breakdown cover and travel insurance I would definitely say that I was miss sold this product .The charge was £13 a month as I recall and apparently people have already succeeded in claiming all of these fees back . I wonder if anyone else is aware of this or has even made a claim and has any tips to share .

I'll mention it to the owner, there hasn't been much progress I'm afraid because the poor chap has been ill for a week . By the way I've just ordered myself some Ichiban Moto stickers, badass !

Just an idea https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motorcycle-Ultima-Complete-System-Electrical-Main-Wiring-Harness-for-CG125/191661589200?epid=1843477789&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1

Why does it have to have a custom wiring loom, why not just wire it exactly as it's supposed to be wired ? I don't understand.

There can be only one.

Where did you send it off to ? This could be very useful to others in the future. I used to use a place in Teignmouth , Devon . The other place I know about was West Country Windings which was also in Devon I think.