Phill_vtr

Did you clean it after fitting the guard or use it in the rain? I wonder if the guard has allowed water to sit on the rad fins. Was the water just water or did it have coolant in? Has your level dropped at all?

Anybody help? I have a Honda 650 (carb'd) twin, winter hack and the fuel pump packed up this morning. Stuck at the side of the A41 I decided to see if it would run gravity feed stylee. I took the pump out of line, bump started it and rode it home (15 miles at 80-90mph). It didn't miss a beat. Question is - Why the hell do they fit a pump if it's not needed and is it worth replacing it? Have I missed something? Cheers all Phill

I should imagine they all do a similar job but I would probably stick with a big name - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FUCHS-SILKOLENE-PRO-COOL-NON-TOXIC-ENGINE-COOLANT-1-LTR_W0QQitemZ180479039658QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motorcycle_Parts?hash=item2a056398aa or http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Putoline-Motorcycle-Engine-Coolant-Antifreeze-1ltr_W0QQitemZ360254132680QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motorcycle_Parts?hash=item53e0d1d1c8 I would personally go for the Fuchs one but entirely up to you. Check your manual to see how much you need

I have a few torque wrenches but mainly only use them on engine internals and the like. Frame, suspension, engine etc have tightnesses like - hand tight, tight and effing tight. Just say click when you get it tight and you'll feel like you torqued it. Having said that, I use torque wrenches at work but have to check them against a calibrated meter each time the value is set. A £7 torque wrench will not be accurate and it is possible for someone to tighten a nut with the wrench set at, say 100nm and make the wrenck "click" 30 or 40nm early by jerking it. If it was me I'd just do it up tight, any doubts keep an eye on it.

I have used Michelin pilot power for road use and the odd trackday, never had a problem with them at all and have total faith in them. Used them on a wet/damp day at cadwell and they performed brilliantly there too.

My Firestorm is like this. I just don't use the kill switch. It isn't difficult to take off and clean up though, I'd have a go at that if it worries you.

Just the motorways I believe but it's much more fun off them anyway

I would hope that that was accurate to within 2% ... 2% accurate is a weather forecast

If it looks like a drilled hole as opposed to a rust hole and it's underneath on the lowest part of the exhaust, it's possible that it's a condensation drain hole. If it looks like a rust hole, get rid of the rust and fill it with a high temp epoxy or simillar or as previously stated, braize it.

Yup that's what I was going to say. A search in google will get you a wiring diagram too

Cams fitted and valve clearances done, cam cover refitted and engine covers on. Took sump off and cleaned out the oil, gunk and bits of clutch and refitted. New clutch is in, engine's assembled just need to get some new bolts for the casings. Next on the list will be clean and sand the frame and swingarm then paint them up (unless I think of something else).

Yesterday I went out and tried the covers on the engine to see how they look. I like 'em but couldn't get a decent pic of them. They either came out looking too light or the picture was too dark. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0148.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0147.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0146.jpg I also tried out the paint I bought for the swingarm and frame. I didn't prep properly as I just wanted to see how it came out and initially I wasn't happy. It went on very rough, orange peel finish and so I decided not to use it. Went back ten minutes later and it looked spot on. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0150.jpg Will be sanding it off soon and preparing the surface properly before recoating. I may do some tests on how well it stands up to oil etc. first. The expensive o' rings turned up this morning so I got the head on and torqued up but haven't refitted the cams etc yet. Hope to get out there on Friday for a while to do a bit more.

If it's blowing freely out the side is it also blowing out the end? If not it could be blocked

I got the frame back today from Sooty's and I'm pretty chuffed. I mocked it up as it came out of the car just to see how it looked and yes I do know the front wheel is on backwards! Looking to do the frame and swingarm black not sure about the wheels yet. The rear wheel will be changed, possibly for an early fireblade one which I am sure is hiding behind a load of junk in the garage. I'll dig it out and see how it looks/lines up sometime soon. Also got the head back today and just have to wait for the 'o' rings to arrive and I will be putting the engine back together. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0141.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0143.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0142.jpg

Forgot to say, thanks for the support guys, nice to know people are reading it.

Rang Sooty's today and the frame and head should be ready tomorrow. Can't get there this weekend but will hopefully get there monday. Will try and get a couple of pics with it mocked up when I stick it together to see how it looks ... roll on monday!

The swingarm is the bit that connects the rear wheel to the frame normally behind the engine. Where the swingarm mounts on the frame there is a bearing inside. If you have a centre stand, put the bike on it and check for play in the bearings on the swingarm and wheel.

If the ally on the engine has started to corrode you will need to get it back to good metal to get the paint to stick.

Bit of a coincidence there! Hopefully have some more next week, got the week off and hope to get the bits back from Sooty's soon.

OK all gone a bit quiet here. Back to work so just squeezing in little bits at the mo and still waiting for the frame and head to come back. Was going to polish the clutch cover and other covers but decided to spray them instead. Started to polish half the cover so I could show a little "look it's easy" thing about polishing with a before and after but some of the pics appear to have not saved on the camera. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0129.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0126.jpg Started painting, stripped the covers back to bare metal, one coat of etch primer, a few coats of high build primer, flat it back a bit then a couple of coats of colour and a few coats of laqquer a day later. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0130.jpg a bit of laquer but yet to cut and polish. Looks to be different shades but it's just the light/reflections. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0133.jpg All these bits are being done with rattle cans but will be using a spray gun for the tank and seat unit (probably). Started to clean the exhaust up, just to see how it would come up. Was just killing time so played about doing little patches with wet and dry. While playing I noticed that the exhaust was broken.Looked at the silencers and found the bits that were missing still attached but they crumbled away to nothing when I undid the clamps. May try and get some stainless tube and weld them up but that's a job for another time. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0135.jpg They should clean up ok though with a bit more time and effort. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f397/Phill_VTR/GSXR/IMG_0138.jpg Hoping to get the frame back next week. Will post pics as soon as I do. Oh btw, I got a head gasket for £20 which was good but the head has 6 little 'o' rings that go around the studs and I needed a couple more 'o' rings for the oil pipes too. Now that is eight 'o' rings. Eight little round bits of rubber. I visit the Debben performance website, order all eight, checkout, ....... inc VAT and postage ....... £45!!!!!!!!! Eight 'o' rings! (can you tell I'm not too chuffed about this?). The front tyre for the cockraoch was a similar price and that's a bloody huge rubber ring! Oh well, suppose I gotta have 'em.

You can test the switch by just pulling down on the bottom of it (where the spring goes on). You may find a height adjustment on the switch mount so if pulling the spring works just adjust the switch up a bit.

rear wheel spinning shouldn't be a problem as walney frankie says, if there's no power in it. Mine do it and you can stop it with a finger and spin it the other way. It soon stops and starts spinning the original way again. Chain adjustment and clutch problems can cause difficulty selecting gears although I wouldn't have thought it would be specific to third gear unless there was already a problem with that gear. No expert though may be talking out my backside.

I put Renthal grips on a little while back and they came with glue, like the rubber solution for bike puncture repairs.

Good to hear you had a good day, my first track day was a wet one at Cadwell and I loved it.

Just to add a couple of bits, forgive me if they have already been covered. Some track bikes are cheap as they are stolen. Not all just some. Personally I would like it to come with paperwork although you will have to SORN it which can be done online free. I guess it's possible to lose the bike with no compensation if you should get a tug with it on the trailer and the police decide to check it. A lot are Cat C or D write offs, no problem there not sure about the legalities of Cat B as I thought they were break for spares only and the frame had to be disposed of. Collapsible trailers are available on ebay from about £275. If you buy a standard road going bike and make it a track bike you can sell the standard bits off (fairing lights etc) but I think you'll get a better deal as stated before if you buy a bike already converted as the suspension etc is a lot of money to buy but some track bikes come well set up for a fraction of the cost of buying all the parts. If it was me, I would look for a starter bike old CBR or R6 or something that's cheap and comes with spares (wets on wheels, spare levers, tyre warmers etc). Lots of packages like that come up on ebay and are ideal if you're not sure you'll want to continue. Also these cheap deals are easy to sell on again when you want to jack it in or move up to a better bike.