What did you do to your bike today?

[Joe85]

Gave it a clean, and prayed to the motorcycle gods for some fecking warm and dry weather.

[smallfrowne]

I took it to Cadwell on Tuesday. Had a bit of a mare getting it ready because it needed buttoning back up after checking the valve clearances.

I changed the oil. Changed the plugs. Changed the coolant - I had changed all the hoses, there was a smidge of a leak in the middle of the V.

 

The hoses needed cutting down to size though which was annoying. Maybe I should've got real Samco hoses for thrice the price. But what a lovely shade they are.

 

After that it still leaked, this time from the union into the cylinder. With the time I had all I could do was take it out, clean it up as much as possible and cosset the o ring, for which I did not have a spare. It turns out it's a funny size, 3.2mm cross section, 17.8mm ID - googling that returns only a few results, all pointing to the special Suzuki part. I got lucky and it didn't leak.

 

Next I thought I'd treat the genny cover to a proper gasket since it was weeping despite the gobs of silicone lathered on. Nice little job, oh but wait it's missing a dowel pin. Ahhh having half an engine that the previous owner probably just wanted disposing of came in handy there.

You've probably seen worse, but there seemed to be quite a lot of goo inside and outside.

 

Then I tidied up the wiring, new plug covers which weren't mullered and falling to bits, stuff like that. Oh, securing the tilt sensor properly to the bike - no longer just dangling about. I didn't even realise what it was to start with but when I did it became clear it wasn't a good idea to have it flapping about.

 

Then allsorts of other faffy bits. Faff faff faff. Work work work. Align chain. Hmm test taughtiness without the shock in. I can't exactly go by the book since it has no side stand and the gearing is definitely not standard, and it's only two easily accessible bolts to whip it out. Ahh shit oil all over the shock. Well that was a panic which made me get the slightly broken daytona out to change the tyres and maybe consider taking that instead; I couldn't not go to the ball - it's paid for! Fix the bent rearset bolt. Bah. Attach a new clip on. Check the SV shock again... no more oil appearing after being cleaned up. God knows where the oil came originally from but it wasn't coming back and felt "alright". OK SV it is then, but at least the Daytona saw a brief glimpse of hope.

 

 

What a machine. It's going to cost me in knee sliders this thing.

Since it was with no limits you can collar an instructor for free, so I did. Apparently he enjoyed following me round and bumped me up to Advanced group, which was nice. Also gave me a map with lots of red writing on it indicating (lots of) room for improvement. He did say I gapped him coming out of Charlies 2 though and he was on a faster bike, "which is embarrassing". Oh I'll take that. 

 

Since I had too many chips - very dangerous drug are chips - I couldn't stomach going out 20 mins earlier than otherwise allocated for inters, so I chickened out of the swap. Ended up having some nice "battles" with various types of bikes anyway so it was a very good laugh - you get to feel like a racer even though you definitely are not, but that doesn't matter at the time. It's generally all in good fun. In the background you can see some mid range naked bikes being snapped during dinner for I think Fast Bikes. Brand new KTM Duke and I dunno, some other bikes I suppose.

 

The SV has rewarded my efforts by dripping fluid out of the water pump weep vent, which apparently means it needs a few seals and the (other) side casing to come off. Ah well, fair enough little SV, I'll sort you out.

[Simon Davey]

Wow, fantastic read, really rather jealous. 

[Tinkicker]

Wandered out to the shed last weekend with a view to re commisioning the VFR ready for taxing it for may.  I was going to balance and set up the carbs.

 

Of course, it has been sat a few weeks with the Aspen fuel in, so with a little trepidation, I pressed the starter.  Nothing.  Wut?

And then I noticed the dashboard looked a bit dark.  A solitary oil pressure light lit.  Press gearlever  up and down to find neutral.  Still nothing.

Checked connection to neutral switch.  Nothing.

New neutral switch ordered.  Very odd.  It was fine last time I had the ignition on.

 

Filled the tank with two gallons of fresh fuel, pulled clutch in due to no neutral signal and away she fired immediately. 

 

Switch arrived yesterday and went to fit it.  Out with the old and a bit of a gusher of oil which was unexpected, but ready for.  In with the new and a look at the oil that gushed out.  It was very thin and stank of fuel.  Merde!

 

Off with the fairings yet again to loosen the exhaust, so I can get the drain plug out.  Stupid design, exhaust right under the drain plug.  Oil changed, filter drained and time to spin it over. Whir dunk.  Double merde.  I know what that is.  It is a hydraulic lock.

 

Tank and seat off and easily accessible rear plugs removed.  Press the button. Dunk.  Of course, it had to be one of the soddin front cylinders.

Radiator moved out of the way and I could remove the front plugs.  Left front was the culprit.  

 

So fuel expelled from the cylinder, plug dried and refitted and off she went.  Time to get the gauges out and set up the carbs.  It was now 1pm.  Started the job at 11am and expected to be done for noon, so I was running a little late and in a fine mood... Not.  Soddin motorbikes.

 

 

Got the gauges connected, bike fired up and it started pissing it down before I even got it warmed up.

 

Just feckin great.

Pushed bike into shed, locked it in and stomped away.

 

Good job that neutral switch failed when it did and it was hydro locked.  If it had started normally and the switch was ok, I would not have known about the contaminated oil and likely fried the big end shells.

 

Turns out the float valve on three was slowly leaking fuel and with the carbs being downdraught types and tilted at 45 degrees, they do not have overflows.  Fuel had one place to go. Straight into the cylinder, past the rings and into the sump.  Appeared to be about 1 and a bit litres of fuel in the oil.

[smallfrowne]

Ah to have the luxuries of a shed to be sorting it out in. Wun I wer a lad I 'ad to do it int campsite carpark fifteen hundred miles from 'om'. Same problem though, front right cylinder filling up wi' repsol's finest.

[Joe85]

I thought i'd be clever and buy a Biker Tidy to organise all of my gear. Well, it's mahooossive. And i can't find anywhere for it to fit. 

 

[Tinkicker]

1 hour ago, smallfrowne said:

Ah to have the luxuries of a shed to be sorting it out in. Wun I wer a lad I 'ad to do it int campsite carpark fifteen hundred miles from 'om'. Same problem though, front right cylinder filling up wi' repsol's finest.

 

Yes.  I never heard of it before, but apparently it is a depressingly common thing on carbed VFRs according to the internet.  Never gave the lack of overflow tubes a second thought before.

I am going to remove the carbs and change all the float valve needles.  At 27 years old, they have had their alloted lifespan. 

Edited May 3, 2024 by Tinkicker

[smallfrowne]

2 minutes ago, Tinkicker said:

 

Yes.  I never heard of it before, but apparently it is a depressingly common thing on carbed VFRs according to the internet.  Never gave the lack of overflow tubes a second thought before.

I am going to remove the carbs and change all the float valve needles.  At 27 years old, they have had their alloted lifespan. 

Sometime after that incident I put a set of '97 carbs on my '91 and had to promptly change the o rings on the plastic fuel pipes into the carbs, something to think about if you're going in there anyway. The carb I bought might've been sat for years though, totally unknown, but the o rings where gash and it pissed fuel out at all angles. 

[smallfrowne]

36 minutes ago, Joe85 said:

I thought i'd be clever and buy a Biker Tidy to organise all of my gear. Well, it's mahooossive. And i can't find anywhere for it to fit. 

 

I stuff it all under the sofa. 

[Joe85]

Well, i managed to get it up (relatively) straight. I quite like it. 

[Simon Davey]

Very neat and tidy

[S-Westerly]

My wife built me something like that in the (large) cupboard under the stairs. Works well enough although she has 2/3 of the cupboard for all her tools and painting stuff and extending ladder.

[Trooper74]

New tyre time …. Inner tube tyres …I do myself  … tubeless!! …  really hard to get off and I can’t balance the wheel …

My LMBS can dynamically balance the wheel … and I only have to leave it for an hour while I sit in Costa and read ….. without buying anything …….

LMBS wins ..

So , thinking of the guy doing the work I spent an hour cleaning 6000 miles of chain lube off the rim ….. 

Has to be done …. 

 

[Fender1515]

Pushed it!!

See post "only works in the snow"

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

10 hours ago, Trooper74 said:

New tyre time …. Inner tube tyres …I do myself  … tubeless!! …  really hard to get off and I can’t balance the wheel …

My LMBS can dynamically balance the wheel … and I only have to leave it for an hour while I sit in Costa and read ….. without buying anything …….

LMBS wins ..

So , thinking of the guy doing the work I spent an hour cleaning 6000 miles of chain lube off the rim ….. 

Has to be done …. 

 

I've done tubeless tyres. Some are easier than others. Get them warm first and a decent bead breaker helps. Plus if you have three arms it's easier. 

 

I've never done tubed tyres yet but I will need to soon as the tyres on the Bobber are getting a bit low. 

 

I've done pedal bike tyres and tubes of course. Is it pretty much the same?

[Simon Davey]

Pulled the front brake calipers apart, I even put them back together. They're now a lot cleaner, and with new seals, polished up pistons and new pads. 

They're a bugger to bleed though, and I can still get the lever to the bar on occasion. 

Still went for a 90 minute blap last night though

[Tinkicker]

Pulled the carbs off the VFR yet again to change the float needles.  No apparent wear or deformation and swabbing the seats out with a cotton bud showed no particles of dirt or even discolouration on the bud.  They remained pristine white.

 

However, on re- examining the float bowl gaskets for any signs of flatting off before refitting the bowls, I noticed a new longditudinal hairline crack about 3mm long along the crown of one of the gaskets. 

Must have happened when I tightened the bowls down last time.  It shows they have hardened over the years, and since it is likely the needle tips are the same material, it may be they too had hardened and were not able to deform enough to conform to the seat. 

Result. One leak, one sump filled with fuel, one cylinder suffering from hydraulic lock and much gnashing of teeth at TK towers.

 

Four Tourmax gaskets (Japan made) ordered.

 

Sodding carbs.  Just plain silly not having the means to dump flooding float chamber fuel overboard.

Still it was nice working out in the sunshine for once.  

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2024 by Tinkicker

[Ian Frog]

cleaned the Rex ready for the annual owners club meet this weekend in Oxford. 

going for a trundle in a minute.

I still love this bike the most. 

cheers 

Ian 

[S-Westerly]

Collected the Guzzi from daughter's place and rode it home cross country- Shepperton- Pangbourne- Wantage- Faringdon- Lechlade- Cirencester- home. Pure fun especially in Sport mode. Too many 50 mph limits though.

[jr71]

11 hours ago, Simon Davey said:

Pulled the front brake calipers apart, I even put them back together. They're now a lot cleaner, and with new seals, polished up pistons and new pads. 

They're a bugger to bleed though, and I can still get the lever to the bar on occasion. 

Still went for a 90 minute blap last night though

i bought a vacuum pump off ebay for bleeding the brakes/clutch, takes a couple of minutes using it.

probably the best bang for buck tool ive ever purchased. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391718817400?

[Simon Davey]

1 hour ago, jr71 said:

i bought a vacuum pump off ebay for bleeding the brakes/clutch, takes a couple of minutes using it.

probably the best bang for buck tool ive ever purchased. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391718817400?

 

That's brilliant, cheers. I've actually ordered it as I decided I'd do the master cylinder rebuild too. 

Nice one, thanks again. 

[Trooper74]

Get yourself a 50mm syringe … and a length of silicone fuel tube from a model shop or online  …. Perfect brake bleeding every time …

[Fish]

Collected some new friends  

 

[Geordie Oldie]

Went out for a proper ride on my Hornet, filled her up, it must be the first time in 30 years I have put petrol in a bike, maybe longer. Only took 6 litres, I will have to check the volume of the tank.

 

Rode down the A1 from Northumberland to my mates house in Durham, rather foolishly I had forgotten what the A1  is like on a Friday afternoon ( retired) it was at a virtually standstill and difficult to filter due to narrow lanes and road works.

 

Took me 90 minutes to do 40 miles. One scary moment where I had turned the fuel tap to off instead of normal and I thought I had broken down.

 

My hips were hurting from the riding position, hopefully that will get better with time.

 

I am totally besotted with biking again and that bike in particular.

[Nick the wanderer]

21 minutes ago, Geordie Oldie said:

Went out for a proper ride on my Hornet, filled her up, it must be the first time in 30 years I have put petrol in a bike, maybe longer. Only took 6 litres, I will have to check the volume of the tank.

 

Rode down the A1 from Northumberland to my mates house in Durham, rather foolishly I had forgotten what the A1  is like on a Friday afternoon ( retired) it was at a virtually standstill and difficult to filter due to narrow lanes and road works.

 

Took me 90 minutes to do 40 miles. One scary moment where I had turned the fuel tap to off instead of normal and I thought I had broken down.

 

My hips were hurting from the riding position, hopefully that will get better with time.

 

I am totally besotted with biking again and that bike in particular.

I avoid the motorways/ dual carriageways as much as possible and try and find the A/B roads for a more leisurely ride.