Ducati ST2 : Amateur Restoration Take 2

[Hairsy]

A few bits done today.

 

The repaired rubber mounts for the instruments were fine and so I refitted the instruments. Experienced a few minutes of frustration after I picked up the wrong (larger) bolt and tried to fit it in a position that was too hidden to actually realise I had the wrong bolt. Eventually the penny dropped.

 

Then I put the headlight back, which was super fiddly. It's going to be a nightmare if I ever have to change a bulb in the future - but at least I know how to remove it. Tested the lights and they are MUCH brighter - I'm really pleased with them. Annoyingly it was the first time I'd checked the sidelight and the bulb is blown so I need to order that.

 

Then it was time to remove the front wheel. The axle was a bit stubborn but came out OK with a makeshift drift that used to be a bit of plastic water pipe.

 

When I removed the speedo drive I saw that it was cracked and the grease in it seemed to be 50% mud. I stripped it down and cleaned everything and then checked that it runs smoothly - which it does. The crack is on the outside casing and doesn't seem structural - but I think it's been letting in that dirt. So I've got the epoxy out once again to fill the crack and that's now drying. Provided the epoxy doesn't make its way down into the mechanism inside, this should be fine as a repair and will save me £40+ for a second hand replacement. It will just need repacking with clean grease. I'm hopeful this fix will work but will find out tomorrow.

 

 

Next was the forks. These didn't look too bad and I was hopeful that they just needed a clean. Sure enough, I gave them an initial degrease with paraffin, then cleaned that off with MucOff and water, and finally used some metal polish. There were still some very small rust dots in the chrome but I was able to get rid of these using a very fine wire wool that I have.

 

I think they've come out really nicely.

 

 

 

Last job was to clean the front axle & related hardware.

 

 

I think the axle looks worse in that after picture! But it's now super smooth, despite not looking as beautiful as I'd like.

 

Tomorrow I'll move onto the front wheel. I couldn't feel any play in the bearings when the wheel was in place so, provided they're not grinding, it will hopefully just be a lot of cleaning. Famous last words ...

[RideWithStyles]

Great to see.

it looks worse because you’ve taken the top layer of corrosion/protection off (light colour) which has been sitting ontop of the real rust corrosion layer below. If you skimmed a few thous or sanded abit more you might get past it without compromising the metal strength.

the none threaded side looks good.

 

[Hairsy]

First thing today was to try RideWithStyles excellent suggestion. Given the importance of good tolerances between axle & bearings, I just used some red scotchbrite but it worked well and the axle now looks better and is silky smooth - thanks for suggesting it.

 

 

I picked up a couple of bulbs this morning (for the sidelight and neutral light) and fitted those and then refitted the headlight. Not the most exciting thing ever but all working fine and much brighter than before.

 

 

Moved onto the speedo drive and the epoxy repair yesterday looks good so I repacked it with grease and put it back together.

 

I'm optimistic that this will be an effective repair and will have saved me a good few quid. With this kind of job, it's important to be prepared to put in some work to save buying new parts - I won't compromise on safety but sometimes a well repaired part is just as good as a new one.

 

Next was the front wheel. This looked pretty unpleasant and I didn't really know what sort of condition the wheels would actually be in. The cleanup took over 2 hours using a combination of my usual choice of products - MucOff, paraffin, metal polish and brake cleaner. I found a couple of small paint chips that I'll touch up later but, overall, I'm absolutely delighted with the results.

 

 

 

 

I had always intended to replace the tyres but it was interesting to note that this tyre was manufactured in week 4 of the year 2000 - so probably past it's peak performance.

 

 

Final job was to spray the clutch and brake cylinder caps with some matt lacquer that I picked up this morning. No pictures as they look exactly the same as they did a couple of posts ago but this might give them a little more protection against brake fluid contamination.

 

I'm now almost finished with the front end of the bike so tomorrow I'll be doing some final cleaning of the few parts at the front of the bike that I haven't yet cleaned. These will all be parts that won't be visible when the fairings are back in place but it makes me feel good to do them and, more importantly, I find that cleaning things is the best way to spot any excess wear or breakages.

Edited January 7 by Hairsy

[Simon Davey]

A very productive day!

Incredible difference when you cleaned the headlight in the previous post, did you use "brighter" bulbs, such as the 150% brighter, or standard?

 

I replaced my side lights with LEDs, they're more noticeable than my 150% brighter halogen H4s. 

[Hairsy]

8 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

A very productive day!

Incredible difference when you cleaned the headlight in the previous post, did you use "brighter" bulbs, such as the 150% brighter, or standard?

 

I replaced my side lights with LEDs, they're more noticeable than my 150% brighter halogen H4s. 

 

I just left the standard bulbs in for now. I'm Interested in your bright sidelight comment. The Ducati uses a tiny capsule bulb but if there's an LED equivalent that's bright then that would be excellent. This is the bulb it uses:

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/osram-ultra-life-501-12v-5w-long-life-bulb-single-bulb-48177013l?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD1aCJjOhApJHDv-KvzwI1s7MowX5&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvvO7BhC-ARIsAGFyToUyrZ7OSPKMUHaR3HsL8rq78LVOHT6Vmu1RsifTsu1X6yz2Zk1dIRkaAr6AEALw_wcB

 

One of the weaknesses of these bikes is that they have a single phase stator. This one does appear to have quite good charging but I've read that it's not uncommon on these bikes to have the 'charge warning' light come on at idle.

 

A bright but low'ish wattage sidelight would be really good if it meant it wasn't necessary to have the headlight on all the time.

[Simon Davey]

@Hairsy

Yes, I got the LED version of those capsule bulbs from Halfords.

 

Halfords Advanced 501 Super Bright LED Car Bulb Twin Pack | Halfords UK

 

I genuinely believe they make me more visible, although they don't light up the road like my pair of headlights, they just stand out more. It must be the very white colour temperature, as well as the brightness.

Edited January 7 by Simon Davey

[RideWithStyles]

Looks good but for me as in “finer detail” of id be finding/ using a warm white bulb rather than a white or Cool so at least it matches the bikes halo bulbs colour and just looks like it was the same as back in the day and unmolested only brighter rather than just done to stand out from the crowd like a chav’d would do.

 

just insure they’re not too bright as they can fail an mot.

Just to remember that you’ll may still need a resistor to each one and the bike will still be putting the same old higher power for old school bulbs through the same wiring to it. 

Edited January 8 by RideWithStyles
Autocorrect

[Hairsy]

5 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

Looks good but for me as in “finer detail” of id be finding/ using a warm white bulb rather than a white or Cool.

Just to remember that you’ll may still need a resistor to each one and the bike will still be putting the same old higher power for old school bulbs through the same wiring to it. 

 

I had the same thought re the colour of the bulb but, for now, I've decided to compromise on that if it means I can be seen better on the road. I'll keep the old school bulb for the next owner when I come to sell the bike.

 

With the basic electrics of this bike, the resistor shouldn't be necessary as there's no bulb sensing to get fooled. And it should be fine for the bulb to be provided with more amps than it needs - the bulb will only use what it needs. Excess voltage would be a different story but I'm assuming the LED bulbs will be expecting the 12v-15v that they'd get in most car or bike scenarios.

 

I've ordered the Osram equivalent of the bulbs Simon recommended - mostly because I couldn't be bothered going to Halfords and these ones are being delivered.

[Hairsy]

Started today with the planned general cleaning around the front of the bike. There wasn't a great deal left - just a few bits of cabling that still had dust on them. I also took the opportunity to give an initial clean to the front of the engine. Over the course of other work, I've cleaned most bits of the engine already but the front needed doing and is easily accessible without the front wheel in place. I forgot to take a 'before' photo but please be assured it was black! Now it's not. I gave the horizontal cylinder downpipe  an initial gentle clean with WD40 and scotchbrite and it did make it a bit nicer so I'd like to finish this in the next couple of days. I've heard of people using Harpic (I think) on downpipes with excellent results but I've also heard that it can be damaging. Given that it's all hidden by fairings, I don't the risk of damage is worth it. but if anyone has any safe (and easy) suggestions for downpipe cleaning then let me know.

 

 

The starter motor has a little external corrosion on it but I don't think that even I can be bothered to paint a consumable item that will probably one day be replaced and, in the meantime, will never be seen. Although maybe I'll change my mind when I'm bored one day!

 

In order to give me better access to the swingarm area, I removed the two exhausts. You may recall that I had some initial success with cleaning these when they were in place but, once removed, I was able to see the back of them and they needed more cleaning. These were also done with scotchbrite and WD40 which does an excellent job on matt aluminium,

 

 

The two exhausts now look almost like new.

 

 

Then on to removing the rear wheel. The rear tyre is 15 years old and the axle nuts put up quite a fight. I had to resort to my longest breaker bar but that did turn out to be man enough for the job and I was able to get it off.

 

While I was at it, I applied some Plusgas to screws for the rear hugger. Those who followed my CBR600 restoration will remember that the rear hugger was my nemesis and I failed to get the screws out. I'm really hoping it won't be such a problem this time but the Plusgas can only help. There's cause for hope that this one will be OK since this bike hasn't been stored in the damp and, to date, there's been no significant corrosion. We'll find out in the next few days.

 

My priority today was getting the wheel cleaned so that I can order tyres. I won't bore you with the details but it was a repeat of yesterday. The only thing worthy of note was that the chain side of the wheel was much dirtier than the brake side. However, it cleaned up more easily - the caked on chain grease had clearly acted as a protector during the years of storage.

 

As well as the wheels themselves, I removed the drive carrier, sprocket and brake disc and gave all of those a deep clean. Bearings were all super smooth.

 

Once again, this was a really satisfying job. I put them back together for the photo but they'll go off for tyres with everything removed - no point in risking damage.

 

 

 

This evening will be spent sourcing some decent tyres. Jobs for tomorrow are finishing the downpipe cleaning and then having a good look at how the reg/rec has been mounted. Like so many bikes of this era, they're prone to overheating. There's an old one in my spares box which suggests to me that it's been replaced in the past. The track record of the previous owners on repairs hasn't been terribly good so far so I want to check whether the reg/rec is clean, well mounted and has thermal paste to help with heat dissipation.

 

And then I'll be ready to make a start on the swingarm area - cleaning and checking everything. I've no current intention to actually remove the swingarm, given the low mileage and that mechanicals so far have all been in excellent condition. But I'll make a final decision on that once everything is clean and can be properly assessed.

[Hairsy]

First today was the corrosion on the starter motor which, as I suspected, I couldn't bear to leave alone. Went to clean it up for painting and realised it was actually just more dirt - easily cleaned off.

 

Then took the wheels for tyres. Had to leave them there. It's a car place that does occasional bike tyres but the cost was excellent so fingers crossed for when I pick them up. When I left them I realised quite how bad the back tyre was. Who rode it around like this?!

 

 

Took a look at the reg/rec. As I suspected, it's fitting when it was replaced was far less than optimal. Wrong fixings and no thermal paste. I cleaned it all up and have ordered some thermal paste. A job to finish for next week.

 

Next was to move towards the back end. First I removed all 4 foot pegs and gave them a good clean. Everything from the middle of the bike and back on the left hand side seems to be covered in chain grease. I was delighted with the condition of the chain but I suspect that it came as a result of excessive lubrication. The pegs and brackets all look great now. Forgot to take pics.

 

Then the centre stand was removed and cleaned. Since these pictures I've touched up where the paint was chipped and it looks even better.

 

 

The highlight of the day was the easy removal of the hugger - those who know my story will understand this!

 

 

 

Then I started to take the back end apart. It's in lots of pieces and seems quite logically constructed. The rear mudguard was easily removed and then cleaned (sorry no pics) including the number plate light. So far, all lights on this bike are put together with screws and they can be easily stripped down and cleaned. Really nice to work on.

 

Finally I took off the grab handle which incorporates the seat lock. The seat lock was really sticky but, again, once it was accessible it was easy to strip apart and clean and now it operates really smoothly.

 

No updates for at least a couple of days as I take a rest. I'm sick to death of old chain grease but I know there's plenty of that to come next week.

[Hairsy]

A long day today.

 

Started well with picking up the wheels with their lovely new Pirelli Angel ST tyres - what could be more appropirate for this bike than a set of Italian Sport Touring tyres.

 

 

I'm running out of shelf space to put parts on so I wanted to put a few bits back on the front end. First was to reattach the reg/rec with some thermal paste. I used a fairly thin layer but wanted to make sure that it pushed some out when I tightened it up. Mission accomplished and this should help prolong its life.

 

 

Next was to build up the rear wheel to free up more shelf space.

 

 

Then building up the front wheel and fitting it. 

 

 

I'm a little concerned about the speedo. The drive unit is working fine and the speedo cable is rotating at the speedo end when the wheel is spun. However the speedo itself doesn't seem to be reading anything. Maybe it's because the speedo starts at 10 mph and I'm not spinning it fast enough. But I'm not sure - no doubt I'll find out later.

 

Next I removed the alarm because it was stopping me access the plastics underneath. I'm in two minds about the alarm. I'm not usually a fan of them as it's something extra to go wrong so my original plan was to remove it. However it was a factory option and the last owner recently fitted a brand new main unit plus new fobs. I expect it will help with insurance costs and it might also be attractive to a future owner. And it's fully integrated into the loom so a bit awkward to delete. Something to consider later.

 

Having removed it for now though, I then cleaned the tool kit tray that it sits in.

 

 

Then the brackets for the panniers came off. Picture was taken when one had been cleaned and the other hadn't.

 

 

Next was the last significant piece of bodywork that I need to remove - so a bit of a milestone - the front section of the mudguard. Understandably dirty but it came up nicely.

 

 

 

The rear brake was the next job. Like the front calipers, this turned out to be in very good condition with good pads so it just needed a thorough clean.

 

 

 

 

 

And then I ran out of jobs that weren't going to get me covered in old chain grease so I attacked the nastiness of the swingarm. First I removed the chain tensioners and cleaned them - they're not a matching pair which seems odd. I wonder whether the previous owner, who appears to be rather keen on over-tightening everything, did a job on one of them. They're both perfectly functional though so I'm not going to bother replacing one.

 

Then on to the swingarm itself.

 

 

I started off with copious amounts of kerosene (paraffin) and took an initial layer of grime off. The bulld up on the chain guides was quite spectacular so I removed them. After 20 minutes of cleaning I discovered that they are grey and not black. But they're in great condition.

 

At this point I realised that the wall above my parts washer (which my wife weirdly calls her utility room sink) is covered in splashes of grease. I expect that repainting that will be my first job when I've finished the bike.

 

Back to the swingarm, I spent an hour or so scraping big lumps and working smaller bits with a toothbrush until I'd got all of the initial layer of grease off. This included the back of the engine and the rear shock - no point missing bits out as they'll just cause more mess if I have to address them later. The whole thing then got a spray of MucOff and then water. This has left me with a surface that doesn't look too bad but isn't yet good enough. However I've had enough for today so I left my dehumidifier running to make sure everything dries out before I get to work with polish tomorrow. Hopefully I'll finish the swingarm tomorrow and then start moving on to the final cleaning of the chassis and engine. And that will be followed by any touch up painting that's needed - my touch up paints having arrived from RS Paints today.

 

Pleasingly, the rear end is now as stripped down as it's going to get - I don't need to go any deeper as I can access everything that I want to clean.

 

 

Looking forward, on Friday I'm having an operation on my hand that will put me out of action for 2-4 weeks so I'd love to get a decent way into the rebuild by end of Thursday. Time will tell.

[Simon Davey]

Loving this resto', and that box of sprays you've collected 

[Hairsy]

Another good day and I'm getting closer to starting to build the bike back up - but with a small issue at the end ...

 

Started with getting supplies - my set of OEM timing belts arrived this morning from Italy, costing considerably less than buying locally. I also picked up some brake fluid and a couple of touch up paints for use on the swingarm.

 

After Simon's comment on my collection of rattle cans, I thought I'd impress him again with my selection of touch up paints.

 

 

Work started and first thing was a final clean up of the swingarm including a bit of touch up paint. It actually didn't need much paint and almost all of it is in hidden areas but it's still good to keep corrosion away.

 

 

Then I went over the whole of the bike and cleaned the wiring loom - I don't really know why I like to do this but it's quite therapeutic and I think it makes a difference to the final look of the bike. No pics of this but I'll include some tomorrow.

 

Next was touching up the engine. The colour match wasn't quite as good as I'm used to with RS Paints who are usually spot on but it's pretty close and the eye will no longer be drawn to the silver aluminium that had previously been revealed where paint had come off. In practice, I'm not sure many people would spot the difference but its all part of the satisfaction of doing the job as well as I can within my budget.

 

 

I did spot a couple of extra bits after taking the pictures so they've also been done.

 

Then on to the chassis. First I tested the paint on a chip just above the shock reservoir in this picture. On initial application, the paint looked too 'new' but in a brief moment of inspiration I tried a gentle sweep with some fine scotchbrite and it really helped.

 

ut

 

It's not perfect but it's enough to not draw the eye to it. And, like so much of the current work, it's mostly invisible when the fairings are on.

 

So I went over the whole chassis, polishing it and finding any small chips or corrosion dots. I've now applied paint to all of these and will let that dry overnight before scotchbriting it tomorrow.

 

I had a little more time so I fitted the front mudguard. I think this is the first proper before and after picture of part of the bike actually finished.

 

 

I then pumped new fluid through the front brakes - all simple and not picture worthy.

 

Finally I replaced the clutch fluid. I've never bled a clutch before and it didn't go as well as I expected. I successfully and fairly easily pumped new fluid through. But however much fluid I pumped through, I kept getting air coming out with the fluid. I got through around 300 ml of fluid (way more than the system holds) but it just kept having bubbles in there. But there IS pressure and it seems to be operating the clutch - it doesn't feel particularly different to how it did before, although I can't actually check that it's operating yet.

 

So can anyone offer any wisdom on clutch bleeding? My technique was pull clutch lever, open bleed nipple to let fluid out, close bleed nipple, release clutch lever, wait a few seconds, repeat.

 

But, as I say, although this successfully pumped fluid through, I just kept getting air in the fluid. Could it be that something in the system is defective or needs servicing?

[Ian Frog]

I have had very good results using the non return valve type of thing from Machine Mart (Laser 7700 one man bleed valve product code 040817700) although that appears to have gone up a bit so worth looking about.

They are great for doing brakes from empty as well and certainly less of a faff then the pressurised reverse bleed type things.

Cheers

Ian

[Hairsy]

46 minutes ago, Ian Frog said:

I have had very good results using the non return valve type of thing from Machine Mart (Laser 7700 one man bleed valve product code 040817700) although that appears to have gone up a bit so worth looking about.

They are great for doing brakes from empty as well and certainly less of a faff then the pressurised reverse bleed type things.

Cheers

Ian

 

Thanks Ian. My tube does have a non return valve and a U bend above the bleed nipple that helps with avoiding air being sucked back in.

 

I've just gone back to the bike and pumped the lever about 50 times. I can see the space cylinder piston and there's no fluid leaking there. And none leaking anywhere else either. It's a complete mystery - the lever feels right and nothing leaking.

 

I'm inclined to not worry about it unless it turns out to be a problem once the bike's running again. But I'm not very good at forgetting things like this and they niggle away at me! Maybe I'll have another go at it when I've got the bleed kit out for the rear brake.

[Simon Davey]

With my front brakes, I also went through almost half a litre using the non return valve thingy, but I think the air I was getting was from where the pipe fitted to the nipple.

In the end, I just did it the old fashioned, open and close nipple with a spanner way, and it worked a treat.

 

I might have to print this picture, or at least, having it as my PC background image.....

 

[Hairsy]

Some good steps forward but one step back today.

 

My suspicions over the clutch yesterday appear to be well founded and there was a drop of fluid seeping out near the slave cylinder this morning. Clutch was still operating fine but I couldn't leave it as is. I took the slave cylinder off and it was disgusting.

 

 

I'd already done some research into rebuild kits and there are options of just seals or full piston kits. However, I like to give all parts one final chance of life so I stripped it all down and cleaned it. It looked a little better then but there was some light corrosion on both the cylinder and piston. On a positive note though, the seal seemed soft and was in good condition. So I set to the cylinder and piston with fine scotchbrite and then polish and got them completely smooth to the touch. At this point my optimism was building and so I'm afraid I forgot to take a photo. I put everything back in place and bled the system and ... no bubbles and a perfect clutch. Result!

 

So on to the start of the rear end build up. I gave a light scuff over with scotchbrite to the areas of touchup paint from yesterday. Oddly, this didn't seem to make as much difference as yesterday's test - but yesterday's was the biggest area.

 

Quick picture of the engine after the last couple of weeks of cleaning activity ...

 

 

 

Then I started the build up. Little 'spot the difference' game for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final pictures of the swingarm / shock area before they start getting covered in plastics:

 

 

Hugger in place:

 

 

Then fitting the rear wheel and setting the chain tension and alignment:

 

Next I fitted the centre stand because it shares a mounting point with the rear master cylinder, ready for bleeding the rear brake.

 

Which was where it went a bit pear shaped.

 

First I had a bit of a weird issue when trying to push out the rear brake pistons to make it easier to put the caliper back in place. The pistons move smoothly and I could push one piston in but it would just push the other piston in. So I clamped one of the pistons in place while pushing the other and it simply wouldn't budge. Having no idea what it could be, I removed the calliper and tried the same thing on the bench - and it was super easy. Weird but I didn't think too much of it. Fitted a couple of new crush washers and reconnected and then fitted the caliper.

 

Bleeding the brake started fine. I built up some good pedal pressure and was just getting rid of the final bubbles when the pedal went super solid. I've never felt a pedal quite like it but it would move a couple of mm and then it was absolutely rock solid. I had confidence in the caliper after having it on the bench so I removed the master cylinder to see if there was anything odd there. Nothing - everything looks perfect and it's all operating smoothly.

 

I refitted the master cylinder but without the brake hose connected and put some fluid in the reservoir. I was able to pump fluid through the master cylinder and out. No hint of the problem. So I then reconnected the hose and started bleeding - and after a while I hit the same problem - a solid pedal.

 

On a whim, I then reversed the hose and fitted the brake end to the master cylinder. I put the other end in a jam jar. When I pushed the pedal, a fair bit of pressure initially built and then I heard it suddenly release. After that there was no pressure and I was just pumping fluid through the hose. My best guess is that there's some dirt that's managed to make its way into the brake hose and it's reaching the banjo bolt and then causing a blockage. Any other suggestions welcomed!

 

So, on that basis, I have a new braided hose on order and can't do any more to the brake until that arrives in a week or so. Hopefully that will sort it.

 

And then that brings me to a pause stage - my arm is going to be in a sling for 2 weeks from Friday and after that my hand isn't going to be fully functional for a while. My next jobs will be all engine work - valve clearances, timing belts, oil & filter changes. Although I could start those tomorrow, I'd really like to get the chassis work finished before moving on. It's just annoying that the rear brake was pretty much the last thing left to do!

Edited January 15 by Hairsy

[Fiddlesticks]

Looking very nice! Hope the recovery is quick and painless.

[Simon Davey]

Excellent progress, loving all the shine. 

 

Good luck with the hand. 

[Old-codger]

The bike is quite a transformation its looking really good, Good luck hope the op goes well and you are back spannering asap.  

[Hairsy]

Hand op went well and I'm on the mend. Sling comes off on Monday and I'll hopefully be able to start work again. I'm really rubbish at sitting around doing nothing but I have a great wife who watches me like a hawk and makes sure I don't try to use my hand.

 

In other news, my wife went out this morning and, coincidentally, my new braided rear hose arrived. I hadn't touched the bike for nearly a week so ...

 

I can now confirm that it's possible to replace a brake hose with your arm in a sling.

 

 

I was keen to check whether my theory about a blockage in the old brake line was correct so I cut the connectors off each end and, sure enough, one of them had some quite hard bits of dirt that was blocking the flow of fluid. With this in mind I decided to once again remove the reservoir and master cylinder and the hose that fits between them. I took everything apart and gave it all a really thorough blowing through with brake cleaner so that I could be sure that I wasn't going to pump more dirt through the system. I'd already done this once but I just wanted to play safe.

 

In noteworthy news, the circlip that holds the master cylinder internals inevitably went flying across the garage but I managed to find it in less than a minute. That's NEVER happened before.

 

I put everything back together, bled the brake and everything is working perfectly.

 

On the bodywork front, I got a quote from a local place to have all of the bodywork prepared and painted. Due to the number of panels that need some prep, I'd be looking at £1,500 - £1,700. I don't expect to keep the bike for ages - this exercise is for the pleasure of bringing a bike back to life. That cost is way more than I can afford and would just lead to a bigger loss so I've ordered a touch up paint instead. Once that arrives, I'll make a start on paint while I'm waiting for my hand to get better. I've done plenty of touch up repairs before and, although they're never incredible, if most of the paintwork is basically decent (which it is) then I think it should end up looking pretty good.

Edited January 22 by Hairsy

[RideWithStyles]

On 15/01/2025 at 16:17, Hairsy said:

 

 

First I had a bit of a weird issue when trying to push out the rear brake pistons to make it easier to put the caliper back in place. The pistons move smoothly and I could push one piston in but it would just push the other piston in. So I clamped one of the pistons in place while pushing the other and it simply wouldn't budge. Having no idea what it could be, I removed the calliper and tried the same thing on the bench - and it was super easy. Weird but I didn't think too much of it. Fitted a couple of new crush washers and reconnected and then fitted the caliper.

 

Bleeding the brake started fine. I built up some good pedal pressure and was just getting rid of the final bubbles when the pedal went super solid. I've never felt a pedal quite like it but it would move a couple of mm and then it was absolutely rock solid. I had confidence in the caliper after having it on the bench so I removed the master cylinder to see if there was anything odd there. Nothing - everything looks perfect and it's all operating smoothly.

 

I refitted the master cylinder but without the brake hose connected and put some fluid in the reservoir. I was able to pump fluid through the master cylinder and out. No hint of the problem. So I then reconnected the hose and started bleeding - and after a while I hit the same problem - a solid pedal.

 

On a whim, I then reversed the hose and fitted the brake end to the master cylinder. I put the other end in a jam jar. When I pushed the pedal, a fair bit of pressure initially built and then I heard it suddenly release. After that there was no pressure and I was just pumping fluid through the hose. My best guess is that there's some dirt that's managed to make its way into the brake hose and it's reaching the banjo bolt and then causing a blockage. Any other suggestions welcomed!

 

So, on that basis, I have a new braided hose on order and can't do any more to the brake until that arrives in a week or so. Hopefully that will sort it.

 

And then that brings me to a pause stage - my arm is going to be in a sling for 2 weeks from Friday and after that my hand isn't going to be fully functional for a while. My next jobs will be all engine work - valve clearances, timing belts, oil & filter changes. Although I could start those tomorrow, I'd really like to get the chassis work finished before moving on. It's just annoying that the rear brake was pretty much the last thing left to do!

Depends on the mc if it’s an open or closed circuit and if the lever was in or not.

Well I suspect the hose has internal wear, spilts and circular wear of the hose to do that.

old jellied fluid normally build up in the corners of caliper/mc etc.

[Simon Davey]

Yet again, excellent progress. 

Although, I don't believe you did all that with one hand

 

[Hairsy]

Wife went out again.

 

Sadly not a great deal I can do. I've started the touch up paint by experimenting on a few chips that won't be visible because they're covered by other things. I've applied paint to all and then some have had lacquer from RS paints and some have had lacquer from a generic touch up pen. The RS lacquer is almost certainly better quality but it's quick thick. That makes it quite nice to apply to larger areas but tricky on small ones. The generic pen has a little 'needle' applicator and is very thin so it's good to apply to small chips.

 

Tomorrow I'll try various combinations of polish & different grades of wet & dry on the repairs to determine what I think is going to give the best finish. In the end, I doubt that any of this is going to make a great deal of difference because what I'm actually doing is simply stopping the eye being drawn to the odd scratch and paint chip - the majority of the paint is great. But I've got time on my hands so it's an interesting experiment.

 

Another sign of boredom was my next job - I polished the chain! A tooth brush and some metal polish, just on the outside facing surface. I'm not sure I'd do it again if I wasn't desperately bored but it made a difference and confirmed my children's view that I'm a sad loser.

 

 

I then gave it a good lube.

 

Last thing that I could realistically do while semi-incapacitated was fit the exhaust. I've decided to remove the pannier brackets for now as they just reduce the space I have available in the garage. This meant using slightly higher exhaust mounts but all the mounts are factory so it's super easy to do. And the exhaust angle is a little more pleasing to the eye.

 

And I suspect that really is the end of work on the bike until my left hand becomes available next week. Next job is valve clearances.

Edited January 23 by Hairsy

[RideWithStyles]

Great work! Its looking mighty nice .