Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Took me a bloody year to figure out why the fuel light was always flashing on the instruments. Was just a snicked cable in front of my eyes.

Will do. Was recently in that area re doing bearings again lol.
Starter doesn't seem to be stuck on, multi meter shows no positive connected through, negative checks out fine.
Imagine it's something in the bar swixth to solenoid wiring. Touched the headlight swixth and it blew the 7.5 amp fuse as well. Maybe it's back feeding the big current to the switch some how

Unplug the switchgear unit and test continuity in the switch gear. Wiggle the cables and see if the reading changes.

Look at higher temp grease, molykote? Do one...but in massive barrels only.

Good idea, will have a fiddle. Throttle tube starting to stiffen up from years of use and been left outside since I last rebuilt it on new rentahls (old bmw bars were actually rusted quite badly under the controls).

In the head bearings it has yamalube high temp, it doesn't flow out unless bike was on fire. Oil in frame job. I think its that the bearing setup is simply too small for such a bike. They really aren't that big. Mates have newer f650 and f800 and they go through head bearings at a similar rate. Just a shit design (to be fair most road motorbike imo have undersized head and wheel bearings).

Small progress on the RSV today, new spark plugs and one of two rocker cover gaskets replaced. Not sure why the previous owner decided to use silicone on just one. Also didn't realise how awkward the V configuration is with access compared to inline 4's, removing the front plug took 30 mins.

Going to put a lot of time and money into the Z restoration - thinking of offloading the Sprint RS for cheapz if anyone's interested.

My neighbors friend is selling this 600 GSF Bandit from '99. 30k miles ridden by 84year old dude who can't ride anymore due to age. extensively modded, new stainless exhaust (sounds great hmm), lights, new oil cooler, rear cleanup, new tires, oils, filters all working; registered and TÜV'd. He wants 1k€, seems like steal to me, no? Is there anything significantly wrong with a '99 Bandit?

EDIT: 30k kilometers, and thinking of getting it for myself, since i only have a DR600 which is a bit shite on road.

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Dump the headlights as they don't give out much light. Was the exhaust replaced as the collector part had rotted?

Has the rear shock been replaced or still on the standard?

I have a mate who would be v interested in this, where is it?

EDIT - or are you considering buying it yourself? Sorry if I misunderstood!

rear shock is standard, exhaust was replaced for better sound/performance i guess.
no rust on the bike.

No point to replace the manifold for better sound performance, standard is fine and doesn't limit till alot more serious engine mods. Manifolds are replaced due to rot in the collector box.

Check the oil rad/links for leaks at the flexible joints and where the metal pipes bolt on the rad.

Look at replacement rear shocks as the standard will be shot. Price in a fork oil refresh with thicker oil if it hasn't been done before.

Just discovered another tiny leak on the RSV's oil tank after getting it welded and plumbed in. Bit annoying but atleast I've identified it and won't cost much to repair, just more of a hassle really.

Balls. So what's the process for it? This sounds like a hassle. How much is a whole new tank by comparison?

There used to be a guy locally that brazed old petrol tanks and did odd welding jobs like this but he's no longer operating. So will go back to the place I used most recently and ask them to pressurise it to hopefully identify any others. But yeah hassle.

I would just buy a new one but prices are £300+ from what I've seen online. Think there's even a stainless version but they're like chicken's lips to get hold off.

new bike day

Fucked mine.
Bottom of the collector pipe at the end of the headers was all rusted and blowing so I bought a zx9 ninja one second hand which is a straight swap for the z750 one.
On removing the headers though, sheared two bolts leaving the threaded studs stuck in the engine block. They were already coming out and not requiring much force to turn when they went. Think they’re just rusted.
I’ve just put the other bolts back in and I’m gonna take it to Burwins next Saturday and hope they can fix it. Might as well get it serviced while it’s there since it’s running like an angry bag of dicks at the moment

Gutted, know that sick feeling after shearing a rocker cover bolt on my Ninja 400. Presume there's not enough thread left on them to wind 2 nuts on (one acting as a lock nut) to drive the bolt out?

Heat and stud extractor.

Before I bought the RSV I realised it's better if you go into it an enthusiast than just after a sports bike, which has set me in good stead for the work I've done over the winter. As well as resetting clocks and a few other issues one of the preventative things to address is the inadequate sidestand, which has been known to leave the bike on it's side.

Managed to pick up an American OEM version which is significantly better suited. Normally these are around £100 in the UK 2nd hand but luckily found one for £35 posted from the US. Bring on the Spring

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Sidestand fitted and so much better, leans the bike over a lot more. Annoyingly realised I melted my trickle charger cable when running the bike with it plugged in touching the exhaust.

So the US one is shorter and or beefier?

Found that before with some side stands, they just suck.

Remember melting some body work that I'd just spent days prepping and painting because was too eager to check freshly rebuilt carbs were working right before putting every single clip back in the bodywork, and a piece just got too close to the manifold. Bum. Ran good though!

@BrickMan The US ones are longer, beefier and the bracket is more angled so leans the bike over more. Some people fit Fireblade stands but the US RSV version is the best option if you can find one.

Sounds like I got off easily compared, although lesson learnt. Will make an effort to unplug and fully remove the trickle charger in future.

Got around to tinkering with my bike the other day. Was back to firing on both cylinders straight off (presumably it had just dried out) but I took the tank off and had a play with the coils anyway. Didn't end up fitting the other one I had as the contacts looked pretty corroded but I spent some time cleaning up the earthing points on the one that was fitted and also whipped the HT lead out (it just unscrewed), cleaned things up, refitted it and wrapped the whole area up in insulating tape which will hopefully keep the moisture out in future.

Tidied up a bit of the wiring while I had the tank off and then put it all back together.

Took a wire brush to some of the engine casings and got the worst of the flaking paint off, thee's a couple places that really need painted but the covers will have to come off so I'ma wait till I'm changing the oil anyway. Should get that done sooner rather than later. Checked under my ziptied down fork gators and everything is still nice and greasy under there.

Took it out for a spin and it seemed to need less choke and warmed up quicker than before I fiddled with the coils so that's good.

Then in total procrastination, instead of doing anything useful I started mocking up a sissy bar. It already has a small one but I want a big tall one.

Would have gotten this welded up today but spent too long playing on my dad's lathe.

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Dropped the bike off at Burwins after a previous recommendation from Chak.
Seem like top guys there, but it’s likely gonna be a couple hundred quid at least since some of the other bolts may snap in removing the pipes. Radiator will need to come off, plus the front wheel and possibly the fork to be able to get at the studs, then fit the new pipes (providing they even fit as they’re off a different Kawasaki model). And I’ve got them changing the oil and front pads while it’s there.
Motorbikes are expensive

Oil tank tig welded and apparently not leaking now, only £20 too. Will be putting thin layers of paint on this evening and hopefully plumbing back in tomorrow. May even go for a quick ride to settle the oil level and test the repair.

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