I think we are of a mind I'd probably spend ages removing paint looking for good metal and then realising it was scrap all along
Found and bought another tank, it’s an annoying expense but also part of owning old bikes I suppose! The rest of the parts are with the painter, I’ll drop off the tank when it gets here along with the stickers. The new left side exhaust and baffles are also on the way. At this rate I should have it ready to mot in a couple of weeks!
This arrived today, along with the new exhaust. It’s in good condition so will be off to the painters as soon as I can organise it. Annoyingly I was there today because my pickup got reversed into a while ago. It’s now back to being shiny so that’s a good sign for the bike paint!
New exhaust doesn’t fit! I’ve contacted Quill to see what’s going on but it’s 55mm I let on the old one and 53mm on the new one. The baffle is also a different size. Might mean more shopping. I really hope I like this thing when it’s finished! Also fitted indicators into the pannier tabs on the frame for MOT purposes, the integrated ones in the tail light won’t pass. They’ll just go into my MOT kit to be fitted each year, along with baffles for the exhaust and rear reflectors.
While waiting for paint I decided to check the suspension settings and set them up for someone of a larger stature. No idea what the previous owner was trying to achieve, but the forks were 6-8 clicks different on comp/rebound each side. They’re also set with 2 lines of preload showing so are pretty hard. The rear shock was maxed out on the adjusters with the preload set on maximum soft, and the height adjuster all the way down. I’ve gone for basic settings a bit firmer than stock, I’ll adjust more once I ride it. In the future I’ll probably go for another shock and a fork refresh. That’ll have to wait for just now as the bike is already well over budget!
Ok, more weirdness. I noticed that when the lights are off if you brake it also lights up the clocks and sidelight bulb. Obviously this isn't an issue when the lights are on but it could lead to some real excitement if the lights are off and someone thinks you're flashing at them to let them out when you brake. I'm also pretty sure this wouldn't get through an MOT. This may be due to the LED rear light, I might try adding resistance to see if it solves the issue, otherwise somethings crossed somewhere.
Ok, did some more digging last night. If you unplug the tail light but not the brake light it stops lighting up the front! I put the multimeter on the wire for the tail light and it’s energised when the brake light is on, there’s an internal short circuit in the new rear light. As this may be an issue with other lights I think a diode to stop the back feed should sort the issue. Hopefully. I hate electrics. The exhaust issue will now involve another pair of cans, this lot won’t work. In other news the stuff came back from the painter, there is a little rust in the new tank so I’ll treat it before fitting. I’ve got new hose and filter to fit as well.
I’ve gone ahead and put the Por15 tank liner stuff in. After a going over with metal prep and a few days to dry out properly you just pour it in then rotate the tank a lots to ensure that it’s all coated. Then wait 96 hours! 96 fking hours for fancy paint to dry! The exhausts arrived yesterday so I’ll get them fitted too. Got a few bits of tidying to do before it’s road ready, the leading edge of the seat is too tight against the tank now it’s been painted so I’ll need to move it back slightly on the seat base. I’ll secure the electrics under the seat using Velcro to save them vibrating about. I’ll also need to change the fuel filter and lines in the tank. I’ve bought lock wire to secure the line to the pump as it’s apparently a bugger for coming off as you ride. I might even take the time to paint the centre stand. All being well an MOT next weekend should be feesable. I took a couple of pictures once the bodywork was on the bike though, excuse the carnage in the garage I was way too excited to tidy up! The eBay diode has stopped the backfeed from the light and now the electrics work as they should.
Looking good I've got MOT tomorrow at Jopps Lane, be the 3rd one there so I've found him pretty good and easy to get a test booked if you're looking for somewhere. He usually has some fancy custom things in so may be more sympathetic than normal testers
I usually use station garage in Kintore or Colin’s tyres at Dyce. They’re both pretty decent and can usually get you in at shorter notice. I had some issues with Jopps sorting out the GPZ previously, they’re actually part of the reason that I now buy tools and learn to do things myself rather than taking anything to a garage unless I’m totally stumped. Made a start fitting the exhausts last night, I’ve modified the rear pegs/hangers so they don’t have pegs or the exhaust support bracket anymore. I’m supporting the exhaust where the pegs used to go so it’s tidier overall. Of course I didn’t think of this before painting them, so I’ll get that done again!
Fair enough, I only use garages for MOT's and do everything myself if I can - I'm not really a trusting person..... Exhausts will look better without rear hangers and higher level too Your baffles look bigger than standard but I guess the bore is bogger - 50mm?
This was the first version of the modified exhaust hangers, before I realised I could get rid of the original supports too Finished item once I’d modified further then sprayed them again I changed the classic fuel filter (2006!) and hoses, I’ve seen a few people having issues with the hose popping off the pump and a couple of recommendations to lock wire it. I did it again later on because I didn’t like the crap first attempt. Even though no-one else will ever see it! The stuff that came out of the filter was beige. I’ll cut it in half if I have time.
The hoses were perfect to be honest, but I changed them while I was in the there any way. My lockwiring skills (learned on the day) are bad, but I’m a picky kind of fella. My job is inspection (of mainly oil industry stuff) so I’m used to finding fault with others work, it’s not so good when I’ve got no-one else to blame though! Found out late last night that the link pipes for the exhaust are 90mm shorter than the previous ones, I hadn’t really thought about it until I fitted them and discovered that they stop the centrestand from going up and get in the way of my feet! I’ve emailed the company to see what can be done, I didn’t think exhausts would be this much hassle!
Just kidding about the lock wiring I'm sure I could make it look worse That exhaust is a bugger, looks like it wants to be somewhere between the 2. However it gets sorted it's going to look good
That lockwire was the first attempt, it lasted about 5 mins before I decided I couldn’t live with it! I think I’ll need the full length link pipes if I intend to use a centre-stand at all, the foot bit on the stand is pretty far back. MOT is booked for sat morning, so worst case I’ll take off the stand (it needs painting anyway) and ride it there as is. The tank liner should be set by tomorrow, So I’ll get that all put together then and see about firing it up again.
Yeah, the centre stand does need a fair bit of clearance but can be optional (very handy though). Good luck with MOT, sure it will sail through - just of note, yesterday the tester told me they were failing tail tidy's that didn't have number plate lights as part of new testing.... Termi's on the monster before me were fine though
Mine has a number plate light, and MOT friendly indicators added to comply with the new rules! They’re in my MOT kit along with reflectors and exhaust baffles I didn’t intend to have a centrestand, but for the start at least it’s loads easier than a paddock stand that uses cups rather than bobbins and hooks.
I'm in the same situation regarding a 20 year old tank that I've been overhauling . Could you post some links to where you got the metal prep stuff and the Por15 ? What did you think of the finished results ( with both products ) ? Thanks !
