In the meantime, I started putting things back together, where it won’t interfere with exhaust valves access. Cleaned high voltage coils. Brand new MOSFET r/r: Cleaned horn (1st pic is before): And last but not least, new chain and sprockets: Looking much better than a couple weeks ago !
Big day today! I was able to get the valves done and finally opted for a little bit more lash for the exhaust openers, taking heat and valve seats into account. When I buttoned the engine up, my final measurements were as follow (same on both cylinders, believe it or not…): - Intake :0.11/0.04 - Exhaust : 0.15/0.04 Put new belts on, new oil + filter + pre-filter (mesh), carby back on after a good cleaning and refurb, new plugs, new battery, tidied the wiring harness, put the front end back together (front wheel and brakes to follow) and waiting for the shock to come back from reconditioning to finish up the rear. And my little before/after impression : Next will be testing everything electrical, slap the tank on and see if it wants to start!
I keep my fingers crossed you know. As a non pro DIY Sunday mechanic, I always find it a bit stressful the first time I hit the starter button after messing with the valve train…
It cranks!! Plugged everything electrical yesterday and briefly pressed the start button just to see if the starter would turn. Well, with new upgraded cables and LiPoFe4 battery, that thing does want to start with a passion! It’s begging for fuel now. Still a few things amiss: - Neutral switch light - Horn - Kill switch (still run on off…) - Side stand switch light. About the latter, well, unscrewing it from the stand without unplugging the connector from the loom leads to this… Nothing a little soldering couldn’t fix, though. Note: Everything works fine on the donor.
Now about the the clutch. This is something I tackled a couple weeks ago. These still have what I believe is called an inverted clutch: the slave is on the right hand side, built in the clutch cover, with the piston right in the middle, pushing the pressure plate inward (as opposed to the more recent system with the slave on the left and a clutch rod pushing the plate outwards). It is simpler, conceptually, but has a few downsides. First, the cover is a bear to bleed. Second, when not used for a while, the piston tends to seize in the middle of the cover. And those covers are pretty hard to find if it needs to be replaced. Pistons can still be found new but cost a fortune. Having two bikes, I decided to overhaul both clutches at the same time to see exactly where I was starting from and get what cosmetically looks the best on the chosen bike. Chosen bike: - Closed OEM cover. - Clutch internals (basket, drum, discs) looking pretty good. - Piston looking nice and not seized. - Left side (oil pump) cover flaking. Donor bike: - Machined OEM cover (pretty well done if you ask me). - Clutch internals (basket, drum, discs) looking dirty/rusty. Bike must have been stored outside exposed to wet weather. Basket and drum in good shape, though, but discs shot. - Piston seized, obviously… - Left side (oil pump) cover looking much better. Here are some side by side comparisons: At this point, I decided the following : 1/ Chosen bike gets the machined cover with new piston (that’s how I know they are expensive…), new discs and gets the donor oil pump cover. 2/ Donor bike gets closed cover, chosen bike discs and flaking oil pump cover. And both get the house elbow grease based grand overhaul treatment. And here’s the final result. Donor bike: Chosen bike:
Now, a few words about the seized piston. I initially thought it would nicely pop out using compressed air, like brake caliper pistons. It perfectly worked on the closed cover, but not at all on the open cover. Seized! I had to put it back on the bike and refill/bleed the hydraulic to get it out very slowly using the clutch lever. That took a fair amount of time… Ugly and dirty! Here comes a new piston! They come un-assembled so you have to do it yourself. Nothing complicated. Just small. And don’t lose a ball as they are not held together. I read on the Paso forum that you can polish the cylinder with Autosol. It does works really well. With all this done, I expect both bikes to have a well functioning clutch. We’ll see soon enough.
Well, unfortunately, those blue/red DP brake hoses advertised as « 900SS until 1990 » are not fitting well in the front repartitor. I can’t get rid of a little drip on the right hand side. With a production date in 2005, I think these are probably suited for later SSie models… I reverted back to the OEM hoses which are in perfect condition and no leak. Refill, bleed, and I have good brakes upfront. And good news, the rear break light pressure switch is working, so good light too. You will notice that the main switch (center of repartitor) has been replaced by a more recent side switch. As it perfectly works with no leaks, I decided to not mess up with it this time round. I also checked the front/nose fairing for clearance with the bracelets, and we’re all good there too. Don’t you think it vaguely looks like a grouper fish?
It has started!!! First try, boom, she fired right up, and idles like a queen. God I am happy tonight!
Properly tuning the carb is next on my agenda. I started reading some about it. Here’s my favorite find so far: « It may seem like a lot but really it is not. Being careful and methodical in setting up the carbs may not be glamorous but it is where the magic really is. Proper preparation and understanding of simple individual tasks is what will make you look like a factory trained carb tuning rock star. » A factory trained carb tuning rock star... I love the sound of it.
Grow your hair and get yourself a 747 as a daily runaround and your halfway there..... Good luck with that, but looking what your all about, i don't think you'll need it.
