Ordered new slicks for the R1, ordered CRC race fairings,switches,,bars, grips and a few other bibs and bobs for the V4r and finally finished the desmosedici, a good day really!
Working through this list over the past few days.... 1. S4R - has an MOT but not starting due to fuel contamination problem from being sat outside in the rain for months. Partially resolved and just about to head outside to, hopefully, complete the job (thanks @bettes for your phone call and useful "hacks" this morning). 2. 900SS bobber - No MOT. Totally dead battery which turned out to be masking a totally dead electrical system. I resolved that by finding that a large block connector had come adrift, but in the process I also snapped a different connector. I also remounted the custom rear light and secret little LED indicators. Also discovered that the horn doesn't work but I can't see why not, which means it won't pass the MOT I booked for Monday (FFS). 3. Carla (S4/916/Panigale mash up) - No MOT. Donated her battery to the 900SS but not rideable due to electrical issues, namely part of rear light loom custom is routed though the Pani subframe but a grommet has come loose, meaning the wires have been severed. Also shod with Supercorsas which feel like walking on roller skates on freezing cold, wet and greasy January roads. 4. DT125 - has an MOT. Currently not rideable due to it falling off axle stands onto my head and almost breaking my arm the other night halfway through trying to fit a lowering link on my own because for some reason my 18 year old son is more interested in shagging his girlfriend than helping me sort his bike. 5. DT 175 - no MOT needed. Wasn't rideable because it would neither start nor idle. I managed to get it doing both yesterday but still sub-optimal because it idles too low when cold and too high when hot. 6. Bandit 1200/GSXR cafe racer mash-up track bike - no MOT. Also donated its battery to the 900 for a day or two and I haven't got round to recharging/refitting it. Plus, it doesn’t have a headlight at the moment as the previous one fell off at Brands, leading to me being black flagged. 7. MT125 (son's bike) - has an MOT, but currently not rideable due to him crashing it and snapping the brake and gear lever. He still hasn't managed to get it recovered here yet (I can't get it because my van is banned from the London LEZ zone) due to various lockdowns and aforementioned girlfriend distractions. 8. Yamaha Pantheon 125 moped (forgot about this) - No MOT. Seized engine. One day I intend to fix it and do a wacky steampunk themed 'fighter project on it.
Your head broke the DT125? Thats hard core. Sounds like some electrical tape and a battery charger is in your future, maybe some tyres?
Not quite. I had it on axle stands under the footpeg hangers while I was installing a longer shock link in order to lower it and unfortunately it toppled off the stands and towards me. As the link was out at the time the suspension also collapsed while I had my forearm under the bike, but luckily my instinctive reaction wasn’t to recoil but instead, for want of a better word, “attack”, so I basically shoulder charged/head butted it before the weight landed on my arm. I used to play American football (free safety) so that both explains my reaction and the fact that I’ve suffered no noticeable cognitive impairment from head butting a 110kg bike (where there’s no sense there’s no feeling etc). My left shoulder is a bit sore though as it’s the one which is vulnerable to repeat dislocations (again, a hangover from my football playing days), including a partial one last summer which also trapped my radial nerve for a while. That was a memorable and deeply unpleasant experience which led to weeks of disturbed sleep, irritability and I probably skirted with codeine addiction as I was on high doses of it for ages.
Made a tapered spark plug socket with a 16mm deep-well socket, drill press, file, and some fine-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. I noticed in the 999 factory workshop manual under the torque specs it lists M12 spark plugs at 20nm; on the next page it lists M10 spark plugs (which are what are in the 999) at 15nm - similar issue with oil drain plug sizes and something to be aware of if you use the torque spec on your spark plugs!
Carried on try8ing to get the S4R to start. Removed and drained the tank, repeatedly swilling fresh fuel around it until it stopped looking like something Starbuks would sell and ran clear. Refitted the tank. Tried to remove the filler cap so I could get at the filter only to find that the f*ucktards who painted and PPF wrapped the tank in the summer, along screwing up every single other aspect of the job, seem to have painted over the edge of the seal rather than removing it, so it won't budge. I sprayed the whole area with WD40 and have left the heating on in the workshop overnight to see if that lubes and softens the area around the hole (stop sniggering at the back there) and I'll try again tomorrow. I might also need to use a razor blade to slice through the paint and, if I can't get the bugger started, my wrists. Any other hacks/ideas gratefully received Then checked and adjusted the cable play and tolerances of the 2 stroke oil pump on the DT175 and took it out for a quick razz. It was of course an essential, if very middle class journey, as the girlf had run out of pesto half way through cooking dinner.
Ah the old bluesmokes -especially those that don't need an MOT or road tax- always put a smile on your face. Blokes in that situation without one would have had to settle for ketchup on their pasta.
Absolutely spot on. It struggles to start, barely reaches 60 and the brakes are a joke, but there’s no need to ride fast down Memory Lane.
Tuned it will start easily, and hit 75mph. Change the brake shoes? Though the instant bite of a disk brake isn't going to happen, you will be glad of that when you're buzzing along gravel paths! Memory lane -what a great place. Though its not always like we remembered...
Had a little result today. Last year I bought some big cones to balance rear wheels with new tyres. The cones were meant to be 12mm internal diameter, the steel rod was meant to be 12mm. However, both were a fraction of a mm out. Result, cones would not slide onto the rod. Result total waste of time and money. I thought about getting the bloody expensive, for what they are, cones milled out. They were something like 28 Quid and were supposed to fit. Any road up, I spoke to a mate of mine about getting them milled and he said, we might have some steel rod fractionally less than 12mm from when we made 3D printers. He cut me a piece, 400mm long and sent it to me. It slipped in like a Catholic priest celebrating Benedictus with two Nuns. Result is I can balance my rear wheels as well as the fonts. Happy days.
Yesterday - after having worked out why it wouldn't start last week, I re-mantled the 900SS bobber, rudely shoved all the mess of excess loom, relays and other gubbins as best I could into the space between the two cylinders, lashed the whole affair up with cable ties and rode it to the MOT tester, whose raised eyebrow told me all I needed to know about the likelihood of it passing first time. Then went back there on the DT175 to retrieve the mobile phone holder I'd accidentally left clamped to the 900SS's bars and took the scenic route home, almost earning myself a Darwin Award along the way. Details here: Your Silliest, Most Embarrassing / Comical Stories Involving Bikes Today - went out for another blat on the DT to drop off my now bricked phone at the mender's. Unfortunately he was closed but that just gives me an excuse to do another essential journey tomorrow to drop it off at his house.
