What did you do to your bike today?

[donebysunday]

Wow TC I thought I was having a tough weekend, You and yours I'm sure have all our prayers.

[3Phase]

I'm glad your wife's okay!


The setup for hanging Godzilla and the transmission gears look great!
For cutting and rethreading your turn signal, CFR Title 49 covers separation and quite a few other details:.

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2007-title49-vol6/xml/CFR-2007-title49-vol6-sec571-108.xml

There are also laws that flat-out explicitly prohibit modifying the original lighting geometry.

I got a ticket from the CHP back in '81 after I broke a turn signal on my KZ and cut it to fit so it can happen and the police are looking, it depends on if you hear a chicken cluck when you get pulled over.

[BA80]

I just got one of those HF lifts today TC. I like it but that front wheel vise needs to be upgraded. Found one on GOOGLE for about $100 I think I'm gonna get.

[TopCatGr58]

Well, got around to tearing into Godzilla further.

Okay folks,

After breaking the left turn signal threaded stalk(hopefully I can unthread the remaining broken piece out and reuse the remainder to reinstall it?) I said I was going to HOIST it up like an almost endover wheelie! Well, I brought in the wooden hoist rig I had made the last summer from some 2x8 planks that used to be a bed frame, along with 2 layers across the top, and various 2x4 sections as cross braces to keep it from flexing and collapsing.

I put the bike lift under it, and pushed Godzilla up onto it, put it up on the center stand, and then skidded it up to the wheel stop end. This positioned the handlebars just underneath the hoist frame. I had first thought of using the EYE bolt I had rigged up, but then decided with the ratchet straps to just drap them across the top hoist frame piece....space them apart a bit and this along with attaching them to the handlebar clamps would help stabilize it some and keep it from spinning so easily!



Forgot to mention I pumped up the hoist to maximum height before attaching the ratchet straps, this way I didn't have to ratchet them much to get the height I was hoping for.

Then I LOWERED the lift to just clear the rear wheel, so essentially the bike was HANGING from the hoist/straps. I also attached 2 additional SAFETY straps to the frame and hoist since I was going to be sitting/laying UNDER the bike, and wanted something to keep it from crashing down on me if the handlebar clamps/bolts or the main ratchet straps gave way!


Dropped the oil pan, and pulled the OIL PUMP. I was surprised to see the condition of the O-ring. I had put a new one in in 2000 when I did my major topend/rebuild. I think I was from the LOCAL HARDWARE store, and I thought it was a NEOPRENE type that could withstand the oil and heat and pressure? Guess I was WRONG? I;m pretty sure it wasn't a Harbor Freight one though.




I was ready to remove the countershaft bearing but after 15 minutes searching realized that I had lost my 30T Torx bit I had used 17 years earlier, and had to run off to Lowes to get another one!

Got the shift pawl, and the shift fork shaft out, then pulled the 5th gear out, had already loosened and removed the large bolt from the other end of the countershaft, removed the shift forks, and then wiggled the shaft and gears and got it out in just a few minutes.

Here's what the dogs on the 4th gear that engages with the solid 6 land 1st gear looked like. No wonder it was starting to skip!






But now for the BIG REVEAL with regards to the 2nd gear and washer swap THEORY!!! Remember, folks felt that the extra thick washer doesn't allow enough depth engagement of the 5th gear dogs into the 2nd gear slots, and this is part of why we think they round off. Remember they are/were square cut at the factory! When I did my Tranny fix in 2000 and have put some 25+K miles on it, I did NOT do the washer swap. I just did an aggressive grinding of the 5th gear dogs and 2nd gear slots to match the same angles that WERE in the OEM 3rd gear dogs that WERE back/under cut at the factory.

SO..as you can see from these 2 photos, the dog on 2nd show essentially NO signs of rounding off on the tips/edges, and the simple step of undercutting the dogs and slots appears to be adequate alone for keeping them engaged and not letting them get rounded/worn which leads to skipping. The propensity for the rounding affect IMHO comes mostly from the OEM square cut design, and IF Yamaha had undercut/angle cut them at the factory, we wouldn't even need the Dremmel fix for the 2nd gear, much less the extra work of swapping/moving the washer, and then the extra work of trying to get the countershaft assembly back into the engine since the washer swap shifts things a bit more adding to the difficulty factor of this process.

I didn't TOUCH the 5th gear dogs/2nd gear slots at all this time, and STILL haven't moved the washer.




Here are the 4th gear dogs back/under cut a little more aggressively to match the 3rd gear dog angles, and I also reground the 6 lands/slots on the 1st gear trying to put a corresponding angle on them as well.





Then came the fun part of putting it together and back into the engine. The Countershaft assembly wasn't difficult, but the shift forks were a PITA! I got the middle fork flipped around the first time and THEN realized that the fork shaft wouldn't make it thru it and the 1st and 3rd shift fork. Had to reverse it, and and play with the shift drum and such, but finally got it all sorted out. Thankfully I had done this once before on it's BACk, I don't think I would still recommend this hoisting technique for the 1st timer/novice mechanic to use/attempt to perform this MOD/repair.

I got all of this done Friday night and Saturday afternoon early evening. Later that evening, SWMBO let me know that she had been having this "CHEST PAIN" off and on for several hours, and that it was radiating to her left arm and her neck! DING< DING...Warning Will Roger...DANGER...DANGER!!

Not sure how many of you all know that they(Medical community) has learned that WOMEN usually do not have these CLASSIC types of heart attack symptoms like MEN do, but these ARE classic heart attack symptoms. She wasn't nauseaus or sweaty, but knowing her strong family history of heart attacks....Dad-died, Sister, and Mother....She agreed that we should take her to the E.R. to be "checked out".

15-20 years ago she had some different chest pains, had a stress test and was diagnosed with Microvascular angina.....in other words, nothing to worry about THEN. She had also been given Nitro under the tongue, and all it did was give her a headache, didn't help the chest pain.

This time, they did a STAT EKG, drew cardiac enzymes/blood labs, and then gave her 4 kids aspirins, and then a NITRO. THIS TIME it helped the pain go away and didn't give her a headache....one confirmation sign! Her EKG and blood labs were OKAY, but because of her many other risk factors, diabetes, blood pressure, AGE, they said they wanted to ADMIT her to the Hospital for both observation and further testing ie. EchoCardiogram, eventually a Stress Test. So she spent the night, and today they repeated the cardiac enzymes/blood tests, and they still looked GOOD, she's been wearing a NITRO patch, and has not had any more chest pain. The EchoCardiogram appeared okay, but due to the Holiday weekend, the Cardiologist had already gone home for the day. The admitting Dr. discussed her case/history with him, and it was recommended that she stay yet another day/night for continued observation, and the Cardiologist will visit/see her tomorrow AM. Depending on his exam, they MAY let her go home tomorrow and get the additional tests on a OUTPATIENT basis. Not sure if she'll have to have a Cardiac Catheterization, and depending on those findings possibly a stent or so inserted IF they find significant blockage. But right now it looks like it was just an ANGINA attack, but not necessarily a full blown HEART ATTACK. PHEW!

So...here's hoping your holiday weekend is a bit more enjoyable than mine!

T.C.

[Geezer]

I know I've seen the keys since I moved so they're not lost... I know I'll find them after I've given up and I'm desperately trying to find something else that's lost.

I've been looking for my digital game camera for the past 3 years and I'm about ready to give it up for lost in the move. Maybe I'll find it when I'm looking for the keys to my bike.

Now that I'm tinkering with bikes again, I'll be back a bit more often. Even if I give up riding, I have ore more Yamaha that I want to fix up even if I never ride it. I just have to see my R5 back in running condition...

Geezer

[3Phase]

So the brakes and brake fluid's good to go and you can still remember that you can't find your keys -- you're stylin', man!

[motoman]

Glad to have you back on here on occasion Tony!.

[Geezer]

You were mostly right about winter and spring around here but it makes our summers all that more precious...

I rebuilt the rear brake caliper with a stainless steel piston and put on a braided stainless line a year before I moved. I rebuilt the front calipers and put on a Mike's XS master cylinder the year before. I had the front breaks apart a few times since then trying to get the 4 pot calipers figured out. The only good thing about it being in storage all this time is I'm pretty sure I figured out the problem with the 4 pot calipers and I also hope to have the hydraulic clutch installed by the time I get the rest taken care of.

The big problem is I have about 50 boxes of bike parts that I have to go though and mostly sell off. I collected a ton of spare parts that I'll likely never need. For example, I have at least 3 sets of extra ignition pickups, 2 vacuum cans (one is new old stock) and at least 3 ignition boxes but I'm clueless about what boxes to find them in.

I know I've seen the the keys since moved but I can't remember where...

Geezer

[3Phase]

I was just pulling your leg, Tony, I've been to The Great Wet North. It wasn't bad here today, it was only 110 and the mercury's supposed plummet all the way down to a balmy 106 by Saturday.

While your bike's down for maintenance, when was the last time you changed the brake fluid, flushed the lines and bled the brakes?

[Geezer]

You guys clearly have never experienced an Oregon summer... It was around 90 degrees today and typically we only get a few rainy days in the summer. On untypical years, it can rain all year long...

Anyway the sun porch is a great feature. My house faces west and on days with only a little sun, it's still warm on the sun porch. During the summer I leave all the windows open and the extra shade keeps the main part of the house cooler. It's like inside space outside...

Anyway I have to walk by my bike on the way out every day so I'm more likely to get to work on it. Now if I can just remember where I last saw those damn keys...

I'm thinking, a carb clean, new battery and an oil change and the old girl will be back on the road again...

[jetmechmarty]

You put a solar collector on it during the day when the Sun's out so you can use it for the other 364 days when it's not?

I was thinking he'd have a rain porch!

[3Phase]

Tony,
I'm just wondering what you do with a sun porch in western Oregon.

You put a solar collector on it during the day when the Sun's out so you can use it for the other 364 days when it's not?

[jetmechmarty]

Actually it was a few days ago but I brought all my bikes home from storage 30 miles away and they're now home. My XS11 is sitting on my sun porch waiting for me to get started on it...

Geezer

Tony,
I'm just wondering what you do with a sun porch in western Oregon.

[Geezer]

Actually it was a few days ago but I brought all my bikes home from storage 30 miles away and they're now home. My XS11 is sitting on my sun porch waiting for me to get started on it...

Geezer

[XJkid]

New speedo

Anything under 80 mph is kinda boring, and my 80 mph speedo was howling and bouncing and no amount of lube changed that, so I got a '77 xs750 140 mph speedo off Ebay for $15 and did a ham-fisted swap, but it works great!