Journey of my 79 XS1100F

[nzemke]

Update: Fun With Fiberglass

Here is the Form from the left side:




The Right side as it sits with the first two layers of Fiberglass drying:



The Left side with 4 layers of fiberglass. Next step is bondo and sanding so it gets the shape I want it to. It needs to match the curve of the frame. So it will be a thin layer of bondo at a time till it gets where I want it No rushing this one.:

[nzemke]

So while working on the brakes I figured I would grab the ones off of my parts bike...and glad I did...can you tell which ones are from mine and which are from the parts bike it will be nice to have new pads on this bike! There was little to no grease left on this pads at all...any that had been were was now caked in dirt grime.



And hate to say it but this is typical of all of the brakes on this bike so far. Finishing cleaning all of them and will have them back on the bike. The Rear brake is all back together and a new mast cylinder boot cover ordered from the UK.

[Prisoner6]

... I also have a new front tire to go on the bike. What should I use for propping up the motorcycle while the front tire is off? Should I just use a car jack? I ordered the Dunlop Elite 3.

A jackstand would work well for this.

Put the bike on the centerstand. Have a friend push down/lean on the back of the seat.

This will force the rear tire to touch the ground, and raise the front end of the bike.

You can then carefully place the jackstand under the front center frame crossmember to keep the front end raised.

BTW, bike is looking good!

[nzemke]

Update

So the fun continues! I started in on the brakes again this weekend. Just when I thought I had all the gunk out I realized that I had a not so nice suction sound as I hit the brake lever...and then the fluid dripped after each time I hit the lever. Plus I kept getting air in the brake line. I have now completely dismantled the master cylinder and have ordered the rebuild kit Should be here this week.

I also fixed the scratches on the tank from when I was cleaning the inside of the tank. And polished the heck out of it! Now if I can just get the parts back from the painter >.<

I also ordered the hoop metal on Friday. I figure it would have been done by now so I have decided to take matters into my own hands. I at least got the rear fender back from him.

And I also have a new front tire to go on the bike. What should I use for propping up the motorcycle while the front tire is off? Should I just use a car jack? I ordered the Dunlop Elite 3.

[nzemke]

Hey there,

This phrase has me a little concerned. Carb cleaner sprays can leave petroleum residues that are not good in brake systems. You should get some brake parts cleaner spray to use instead. Glad you found the cause of your sticking brakes.

T.C.

I only used brake cleaner on it. I was referring to these tools for getting in the small orifice.

[TopCatGr58]

Once I had it cleaned up I started hitting the pin hole with my carb cleaning kit..

Hey there,

This phrase has me a little concerned. Carb cleaner sprays can leave petroleum residues that are not good in brake systems. You should get some brake parts cleaner spray to use instead. Glad you found the cause of your sticking brakes.

T.C.

[nzemke]

So as I'm waiting on parts back from the painter I have started to work through the things that have been "nuisances" but not things that typically have not kept me from riding. One of those has been that the brakes would lock up after they had sat from a ride. It was annoying...but I would just bleed them a little and then back down the road I went. So today I decided that I would pop home for lunch and to start a cleanup of my break system. I was reading on the forum under the section for brake maintenance and found that there is that fancy hole at the bottom of the brake fluid reservoir. And the symptoms sounded spot on for what I have been experiencing...and when I took everything apart I found this....I must say I'm surprised that it worked at all...so that mess is now cleaned up. Once I had it cleaned up I started hitting the pin hole with my carb cleaning kit...and and it didn't take long before the pressure was released and the oil started flowing back into the reservoir. So tonight I will disassemble the hoses and clean the whole thing out. This way I can make sure there are no contaminates in the lines that will cause this issue again. And if they don't blow back out I will be buying some more brake lines.

Lesson learned, And tomorrow will be the rear brakes.

[2manybikes]

Detailing

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. You have given me some ideas to incorporate into what I am doing. I too, would go nuts if I did not have more to do than I am likely to get done. My better half's mother asked her years ago, if I ever stopped moving. She told her only when I finally keeled over and fell asleep!

[nzemke]

I am impressed with the cleaning you did on the motor, especially around the fins. Care to share a play by play on how you did it? I am also interested in your comment about using LED's. Where did you use them and were they "plug and play", or did you have to add something inline to use them? The tarp under the bike, to cover the carpet, is priceless! I've been trying to find a good time for the last two days to ask my GF how she would feel if I put one of my bikes in the dining room for a while!

Thank you sir, it took a lot of elbow grease, sand paper, Circular Fine Wire Brush, 3 inch wire cup brush both on a low speed power drill. Otherwise I spent about an hour on each piece using sand paper grits 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000. Then hit them with a polishing kit I picked up from homedepot as well. between the three I was able to get at most of everything. The fins were mostly done by the circular brush. I contemplated using the sand paper by hand...but its just a pain to get into.

The LED's I have lining the area around the engine so it lights up green. And I installed a shutoff switch ($4 walmart special) so I don't have to always have it on. For those I wired them into the blue cable that is for the running lights. I will shoot some photos for that when I have a second. The tail light LED's are still saying "shipped" from evil bay...I ordered them on the 7th. So as soon as they get here I will wire them into the fender. With more pictures for that. Over all they were very easy to install.

And my office area is a man cave and I put down the tarp just so I wouldn't have to hear anything later lol. The biggest complaint I got was driving it into the office its not like I parked it in the room and let it run...but there was still a lot of complaining. The smell went away after a day or two. I have seen a lot of people put down cardboard below the bike when working on them as well to absorb the oil...so a little double duty with a tarp and cardboard will be my second go around when I bring in the Honda for a full tear down in the fall. I think my wife is convinced I would keel over if I didn't have some sort of project going!

As for asking the significant other...just make sure you ask her after you make her a nice meal! And Good luck!

[2manybikes]

Cool!

I am impressed with the cleaning you did on the motor, especially around the fins. Care to share a play by play on how you did it? I am also interested in your comment about using LED's. Where did you use them and were they "plug and play", or did you have to add something inline to use them? The tarp under the bike, to cover the carpet, is priceless! I've been trying to find a good time for the last two days to ask my GF how she would feel if I put one of my bikes in the dining room for a while!

[nzemke]

I will be paying a lot of attention to that. From what I have read...as long as I keep it dry I should be OK. And our summer months out here in central Washington is well below half of the national average.

Well I also took her out of the office last night. Just waiting on the last parts to come back painted...still...its been three weeks...and I am biting my nails (rear fender, side panels, headlight bucket, hoop bar)

[motoman]

Lookin' good from what it was prior nzemke. Unfortunately, the wrap on the header pipes will draw moisture causing the header pipes to rust through sooner than later.

[nzemke]

Working through shinning up the engine

Before:

After:



Before

After:

[nzemke]

Progress...hoping that tomorrow I can finish the initial clean then hit it with some chemicals so i can rinse off everything else. Almost thinking I should remove the boots as well. Should be able to remove all of the buildup. I'm hoping that this will completely surprise me by feeling like a brand new bike when its done

[nzemke]

And the tear down has begun. First thing I noticed on the problem child valve...it slides out like it wasn't even being held in place. And the valve seals are all slipping off like pulling a straw out of a smoothie. And there is plenty of carbon build up that I did not address last time. With all of my new seals and gaskets I'm hoping that this time around I do everything right. My wife doesn't agree with it but I am working on the motorcycle in my office this time instead of dealing with the outside elements.