pick-ups

[strom]

Well, I alredy have the damper... it's off a Moto Guzzi SP mk1, 9 stage adjustable. It will go somewhere between the steering tree and somewhere on the frame below the tank, the only problem is, that the horns are there. I guess I'll move the horns. And I like them where they are... I'll think of sth... and let u know.

OK, the WHY... roads are not that bumpy... well...depends where u ride... but here's a good reason:
A friend of mine was riding his 1978 (same year as mine) on a highway... it was a hot summer day, he was doing bout 75... just taking it easy. The bike came into a wobble so fast, he didn't even have time to notice what was happening, the handle bars were ripped from his grasp, and he spent 3 days in a hospital (he was lucky.. he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans... and a helmet). It was a straight part of the road, no potholes, nothing. They checked the bike for breakdowns or some mechanical problem that caused the accident, but none was found. Probbably sth to do with stearing head bearings... they put it as driver error and gave him a ticket (the cops).
So, if I get an old bike, I'll put a steering damper on. Better safe than sorry.

Maybe sth should be said bout the riding habits here... dunno, maybe this only applies for Harley riders...
A few of my friends went to Daytona or somewhere, a harley rally. They said that those harley riders DO NOT KNOW HOW TO RIDE THROUGH A TURN... they slow down to bout 20 and hope they won't fall off... OK, HD definetly isnt the best handling bike, but please! Later they asked my friends if they have some sort of racing licences or sth... (my friends were on HDs too). I hope this doesn't apply for all the HD riders in the US...
The fact is, the driving licences are a bit harder to get here... it's not just a drive/ride around the block.
For a motorcycle licence there's a course that consists of a slalom between posts, emergency stopping, avoiding an obstacle at high speed, u-turns, u-turn on a steep climb, group riding, long distance riding and much more....
There are advanced courses that are voluntary and free of charge (started this year) where u learn how to ride sitting on one side of the bike (both legs left/right side of the bike), standing on the seat, wheelies, stoppies, etc... these courses are organised by the police
However u have to do all the stuff on your bike which must have valid registration and u must have a lincence.
Then u can do it all over again on the police BMWs..

LP

[jakal92]

Originally posted by strom
The bike came into a wobble so fast, he didn't even have time to notice what was happening, the handle bars were ripped from his grasp, and he spent 3 days in a hospital

LP

Same thing happened to me on my buddies 77 XS750 tripple.

Rode it to the lake, got it to 100 a couple times,
then slowing down to 55 for a break.
Seconds later, the frontend shakes, pulllllls hard to the left,
in front of a car (sees it all and stops - thanks),
kicked it off in the ditch and rolled a few times.

Had full gear on (helmet, leather jacket, thickest jeans, boots),
but chipped a vertibrate in my back from the helmet hitting it hard.

Never could find anything wrong with the bike.

But I did get a week off from work,
that I dont remember much, good painkillers.

[strom]

OK, long time no update..

The engine is back together and in the bike... alltho the gearbox is... funny.. dunno what's wrong.. it seems the gear go like this
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
neutral
5th

Any ideas?
I'll know for sure when the oil is in and the shaft connected....
still have the middle drive to assemble...

I've ordered rear brake pads and the center stand spring... will get them sometime this week... maybe monday.

Still no pick-up coil...

Another question... where's the neutral light connector? The wiring diagram shows the wire goes to the pick/up coil, but from where...where is the connector on the gearbox located... couldn't find it?

LP

[strom]

OK, solved the gearbox problem... the external rod is placed diagonally instead of horizontally, which is a custom with other bikes. So is the gear slack... I hope. Ergo, gearbox is fine.

The neutral switch is somewhere beneath the engine... still dunno where.

Still no pick-up coil... (pulser unit...)

LP

[strom]

OK, moderators are free to change the subject of this thread.. Or maybe not, since I still didn't get the pick-ups.

So, an update:

Gearbox is fine, clutch works, middle drive assembled, oil in the engine and oil pressure is OK.
Carbs are installed, so are the two fuel filters, however I'll need new gaskets for the petcocks... not too bad tho, but the petcocks are moist...

There was bout 1dcl of goo, rust, metal shavings in the gas tank. I also noticed some rust under the paint on the outside. No problem tho, since I'm gonna paint the bike during the winter anyway.

The ignition coils seem OK, but the spark plug wires don't. I replaced them with some silicone stuff, and one coil mesures OK, the other doesn't. Will play with it some more.

These wires have their own plug caps (if I can call a piece of inslulating rubber and a plug connector a cap), which seem to do the job. They test bout 6k ohms, so I didn't put any resistor caps on instead of the existing ones... Hope it works. Any ideas?

Got new spark plugs, oil filter, made new exhaust clamp/holding thingie for the chimney...

So, the bike is complete, only missing the pick-up coil...
Gonna paint it during the winter and make new engine guards (the left one is in bad shape), mounts for side and top case, maybe I'll even put a fairing on... I have a BMW fairing (I think it's BMW... not sure), that would fit perfectly... It's missing a windshield and blinkers (I'll probbably just put some bulb mountings in there and use yellow bulbs... paint the glass black and hope for the best. It needs some work, but nothing some glue and paint won't fix. I saw a nice repairable goldwing aspencade (1100-1200) fairing on ebay for a dollar, but since that's not a priority, I'll pass.

I saw the same steering damper on a Yamaha R1 yesterday, the owner paid silly money for it. Made me feel proud of my bargaining skills... LOL (I'm terrible in money/dinero/cash/lova/novac/soldi/geld department).

I'll borrow a digital camera and post some pics of my XS ASAP.
All I can say is, that it looks yummie

LP

[skids]

Originally posted by strom
OK, moderators are free to change the subject of this thread.. Or maybe not, since I still didn't get the pick-ups.

(snip)I'll need new gaskets for the petcocks... not too bad tho, but the petcocks are moist...

There was bout 1dcl of goo, rust, metal shavings in the gas tank. I also noticed some rust under the paint on the outside. No problem tho, since I'm gonna paint the bike during the winter anyway.

These wires have their own plug caps (if I can call a piece of inslulating rubber and a plug connector a cap), which seem to do the job. They test bout 6k ohms, so I didn't put any resistor caps on instead of the existing ones... Hope it works. Any ideas?


LP

Hi there LP. The wierd gaskets for the petcocks are not needed if you use a big o-ring to fit the outside groove and use fiber washers for the mounting bolts. Do not use any lock washers or steel washers or the fiber washers will not seal. I hated the phillips bolts so I replaced mine with bolts with a flange head (for the fiber washer seal).

I recommend that you get some of that Caswells epoxy tank sealer prior to painting because acetone or MEK might eat your new paint job. Here is a tip:

http://home.earthlink.net/~sidskids/tank.htm

The plug wires can be replaced with stranded wire core plug wires. Here in the states, it is sold for racing and is not supposed to be used on the street because of radio interferrance. Accel makes kits for 6 cly and V8's. You can find the wire in Dennis Kirk also. Resistor plugs are not necessary. The normal caps have about 5 Kohm to 8 Kohms resistance. The coils themselves have something like 15 kohm resistance from wire to wire and I think the stock wire resistance is about nil resistance.

[strom]

Thanx for the info... But I suspect the diaphragm gasket and the bottom gasket... I'll check again and replace all that stuff during the winter.... 12$ for the repair set isn't so expencive....

The coil wires have bout 6k resistance, so I guess there shouldn't be a problem... if you go to http://213.143.72.86/ there's some pics of the bike and the wires/"connectors" can be seen.

Basicaly it's a wire with a plug connector on it and rubber tube around, that seals everything quite well... the wire has little slack due to the fact, that I mounted the coils the wrong way... will fix that today.

I think it should work, but no way to say for sure till I get the pick-ups... I hope it works.

Thanx again for the info... I'll let u know when the vroom vroom day comes

LP