Godzilla Resurrection: Re-build thread

[GLoweVA]

lol... I thought TC had painted it in... that's why the "shutter-bug" insert... back to the frame at the triple tree, is it just me or do the H models sit at a different degree of rake? or is it just this particular H model that I am working on..? maybe at some point a previous owner fell prey to the bumper bounce, not sure...

Rich, his old frame had a bent in steering neck so he had added longer forks a while back. Now he's got a good special frame and transferring all to it, plus adding frame gussets and such, plus modifying the seat too. So thats why the rake looks different.

[RichW1064]

yes I remember seeing the pic's and yes we are glad to know he wasn't hurt... I seen that the bike that was damaged was the special, but I have been working with an 79 H model (sorry, ment the F model, said someplace that I still have much to learn regarding these bikes), took the blown out standard forks off and put on a SG model front... I didn't measure it but when sitting next to my 80sg it appears to sit an 1 higher? with gas tank installed... maybe the tank mounts are located a little differently?

TC... can we shout out "its alive" yet? I know that you and the friends have been working hard at this, and I am anxious to see pic's of Godzilla plated and on the roll...

[RichW1064]

(sun setting...)

*Rich1064* - peeks face into the greatest convo he has been in with-in years...

looking around admiring everything surrounding he takes a step back and ask's...


(lights a bright, children running and enjoying, mom doing her magic where she see's best, (mom's always was the favored you know.)

"how in the world are we ever going to get to the show with what we have to work with?..." "yesterday the car broke down and your sister cant carry all this load Barb..."

pause in dialect...

*Barbra-bitch* - (looking around and looking at me, pausing then smiling.)("she is good at this degree of deployment..!" ""wonderful"")

"honey, she has just invited you to a fall group get to gather and has told you to get the bikes ready to roll..." there wasn't any mention of the number the trailer can haul"... "she told me that if is the place we need to go then there no reason to drag your knuckles"...


*Rich1064* - (states while sharing that smile)

"when was the last time I told you just how beautiful you are Lady...?"


*Barbra-bitch* - "get your stuff loaded and lets get there, your sharing a generation of material , though its all motorcycle, the world is your backyard two-wheels... and yes I admire you for who you are..."


*Rich1064* - (falling to one knee, looking up at her with care. speaking manly.)

"Baby... you are the best.... love eternal...."

Morals do have way of setting in motion a direct drive straight into a heart... know your direction and know the heart you live for...




we never made it to the place we were heading, child came along and several years into the relationship there was the money issue. she went her way and me, my way. the child (and his friends shall number strong) Scott is that man and stands next to me as my closest friend and everything I represent... He is the best friend God has ever blessed me with.... praise God... amen...


Rich (xs11.com'er) (yes I would love to touch her again)

[TopCatGr58]

My Monstrous Rally Experience

(Reposted from the XSSE 2016 Rally thread in case you weren't following it vs. this thread.)
Okay,

After a good night's sleep, I'm now ready to expound on my total XSSE 2016 Rally experience, hope you're ready for a ride! For those of you that have not seen/followed my rebuild thread, I decided to do a frame up rebuild of Godzilla this year, but a couple of months into it, realized that the pace I had chosen was woefully too slow, and then cranked up my activity to a fevere pitch over the last few weeks to get it done and ready for the rally. Amazingly I got it completed and in running condition so it could be inspected Thursday, and we could then leave Friday AM for the trip.

I now bring your attention to this first photo courtesy of JetMechMarty:

Note the bandaid across my forehead. This should have been the first OMEN for me! I had the bike on the CenterStand and on the bike lift, fully loaded saddlebags/trunk, and I needed to take it off the centerstand. The way you usually do that is to get a good rocking action and then a strong forward lunge/push on the handlebars to push it off of the CS. I wasn't yet wearing my helmet, and had forgotten that I had just put on the windscreen....BLAM....hit my forehead on the sharp edge of the top of the screen and gave myself a nice 1.5 inch long deep scrape up my forehead! DOH! Drew BLOOD even!

Okay, got it outside, George arrived, fired up and we were OFF! But after just the first 1.5 hours worth of riding on that Harley Single seat...I realized I wouldn't be able to survive on my skinny white bony butt, and I also wished I had made time to install my engine guard/cruise pegs! So...we stopped at a local LOWE's store, found a nice outside chair lounge cushion....in green even....and also got some 1" square tubing 3 feet long with some SS U-clamps and mounted it up high on the frame just above the headers. Problems solved, we were off again.

George had calculated fuel stops about every 120 miles, but I was running out right around 100....and even after I would switch to RESERVE it wouldn't act right, felt like it was still running on just 2 cylinders, so I chalked it up to the more slanted angle of the tank, and that with the extra weight, windscreen, and 70+ mph speed was just eating my mileage! This problem will show up later!

So...we made it about 300+ miles to near Asheville when I again ran low on fuel, pulled off the highway, and tried to get to the station, but my clutch wasn't working right! We checked it out, went to the fullest cable handlebar adjustment and still wasn't right, SO...took off the engine cover and found that the throwout lever locknut had worked loose and fell off! After putting all back together and locktited, the handlebar lever still didn't feel right and was still at the fullest adjustment! It was a NEW clutch cable, but generic, and so we surmised that it had stretched! Thankfully I had packed my old cable as a backup! We tried to fish it thru the frame ziptied the old onto the end of the new one, but it kept hanging up under the tank, so we had to pull the tank off. But I had BOLTED my backrest to my luggage rack, and it extended over the rear end of the seat, so we couldn't just lift the seat to allow clearance for the tank, SO we had to unbolt the seat from the frame, then we got the tank off. THEN we saw that I had included the clutch cable into a ziptie that I had used to secure some of the other harness wires to the frame....that's why it wouldn't just fish thru!

Okay, got it done, back together and we were off again. Hit some nasty stop and crawl traffic on I-40 just past Asheville, and so we took a GPS detour, had planned to get onto the BRP near there anyways for the last leg to the IronHorse. But while running down the road I happened to be watching my voltmeter, and saw that it wasn't getting above 12V, wasn't sure how long it had been that way. So... we pulled off into a gas station, and took the cover off just to see if the drive belt had broken or what. I was intact, but the pulley was burn fingers hot, and with the recent previous stop/crawl traffic and 85+ temps and enclosed alt case/cover, that perhaps the ALT had an overheat protection circuit that cut it off? So...we waited there a 1/2 hour trying to let it cool down, finally even got some empty soda bottles and filled them with tap water and slowly poured them over the pulley/case trying to speed up the cooling. Got the pulley and case cooled down, and so we decided to fire it up and see if the ALT would show charging, left the cover off for better wind cooling....but once the engine started, we saw that the belt was SPINNING AROUND the ALT pulley, but the ALT's pulley wasn't spinning! We then took a wrench to the pulley nut to see if it would spin, and it wouldn't, it had totally mechanically grenaded....bearings burned up, pieces falling out thru the vent slots! I jokingly quipped..."at least the crankshaft seals aren't leaking"! That will bite me in the a$$ later!

It was already after 6 pm. We went to an auto parts store just a mile down the road, but they didn't have anything they could cross reference, they had internet access, and was able to find my special Mini Race Alt model #, 8162, but nothing that could work! Called Swmbo to let her know, she reminded me that I had AAA, called them, but it was only for CAR.....I would have had to have upgraded to RV/recreational vehicle level to cover Motorcycle! I was running out options, ideas. To get a replacement ALT I thought I would have to order one online and express ship it, possibly get it by Monday, install and finally be able to at least get back home...but miss the Rally rides completely. The local car rental place was already closed, so I couldn't get a car to drive back home to get my SUV/trailer and then drive back, pickup bike and then drive home again!

So...George was able to get thru to RichV, and he was able to get Harry/Bigfoot to graciously come the 50+ miles with his truck/trailer and haul me at least to the Hotel I was staying at in Robbinsville, where I could then plan my repair options. Dropped the bike at the Hotel, rode back to the I.H. with Harry, and then after unhooking the trailer, he made a magnanimous offer to let me borrow his truck while chasing my repair options while he was riding at the rally.

Got back to the hotel, and started researching, found the manufacturer's website:
http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/
and they had a DEALER Locater link, searched places within 30, then 50 then 100 miles, most places were basic parts places, but didn't list the ALT on their webpages. Finally found a place called Tennessee Speed & Sport,
http://www.tennesseespeedsport.com/P...lternator.html
showed a brick/mortar location in Chattanooga, and their website listed the Alt In STOCK...but they were closed at 1 am Saturday morning! Got up at 8:00, called their 800 number, verified they had the ALT, they were open from 8-6pm, put my name on it, and took off for Chattanooga across the mountains. Some 2 hours later arrived at the address.....BUT no store! I then called the regular phone # for that location I had also written down...and got the "NO LONGER IN SERVICE" message! I called the 800 number again, and THEN found out that they had closed that location 2 years earlier, but it was still listed in the Manufacturer's Dealer listing! It was only ~11am, so I got the address of the ACTIVE store location...and set my GPS....to NASHVILLE some 140 miles farther! Arrived at 1:30pm, got the ALT in my hands, had to pay ~$220 full retail....was only ~$85.00 ONLINE! But I had it in my hands Saturday vs. having to wait till Monday/Tuesday, along with Express shipping charges and such!

Okay, drove the 4 hours back to the hotel. Had to remove the old one, also the PULLEY and swap it onto the new one. The main aluminum housing mounting hole had a steel sleeve in it that made it too small for the bolt I had....but was able to knock/punch out the sleeve so that it would fit. Had stopped and gotten some extra 3/8's washers for spacers to help align the pulley/belt in case it was slightly off due to manufacturing variances...but got it installed, and VIOLA, was working and charging. I now would be able to Drive/Ride home....and also get to attend and RIDE Sunday's Rally ride. Rode the bike back the I.H. for the Saturday night's awards ceremony and such. Rode back to the Hotel to get a good night's sleep so I could enjoy the next day's ride.

Got up, dressed, and decided to top off the tank since I would be 30 miles short due to the 10 mile trips back and forth from the hotel in Robbinsville to the I.H. Lodge, but when I stopped at the station just a minute after running the bike, I saw SMOKE billowing up from the engine! I looked down and saw not just a few drops, but a 3 inch diameter PUDDLE of oil on the floor, and all over the headers! This first photo is after I had moved the bike to the side of the station, but you can clearly see the oil sheen on the headers....



And the trail of oil down the front of the tranny case above the drain bolt where the SOFA's seal had apparently broken and leaked out! I had re-installed it a few years earlier, had used the BLACK RTV for oil, but my SOFA was an earlier design with a square channel for the round O-ring, and it had compressed/flattened due to the years/heat. SO...I called George and let him know that I would be missing breakfast and at least the morning's leg of the ride. I then had to remove the SOFA to reseal it! I didn't have my oil drain bowl from home....realized I didn't need a 5+ quart bowl, just something for the ~3.5 quarts. Went to the store and got a gallon jug of drinking water, poured it out, cut off the top, and dried it out with the roll of paper towels I bought, was also able to get a can of spray carb cleaner to degrease things. Then tore into it, had to pull the muffler, headers off, drain the oil, and then the filter, and then get the SOFA off, cleaned/scraped the old RTV off, the O-ring, then layed a nice layer of ThreeBond down in the O-ring channel, placed/press the O-ring into it, then slathered the 3bond along the top as well, and then was able to reinstall it, the pipes, and reuse the OIL!!




Fired it up and nary a drop leak!! It was ~11:00 am, rode to the I.H. to see if there was anybody there that could tell me where the rally group was going for lunch.
Evidence of Godzilla at the I.H. Sunday AM.


Greg had stayed behind due to his little drop incident, had showered and said he was wanting to also meet up with the group, so we decided to ride together, went the reverse direction up the Cherahola skyway to Tellico Plains/Etowah to the restaurant. Had lunch, and was able to do the final leg of the rally ride back to the hotel/lodge. Was having a great run about halfway thru the parkway, when the XS Gods felt I wasn't yet worthy to have so much fun...and so we got RAINED ON for 5 minutes, and wet the roads enough to not be able to do any fun yanking and banking for the rest of the ride back! Returned Harry's Truck to him, had dinner and socialized a bit, and then back to the hotel to prepare for the trip home.

**But wait...there's MORE** ! !

Next morning, had breakfast and then George and I took off for home. Due to the lack of twisties I got to experience, we again planned a route including a section of the BRP just after Asheville to Boone before getting on 40E. Also planned a stop at Grandfather Mountain and the mile high swinging bridge I had visited as an early teenager some 40 years earlier!

Okay, on the highway at around the 60 mile mark....my bike started cutting out like it was starving for fuel again. Hit/switched to reserve, but no help, pulled off into a station to see what was happening. Filled up with fuel, but only took 2 gallons? Found an auto parts store just a few blocks up the road, so we went there. I then pulled the fuel lines and the small cone lawnmower filters, test blew into them, one was easy, but one had a surprising amount of resistance. Flipped it around and saw this! Sorry for the focus, but you get the idea!

Got a replacement and put it on, and it was then hitting on all 4 again....this also explained the previous lack of effectiveness of RESERVE on the trip down, wasn't enough gravity feed pressure to push it thru that partially clogged filter, so never could get the 1-2 carbs filled/working. We were off again. Got to the BRP and had a good hour's run, had to pass a few cars along the way.... but made it to Grandfather's Mountain swinging bridge and lookout.



We then drove off the mountain and away from the BRP, but hit some wet roads where it had just rained before we got there. We then stopped for gas....we had been watching a band of rain clouds approaching, and decided to don our rain gear after we heard the thunder booms! While there I noticed some OIL on my right boot toe and a few drops on the ground. First thought it might be from the galley plug/ O-ring that is normally sealed by the OEM Alt cover, I had adapted my Alt Mount bracket to do the same thing, and had replaced the O-ring when I had put the Alt on, but that was back in 2011. Checked the oil level, and we took off, hit some serious rain getting thru town and a ways down 421 until we got far enough away, rode to the next fuel stop and late lunch stop where we could then take off the rain gear and chow down. The amount of oil on my boot was much more, and several more drops on the floor. Looked closer, and then saw the oil trail from the crankcase seal area behind the alt flywheel/pulley. But it's a bit slower leak, not as severe at the SOFA leak was, so we checked the oil, topped it up, I even put a little towel around the area to try to cut down on the splattering from the dripping.



Ended up using a whole quart to get the 300+ miles home from that point, but arrived safely and otherwise intact without grenading the engine/bike. BTW, I also had lost my left side turn signals...think it's in the switch, tested the bulbs/sockets by plugging them into the other side harness plugs, and they worked. Further diagnostics are required.

So...the first photo showed me holding the Golden Wrench award...which was mostly for having to repair the clutch/cable on the trip down. But after the weekend's events, that thing should be Platinum with Diamond clusters!!! .



Almost forgot, the final slap in the face was that on the ride home during some first gear take offs, I felt the stutter affect of the dreaded 1st gear tranny problem that I had originally fixed in 2000, and up to just this spring before the tear down, had NO symptoms of repeat failure. Would have been nice to have known this WHILE I had the engine out of the frame and the tranny pan off! Not looking forward to having to tear into it NOW to repair the gears again!?

Scott, the muffler paint was 500degree engine paint, I didn't think the muffler section got anywhere near that hot compared to the headers where I used 1200 paint, but you can see the discoloration/blackening of the muffler paint. Not sure if another coat on top of it might help, it's ceramic based, can only try it??

Somehow my signature seems more apropos than usual!

[TopCatGr58]

Frame geometry

Hey RichV,

Okay, you said you put a Special's front end onto a Standard's Frame.

The standards and specials have the same effective rake/trail with their respective parts. However, the Special has the leading axle, the standard has the fork end axle mount, and so their TripleTrees are designed differently to adjust for the different axle locations to end up with the same rake/trail despite the different axle locations.

The Special has the fork tubes placed closer, further rearward towards the steering neck due to the more forward axle position. The standard has the fork tubes a little more forward away from the neck due to the fork end axle location.

Just need clarification on your parts swap....you say you put a whole SG front end onto your standard....was it just the fork tubes/sliders but did you use the standard's TT's, or did you also swap out for the special's TT?

Fredintoon has informed us that the sidecar guys would put Special TT's onto their Standards sidecar hacks, but kept the standards forks/sliders/axle, and this would move the tubes closer to the steering neck which would reduce the trail and ease up the steering to make it lighter in the sidecar setup.

If you put a Standard's TT onto a special/forks/sliders/leading axle, you would increase the trail and make it heavier for steering.

But if you put the entire TT and matching tubes/sliders/axle from special to standard or Vice Versa, you will NOT change the trail/rake since ALL of the steering components are still together on the front end.

The Specials upper tubes are LONGER due to the higher leading axle location, the standards upper tubes are shorter due to the end of tubes axle location, but the lower sliders are designed to end up with the same overall length and position of the axle so the frame/steering neck should be at the same height/location.

However, the Standard does have a taller rear wheel, and that can have the frame sitting a little higher....the centerstands are different in length for the special and standards.

The standard TT places the fork tubes a little more forward, and with the angle of the TT's, that could position the upper tubes a little higher in position which could lower the position/height of the steering neck, but just a few mm's or so.

Perhaps the SG front end springs aren't as sprung/compressed vs. the standards, and that combined with the taller standard rear tire, it may be sitting higher??

T.C.

[ViperRon]

TC sorry for the issues you dealt with way too many but you persevered where many would not have. From experience those new cables are crap remember you had to save me on the first Rally I was on. You had started to mention Oil shaft seals????????? Something about teeth in your A$$ ????? If so remember me and the Indian Head Gasket cement.

[3Phase]

Oops, posted in the wrong thread.

T.C.,

Aside from the all those mechanical problems, how did your major mods like welding up the frame, dropping/pounding in new engine mounts and riding with a not-bent steering neck work for you?

What happened to the alternator? Those things aren't cheap, why did the bearings go bad after such a short period of time?

I think the exhaust paint will be fine until it's not, just enjoy it. They don't use stainless steel and chrome plating for exhaust systems just to aggravate environmentalists and to tick off treehuggers.


Unless those dark chunks in the fuel filter are from a disintegrating fuel hose there might be a problem. I see you have aftermarket fuel taps, does that mean there are no in-tank filter screens? Eh, whatever.

If they're rust chunks, you have a one-of-a-kind fuel tank and paint job so wash it out and clean it up, then hit it with electrolysis. That'll convert some of the irreplaceable almost-rust back into good iron and do most of the heavy cleaning. Finish up with Evaporust to get the nooks and crannies. Flush it out with dilute phosphoric acid to coat it, then neutralize it with TSP substitute/sodium metasilicate and rinse. Dry it, refill it with fuel and go ride somewhere -- anywhere! or fog/coat it with your favorite anti-rust fogging/coating solution. I like WD-40, cheap transmission fluid and a little paint thinner, then let it drain out through the fuel tap holes into a pan.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Ron,

Thanks for the reminder about the Indian Head Gasket Cement. I had used the Red Gasket maker type silicone sealant, and then a layer of J-B Weld to help hold it in place, so I have a hard time believing that it came loose around the outer edge, but it's possible. I'll have to take the rotor and pulley assembly off to see exactly where it's leaking from, whether the outer edge or around the actual crank...but I'm suspecting the outer edge.

I should have used the ThreeBond instead of the RED RTV stuff. I also thought about using a thin sheet metal cut out to fit around the seal and J-B Weld it in place to be possibly even stronger than just the JB alone?? But I'm getting ahead of myself, need to do the autopsy first to see where it failed. Surprisingly the left side is holding. I did purchase 2 sets of seals in case I messed one up, so I have a spare to experiment with.

Scott, the filter crud is assumed to be old rubber bits from the old OEM petcocks valves, I had cut my own valves out neoprene gaskets years ago, but with the ethanol fuel, it probably broke it down and made it down the lines. The lines are good quality MotionPro stuff. The new petcocks have full tower metal mesh in-tank screens/filters.

Surprisingly, in 2011, the alternator was relatively cheap at around $80.00 with S&H included. I just had to pay full retail due to the brick/mortar store overhead. Because they are designed for racing applications, both drag as well as round track, street and strip, they only have a 1 year warranty, and I got 5 out of it! The specs stated they are rated for up to 18K rpms, with my pulley 1:1 ratio, it only gets to 8k max, mostly at 3-5 k constant speeds. They are supposed to have sealed bearings with special grease for low resistance for max horsepower/minimal drag. When I put the old one back in during the rebuild, I may have set the belt tension a little too tight, and it's a very short 20" long belt, and so may not have allowed enough slack?? That combined with the enclosed case, sitting behind the engine head 200+ degree radiant heat, 85+ ambient temps, and stop and go traffic may have cooked the bearing lube and the excessive belt tension could have led to the eventual bearing failure?

The steering geometry is much better. With my old bent frame/and reduced trail/rake the bike had a tendency to oversteer in corners...and I would need to consciously adjust my input to keep the bike on the line it needed to be instead of veering into/across the center lane on left hand twisties!! It now holds a course line very well...I still don't like left hand twisties, but it will now track the curve where I aim it. And when negotiating turns with bumps, it didn't feel like it had the wag the tail affect, but I didn't have the rear shocks set up as good as I possibly could. With the saddlebag frames on, I couldn't adjust the spring preloads, was only able to add some air into the air assist chambers which helped to stop the bottoming out I experienced on large dips/bumps especially with the extra weight I had in my bags/trunk/extra suitcase.

The engine mounts regrettably are almost as hard a solid, and that did induce some increased vibration that is felt in the handlebars and footpegs, and so my view in my mirrors was quite shaky/blurry! IF I have to pull the engine to do the repeat Dremmel fix, I may try to find some other more rubbery polyurethane material instead.

Okay, hope I covered everything.
T.C.

[RichW1064]

Hey RichV,

Okay, you said you put a Special's front end onto a Standard's Frame.

The standards and specials have the same effective rake/trail with their respective parts. However, the Special has the leading axle, the standard has the fork end axle mount, and so their TripleTrees are designed differently to adjust for the different axle locations to end up with the same rake/trail despite the different axle locations.

The Special has the fork tubes placed closer, further rearward towards the steering neck due to the more forward axle position. The standard has the fork tubes a little more forward away from the neck due to the fork end axle location.

Just need clarification on your parts swap....you say you put a whole SG front end onto your standard....was it just the fork tubes/sliders but did you use the standard's TT's, or did you also swap out for the special's TT?

Fredintoon has informed us that the sidecar guys would put Special TT's onto their Standards sidecar hacks, but kept the standards forks/sliders/axle, and this would move the tubes closer to the steering neck which would reduce the trail and ease up the steering to make it lighter in the sidecar setup.

If you put a Standard's TT onto a special/forks/sliders/leading axle, you would increase the trail and make it heavier for steering.

But if you put the entire TT and matching tubes/sliders/axle from special to standard or Vice Versa, you will NOT change the trail/rake since ALL of the steering components are still together on the front end.

The Specials upper tubes are LONGER due to the higher leading axle location, the standards upper tubes are shorter due to the end of tubes axle location, but the lower sliders are designed to end up with the same overall length and position of the axle so the frame/steering neck should be at the same height/location.

However, the Standard does have a taller rear wheel, and that can have the frame sitting a little higher....the centerstands are different in length for the special and standards.

The standard TT places the fork tubes a little more forward, and with the angle of the TT's, that could position the upper tubes a little higher in position which could lower the position/height of the steering neck, but just a few mm's or so.

Perhaps the SG front end springs aren't as sprung/compressed vs. the standards, and that combined with the taller standard rear tire, it may be sitting higher??

T.C.

well what I discovered after fitting the tank (83 Maxim 1100 tank) on the 79 standard (slverbob) was that the triple tree was about ready to collapse, I had picked up a complete 80SG midnight forks w/TT and wanted to fit this to the other bobber, an 80SG also fitted with an Maxim 1100 tank and using the midnight theme (blkbob), pulled the complete assembly from the standard, did the same with the 80SG assembly, moved the 80SG assembly to the 79 standard, then installed the 80SG midnight to the now moving into the full midnight theme, including the gold caps on the swing arm. took the 79 standard assembly and set it aside labeled stock parts silver bob, they are in real bad condition. I haven updated any pic's in my bucket but feel free to wander about what I have up there. I did how ever notice that the tank support mounts at the frame appear to be a touch higher (I haven't measured to be clear). I have what was said to be side covers from a 78 standard as well as a 17" rear wheel with tire that I will be fitting to silver bob, a xs78/79/80 retro fit from around the country, this is silver bob... I love this place...


I am glad to see that you are back in the saddle and Godzilla is still your favored, wonderful TC... I will look around the internet to see what little smiley face we can find referring us to windshield verse's forehead safety... lol... looks like the trip was wonderful, alot of warm and friendly face's, I love this place TC... your all wonderful people...

[3Phase]

Cool, no metal chunks or fuel line, just homebrew gasket! You should still make the time to do the tank, you'd be amazed what's in there... or maybe you wouldn't!

I am glad the handling is better! Did you notice any difference from welding up and stiffening the frame? It sounds like you had unstable fighter jet style handling instead of normal handling or the ten-foot springer wallow. That's a total bummer about the engine mounts though, and has it really been five years already for that alternator? You're supposed to buy a new bike every two or three years, why are you still riding that old heap?

Maybe you could fit the alternator belt with a spring-loaded, automatic serpentine or camshaft drive belt tensioner like for the cam chain mod'. The idler pulley would cut the belt lash under accel/decel, keep it in line and correctly tensioned without reefing on the alternator and ripping the bearings out of it.

[RichW1064]

lol... this is the best I could find relating to the windshield verse's forehead TC...

[skids]

Hey Ron,

Thanks for the reminder about the Indian Head Gasket Cement. I had used the Red Gasket maker type silicone sealant, and then a layer of J-B Weld to help hold it in place, so I have a hard time believing that it came loose around the outer edge, but it's possible. I'll have to take the rotor and pulley assembly off to see exactly where it's leaking from, whether the outer edge or around the actual crank...but I'm suspecting the outer edge.

I should have used the ThreeBond instead of the RED RTV stuff. I also thought about using a thin sheet metal cut out to fit around the seal and J-B Weld it in place to be possibly even stronger than just the JB alone?? But I'm getting ahead of myself, need to do the autopsy first to see where it failed. Surprisingly the left side is holding. I did purchase 2 sets of seals in case I messed one up, so I have a spare to experiment with.

Scott, the filter crud is assumed to be old rubber bits from the old OEM petcocks valves, I had cut my own valves out neoprene gaskets years ago, but with the ethanol fuel, it probably broke it down and made it down the lines. The lines are good quality MotionPro stuff. The new petcocks have full tower metal mesh in-tank screens/filters.

Surprisingly, in 2011, the alternator was relatively cheap at around $80.00 with S&H included. I just had to pay full retail due to the brick/mortar store overhead. Because they are designed for racing applications, both drag as well as round track, street and strip, they only have a 1 year warranty, and I got 5 out of it! The specs stated they are rated for up to 18K rpms, with my pulley 1:1 ratio, it only gets to 8k max, mostly at 3-5 k constant speeds. They are supposed to have sealed bearings with special grease for low resistance for max horsepower/minimal drag. When I put the old one back in during the rebuild, I may have set the belt tension a little too tight, and it's a very short 20" long belt, and so may not have allowed enough slack?? That combined with the enclosed case, sitting behind the engine head 200+ degree radiant heat, 85+ ambient temps, and stop and go traffic may have cooked the bearing lube and the excessive belt tension could have led to the eventual bearing failure?

The steering geometry is much better. With my old bent frame/and reduced trail/rake the bike had a tendency to oversteer in corners...and I would need to consciously adjust my input to keep the bike on the line it needed to be instead of veering into/across the center lane on left hand twisties!! It now holds a course line very well...I still don't like left hand twisties, but it will now track the curve where I aim it. And when negotiating turns with bumps, it didn't feel like it had the wag the tail affect, but I didn't have the rear shocks set up as good as I possibly could. With the saddlebag frames on, I couldn't adjust the spring preloads, was only able to add some air into the air assist chambers which helped to stop the bottoming out I experienced on large dips/bumps especially with the extra weight I had in my bags/trunk/extra suitcase.

The engine mounts regrettably are almost as hard a solid, and that did induce some increased vibration that is felt in the handlebars and footpegs, and so my view in my mirrors was quite shaky/blurry! IF I have to pull the engine to do the repeat Dremmel fix, I may try to find some other more rubbery polyurethane material instead.

Okay, hope I covered everything.
T.C.

As an engineer, I have to admire your attempts at re engineering the xs11. Unfortunately you also become the testing department! The bike does look real nice TC!

[MPittma100]

Exhaust

Quote:

"Scott, the muffler paint was 500degree engine paint, I didn't think the muffler section got anywhere near that hot compared to the headers where I used 1200 paint, but you can see the discoloration/blackening of the muffler paint. Not sure if another coat on top of it might help, it's ceramic based, can only try it??"

T.C.,

You may find a local ceramic coater that can do that color in a ceramic coating. It will last a long time on your exhaust.

[TopCatGr58]

lol... this is the best I could find relating to the windshield verse's forehead TC...

Hey Rich,

That's perfect, even has green eyes!

Skids, I didn't know you were an engineer! Well, I don't know if I'd call it re-engineering vs. just tweeking it a bit. But I'm happy to be the test pilot as well. The problems I had really weren't directly related to the changes and upgrades I had done on this recent build, but from previous mods that I hadn't expected to experience any problems. But I'm also learning, and will ensure that I don't set the ALT drive belt too tight, it's a low drag/resistance design anyways, so it doesn't really need much tension/friction to keep it from slipping the drive belt. And the SOFA leak was a combination of the wrong type of sealant, along with an OLDER O-ring channel design.....I now make a round channel to better secure/seal it vs. the rectangular type, and I had acquired larger/thicker, tougher Buna-N O-rings from McMaster-Carr vs. the OEM type, and so thankfully others that have installed their SOFA's haven't reported any other failure/leaks.

Mike, early when I was looking at this rebuild, I did find ceramic coating places that did have colors, but didn't have as much time as well as concerned about the $$ of getting it done....and was holding out on my budget getting the other $$ stuff bought/done like the custom seat, paint, gas tank filler spout and such.

I've got a nice infrared/laser temp sensor gun, and will try it out on the pipes later on to see just how hot both the headers as well as the muffler gets, to see if it's anywhere close to the 500 degrees limit of that engine paint???

T.C.

[3Phase]

If anyone asks, tell 'em you did it that way for authenticity.

When I first saw the picture with the green exhaust I didn't know it was heat, I thought you'd done some kind of extra work to give the paint an almost perfect mottled lizard look.