It is finished...

Well the design phase, anyway ;)

A Thousand Thanks to Doug at @muchomoto for putting up with me changing this and tweaking that to help me achieve my vision for my beloved R65.

I can't wait to start the build, but I have to be patient for just a few weeks more :(

Already thinking about some tasty metal flake for that tank, in a deep burgundy perhaps!

Ready, Steady......

So all of the crap that has been happening in the background and stopping me from starting the major build work on the BMW is about to be over, for ever! 31 December 2012 cannot come soon enough!

So, early in January 2013 it'll be "Go!" for the build!

The engine is gonna come out and take a holiday to get some sweet lovin' and attention.

Frame gets some action as well before getting de-tabbed, blasted and powder coated!

Thanks to Muchomoto for the design which is almost ready to roll!

Here's the original drawing which I saw, it's of a larger R bike with a mono swingarm....

And here's the preliminary design for my build..... still WIP at this point...

Go on over and check out his awesome site here; http://muchomoto.tumblr.com/

And be sure to check back in early 2013 for some MAJOR updates!!

Woah...

Has it really been 4 months since I last managed to knock out a blog post?!

There's been so much going on, both at home and at work, that it has often seemed that I have no time left for my bikes (which is a sad, sad thing)

I have managed to aquire a more vintage ride, a lovely 1981 BMW R65, as seen below...

...which explains the new "Inspiration" slideshow at the bottom of the blog (with thanks to Canvasdropr.com)

The little GN is now completely roadworthy and licensed, although I'm currently playing around with K&N filtering and carburettion which is causing a lot of headaches.

More pics to come soon!!

Sneaky Pass.....

OK, I'm a terrible blogger and I'm sorry.

I should have told you all that the little GN passed her inspection on the 13th February 2012!

Very happy to have gotten through, although I'm still having issues with fuelling due to what looks like a badly "worked" carburettor. It looks like the previous owner thought that drilling a new hole in the side of the carb and putting a screw into it was a great idea!

I'm thinking of replacing the stock carb with a slightly larger unit but I'll keep you all posted.

For now I'm taking a little break and working on a pushbike of all things!

 

Watch this space for more updates soon, I promise...

Stop! Brake Fluid Time....

With the brake piston finally cleaned and back in place it was time to get the brakes back on the bike, but first let's be honest; the black spray job that the previous owner applied really doesn't make the calipers look in any way good. Thankfully I think their days are numbered ;)

I worked from the bottom up, re-fitting the pads and caliper, attaching the brake hose and then connecting it at the top to the master cylinder before fixing said cylinder back onto the bars.

Ready for Brake fluid at last, I removed the top of the Master cylinder and ensured that it was 100% clean before adding fresh Dot3 fluid as per the manufacturers specifications. And then began the pumping. Lots. Of. It.

Eventually I began to get a little fluid coming out of the bleed valve each time I slackened it off, and after a while the brakes were up to full operation. I probably bled more through then I needed, but I really wanted to be sure that they were working properly and not going to fade over the short term.

Fired up the little beast for the first time in a couple of weeks and it's playing the carbon fouling game again. Time to go research what the appropriate "hot" plug would be or maybe see if there's a V plug that would suit as they spark further up into the body of the plug and are supposed to burn the fuel-air mix a lot more thoroughly.....

Progressing.... and Learning!

I know it's been a while, get off my back, ok?!

I've had a bunch of stuff demanding my attention lately and sadly the little GN has been all neglected!

So last night I removed the front brake caliper and did a little testing before removing the brake hose ready for replacement....

After battling with the screws in the Master cylinder I finally managed to break in and it was all good in there! I had already pumped the lever a couple of times to push the bottom piston out, so I was pleased to see the brake fluid returning when I pressed the piston back in! Return hole clear and tested!

I removed the caliper axles and noticed that the bottom one was not lubricated at all and was very difficult to remove! Happily, the boots on both appear intact! Then I removed the brake pads before detatching the brake hose, first at the bottom (and catching the fluid in a container) and then at the top.

I'm off to see Mark at Maddington Motorcycle Wreckers today to secure a replacment brake hose and then home to remove the piston from the calipers and give it a good clean and service before refitting and bleeding the whole system.... not sure if I'll still need to remove any more from the brake lever horn so we'll just leave that as-is for now.

...and it's a NO!

Well not exactly a no, or rather more accurately not a total failure. There were a few minor items that require attention thus rendering the vehicle un-roadworthy at that precise point in time;

1.     Front brake hose worn and requires replacement (visit Madington Motorcycle Wreckers....)

2.     Front brakes dragging (service front brakes, ensure piston is operating smoothly)

3.     Flasher unit for indicators not working (Damned Tridon parts.... failing after only 27 years)

4.     Engine not idling or running correctly (MY fault! Should have warmed the engine up first!)

5.     Seat covering not to required standard (recovered now thanks to an old vinyl jacket and stapler)

Should have the front hose off in the next couple of days and then I'll go visit Mark and get a replacement (secondhand) for about $45 without the wear marks that the current one has.

Front piston service and brake adjustment should take 1 session, need to remove the caliper and service the piston as well as removing the brake lever and shaving a little off the horn to allow some free-play in the lever before it starts to brake. I also think that the top piston is blocking the return hole and THIS is what's causing the bottom piston to not return to it's starting position once the lever is released...

Flasher is already replaced ($6) and the seat looks pretty good if I do say so myself....