superhawk996 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Today I got sucked into the rabbit hole. I just wanted to clean the bracket for the instruments and the cables behind it. Next thing I know, the ignition switch is laying on the bench disassembled. The upper part of the switch is chrome, that got polished. The lower half is painted and was shitty so it got sprayed. The insides got cleaned and lubed. Not a great photo, the switch is partially hidden behind the bulbs. The carb boot clamps were pretty ugly so I tumble polished the crust off and painted them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 6 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: It takes motivation to spend hours rubbing on metal. I start out motivated then it seems to go away. I'm amazed I've gotten this far, making vehicles pretty is not my thing. I think part of my motivation comes from it starting out so ugly but still having enough good chrome and paint under the crust layer to make a huge improvement, plus it being a totally complete low mile 'survivor'. So in my crazy, I'm 'making' gas for it too. Initially is was just to make it smell good, but also because the jetting is a bit lean with E10. I take 87 octane E10, remove the ethanol, and blend it with 100 octane to make about 92-93 octane. It would be cheaper to start with 91, but using 87 leaves more room for the good smelling race gas without going stupid high on the octane. I mix in castor oil so when I'm rounding the last turn and holding WOT all the way down the front straight on the back tire I won't scuff/seize the pistons. Ok, I add castor at 100:1 to round out the smell requirement without over-oiling. The injection tank has super clean burning Seadoo XPS oil. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I've been tinkering and cleaning every day, less when people want me to work, bastards. I went to a small local car show/hangout Saturday morning, the bike got a fair bit of attention. I finally got a petcock rebuild kit, then found out that the tube for the normal 'on' position is cracked so I still don't have a real reserve. I'll have to fix that so I don't run out of gas and have to walk it to the gas station again just in case some unforeseen thing happens. Luckily it has a very low rolling resistance, it's like walking a bicycle, kinda crazy compared to how most motorcycles roll. I replaced the instrument illumination bulbs, one was burnt out and the other was missing, kinda odd. I searched long and hard for the right ones, it was a chore, but I finally found some that were supposed to be the correct wattage but with a different globe. Miss-advertised bullshitshit, they were 4watt, not the proper 3w, not having it. Then I remembered about my 4th bulb stash box and there they were, 2 of the right wattage and size/shape. The front wheel rim and hub/brake are mostly done, could use a bit more detail work, but they're a good 10 footer like everything else I've cleaned up. Next will be the spokes, that'll be a lot of fun. I started on the rear wheel, it's the rustiest chrome on the bike, still has a long way to go. I pulled the exhaust baffles to clean them and removed the puddles of oil from the muffler cans so it no longer sprays/drips all over the driveway and everything else....for now. I got the initial bulk of oil out just by taking a spirited ride, but it was still pretty oily. I'm almost settled on the tires I'm going to buy. I'm a bit stuck on wanting a straight ribbed front like the original, but I can't find a matched brand/model set with a ribbed front in the right sizes, dunno if matching models actually matters. These are the only matched set I've been able to find in the right sizes so I might go with them. And (in my theory), the straight ribbed front might suck on our freeways that have rain grooves so maybe it's best I get over it. There are a few sport tires available, and it's very tempting, but I think I want to stick to a classic look. Ring ding ding ding...it smells as good as it sounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Those look very appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Tires ordered, along with tubes and rim strips. The ones in the photo are no longer made, now it's an "all weather" version, but they're similar. Dennis Kirk appeared to have the best price, $200 shipped for everything. I wonder how glued the tires will be after 54 years, breaking the beads might be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 11 hours ago, superhawk996 said: I wonder how glued the tires will be after 54 years, breaking the beads might be interesting. If I had to take a shot in the dark, I'll guess it won't be too bad just because of what they are. Let us know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 The beads were super easy to break, they damn near broke on their own. Probably because they're tube type wheels so they don't 'need' the bead retaining bump that most tubeless wheels have. Zipties were a fail. The recess in these wheels barely accommodates one bead, both together is an absolute no go so I cut the ties off and went traditional. Holy fuck that was a battle. Even when there was only about a foot of tire bead under the wheel I still had to use tools to keep prying to get it the rest of the way off, insane. I got the front tire off and pondered how much worse the rear would probably be, at that point I said fuck it and took them to a shop, but the guy was out. After waiting for over 1/2 hour I went back home and figured I'd just work on de-rusting the rear wheel. It would be easiest to work on it mounted to the forks, but it would't fit with the tire on so I decided to have a go at removing it, way worse than the front. I was finally able to get one spoonful of bead pried over the wheel, no way to get another in. I held it and used a die grinder to cut through the tire bead, then it was only a 'normal' battle of stretching it over the wheel. The rear rim was super rusty, some of the chrome is gone, but it cleaned up reasonably well. I didn't take photos of the wheel, but here's the rear brake lever. I had already done the ends when I thought to take the before photo. If I decide to make it better I'll dab some chrome paint on the bare spots to hide them better, but it's vastly improved. It took about 5 minutes, most of the work was done with a fine wire wheel on the bench grinder. I wish I'd tried wire wheels sooner, it does a great job and does't scratch up the chrome as long as it's fine wire. I used two different ones on the rear rim being driven by a cordless drill and die grinder. I had a small one that was able to fit between the spokes fairly well. I took a quick stab at mounting the front tire, fuck that, they're both going to a shop with a machine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 6 hours ago, superhawk996 said: I took a quick stab at mounting the front tire, fuck that, they're both going to a shop with a machine. Strange. I didn't have much trouble at all when I did my CL-350 tires, though it was way easier than my real bikes. 6 hours ago, superhawk996 said: I didn't take photos of the wheel, but here's the rear brake lever. I don't know about your R5 but new replacement parts like your brake lever were available for my CL and wasn't priced too high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: Strange. I didn't have much trouble at all when I did my CL-350 tires, though it was way easier than my real bikes. I'm guessing it's because these rims have very little relief in the center. I don't know how common it is, not something I've ever paid attention to. And the tires are stiffer than I expected. 2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: I don't know about your R5 but new replacement parts like your brake lever were available for my CL and wasn't priced too high. There are several parts I've restored that are still available. A couple negatives on new stuff, cost and they'll stand out. I've mostly gotten over the "stand out" issue as everything becomes nicer. Cost: If I were to only replace everything that's available I'd probably be thousands of dollars in, and many more hours or dollars for labor. The rims and spokes can be replaced, not a whole lotta money, but a fair bit of work that I've never done before. I spent less time cleaning the brake lever than I'd spend trying to find a new one. There's also the satisfaction of restoring stuff and keeping the bike original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 5 hours ago, superhawk996 said: There's also the satisfaction of restoring stuff and keeping the bike original. Everyone has to do it their way but once chrome is pitted it never looks the same which is OK if that is what the goal is. The thing with cars now is the patina look which is sure a cheaper way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Perfection has a place, and clean but showing age does too. Hard to pick one as "better." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Rabbit hole? What's that? Since the rear wheel was off I might as well tidy things up a little, a few hours later there's probably a couple more to go. The chain spent the day in the ultrasonic being moved around every 8-10 minutes. It only effectively cleans right around the transducer, I think because it's so heavy, and so grungy. While it was being cleaned I pulled and cleaned the chainguard, sprocket, etc. Got the inboard sides of the mufflers, the swingarm, and other stuff that'll be a bitch with the wheel on. The sprocket carrier is being stubborn, it might need to be sanded and then polished to be nice, but I'll probably not go that far for now. The brake carrier will probably be about the same. The aluminum is spotty and darkened; I tried steel wool, a fine wire wheel, aggressive compound, and the discoloration is still there. But they're cleaner and smooth. The left case cover will have to come off to install the chain so I'll probably give it a squirt of black paint to de-ugly it some. The new tires are a fair bit taller and fatter despite being labeled the same size. It's a little easier to get onto the center stand now, I don't know why Yamaha made it so damn high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 44 minutes ago, superhawk996 said: It only effectively cleans right around the transducer, I think because it's so heavy I vaguely recall something about supporting heavy items off the bottom so the vibration can spread. It's looking great, can't stop now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 2 minutes ago, SwampNut said: I vaguely recall something about supporting heavy items off the bottom so the vibration can spread. That totally makes sense. The machine has a plastic spacer thing, but it rests on the bottom so it's probably not very helpful with such a heavy item. I'll try suspending tomorrow and see if it works better. 7 minutes ago, SwampNut said: It's looking great, can't stop now. Thanks, I'm surprised I'm still going at it. Today I briefly thought- the smart way would have been to commit and completely disassemble it, but I'm 99.999347% sure it would have become a pile of parts for eternity. Much of the motivation is being able to ride it and show it between stints of working on it. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 There's still plenty more to do, but she's crossed the hurdle between crusty and patina. Being the nut that I am I wanted to try to make no-sling chain lube. I diluted some moly fortified grease with mineral spirits and soaked the chain. I probably rode it a bit too soon and it did sling, but I'll see how it goes after the spirits fully evaporate. The crusty old chain cleaned up pretty well. Lots of hot bubble bathing in a sonic cleaner, another buzz bath in EvapoRust instead of degreaser, then a final degrease and thorough rinsing. After the final rinse I hit it with compressed air then stuck it in the toaster oven at 350 to make sure it was dry all the way through. I let it cool to handling temp then stuck it in the lube bag for a soaking. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 49 minutes ago, superhawk996 said: then stuck it in the toaster oven at 350 to make sure it was dry all the way through. Never thought about having a old one in the garage to use. Not sure it would get used enough to justify the space which is at a premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: Never thought about having a old one in the garage to use. Not sure it would get used enough to justify the space which is at a premium. A real man uses the one in the kitchen; if the others don't like it, they can get the fuck out! Ashley likes to talk smack when there's a basket of brass or parts in it and she wants to use it. "If you want breakfast you need to get this stuff out of my oven!" 😂 I bought a fairly big one a while back that has a rotisserie, my thought was to put it in the garage and try using it as a drum roaster for coffee beans, and for my various industrial uses. But I also have that limited space problem, and the one in the kitchen holds most of the parts I want to bake. On the rare occasion that I have a large part, or large batch of brass to dry, I use the normal oven. I've also used the BBQ a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrick Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Looking really sharp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Dishwashers are great parts cleaners, but DO NOT use the dishwashing detergent with aluminum!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 4 hours ago, SwampNut said: Dishwashers are great parts cleaners, but DO NOT use the dishwashing detergent with aluminum!!! She said she won't wash my car parts. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I took the first freeway ride yesterday, it was short and traffic kept me from getting much above 70, but it rode fine. It wanders mildly on rain groves, but not bad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 That sounds both scary and...meh, we all did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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