Hey guys, been busy the last couple of days but managed to work a bit on the bike. Anyway, been sorting the electrical part. It was bad but some cleaning, new wires and heat shrink tubing and it´s all sorted now. Since I was messing with the loom, decided to make a kill switch. 2 actually but the 2nd one will be on the handlebars The wire will be routed on the upper part of the airbox and connect there to the loom.
The shock was really dirty and scraped. Also completly dry of oil so a rebuild was in order. After new lower seals, some paint on the spring and a good cleaning, it came out pretty good considering it´s age Also gave it that brushed aluminium look Next, I did the carb and a made a new choke plate out of some aluminium scapes It wasn´t that bad inside, just the regular deposits and cleaned up easy. But I know now why my head is all sooted up. It has a 165 & 65 jets and the needle is on the last clip. I´m at sea level so that´s a bit too much. Will sort it out after she stands on her on legs
Some new parts started to come in It´s a crf450r complete kit plus some handguards. It´s gonna be fun adapting it Caliper seal kit, dust and oil seals, carb vent hose, brake pads, spark plug and wheel bearings Nothing special
All of this new parts means I´ve got to get my frame ready for my brother to paint. Spent all day sanding and scrubbing but she´s ready. Automotive stripper is my friend! Mind you, around here sandlasting is not common nor cheap so it´s done the good old way...by hand
Triples are ready to paint too The wheel set on the XR is going to need attention. They look straight and in good shape but the spokes are badly rusted. I´ll need to learn a new set of skills...wheel lacing. I got a quote of around 100 :huh for new spokes and truing. That´s not good. I´ll buy the spokes for 30 and do it myself. Any hints and tips? I´ve done it in push bikes...
Thanks Cumbacheech. I´ll post up my results when done. First I´ll have to remove the spokes and take them to the shop to have them matched, I can find the specs for them. I heard that they are not all are the same size. Steve´s the man. He knows his stuff and already offered his help on some parts that I need to source from US.
The front wheel has one length spokes as does the rear. Last year when I refurbished the wheels on my KTM SMC I sent a sample spoke to Buchanans and they copied them. The front was a single length but the rear has two different lengths. My buddies Honda XL600 has three different length spokes for the rear wheel.
Thanks Steve. I was under the impression that the front had 2 different sizes. Don´t know where I got that. I´ll remove them and take them to the shop to have them matched. Still haven´t done that because I´m trying to set up a wheel stand with my rCBR swingarm stand. I´ll be pm´íng you later ok?
Ok guys, I´ve been pretty busy with life so I had to leave the bike in the backburner for a while. I read some forum posts everyday but I had no updates to write about. But I do now, even though small in importance, it´s still updates. Since the most important parts have arrived and I now have some time to kill, the rebuild will not see much down time, hopefully.
I´ve been mostly cleanning and scrubbing tatty parts that for the most part, came out alright The tank Linkage Miscelaneous parts For an 18 year old bike, it cleans nicely
So far, the exhaust is only modification done. I´ve bought an OEM Aprilia Mille exhaust for 20e but, as expected, it´s tatty, dirty and heavy like a son of a b****! Not kidding, this guy with all the internals must weight at least 12kg. Really, it´s heavy! This is just the connecting pipe The rest of the internals were just as bad, 3 cross walls, pipes, grids and honeycombs. I guess sound regulations rule...
I´ve removed most of the restrictive stuff and just left a small spark arrestor grid. The outer shell had to be modified from this to this I just rolled up a carbon fiber shell around the original one and it turned out pretty good.
Some new parts arrived and my dad got me this old Jaguar oil cooler to retrofit I´m now in the process of making a supporting frame for it. Will post it as soon as done.
Ok guys, just got some good news from my brother. My frame and the rest of the parts are painted! But the little weasel just sent me photos of the parts primed. He´s playing me, that little, no good cockroach!! It´s going to be all black.
It´s not that big, it´s more an optical illusion it has 18x16x4. It maybe a bit bigger than most but if I see that it looks misplaced I´ll replace it for something a bit smaller. How about your bike? I´ve seen your recent "develpments"...tuff luck man., but she´s rolling again so it´s all good,right?