Your favorite Macgyver moments\tricks

[brockster]

Here's a link from the CIty of Portland OR on how to make your own kitty litter buckets.
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transp.../250784#bucket

[D.T.]

Changing out the cams on my V strom and found that using a pickup magnet for removing the buckets over the valves works great. Also using a tire marking pen works for marking the cam gears to the cam chain is great for putting them back in place correctly.

[LC Garage]

Originally Posted by ibafran

Long ago, some boy scouts wanted to have storm-proof, extra large backpacks for staying in the backcountry longer. They took some ordinary pack frames and mounted large, tough, plastic kitchen garbage containers to them. Not the round containers but the squarish ones. These things pre-dated tupperware with the snap on lids. The scouts just threw a piece of oilcloth over the top opening with a turn of rope to keep it there.
Sometime later, I saw bicycle pannier baskets that folded flat against the bicycle when not needed. With that idea, I wondered what it would take to craft such baskets to accept some useful sized plastic containers? If the plastic containers are sized to be common and cheap, it might be easy to crash 'em and buy new ones at a big box store. Farm & Fleet sells nice tough feed bins in various sizes.
No, I am not a KLR rider. But I do like that down&dirty, proven-tough, post-apocaliptical look as it wards off those pretentious GS clowns. Kitty Litter panniers with a cuppla ADV stickers looks like useful pretty good fun to me.

Used a kitty litter lid for the front number plate on an old Yamaha IT175, painted it yellow to match the side plates, worked great. We named that bike "Cat Scratch Fever"

[jeepsandbikes]

to protect a wire that gets bent a lot , use the spring out of a old pen . twist it over the wire and volia .
this can be used for wires that rub , or cables for your phone /gps that get bent near the ends .


i also had a valve cover bolt strip and work its way loose , DPO stripped the threads . It was spitting oil all over me and the side of my bike . i pulled over and had a look at what junk i had with me . I had a rubber bunji that a guy gave me on a trip east . I used a nut and bolt that i had to remove from my dash cut a piece of rubber and using my swiss tool reamer put a hole in the rubber . i stuck the bolt through the rubber and threaded on the nut . it was just tight enough to slide into the hole where the bolt was . i tightened it up , it expanded and plugged the hole . i rode it that way for a week till i could track down the proper size heli coil for the head .

[Offthechart]

Seated a tubeless rear tyre with a spray can of deodorant, after I lubricated the beads with hand cream.

[H96669]

Originally Posted by jeepsandbikes

i also had a valve cover bolt strip and work its way loose , DPO stripped the threads . It was spitting oil all over me and the side of my bike . i pulled over and had a look at what junk i had with me . I had a rubber bunji that a guy gave me on a trip east . I used a nut and bolt that i had to remove from my dash cut a piece of rubber and using my swiss tool reamer put a hole in the rubber . i stuck the bolt through the rubber and threaded on the nut . it was just tight enough to slide into the hole where the bolt was . i tightened it up , it expanded and plugged the hole . i rode it that way for a week till i could track down the proper size heli coil for the head .

You know that you can do something similar just sticking a piece of hardwood dowel in the hole, then predrill and use a sheet metal screw. Even a branch of the right size if you are in the bush.Surprisingly strong repairs can be achieved that way.Turned out permanent on the rattly old Tecumseh on my old snowblower. And so are expanding metal or even nylon anchors for concrete/wood/drywall.With all due care and attention not to crack the cases.

Thanks for reminding me.....forgot that I was going to fill a hole with solder or lead and then screw a #12x 3/4 sheet metal screw or so in there with the torque wrench to see how much torque I could achieve before stripping.

Already done something similar to adapt top post batteries on cars to side post. Drilled/tapped and threaded into the posts, removed the center bolt on the side post terminals and bolted them on the top posts. Never failed or stripped at....from my wrist, 25-30 ft/lbs. Even rode the R100GS for a few weeks with a top post car battery mounted that way on the rear rack.

[buickid]

Originally Posted by H96669

Thanks for reminding me.....forgot that I was going to fill a hole with solder or lead and then screw a #12x 3/4 sheet metal screw or so in there with the torque wrench to see how much torque I could achieve before stripping.

Already done something similar to adapt top post batteries on cars to side post. Drilled/tapped and threaded into the posts, removed the center bolt on the side post terminals and bolted them on the top posts. Never failed or stripped at....from my wrist, 25-30 ft/lbs. Even rode the R100GS for a few weeks with a top post car battery mounted that way on the rear rack.

I suppose silver solder could be used, with even stronger results!

[H96669]

Originally Posted by buickid

I suppose silver solder could be used, with even stronger results!

Bonding them metals to aluminium can be a problem because of the aluminium oxides. Watch that....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmjdXKyDEWY

May be better....or not just using them cheap alu repair rods instead of solder. On my list for other purposes now why did I forget to buy them?Too far now.

The things you have to do sometimes when you are in the bush or live very close in my case.

[bomber60015]

Originally Posted by Offthechart

Seated a tubeless rear tyre with a spray can of deodorant, after I lubricated the beads with hand cream.

I'm not sure why, but I find this post slightly creepy, and compelling at the same time . . . . .

But thanks!

[Tinker1980]

I must thank you all for a most interesting thread, I read it in it's entirety waiting for the laser to finish cutting at work today.

I will share a couple I have had to try on my own.

I used to drive a 1988 Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Those who are not familiar with those little trucks, they are more commonly labeled as a Dodge D50. They are not common trucks by a long shot. Mine had a 2.0 liter 8 valve 4G63 engine, which has the infuriating issue of bad fuel pump location. The mechanical fuel pump (Carbureted engine) is bolted to the side of the cylinder head. The intake manifold is also bolted to that cylinder head, same side as the fuel pump, leaving approximately no room to get the damned fuel pump out. Another bigger problem, was the fact that nobody had said fuel pump in stock, at least no auto parts stores had parts in stock - more on that later. One instance when the pump died, my roommate and I were far, far away from anything, having only the toolbox on the back of the truck, and it was either a 50 mile walk to civilization, or get creative and make the truck run. I had several feet of spare fuel line for reasons I cannot recall, and a few bungee cords, and a gallon gas can. I set the roommate to getting gas into the gas can (Older Japanese trucks have a drain plug in the gas tank) while I used the flashlight on my fancy Keyocera Rave cell phone to get the fuel line off the carb, and plug the ones from the fuel tank. (Why most cellphones have cameras, and not flashlights, is baffling to me. A flashlight is much more useful.) We fed a fuel line down into the gas can, attached the other end to the carb, and strapped the gas can to the roof of the truck - bent the back corner of the hood up a bit to get the hose in with the hood closed. We had to stop to fill the gas can a few times. After that, I put an electric fuel pump on the truck, and never had that problem again. I learned a bit later that to get engine parts for the truck, one didn't need to go to an auto parts store - you were better off going to a forklift shop. The Mitsu 4g63 engine is used in a few forklifts, such as the Clark GC25, a few Mitsubishi lifts, and smaller Caterpillar lifts.

With the KLR I had an issue related to the fuel petcock - the vacuum operated one. Local motorcycle shop didn't have one that would fit. Took the factory petcock apart, just to see what was inside to see what I could do with it. Ended up going to the local Industrial Supply Shop and getting some fuel-proof rubber from them. Cut a piece and replaced the vacuum diaphragm with the rubber, and it's not been an issue since.

Another favorite - the ignition coil started to give up the ghost on my Chevy truck. We would go about six miles, and the truck would shut down. 30 minutes later, it would run again like nothing was wrong. For a week I kept the coil in the freezer at home, put it in the truck to drive to work, and put it in the freezer at work.

Reading the stories posted here has made me think - most people cannot do these things. The wherewithal to see a problem, and think of a solution that involves only the things in arm's reach, is not a normal ability. I grew up in a family where if something broke, we would fix it - no matter if it was a toilet, doorknob, car, computer, radio, VCR, etc etc. If it could not be fixed, we tried anyway - what is there to lose?

[luxlogs]

Originally Posted by Tinker1980

Reading the stories posted here has made me think - most people cannot do these things. The wherewithal to see a problem, and think of a solution that involves only the things in arm's reach, is not a normal ability. I grew up in a family where if something broke, we would fix it - no matter if it was a toilet, doorknob, car, computer, radio, VCR, etc etc. If it could not be fixed, we tried anyway - what is there to lose?

What you are reffering too is the difference between a Mechanic and a Glorified Parts Changer.

[Tinker1980]

A trick I almost forgot about, that is really handy for repairing small plastic things temporarily. (I've used it for the wife's eyeglasses)

A tube of super glue, and a strip of an old T-shirt - cut a strip big enough to wrap it around the broken plastic part, and soak it though with super glue. The wrap it around said part. You end up with something similar to fiberglass when it dries.

[dmftoy1]

Used my girlfriends pantyhose to improvise a fan belt for my 62 Nash rambler American. On the plus side in not only got us home but got her partially undressed. (And the rambler was a station wagon where you could fold front seats back and rear seat back forward to have a perfectly flat surface front to back)

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by Tinker1980

A tube of super glue, and a strip of an old T-shirt - cut a strip big enough to wrap it around the broken plastic part, and soak it though with super glue. The wrap it around said part. You end up with something similar to fiberglass when it dries.

Very interesting! I wonder if ripstop nylon would also work for that?

[Poolside]

Originally Posted by dmftoy1

Used my girlfriends pantyhose to improvise a fan belt for my 62 Nash rambler American. On the plus side in not only got us home but got her partially undressed.

   That's an improvement to the old running-out-of-gas trick.