Going Racing

[dingleberry]

If it was a 5 axis machine you could probably mill up a pretty good looking wife out of a big slab of alloy. And it wouldn't be able to talk back.

[The Prophet of Doom]

Enough pissing about, I need to get some work done on the bike while it's still warm enough not to be totally miserable.

Last time I touched them I'd done the twingle, but not set the shims, so did those by swapping out shims from my spare engines.  No pics - you all know what valves and shims look like.  I resisted the temptation to do a hone / valve job on the engine.  It's working pretty well and that's good enough this time round.

I used new valve cover gaskets, and I curse whoever thought they were a good idea  - they are impossible to line up.  I ended up using a few dabs of RTV gasket cement to hold it in place on the cover, and then once it was tacky positioned the cover and torqued down.

[QBS]

Yamabond #3 is better than silicone.

[The Prophet of Doom]

Spent the last few weekends pimping my mill.
Now it's sporting digital readouts on all 3 axes - accurate to 5/1000th mm.   

[dingleberry]

Looks ready now to cover your shiny red toolbox with chips. Good work.

[pullshocks]

Nice.  Looking forward to seeing what you mill out.

[dingleberry]

I found you a project to hone your skills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITUZeNcxy3k

[The Prophet of Doom]

That's phenomenal, and with a pint sized engine the tolerances have to be so much tighter.
If I was going to build a R10, it would have to be full sized, and a motorcycle or with wings

[The Prophet of Doom]

It seems ages since I've been in the garage, what with the stupid job, and the sub zero temperatures.  A little sunshine today so I took advantage. 

My levers were looking pretty grungy, so I skimmed off the powder coat with a wire brush, milled and drilled the ball ends, and gave them a bit of a sand and polish.  With my first attempt on a spare lever I did some speed holes in the lever itself, but they snapped in half while polishing.  Just shows how weak cast is compared to billet.

They don't look as sporty as Tig's, but they cost nothing but a little time.

[Rikugun]

Cool distinctive look for just a bit of time invested - nice.

[dingleberry]

I am glad your speed hole lever snapped. I suspected as much. Perhaps 7075 for those eh?

[The Prophet of Doom]

I got all enthusiastic about my YICS after reading this post over here http://ridersofvision.net/rovforum/index.php?action=post;topic=9982.0.  My bike does seem to run better with a YICS, but they keep developing leaks.

So I kinda liked the boost bottles as a replacement, but it was going to cost $120 including shipping for 2 bottles. I thought I'd have a crack at some DIY.  Rather than 2 bottles I decided on a double ended design which can strap to the frame.

I did some calculations on volume, cut the pipe with 5mm extra each side, and then spun some end caps and a centre cap on my hobby lathe. Drilled some outlet holes so it doesn't explode while welding, then stuck the whole lot together and ran it through the lathe to smooth it all out.  I'll order some threaded brass barbs next week and tap the holes.

Unfortunately I got a bit of chatter, and there's not enough spare material to take another cut.  I'm hoping the powder will fill those grooves.

6061 Alloy, 25mm ID.  28 mm Rod.  Cost total about $15 - $20 including the barbs and powder

[pinholenz]

Good to see you are back in the garage - must be getting warmer down there. Looking forward to your evaluation. As always, a great looking job.

I have been reserving my YICs position for an air horn - I shall be well miffed if you make me change my mind. Took the bike down for a warrant this morning. No problems. Then my mechanic said that mine might be the last bike warrant he ever does. He goes in to hospital on Monday for a cancer of the bladder. They reckon its because of his 40 years around petrochemicals. Sobering.

Meantime,

"Get out on the bike and enjoy it.... you never know when you might not be able to". (Prophet of Doom Mk II)

[The Prophet of Doom]

Warmer, Not really it's about 8 degrees 8)
If you are going to buy an air horn, I rate the Stebel Nautilus highly.  139db @ 1 meter - fairly loud

[pinholenz]

That's 10 degrees more than last time!

I was very keen on the Stebel Nautilus until I saw some very sad reviews about their build quality and reliability. It seems that can be improved doing this neat split build which enables you to stow the compressor under a seat our out of the weather and overcome the weak connection between the compressor and horn.

http://www.fastbikegear.co.nz/index.php?main_page=page&id=15&chapter=1

The other unit that looks like an improved design is the Marco Tornado TR2 - similar style and rating but new on the market and not reviewed yet.

[QBS]

A 6vdc Volkswagon horn bolts right on with no modification.  Literally plug and play.  12 vdc into a 6vdc horn is loud, but it's not an air horn.  May have to search a bit to get the 6vdc VW item.  I did this mod 20 years ago without any problems since then.  Old BMW bike trick.

[The Prophet of Doom]

A couple of people have asked for a pattern of my brembo caliper mounts.  Just print this on to A4 sized sticky paper, place it on some 12mm alloy, and cut around the edges.  Voila!
The milled part is 3mm.  Bolts are all 8mm steel socket cap.  50mm from memory.  Calipers are Brembo 4 pot gold that I found on ebay.  I don't have a model number sorry.

[pinholenz]

Spent several weeks trying to locate a 6v VW horn locally without joy. Must be getting pretty rare now. All the VW enthusiasts knew it would be for a bike as soon as I asked.

I have taken POD's advice and gone for the compact Stebel Nautilus; the distributor said it came with a 2 year warranty and it will fit snugly where the YICs was. Looking forward to getting it fitted.

POD, how far off is your bike from completion now? Must be pretty close.

[Rikugun]

Have you considered pattern/replica suppliers for the horn?
http://www.jbugs.com/product/111951111H.html

[pinholenz]

jbugs is an amazing resource, but based on purchase + freight, the locally sourced air horn was the cheaper option. I might regret that in terms of reliability, so I will still keep my eyes open for a 6 volt freebie horn on my travels.