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Post-winter suckage :(

Started by dchakrab, March 17, 2006, 09:04:45 AM

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dchakrab

So I round up a mechanic who's willing to trade teaching me for website work, get hi trailer, and head down to where the bike is.

Two days ago: great.

Yesterday morning: Knocked over on its side in a gigantic pool of water and mud, turn signal broken, fairing scratched up.  >:(

I wish I knew which one of my ex-neighbors did it...must have been someone backing out of the spot across from it without looking where they were going. Idiots.

Main problem: Tank is majorly, incredibly, totally rusted. So rusted that my mechanic buddy says it may not be salveagable...said i might be in a situation where it immediately clogs filter after filter. He said if I'm willing to try fixing it, I could spend several hours putting acid in the tank, shaking it around with a bunch of nuts and bolts, and draining it again, and if there aren't any leaks straight through the metal I might be able to resurrect the tank.

Thoughts on this?

Otherwise, anyone got a new tank...and what do they go for? Need an '83.

My tires are pretty dead, too...what's the cheapest new tire recommendation, and rough price range?

Thanks a lot guys...I'm feeling fairly upset at the bike's condition. Wish I'd had the funds to store it better, tbough that wouldn't have helped with the idiot knocking it over problem.

  Dave.
Dave's Blog on community technology, Drupal, website development, and nonprofit SEO.

Project Manager at the Chicago Technology Coop, focusing on nonprofit web development.

Lucky

fairing scratched up is a lot better than broken, so look at it that way....
turn signals are easy enough to come by here on the board

tank:
Get yourself a gallon of muriatic acid (pool acid, you can get it at home depot or a pool supply store) remove the petcock & fuel sending unit. block off those two spots as best you can. for the petcock hole you can cut out some hard plastic & make a plate to block the hole using the petcock mounting screws to hold it in place. a piece of gasket material or cardboard will work (like from the back of a note book.)

the fuel sender hole will be harder to seal, but the same principle applies.

before sealing the tank, empty it out, wash it out with hot water & something to rattle around inside.  i like a foot or two of lamp chain, it's much easier to fish out afterwards. nuts & bolts, etc are really tough to get out.

seal the tank & pour in 1/2 of the pool acid. this will eat the rust. you can leave the chain in there.  shake the tank t'iil your arms are exhausted, turning it as you do.

drain the tank & repeat. your arms should be like limp noodles at this point  ;D

wash the tank out well with a hose, run a hair drier thru it to dry it & then spray lots of oil or WD 40 in the tank to keep it from rusting again.  if you don't it'll flash rust. the oil won't hurt your fuel system

be very carefull with the pool acid WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!  second hand goggles from the salvation army work fine.. (this can be a great place to buy tools cheap, i got a Mac tools top box for $50)
wear gloves & old cloths.

expect to find rust thru holes in the corners, they all do it.  read my post to Vavision on patching the tank.

--Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

don_vanecek

In reference to your tire question I will tell you that I just bought a set of Dunlop 404's from a company called power sports pro. Cost was about $60.00 for a 110/90/18 rear and about $50.00 for a 100/90/18 front. It was my impression from the salesman that the tire size for our Vision's is now more of an odd size and you have fewer choices (again, just my impression).  I previously ran two 120/90/18's on the rear and it seems with that tire size I would wear out the center of the tire only-so following advise for previous posts I am going back down a size.  I guess my age is showing as paid the shop to change the rear tire. I know 15 years ago I had put the rear tire on myself but now I wonder how! Shop charged me about $30.00 !! to change and balance the tire. I will play with the front tire shortly but I am putting new sterring head bearings on so I have quite a bit more work to do. Hopefully tires, balance and bearings will help to solve my head shake at about 75-80 mph.  That's my 2cents worth.   

Lucky

Don, just a note:

Motorplow chased a head shake for a couple of years, changing everything, the whole front end & did the roller bearings too & still had it.  he finally solved it. the roller bearings were not seated all the way, even though he thought they were, so get those suckers TIGHT!

HTH, --Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

don_vanecek

Thanks Lucky, I remember reading most of the posts on his problem (and thinking "oh boy, that could be me!").

Lucky

I was thinking of making a tool that draws the races into the head stock, 2 disks, one that just fits into the headstock& rests squarely on the end of the race, and another to go on the oppiset end of the headstock, connected with a fine (or course?) threaded bolt to draw the race in...

i'll draw it later..
--Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

h2olawyer

Dave -

You can find great deals on new tires at American Motorcycle Tire - they have an awesome selection & the cheapest prices I've found. ?The Cheng Shin Hi-Max front runs $29.69 & the rear is $36.39. ?Shipping ?to Illinois is about $20. ?Total: ?$85.51. ?I ran the Cheng Shins for several years before upgrading. ?They're a decent, serviceable tire, but you do get what you pay for. ?I put about 4500 miles on the front & 2500 on the rear before I upgraded. ?There were still quite a few miles left in them when I changed. ?I normally recommend getting the best tire you can possibly afford because they are safety items.

I bought some Avon Super Venoms from them last summer & they were easy to deal with. ?By far the best prices I found - even though you pay shipping. ?They carry: AVON, BRIDGESTONE, CHENG SHIN, CONTINENTAL, DUNLOP, DURO, GBC, IRC, KENDA, MAXXIS, METZELER, MICHELIN & PIRELLI. ?The lowest prices will be on Cheng Shin, Duro, Kenda & maybe IRC. ?If you can move up to a better tire (Bridgestone, Dunlop, Metzeler or Avon), you will appreciate it in the long run.

You can get the total price with shipping & contact Dennis Kirk - they will match the price (or maybe even beat it by a dollar). ?I chose to go with AMT because they are closer to me than Dennis Kirk & the tires would arive a day or two quicker.

www.americanmototire.com/

www.denniskirk.com/

Hope this helps.

H2O
If you have an accident on a motorcycle, it's always your fault. Tough call, but it has to be that way. You're in the right, and dead -on a bike. The principle is not to have any accident. If you're involved in an an accident, it's because you did not anticipate. Then, by default, you failed.

Night Vision

PM or email me your address and I'll donate the turn signal(s?)
um.. what fairing do you have?... I'm not sure, but does the full fairing take a different turn signal than the ones on the back?
if it ain't worth doing it the hard way....
it ain't worth doing it at all - Man Law
;D


if it ain't broke..... take it apart and find out why


don't give up.... don't ever give up - Jimmy Valvano

Lucky

the races (not shown) would fit between the tool & haed stock & are drawn in as the nut is tightened. ?i'd still heat the headstock & freeze the races.

flip the tool over to do the other end.

--Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

Lucky

Quote from: Night Vision on March 17, 2006, 11:37:24 AM
I'm not sure, but does the full fairing take a different turn signal than the ones on the back?

all the same save for wire color & wire length.  you may need to flip the bolt over that connects the two stem parts together so the threaded end points dow, but that's just cosmetic.

--Lucky
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

ps2/bikevision

tires are pretty much trial and error. my step brother works at a bike shop and said almost everyone that comes in for tires has a story to tell on why they dont like a certin tire. as for me and most of the guys i ride with we dont like dunlops. they are a good tire but too hard for our style of ridding and dont seem to warm up. if your gona ride long stretches get a harder tire. it will last longer. if you plan on riding hard and dont care about tire life then get a softer one. i just took a cheng-shin off due to wear and i loved it.

my view is id rather change wore tire than a old tire.

MotorPlow

Quote from: Lucky on March 17, 2006, 10:57:10 AM
Don, just a note:

Motorplow chased a head shake for a couple of years, changing everything, the whole front end & did the roller bearings too & still had it.? he finally solved it. the roller bearings were not seated all the way, even though he thought they were, so get those suckers TIGHT!

HTH, --Lucky

Yeah! What he said!

dchakrab

Thanks a lot for the posts, guys!

Night Vision, thanks for the offer, pm'd you.

I'm looking at those sites now...if I can bring my initial tire cost down to $100 - $120 for both, then I'll do a replacement now for something cheap and see how they go. The mechanic who took a look at the bike said I could probably get by on the existing tires as long as I didn't ride it hard, and also said they have uneven wear, so will be a little unpredictable in terms of handling. Since I haven't ridden in a while, I'm definitely looking to swap them before I go outside my block.

I'm most likely going to start messing with the tank next weekend.

  Thanks again!

    Dave.
Dave's Blog on community technology, Drupal, website development, and nonprofit SEO.

Project Manager at the Chicago Technology Coop, focusing on nonprofit web development.

Kiwi_XZ

I fitted Pirelli Sport Demon tyres front and rear, they probably tend towards the more expensive side but they are the only thing between me and the ground.  If you can spend a little more and buy a good brand tyre.

The Pirelli's have never let me down, they warm up quick and feel sticky even after a short run.

Shane
I'll fix it, pass me a bigger hammer!

dchakrab

Newbie question: What tire sizes should I be looking at for front and back? I don't have the bike here, so I can't just look at the tires that are on there.

What's the difference between radial and bias ply, and which should I be looking at? I ask because the Pirelli Sport Demon says it provides radial-like handling from a bias ply tire.

D.
Dave's Blog on community technology, Drupal, website development, and nonprofit SEO.

Project Manager at the Chicago Technology Coop, focusing on nonprofit web development.

h2olawyer

The Vision takes bias ply tires.  The front is a 100/90-18 & the rear is 110/90-18.  The original '82 front was a 90/90-18 but the 100/90 is a better tire - holds more weight & is better constructed than most 90/90s.

Some have said the 100/80-18 makes for more sure footed handling on the front but it is available only from Bridgestone as far as I know.

The difference between radial & bias ply is the construction.  The polyester, steel or kevlar belts used in the tires are laid down differently - one along the 'bias' and the other across it (radial).  Nobody makes radials in the sizes the Vision requires.  Not to wrooy, though.  The newer performance bias ply tires that fit the Vision are still very good.

H2O
If you have an accident on a motorcycle, it's always your fault. Tough call, but it has to be that way. You're in the right, and dead -on a bike. The principle is not to have any accident. If you're involved in an an accident, it's because you did not anticipate. Then, by default, you failed.

d0n