kseries.rookie

1 hour ago, sheepers said:

chur

Something to be aware of is the wonky dowles

E: disregard. yours are wonky

Yep, the XR650L motor is a bolt in jobby. If you use the 400tt stator etc you can even maintain the OG wiring loom too..
Problem is, these parts are going to be just as hard to find  

They're also incredibly expensive haha which so would swapping out a different motor but at least would be a pretty sweet sense of accomplishment

You know how you can transplant newer/better/faster engines into cars
*insert put a fuckin' barra comment here*

Is this a thing for motorcycle?
Google doesn't really come up with much but realistically if you had a donor bike, "how hard could it be"?

Obviously there will be a few things to think about for example
- Size of engine (physical size)
- Mounts
- Chain/sprocket alignment
- Wiring
- Exhaust location
etc etc

Background to the thoughts are that it's fucking hard to find engine parts for the GB400tt.. Like, really hard. OEM is non existent and aftermarket parts are sold out/not being made anymore (although I haven't dipped in Jap land yet).. So I am curious if I had brought say a cheap Honda 600cc Hornet, is it possible to transfer the running gear etc into the GB.
Of course anything is possible with the right amount of money but yeah, has anyone had any experience with this?

13 hours ago, AllTorque said:

I hadn’t done any before. This vid taught me how

<delboy video>

I think this guys awesome. The same video was my reference point for replacing my fork seals
PVC pipe worked a charm

3 hours ago, Beaver said:

6v bulbs...best place to source? 

Aliexpress
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20190424202926&SearchText=6v+bulb

$10 usd for a 10 pack, not bad

The Hyosung was beginning to take it's time to start, sometimes first click of the start button but sometimes a few goes..
My current house has a little hill on the driveway which would allow me to bump start it which worked every time but less than ideal..
Easter break meant I had some time to do some things which meant whipping off the carbs, giving a clean and replacing the jets
During this process I also noticed two air leaks. Fixed those, replaced jets/seals and gave it a kick this morning and it was an instant start up. Job done, pic for thread

Got supplied with incorrect jets from the bike shop.. Bugger. I knew I should have checked in the store

That looks clean! 

On 17/04/2019 at 18:31, xsinclairx said:

Nice bike, I might borrow that paint code for my pop up 

Paint code is KH2 - Show me some photos if you do!

Got in some seat time today. Took pics because it doesn't count unless you take a photo, right?



I need to do something with the footpegs.. They vibrate a lot at 100kmph.. Wouldn't do my bung knee's any good on a long trip
Any suggestions?

22 minutes ago, BLIZZO said:

unless its >$1000, It aint waterproof.

Ain't that the truth!
I spray my commuter textile pants and jacket with waterproof shoe spray and seems to hold up for about 7 minutes longer in down pour 

2 hours ago, HighLUX said:

So im in need of recommendations for some decent riding gear now iv stepped up to a proper bike. Pants and jacket mostly as already have good gloves and finding a decent helmet is easy enough

I met a dude on a riding course and he is a professor at a Uni that run this website, motorcap.
It's a non bias super informative website on gear and it's safety rating.. and it's also quite interesting to see.. More dollars don't always mean more safer
Not sure if it's something you'd be interested in but if you've got a minute have a squizz before you buy anything just to make sure it's up to standard.
Dress for the slide, not the ride etc etc 

https://www.motocap.com.au/



 

Crystal clear. I did wonder if you were going to run the m-unit along side the buttons.
I love the simplicity of their stuff. Not in terms of wiring cause fook dat, but such a smart simple device. I like the time out of the indicators but 30 seconds might feel like a lifetime?


Those buttons aren't too bad, especially concidering the OG motogadget ones have a heavier price tag.
I love the M-Lock. I saw a bloke put the little cylinder thing inside a guitar AUX type plug and then the female side on the top yoke. He would push in the plug into the female side and that would effectively be his key. Does that make sense? So genius and such a cool little custom modification  

Im eager/excited to see the whole process with the wiring and all
Keep us posted

2 hours ago, kdotlowe said:

New cables arrived and seem to fit all good. Also got a set of these badboys. Essentially Motogadget knockoffs - definitely the nicest made product I've ever purchased off Ali! 

Do you have the link available for these?

Out of curiosity - how will you run the buttons?
Lets say for example, the left side..
Top button = left indicator - press again and it's off
Bottom button = Right indicator - pretty again for off

What about the other side?
You will need high beam, pass, horn, engine on, engine start

So much cleaner with the small controls but keen to hear the logistics of running these
chur 

Thanks team! I'm certainly enjoying the process.

I banged it on the back of a trailer today and took it down for a WOF check. I've never used this guy before but he comes highly recommended and has had quite a few GB's in there over the year. Seemed like a pretty straight up/no bullshit kind of guy which I like. Not much room between me and the ground so I want a thorough check..
It was cool seeing all the necks it snapped driving through town. I heard a few people make comments about the "cool bike" haha

Obligatory photo for thread. Hondaception


 

I can relate so hard with so much haha..

Polishing spoke wheels - I gave up and painted black
Itchy body from wrap - I had to throw out the clothes I wore to wrap my exhaust the first time. Second time I did it wet and used welding gloves and wore a long sleeve haha.

Good read man, i'm looking forward to seeing the final result.
That tank looks lush

Such a bad ass bike man

I recently did this on a tank that was pretty rusty and the difference was literally day and night.
Simple process, pop down to bunnings and get yourself some hydrochloric acid (or if you've got a mate whos a concrete guy they will have barrels which I am sure you can poach some off)

Bang in some water. I did about a 30/70 mix (Acid 70) and put in the acid.. It's dangerous shit so make sure you're wearing minimum gloves, face mask and goggles.. Nasty shit if you get it in your eyes.
Let it sit for approx an hour, turn on the side, again on the side etc etc..
Once thats done, drain the solution.
Fill the tank back up nearly full to the top with water and add some baking soda, table spoon by table spoon until the water stops fizzing when you put it in. Shake said water around, repeat the last step
Empty and you're away laughing.

I did have little bits of rust floating around the tank afterwards which was a pig to get out but I just lopped off a piece of garden hose and jimmied up an attachment to the vacuum cleaner and sucked out the rusty particles.

Not sure if this is the proper way or not but it worked for me haha

E: Water before acid, always! As I said, twice.. it's nasty stuff

At the stage above I still had a fair bit to do, including finish the wiring up front and mount headlight, indicators etc.
Things like exhaust, mount pegs, polish engine and do a hand/eye check to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.

I completed the above (apart from polish engine) and took it for it's first test ride which was a success!
I came home and wrote another list of things I needed to do



   





And that my OSGC's is where we are at today.
All I have left to do is mount the new exhaust pipe and take it down for a warrant.
Fingers crossed there aren't any hidden surprises

What's your thoughts? 

I wanted to retain the factory decals on the bike but I wasn't a fan of the colour and I felt like it wasn't a good fit for the overall vibe of the bike so I touched base with my go-to sign writer and he made me some custom decals. I went with a gloss black and matt black combination. I'm chuffed with how these came out. The side covers are super low key so you can only see them in certain light.






 

Paint..
I was originally going to paint the frame like I had done with the GN but on closer inspection the frame was actually in alright nick and just needs a bloody good scrub. 
I started by stripping the tank which was full of bog (typical GB tank dents)
Before I started this process I did some reading on rusty tanks on the inside and gave it a good blast with Hydrochloric acid and then neutralised it with some baking soda (shout out to the one thing I listened to in science class at school)
Paint stripper is nasty and ineffective, I shouldn't have wasted my time with it
Panel beating is something I leave to professionals.









The colour I went for was Nissan's grey (KH2 is the code) commonly found on R32 GTR's and also gloss black


 

Deciding on how I wanted the bike to look was a difficult decision.
Things like the wheels, exhaust, the motor, the forks, guards, petrol tank etc.. They were all in pretty bad nick and required lots of attention.
These parts aren't cheap either so getting a new tank in good condition I was looking at approx $700 NZD and that wasn't even painted!

This is where I will piss off a few GB purists and butcher my bike.. I decided on going with a mostly black look. I didn't want to just paint the whole bike gloss black as I just don't think that would contrast well and needed something different to break it up a wee bit.
I went with a black wrinkle paint (what people generally paint their rocker covers with on cars) on the forks, yolk, rear hoop, clip ons and fuse box cover.




I wasn't a big fan of the huge front guard and I do have a spare (note I have a spare bike pretty much so all the things I have painted can be reversed with rusty old parts again..)
Good opportunity to use the angle grinder my brother brought me for Christmas last year haha
Same with the rear guard, that got the chop.




Did I mention I have no idea what I am doing and are just winging it? Haha. I am sure there are some fabrication pro's out there absolutely rolling in their seat wondering what the f**k I am doing..

 

At this stage I had confirmed it was a runner and continued with the rest of the build.
That wiring needed attention.. big time.
The fairing that was on the bike wasn't a factory bikini fairing.. It was just a fibreglass replica sadly so that was to go,  along with all the additional wiring.
Get a load of this 1970's house wiring steez



I took so many photos and videos of the wiring. I am so glad I did - I had to refer back so many times.
Electrics have never been my strong point sadly..

Next up.. Fork seals.
A few videos on youtube later I was confident I would be sweet in replacing the seals and dust caps. Fortunately for me, a friend of mine is a dirt bike guru and nearly ever dirt bike needs their fork seals replaced so I thought I would just chime in on those skills and take them up to his work shop and get some professional assistance with the process.





Believe it or not, this one was the better one of them both.
Sadly I don't have a photo of the tubes looking mint but this was about 10 minutes worth 1500 grit sand paper and half a can of WD40



I couldn't get all of the 'pitting' gone but they were "dents" so my mate wasn't concerned as it wouldn't damage the seal (although we still protected the seal on the way down with a bit of plastic bag)



New seals and good quality fork oil..
What a difference! It went from complete mush when pushing down to a nice little bit of spring. I also banged a $2 coin under the top cap which pre loaded them a little which was a little tip I received from a GB guru

I'm glad I did this because it was pretty badly gummed up with old fuel



The jets were clogged to buggery



A bloke I met while selling some GB parts offered to clean my carb in his ultrasonic cleaner in exchange for a discount on a part, which I was more than happy to accept.

New jets, gaskets, bolts etc then it was time to reassemble.
Sadly the bike didn't fire up.. It did however turn over and there weren't any savage noises coming from the engine which was reassuring
It wasn't until I noticed it was missing the enrichener valve set so after weeks of trying to source one I managed to find something in NZ of all places.

Banged that in and fired up right away.
Shout to the sponsors PUMP for the make shift petrol tank 



As you can see in the above photo, while I was trying to source the valve and cap I needed I started on removing a bunch of stuff