Bearded Baldy

Did a couple of trips away and while it drifted well the tires were lacking where they shouldn't. Turned out a mate had a set of muddies the right size in barely used condition. So on they went.

Had a customer come in one day talking about the new quad he had just ordered, the bike shop wouldn't give him anything for his old one as it 'needed too much work' etc etc but they would dispose of it for him if he dropped it of... yeah right.

Asked him what he would take for it if i turned up with a trailer, a big chocolate cake was his answer (good thing my wife is a baker/cake decorator for a living).

At this point i didn't even know what breed of bike it was, but i wanted a quad for hooning and hunting missions so a couple of days later i went out to the farm after work.

Talk to old mate for a bit then he tells me the bike is waiting by the hayshed. Only bike i can see over there is a big late model looking thing so i park up and wait for him to wander over.

He looked at me like i was an idiot for a few moments then pointed to the one i had seen. 'Yeah it needs all the brakes done, wheel bearings, bullbars and handlebars got a bit twisted after i rolled it the 4th time, but it's your problem now hahaha'.

And that is how i became the owner of an '07 vinson 500!!! (not quite 10 years old at the time)

Big strip down and inspection followed. Had to remake some of the frame.

Clean up the faded plastics. Rebuilt the brake calipers with new pads, new wheel bearings and a balljoint. Then a few fiddly things.

For future reference, vinsons use datsun 510 universal joints which are cheaper than suzuki branded bits.

Jetscoot. For shits n gigs only, have jetski hull that was for something else but decided this is better idea. But being a fat bastard i dont want a 50cc in it.

Something will turn up.

22 hours ago, GuyWithAviators said:

 Can do  pics

Had guests over for tea and missed the end of the auction dammit, went for 170 which would have been great. Will save you offer for another day if thats ok?

Shit. Forgot to say thanks, so thanks! Lol

Dereged but runs. Frontal damage too apparently.

It wont be going back on the road so not worried about that side of it.

Anyone in tauranga/mount/apamoa able to collect or store a scoot for me for possibly a month?

Watching an auction but not sure when i will be able to make it up there.

12 minutes ago, smokin'joe said:

when one forgets to turn the gas bottle off !!

Yeah lost a bit by doing that over the years. Few shed beers before finishing leads to going out next morning to keep playing....hmm i didnt turn that back on.... doh.

I run a D bottle on my little home mig, ezyswap argoshield 90/10.

Just had to swap for a full one last week. 170 bucks. Best thing about ezyswap is if you have a couple of years with doing f all welding the bottle doesnt cost anything extra.

Think when i bought mine it worked out to 3 years rental or thereabouts, had it for nearly 6 years now, filled 3 times but built some trailers n shit too in that time.

Archers autosprings in rotorua do a bloody good job. Use them for work.

Looks like a beaut day for it though. 

Just say no. Trademe asks if you are sure you want to bid. Even warns you of the legalities. So fuck em.

Added bigger better grab rail to the cargo frame this morning. Bit of grinding, bit of black zinc. Looks mint from a distance.

Then assembled the rest of the bike and did a final go over. Still needs a new/clean air filter, and some mounts for the spotties. Oh and more carpet over the ply.

I like the rapid deployment tapemeasures.

31 minutes ago, AllTorque said:

Two wheels. Just make sure you post a pick of it on two wheels doing a wheelie.

/ where ever you want

Haha i wish, 500 Vinson doesn't do decent wheelies.

Has auto locking rear diff though so does drift real well but chews the muddies up. Will try get some 2 wheel action next time i head out with it.

Where would i start a thread on my quad n agbike? 2 wheels or other projects?

1 hour ago, anglia4 said:

What do you do with the heat gun?

i use an electric one though, be damned if i would put a flame near my bikes.

YMMV etc etc disclaimer about weakening plastic if you do it too often etc etc.

Mine lasted 5 years with only 3 waterblasts in that time and never under cover. Will look after it better this time around, might even polish it before bars go back on.

Slowly wave back forth in small movements until the plastic gets a shine, then keep it moving across the panel. Will find a vid...

Pulled my quad apart the other week to sort some wiring issues and clean the carby. Then the 'need' to pretty it up happened and i started cleaning up the plastics. 

Razorblade, 600 wetsand, then heatgun. Ran out of razorblades halfway through scraping the front section so finished that half as a comparison piece.

Rock auto to the rescue?

Oh and timing chain rattles it arse off so need to look into that too.

Picked up the ag today. Much rougher than the photos. Started wetsanding the tank and guards down to remove one of the ugliest camo jobs i have seen. Ran out of paper so decided to get it running.

Needs the usual neglected bike stuff to start with. Fork seals, carb clean, inlet manifold, filters etc etc.

Mint tires and sprockets though so calling it a win.

Anyone know the best place for aftermarket bits? Online or retail.

1 hour ago, cubastreet said:

Yeah my extended learners license runs out in the spring time. Got it in 1993. I never bothered with an L plate and the cops never cared when I've been pulled over. 

What was the test like?

My extended learners was due to run out this month. 

Great news is they changed the rules again in december. I just renewed my learners as per normal. Now expires same year as my other licences.

52 minutes ago, SOHC said:

Most old trail bikes and farm bikes the ignition has been dug out

Yup and this one will get similar treatment. Might just pull the wafers out so can use my quad key on both bikes.

Oh yeah. Settled on a hundy for it. Only seen 2 photos, one of which shows the speedo cable waving in the breeze, no biggie for a hunting bike though.

Will dig trailer out in next week or 2 and go get it and see just what i have got myself into.