GregT

That's a rarity.Got to be a gray import. The only time I've ever seen one - or bits from one - was the pistons used in a cheater 600 production bike back in the day.

Probably....Both parts will be hardened so a cleanup and grease will probably see it right for another 20 years......

You can live with a bit of noise from the clearance can't you ?

13 hours ago, a.craw4d said:

Does anyone have some tips to get better fuel economy out of a 2005 Toyota hiace van running a 1TR engine?

It’s a 2L petrol auto, work supplied van so hoping there’s something I can do without too much trouble to get it running better.

Currently it does 310km to 53L petrol.

It’s recently had a new air filter and is due an oil and filter change that I’ll sort out soon. 

I mentioned this in spam and cletus said they’re basically petrol thirsty turds.  Probably true but fingers crossed I can spend less time at the local BP.

Mine has a diff head from either a diesel or a coach version. Seems to be about 8-9% taller. Mostly used on the open road so it's a definite plus for economy. Replaced as the original whined like fuck.

7 minutes ago, ajg193 said:

Shit guys, way to scare off a perfectly good new member of this forum.

 

About the only thing you can do to protect your catalytic converter these days is to put a shield under it that would slow them down. Not really legal to remove them on modern cars

relax - i've got a thick skin. What age teaches you is that the people who treat this stuff lightly, scream the hardest when it happens to them. And no, it's not legal or practical to remove them on modern cars. The computer relies on feedback from the sensor in the cat. Without it, you're pretty much fucked.

I'm told that Toyota NZ can't supply replacement cats and the aftermarket cats and sensors are frequently not suitable. All I'm saying is - be wary.

All very well solutions in the UK. Here and now in NZ, it's a problem. Supply lines are fucked.

2 minutes ago, Bling said:

The only solution is to lower your hiace enough that access is denied.

Well. it's denied to me - I'm old and fat.  They're not the only targets though. Slamming it would make entry easier ....

43 minutes ago, tortron said:

Soz straight pipes only here

Would you care to explain to your wife why her Rav4 is off the road for an expensive exhaust system replacement ?

Having the daily runabout or partner's car hit is probably more time and energy consuming than any of us need or want.

In at Uniweld in ChCh today. They saw I was driving a petrol Hiace and warned me they are prime targets atm for converter theft. Ease of access means they're being cut off in daylight - in public spaces.

They're not the only targets of course, but apparently it's become quite a problem in ChCh at least.  Be warned.

1 hour ago, GuyWithAviators said:

My chaly + foam seat only kills exhausts with its hard tail / minimal front suspension. But I don’t avoid potholes. Not old enough for back pains yet 

 

 

You'll learn. Youth is the time when you store up back problems for your old age.

By all means have a rigid. But FFS fit a sprung seat.

Yeah, I've met him - and the other guy in the video too. Both have visited me when down in ChCh. 

To answer your question elsewhere....I heard through a friend who knew the purchasers of my old 1600 that one had bought the other out and was going it alone. About a year later I was told in passing that it was finished.

We've moved since they bought it off me and if he'd ever wanted to show me it finished he'd have a problem finding me now. My old house plus the neighbours were demolished post quakes.

The valves in the US spec 1800 head were bigger than the OE 1600 and memory says bigger than NZ 1800 too.

The first bike is like buying a car for the wife - if you've got one. You buy something which will be reliable, even slightly boring. You want to learn riding skills without having to learn maintenance skills at the same time. Reliable mileage in all weathers teaches you what you need to know.

For the wife you'd buy a Toyota or a Nissan. Reliable and will hold value. Well understood by most mechanics with good parts backup.

For a first bike you're limited to LAMS availability. Nothing wrong with that now, most brands have a suitable LAMS bike available. I'd go with one of the big brands, Suzuki or Yamaha for the same reasons as quoted for a car purchase. Whichever brand has the best dealer local to you and is offering the best deals.

The owner/developer is famous for his knees.....

1 hour ago, Bling said:

You'd want to be sure of the inside condition of the tanks. Saw one on youtube that did a fair bit of damage when it let go in someones garage. I don't leave my compressor full anymore 

And how many open the drain cock regularly ?

19 minutes ago, cletus said:

Anybody got any crystal ball predictions of what is likely to happen to prices of bikes when the new abs rule comes in?

Especially bikes that dont have abs ? 

Stuff that's already collectible will hold it's value a bit longer. If it's usable as well, even better.I don't think a lack of ABS on existing bike stocks is going to stop them being used - or traded.

The bigger problem is the looming end of petrol.

Most Honda bike engines don't run a tensioner - or guides - on the oil pump chain drive. They run slack as....but don't seem to give problems.

Even when Suzuki copied Honda by lowering the oil pump and driving it by chain on the latest GSXR1000, they didn't put in guides or a tensioner.

Otherwise, amazing work.

43 minutes ago, SOHC said:

I have a stack of them but they are all junk, 

Bent or pitted ?

Good enough. I've said elsewhere that if it bends before breaking you've discovered ductility....If it breaks before bending, blame the welder, the metal or someone else.

Getting something finished and operating will teach you more than walking away due to not being happy with some aspect of the job.

Stanchions are available - but not cheap. I'd start going to swap meets.

2 hours ago, SOHC said:

Not really top yoke has tappers and no clamp, 

Are they actual Norton ?  Tapers on the top triple are usually British.

I'd look at swapping the triples out. Again, Ohio Cafe racers has a table of steering stem sizes so you might find something compatible.

It's that or find the rest of a set of the forks which fit your triples.

Guard on the chain might stop a trip to A&E....

i have a spreadsheet on flashdrive which came off the Ohio cafe racers site originally.

It lists fork stanchion OD's and which bikes use that size.

I've no idea if it's still up on that site but it's worth looking - and keep a copy if you find it.

9 minutes ago, tortron said:

Did it come out just perfect? 

Close enough for government work.....

58 minutes ago, Vintage Grumble said:

I'm just amazed you can tell a 4mm difference at that distance, in a photo.

When you've scaled a drawing for a frame from a photo - more than once - you get to know relative sizes. And that's more than a 10% difference.

Plus more than 50 bloody years around bikes....

They're both 33mm OD. They don't look 37mm in the pic. There is of course a drum brake version 450 too.

37mm, non disc by the looks - and short. Got to be a smallish dirt bike IMO. Honda CR80 or 125 ?

Very very little in this OD without discs.

Edit - If those flanges are early Honda disc mounts it's possible they're CB550.