Owenski's Rapid Renovation Project

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Owenski

Didn't look to be a conflict but I'm sure I'll find out about it next year, hopefuly there is enough wiggle to get away with it.

If not just slack it then remove the linkage.

I'm sure that will be getting greased once in a while after this lot of fun and games!!

I'm still not against the idea of fully stripping it again through summer, powder coating certain bits. It should in theory be a 90% strip and rebuild as all the bits I'm putting in there now are been correctly cared for first.

I really need to address my understanding of the word "rapid"...
Its still not finished but this is due to factors outside my control, namely that I don't yet have some of the bits that I need in order to finish.

I booked last Thursday and Friday as holiday leave from work and spent some time doing what I could to get what was possible completed.

The replacement throttle bodies had arrived so I started by fitting those along with the handy lengths of hose to make balancing them out later on an easier task, fitted the air box including a new air filter the existing one didn't actually look too bad, nor did the spark plugs when I replaced those. So I suspect dealers change these items as they're easy to check but clearly the other "serviced" items were incomplete.


Then the tank was popped on and once again it began to look scarily like a bike all of a sudden.

The bike came to me with a completely dead battery, the charging system is fine but the battery is a paper weight. Because of this I knew I was going to pop in a LiFePo4 battery I have which I'd kept for the (no longer happening) drz.
Because the shock intrudes into the battery box and requires that to be cut I decided after butting that I would plate the bottom and create a new box more suitable to this smaller battery.


Thats just a single plate of alloy which has been bent up and down and then ground in where required to slot into the original moulding. I've sealed the underside with a LOT of sealant, not for any other reason than Tom said so and I thought "why not".

Further to the battery plate been installed I had the tail plastics, tail tidy and lights etc to install. Not much to report here other than that I popped a couple of holes into the plastic under tray to avoid over stressing the wires, hooked it all up and took the following pic.


Thats pretty much where I've had to leave it for now until the front end items arrive, once those puppies are here then there's no reason this thing isn't ready to roll.

guess whos got a top yoke

Love the thread, a ton of work but so satisfying when a plan comes together right!?

[yorkie_chris]

Come one matt you not done it yet, anyone would think you had been standing around talking sh*t and drinking heavily all weekend

Originally Posted by Redmist

Love the thread, a ton of work but so satisfying when a plan comes together right!?

It may look so simple but so so so many plans have had to come together lol. The whole experience seems to have been filled with "I hope this works" moments.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Come one matt you not done it yet, anyone would think you had been standing around talking sh*t and drinking heavily all weekend

lol, yeah and the remainder of it curled up in the foetal position recovering.

I "think" I have all the parts now, although last night I did realise I needed to buy some shorter yoke bolts, I've got those on order and hope they'll arrive within the week but accounting for those then I genuinely think I have every part now, its just a case of getting them on the bike.

[650]

Brill thread, makes me wonder what state some of the bits of my bike might be in though? It is a daily...so I imagine constant use keeps it from having the issues this one has...or am I gonna be less lucky than that?

*eyes up Halfrauds pro tool set and Abba stand and realises he hasn't got a clue how to do these things*

This was a daily, for 5 years 05-10 he put near 20k on it each year, then come early 11 he put it away and only got it out to take for an MOT.
The primary problem with this bike is that the owner relied entirely on the garage to maintain it as per the service schedule. All the "problems" I've encountered could have been avoided with a little time, basic tools and oh yes grease.

When I picked up my first SV I rode it 6months without taking it to a garage. When I did and it cost £300, 2 months later the same again, and again... I weighed it up right there and bought "budget" tools and a haynes.
It saved me a fortune but sure enough my tools began to let me down so needed replacing, I'm now of the mind set that if something breaks it gets replaced by only quality equipment.
If I were to start from the bottom again I'd buy quality kit first off, then I'd strip my bike to the bone (as I have with this one) rebuilding it from the bottom up inspecting every part and replacing as necessary.

If you're considering buying a stand though don't buy an Abba, they're expensive require extra parts and if you want the front wheel up they're seriously unstable unless you spend another £60 on their new arm link kit...
There are better bits of equipment available to you, watch this space

The tool chest is a nice luxury though