Pinned So what have you done to your bike today?

Should idle a bit better when you get the airbox on.

 

Not mine, but i have been making some muffler mount's for my mate's bike, it's a 2018 Kawasaki Vulcan VN900 he bought new late last year.
He had a 1500km service done about 6 week's ago and wanted a louder exhaust, he bought a pair of like new Rinehart Muffler's off a Harley mate and wired them onto his bike so he could get it down here.
5 minute's away from here on the Southern Expressway he heard the exhaust tone change, then clang, clang, clang, the bottom muffler fell off and rolled to the side of the road
Ended up with plenty of graze's on the chrome and a heap on the alloy tip too.
I filled the graze's with PC Farenheight and rubbed it back and repainted the tip, look's way better now.
Just need to finish off the bottom muffler mount (lower muffler just hanging atm) and paint it now

I am not a fan of this bike, it's way too heavy for me @ 270kg, and my mate is 5'4" and weigh's just over 60kg

And cutting the steel got me in trouble with the neighbour again




Some of the scratch's

Top half of the muffler mount is done

 

I had a nasty buckle removed from one of my FZR rims by a guy in Smithfield... old fashioned workshop that does frame straightening as well. Cost me $100 but is dead true.... well worth seeing him..
https://www.facebook.com/aldertonmotorcyclerepairs/

 

So, I got stuck into the replacement forks for the Postie Bike. They came apart easy ( I like forks with external springs) and cleaned up nicely. They were in a little better shape than the originals which was a plus.
Painted the lowers and also decided to do the top triple tree as it was pretty ratty.
I then got stuck into straightening the front guard supports while the paint was drying.
They were pretty mangle but ended up not too bad. The front guard will get some paint tomorrow
Scrubbed up the rims with 0000 steel wool and gave it all a bit of a wash.
Not too shabby really.




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In between waiting for parts and bits to arrive, I started checking the TS185 drag bike frame against a stock frame. I have to take the bike to a frame guy to check it for trueness, but while I save up for that, I'm doing some research and creating a list of issues that may have contributed to the bike being unstable.

I managed to swap a few parts for a TS185 frame. Mostly to get access to bits that aren't on the drag bike frame. The side-stand was removed as was the bash plate. Unfortunately, I can't use the bash plate as the frame rails are different. I should be able to get a welder to put some of the tags and fixing points back on the frame. Interesting how lengthening the frame has actually changed the front end rake and also the rear shock angle. Lots to do once the wheels are back with fresh rubber.






The standard bike geometry, wheelbase, rake, trail and COG (footpegs normally on a trail bike).



Ordered some new head stem bearings to replace the notched ones in the frame. A little more than I like to pay, but they're local, so should get them quickly (I hope).

 

Jumped online this morning and ordered a new chain and sprockets for the Postie bike as I wanted to go up to the 16 tooth front sprocket.
the picked up my bits I ordered from supercheap click and collect... 3 tins of Bendix brake clean for $10 and some oil for the postie bike and decided it was so nice outside I would do and oil change and drop the old chain off ready for when the new one comes during the week... well.... I dont think this chain has had much lube on it in its entire lifetime.. most of the crud that came from behind the sprocket cover was mud / dirt.. certainly not years of chain lube.
And that can be pretty much confirmed by the front sprocket. Pictures tell the story better..







I have left the best for last....



The oil change was certainly needed... seems there was plenty of fuel in the oil... it didnt smell too good.. was very thin and very very black.
Filled it with some good Castrol Mineral oil for now..

 

Anyone able to shed some light on this for me? As part of fixing the Nostalgia bike's issues, I am examining everything in detail. It has a chain that has what I think is a lot of lateral movement. I compared it to a new chain and the new chain doesn't move much at all. Is this chain stuffed and is there a "limit" to lateral movement one should look for? This is a normal chain (not O or X ring).

 

Yes, I agree with you there. I never run O or X ring chains. The good old standard 520 is plenty for these bikes. I'm only asking about lateral movement because this bike has some issues. One is the chain is smashing (horizontally) against the frame and the chain guard. You would think even if it has a lot of lateral movement, that a chain on a properly aligned set of sprockets wouldn't fly around like that.

 

How are you going to drive the cams now there is no clutch shaft?

 

Aren't they driven from the crank?

 

Crank drives clutch to gear seen sticking out of top of block in photo.