More parts ready to be installed. The Leo Vince slip-on is in pretty decent shape aside from the crappy peeling spray paint on it. I may strip it back to stainless or properly paint it at some point. Will do for now. Sprocket carrier rubber bushings cleaned and sprayed with WD40 for easier installation. Notice the quick shifter pressure sensor, which will be installed as I don't have the OEM shift rod. My original radiator - washed and scrubbed the oxidized spots with a wire brush. I have a very tidy radiator coming in, but this will go on the bike for track use. May paint it during the winter... or not, it is not really visible anyway. Finally, if you noticed from the previous photos - the new forks came without the caliper spacers. Removing them from the other set was a bitch at first as these things are secured with red Loctite. I tried rotating them with pliers, but being soft aluminum they mar up pretty easily. Turned out all I needed was a small socket that fit in the opening, very light prying pressure and they came right off.
Wheels prepped - new tires, seals cleaned and greased, rotors in place, sprocket carrier cleaned and installed.
Thanks Nigel. This is how I got the wheels, I haven't painted them myself, I just cleaned them thoroughly. TBH I am not a huge fan of sprayed on red stripe, as it kind of blends in with the black paint, it is not a sharp pinstripe. Looks alright and I am building a track toy afterall, not a show bike. So it doesn't bother me too much.
Headers installed. As I said not too polished, but may end up taking them off and trying the bleach treatment. Forks, clip-ons, clutch lever and fairing stay installed. I have a racing fairing stay, but it is a little bent from the crash, so will do with the OEM one for now. I will have it straightened and swapped later.
On a general note, you guys have probably noticed I am now bolting on parts which are not perfectly cleaned, painted etc. I put a lot of effort into restoring all engine casings, wiring and other difficult to access parts into perfect condition so I don't have to get to them at a later date. At this point my main goal is putting the bike back on the road and not really concerned with cosmetic appearance of easy to access parts like the slip-on, headers or fairings. I can easily sort these things one at a time without limiting my ability to do track weekends. Or I can have them painted nicely during the winter.
Martin, what make is your under-fork yoke stand? I've been looking at those recently, mainly at Oxford products. (Obviously if it's Bulgarian product it's out of the question re shipping.)
It was an inexpensive eBay one, cost around 60 quid when I bought it a few years ago. I THINK it is this one, at least looks identical: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Pro-...256637704?epid=1205718802&hash=item281b4bb308 It's no Pitbull or Oxford, but does the job and is sturdy enough. Just pay attention to the pin set you are getting. The largest pin I have fit perfectly in the 97 blade yoke, however the 2008 and above use a much larger diameter stem. Instead of waiting for a new pin I bought a cheap 3/8 socket (17 or 18mm, will check) that fit nicely inside the yoke stem and slid it over my existing pin to use as a spacer. Works like a charm.
Just looked at that. Looks just what I need. It also comes with a variety of pin sizes. Looks just as sturdy as the 100 quid versions. Cheers!
Check this out for pin sizing: http://www.motorcyclegear.com/info_pages/application_chart_dmp_head_lift_stand_pins.html You may have to request an additional pin depending on the bike it is for.
Let me tell you about my experience with the original forks. As you probably remember, they have been revalved by K-Tech, so its safe to say I was excited to have proper suspension setup (along with the revalved shock). Sady, once I took them off the bike and cleaned them properly, I noticed the right fork was binding when pumping it against the floor. The stanchions were not in the best shape either, they had some moderate scoring and a few rock chips. They were not leaking at all, so I figured I can polish them a bit and live with that. This binding however was really concerning, so I took them apart. Left one looked ok inside, right one was another story. What you see here is the plastic spacer on top of the spring melted into the fork cap. I guess the temperature did get pretty high and once the plastic became malleable the spring pushed it inside the cap. Once it cooled down it bound the preload adjuster plate. I had to cut off the rest of the long spacer, just to get to the lock nut and remove the cap. I did manage to disassemble the cap itself and remove the melted bits, but let me tell you - this plastic is TOUGH. It was a major PITA to take out. Also there are 3 rubber O-rings in the cap - one sealing it against the threads in the fork tube and 2 more inside - around the 2 adjusters. I assume these are also shot. I got a very cheap set of stock internals including springs, spacers and mint caps off eBay so I can rebuild this set to a working condition. For the bike I got a mint set of forks for now, which will probably get the k-tech valves swapped over. The old forks will likely remain as spares.
Anyways, back to the bike. Mid pipe and slip-on mocked up in place. Rear wheel installed. Lambda sensor installed, clipped to the underside of the frame and routed around the alternator cover. I had to take apart the right foot rest so I can secure the slip-on properly. And finally, shift lever and shift rod installed. Quick shifter sensor is in place, only to serve as part of the shift rod assembly, its wires are cut off as they were burned. Disregard the hanging hoses - these are the coolant expansion tank overflow hose and the tank vent / overflow. These will be routed properly.
Finally I decided I will not have the left clip-on headlight controls installed. Too bulky and thick cabling for something that I will not use at the moment. I will later run a thin wire from the sensor to the plug under the airbox and wire to the correct pins, but it will be bypassed for now. Made this with tiny female spade connectors which fit over the individual pins. Soldered of course... although completely unnecessary. Sometimes I think I have a problem I need to bypass the 2 upper rightmost pins but they turned out to be just too close together. Worked out perfectly with a single bigger spade. Taped up and clipped in place. This is looking up from under the frame on the left side - left is lambda sensor, right is kickstand switch (bypassed and taped in place)
There are 2 vacuum / air inlets that need to be plugged. First is the airbox inlet for the PAIR system on top of the valve cover. Since I have block off plates installed and solenoid removed, the airbox need to be plugged. The original airbox had a proper rubber plug, but sadly it burned down. A piece of rubber hose that fits very tightly inside the inlet and plugged with a bolt. The other one is the vacuum from the throttle body controlling the airbox inlet tube flaps. Since won't have these either, nor the solenoid, this needs to be plugged as well. Again a short piece of vacuum line, filled with silicone.
Chain in place. I tried blocking the rear wheel from turning with a wood strut, in order to remove the front sprocket. Don't know how tight this is, but the wood started bent and started cracking. Was ready to snap but the bolt wouldn't move. Oh well will have to use an impact with someone holding the rear brake. Anyways, chain in place and secured very temporarily with the old rivet link (which I had to grind down). New link to put on.
If you use race clipons (Renthal etc.) The headlight switch gear will foul on the fairing, so prob best that you have left it off if it's just for track. I got some Harris high rise ones on mine as i use it on the road and track
https://streamable.com/olij4 A little preview Started right up and runs great. Disregard a some buzzing noises picked up by the phone mic. In person runs and sounds great. And it should, as the throttle body assembly and all fuel injectors are brand new.
Nice. I'll bet you're well chuffed with it...having it up and running with no niggly issues means you're that much closer to riding.
