Still working on Flick. Did valve checks last Thursday 3 are very tight explaining why he has been cranky. Had to wait for a valve shim tool because we couldn't find a way to get them out. Came in on Sunday. Thursday will do measuring and hoping that the local place has the shims. Otherwise waiting again.

This is killing me high mid 70's and I'm in a freaking cage!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Rode it for the first time in like a month. Boy was I cold lol.

Repainted header pipe and muffler with black ceramic paint, installed new header gaskets and new header bolts. Discovered that one of the gaskets was leaking so slightly that I didn't notice it other than a bit of rough running during the first couple of minutes. Now it's so smooth and idling so perfect that I want to weep tears of joy.

Oh yeah, replaced the cam chain tensioner gaskets and rubber grommet plus inspection. All good. Exhaust valve clearance improved from .06mm on both to .08 and .09mm on both without me needing to do anything. I think it was Suzi's way of thanking me for finally fixing the CTT leak.

I replaced the mirror stalk bolts and replaced the flat washers with split locking washers. Now, the mirrors feel much more secure and don't flop over at speed.

Generally don't ride during Seattle's Monsoon Season, checked on the bikes...all of the Battery Tenders have green lights 
I did give the Subie a little Rick and Morty bling though 

,...did the handlebar bushings and new grips,..yea

Took my two grandsons--5 and 8 on a little ride around our rather large yard. The kids loved it.

Put on a new rear tire and changed the spark plugs. I took Suzy for a test ride, and she seemed happy.

In the last week I have installed a new engine on my 04F (newish had ~6k from an 07 on eBay) as mine had some sort of lower end rattle/knock. Need to disassemble the bad one to find out what was truly wrong. Also working on some carb issues. Got them cleaned up real nice, but float needle is leaking in the left one. Need parts now.

Just bought this 04 GS500F with 12K miles a few weeks ago for 400 as a fixer upper. In it about 1300 now with new parts (mostly engine) and many more hours than I had initially planned, but don't most projects cost more and take longer than planned?

It is slowly returning to its former glory and I am still enjoying the process so I consider that success.

Ken

Oiled my chain (with old engine oil & old paintbrush), checked engine oil, rode 400 miles in bitterly cold weather, smiled even tho' it was seriously COLD  COLD  COLD

MOT due in next 3 wks - wots the prob, this baby keeps on truckin'...

I did the following over the past three weeks:
- clean and chase exhaust port threads
- checked valve clearance, was: Left Intake: 0.05, Left Exhaust: 0.03, Right Intake: 0.03, Right Exhuast: 0.11.
- shimmed to: Left Intake: 0.06(2.63), Left Exhaust: 0.11(2.55), Right Intake: 0.05(2.59), Right Exhuast: 0.08(2.60)
- checked cam shaft chain length, 157mm, spec max is 158mm, good
- new front sprocket, rear sprocket, chain, new tires and balanced, removed PAIR and blocked entries
- new valve cover gasket, cleaned and reinstalled cam tensioner with new gaskets, checked cam tension

Next up:
- carb cleaning
- replace fork oil and check seals
- patch/sand my rashed fairings
- install flush mount carbon smoke front blinkers

You have inspired me to check valves, check cam chain, and get rid of PAIR.

New exhaust for the Duck!

Couldn't say no to the deal I got for a Dan-Moto stainless slip-on, just a bit over $200 for the set and now my bike sounds like a proper Italian V-twin instead of a loud-ish sewing machine.

The unfortunate business is that the company sent me an incorrect exhaust strap.  It worked to hold the exhaust on, but doesn't look exactly pretty.  Hopefully it's a simple matter of "hey, you guys messed up, please send the correct strap".  If not maybe I'll have a local Fab shop weld on a tab or something.

Watcher, you got any pics??

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on January 06, 2018, 12:48:19 AM
Watcher, you got any pics??

Before.




After.




Much smaller, MUCH lighter (whole system weighs less than one factory muffler), better ground clearance.  Overall very nice.

Quote from: Watcher on January 06, 2018, 03:40:05 PM

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on January 06, 2018, 12:48:19 AM
Watcher, you got any pics??

Before.

<pic>

After.

<pic>

Much smaller, MUCH lighter (whole system weighs less than one factory muffler), better ground clearance.  Overall very nice.

Dude, that looks AWESOME. Love the tank pads too.

After weeks of not riding due to weather and problems with my ill-fated attempt at using a LiFePO4 battery, I finally got the new battery in and charged and tried to ride Friday. Bike wouldn't start. Actually the starter turned, made funny sounds, then all I got was a loud "click" from the starter relay. So much like this weird TX winter weather, when it rains, it pours.

On Saturday I sifted the entire starting system in great detail and determined everything was spot on perfect except the starter didn't turn. So I priced a new starter, decided that was too expensive and would take too long to get here, so on Sunday I pulled the starter, pulled it apart, with a little compressed air and 400 grit sandpaper I resurrected the starter. Whole job top to bottom took 30 minutes. Bike works great now!

So, yesterday, I raised the starter from the dead and then went for a ride on an errand. Weather looks great for this week so I intend to ride a lot more.

Good work on the starter. Often a little knowledge, skill, and some basic tools can do the job--sure beats getting a new starter.

After weeks of crappy weather and freezing temps, I finally got to start my bike up and ride today. Fired up with no issues at all, surprisingly. Just put the petcock on prime, waited like half a minute, gave it full choke, and hit the starter button. Started up just as well as it does in the summer. I gave it a slow, careful ride around my development just to get the surface rust off my brake rotors and then happily rode back in to the office.

Feel great to be able to ride again after such a long stretch of awful weather. I guess since the bike had no issues starting this is more of a "what my bike did for me today" rather than the other way around, but either way, I'm happy lol.

Weather was in the high 60's today with the some sun in SE PA. Gave my bike an oil change with a HIFLO HF133 filter reusing the old gasket. No problems using only two fingers on the ratchet arm to tighten the caps on the studs. Used approximately 1 quart leftover Rotella T Triple and 2 quarts of Rotella T4 and went for a ride to check for leaks.