For the second time since I've had the bike I've found the chain guard about to fall off. Had to buy a new collared washer and used spring washers this time as well.

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on June 15, 2018, 05:36:16 PM
...modified an SV650 shock to fit...

Are you saying you've trashed the R6 in favour of the SV shock? I'm shocked.

Quote from: Toner on June 15, 2018, 06:10:09 AM
Stuck on a shiny new rear rotor. It was long overdue. I'd love to know what caused the old ones to get so many groves.

Mine are groovy too who knows why? Was that an easy job, like just crack the old bolts and in with the new? Anything to be forewarned about?

replaced the throttle and choke cables. throttle adjustment now possible without removing the tank.

put in 125 main jets since I was there which has perked it up a bit, pickup between 3 and 5k still slightly lacking, thats probably a jet-needle adjustment.

slightly (1/4 turn) richened the idle mix.

went for a ramble around some b-roads nearby.

plugs a very light tan colour instead of stark white so happy its somewhere approaching ok.

@user... haha I wouldn't exactly say 'trashed' the R6, but I wanted to experiment with the SV one. There is some additional info about it that I feel should be documented in the wiki (just have to edit it now and add it in)! I was able to get a used one off eBay last year for about $17 I think... so it was worth it to gain the knowledge and give it a try. Plus, I am honest when I say I am not a super aggressive rider... I don't believe for one second I was ever able to fully appreciate what the R6 shock is capable of.

New (old) shock came today.
It's off an 88-97 Suzuki Katana 600
This was the cleanest one on ebay.
No idea how many miles it did.
Bit of rust on the bottom spring.
Do you think I should take it apart to clean it properly.
I saw someone compress the spring with some zip ties and a couple of Irwin quick grips on youtube to disassemble a shock.
Tried that but the zip ties snapped. Guess he must have had titanium zip ties or something.
Anyone know of a good method to get it off?
Cost $20 but it was another $30 to ship.
Couldn't find any in Europe worth buying.
I was looking at a nice R6 shock but it was $80 and would have been another $30 to ship too.
Could bit of heft on it compared to the stock shock.



Top is the Katana, bottom is my original shock

Zip ties and woodwork clamps on a road spring make me shudder

best bet is real spring clamps

Quote from: tobyd on June 18, 2018, 03:25:47 PM
Zip ties and woodwork clamps on a road spring make me shudder

best bet is real spring clamps

Was hoping there'd be some clever cheapo method. 

Check out the zip tie method:
Guess it doesn't work on mono shocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KQ-5oFNuo8

I tried using Jubilee clips (worm drive hose claps) once - use real spring clamps!

The cheap method I saw that I considered was ratchet straps. but they were too big for this spring. I have a set of spring compressors and they are just such a pain to use, I didn't even bother cleaning up my Kat shock. I say just use it as is. It's going to get gunk on it from the road.

Guys, what are these nuts called with the little flange type bits circled in green and what is their purpose?



I bought a new rear shock linkage that came with a set of dogbones with short or long holes.
I cannot get that middle nut and bolt off to remove them and it's like the nut and the bolt head are welded to the dog bones. They do not move independently of each other.   
I thought the purpose of those little metal bits was that they stopped the bolt so you couldn't thread the bolt past them? 
If that is the case, then someone has.
But I noticed on my old one, the bolt does thread past those bits but maybe it's just mangled?

Quote from: Toner on June 21, 2018, 08:09:23 AM
Guys, what are these nuts called with the little flange type bits circled in green and what is their purpose?



I bought a new rear shock linkage that came with a set of dogbones with short or long holes.
I cannot get that middle nut and bolt off to remove them and it's like the nut and the bolt head are welded to the dog bones. They do not move independently of each other.   
I thought the purpose of those little metal bits was that they stopped the bolt so you couldn't thread the bolt past them? 
If that is the case, then someone has.
But I noticed on my old one, the bolt does thread past those bits but maybe it's just mangled?

...

That 1st image shows a flanged metal lock nut, rather than the typical nyloc nuts.

The little metal tabs are an insert designed to be deformed by a bolt's threads, stopping the nut vibrating loose. They don't limit how far you can thread the nut onto a bolt.

Quote from: max on June 21, 2018, 11:06:31 AM

Quote from: Toner on June 21, 2018, 08:09:23 AM
Guys, what are these nuts called with the little flange type bits circled in green and what is their purpose?



I bought a new rear shock linkage that came with a set of dogbones with short or long holes.
I cannot get that middle nut and bolt off to remove them and it's like the nut and the bolt head are welded to the dog bones. They do not move independently of each other.   
I thought the purpose of those little metal bits was that they stopped the bolt so you couldn't thread the bolt past them? 
If that is the case, then someone has.
But I noticed on my old one, the bolt does thread past those bits but maybe it's just mangled?

...

That 1st image shows a flanged metal lock nut, rather than the typical nyloc nuts.

The little metal tabs are an insert designed to be deformed by a bolt's threads, stopping the nut vibrating loose. They don't limit how far you can thread the nut onto a bolt.

Cheers, are they single use nuts?

Well, finally got that bolt off with some serious welly and some help from my brother.
Looks like it had been covered in thread lock, possibly the red stuff.
Those dogbones may be titanium, very light-weight. Says A3106 on them.

Quote from: Toner on June 21, 2018, 11:57:42 AM
<Snip>

Cheers, are they single use nuts?

As long as the locking insert is still working, there's no reason to not reuse it. The most important thing is just torquing them to spec.

Quote from: Toner on June 21, 2018, 01:48:28 PM
Well, finally got that bolt off with some serious welly and some help from my brother.
Looks like it had been covered in thread lock, possibly the red stuff.
Those dogbones may be titanium, very light-weight. Says A3106 on them.

Congrats!

Stripe.

Quote from: mr72 on June 21, 2018, 03:10:59 PM
Stripe.

Images are working for me.


How did you do this?  (the stripe, not the internet magic)

Decal from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1L2FME/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I marked the tank with pencil to give an approximate center line (I eyeballed it) at the fuel filler and at each end, then cut the pieces and roughly followed the manufacturer's instructions which is to tape the stripe down in the middle before pulling off the backing, then stick it 1/2 at a time, first half with the tape still holding the center. Spray bottle with water to make the adhesive easier to work.

I did remove the fuel cap so it would hide the edge of the stripe. The front edge rolls over the end of the tank. I will cut it but only after the adhesive has set. As I learned with the Suzuki tank decal, this adhesive can take a while to really get stuck on there.

Stripe is rocking

and pic works!
double

That stripe looks awesome!

That stripe should add 10kph to the top speed.

I've seen stainless steel zip ties. Used them to attach some wrap for a muffler they are not hard to find.

OK I didn't get an answer to my thread about if this rust on my swing arm near the axle looks bad so I pulled the wheel off and yes it looked bad enough to do something about. Fortunately I had my newly acquired angle grinder that I bought for the R6 shock install but I didn't need it.

Here's a shot with part of the rust ground off, I ended up taking it off back to bare metal and put on a couple of coats of zinc spray and a couple of coats of some high temperature black paint that I had lying around from my last header pipe repaint. I feel much better knowing this is done, and I took the opportunity to grease up the chain adjustment inserts too.

There was a bit of damage to one of the threads on the axle bolt but nothing that caused any problems.

today i stripped cleaned and rebuilt the carbs ... now my old 89 slingshot gs runs smooth and strong for the first time since she came to me ... 53500 miles and goes  like a rocket....delighted with this cheap and economical old bike , its a lot of fun for peanuts ... the more i ride this thing the more i enjoy it ...