What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Reinstalled viper fairing, got confirmation that the flyscreen I ordered was being sent. Only bitch i have is that the headlight is 8" instead of the normal 7" so it is hard to get a good fitting fairing without making mods. Hoping to get 1 more day of riding in tomorrow before winter finally closes in. cruzerjd

 

Question:

Whats another name for a TORX Bolt?

 

Answer:

A "$!&&#@0&&%%%#"
Well I Did get it out finally, had to buy a new tool as I bent the T40!
But I am surprised at all the little crannies that oil hides in, waiting to cascade out all over you when you tip the engine.
My garage floor is as slippery as a sunday drive on Bullfrog mating day!

 

I've had Bullfrog Mating Day in the garage a few times; too.
Like when my buddy wanted to change the oil in his Porsche.
There's considerably more than 4 quarts of oil in those baby's!
Two bags of Kitty Litter worth.

 

I built 4' x 6' pallets (sp?) for my bikes to help with this sort of thing. Oil changes, chain cleanings, and even storage (protects the tires in a garage that gets wet a lot) have been a lot easier with those.

I no longer have a garage built just on top of a water table, so the wet floor isn't as much of an issue any more, though it was still nice to have the pallet when I was changing the oil on the Ninja and the CBR and didn't notice that the drain pan was getting full...

Not quite as bad as the San Francisco bay, but bad enough that I had to go to O'Reilly to get some of that kitty litter, another drain pan, and a metric buttload of shop towels (probably about 2 qt. of dirty oil spilled). Ruined that pallet, but they aren't expensive to build, and I need a third one for the 650 anyway. That, and the 'litter' did a fantastic job of sucking the oil out of the concrete that I couldn't mop up with the shop towels.

 

I can't find a metric buttload on my converter?

 

It is similar to the R scale of speed described by the late Douglas Adams (RIP). It is not a fixed size, but rather relative to the speaker's level of comfort, butt size, and patience. I have a rather slight build and am a pretty patient guy, but last week my patience was wearing kinda thin and was both cold and rather short on cash. Also bear in mind that I got to O'Reilly about 10 minutes before they closed and stood behind some talkative idiot for 5 minutes - despite the fact that he knew I was standing behind him laden with merchandise - while he rambled on AT GREAT LENGTH about some crazy project he had going.

Therefore, 1 buttload = 4 rolls of shop towels.

Most other days it would be at least 10, especially considering that it's metric. That, of course, leads to questions about "millibuttloads (mbl)," "kilobuttloads (kbl)," and "megabuttloads (Mbl)," but that is beyond the scope of this post.

:wink:

 

wow...you've really thought about this!!

 

<Tom Hanks> Well... anything worth doin'... worth doin' right... </Tom Hanks>

It's a long-running joke around here. I work with some weird people.

Hooked up the charger to find that, despite the fact that I've been doing all sorts of electrical testing on the bike, I apparently haven't drained the battery appreciably. This is good, because the CBR needed a charge. Also found out that I won't be going hunting this weekend. While this is a big disappointment for a variety of reasons, it does mean I'll be getting XJ parts sooner than I thought!

(Yes, chacal, I'm talking to you.) :wink:

 

Rhys, I hear you buddy! I'm ready when u are.

 

Woke up and cried as I was walking to my truck... (right fork in shop getting a ding fixed and seal replaced). Got home from work, continued to clean and polish her, and the shop called to say it was ready a day earlier than expected. So today I put her pack together and changed out my sealed beam for a H4 conversion.

 

Cleaned the windshield, mirrors and lights. Gassed up and oiled up, light oil on fork tubes to clean. Man she gets dirty quick.

Almost rode her to work today but -8C (19F) was just too cold for my old bones. Started up when I got home but it poured rain so I drove the sedan to an appointment. Weatherman says sunny and +3C (38F) Friday, so Ridin' Season is still going strong at least for a few days here in Chilly Beach.

 

Rode home at lunch and got the bike, clear and sunny, 41 degrees. On the way back to work looked at the northern skyline and swa the black thunderheads coming in. Sweated it while working as rain sleet and a bit of snow fell. Around 2:30 everything cleared up again and I rode home at 3:00. Got home and found my Fllyscreen showed up. Installed it, it is supposed to be for a 7" headlight, but it fits around the 8" headlight on the Seca nice and snug, looks good too. Will get pics tomorrow. Next item will be to replace the Jardine 4:1 canister with the stock exhaust. Power is great but the noise is deafening. Will be selling the canister on ebay next week. cruzerjd

 

I started my XJ650H today for the first time.
You can read more about it in the It Lives post.

 

Cleaned up and then took the panniers in for the last bit of plastic welding & sourced some new locks.

 

Well I couldn't help myself..... I broke the ol gal out and took er around town.
MAN that was a cold ride

She's under wraps again now....... till I can't hold out no more

 

I got my Maxim running good today. I had to clean out the cabrs and wasn't in a huge hurry since it will be a week or so before I get insurance and a tag for it. I have someone with access to any size stainless steel metric allen-head bolts, so I have replaced almost every pilips head bolt on it. She is pretty mush ready to be ridden full time now. I will be riding all winter long.

 

Can you guy get the Acorn Nuts uses to as Cylinder Head fasteners in Stainless.

I'd like 2-pair of those for dressing the outboard sides of my Maxim.

 

Took parts from about three different rear flashers to make one working rear right flasher. All four are now mounted and work... mostly.

Rear flasher stays are bent, so they stick out at a funny angle. Also looking into getting 10 or so M3 x 0.5 x 30mm bolts to replace all of the bolts in the flasher lenses. Can't find them online any cheaper than $12 (counting shipping). I may go ahead and buy 1000 of them - possibly with 2mm allen heads - and just give the rest away to XJ-ers.

Also picked up a bolt sizing template, since I'm going to want to replace several rusted, corroded, missing, and/or stripped bolts on the old girl, including one mount on the frame that needs to be re-tapped. Everything except that weird front brake adjustment bolt is a standard size so far.

 

I'll have a look to see where those bolts are and see if my friend can get some at work. I was thrilled to replace the caliper cover screws/bolts with alen-haed stainless steel ones. They really did put philips headed ones in place they shouldn't have.

 

winter has arrived today!

 

Is this a common (minor) mod? Replacing the various bolts with allen heads? Or is it just your thing?

 

I'm not sure if it is common or not really. I'm new to the forums here. I rode the same model XJ for years in the 90's and was looking for another one when I found the forums.

The philp headed bolts/screws strip easily and rust. I had to get 3 out with a screw extractor. I wasn't about to replace them with the same phiip headed ones if I could help it. Allen headed ones pretty much take care of the striped out problem.

 

Pretty Common.

There are Complete Stainless Kits available on eBay.

My whole bike is done-up in Stainless and the look is stunning.

 

I keep trying to convince myself that winter is just a frame of mind

 

I moved the bike about six more feet into the garage and tuned-up the Sno-Blower.

I actually Colortuned a Briggs and Stratton 10-Horse SnoKing.
It ought to throw snow into another demention!

 

I was thinking along the lines of the allen cap heads. Like these:

Example 1

I can get 100 of these for the price of 10 of the Philips pan head bolts (after shipping and handling gets added). About $14 either way. Pan head is stainless, but philips. Allen head is "heat treated steel alloy" (whatever that means). Or, of course, I could get about 1000 of the zinc plated Philips pan head bolts for $30, though I can't figure out what in the world I'd do with 1000 of the blessed things...

 

The "Kits" available on eBay will do all the Cases and Mounts. There is also an additional Kit available that replaces every fastener on the rack of Carbs; too!

The Cases in Stainless look amazing. Too bad the Bike didn't come that way.
The Carbs in Stainless are exquisite. It's too bad that time ravages the Hats on the Carbs.

I hope that somebody knocks-off a thousand Hats and sells them at an affordable price. Once that happens; I'm going to be very happy with my bike for some years to come.

 

Put her away for the winter with 8-10" on snow on the way. Took off the bags to clean and paint. Next will be the fairing.

 

Man I wish I had kept up with this post. I pulled the carbs off my other x and cleaned them out a bit more. I think the fuel mixture holes were not open 100%. Got the bike to run on all four cylinders. On MY personal x, I put the airbox boots on and I believe I got her all taken care of. She started after being cold and that is a good thing. Hopefully it will fire keep up the good work.

 

dude - your link is bad. I am absolutly possotive this is correct:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7/dec3langleygp6.jpg


Steve

 

On Saturday I squeezed a new light bulb for my spedo into the insturment area without having the housing all the way off. It all went back together okay, but I wouldn't do it that way again.

 

Yesterday I drained the tank, ran the carbs dry (was hard to get her started in the below freezing temps, but she did go. Put her in the shed, now I can start the mods and such.... good thing, snow started before I left for home from work today... messy.... very messy.....

 

Bent the mounts for the right-side reflector (on the steering neck) back into place and got the reflectors mounted. Found out that the top bolt is WAY longer than the bottom bolt, so only two of the four allen-capped stainless screws I got for them will work. Back to Ace for another pair of M4s...

Found out that the teeny M4s I got for the carb hats fit perfectly. Will get all of those replace as time permits. Don't want to strip out the old ones, which are pretty rusty. Again, got allen-capped stainless.

Got the M3s for the flashers ordered. Had to order a box of 100, but I don't feel bad spending money at a local place. They're black bolts with allen thumb screw caps. You're all welcome to the 88 or so of them that I don't need.

Got an M8 x 1.25 tap and reamed out the two forward mounts for the sissy bar. Also discovered what probably damaged the left-side one. When you apply proper torque to a bolt that's too short, you pull threads out. I think there is enough thread left to properly hold the good bolts. Too bad the M8 stainless bolts I just bought were based on the one that was too short. Back to Ace with the longer one...

Ordered a zillion parts from chacal.

Wondered once again whether there is an inexpensive way to get this crappy sprayed-on black paint off of the bike.

Made a note to get that high-grit sandpaper ordered. (Turns out it wasn't actually ordered last week like I thought.) Ought to be able to make this thing shiny! Also made a note to get some tampons for cleaning the engine. I read somewhere that they're great for getting between the fins (and they're MADE to absorb stuff). Even if it doesn't work, it'll be worth the look on the cashier's face.

 

Paint Stripper:

2 Good Options ...

1. Spray-on type. Brand Name "AirPlane" ... foaming and clinging.

2. DuPont Pro Stripper. AutoBody Supply Store. STRONG stuff with need for ventilation and Heavy Rubber Glove and Eye Protection. Brush-on.

The Pro Stripper takes-off Paint -- In a hurry. The paint bubbles-up and wipes-off if it don't fall-off.

I used a combination of both these products to Strip the Black Paint off a Midnight Maxin the guy "Touched-up" with Rattle-can Black from 5 feet away.

There was overspray on everything and there was nothing to do about it but strip it off.

I went through about 6 Cans of Airplane and 2 Pints of DuPont and 20 Rolls of Paper towels and a Billion Q-Tips.
(I was buying Q-Tips by the 1,000)

I got all that Black of it and you can too!

 

Won't those remove all the paint, including the factory red underneath? If so, I'll need to wait until I can line up a place to re-paint it after I strip it...

 

It should strip everything down to the metal...

 

that is the one thing I want to do to my x's engine. some nit wit spray bombed it with a decent paint, but did it again from 5' away like ricks. I wonder if I need to or want to strip it. Of course if I have the entire thing apart this spring to paint the frame and whatnot, might as well right?

 

I finally got the new die hard battery in the bike after getting it charged up. It was real windy out so I tried to do it quickly. Everything went as well as it should, and then I thought of adding some carb cleaner since I had a full tank to dilute it with. I then had to run around to find some old rags from the house to NOT let it work on the paint as the wind blew around half of it down the right side of the tank. Just seemed like a note of interest after folks talking about intending to strip the paint off.

 

Managed to Break something else again, last week it was a nicked fork, this week I sheard off the middle sump drain plug aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggg

The money Pit Lives on

 

Why are people still fooling around with the Middle Gear Drain Plug.

It's NOT a maintenance item.
It's a repair item.

You only drain the Middle Gear cavity before splitting the cases.
It prevents making a mess.

Although ... it's NOT a Big mess!
I'd rather deal with sopping-up a third of a cup of oil than making more trouble than the Devil can hand out when he's in a bad mood!

 

I think the middle gear drain plug removal instructions should include a reference to the appropriate size drill bit and bolt remover.

Speaking of fasteners, replaced all of the teeny M4 bolts on top of the carbs. It looks like some should have been 10mm rather than 8mm, though I think they have enough bite that they'll be all right. Also got the correct bolts to re-mount the sissy bar. Cleaned a bunch more grime off. Probably won't get much more done until Thursday when some of the stranger replacement fasteners get here.

 

Visited her in the shed and added fuel conditioner. Fired her up and let her go for 10 minutes, wishing I could wish away the snow. **Sigh** Four more months......four more months.

Or whenever the spring rain washes away the salt for good.

 

As I recall when removing the carb hats, all the fasteners that held down cable stays and what not were a bit longer than those that held down just the hats.

I hear ya, man. I've got the same problem.

 

Daaaammm 40 pages long, Is this the record for the longest thread? I dont think this thread has been burried since I joined. It keeps poppin up.

What I did to my yamaha today: Covered it with a new tarp. Last night we had such a bad wind storm that my tarp disapeared, No where to be found for miles. NONE of my neighbors seen it. Maybe in the ocean somewhere by now. Who knows. The new one is tied down to the bike.

 

Hey! I think I saw it in my front yard! :wink:

 

Ahh haa. I knew it went North.

 

That's how I got a set of plastic porch chairs and a table. Literally a windfall!

Got the 10mm M4 bolts for the carbs. Extra 8mm bolts will go to the "spare" set of carbs (read: "practice carbs"). Got some more metric taps for cleaning out rust and/or paint from various bolt holes. I'm going to need to invest in some more pipe cleaners, too... Wiped down the bike a bit more. Even without the seat and tank, it's starting to look like a bike worth riding!

 

this weekend I am replacing the head pipes with better ones and putting those pipes I remove onto another bike...man I love the exhaust on those x's! NOT!

 

I put gas stabilizer in mine and drained the carbs. Oh and I removed the battery and put it on the trickle charger for the winter.