Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 22, 2023 9:24:22 GMT 1
Chocolate Malted Milk.. Choc coated Cow biscuits are great, but why has nobody mentioned Chocolate Oaties?
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on Aug 15, 2023 9:40:54 GMT 1
Spent most of the day hand-cutting gold vinyl decals for the YPVS hybrid. I'm really happy with the way it looks with the new seat and black and gold livery. (Can't remember how to do photos on here)
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jul 1, 2023 9:34:39 GMT 1
Is it just me, or are they just a bit boring? Where is the Moto 3 replica?
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 10, 2023 10:09:25 GMT 1
Working on a new, more fashionably tapered seat for the YPVS. It's a TZ 250 J seat, and it almost fits! I've made the container for the bottles of two stroke oil that will go into the seat hump, and extended the front to fit snugly round the back of the tank. I'll fit the box and reprofile the sides, then it's only the inner tail tidy moulding to do. How much modification is required to make it fit? The moulded-in fixing points don't come anywhere near the modified (not by me) rear subframe, so I filled those, and moved the fixings up to the front corner of the seat hump. I glassed in a reinforcing plate so that the seat can be fastened at the front by the same two screws that hold the back of the tank. (It's an FZ600 tank) I'm fitting the rear light flush with the back of the seat so there is an aluminium bracket moulded in to fix the LED light, and that will extend to support the number plate and indicator bracket, which is a fancy CNC one off Ebay. I suppose I should take some photos...... Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on May 31, 2023 9:44:31 GMT 1
Working on a new, more fashionably tapered seat for the YPVS. It's a TZ 250 J seat, and it almost fits! I've made the container for the bottles of two stroke oil that will go into the seat hump, and extended the front to fit snugly round the back of the tank. I'll fit the box and reprofile the sides, then it's only the innner tail tidy moulding to do.
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on May 27, 2023 10:23:05 GMT 1
The only danger of using a smaller diameter master cylinder is that you could run out of lever movement. To move the same amount of fluid, a narrower cylinder must move further. You will not get an MOT if the lever comes back to the bar, even if the front brake is locked solid at that. That's why I have a T1000 Suzuki master cylinder on my RG/ YPVS six pot caliper twin disk set up.
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on Apr 12, 2023 9:24:59 GMT 1
The speedo was showing 140 mph as I overtook a couple of cars on Moreton Level on my YPVS special. I was out for a 'clear out the cobwebs' run around the county border. Then as I pulled back to the left side of the road, suddenly the speedo just dropped back to 65.
No mystery though. The two extra magnets on the brake disk that I had added, trying out to improve speedo accuracy at low speeds turned out not to be able to cope with the higher speeds and had flown off.
But just for a few moments, I was doing 140 (indicated) on the A34!
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on Feb 23, 2023 10:28:40 GMT 1
Surely the LC2 is a power valve motor. On my 'used to be an F2' machine I have a Zeel with two mappings which allow me to have the leading edge of the power band where I want it, and to have a sharp edge or a gradual taper to the valve opening. You need to remember that expansion chambers are to do with the relationship between the reflecting length of the pipe and the time for which the exhaust port is open. It takes an hour of metalwork to alter the length of the pipe, but five minutes of programming to alter the exhaust open time. Incidentally, there have been bikes that have variable length exhausts, but all the successful ones had the telescopic section in the belly of the pipe.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Feb 19, 2023 10:52:53 GMT 1
One of my old work colleagues raced a 400 Kawasaki in the lightweight class and had a lot of success for a couple of seasons. But he spent the whole time frustrated because he could never stay with the GP250 two strokes. These were TZs and Aprilias of course, not tuned road bikes. Then I retired and he got my job and didn't have time for anything else!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Feb 13, 2023 10:35:12 GMT 1
I saw a list on one of the Biker sites, and one of the bikes on the ULEZ exempt list is the Yamaha RDLC 350. (inc YPVs). Technically the exhaust smokefrom a two stroke is visible, but less dangerous than the invisible pollutants and particulates than from four stroke motors.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Feb 8, 2023 11:59:58 GMT 1
Unless I am very much mistaken, the standard casing screws used on all Japanese motorcycles are far from being high tensile. There are various derogatory names for the steel alloy used, but I would call them "easy machining steel", or "Free cutting steel". My father called it "Lead-loy". I don't know if there is lead in the mix, but the steel is very malleable, and many case screws have rolled threads rather than cut ones. You can tell if the threads are formed by a thread roller rather than a tap if the diameter of the threaded portion is greater than that of the unthreaded shank. For some people, it's like swearing in church to use anything other than the original case screws, and not only do they have to be the original JIS crosshead pattern, but they must have the correct colour of surface treatment. Some are bright zinc silver, some are passivated black, and some, the holiest of holies, are "olive drab"- green. Mine are all hex headed stainless- but nothing else on the bike is factory standard either.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jan 23, 2023 10:31:12 GMT 1
Heads up: jewlers have accurate scales. And so do people who do baking. Digital kitchen scales are accurate to 1 gramme for comparisons, although the absolute figures may not be spot on .
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Dec 20, 2022 11:01:53 GMT 1
I went into the garage yesterday, (working on Norbo's 80LC!). I'm glad I did. For the previous week everything had been sub-zero, so when the warm moisture-laden air came in, all the bikes and parts were wet through with condensation. I had to dry the 80 motor off with a towel! I left the bikes outside all day and they were fine when I put them back at the end of the day.
If you have not seen your bike since the cold spell, it's worth checking to see if it needs drying off.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 19, 2022 10:32:56 GMT 1
I've heard that some people like vibrations
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 16, 2022 10:29:20 GMT 1
Purely theoretically, I suspect that the difference between a low and a high pitch horn comes from the mass of the diaphragm and the length of the "horn" part, which is usually a spiral that airtone horns have. Standard Yam horns don't have one of course, but adding a little weight to the diaphagm should make a difference. The adjusting screw only adjusts the distance that the diaphragm moves, and there is an optimum setting that suits the natural resonant frequency of the diaphragm. Move too far from the optimum and you just get a strangled squawk!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 7, 2022 10:34:34 GMT 1
I have a very heavy pneumatic bench, but I even in my mid seventies, have no problem turning it on its side to lie against the wall. I just use a yard long bar through the cross tube at the bottom of the X as a lever. I use it to lower it down too. It makes the whole process much more civilised.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Nov 2, 2022 10:30:04 GMT 1
The description uses one of my favourite words in Italian. "Parafango". I know it sounds like a dance on Strictly, but it is only a mudguard!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Oct 16, 2022 9:42:43 GMT 1
You know, after thinking about it and watching people at the show yesterday, I think Mike's bike was too good. It is so perfect, that it just looks like any other LC. A lot of people just gave it a glance and moved on to the Unicorn bike with with the sparkly horn and the rainbow seat. They could not see what is so special about it. The bike is perfect, but it needs a better audience!
In general I'd sum up the show by saying that it was a shadow of what it was a couple of years ago. There are empty spaces even in the main hall and whole rows of autojumble stalls missing. I'd say it was less that two thirds of what it was. It's sad but it looks as if a lot of traders have not made it through the pandemic years. The other thing I've learned is not to bother getting there early. You could hardly move for the crowds at 9.30, while everything was far more pleasant after lunch, and you could get to see the stalls and talk to people. Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Aug 28, 2022 10:15:03 GMT 1
A MAP gas torch will get things hot enough for silver solder and even brazing if the item you are working on is either small, or resting on a firebrick to reflect the heat back to the job. I use two just on the bench top. One lies flat, and the other is on edge at the back. I brazed up a 10mm steel rod with a MAP gas torch that way.
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on Aug 12, 2022 16:40:39 GMT 1
Might be a lob vacancy for a welder at Arrow Exhausts!
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on Jul 7, 2022 9:35:21 GMT 1
Brutto is Italian for ugly. It's well named.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 5, 2022 9:53:39 GMT 1
Thanks Steeley, That's the sort of information I was hoping for. I am already determined to recommend new seals anyway, but you have given me the evidence to justify that decison. Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Jun 3, 2022 9:23:40 GMT 1
We are all much too familiar with the fact that the oil seals in a motor lose their flexibilty and leak after an engine lies idle for years, but I've never really thought about this aspect before. Do brand new, genuine Yamaha oil seals deteriorate on the shelf, in their original packets? I've been asked to make recommendations on the rebuild of an RD400 motor, which comes with a full set of new seals and bearings (including the Labyrinth seal in the centre of the crank, which will not be a problem). The thing is, that I suspect that these seals could be thirty years old. Has anyone got any experience with using what is a treasure trove of 'new, old stock' seals? Experienced engine builders, what would you recommend?
Cheers Dave
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Dave B
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Posts: 240
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Post by Dave B on May 26, 2022 9:28:37 GMT 1
My neighbour has literally a stack of RD400 barrels and crankcases in his garage. I'd estimate over twenty sets. It would be worth a trip to Staffordshire if you are interested.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Apr 21, 2022 9:29:36 GMT 1
I think that there is an "lights on only on when the engine is running" output on a Motogadget M Unit. (the headlight feed can be programmed to do that) It does everything else too. It would be worth considering.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Apr 18, 2022 10:15:21 GMT 1
Off road style tyres are a fashion accessory in the modern 'Custom" and "Cafe Racer' world. Maybe that's the intended purpose of K82s. Not my thing at all!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Mar 28, 2022 10:38:52 GMT 1
I pushed it out of the garage, so that I could get the YPVS out. I rode the Yam to a classic vehicle meeting, had a little run over the moor, and came home for lunch. Then I pushed the four stroke back into the garage.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Mar 7, 2022 11:01:24 GMT 1
It is like lapping in a steam valve. I learned from my father, who was part of the generation that had done that sort of thing in his apprenticeship. His first apprenticeship was as a fitter in a Flax mill. Then he ran away to London and became a mechanic in a race team.
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Mar 6, 2022 11:33:29 GMT 1
An old piston,ideally one that fitted the bore before a rebore is the perfect size for an improvised hone. You need to make a wooden "con rod" as a handle. Then use coarse valve grinding paste as a glaze busting compound. Use a push-pull and twisting motion to get the crosshatch pattern. Do take the rings off first though!
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Dave B
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Post by Dave B on Feb 10, 2022 10:48:21 GMT 1
I'd have to be making and repairing connectors every day to justify the £35 for those. I'm sure they are very good, but you can get a tank of petrol for that (so far, at today's prices, tomorrow, who knows?)
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