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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 6:18:43 GMT 1
There is a huge thread on the ideas/trials and tribulations Ive had with this project over the years on the RDRZ500 forum and in it I restored a lot of parts and got a long way down the route to build it a couple of times. In the end I sumarised that info on my website in a more readable format (here: www.2smoked.com/Yamaha_RZ350_RD350_YPVS_1983_31k.html ) if you want to know how I got to now... .... For those who don't care about my thwarted plans and pre-work and just want me to get on with the build up; the short story is: - I got this many years ago as a frame only and then bought the rest of the bits as they came up, plus using some parts from my spares - Originally this project was going to be a hybrid RGV but I went back to standard in the end when I finally found an OEM dash and forks. - I painted the bodywork myself... with cans! It needs finishing. You'll see that here lol - I decided to not do what I would term a 'full resto' as I just don't have enough OEM bolts so this bike will be built with stainless on parts that don't need special fixings. For many people this is a full resto, but for me full resto means all OEM, only OEM and the correct bolts fitted etc. same with parts, some are powdercoated and plated how I fancied doing them which while tasteful isn't always OEM. - While this was a 250, I decided to make this a 350 and its got the full treatment: Carbs/Cyls/Head/oil pump etc etc including later 350 CDI, stator n flywheel for reliability. - I also decided when funds ran short a few months back that ultimately I didn’t need this bike in my collection and I would sell it when done to pay for the 500s resto. Gulp. So, in effect I’m now working on a bike that, while not yet sold, is not really going to be mine when its done. Weird! Anyway, if you live in Aus and want to talk to me about buying it then drop me a line. So, with the frame now back from the powdercoaters and the 51LC and F1 off the lift it was the turn of this bike. And so it starts..... so without further Ado, meet my LC2! I did have a couple of things to sort out on the frame first. One was the usual cleaning up of all the threads, including 2 helicoils for the front engine mount plate, yes I wish I’d spotted those before as Id have cut the captive nuts off and put new ones on instead. My new plan is always to chase all threads before sending for powder now. ...and the 2nd was to sort out some bad powdercoating. Hmmm... That was a two fold task, firstly an easy job to remove the ‘over coating’ on the steerring head Then something that required a bit more effort. One thing powdercoaters know is that any part that’s seen oil or grease can get impregnated and that needs to be ‘off gassed’. Usually if your’e powdercoating a frame you’d do that... Mine didn’t. However the issue I had wasn’t related to oils, it was simple air that was trapped in a braze repair. Unbeknown to me this frame had got a dent in it in a bizarre place. The frame is straight but the tube had been dented. Rather than repair it the PO had filled it and then painted the frame so it looked fine, but blasting uncovers all manner of secrets lol. This all happened while I was away and a good mate of mine (also a forumer) was managing the job for me and grabbed the frame back and after pulling out and reprofiling the spar he welded and brazed to get a round looking repair. He did a good job. However, since the powdercoater didn’t off gas the frame prior to coating small air bubbles had popped up through the powder surface during heating. This is very annoying as you cant really repair powdercoating, you certainly cant just blob a bit more on like you can with paint, so to redo this would mean a whole recoat and I didn’t trust the guy blasting the powder off (they have no dip tank apparently) to not blast off the frame numbers and tabs in the process as I’m sure he’d turn the blaster up to 11 to get it done. Sigh. So... I set about using paint as a filler in the holes and sanded and polished it back after. Im not trying to hide antyhing so the fact the paint isnt an exact match isn’t a worry, I just want to make sure no moisture can get in and under the powder and also that the unsightly holes are filled. It took a while and its not perfect (never expected it to be), but it looks a lot better. Sorry I couldn’t find a completed pic, but its been wet sanded and compounded now. I’ll do a pic later. That done I could get on with the build. First up, Vin plate and triples. These consisted of powder coated top and green passivated lower with rezinc’d original bolts and I actually had a set of the OEM cups that was un damaged so bought new balls. It’ll be interesting to see how these feel compared to the tapers I usually use... and then it was time to build up the forks. These are the best bits from at least 3 sets of OEM 83 forks that I could find. The 83 got the waisted stem tubes and I wanted to keep those if I could, luckily I managed it. The lowers were cleaned up and polished, with the bottom parts glass blasted to get back a hint at the contrast that the originals had in that area, of course this was probably just laziness on Yamaha’s part saving some time on the production line and hence some cost. During the build up I fitted new bushes top and bottom and OEM seals with rezinc’d clips. The longest of the old OEM springs went in with the amounts of 10w40 Synethic oil that the manual states. To finish them off I even managed to find a set of the attractive top caps, the OEM ones are super rare now. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how they came out. Last part I fitted was the center stand as I’ll be needing it soon...
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Post by philmill on Jan 31, 2020 7:45:21 GMT 1
Looking good Jon, you were lucky to find a dash unit, they seem to be few and far between, or at least decent ones are. I had to to some touch ups on my powder coated frame, unless you knew where to look you'll never see it.
Phil
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Post by veg on Jan 31, 2020 7:55:27 GMT 1
As an ex lc2 owner I love these things, I’ll be watching this with interest and as usual a well written comprehensive build.
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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 8:17:59 GMT 1
Looking good Jon, you were lucky to find a dash unit, they seem to be few and far between, or at least decent ones are. I had to to some touch ups on my powder coated frame, unless you knew where to look you'll never see it. Phil The dash unit was pretty cheap but needed a lot of work. Our very own Mildlifecrisis helped with a speedo dial and local lad LB helped me with the white plastic part and someone else supplied the inner bracket as well, plus a guy appeared for a few weeks on the RDRZ500 forum selling 3D printer ignition surrounds. With a fair bit of work and a new reset knob its all come together really well but it took a lot of help and I'd rather not do another one lol. I'll take the later or LC dashes over these any day lol! Im hoping that by the time the bike is fully built you wont see the powder coat repairs, they arent hiding bad so its a moot point but its better not to have the eye drawn to them. Pleased yours blended away nicely. As an ex lc2 owner I love these things, I’ll be watching this with interest and as usual a well written comprehensive build. Thanks mate. I would argue that for me that the LC2 is my least fave of the YPVS models and I reckon thats cos I played around on my mates F1 back in the day and later bought what was basically an F2 with glasses (the R) so for me the ypvs needs to be faired. If im wanting an unfaired bike I'd pick the LC etc.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Jan 31, 2020 8:19:47 GMT 1
It may surprise people but I love an lc2 🤣
That's a Bugger on the frame but nicely disguised 😉
Forks look good, hope that's not the "OEM" fork caps in the pics though
Steve
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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 8:27:19 GMT 1
It may surprise people but I love an lc2 🤣 That's a Bugger on the frame but nicely disguised 😉 Forks look good, hope that's not the "OEM" fork caps in the pics though Steve Thanks Steve! Er, is that not the OEM caps? I was sure they were.. I was all excited when I found them :/ Doesnt matter if theyre not for this build but... Bizarrely I got 3 of these on the 3 sets of forks i had, hence me thinking they were original as they were on more than one set etc
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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 8:45:32 GMT 1
Ok, Ive had a look and I see now these are not right. the OEMs look like this according to an ebay's pic: I'll amend what i said above in case anyone reading this later thinks what ive got is OEM. Learn something new everyday, thats why I love this forum!
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Post by andy748 on Jan 31, 2020 9:42:17 GMT 1
Love this build thread Jon, i like it when you don't have to be too precious about finish etc, a 9 out of 10 resto for me all day long, although i do appreciate the graft that goes into full on OEM. Andy.
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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 10:31:03 GMT 1
Love this build thread Jon, i like it when you don't have to be too precious about finish etc, a 9 out of 10 resto for me all day long, although i do appreciate the graft that goes into full on OEM. Andy. Thanks Andy! I know exactly what you mean. There is defo an element of stress that comes with having to find the parts to make something 'as new'. This should still be a nice bike but will never be a nut n bolt resto and should be fun to build. Im still tossing up if this will be a 250 or 350... I have both sets of cyls... but no more 250 carbs and CDI, maybe that decides it?!
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Jan 31, 2020 11:19:42 GMT 1
Ok, Ive had a look and I see now these are not right. the OEMs look like this according to an ebay's pic: I'll amend what i said above in case anyone reading this later thinks what ive got is OEM. Learn something new everyday, thats why I love this forum! Saw that on ebay and although the part number looks right it should look like this (not that it really matters) Steve
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Post by JonW on Jan 31, 2020 11:47:39 GMT 1
Ah ha! Interesting. Cheers Steve. As you say, it doesnt matter for this build but its good to know this stuff. I really dont know much about the 83/84 LC2s, Im more of a LC and F1 guy
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Post by donkeychomp on Feb 1, 2020 0:36:09 GMT 1
Another build thread I'm keen to watch. Keep it up Jon though where you find the time to do all this is beyond me. I've not touched a bike in months now.
Alex
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Post by JonW on Feb 1, 2020 1:00:12 GMT 1
Another build thread I'm keen to watch. Keep it up Jon though where you find the time to do all this is beyond me. I've not touched a bike in months now. Alex Thanks Alex. To be honest Im now at the stage with my projects where ive boxes and boxes of parts for them that ive restored and now i can start building. For many years I just gathered parts (most of my projects started as bare frames) and restored them and filed them away and it was a bit soul destroying as it was all spend in time, effort and cash. Now Im able to start building and its a great feeling. Obviously not every part is restored yet or even bought and I do still have some jobs to do like building up the forks, but its a short cut way of building when you only have one lift etc.
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Post by pdxjim on Feb 1, 2020 8:46:49 GMT 1
Another build thread I'm keen to watch. Keep it up Jon though where you find the time to do all this is beyond me. I've not touched a bike in months now. Alex It's true. I maybe find 20-30 mins a few days a week and most of that is just staring. Hopefully when my cyls are back from the tuner's it'll light a fire under my ass and shit'll get done. Roll on summer!
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Post by JonW on Feb 1, 2020 12:58:38 GMT 1
Another build thread I'm keen to watch. Keep it up Jon though where you find the time to do all this is beyond me. I've not touched a bike in months now. Alex It's true. I maybe find 20-30 mins a few days a week and most of that is just staring. Hopefully when my cyls are back from the tuner's it'll light a fire under my ass and shit'll get done. Roll on summer! Its summer here now... sadly that means today was 47DegC and no way could i work in the garage, that would have been about 60. sigh... Roll on Autumn! LOL!
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Post by JonW on Feb 3, 2020 3:20:37 GMT 1
Next to go on was the front wheel. This was actually robbed from my F1 as it is a fully refurbished wheel and has a tyre on it. Ok, it’s old and a little cracked but it will serve for now on this one to get a roller. The F1 is now borrowing an F2 rim in case you were wondering. I’ll rob the rear off the F1 as well. Not having to polish and paint rims for this project at this point means a faster build and the F1 wont mind waiting for a new set, I have other early wheels I can restore for that later. With the front wheel on I could then put the bike on the lift properly by using the center stand. Giving me a skeleton to hang the rest of the parts on. In the picture the F1 sulks in the background knowing the LC2 will be stealing its rear wheel as well... Time then to start bolting things on to get them out of my boxes of parts and save time when looking for other parts as there is less to look through. I started at the front and fitted the ignition switch, powdercoated headlight/dash bracket and found the plated parts to build up the light adjuster mechanisms and rim. I thought I’d lost the plastic ‘nuts’ but they were in the bottom of the box, phew! I fitted a brand new bowl, cheap as chips from the USA and comes with all new mounting rubbers. I also fitted the front (short) indicator stalks. One of these was NOS but I re zinc’d it with the used spare I had (along with the rears) to ensure they all were the same colour. I’ll leave the indicators off for now as they stick out and may be in the way for dash and loom fitting etc. Also you can see that I fitted the brand new OEM bars which I got in the USA. These were on back order for a long time, but Yamaha USA did eventually manage to supply them. I have a love / hate relationship with aftermarket bars. Off road bars made by the big players are great bits of kit, almost always better than OEM Japanese bars on dirt bikes, but all the copy bars made for our road bikes that I’ve tried invariably don’t fit well and are not weighted and/or lack provision for end caps. Yamaha knew these bikes had vibes and fitted end weights for a reason. Then I started bolting on tie bars and other odd parts that wouldn’t be in the way later in the build as I came across them, things like brake and clutch mechanisms and calipers until I found the loom in the bottom of a box. Of course I’d not fitted anything that would be in the way or that I couldn’t pull off if the loom needed the space. I find that its either the loom or the airbox that needs to go in the frame first on most projects, and with these you sort of need to do them together. Using the OEM manual helps for the loom runs. The airbox was fully cleaned and polished and then fitted with a new OEM filter. Also I checked the lengths of cable runs against an F1 loom as I’m using an F1 CDI. For a mad few minutes I thought the loom I had was incorrect but luckily a mate came round with his and we proved mine was a proper LC2 and in good nick after a good clean up earlier. I need to only replace one connector that looks to have been stood on. Some rubber parts got added along with the oil tank and rear guards... I also fitted the taillight as I wanted to check the loom run length to the rear before I decide its in the correct place... And... Yes. True LC2 buffs will immediately notice what’s wrong with this photo... But initially that was not me as I’m still learning about the LC2. It wasn’t until I went to fit the indicators that I realised that the LC2 has a different rear light bracket to cope with the LC’s front indicator stalks that it runs on the rear. They have a special shaped hole that stops the stalk rotating, keeping the indicator facing the correct orientation. The F1 (and I assume the N1) version I had fitted uses a round hole and a pimple to locate the indicator in position. The only true LC2 rear light bracket I have is braze repaired unit. I’ve never got into brazing and didn’t realise heating it with MAPP wouldn’t get it to run like solder. I wanted to remove the braze and weld it along with fitting the missing strengthening ring before sending it for green zinc. I’m no welding whizz bit I’m sure I can do a better repair than what had been done before. I’ll also need to take the twist out of the bracket as well. I guess it received that when it broke across the hole. What sort of crash would cause this? Super exuberant flipover-wheelie? I also fitted one of Norbo’s reflector brackets and a reflector from Alex Donkeychomp, cheers mate!
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 3, 2020 9:37:16 GMT 1
Good progress Jon
Best way to tell an lc2 loom is the front section is not in conduit but a plastic sleeve and right at the front of the sleeve it should have 2 pairs of pink and brown wires taped back up the sleeve a couple of inches for the twin horns
You now have me worried about which tail bracket I've fitted to my spoked build, never checked it before fitting it and I'm using f1 indicators on it 😅
Steve
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Post by JonW on Feb 3, 2020 10:07:40 GMT 1
Good progress Jon Best way to tell an lc2 loom is the front section is not in conduit but a plastic sleeve and right at the front of the sleeve it should have 2 pairs of pink and brown wires taped back up the sleeve a couple of inches for the twin horns You now have me worried about which tail bracket I've fitted to my spoked build, never checked it before fitting it and I'm using f1 indicators on it 😅 Steve Thanks Steve! Yes that does sound like my loom. Phew! Latest thing Ive realised Ive not got are the front brake line brackets that bolt to the mudguard fixings. Anyone have any spares?
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Post by JonW on Feb 7, 2020 0:46:41 GMT 1
Ok a short update... Ive been told I have to slow down on this build by a mate (you know who you are! Lol) so I wont do a big update... Yet...! Lol!!!! So, I fitted the horns... Haha! Ok, I did do a little more than that... Bigger update ‘soon’.
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Post by donkeychomp on Feb 7, 2020 2:13:50 GMT 1
Glad to see the reflector in place. Keep it up Jon, looking good!
Alex
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Post by JonW on Feb 7, 2020 2:28:37 GMT 1
Glad to see the reflector in place. Keep it up Jon, looking good! Alex Thanks mate! I think of you every time I look at the reflectors,... weird but true!
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Post by JonW on Feb 7, 2020 2:29:47 GMT 1
Ok, I hope you liked the short update, this one is a bit longer and more convoluted... but I think you'll agree it's worth it in the end... I have mentioned before that this build started as a bare frame and that fact is totally true. I hadn’t ever planned to build an LC2 but I was offered the frame for free and it seemed silly to refuse, I mean who would do that? lol. Because of the fact and that I’ve never actually owned a whole 83/4 YPVS I didn’t know what I was looking for parts wise as I didn’t understand the nuances of the breed. Perhaps it’s just luck that I got as far as I did haha. In fact, in all the years I’ve owned it it seems that I rarely sourced many actual LC2 parts and most of what I have here is for the F1. I guess that’s because for many years I kept buying parts to ensure my F1 would be a nice bike when completed (yeah yeah, I know that it’s still not done), although most of the parts I got weren’t much cop anyway to be honest. In Aus stuff is always used to death, repaired badly and used a load more before being stored away in dusty/damp sheds then eventually finding its way to ebay. I always considered that being a ‘one year bike’ the F1 parts were rare, but I’m starting to think that a lot of 51L RZ250Rs were sold in Aus... that or I just cornered the market for years in shitty broken F1 parts lol. Anyway, it’s not like F1 parts (or anything for the RD/RZ to be honest) are easy to find here now and rather than spend more time and money on parts I figured this build should use up what I had, especially as I considered that the F1 was a derivation of the 83/4 models leading me to assume that I’d have enough parts for the LC2... and yet you know what they say about the word ‘ass-u-me’. Over the years I kept that plan in mind as I binned, gave away or sold off a lot of the old F1 parts I wasn’t going to use on the F1, saving the best of what was left for this project. Sure many of them weren’t quite as nice as the F1’s parts, but I would be actually using stuff that was gathering dust as spares. Of course the plan was to not totally compromise on the result by doing this; so with that in mind I did find and fit as many of the correct parts as possible, including the waisted stem forks, early swinger and 29L airbox and knew that I don’t want to fit other model switch gear etc, the build having to be ‘as right as possible’. This is sort of helped by the fact the F1 looks and feels in many ways like an LC2, but as I’ve discovered it’s often slightly different under the skin. As regular readers may recall, I’m not afraid of a bit of graft so that is something I can work with. It’s better for me to put effort into rolling back the changes from F1 to LC2 than buying and waiting for more parts that will only need work anyway. And all that pre amble leads me to handle bar switches... With the LC2 loom laid out It didn’t take a genius to work out that while the F1 switch gear looks and functions the same as the LC2, the wiring is totally different. I realised that I was also going to have to sort out the lengths of the cables (F1 is very long as it meets the loom above the rad) and fit all different connectors. In my spares I had a bunch of switches that I’d bought over the years, but almost all of them had some issue; some were the same design but from other bikes or at least other markets. I think it’s Canada that doesn’t get the ‘Pass’ function on their switch gear, so the hole in the back case, the momentary switch and it’s wiring are missing on those units. Some of the spares were cut up and switches were broken or missing. One man’s F1 junk is another mans LC2 switches I guess... We’d see! For the left switch I had a few to choose from. I pulled a decent looking set of block cases and sanded and painted them ready to use the other half of the decals I’d used when I restored the F1’s right hand switch. I’ll say it now, I’m really not a fan of these clear backing decals which are not easy to fit as they tend to twist and lift on hot says in my experience and they really look like just what they are, ie cheap stickers. This it at odd with the LC versions which look much more like OEM. Plus for some reason they seem to be printed in an overly BOLD font. At first I thought it was just one manufacturer that did that but they are the same from multiple sources, yet I’ve never found an OEM switchblock on the F1/F2 or 500 with that fat text. Weird. Anyway, switchblocks look plan wrong without words, so it’s better to fit them than not... even if I dislike them. I found one of my sets of cables/switches had one of the LC2 style connectors in it, the rest of the looms all seemed to be F1. I’m not sure if this ‘LC2 style’ unit was off say a FZ or virago or simply another market’s YPVS, but the wire colours married up on the bigger 6 wire connector so figured I’d start there. Sadly the other 4 pin plug was not present as this unit had a “3 on a ‘T’” plug. I soon realised why, as this loom had no ‘PASS’ switch it didn’t need that extra wire. So it has 3 instead of 4 connections in a different shaped block. If only they had used the same 4 pin block and left one connection empty... But they didn’t. So Yamaha created a switch and a loom that are different to the other markets just to delete a function... Mad! Ok, I figured I can work with this setup as they are all round connectors of the right colours and I could swap to an old ex-stator 4 pin plug (as that fitted the loom connector) and they would slip in. Of course I also needed to add one wire... Er, and the actual PASS switch... And get the damn round connectors out of the plugs, a horrific job even with the right tools as anyone who has done this knows... It’s not that I hate removing pins from plugs but I started at the other end. lol. Time to pull out the wiring diagram and strip apart one of the other switch units for parts. I found one with a cut loom and a good pass switch (nice and positive click on the switch) but a broken red/yellow wire so I robbed a nice long wire of the correct colour from an old LC loom and used a fish to slip it up the switch’s loom covering, it was a tight fit but I got it in. After a bunch of measuring so I wouldn’t have the wrong length of cable in the switch block as it’s very tight for space in there, I pulled back the tube at the switch end, spread the yellow wire and added in the yellow/white flylead to the PASS switch and connected the red/yellow to the other terminal. The switch block end was done. Then to fight with the round connectors in the 3 and 4 switch blocks. Grr....{talk amongst yourselves while I struggle...} Anyway, with it all done it looks and feels like OEM wiring (as it actually is lol) and even retains the OEM outer covering etc. One down and one to go... I found that I didn’t have many right hand switchblocks for the 83-85 models at all, just two options. Hmm. Luckily I had enough raw material to make it work. I did buy one unit from the UK which was ‘restored’ though the wiring was decidedly iffy and covered in some kind of ‘hipster custom builder’ cloth loom tape. Yuk! Bizarrely the other was actually a NOS LC2 unit that I bought thinking it was a copy version, but inside it is defo very OEM looking. I think the seller wasn’t sure about what it was and I got it for reasonable money but it was many years ago. Anyway, I bought this for my F1 build as I wanted an original ‘printed’ version to match the good condition original left hand switch on that bike. I’d already snipped the connectors off to fit an F1 connector with longer cabling so I could use the new switches and body, but now saw that it actually had the correct LC2 connectors! Oops... Too late! Anyway, I decided to stick with the original plan and simply solder those NOS connectors on to a spare shortened F1 switch loom after removing the brake switch sub loom and fit it into the restored switch block cases as they matched the now restored LH switch. All connections were soldered and heat shrink sleeved and then covered with more heat shrink tube so it all looks and feels like OEM. A very roundabout way to get the right unit perhaps, but now this bike will have two restored units and the F1 will (eventually) have two original units which will at least look better than two half jobs. Phew! That took a bit of effort, but I think it was worth it and I learnt a bit more about the variations of the YPVS. Luckily I like wiring Here they are fitted:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2020 7:59:38 GMT 1
Hi Jon
Nice description again, I'm about to do my switch gear decals I got from Norbo too, any tips at all
The last time I did decals was on the old Airfix kits from 45 years ago and they weren't pretty I can tell you
I do have a UK F1 NOS loom though, I'm hoping it works
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Post by JonW on Feb 7, 2020 12:41:51 GMT 1
Thanks Howard
Nothing too special with the decals, clean everything well first and use a craft knife so you dont leave fingerprints in the glue and try and get them on straight. rub down the edges and dont over rub or the white comes off. Sadly our heat means they can move about a bit as they heat up and gloves dont help :/ Still better to redo em now and them than have no decals at all... If only someone could do decals that had a backing so you could peel the clear off after and leave the letters in place... and have a thinner font. sigh...
NOS looms are lovely things. i wish we had more access to them :/
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2020 13:13:07 GMT 1
Thank you sir
Yes I was lucky to get a loom NOS a few years back
I'm now copying you as to what to fit and when, don't you get too far ahead now lol
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Post by JonW on Feb 7, 2020 23:01:10 GMT 1
LOL Im not sure im doing it 'right', this one Ive tended to scatter gun a bit as Im getting blase about doing em now. Usually I work front to back and do the engine last, this is a sort of variation on that haha.
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Post by nokturnal on Feb 8, 2020 0:48:22 GMT 1
NOS RZ headlights always get me...
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Post by JonW on Feb 11, 2020 12:45:29 GMT 1
After a brief respite to sort out the upper brake hose after the lads helped me out with how it ran....It was back to keep going on the wiring theme. I fitted a few more things; The correct oil tank sender (3 wire instead of the 2 wire (LC I suspect) that i’d got in there) and also the correct OEM flasher (now pretty hard to find I reckon, new ones are almost US$100) and the coil. I then set about connecting up the loom, remembering to run it under the headstock first of course... Yes I have been following the book! This is another LC2 (and N1/2 I think?) quirk. After a bunch of connecting up, including swapping a broken ignition switch connector I had everything in place. Tho it has to be said that I had a few mismatched colours in the loom actually, ie both the indicators were different colours to the loom diagram I had – no pink in my loom just dark brown and green etc and I was missing a yellow connection to the fly lead from the dash for the high beam tell tale. Weird. This makes me wonder where my LC2 loom is from, maybe it’s an import one or something. I did buy it from an Aussie wrecker but who knows where he got it or if it came on an imported machine. Anyway, educated guesses got us there in the end and it was easy to make up a yellow flylead to connect the dash to that circuit. Flushed with success I plugged in the dash, plonked in a battery and switched the key on. No PV whirring, but the CDI isnt connected so maybe that’s right? And no neutral as no stator connected. The oil light comes on and after a while goes off. Cool. Test fitted the rear indicators and Indicating left works like a charm. Right not so much. Hmm. The oil light pulses while the indicators flash and no dash turn light. Quick check and yes two of the dash connectors are different to my loom. Swapped them round and now the oil and right flasher dash lights work fine. Headlight and parker fitted and they all work as designed, even the dash lights up properly. Nice.
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Post by JonW on Feb 12, 2020 0:43:26 GMT 1
Seeing the pic in the post above it was obvious that the dash lower cover needed rework and it had me taking the dash off again as you can imagine. I had already cleaned up some crash damage there previously but once again it was out with the sand paper and this time I also blasted it with glass to give it back some of the original light texture over where I sanded and then heated it with a heat gun before polishing with the Autogylm Vinyl and rubber juice. Looks much better now. I continued on the wiring... Adding in a later (85) CDI to this bike means the connections are in the wrong place if nothing else. I sorted out connecting it to the loom with a small flylead. It’s not perfect as I reused an old stator wire and plug set. The issue is that it connects right next to the stator plug, which is the same shape and has the same 3wire/1blue colours of the other incoming lead. But really its no bother if you look at what colours come into the plug from the loom and follow this short length of fly lead. By gently pulling and pushing the actual wires you could only mistake two of the white wires to the CDI and on one of those I added some black striping so its more obvious. I also numbered the plugs to make it clear as well, but all anyone has to do is cable the colours from one plug to the other, simple and effective really. Ok, yes, I could have changed the wires to all the right colours but this was a solid loom when I pulled it from the stator and all I needed to do was add a sleeve and connectors at the CDI end so why make it hard for myself, anyone coming along later should be able to work it out, but as a belt and braces to further help save confusion I added some words on the sleeve.
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Post by JonW on Feb 12, 2020 1:31:10 GMT 1
Flushed with the success of the front end it was time to sort out the swinger. One thing I hate about the YPVS (and every other monoshock bike) is the cost of doing the rear suspension linkage. I’m sure i’m not the only one who thinks like this. I’ve yet to find an old bike that didn’t need every moving part renewed and it all costs stupid money sadly. Anyone who skimps on this work is not a proper restorer in my view, you’re just leaving problems for the next owner and skimping on one part means potentially ruining some other new part(s). So... I pay up. Every time. It’s a lot (a hell of a lot) of new bits, but its peace of mind for years to come, tho some of these parts are getting harder to find now and Ive also added a few upgrades along the way using phosphor bronze instead of plastic bushings and repairing the Dogbones as good ones are very hard to find now. Almost all the used parts were replated and I only reused end caps if they were worth reusing, plenty of these have gone in the bin over the years but some are still like new and they get to stay on and do more work. Here is a bunch of stuff (not all of it!) to fit: So, let’s get to work... Firstly a brand new (I think we can probably say NOS now as they are for sure NLA now) OEM F2 shock went in. Yeah Im starting strong lol Then to build up the H arm with all new bushes, seals and collars. NK needle roller upgrade kit for the swinger (much nicer than the yambits one I used on the 251LC, even has caged bearings) (you can see I was thinking these swingers took the later endcaps (the USA parts books seem to suggest that they do), but actually they take the LC version, easily remedied as I had spares... Yes, the LC2 is still teaching me about its foibles!) Dogbones.... These are reworked originals, cut in a lathe and fitted with bearing shells. The will go in the phosphor bronze bushes when I get them turned down to 24 from 25mm. I actually thought I had bought sizes that were ready to fit, but seems not. Sigh. Oh well another small step back. Nuts and washers all plated of course. After a good few hours of pressing in bushes and finding missing bits and bobs I have this: Im defo not working out what this little lot cost and some of it is NLA now. Im sure I’ll not get this effort and expense back in the sale of this bike, but at least I will know its going to work for many years to come I guess. Oh and as you can see, I have another part to find. A rear axle. Sigh. Anyone have a spare? seems its longer than an LC and shorter than the 85 on versions. Happy to swap a plated one of either of those for a usable LC2 version.
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