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Post by JonW on Oct 29, 2022 2:25:18 GMT 1
LOL!
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Post by JonW on Nov 2, 2022 6:57:20 GMT 1
Ok, some after shots for the work done on those horrible headlight ears. Sure, not 'perfect' for a full on resto, but another parts saved
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cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
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Post by cnkxu1 on Nov 2, 2022 7:27:44 GMT 1
I guess you have considered picking apart the headstock the way it should have been done, joining the six tubes and then reattaching the headstock. Or is that just too much work?
I am just about to start on my 250LC, so I should put together a list of parts I have. There might be some decent excess bits.
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Post by JonW on Nov 2, 2022 8:17:36 GMT 1
I guess you have considered picking apart the headstock the way it should have been done, joining the six tubes and then reattaching the headstock. Or is that just too much work? I am just about to start on my 250LC, so I should put together a list of parts I have. There might be some decent excess bits. LOL 'too much work' LOL... the whole thing probably falls under that category LOL! What you suggest is a good idea and I did start originally thinking about doing that, but the more that I played with it the more I realised that cos of the angles of the 6 tubes (something like 4 or 5 different actul angles) there is almost no way that a, you can put it back in the wrong place and b, that you can get it too wrong angle wise. Y'see the multiple tube angles mean that i can even work out just how thick the cutting disk was pretty exactly as in order to fit it back together I have to line all the tubes up 'in line', when doing that they all have to be in the correct place or it just wont 'fit', if it was only two spars it'd actually be more difficult i think. The other thing is that I can actually get round all 6 tubes with a MIG, it doesnt look like it but Im sure i can do it. I really think with some cross strengthening it'll be stronger than original and Im considering doing more, perhaps not quite what i did on my 421 but along those lines. I will be making a jig as well from a good (whole) frame. Im going to use the points of the frame that I know to be good (shock and rad mounts) and the link them to the headstock with some cups. It wont be pretty or 2 mins work, but that jig should mean i have a layer of empirical datum to the job as well. I do think that looking at it 'in the hand' so to speak its much less daunting of a job (well, 'ish' lol its not everyones idea of fun im sure) than it looks in the pics. Ohh!!!... well... Im always keen to hear of parts that might work for this project. Ive been lucky so far that a bunch of very generous forumers have helped me out. So, yes please do let me know Chris when you've had a look.
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Post by steve63 on Nov 2, 2022 20:22:29 GMT 1
Here's my 2p's worth as far as welding goes. Ideally the cuts should be oblique to give you more weld length but it's too late for that. Next they should be full penetration welds, i.e. right through the tube with a small bead on the inside and a larger one on the outside. The weld would then be at least as strong as the tube around it. The week spot is the heat effected zone, HEZ, the area next to the weld. That is where failure is most likely to occur. Saying all that the tube is probably just some common or garden mild steel with very little carbon so whatever you do to it in terms of adding heat from welding it's not going to effect it's hardness and the chances of cracking, it will remain the sane soft mild steel it ever was. An advantage of the rubbish soft steel they build these from is that the downside of being soft and flexi is that it's too soft to crack easily. TZ and a lot of other race bike frames crack for fun. I have three LC frames. The first is one I fitted a YPVS engine into years ago, the second is a stolen recovered one with obvious damage, that has been badly repaired, to the loop at the back end and the third is a German import with a stack of the brackets missing which I never spotted until after I got it home. I'm toying with the idea of putting the one I most believe to be straight on a big chunk of RHS and fitting bits of steel to the important bits such as the swinging arm pivot and headstock then using that set up to check the others. It sounds like you are thinking along the same lines? The one I rode to Spain and back and crashed a couple of times is still the one I have most faith in being the straightest My idea for the headstock was to use a length of 35mm dia stainless bar I have and have a couple of tapers made with 35mm dia holes bored down their lengths. these would slide up/down the bar and locate the headstock. the bottom would then be fastened to the RHS at the bottom. None of this has got any further than the drawing stage.
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Post by shaunthe2nd on Nov 2, 2022 23:20:32 GMT 1
Here's my 2p's worth as far as welding goes. Ideally the cuts should be oblique to give you more weld length but it's too late for that. Next they should be full penetration welds, i.e. right through the tube with a small bead on the inside and a larger one on the outside. The weld would then be at least as strong as the tube around it. The week spot is the heat effected zone, HEZ, the area next to the weld. That is where failure is most likely to occur. Saying all that the tube is probably just some common or garden mild steel with very little carbon so whatever you do to it in terms of adding heat from welding it's not going to effect it's hardness and the chances of cracking, it will remain the sane soft mild steel it ever was. An advantage of the rubbish soft steel they build these from is that the downside of being soft and flexi is that it's too soft to crack easily. TZ and a lot of other race bike frames crack for fun. I have three LC frames. The first is one I fitted a YPVS engine into years ago, the second is a stolen recovered one with obvious damage, that has been badly repaired, to the loop at the back end and the third is a German import with a stack of the brackets missing which I never spotted until after I got it home. I'm toying with the idea of putting the one I most believe to be straight on a big chunk of RHS and fitting bits of steel to the important bits such as the swinging arm pivot and headstock then using that set up to check the others. It sounds like you are thinking along the same lines? The one I rode to Spain and back and crashed a couple of times is still the one I have most faith in being the straightest My idea for the headstock was to use a length of 35mm dia stainless bar I have and have a couple of tapers made with 35mm dia holes bored down their lengths. these would slide up/down the bar and locate the headstock. the bottom would then be fastened to the RHS at the bottom. None of this has got any further than the drawing stage. Steve, you can always take your frames to John Warrington in Malton to check for straightness etc, he has specialist gear to check it and even straighten if possible. . Actually it needs to be a rolling chassis with engine cases fitted, but easy to achieve. I did this on my recent 250Lc 4L1 build as was worried it may not be straight, but luckily all checked out fine.
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Post by JonW on Nov 3, 2022 0:03:48 GMT 1
Good thoughts Steve and yes along the same lines as what i was thinking as well. As mentioned before, I will be using some smaller dia inner tubes slid into place to locate everything and also provide more surface area for welding as well as around the cuts themselves. This coupled with some jigging off the datum points of another frame will help keep not only the headstock alignment (locked into the step on the bearing surface) but also the exact location of the lump itself, although as said i dont think it can be that far out due to the angles of the tubes and this jig is somewhat 'overkill', lol ok, thats not the right word, let's say more 'belt n braces' than that, but its what i think is needed to 'be sure'. It really is a funny thing and Id love you guys to pop round and see this, but in the hand you can really see that the multiple cut angles would be the devils work if you were shortening/adjusting something in this area, but a bonus in this scenario as there really is only one way these multiple spars can fit and you really could hold it in place and actually measure the cutting disk width. As said I will be adding in more steel across the joins as well once the work is done, some of this will be as per Yamaha's design, ie there is a formed plate down the front spars by the rad thats been cut through on this frame. Trimming that plate away higher up and fabbing a new piece the same shape to add strength across the join as Yam intended etc. This plate can also be a bit larger/longer, ie run lower as well without looking obviously non factory at first glance. The under tank spars have room around/between them for strengthening and Ive done that before on my 421 for those with long memories as it was a few years back. I agree re the quality of the steel Steve, what Yam gave us wasnt great quality and nor were the welds, so its not impossible to DIY improvements on these and fix them as well. If this was a formed alloy frame I wouldnt even be talking about it lol I should say that while I am not really fazed by this work, its not something Id think anyone can/should approach lightly. Ive repaired and strengthened a few frames the past few years and wouldnt tackle this without at least that experience. That said, Im always happy to learn and hear what people think, its one of the reasons Im doing this project. Life would be very very boring if we werent continually learning stuff.
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Post by steve63 on Nov 3, 2022 7:42:27 GMT 1
I hope I didn't come across as against the idea. In fact I'm all for what you are doing. I love it when a task is difficult or a bit 'off the wall' and you get the comments that it can't or shouldn't be done. Then you go ahead and do it. A mate of mine had a badly repaired frame recently that he was selling. It looked like it had been bent at the headstock and the plate underneath had been replaced with some flat bar with no attempt to make it look anything other than a backyard bodge. I was tempted to take it on but managed to talk myself out of it π
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Post by steve63 on Nov 3, 2022 7:48:17 GMT 1
Here's my 2p's worth as far as welding goes. Ideally the cuts should be oblique to give you more weld length but it's too late for that. Next they should be full penetration welds, i.e. right through the tube with a small bead on the inside and a larger one on the outside. The weld would then be at least as strong as the tube around it. The week spot is the heat effected zone, HEZ, the area next to the weld. That is where failure is most likely to occur. Saying all that the tube is probably just some common or garden mild steel with very little carbon so whatever you do to it in terms of adding heat from welding it's not going to effect it's hardness and the chances of cracking, it will remain the sane soft mild steel it ever was. An advantage of the rubbish soft steel they build these from is that the downside of being soft and flexi is that it's too soft to crack easily. TZ and a lot of other race bike frames crack for fun. I have three LC frames. The first is one I fitted a YPVS engine into years ago, the second is a stolen recovered one with obvious damage, that has been badly repaired, to the loop at the back end and the third is a German import with a stack of the brackets missing which I never spotted until after I got it home. I'm toying with the idea of putting the one I most believe to be straight on a big chunk of RHS and fitting bits of steel to the important bits such as the swinging arm pivot and headstock then using that set up to check the others. It sounds like you are thinking along the same lines? The one I rode to Spain and back and crashed a couple of times is still the one I have most faith in being the straightest My idea for the headstock was to use a length of 35mm dia stainless bar I have and have a couple of tapers made with 35mm dia holes bored down their lengths. these would slide up/down the bar and locate the headstock. the bottom would then be fastened to the RHS at the bottom. None of this has got any further than the drawing stage. Steve, you can always take your frames to John Warrington in Malton to check for straightness etc, he has specialist gear to check it and even straighten if possible. . Actually it needs to be a rolling chassis with engine cases fitted, but easy to achieve. I did this on my recent 250Lc 4L1 build as was worried it may not be straight, but luckily all checked out fine. I have thought about taking them somewhere. I had mine straightened at Leeds on a Motoliner in 1983. That bike is long gone now but is owned by an old friend and is in perfect condition. Who'd of thought back when it was flying through the air after hitting a Capri at about 60 that it would now be worth around 10K π Now I'm working again taking them somewhere can be considered!
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Post by JonW on Nov 4, 2022 4:29:46 GMT 1
The βexcitementβ* on this project continues... * - term used under advisement! Of course all builds need a loom... and to follow the theme of every other part of this build I guess itβll be a βrepair jobβ. Not least as for the last LC I built (the 215LC project) I had to repair the best of the looms I had, which meant cannibalising from the others. Many years ago, years back when I started restoring LCs and YPVS I used to have a fair few looms as I bought up a bike wreckers stock of what he termed βgood LC/RZ loomsβ... Of course they almost all turned out to be junk as they could never function again as actual looms, but their parts have been gold for repairs. Amusingly at the time they arrived I was totally miffed with what they cost, less so in 2022 lol So... obviously Iβm now scraping around at the bottom of the barrel again and I think its shows... The last of the looms Iβd previous marked as βfit for repairβ was spread out on the bench and examined... The patient doesnβt look too healthy: - some horrible repairs to the connectors in the headlight area including a weird hole in a black wire and an internally broken wires - missing items like the coil connection... Er, I actually think that might have been me many years ago for another project, damn! - fuse box issues including another horrible repair and a broken fuse holder - coil earth wire cut off along with a few other connections β hot tip: always check inside the covered loom for items cut off! - intact looking wires but broken connections within, usually near connectors - broken and cracked plugs - Overspray in primer and black paint There is some good news though: - much of it is intact and its not been left at the bottom of a water butt for years to marinate like some I have - the connectors it has are not sun damaged and so not too brittle - there have been no spurious wires added to fix something deep inside the body of the loom - almost all of the wire colours are original - there is no burning or melting on any connector, especially nice to find good stator connectors - there isnt much degradation of the actual copper in the wires So I set about the repair, offsetting joins where possible to avoid big clumps of immovable wire and locating the correct colour wires and connectors. I actually quite enjoy this work, its a nice single project where you can clear your mind and just work on something until its done as its small enough to be tackled in an afternoon. Tho de-pinning connectors will have your fingers in tatters for days after even when using the Lisle tools. Downside is that with this one done Iβve probably used all the good loom parts now and defo this has to be my last LC as I donβt have enough left to do another LC loom, but you never know... Lol... Never say never etc Anyway... Some pics... Bridge too far? Nah... Can you spot all the issues? Here are some close ups of some joys... Ive always hated the halfords (Supercheap here) crimps of the 80s and 90s, but how lazy is this! Fusebox delights...
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Post by donkeychomp on Nov 4, 2022 22:33:54 GMT 1
Sheesh. But I bet you can sort it!
Alex
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Post by billbott on Nov 4, 2022 23:28:14 GMT 1
I remember taking out the headlamp bowl on a GT250 I was doing, same crap connectors, half had fallen apart and the other half taped up with masking tape. I bought a bag of male and female bullets, cut every connector off, printed off an A3 colour wiring diagram and methodically wired it all again. All worked first time, quite pleased with myself. Sure itβll be a breeze Jon......
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Post by JonW on Nov 5, 2022 1:08:31 GMT 1
Thanks guys!
Good work Bill. To be honest you did exactly what should have been done in the first place re the repair and thats why it all worked. Ive found that slow and methodical wins the electric race, plus having a wiring diagram is gold when doing any such work.
For the LC there was a high quality image of the colour wiring diagram knocking about on the forum a few years back and I printed and laminated a few up and gave them to my LC mates. I have it (along with others) stuck to my tool box with a magnet so they are easy to locate.
I know a lot of people are frightened of electrics but Ive never been one of them. Ive always wanted to create a wiring loom from scratch and nearly did it with this one, but it wasnt necessary and I figured id keep this part of the build pretty standard cos i could. My plan is to not deviate unless I am forced to.
Re this loom repair: Im currently part way through the work as I didnt have enough time in one sitting to do all the work... those bloody de-pinning jobs just sap your time and energy lol
I'll report back with pics next week, hopefully with another part repaired that will be safely stowed in a box for when the actual build starts.
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Post by JonW on Nov 8, 2022 0:52:56 GMT 1
And onwards.... There were some classics on this one for sure! The number of broken wires was interesting but also the old holes in the cable which I reckon came from testing, although they were much larger than I would have expected. Probably a DIY job or someone who just didnβt care too much jamming a pointed test probe in and wiggling it like crazy... Or maybe a rodent... Nah, there would be more damage. :/ The fuse box fix by repurposing the broken fuse holder by turning it sideways was novel, maybe that was a get you home fix? I did replace this with a NOS Yamaha repair connector, these are very exy now and hard to find. But Ive added the part number in the pics for those who want to seek them out, CMSNL gets them in now and then. I should have said, but those blue crimps in the headlight were all covered in copious blue leccy tape which I didnβt show, madness... Just vile... Anyway, all gone now. There were a few plastic connector blocks swapped out (take pics of the wire order first if you do this, even if you just move one across at the time, mobile phone pics are free...) and new sections were let in and then it all got a good clean up with soap and water as well as some thinners on the overspray and brushed with wax and grease remover to remove some caked on oil/grease. Some blocks were ultrasonically cleaned as well, but Im wary of doing that too much as too much water ingress into the actual copper can kill a loom. After a fry dry outside in the sun I remade the βshapeβ as at this point the loom was looking a bit like a skeleton since Iβd removed the areas of old unravelling outer tape plus some of the single wraps of βholding tapeβ Yamaha uses as bindings. I had to do this in order to get to where sections were cut out or damaged, or just locate sensible places to do joins and/or where I could back to good wire. With those wraps back in place to hold the sections, I then retaped the outer along with tidying the ends of various ends where they had frayed and also remade the ends of rubber tube where I had been forced to slit it. Of course we werenβt totally done yet... It still needed a final continuity test, just to be sure. Iβd done some of this along the way, but its always good to have a final test before you call it complete. Its much easier to do this (let alone any repairs) on a bench than on the bike! I did find one bad wire, in the replaced headlight connector. I swapped that actual connector out for a spare that actually has connector so all I needed to do was crimp one to the now cut loom cable. I considered that a feed from here might come in handy if I wanted to run some extra lights, ie to trigger a relay, weβll see. So with the home straight reached*, I hunted through my Electrics box and found a fuse box lid and clipped new fuses into place before snapping the lid over them. * - can you tell it was Melbourne Cup last week? Thatβs the Aussie equivalent of the Grand National for those who werent aware. Finally it all got wipe over with a vinyl cleaner to get it to look nice. What follows is the βafterβ shots of the loom with all the repairs done. There was one casualty while doing this work sadly. I decided to snip back a fuse connector and in doing so destroyed my small Arhoso side cutters. Ive had these 25-30 years. I cant remember where they came from, but I donβt think I bought them. They were either left in a car I bought or in the bottom of a tool box I expect. They are ahem, βwereβ, a lovely tiny (110mm sized) small angled side cutter that is more like something for cutting nails than a garage tool. I got a loupe out to see if I could find out more about them with the view of locating a new set and found they were branded as made in W. Germany, that gives you an idea as to their age. Sadly the company is only just in business now and donβt make much these days, even more sadly my model 514/F is not even mentioned on their website. So tβwas a sad day, over the years Id got used to them being around and used these for snipping small things on detail jobs... And they were always around for cutting mig wire. My fault they died of course, so Iβll have to buy something else to replace them. RIP old nippers, old friends!
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Post by billbott on Nov 8, 2022 8:08:29 GMT 1
Good work on the loom Jon, looks like a new 'un now. Thankfully, the one on my 250 wasnt too bad except for the right hand switchgear lead, multiple joins wrapped in sticky electrical tape...
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Nov 8, 2022 9:59:21 GMT 1
Looking good Jon π
I have that same multi meter. I got it with my start up tool kit in my first week with the company I work for
That was 1993 π
Steve
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Post by JonW on Nov 8, 2022 12:44:12 GMT 1
Thanks guys!
Steve, I got mine a couple of years earlier. My girlfiend at the time gave it to me as a birthday present as Id wanted one for ages, Robin was a decent brand and he dad who was a plumber got it trade for her. I have a bunch of others now, but this one does continuity the best of all of them... er i mean it beeps the loudest! lol
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Post by donkeychomp on Nov 8, 2022 22:32:50 GMT 1
The Gold Cup you say? Wasn't Camilla Parker-Bowles running in that?
Nice work on the loom mate, maybe there are similar 'nippers' out there for sale...somewhere.
Alex
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Nov 8, 2022 22:56:57 GMT 1
Know what you mean about the cutters
Remember growing up and first messing with wiring in my early teens my dad had a wooden case full of small cutters, strippers and jewellers pliers
When he died and we cleared his house I never found them which saddened me
While going through a tool box I took from his house (although I had most of what was in the box I couldn't bring myself to throw out "good" tools so I stashed it in my garage) years later I found them all wrapped in a roll π
Don't think I need the square brake bleed spanners for a Mini though π
You get so used to individual tools it's disastrous when they break
Steve
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Post by JonW on Nov 9, 2022 0:10:56 GMT 1
The Gold Cup you say? Wasn't Camilla Parker-Bowles running in that? Nice work on the loom mate, maybe there are similar 'nippers' out there for sale...somewhere. Alex Thanks m8. Yes, Ive seen lots of them, some are even in this small size, but most it seems are either cheap and look like crap or are very exy. What I have seen is the specs mean that most wont cut as big an item as the old ones I had. hmm... we'll see I guess, I'll have to buy something.
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Post by JonW on Nov 9, 2022 0:14:18 GMT 1
Know what you mean about the cutters Remember growing up and first messing with wiring in my early teens my dad had a wooden case full of small cutters, strippers and jewellers pliers When he died and we cleared his house I never found them which saddened me While going through a tool box I took from his house (although I had most of what was in the box I couldn't bring myself to throw out "good" tools so I stashed it in my garage) years later I found them all wrapped in a roll π Don't think I need the square brake bleed spanners for a Mini though π You get so used to individual tools it's disastrous when they break
Steve Totally agree Steve, I was totally gutted and my wife wondered what had happened. I'd lost an old friend. funny, but true. Thats great that you did eventually find those tools, it would have been horrible to think they were gone. Ahh the mini brake spanners... I have one in my tool box. I will never use it again thats for sure. I helped a mate clean some twin SUs for a customer a few years back and went for a spin in the car after, scared the hell out of me... tiny car, no protection, sydney roads lol
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Post by dusty350 on Nov 9, 2022 8:33:36 GMT 1
Great work on the loom Jon I've got one to do too- came from the Fzrd bike. Not had a close look yet but I'm expecting lots of bodgery, going by the standard of the rest of the bike !! Dusty
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Post by JonW on Nov 9, 2022 12:45:34 GMT 1
Great work on the loom Jon I've got one to do too- came from the Fzrd bike. Not had a close look yet but I'm expecting lots of bodgery, going by the standard of the rest of the bike !! Dusty Thanks Dusty. Totally agree re yours - Im expecting Scotchlocks on that one and maybe even some bell wire attached by a choccy block... What was that blokes 'race team' name again? Bodgit and Scarper Racing wasnt it?
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Post by dusty350 on Nov 9, 2022 13:49:38 GMT 1
Haha, yea, that would fit perfectly !!π
Dustyπ
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cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
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Post by cnkxu1 on Nov 9, 2022 23:20:16 GMT 1
Funny you mention cutting mig wire. I have a small pair of wire cutters (not a specialty welding pair) that I use just for that and the edges really take a beating. It is particularly tough wire but the small pair just feels right and they have yellow handles so easy to find.
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Post by JonW on Nov 10, 2022 0:02:56 GMT 1
Funny you mention cutting mig wire. I have a small pair of wire cutters (not a specialty welding pair) that I use just for that and the edges really take a beating. It is particularly tough wire but the small pair just feels right and they have yellow handles so easy to find. Yes, that 'feel' is exactly right... the right tool for the job, even if its not actually the right tool
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Post by JonW on Jan 11, 2023 4:38:42 GMT 1
Parts gathering is proceeding slowly, but it is still proceeding! Fear not, the frame is still here and Ive a plan in place to work with a forum mate to build a jig off a frame he's not built up yet and then weld the headstock back on as Id rather not strip one of my builds just to get measurements for all those brackets and also the headstock etc. Ok, timeframe: no this wont happen soon, but it will happen. In the meantime Im all about parts... Mostly those that no one actually wants to use... LOL! I know Ive said it before but wow... Im glad I already had a bunch of LC spares. Used parts have been super hard to find locally and prices for foreign parts, let alone posting them, in this post-covid world has been nothing short of madness. I know in some markets an LC is worth a 'billion bucks' so even ugly parts of them are 'worth real money', but well, they just arent here in Aus. LCs dont command anything like the stratospheric UK prices and even the Canadian values have overtaken us here downunder. Certainly, dont believe asking prices of bikes and ebay parts here in Aus, no one is buying those or paying those prices at least. The local Fb'ers always seem to shout 'too cheap!!!' when almost anything is listed, but their cries are mostly false and Im thinking are there to serve only to bolster their own fleet's values it seems as the bikes and parts offered for big money hang around like a bad smell. Obviously, its very hard to justify spending vast sums of money on really nice parts (often to simply line the pockets of traders whose kids must attend very exy private schools lol) and then paying silly sums for postage to build a bike that everyone knows has had its head cut off. (Er, yeah, that's probably my fault for posting this build on a forum lol Hahaha...) Anyway, I never sell anything, but its crazy to so obviously over capitalise on a bike build when it has an iffy frame. Its been said that I'm crazy, but I promise that im not actually stupid! While that's the state of the nation it seems with finding LC stuff in late 2022/early 2023 when you live in Aus, all is not lost. Im lucky that I belong to a great global community. Not only this forum, but other forums and also mates locally and round the world. To start a build like this without this brotherhood would actually be stupid, which is why no one else had built something from this cut frame i guess lol These people are who is really building this bike. Ive had so many great offers of parts, some FOC and others generously discounted. Sure, Ive not been looking for the top of the barrel, far from it. What ive been searching for is the stuff right at the bottom of those boxes at the back of a garage, attic or shed. The stuff that owners wont ever use but were keeping for a rainy day. Now the dark clouds have gathered and that day is here, lol. I do think my parts gathering has been helped as Ive focused on the battered, the cut, the rashed, the rusty and the broken. The stuff you wouldnt chuck away but also wouldnt generally use yourself. As you might remember, Im always happy to refurb something perceived as useless and save the part if i can... and Ive been doing quite a bit of that for this project. And you know what, I actually love doing it too! So, what's recently been gathered? Well, I found a sensibly priced but gouged grab rail in the UK and a mate (Thanks Lee!) brought that over when he came for New Year along with some other parts from guys on this forum (thanks Steve, Andy, Dusty and others - you know who you are!). That saved a bunch in post, plus i got to have beers with a mate, never a chore! Not everything is old or cheap of course and Ive also placed a bunch of orders with the usual new suppliers for new small parts. We all know how many seals and grommets and attendant small bits n bobs are needed for a bare frame bike build. Exy but new OEM is always what you need with stuff like that, never skimp on cheap rubber... er... (moving on) In case you were wondering, the grab rail will be blasted, welded up and powder coated satin black to match with an outer headlight bezel i reformed from what was a '3D figure of eight', badly rashed unit that a mate was chucking out a while back. That repair took a good few hours of gentle reforming by tapping with bodywork hammers n dollies but I did get there in the end. It was an amazing transformation, real phoenix from the ashes sort of stuff actually and Im much more proud of those efforts than simply buying one new. Last week a forum mate sent me some ignition switches. All 3 were bashed and trashed, cut wires and missing keys etc but 2 were OEM. Had to be worth seeing what I could do with them. I do love a good switch project! Ive stripped and cleaned them up and from the usable parts I reckon I'll be able to make a good one from the bits which is great news for this project. But thats only part of the puzzle, I would also need a fuel cap and a seat lock, plus at least one OEM key... so i could copy it onto an OEM blank as usual. Ages back as a test (gotta keep trying new things) I bought some cheap OEM helmet locks from CMSNL from another Yamaha model in a bid to get new 'old style' keys. Id not had much luck using them so far, but luckily one of these 'new to me' barrels accepted this key. I then went through my 'Lock Scraps' box and found a brand new aftermarket fuel cap (I must have bought this almost 15 years back and never used it) which the key slipped into ok and a seat lock body with a missing helmet lock clip (someone had cut it i think, perhaps to steal someones lid! Eeek.). I figured that maybe i can ignore the lack of Helmet Lock as I'd not use it anyway, so it'll be ok for this project. I also found a seat lock barrel that accepted the same key in there as well. Phew! I now had the base parts for a full set of locks that with some efforts, powder coating and replating plus a new decal would work for this bike and enjoy 2 brand new OEM correct era keys. RESULT! As you can see, a bit of hard work and a little luck means that yet more bits have been reclaimed and reused when they could have been in landfill. Im not a Greenie, but this way I get to enjoy doing my bit I guess. This work is now part done, Ive some more time to be spent fiddling with the tumblers and Ive still to find a new plater as my guy sadly gave it up, but another set of ticks in boxes for the 'parts needed' list. For those who would like to try and do the same thing with the keys, this is the part number of the helmet lock I robbed the keys from: 5T4-F1398-00 IMHO, you'd pay the asking price for two blank 'steel' OEM keys and cutting, so as long as these fit your locks you'll be golden. Its the gamble you take when you buy stuff like this of course, not all A-F keys will fit all locks. FWIW mine were 'B' keys, but i suspect they vary. Also of course, you have a new set of tumblers in this unit for at least one of your own lock barrels, that saves some messing about.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Jan 11, 2023 9:45:22 GMT 1
Good tip on the helmet lock π
I do similar but try to find a new gen fuel cap but then keys are not period.
Steve
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Post by JonW on Jan 11, 2023 23:02:00 GMT 1
Great minds think alike lol. The thing that I struggled with for years was locating old style OEM keys, thats why this was such a bargain to me. The randomness of the A-F range is less helpful, but if you buy enough of them and have enough spares and also some luck it can all come together is what i was getting at lol
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Post by JonW on Feb 16, 2023 5:44:49 GMT 1
In a strange turn of events, and totally out of character for me, I did something today that makes no sense for this project at this point, but what the hell... I dropped in the bodywork for paint! lol! Ok, perhaps not as weird as it sounds when i explain... and to quiet all the cries of 'what bodywork? Its just most of a frame you idiot?!' LOL! Id ordered the tank and panels (and decals) for the dream that was this bike quite a while back when i had no idea if i ever would find a frame. I also had a plan to drop in a bunch of bodywork all at once to my guy. So a full set for this bike went to paint along with my Resto LC's bodywork... yeah remember that one? Its been a while... and also I took in the 251LC's tank for repair after dropping it. My bodywork guy wasnt mega impressed with the workload to be honest and quoted me 'before Christmas'. At least Ive 3 projects moving forwards while i figure a way to pay for all that work lol. No pics, but all new panels and tank from webike with decals from Norbo... pics when its done. As promised.... There are Pics! The bodywork is done!!! Yeah its mid Feb and it was October that I dropped this in... quite a lot of (rain) water has flowed under Aussie bridges over that time, we even celebrated Christmas and new year of course... Ok... There were a few complications, not least cos my painter received 2 complete LCs to paint from me, but also he had to repair and repaint parts of my 251LC's tank... and no one told the painter that the two new tanks should be one black and one white, so he painted them both white to start with... ooops. The white set in the pics below is for my 99% completed LC full 250>350 conversion and resto. I dont think I ever posted about it on here, but it was built in 2017/18 etc, just before the 251LC. Anyway... let's not mention white bikes... pah...! This one is BLACK!!! Ive always wanted a Marsbar. On picking this set up my painted (who is also a lapsed Brit) mumbled a few bars of 'A Mars a day...' as he brought it out. LOL And yes this one is flowcoated and has been super polished... you could dive in... er... that enough of the rain water analogies! The pic shows the view this kit sees while its being stored I guess - it can certainly reflect on its journey so far... (sorry): One of the issues with this job was the decals. I have some advice from my painter - If you want to do a bike with any gold in the decals, get the decals right on the day you need them to go on the bike. This is because the metallic gold delaminates and comes off on the backing. Ive had this before with decals Ive stored for a long time (over a year), but these were not that old to be honest... only a few months, tho who knows how long the seller I got them from had them kicking around. hmm... Anyway, the effect was more time and more cost to sort this out. But, Im happy with the result. I might not be able to rest and play so much since i have to work to pay for this job, but hey it is what it is!
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