Time to overhaul the Zed

[mentalboy]

Ordinarily I'd be giving the old girl a good service at this time of year but one or two external factors have come into play and I've decided it's time to tart her up.
A decision made easier with the acquisition of a small four legged friend, getting held up on the 'Blade' project, crappy weather and some niggling issues with handling.

This was taken last year when she was looking like she'd just come out of the factory(ish)
https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5050403.jpg~original

More pics to follow. At the moment I've stripped off the fairing to get a better look, with at least the following needing attention:

Respray - thanks to a minor off early last summer, also entailing some glass rebuilding/filler work;

Repair loose Instrument panel, caused by snapped mounting lugs;

Attempt to source new fork lower legs as they've got loads of play in them, despite having new bushes;

Replace rear swing arm bearings;

Replace oil in the rear shock and hope that it's not knackered;

Attend to some small corrosion on rear peg hangers and forward engine mounts;

New pads and fluids throughout;

Possible refurb on brake calipers;

Look for nasty engine vibration and investigate why there's no fluid in rad;

And all the usual spit and polish jobs.

All the above was starting to make an indicated 150 mildly interesting
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[_mjs_]

Looking forward to this one, I'm planning on a ZZR next
____________________
Previous Bikes: 2006 Honda XR125L > 2003 Yamaha DT125R > 1996 Honda CB500
Current bikes: 1997 Kawasaki ZZR 600 E5 > 2006 Honda Varadero XL125V

[mentalboy]

Fibreglassing is one of my pet hates but it had to be done.

Usually I'd use a mat but went for woven this time so I'm hoping that it will hold (woven's a bit stiffer than mat and doesn't like corners or undulations).

The upper fairing came out well, with last years road damage glassing nicely on the inside - I'll fill and fair the split on the exterior - Primer was laid up on it before I got the camera out, but this makes it easier to spot nasties that need attention.
Those of you with an eagle eye will have noticed the damage to fastening holes on the lower nearside edge, so the drill will be coming out soon.

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/087.jpg~original

The interiors will all be tidied up and painted matt black

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/089.jpg~original

The middle fairing piece that took the brunt of the accident needed no more than a fill and fair
I have taken the opportunity to mend the bodge that the dealer did to the lower edge on the other side when they unloaded it off the van when I bought her. It had an ally plate riveted inside to hold everything together, so to keep things simple I glassed over the whole bodge!

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/095.jpg~original

And the same with the outer face, a quick key up followed by glass and the whole lot's now ready for fairing and sanding

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/093.jpg~original

The front mudguard is still undergoing surgery as it was a right mess with broken lugs and a broken mounting fin.
Tank awaiting primer

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/097.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/096.jpg~original

Final colour scheme should be a light peugoet metallic blue, broken up with graphite darts.

More to follow!!!
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[BigDan1190]

Looking forward to this!

[mentalboy]

Finally finished the glasswork, the new lugs on the mudguard proved to be a pain but I did get there in the end... (hmm, time to clean the camera lens)

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1230234_zpsf0c74b83.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1230235_zps7c257f97.jpg~original

Still got some tidying up to do!

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260236_zps681bc305.jpg~original

My mate has been busy throwing sticky stuff at the panels, so I've now got a lacquered tank and back end...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260241_zpsa41eb385.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260242_zps824dd564.jpg~original

... And the main fairing is awaiting lacquer...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260243_zpsd953c88e.jpg~original

The rear shock was removed and upon close inspection I have decided not to tinker with the spring settings due to a lack of thread ...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260240_zpsfd6001b9.jpg~original


I have however removed the nasty muck from inside that used to be called oil, swilled out with clean and refilled with Silkoline Pro RSF10 - bit of a judgement call on that one as no-one specifies the oil type for shockers.

Then set about looking for a fluid leak, *@@*!, as the following pic demonstrates there would appear to be a hole in the rad....

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P1260246_zps6fb1fc6d.jpg~original

... Should keep me busy for a little while!!
I'll take this off and see if I can soft solder it and take the opportunity whilst it's off to try to recover some of the fins.

On the plus side the plugs look good
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

The Zed now has a nice shiny new wardrobe that's awaiting a polish. The whole lot has been put out of the way to prevent damage whilst I mess with the mechanicals.

The rear shock seems to have re-acquired a good dampimg action, amazing what 90-100 psi and clean oil can do
As previous pics demonstrate the spring is now well beyond any kind of adjustment so I thought stuff it, I'll clean the spring up as best as possible and put it back on the bike - then I'll try to forget about it until it goes pop!!! In order to tidy it up a bit I've used an old shipwrighting trick. Clean back rust with a wire brush (in an ideal world you go back to clean metal then leave the item out overnight to fur up with new rust), then dowse item in linseed oil and wipe off excess. Result - rust absorbs linseed, turns black, goes nice and hard and prevents further corrosion. As it's not an ideal world I've just cleaned back and slapped the stuff on, not looking too bad for a half job!...
https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/010_zps39249203.jpg~original

The lugs on the instrument panel frame are now welded back in place so the panel will no longer lurch towards my helmet every time I yank the throttle open - which is nice!
I even dumped some black paint from a rattler that we use for guide coats which tidied the whole thing up and should keep rot at bay for a little while.
Whilst the panel was off I took the opportunity to replace blown dash bulbs and open it up to clean up the scuzz that had formed on the underside of the screens so that I can now see all the dials.

The radiator has been relegated to the same status as the shocker, ie it works but probably not for much longer so I'll be keeping my eyes open for something else to replace it with. It's missing about 15% of the cooling fins and more than 40% of the remaining ones are fairly well mashed. A leakdown test has not revealed leakage (yet) so the soldering iron can stay in it's box, that just leaves the question of where did the fuid come from that I could see in the middle of the worst damaged part of the rad and where has the rest of it gone????

I had to offer up the refurbed mudguard to drill out the new lugs and took the calipers off to make access easier. This revealed pads that weren't quite down to the metal - a couple of hundred miles would probably have done for them - and a load of black crud where the pistons should be, which I'm not that keen to push in looking like that.
https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/004_zpscdd240dc.jpg~original
So today I removed one of the calipers and stripped it down, despite the way it looked it was probably the easiest and cleanest caliper I've ever done. The gold paintwork's a bit scabby but the interior came up shining
https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/006_zps5fd21c42.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/007_zps5adc572d.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/009_zpsa653c11b.jpg~original

Early next week I hope to get on the other caliper and have a look at the rear - that one should be even easier as I stripped it only last summer.

EDIT: For those of you wondering, yes I do work in a shitpit, I hate the place being messy but seem to work best when I have to clear 6" square working room on a bench and then cram my workpiece into it
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[BigDan1190]

good pics, looks like a lot of progress being made!!

In terms of shock - have you considered one of those R&G shock socks? Bout £20 and they do the job well.

[mentalboy]

Shock sock? I must get on google, not the foggiest what that is but I suspect they cover up the shock and hide nasties without actually fixing them. If that's the case I'll save the £20 to put towards a replacement.
At the end of the day it's a 19 year old bike that I like to hoon round on and cleaning's never really been top of my list of favourite pastimes, I'll probably just get her up to acceptable service limits then hit the road again, my other project will probably be the one that gets the spit and polish treatment!

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=245354
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[StevenF]

[mentalboy]

Brake calipers stripped, rebuilt and bled through
Being a proper tight wad I reused the old seals ( and yes I did get the main seal in the right way up!), they bled through nicely and I even took the opportunity to slap a load of nickel grease on the backs of the new pads ( bloody marvellous stuff, got a tin of the stuff off a gas turbine engineer back in 1991 and it just seems to last for ever)

Strapped the back end down which lifted up the front end and it would appear that there is some play in the steering head so I'll be sorting that out next. Whilst the forks are out I might as well spray up the shrouds and top yoke. It's not worth stripping the forks as I did the seals at the beginning of 2012.
The radiator has still not leaked, so it's back to hunting through pipe work to look for nasties.
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Sometimes I wonder whether I should just bury my head in the sand and leave stuff well alone!
Having removed the top yoke nut (which entailed an excessive amount of grunting on a breaker bar) I then undid the headstock nut which was not even finger tight.
Not overly amused as replacing knackered head bearings was the only job I asked the dealer to do when I bought the bike. They assured me that they'd done this so I was not particularly happy when I had to call them up a day or two later and ask them to tighten it up properly (especially as the monkey who collected the bike managed to break the aft end of the belly pan loading it up, which they then bodged together with a bit of scabby ally and four rivets - and before you ask this is supposed to be one of Torbay's most reputable bike dealers, not some back street garage where they'd actually look after your machine )
18000 miles of loose headstock has done this to the lower bearing face...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/036_zps2824b703.jpg~original

After some well chosen words, not helped by a lack of funds, I decided to leave it in place and directed some pent up anger into some 600 grit wet and dry - which left me with this...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/037_zps6cf82333.jpg~original

.. Result.

Whilst I had the gritty stuff out I dressed the forks, yokes and bars and got some primer on all but the lower yoke. Out of sight, out of mind - so it got a quick blast with a black rattler, cleaned up the bearings and got the headbearings back together. Not too notchy, the nut's nearly at it's required torque (29lb/ft) and no play

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/035_zpse6a0c722.jpg~original

Whilst my oppo gets busy colouring up the primed bits I've decided to go the whole hog and check the valve clearances next as I reckon it's time to find the engine vibration (although I'm hoping it was down to so many steering/suspension faults)

And so it goes on...
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

It's not just a vicious rumour, not only do I have a bike or two but I've also been known to work on them occasionally!
Painting is now done, all but the rims (which will be done when I need new tyres - not long then ) and I've even managed to get the front end looking more like a motorcycle rather than a Tracy Emin exhibit!

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/KAREN-PC/P4090093_zpseaea4f63.jpg~original

The more observant amongst you will notice a clutch cover abandoned behind the front end. I thought I'd best check out the racket coming from that neck of the woods as these machines are known for starter clutch chain tensioner failure - which is not what you want happening when pootling along!
Hmm...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/KAREN-PC/P4090089_zpsbd09f44a.jpg~original

... I'm sure the dog didn't do that before I'd had a chance to look at it ...
... For those interested who've not stuck their nose into a kwak or other machine with the same tensioner problems you can see just how the problem occurs. When the clutch is pulled in the plate moves out towards the tensioner and has about 2mm of clearance, with a bit of wear on the tensioner the above happens...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/KAREN-PC/P4090092_zpsc7960f53.jpg~original

... luckily for me a previous owner had the grief and replaced the tensioner so mine doesn't look like a jack hammer's been at it! Just to be on the safe side I've removed the plate and cleaned up the burrs with a ... power sander ... One new gasket and you'd never know I'd been in there!

Yet more bodgetastic stuff with the radiator. The lower mount lug stayed on it's mount when I removed the rad, thanks to excessive corrosion. I had it on good authority that a good rad bodge when you've got an absence of metal to bodge to, is to mix up some fibreglass resin and pack it out with glass and wood fibres (NOT homemade ) which makes a good hard filler - a bit like chemical metal but lots cheaper. A quick blast over with BBQ black paint and the rad looks like new - not (I may get a photo up if I experience a loss of shyness )

For those who are thinking OMG it's Jivebunny, you'll be glad to hear the next installment from me will be about swing arm bearing replacement as I've now got the bearings - lots more bodging to look forward to then, I might even use a big hammer
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[Sako]

looking forward t o seeing the rest. can't beat a good project thread!

[mentalboy]

[mentalboy]

Ok, so here's the, albeit shite quality, photo of my rad lug bodge

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P4230096_zps79cdea3a.jpg~original

And for those who recall I took a pic prior to rad's removal which revealed a nasty rusty lump which turned out to be the cooling fan.
Amazing what can be done with a wire brush and that can of BBQ paint

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P4230097_zps88c2cc5e.jpg~original

Not looking too grim, if I say so myself.

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P4230098_zps03bca1a5.jpg~original

So today's brief was to check valve clearances. Haynes manual of lies states 'remove coolant pipe that runs over rocker top and remove rocker'. They must have had a joker writing up that day!

No coolant pipe, pic shows coils removed and breather unit, which was closely followed by lefthand coil mount and carb cables

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P4230095_zps470725b8.jpg~original

Hmm, this may explain the vibration I've had for x amount of miles, not funny, 10 shims needed and the little collection of 'blade ones I've acquired are too small a diameter

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P4230100_zps0db1c934.jpg~original


And so it continues......
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[BigDan1190]

Sounds like you've really got your work cut out! Keep it up though boss!

[mentalboy]

Today's tip... following a conversation at my local supplier I was faced with a choice. When I first ordered my valve shims I didn't realise I had this choice. I have considered valve shim sets in the past but always thought they'd cost an arm and a leg.
So I ordered 10 shims which( for the privilege of using an independent supplier) were going to set me back £77inc, before discount. Turns out only half the order was delivered, whereupon the boss says 'no worries I'll raid the workshop set, why don't you get one of those instead?'

Me: 'Eh?'

'Yeah, they're under £90 inc'

So choice time £77ish for 10 shims or £90ish for 141???
Not only are these sets not actively promoted, it allows for redoing shims and if you are short the manufacturer will supply top up bags of 5 identical sized shims for £20. Not sure if you can do this on the net but my supplier reckons that Wiseco will only supply refills if you've bought the set??? Must check out if that's kosher info they've given me! Luckily I went for the set rather than the 10 as I'm having a few problems with the <0.05 measured sizes settling down. Think there may be carbon issues going on down there!

So, after a short day, complicated by a valve collet appearing in the outermost number 1 inlet valve spring top, thus requiring camshaft removal to replace, I'm now left with only four incorrect sizes to do (and still a shim short )
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Today I 'ave been mostly... removing the swingarm!

Once I'd cleaned it up it didn't look too grim.

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5030136_zpsdb66d58a.jpg~original

The ball bearing was the culprit for all the movement down there, probably not helped by this little lot sat on the roller bearing next to it!


https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5030139_zps335a811c.jpg~original

And just to add to the mix, it looks as though I'll be going back to my supplier for a full set of linkage bearings

By next week the whole lot should have a nicer shiny silver coat (as it's the only sensible colour lurking in the paint cabinet).

But the head cover is now back where it should be, complete with 16 valves meeting their tolerances
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Following my return from a week with my bro in sunny Bury St Edmunds, I've managed to remove the linkage.
What a complete and utter ******. In order to remove the bolt that connects the linkage to the frame I had to drop the down pipes (which unbolted easily but proved to be a bit of a task to ease off) and to do this I had to remove the freshly wedged rad - all to get out one bolt!
Glad I did though as said bolt (which was showing the most play in the linkage) was bent????
Being the cheapskate that I am, I'm just replacing the set that this bolt runs through and the set that connects the rods to the swing arm - the other two sets are servicable. A move I'll probably regret in three months time!


Returned to find swing arm and caliper torque arm in primer...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5120149_zps055ee79c.jpg~original

... they should be silver by ten tomorrow morning

And here's a quick pictorial in the use of linseed oil on rusty stuff. I've used this method rather than repaint because the linkage rods would ideally require shotblasting to get them clean enough to hold paint - at this moment there's nothing to go for blasting and I'm not walking over to the other side of the quarry just for two itsy bitsy rods
First brush off crud (as seen in top rod)
Then wire brush back until you get bored (as seen in the lower rod)...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5040140_zps215c5919.jpg~original


...Then copiously lag up item and wipe off excess.
Voila ....

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5040141_zps892305ab.jpg~original

... Seemples. All ready to bolt back on
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Spent what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time today armed with a toothbrush - prepping parts for refit when I receive new linkage parts.

Also stripped the rear caliper, which is hopefully the last piece of dismantling on this little project

The pads I fitted 12 months ago were mullered and the caliper did not look healthy. Both dust seals were pinched and making the pistons bind. Pushed out the first piston by sticking a 10mm punch down the fluid inlet and using a vice to press it out.

Yuck...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5130002_zpsb0540ed9.jpg~original

... That muck around the piston's midriff is ally corrosion, luckily the pistons were clean.

So there's also a seal set winging it's way to me. Thought I'd tart up the caliper body and a few other tatties. I don't usually paint stuff if I can help it (why do it when you've got someone else who can ), mostly because I can't be good at everything! Made an exception today and hand brushed the bits with a camel hair brush.
Looks better than the muck someone had previously slapped on it...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5130005_zps9d0dcdbc.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5130006_zps91b91518.jpg~original

... So now I'm stuck until an assortment of goodies arrive at my supplier.
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Yippee - today I have the last of the spares needed to rebuild the beast

So this evening I've rebuilt the rear caliper, replaced the frame to linkage bearing set and cleaned the two remaining sets in the linkage arm - not nice. They've taken two hours with copious amounts of thinners to get the bearings moving again and gone from having no movement (either laterally or rolling wise) to having both. Really should have got new but my nice new grease gun should take up some of the play

So here's this evenings efforts! I've included all the new bits, the caliper and the linkage - and all thoughtfully placed!

Where's wally?....

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5160008_zps3bed59c9.jpg~original
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

More woes today - what fool tries to keep a twenty year old beast running as a hard use daily hack?

First up was to drift the main bearings into the swing arm. Mr cheapskate has opted to use plastic bushes rather than the roller bearings originally used. They pushed in great with a good interference fit unlike the steel sleeve that bears on them. I'd previously found the frame to linkage one tight and in need of some careful thought to stop the sleeve drifting out the new bush - but it wasn't too much grief.
Not so the swing arm main sleeve, after working up a sweat beating it in like some deranged navvy I'd run out of enthusiasm and was only half way down the tube. So I used my brain and pushed it in with a large sash cramp - bit of a balancing act but it worked a treat.

These plastic bearings may be half the price of rollers and purportedly last longer but I'll think carefully before using them again, they're tighter than a scotsman's wallet.

Hanging the whole lot went, remarkably, without a hitch.
All clean and ready for another decade...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5170010_zps7b7c67a3.jpg~original

So on to the exhaust downpipes. Clean first just to spank up appearance. I decided to start by poking a torch down the shortest rear pipe to have a look into the collector. Beautifully clean Then ....WTF ....

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5170009_zps468b564e.jpg~original

... That's right second weld on the left has been accessorised and has a rather fetching crack running across two faces.
Off to the welder man and twenty minutes later the collector is being abused by a can of BBQ paint to tidy it up - I had planned on doing the headers but the muck in the bottom of the rattler only went as far as their bases.


Now when I'd dropped these they took a good deal of encouragement to remove. The headers only move forward and back due to being horizontal whereas the rearmost fixing bolt sits on a lug snugly behind the oil filter housing and will only locate verticaly. Hmmm.

Thinks to myself, it'll be easier to locate headers first. So pinned loosely in place with two of the cramps I looked at the rear. Now there's a sight - the locating lug appears to fit snugly BUT against the bolt of the oil filter housing, approximately two inches short of it's destination???? Lots of grunting later and it's definitely not going to fit that way.
At this point it may be sensible to point out that she's wearing a pair of Nexxus pipes onto what looks very much like a one off set of pipes and collector. ie not by any sense original.

So we'll try to locate the rear lug then offer up the headers. This was no more successful with the pipes sitting nicely below each of their ports.
Follows plenty of this... ....

And this... ...

A bit of this... ...

More of this...

Solution: Place two blocks under collector then root round (for quite a while) and find big pinch bar. Place bar between blocks which were a snug fit under collector and lever apart. Thus raising the collector in relation to the engine.

Now the more astute/ worldly wise amongst you will probably have a good idea of what happens next...

...One ZZR previously stood on it's centre stand now balanced precariously on my itsy bitsy block and it's front tyre...

...Crap...

More of this... ...

And... ...

I'll apply just enough preessure to lightly balance my quarter ton rocket on it's stand, using my left leg to apply pressure on the bar whilst lying under headers and work each one into place gradually!

Several combinations later I found I could do it by working the whole lot from the offside first using this method.

Some odds and ends later and I'd had enough for the day, but my little brain had started to chant 'bike, road, MOT, Monday' over and over.
So I've collected up all the bits remaining and put them in the only clear space in the workshop - the spray booth.
Crap, where did all that lot come from, I've still got a bench full of crud, loose bits on and around the bike and carbs to balance. ...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5170011_zpsd5c2996b.jpg~original

... it's going to be a very busy weekend ahead...
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

Yet another day of toothbrush/thinners tedium. Today the rear wheel, undertray and exhausts were the grateful recipients.

I did the rear wheel more as prep work for it's anticipated respray, which will probably be done in July whilst I'm away. Both mufflers are in a miserable state and will need a wire brush in several places where the dead rust was up to 2mm thick.

First job this a.m though was to fashion a bracket to stop the bottom of the cooling fan beating the rad to death. My fibreglass bodge on the bottom of the rad was missing the lug that the bottom of the fan bolts onto.
The lug in the middle of the picture is the bit that needs anchoring...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5180012_zps15ac0efd.jpg~original

After a little rooting around and head scratching I found something to do the job. Half an hour later and I went from one angle bracket to this...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5180013_zps563c5e09.jpg~original

Didn't even need to do any drilling
And this is the result...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5180016_zps4dc92ecb.jpg~original

Next on the list was easy. Coolant refill and oil/filter change.
Followed closely by undertray installment and hooking up loom.
Rear end then got the treatment. Nice to grab the wheel and not have any movement

Thoroughly bored with tinkering with filthy bits I debagged the carbs and various air hoses, hooked up a slave fuel tank and started her up Sounds a tad healthier, even without the cans hooked up!

She's starting to look a little more businesslike...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5180017_zpsb6a43a99.jpg~original

* note the small eye bolt on the floor behind her left flank. Two of these make a great anchor point for lifting up front end (by strapping rear that is!)
Carb balancing and rear caliper bleeding on the cards for tomorrow.
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

A quiet day sunday meant I only managed to bleed through the rear caliper and clean the mufflers - nearly all the rust spots were in those hard to reach places when mounted on the bike and quite often get missed when cleaning.
I'd say it really is worth the PITA time spent cleaning the whole surface area when washing the bike because it really does extend the life of your cans. As it was all the rust spots have now received the linseed treatment which will hopefully keep the rot at bay (not something I've tried before on rotting chrome so fingers well and truly crossed!) and all but a rub spot from the side stand and a lovely scuff from dropping her all other spots are out of general sight.
The rear hangers (when I'd eventually found them ) were minging so several hours later they went from this to this...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5190001_zps70a29b8d.jpg~original

... much better

So with pegs hung and cans mounted my next job would have been to balance the carbs but I spotted the side stand rubbing on the nearside can and thought it best to take preventative measures.
I presume that the original would have had enough clearance but with aftermarkets fitted the side stand hits them before the stop.
Solution - stuck an M5 nut on the stand stop with some PU glue, cleaned the stand up, made up a plastic washer to remove some of the side play amd painted the whole lot...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200011_zps7f400568.jpg~original

... note the nasty 'washer' created from the lid of a 500g coffee tub (like most things I take coffee to excess as well ) and the nut just visible at top of stand

On to carbs. Now I've always used one of these for balancing carbs because I've found them easier to settle down in the past...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200005_zpsd8c8a9ea.jpg~original

... note variation in dials (after engine brought to running temperature)

So armed with these...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200010_zpse537b372.jpg~original

... I could get started.

Pliers are to remove and relocate the two central vacuum bungs which are flippin' awkward to get to. The drift is handy to push them back into place, as I've had problems in the past using pliers or screwdrivers as they've sometimes pierced the bung .
Screwdriver to adjust screws and we're off.

A bit of tweaking later and we've got this...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200006_zps092574fc.jpg~original

Looks OK eh? So my little brain says why do people prefer these?...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200007_zps3bc218aa.jpg~original

... And we can see why! This is the reading after I'd already balanced them off the other unit. Way off the 2cmHG acceptable tolerance.
Now I'm fortunate enough to own both of these manometers but if you've yet to buy/borrow one I'd recommend the steel rod type over the gauge type (mercury is supposed to be better again but EU blah, blah, blah means you'll only find them on fleabay, etc)

So back out comes the posi driver until we've got this...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5200008_zps4a743528.jpg~original

... bugger! They looked good when the camera booted up, so a little more fiddling and they're now bang on

Surprising the difference a bit of tweaking on carbs can do. When I started the whole process she was hunting a little, now smooth as a baby's butt
____________________
Make mine a Corona.

[mentalboy]

And into the final furlong...

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5210004_zpsad831ad4.jpg~original

https://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r601/mentalboy1/P5210002_zpsa1c8ecae.jpg~original

...Hefting her around yesterday I remembered the centre stand's reluctance to return happily and it was absolutely hanging. So it's now silver, yuck, must get some more black.
I'd have finished today but for the fact that the panels hadn't been polished and four month old lacquer is somewhat hard

Tomorrow evening will see the final four panels all smooth, shiny and fitted. So roll on MOT on friday
Once that's out of the way I'm off to spend another £20 on odds and sods (inc that sodding linkage bearing!) and once more I'll be terrorising grannies and kittens, just in time for the grockles.
And just in time to lay her up for the summer whilst I go walkabout
____________________
Make mine a Corona.