Dealing with the DT

[Easy-X]

It's alive... ALIVE!!!

The sun came out for a bit so no time to waste Mixed up some 30:1 to err on the side of caution and hooked up a little test tank.

The carb pissed out fuel from the choke and float overflows... feck but it was probably just some shite in there - I didn't actually clean it out as a) the carb is the wrong one b) it looks pretty battered and c) I'm a lazy fuck - anyhoo it stopped pissing after a bit.

Tried kicking it over a few times. Nothing. Tried the choke. Nothing. Pulled the plug: lovely spark. Tried again. Nothing. Gave it a bit of throttle. Almost! And then it fired up

I had that silencer with the sheared bolts just cable tied to the frame. I wanted to just see if it was actually usable and I was quite surprised it sounded pretty good! Classic 2 smoke sound but not anywhere near as loud as I though it might be. So definitely worth repairing

A couple of amusing asides: I forgot to fit the ignition switch so I'm assuming the busted one has previously been jammed in the running position, handy!

And the kill switch doesn't work

You'd think a bike that hadn't been started in years would die instantly without some attention but nope! Thankfully I'd only fed a few thimbles worth of fuel to the carb so I just left it to run dry

Okay, so probably not really worth all that effort as it's all going to get stripped anyway but I thought it a useful exercise to have "this definitely runs... and runs pretty good!" in the back of your mind when at some point the pile of parts in front of you looks a little overwhelming.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Easy-X]

[Easy-X]

Well as I was successful in starting the engine I thought I'd treat myself by looking at some easy-peasy stuff

The engine scrape plate / protector / stone guard... whatever you want to call it looked like this:

https://i.imgur.com/4W4seUN.jpg?1

Quick buzz of the wire wheel to get rid of the loose stuff:

https://i.imgur.com/cMCC4E3.jpg?1

And then an nice coating of rust converter/protector:

https://i.imgur.com/ndqfVyG.jpg?1

Scratch the stupid comment on powder coating this. The whole point of a guard is to be a sacrificial device to protect the engine. Powder coating would be a waste - it's tough but not indestructible - so I'm just going to spray it with some stone chip underbody paint and repaint it as and when it needs it.

Looking at the seat...

Oh dear! The cover is obviously a write-off - no surprise there. I'm more worried about the state of the metal around the edges. Half the teeth that grip the cover either have or soon will disintegrate:

https://i.imgur.com/wVF9M6c.jpg?1

And the rest of the metal around the edge? Well I'm not sure it is metal any more:

https://i.imgur.com/LLLIDa4.jpg?1

Seat covers, no problem. Shaving foam to size, straightforward. That edge though

Comments welcome
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[redeem ouzzer]

The seat cover can be glued in place if the spikes are majority rusted to bits / missing. As to the rest of the rot, I’d get it blasted and see what’s left.
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Be a REAL MAN!

[WD Forte]

In my experience the seat often rot badly under the foam where moisture has been held in contact with the base
You'll see how good/bad it is when you take to foam off.
Nil desperendum though old boy,
my seat was worse than yours when I repaired it

As for edges:
Go to your local upholstery shop and buy tacking strip
It's usually galvanised and dead cheap
Just be warned the spikes dont like to be worked much
so if you have keep repositioning the cover they may break off.

https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.cTZDsFOD2XUF_JD6fgbZEQHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1
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bikers smell of wee

[stinkwheel]

Just pull the seat material further towards the middle and secure it with pop rivets or self tappers. Or even a heavy duty staple gun might be man enough to pop through the steel, works on plastic ones.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Easy-X]

BCF... the gift that keeps on giving! You've cheered me up no end with your suggestions, chaps

I did click buy on one of those cheap Chinese generic seats... I would say I feel a little foolish for being so hasty but a) it was only £15 and b) there aren't as many good condition seat pans about - for reasonable money - as one would hope these days. It'll be an interesting side experiment to attempt adapting it anyway.

Anyhoo, we shall see what is left tomorrow if I have some time
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Bubbs]

Nothing to add, just commenting to watch the thread.

Looks like a cool project.
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Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[stinkwheel]

I did consider making a layup mould of a rusty seatpan and making my own out of fiberglass at one point.

It turns out I'm too lazy.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Easy-X]

[stinkwheel]

[Easy-X]

Oh dear, "you know nothing, John Snow!" colour me educated. I somehow pictured you moulding something out of the old seat pan itself
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[WD Forte]

Go Low carbon dude

Cover inside of seat with cling film
Shutter ends with old plywood/hardboard/gaffer taoe
pour in concrete
let it set then turn it over.
Nick a neighbours wheelie bin one night empty it into another
neighbours bin and
cut large sheets out of it and hide the evidence!

use a hot air gun and mould it to shape
trim edges and Bobs yer uncle, new rot proof seat pan
c'est magnifique!


When the neighbours ask if you've seen their bin just lie like fuck
say probly crusties/pikeys/johnny foreigner and stuff and shake your head
tutting in disgust
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bikers smell of wee

[Sister Sledge]

[Easy-X]

[WD Forte]

On one forum I'm on you get 'Galvanic corrosion!" screamed at you if you suggest using SS bolts in Alloy cases
Steel is less reactive and some SS bolts aren't as strong as the steel ones they replace

You pays yer money and all that
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bikers smell of wee

[Easy-X]

[WD Forte]

I tend to use the original steel bolts cleaned up but will and have used a SS bolt or screw at times
Mostly in steel though.
I have SS hex head cap screws in my alloy bar switches
which have been in there for a few years now and I saw no signs of
corrosion recently when feckin about with the bars and stuff.

I also have two 10mm bolts for the rear engine mounts and they
show no signs volcanic corruption after 10 years in all weathers either.

Mind you I do tend to slather grease on any bolts I fit which probably has insulating properties.
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bikers smell of wee

[Sister Sledge]

For the price and because of how you electronically tinker I'd just buy those cheapo switches. You can replace internal contacts at will if they're rubbish - because you know how to. (I can't help but think that one person is employed by the manufacturer to only paint the red into the switch body - soul destroying stuff!)

With regards how far to take the restoration. Number one is safety. Number two I'd say is stopping any more corrosion. Honestly as long as it runs OK and sounds OK then I wouldn't complain.
Once it's road legal you won't give a sh*t anyway - you'll be grinning and caring about nothing.
Perhaps in years to come a partial restoration will make it desirable to some buyers - the main work is done with log book and getting it running reliably?

Just looking at the frame, wheels and engine in it like that and I know exactly what it feels like to ride. How it handles, the sounds, the smells.
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CCM 404 DS

[stevo as b4]

Your post sums up this person and project perfectly. We will have to give some encouragement to an electronics autist to go full out on at least a few crazy invented problems to solve and indulge their creativity.

This was never going to be a simple take it all apart, de-rust it, paint it, restore the separate parts and bolt it all back together job, you'd be crazy to think that logically.

But people are mentioning galvanic corrosion and you can see that's making OP's brain cogs spool to N1 speed. It's a poser and a conundrum and a point of contention or for's and againsts, and this sort of individual just loves things like that.

Never the less it's a good project base, a cool bike and I'm interested in seeing it done no matter what direction it takes with OP at the healm. I forecast lots of questions and agonising over the mechanicals too, and maybe stuff like 3pages of debate on the relationship between compression pressure and squish clearance.

I think most BCF'ers who've built a few a few bikes agree that getting stuff done to an Mot safe standard and keeping up the momentum of a project are the key things. Agonising, indecision and not making a few guesses along the way are the enemy of finishing projects. Making 10bad decisions that one day may cause an issue is called gaining experience and its far more valuable than a theoretical perfect incomplete bike.

[stinkwheel]

I'd ask myself, what's it for?

If you want to go enter it in a show, well stay original.

If you want to ride it. Do what seems sensible, cost effective and functional.

I just painted my 350 bullet frame with grey skip paint (cold cure machine enamel). Sensible: tick. Cost effective: tick. Functional: Tick. In any way original? Nope. Will upset purists? Not as much as fitting metric fasteners and definately not as much as fitting japanese switchgear's going to.

They £80 ebay special shocks are going to cause apoplexy.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[WD Forte]

I have simple rules
Build a good bike first, make it look pretty later ( only if you want to of course)

Most bike purists are terrfied to ride the feckers after an obsessive rebuld lest it get wet/dirty/scratched or horror of horrors,used.
Cant be doing with that attitude myself and have enjoyed winding guys up when they say "it's only done (piddling) miles"
I ask "Why? what's wrong with it?"
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bikers smell of wee

[Easy-X]

[Easy-X]

Indicators came up nice, before:

https://i.imgur.com/OVbHyjE.jpg?1

After:

https://i.imgur.com/2U93xfy.jpg?1

Done all four tonight. I dunno what the two spare indicator assemblies were from - the mounts look like you'd put them somewhere around the forks rather than on the handlebars - but the lens are the same and I needed a donor for a cracked one plus a mashed rubber sealing ring.

Made a note of the bolt/nut/washer sizes while I was at it. The bolts especially have a tendency to disintegrate into rust as I found on the old scooter rebuild.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[WD Forte]

Well that's a bit disappointing.
This is BCF, when the photographer gets in a reflection
we like to see they're only wearing their filthy underpants and string vest
or a dressing gown falls open to reveal the horrors beneath.
Moar shame and embarassment needed
4/10 must try harder

summat like this

https://imgur.com/lIL2NmO.jpg
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bikers smell of wee