New addition to the garage - now with bonus MOT

[ajbsmirnoff]

Superb thread.

[UnspeedySam]

Thanks for the update, you've got a dead cool bike there even if it does need work.

Pardon my ignorance, but were all these old 80s bikes designed for 4-star, and if so do you have to continue to hunt around for the fuel or just run them on unleaded?
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Riding: Does an Audi estate count?
Fixing: Honda VFR750 RC36 '94 and MZ ETZ 251 '90
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01,Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[Robby]

All Japanese bikes since a very long time ago are designed for unleaded, but are equally happy on leaded petrol.

This bike is in surprisingly good condition, even the stanchions are good and head bearings are smooth. Most of the switches are gummed up and corroded, but operating them a few times get some of them going - certainly the horn and kill switch went from dead to working by operating the switch about 20 times. Sadly not the starter button, but the boy is stripping that. The solenoid may also be corroded stuck, but it can be stripped and sorted.

The finish is light years better than modern bikes, I'd say on a par with BMW finish. You can see why when hefting it onto the centre stand and pushing it around though, it's extremely heavy.

[UnspeedySam]

Ah good, because I've been looking at a few 80s bikes for when I pass my test. Found a slightly ratty looking Honda VF400 in a local bike shop yesterday
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Riding: Does an Audi estate count?
Fixing: Honda VFR750 RC36 '94 and MZ ETZ 251 '90
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01,Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[nowhere.elysium]

'The boy'? Cheeky git. Still, you know infinitely more about 80s bikes than I do, so I'll let that one go, this time.

As Robby says, most Jap bikes from the beginning of the 80s onwards are guaranteed to run on unleaded. I believe that the Japanese have had unleaded fuel since the 70s.

I didn't get the opportunity to strip the switchgear properly yesterday, on account of having my parents over for dinner, which had to take priority. Hopefully, I'll have something to report on this by tonight/tomorrow.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Kickstart]

[Robby]

Fixed that switch yet boy?

[nowhere.elysium]

[Robby]

Saturday I'm fiddling with one of my own, might be able to come over on Sunday then. Fix the switch and see if it'll start, if it won't then fix the solenoid.

[nowhere.elysium]

Stripped, cleaned, tested and fixed the switchgear now, and photos will follow shortly.
Starter solenoid appears to be toast, though. I've stripped it down, and checked the winding for continuity, only to discover there isn't any.

I can get hold of one for £40, but unfortunately, I lack £40 at the moment. Tits.
Anyone got any workaround suggestions?

:edit:
are there likely to be any adverse effects if I temporarily bodge* the starter solenoid off my Chinese bike on there, for the sake of seeing if I can convince it to start?

*The earth wire fits differently. Other than that, it looks similar.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[Robby]

A solenoid is effectively just a chunky relay, so it should work. Give it a go and see.

How dirty was the switchgear?

[nowhere.elysium]

[Blau Zedong]

Just seen this, looks a fun project. I think most of the issues you'll have in getting it to fire up, and run will be related to the fuel system, and I have a feeling you'll be exploring the deepest darkest reaches of the carbs before too long as they'll be full of nasty tar from gone off petrol. Rest of it looks OK, and they are pretty solid bikes.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[nowhere.elysium]

[virus]

Check:

Mechanical advancer isn't seized, its a counterweight spring affair under the left hand crankcase if i remember correctly.

Carb slides are coming down correctly, remove carbs, lift the pots one at a time and see if they come all the way down firmly but slowly, if not you've got leaky diaphragms or crap in the body between the slide and the inner wall.

Pilot jets, id expect them to be brass and tar plugs by now rather than precise holes, fag lighter refill can is good for clearing these just dont cold burn your hands.

earth points, both battery to frame and coils to frame, the bolt that mounts them to the frame supplies earth so if theres corrosion all over it then it wont be helping.


Oh and you should be alright on solenoid bodging, as robby says its just a big relay, if anything dies it'l be the chinky solenoid and not the bike so its all good.


Cheers
John
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own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[nowhere.elysium]

[Blau Zedong]

[virus]

they were transistorised blue, no points but still got a mechanical advancer.


Cheers
John
____________________
own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[Robby]

This month's issue of motorcycle mechanics has a full feature on cleaning out rusty fuel tanks, which is timely. Worth getting, but the basic jist is:

1. Empty the tank, pop in a couple of detergent or dishwasher tablets and fill it with boiling water. Leave for a few hours, moving occasionally to make sure that all sides of the tank get a good soaking.

2. Empty, rinse with water.

3. Fill with an acid strip solution - various acids do this, although rather annoyingly it doesn't say which ones, apart from that you should take care with brick acid.

4. Drain, rinse a couple of time, swill round some meths, drain, leave to dry somewhere warm.

5. Fill with fuel or swill round some oil to stop is rusting if it will be stored empty.

[nowhere.elysium]

BLUEX5 - it's CDI ignition, I'm afraid. Will standard I4 CDI coils for a bike of similar displacement do the trick? I keep banging on about the Bandit ones because a) they're a piece of piss to get hold of, and b) they're a third the price of GS coils.
Robby - Got any suggestions as to what kind of acid solution should be used? I've also been given a bottle of Petseal by a mate of mine, who's never had cause to use it.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[virus]

Almost any 2 plug, 2 LT lead CDI ignition wasted spark coil pack will work.


So thats pretty much any IL4 coilpack with the same amount of input wires.

Cheers
John
____________________
own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Get some coils that match (ie, ones whose LT and HT resistances match). They are not all easily swapped (for example, you can't use later FZ750 coils on an early FZ750 despite them being plug compatible).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[nowhere.elysium]

[Robby]

Have you tried it with the fixed switchgear and different solenoid yet? Always fix the problems you know before trying to fix the ones you're not sure of.

Also, give all of the fuse contacts a good going over to get shiny metal. They're fickle.

As for acid solution, probably any acid will do. Hydrochloric can attack paint so needs extreme care, I would try sulphuric. See if you can acquire some from the lab at uni, and do a test by leaving a rusty nail in it for a few days to see if it works before filling the fuel tank. It should work, I know its an excellent way of cleaning sinks.

As for petseal, a tank liner shouldn't be necessary after an acid strip and they're best avoided unless absolutely necessary. Only the very newest liners are compatible with modern fuel. The acid strip you should leave you with with dull grey, slightly pitted, steel.

You'll need to make up a plate to cover the fuel tap hole, a little bit of steel with some holes drilled to bolt over the hole and a strip of old inner tube as a gasket does the job. Don't leave the fuel tap in, the acid may eat the tap or the filter. Leave it on the balcony over a plastic tub in case something leaks.

Do the trick with some dishwasher tablets first though, a lot of that rust is loose and will shift easily, giving the acid an easier time.

[nowhere.elysium]

Not tried starting it up again, yet: should be having a crack at that on Friday, though. Given that there was no spark even when we were shorting the solenoid, I'd assume that the problem* wasn't there, though.

Good news, though - I'll re-check the coils as and when I get the chance (hoping to tomorrow - I can't tonight), but if they do need replacing, the Bandit ones are the same rating, according to the Haynes book of lies. The fact that my local bike shop has got a couple of spare ones knocking about that I can have fairly cheap is just largely comprised of awesome.

As for getting hold of acid from work: I'll see what I can do, but we don't do a chemistry degree, and the closest we've got is Health and BioSciences. They should have some (I'd hope) but since they're on a different campus, it may be a little difficult to acquire it. Any ideas as to where I can buy some? Alternately, are there any other common household chemicals that'll do the same job without destroying the paint?

Would just blasting it with the dishwasher tablets be enough to shift the bulk of the loose stuff? Since I'm intending for this bike to receive fairly regular use, I'm not expecting there to be frequent water ingress.


*i.e. the lack of spark. Obviously, the solenoid was fucked, but that was it's own issue.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project