Tanto's New Redhead

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tanto
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Re: Tanto's New Redhead

Post by tanto »

So, look who came home in my fairings (& no puns about my speed... :grin: );

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Mouse One, found under my desk, and...

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Mouse Two, re-captured after a frantic jailbreak with his mate. I thought both were caught until they muscled their way out from under the cut half of the Nestle water bottle.

Mouse Three was apprehended sneaking around the room last night while I was reading 400GB... It pays to be quiet. :P

All mice were caught, fed, and released humanely. Well, released into a local field... (sounds good, doesn't it?)... where the snakes are... (this is Thailand)!

Next time I bring gear into the house, I will check for friends. It turns out they had bunked up in the old SS Honda exhaust can. :roll:
Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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tanto
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Bottom Yoke

Post by tanto »

Painted the bottom yoke before heading out to work.

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Matt black. It turned out well.

The yoke will be powder-coated when the bottom head bearings are worn out. It's not worth doing before then as removing the lower race usually destroys the lower seal and the race. For now, the bearings have at least twelve months wear in them.
Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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tanto
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Clean & Polishing

Post by tanto »

After all the recommendations on the forum to use a Sotchbrite pad for cleaning the exhaust system, I gave it a try:

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The pad works very well, but my hands were left black! Note to self, next time wear gloves.

Meanwhile, prior to rebuilding, various parts have received some elbow-grease:

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Fork oil seal retaining clips, "after" and "before" a quick going-over with Wet'n'Dry 1000, and a polish with Wemol. Although not aesthetically perfect, the clip surface is smooth and corrosion free, which is good enough for a part that's not visible once installed. And it sure beats paying a fiver + postage for two new clips which would have to be sent from the UK.

Polished the fork top bolt, and damper rod adjustment screw, too. Who knew there's a visual "reference dot" set in the brass screw head?
Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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tanto
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Fork Lowers

Post by tanto »

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Got the fork lowers back from the powder-coater. The finish is on the gloss side, between high gloss and matt. The colour matched the previous "gold" colour, and isn't as bright as I had feared. Having said that, if I was doing them again (unlikely!), metallic black would look pretty good.

Looks like I must have OCD - that front wheel bolt had to be polished.

Before re-assembling the forks it's worth checking the tubes:

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The inside of both tubes was dark brown with burnt-on oil residue (the heat from the powdercoat process), thick with sandblast grit. It was only possible to clean the tube walls with a "jag" of Wet'n'Dry 2000, wrapped around a socket extension bar. Just like cleaning rifles, back in the '80's... :whistle:

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Then I cleaned the upper section of the tubes with W&D 2000 before fitting a new upper bush and fork seal, both of which seated with a firm tap on the end of a 41mm PVC pipe. No problems.
Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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tanto
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Fork Assembly

Post by tanto »

The fork tubes went together with relative ease. The following tips worked for me:

- Read Haynes manual and Rick Oliver's instructions, repeatedly.

- Lay out all the washers, spacers, and parts on a flat surface, in the order they will be assembled. Double-check them!

- Refinish the interior of the fork lowers, where the fork seal and upper bush sit, with Wet'n'Dry 2000. Lubricate with fork oil before inserting said seals and bushes.

- Push the seals and bushes into place with a length of 41mm PVC household pipe. Light hammer taps on the top at ninety degree intervals is sufficient to seat the parts correctly.

- To seat the dust cover place the fork leg on the ground and use some household tissue compressed on the edge of the dust seal to form a ledge to push against with the heal of one hand. That should be sufficient to seat the cover.

- Remember to exchange the standard spacers for Rick Oliver's aluminum spacers. Rick's spring is longer than the standard spring (305mm v <290mm, from memory).

- Zip tie the fork leg to a bike stand to hold it still. Fill with oil. Move the damper rod slowly up and down to push through the oil, and get air out, without getting a shower. Then measure the oil level, or use Rick's "syringe technique" which makes things almost idiot proof.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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tanto
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Forks back on

Post by tanto »

Image

Image

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Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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Hadies
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Re: Tanto's New Redhead

Post by Hadies »

The yoke will be powder-coated when the bottom head bearings are worn out. It's not worth doing before then as removing the lower race usually destroys the lower seal and the race. For now, the bearings have at least twelve months wear in them.
SH!T. I didn't know this. I've just taken my bottom yoke off for powder coating and didnt realise this was the case. Am I going to have to replace the seal and bearings now?
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tanto
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Re: Tanto's New Redhead

Post by tanto »

Hadies wrote: SH!T. I didn't know this. I've just taken my bottom yoke off for powder coating and didnt realise this was the case. Am I going to have to replace the seal and bearings now?
Did you give the bottom yoke to the powder-coater with the lower race and seal still on the head tube? If you did, the chances are they won't be able to get the race off without stuffing the seal. Having said that, they might have a bearing puller to winch off the race without damage (at a powder-coaters?! Who knows?).

The bottom seals are inexpensive to get from David Silver (GBP2.75ea., part no. 53214MR7003).

The lower race is somewhat more expensive, especially if you replace the bearings with original spec. round bearing (c.GBP40 a set of two, part number 91016MR7003), rather than needle bearings (GBP20 a set on eBay, IMHO not as good).
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.
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Hadies
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Re: Tanto's New Redhead

Post by Hadies »

I haven't sent anything to the powder coaters yet. I'll probably do what you've done and spray the bottom yoke myself. I have a can of matt black paint somewhere. Thanks for the advice mate.
What did you do about the threads? Did the powder coaters mask them off themselves?
And what clamps/bars are you using? I like them.
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tanto
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Re: Tanto's New Redhead

Post by tanto »

Hadies wrote:I haven't sent anything to the powder coaters yet. I'll probably do what you've done and spray the bottom yoke myself. I have a can of matt black paint somewhere. Thanks for the advice mate.
What did you do about the threads? Did the powder coaters mask them off themselves?
And what clamps/bars are you using? I like them.
Spaying the lower yoke works out well. Just need to clean it thoroughly, and mask off the threaded holes (leave a bolt in each, wrapped in tape). As for the threads, I wrapped the steering column with masking tape, like this:

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The clamps are NC30 originals, powder-coated in gloss black. The black finish came out really "liquid".

The bars were made in aluminum by a local fabricator. They save a lot of weight over the original steel bars, which I'll measure as soon as I can lay my hands on some scales.
Last edited by tanto on Tue May 24, 2011 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit." - US Army manual of preventive maintenance.

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