went to lithgow and picked up the suzuki gj73a and suzuki er185 from 1979. the 185 looks to be the better bike.
Adjusted the rear shock down to setting 2 of 7 from 3 of 7... appears I am too light for the standard setting Feels sooo much better along with the new bars.
Been waiting for some bits in the post...they finally showed up today. Spent the last couple of days getting the drag bike ready for the long haul up to Gunnedah next weekend. ANDRA officials there can be a bit strict, so I needed to make sure bike is up to spec. Don't want to drive all that way and be told "sorry". who else from Team 2fiftycc is attending? The Chief is coming to have a look as the Flyer isn't ready just yet (unless he gets his street bike running) and I know Murdo will never miss an opportunity to have a race...anyone else?
Today is almost like a spring day here, other than the damned August winds. Just been getting my swing arm ready to blast. I was pretty happy with the grease that was inside, considering I bought this from Japan. Bearings are smooth as silk so as long as I have it all sealed up nicely and don’t get any media in there that is 1 less expenditure. I used a couple of old gearbox bearings to take up the space so I could nip it all up ready for bead blast Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Well... the bead blasting of the swing arm didnt go quite as planned.. being steel the media I have it probably a bit light duty for that so I think I will just end up wire brushing it all.. it will be quicker. I did have a go at cleaning up the outside of my petcock though.. well 2 of them actually. Came up nicely. I have found that my Shop Vac is way too powerful for the Blast cabinet.. you cant really see it in the pic but when I have it on... the gloves are fully inflated lol It also makes it impossible to operate the gun on suction when there is so much negative pressure in there.. I will have to figure out a better method.
Just have the vacuum hose loosely connected to the Blast cabinet, maybe 100 mph tape it on so it's not fully sealed?
Not bike but this is how serious we take praying for rain here. Made for a friend who has nothing but paddocks of dirt and is buying 2nd rate hay (small squares) at $30 each (normal times $4 each) to keep her last remaining sheep alive.
Back to bikes stuff. Rebuilding a CB350 engine after a bit of a f**k up. Dropped the head of an exhaust valve with a bunch of revs (I found the valve head in the sump) and he has bought another engine for parts. Needed to get the rings off the stuffed piston to put on the replacement 2nd hand one (to suit the barrels from 2nd engine) but was unable to prize out the top ring after the top of the piston had been pounded by the valve head. I tried heat hoping that the alloy would expand enough to allow the ring to push out, no good. Got the Dremel and with a tapered cutter cut away the metal above the ring. I was then able to get a small flat blade screwdriver and break away the alloy above the ring to release it. Cleaned up and fitted to piston and barrels on.
I'm a country boy born and bred, so I feel really bad when I see this. I just have never understood why the government never built any Super Dams up north and piped water to areas that are drought prone. Nothing worse than having to put livestock down, but it's the merciful thing to do. I'm going to be driving through this stuff on the way up, so not looking forward to it.
If you are coming up through the centre @Frankster expect worse.. Bathurst, Orange, Mudgee, Dubbo are effectively dustbowls.. we are still selling pumps but the money is drying up as they need to fund feed to keep the remaining stock alive. Unfortunately there is no substantial rain in sight until early next year according to the long term forecasts. The week before last where normally 20,000 lambs would go through the stock sales 50,000 went through on one day and another 40,000 later in the week. Yet the likes of Coles, Woolies etc are still gouging us on meat prices....
Don't get me started on those c*nts. They do eff all to help farmers and people on the land. A friend's dad had to have his milk cows put down during the milk wars they orchestrated. brought tears to my eyes thinking about it.
It's been a very dry winter down here too... a few weeks where we had some consistent rains, but no huge downpours for days on end. I went for a ride out on the old road again today, first warm sunny day in a while and I wanted to get a better feel of the new bars and rear shock setting. On that note, everything feels good, but my front end is now a bit too stiff... going to try standard settings again and adjust from there. As for the old road I expected HWP to be out there, and they were... 2 bikes and a patrol car, so to say I was not pushing my luck would be an understatement. Still, I must have had the 'boy racer' look about me as I got pulled over for a license check/breath test and the 'it's a public road not a racetrack' talk. Supposedly I was getting a bit enthusiastic on the corner he was sitting at, which was not the case at all, but I wasn't going to argue the point. Somewhere along the line the bike must have spat the baffle out of the pipe, as it wasn't there when I got home... I reckon that may have had something to do with it, rather loud when it's gone, even at low-mid RPM. Going to have to sort this pipe I got from xcite sooner rather than later now.
Well.. I bit the bullet today and ordered my paint from DNA Custom Paints.. It will be here late this week or early next week but I have a little bit of work to do on all the parts before I get to the putting on colour stage. I decided to use their Primer so that I give it all the best chance.. especially as it is a Candy I just want to be sure there is less chance of mottling etc and using products from the same manufacturer helps.. the rest is down to me.. OMG what have I done.. I need to wait until we have some nice clear days with little to no wind.. I will be setting up my little paint booth.. reminds me, I must go down to Bunnings and get it..
Saw the mini booth's at Bunning's the other day, it gave me an idea to get a 4 man dome tent to use as a booth when needed, seen some for $15-$20ea at cash convertor's https://www.bunnings.com.au/jflex-bench-top-spray-shelter_p0045177 https://www.bunnings.com.au/jflex-spray-booth_p0045178