Pinned So what have you done to your bike today?

I'm working on a 1991 Ducati with a fuel pump problem. The fuel filler flange is held in place by 8 tiny set screws. After years of working on British bikes I've come to expect a certain level of creativity, but this is a new one for me.

 

I had one of my bright ideas over the weekend and ended up winning an auction for a "keyless start KTM RC390"

Anyway picked it up today, and was pretty happy to find it's not in that bad condition at all, some plastics to fix, new ignition barrel, but otherwise seems to run fine, a lucky gamble

Will make a great cheap track bike in any case!

 

That fuel strainer is still good, right?

 

Busy day!
To get the ZXR "go kart track ready" on the pre-requisites is to install crash protectors on the front axle, clip ons, pegs, exhaust and swingarm. I'm assuming to protect the track, maybe the go kart track surface is softer?

Anyway I had to spin the clip ons on the lathe to flatten and drill/tap the bar ends, rather successful.

Not a big fan of the cotten reel style, but they'll do the job, too big, and the peg sliders are also massive (for a supermoto i believe)





Also installed some bits on the RC390 which is ready to run on a track day too, if the weather ever lines up...

 

The local performance shop had a MotoGP simulator in today, bit of fun!

Assuming the simulator settings are configured correctly, I wonder how accurate they are compared to the real thing?

On this one, if you hit the front brake, the front suspension dives forward, and the brake/throttle will get the bike to stand up

Either way, it was pretty hard work

 

The lurking worker has made some progress with project cbr500V,,slow & steady,,,

 

Imagine trying to make this project in the 1950's...

https://www.bikeexif.com/moto-guzzi-v8

Brian Lohnes recently did a comprehensive YT Vid about this bike. He's not a bike guy, but his involvement with drag racing and motorsport means he has plenty of admiration for oddities.

 

Spent the day with the 32mm Mikunis from the GSF-400 that I'm working on at the moment. Not the worst carbs I've ever seen but the bike has been sitting for 30 years so they definitely needed a cleaning. Came out nice if I do say so myself. Next up os pulling the head to replace the valve seals. Fingers crossed I don't have to drop the motor.

 

What cleaning solution are you adding to water in your ultrasonic cleaner please? The brass jets look amazing.

 

For the carb bodies I use a concentrate that I can't remember the name of. I got a case of it years ago from England and I mix up a new batch every now and then. The next time I'm at my shop I'll get the name. Works really well.

The jets and brass bits I put in a separate container of M-Pro 7 gun cleaner. You can laugh but it's a really good carbon solvent and it claims to be non toxic and environmentally friendly. It does a really great job on jets, as you can see they come out looking really good.

The thing that I've found makes a really big difference is heating up the solution. I use a cheap sous vide heater and run the solution at 65-70 degrees (150-160 Fahrenheit) and it makes a huge difference.