11 Years of Chain Lube
Life took up most of my weekend, but I did manage to get into the garage yesterday for several hours. No major work got done. I didn't use many power tools or drill any bolts or even put on any new go fast parts. I did get down on the ground with a rag to remove some of the nastiest grunge to be found on a bike. I'm sure there are worse bikes out there, but for a tiny little bike I must have increased the power to weight ratio by a couple of percentage points by getting it off of the Ninja.
I started by pulling parts. First was the swing arm and shock assembly so could get access to the worst of the mess. I also pulled the air box and a few other miscellaneous parts. For a minute I thought about pulling the engine and I still may do so. I really want to pull the harness so that I can make sure I don't have any electrical issues since I still haven't found the lost power fault that shortened my test ride.
This is the result. It my not look like much, but I feel better knowing that all of the junk is gone. I also know that having the majority of the engine covered in grime is not a good way to pass tech inspection at the track. A clean bike shows care and attention to detail that will give the inspectors a good feeling about your workmanship and make it easier for you to get through even if you need to fix something to pass.
There is a race bike in there somewhere. I had the battery tested and it shows good under load so I'm on the lookout for a loose or broken wire somewhere. Most of this will go back on the bike quickly. The good thing is that by getting this deep into the bike I'll know it by heart when or if I have a problem at the track. It is the same with my old Yamaha. Even though I haven't worked on the bike in months, when I do I know every nut and bolt and part by sight and it all goes together like clockwork.
After loading up four rags full of oil and other contaminants I wanted to do something to move the bike forward on the race prep list. I bought some sandpaper to start getting the body work ready for paint. I want to paint it the most eye searing shade of Kawasaki Racing Green that I can find. I didn't get to sanding, but I did mount the number plates. I went ghetto and just drilled and mounted the plates with screws, but it works with the plastic.
Here are the side plates. I threw the seat on there to make sure they all line up. I actually managed to get both side plates lined up and even on both sides. I only drilled one extra hole when I flipped the left side plate upside down. They are solid and level and will be easily visible to the officials.
I finished up by mounting the windshield to the front fairing so the I could line up the front plate. The 9"x11" oval plate totally covers the headlight hole and bends nicely around the curve of the front of the bike plastic. I may take my heat gun to the plates to heat them up and let them bend and shape to conform better to fit the stock plastics. I think they look pretty good. I can't wait to get my race org numbers and to get the rest the bike back together for testing.
I have the Thanksgiving weekend to get some work done and a few days next week before I have to travel for work. After that it will be the Christmas holiday before any real work gets done. The January race will come all too quickly. Stay tuned for more progress to come!
Blue
I started by pulling parts. First was the swing arm and shock assembly so could get access to the worst of the mess. I also pulled the air box and a few other miscellaneous parts. For a minute I thought about pulling the engine and I still may do so. I really want to pull the harness so that I can make sure I don't have any electrical issues since I still haven't found the lost power fault that shortened my test ride.
This is the result. It my not look like much, but I feel better knowing that all of the junk is gone. I also know that having the majority of the engine covered in grime is not a good way to pass tech inspection at the track. A clean bike shows care and attention to detail that will give the inspectors a good feeling about your workmanship and make it easier for you to get through even if you need to fix something to pass.
There is a race bike in there somewhere. I had the battery tested and it shows good under load so I'm on the lookout for a loose or broken wire somewhere. Most of this will go back on the bike quickly. The good thing is that by getting this deep into the bike I'll know it by heart when or if I have a problem at the track. It is the same with my old Yamaha. Even though I haven't worked on the bike in months, when I do I know every nut and bolt and part by sight and it all goes together like clockwork.
After loading up four rags full of oil and other contaminants I wanted to do something to move the bike forward on the race prep list. I bought some sandpaper to start getting the body work ready for paint. I want to paint it the most eye searing shade of Kawasaki Racing Green that I can find. I didn't get to sanding, but I did mount the number plates. I went ghetto and just drilled and mounted the plates with screws, but it works with the plastic.
Here are the side plates. I threw the seat on there to make sure they all line up. I actually managed to get both side plates lined up and even on both sides. I only drilled one extra hole when I flipped the left side plate upside down. They are solid and level and will be easily visible to the officials.
I finished up by mounting the windshield to the front fairing so the I could line up the front plate. The 9"x11" oval plate totally covers the headlight hole and bends nicely around the curve of the front of the bike plastic. I may take my heat gun to the plates to heat them up and let them bend and shape to conform better to fit the stock plastics. I think they look pretty good. I can't wait to get my race org numbers and to get the rest the bike back together for testing.
I have the Thanksgiving weekend to get some work done and a few days next week before I have to travel for work. After that it will be the Christmas holiday before any real work gets done. The January race will come all too quickly. Stay tuned for more progress to come!
Blue
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comments and for following My Motorbike Obsessions!