GS(X)-250E Motarding.

[Guest]

I'm glad you looked further at that stuff... it's awesome (like pretty much all POR 15 stuff) but if it's moisture curing like the Blackcote (what I used on my frame etc.) they highly recommend not spraying unless you have a proper approved respirator etc. as any of it getting in your lungs will cure there.

That's one of the reasons I brushed the Blackcote on...

Either way, good luck on finishing it up, I'm keen to see it

 

[mike-s]

What's done so far, I've put it up on the centre stand on a nice tall pile of wood to make 100% sure there's enough clearance, and the front wheel & one fork is currently off. I started assembling it and realised i made a minor mistake by forgetting the spacer ring, but have since taken the fork apart to put it back in. Next up is re-assembly, fitment of the fork seals & associated paraphenalia, putting the fluid in the forks and see how the speedo cable & brake lines fare. I think the speedo will be fine, but i may have to get a new front brake line fabbed up, it's no biggie, but we shall see how it goes.

Which way is up on the fork seal? I'm guessing that this is the correct side to face "up" as it has the writing on the top edge

The presumed "underside" of the fork seal

 

[Guest]

Hmmm haven't done fork seals myself yet (mine were good and still looked good when I put the forks back together, time will tell) but that looks the right way 'round to me.

 

[Flyboy]

Yep, writing to the top, from the bottom of the seal you should be able to see the lip where the spring sits in.

 

[mike-s]

I thought so. And the main reason i was asking is there is a spring loaded seal top AND bottom.

 

[mike-s]

New seals, forks fitted. All that needs to be done is to sus out the suspension as it is certainly going to be far too light. I've used information in the following links ( link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6, link 7, link 8 ) and figured out that i can cut off a bit over 7cm's worth of springs to bring the stiffness up about 20%, but at first i'll take about half of that to bring it up only 10%. If taking 20% worth off and using 15w oil doesn't help (and i'll be amazed if it doesn't), i'll be following up with wreckers to try and get hold of some other springs. I just need to get a longer brake line as this one is expectedly short of what i needed.

As it is with the new shocks and the forks about 15mm through the clamps (final height through the clamps pending measuring angles & tweaking, etc), the seat height has gone from 78 to 86cm.Also with the slimmer 2-1 exhaust & without a bashplate the ground clearance is up from 14 to nearly 22cm! With a bashplate i expect it to go down to around 19.5-20cm.

Sorry about the dark pictures, but i finished throwing them together at 6:30 tonight, and being winter didn't help with available light levels.

 

[Guest]

Mate that sounds great to me! Soft suspension should be relatively easy to fix.

You can always talk to someone like Ikon and tell them what you need, they might have something that will suit from a different bike.

Can't wait to see some better side on pic's in the daylight too

 

[mike-s]

A few more things to be done, like finishing off sorting the sidestand, the front suspension and brakes, adding the bashplate, a H4 headlamp setup & permanently wiring the third alternator coil on, a couple of electronic gizmo's (nothing fancy, just a relay setup so the headlight doesn't come on until the starter is released & LED lighting on the dash) and a lick of paint (absolutely last on the list of to-do's) and it is complete.

click for fullsized pic

 

[Guest]

Nice work Mike! Definitely a good bit of ground clearance there! Did you end up adding a nylon runner for the chain?

I do have one suggestion though... fork gaiters. As it stands right now those fork legs look a little spindly compared with the rest, and some gaiters will not only fix that but will enhance the "look" somewhat I feel. Just my 2c...

You also need to let me know what you do for the H4 replacement as I haven't had much luck finding one so far, although to be fair I haven't tried that hard.

 

[mike-s]

Gaiters are certainly on the cards, but I'm happy making do with just the seals for the moment.

No nylon runner as yet, step #1 was simply getting the bastard rolling on it's own two wheels.

 

[Guest]

Cool, I believe step 1 is a success

 

[mike-s]

Picked up a brakeline today that from my approximation/measuring i think is long enough. For $40 it had better be . Assuming the length isn't a problem and i can carry on with the installation, I just have to add a bolt & washer where the line branches (for dual calipers) to seal it off and that's that done.

I can then decide if i should then take it for a test ride & remember to take a block of wood with me, or if i should fire up the stick welder and extend the length of the side-stand first.

 

[mike-s]

As it turns out the freaking brake line is about the same size as the existing one, the difference being that the rings that connect to the banjo bolt are at a different angle :clap:.

I'll dick around with the brake lines and see what i can come up with, God this is annoying. I will likely have to call by a wreckers close to home tomorrow morning as reducing the length of the suspension is defeating half of the build purpose. If they have something that is at LEAST 93--97cm that would be great, 100cm would be pretty long but give me plenty of slack to work with. We shall see what eventuates.

In other news i picked up the aluminium sheet today from the engineering shop, the near month long delay was that they had to wait until they had a job with similar specs so that they didn't have to tool up the machine to just do my one-off (which would have cost me a bundle more than the $45 it cost me to get the bend done had i been in any hurry to get it done). I'll get around to a test fit & figuring out how the hell I am going to securely mount it once i have the brakes and forksprings figured out.

I also got some steel tubing to space the suspension with so i can cut the springs down about 4cm or so to stiffen up the front end. I also need to change the preload down for the rear shocks & if i can't find my suspension spanner i'll need to drop by a bike shop to get one. I have a rough idea where it is, but i'll need to see when i go to the garage in the morning.

I also took delivery of some bits & pieces I didn't have to complete my arc welding kit. Some easy-start rods as well as a mask, leather apron as well as a safety sheet (to stop prying eyes getting arc-eye). I just have to talk to the neighbours about the logistics of this. I don't want to go doing it within my garage space as said earlier, and have found somewhere else that may be suitable as it is sheltered from rain (good when dealing with insane quantities of electricity) rain, out in the open, i can hang the safety sheet rather easily). I've got a couple of potential options available to me for electricity, we shall see what happens however. Oh and i picked up some steel to do some practice runs with, It isn't galvanised or zinc coated, but it IS powder coated, and i'll have to remove that to get a good earth and join going, certainly that is the lesser of a number of evils.

 

[Guest]

Mate what a pain! There's a seller on eBay that will custom make lines to what you need very cheaply and the guys on the forum have had great success with them. SVSooke's red lines on his 750 are from that seller. All you do is tell them what size you want for the banjo's and what angle they need to be at as well as the length of the line and Bob's your aunty. Unfortunately I can't find the seller at the moment but I'll keep looking...

Good news you got the bash plate back, looking forward to seeing that on there!

Have you welded before? Can't remember if you have or haven't... if you haven't, it's fun, but I found getting used to the initial arc was the hardest bit because to start with I kept jumping when that happened, which caused the electrode to wobble around and stick to the piece

 

[Guest]

Here it is:

http://stores.ebay.com/coastguard1975

$US21.95 per line plus $US15.00 shipping, so less than $US40 and even cheaper for us with the exhange rate at the moment... you'll be laughing!

 

[mike-s]

Interesting idea that, though to be honest i'd rather just get the brake lines as soon as i could just so I can get past this point and progress forward a little, hence me heading off to the wreckers in about 20 minutes.

Well as it turns out, the local wrecker was a bust. They no longer stock "second hand" brake lines due to reliability issues and said they can get them made in a few days for about $80. I think i'll look around, but i suspect i'll possibly use the link you gave me.

As to the bashplate, definitely glad to have it again. And no I've not welded before, hence there never being enough practice, though I'm reading up a bit on how to do it.

 

[mike-s]

Well i found an ebay store in Melbourne that has the right sized hose for an absolute steal (link to the product page) and have just put an order in.

 

[mike-s]

Fork springs cut, the guides are right, it is a right bastard to cut them with a hacksaw, getting the dremel out and having a go at it was the best move to make, just a shame i broke two wheels, but it's no surprise given it's hardened steel.

Now i need to just assemble with the temporary wood spacer to make sure that everything fits satisfactorily and preloads to my liking. Once that is done i will then go and put permanent steel spacers in there.

I WILL find the c adjuster after i either a) buy another or b) get the thing adjusted to my liking WITHOUT using that tool.

 

[Guest]

Good stuff Mike, you're getting there!

Man that brake line is cheap! Is it any good though? That's my only concern with such a cheap line... guess you'll just have to wait and see 'til you get it and see how it looks.

I was just going to get mine from HEL as they're local here, except that they obviously don't give a sh&* and don't reply to emails. They don't list anything on their site for my model, but they list a GS400 that is a single disc setup, yet they list a dual line kit for it for the dual line price... I asked them what the go was and if they had one for mine, not even a single email reply... I left my mobile too but no call either. Oh well...

Good to see you got your springs cut, hopefully it won't be too hard to get a nice ride sorted.

And definitely looking forward to seeing that bash plate, and do lots of practise welds. I really didn't do enough practise before I got stuck in and it shows, but I really needed to get it done this week so I didn't mind considering you can't see the welds with the fibreglass over the top.

 

[mike-s]

I guess if it's braided it's got to be half decent. The guy has a 99.8% positive feedback with the negatives being marginal whinges at most, so iguess it's worth having a go at his wares.