Now for something different...(still GS-related)

[roeme]

So a few days ago I was scouring our local eBay-equivalent, when I stumbled across an unusual auction.

Basically useless today, but it fits the vintage setting of our garage...so I bid on it (Click the pictures to enlarge).

"What is it? Tell us already"

This is what has arrived a few days later:




Yes, it's a fiche reader. Big woop, you'll say...but, part of the auction were over 500 parts fiches. So I took a chance, and lo and behold:




The unit's bulb was dead though, so I examined the internals....


Wait a minute, that's a standard G5.3 / MR16 bulb, isn't it? I have some LED replacements of those handy....
And the setup is a simple VAC transformer, no needlessly complicated circuitry.



Looking good! Now let's have a look (after some cleaning. It was a smoker's shop, yuk):



Wee! It's fascinating to explore those fiches, they have some additional information on them. For example, some color codes:


Or, some of you hinted that bolt sizes could be derived from part numbers (over in this linked thread: clicky). Turns out, this is documented as such:


Yeah, this is not of much use nowadays, but fun. Also, this might come in handy to keep in the garage, so I don't have to print out everything all the time.

As mentioned, I have in excess of 500 fiches at my disposal. I have only superficially browsed through them, it seems to be mainly Yamaha and Suzuki.
If any of you guys need some elusive parts number/assembly drawing, let me know, I just might have it somewhere in that stack. I'll hunt for them when I find some spare time.

[Spyder]

I am proud to be the first here to say, that's really cool. I want it. However I am a collector of useless stuff, lol... How much was it?

[Redman]

Yah, some of the first sheets on the microfische film have intersting general information, such as starting serail numbers for that year/model, paint code information, explanation of abreviations, bolt size info and others. These sheets are not found on tytpical part supplier sites because they dont have specific part number look-up on them.

An other intersting sheet is that for optional parts, like covers and tool kits.

THere is a market for those microfisch films. I got some for my bikes, and took them to library and printed a lot of sheets for something like 3 cents a sheet, and had it bound.

.

[roeme]

I am proud to be the first here to say, that's really cool. I want it. However I am a collector of useless stuff, lol... How much was it?

Initially it was $40 delivered, then some twa*t had a go as well, which put it to $70 delivered.

(...)

THere is a market for those microfisch films. I got some for my bikes, and took them to library and printed a lot of sheets for something like 3 cents a sheet, and had it bound.

.

Huh? Meaning you sold printed copies of them, righto?

Heh. The shop where I had some stuff done for my GS had the fiches still in deep storage. After I went there a few times, a microfiche reader re-appeared on his service desk...so no market there. Then again, I wouldn't know where to get to machinery that could print those (libraries here threw them out a long time ago).

[bwringer]

I have a microfiche for my 1983 GS850GD, purchased around 1998-2000 or thereabouts. The local library still had microfilm readers at the time, so I took it in and printed out each panel (there was a button you could press to make a photocopy on paper for a nickel) and put the pages into a binder.

It's sometimes useful to have the original part number; the new online fiches are sometimes not perfectly accurate and usually don't tell you when part numbers have been superceded.

[Redman]

............
Huh? Meaning you sold printed copies of them, righto?........

No, I bought the sheet of microfiche film. And I took it to the library (section that has old newspapers and such on microfische) and printed out most frames. THen had bound (at a print shop) for my own use. And, yah, that was 8 - 10 years ago, dont know the situation now.

.

[earlfor]

That a just too cool!

[wymple]

Not sure how it's useless. My dealer still uses his a lot.