A Student Budget Bike

[BentRod]

I bought my gloves previously owned (But not used) from a man who had purchaced them from a shop called NCK Cycle Salvage and Sports LTD. They are the only retailer that I know of. The gloves are simular to the previous generation of Teknic gloves.. and usually go for 35 or 40$

[Agitator]

Quite a story. I've thoroughly enjoyed your quest to getting on the road on a budget:-D

You have a great sense of humor. I laughed a lot as I read the thread from end to end... Esp. the part about forgetting to discharge the "capacitor that was the size of a football." LMAO!

i dunno if i've just been lucky, but on two occasions i've had something of great weight, the first time, a fork loaded down, the second time, a 4X4 truck ( with an ex asshat friend ) and both times, my redwing steel toes protected my feet.

^ Not to get off topic, but I've asked many people about the steel toe thing. I have riding boots for my bikes, but use Red Wing steel toe, high top boots for the work that I do. Someone told me that "your toes can be cut off by the steel toe part if something heavy enough falls on it." IMO, if something that heavy falls, your entire unprotected foot will be obliterated, whereas if you are wearing steel toes, you will likely be unharmed. The manager of my local Red Wing store concurred with my opinion. However, he also said that Wal-Mart steel toe boots are not always very rugged when it comes to the steel toes staying stitched-in during a big impact.

[oldschoolorange]

I have used steel toes when riding my bike before, The only reason I don't like them is that I lack feel when it comes to braking and shifting.

[BentRod]

Revive

So a year or so has past, and I think I've done enough stupid things again to start some more writing. I look forward to subjecting all of this forums members to the trials, hardships, spelling errors and general embarracement that is and has been the student life with a motorcycle. A cranky, stubborn, tempermental motorcycle, which deserved and infact had a very peaceful death over 15 years ago, and has been more or less resurected, or at least propped up, on as little money as possible.


I am sorry for dropping the story so abruptly, but I didn't really have the time to put in a decent effort to writing, and then the engine in the gs400 screwed the pooch and I had to rebuild it, (more on that later, with pictures!)

The Katana is still in a state of repair, as Lola demanded more time to keep going and I needed it to commute to work. I have now spent more time working on the katana though, and some of you will be happy, and others rather upset, to know it is receiving the same standard of care and attention Lola did, with lessons learned of course. I have also begun work on a bike belonging to a friend of mine, a 1988 Kawasaki ZX600R, or Ninja. you may here more about that, although it has a much nicer budget, (Aka I'm spending someone else's money and couldn't be happier about it).

Take care for now! Season's Greatings and ride safe!

[BentRod]

Snap! Crackle! CRUNCH!

So where was I? ah yes, riding down the open road, taking in the thrill of new life long passion... carving my way up twisty roads and stopping at scenic look outs...? no? wasn't I?

Or: was I cussing my way through the city and highway, enjoying a mouthfull of diesel exhaust as I get passed by the city bus? Sounds more accurate to me. It seemed like I had over looked just about everything on that bike, and what didn't snap or jam usually just kind of fell off out right. It was probably a good two months of riding before barrage of equipment failures, the evil spawn of oversight, started to lift and I could once again ride with out considering how far I was willing to push.

Money was still very tight though, but I was using the bike to commute home to visit family on a semi regular basis, and I had gotten brave enough to start leaving the tool box in the shed, and simply carried a multi-tool, small assortment of bolt, tape, fuses, wire, solder and a torch with me. I could fit most of it in the side panel of the bike. I suppose the timing couldn't have been mroe predictable, but this was about the time that the over confidence and inexperiance that seem to be my trade mark on repairs caught up to me on my riding.

And now we pick up where we left off.. my first accident..

well technically my third accident. My first accident I got to the end of my driveway and my bike fell over, oops. My second accident, I was riding a friend's VERY modified gs400, and when I tried to turn right found that the handle bars didn't turn far enough and over went the bike.

I find I share many character traits with my GS. For instance, in the summer neither of us really had much business being on the road, we both tend to be fairly dirty and usually smell, although thankfully only it is only the bike that constantly leaks anything. My GS and I further hated rain, and as I would eventually find out, cold weather too.

There really is no way to be entertaining about going down, but I tell this story that other new riders might know what to look out for.
>>>>
I was riding down a street call Dundurn, in Hamilton, running between two main city roads. I was traveling in the righthand lane in the left tire track, and the rain had just let up. I'm not sure how I managed to not see the pedestrian looking up and down the street, but a J-walker decided that he had enough time to cross and wandered out infront of me..
Instinctively I hit the front and rear brakes, but I knew instantly I would not be able to stop, so I let off the brakes and tried to go around, only to touch the rear tire to an oily spot. I was going about 20 km/h when my rear tire came 'round to visit me up front, and the bike lowsided. There were no cars stopped infront of me, but there was a major intersection, and I slid right into it. Miraculasly there was a red light showing bothways, and as I lay there on the ground I looked back at the j-walker, expecting to see him coming to help or in at least suffering some sort of injury, but instead saw the little pr!ck hoofing it down the road away from me. Almost made me wish I had at least clipped his shins! About then I started to get my head around what had happened and how I wasn't dead yet. Another driver helped get me and the bike up, and I tried to start it up.. which it did... angrily.
Lola did start, but she did not run. just after I let out the clutch there was a VERY loud SNAP!! CRACKLE!!! and CRUNCH! from the area around the shifter. the engine stopped and backfired like a gun shot...

I pushed the bike to a parking lot to assess the damage. once again, we were both displeased with the weather, both very dirty, very smelling, and thankfully only Lola was leaking anything.

With my limited tools I was able to get the sprocket cover off and take a look at my chain... what a mess. the moment I dropped the clutch chain snapped at the master link, and had jammed the engine sprocket, denting the cases, bearing and plates. Here is where I start to get lucky.
I pulled the chain and found it to be in good repair, other that the now mangled masterlink. There was a motorcycle shop not 100 from me where I could get parts, but I needed to be able to get that engine sprocket off.. I started asking people in the parking lot if they had any tools, and about the third person I asked had a large adjustable wrench, used for suba tanks. As luck would have it this gentleman was also a doctor at the emergency ward of a local hospital. He checked me for fractures and broken bones, and when he had to go, he left the wrench for me to return to him later at the hospital.

I was able to fix the chain with a new master link and a rock (to straiten it out a bit) and I clips some pieces of aluminum off of a garbage can to shim my foot peg back into place.

All and all this is what I learned:
-Wear your gear
-carry a multi-tool
-crash infront of motorcycle shops
-don't ride on the cheapest chinese tires you can find to fit your bike

I ride on chengshin Hi-Max, and I have found the tread pattern to be deficient, so here is my student budget solution. You go and find a broken or otherwise cheap (aka not yours) toaster, and you pull the heating wire out. you hold the heating wire with two vise grips 8 inches apart, and turn on the toaster. You then apply the now orange wire to your cheap, chinese tires to add extra rain groves in those big chunks of rubber. you may gasp, but if you do a little research, it works! just don't burn down to the belts.


Next time.. hey sister sister

[BentRod]

Out With Her Younger Sister

I was going to call this "Riding on her younger sister", but we have moderators and not everyone may appreciate my sense of humour.

So I went and did it again.. and why? because I'm a be sucker for abuse I suppose.. or may be I like the frustration and the smell of sweat, blood and oil. What ever it was, it was strong. The day I went down and slid into the intersection, I was infact, late for a dentist appointment as a direct result of the 3 hour delay. I made it to another appointment later in the week, and that was when I found out about an old motorcycle, shacked up in a back yard, under a blanket and tarp since 1997. It seems like long ago to me, (I was in the 5th grade when this bike was last ridden). One of the dental assistance's husbands owned this old bike, and she wanted it gone and fast. I was originally told that I would be given it for free, but I was prepared to pay aways.

About two weeks later I was back in Toronto to view the bike for the first time. I had no idea what kind it was, only that it was blue. I showed up with OldSchoolOrange in his truck and after meeting the owner was introduced to the bike you see below:


She wasn't this clean when I got her, but she sure did look purrdy. The paint was beautiful, and the wear was only 7200km!!!! and BONE STOCK (It had the carbs when I bought it)

The internals were a different story. The tank was so rusted it was pitting. the bearing all had flat spots, the breaks were either locked open or closed, it didn't run, didn't even turn over. Ther shocks were sucking air front and back, and that old familiar brown oil was coming out of the front forks.. wonderful..

As a flood of not so long ago memories of fork seals and electrical failures came back to me, I offer and was granted, $250 for this 1986 GS400E in need. I guess I have a soft spot... I owner had a soft spot too, when I told him I had no intention of modifying it and wanted to restore it. Apparently back in 1992 he and a friend drove a pair of these bikes back from Calgary.

I'm not sure why I did it. May be it's that male urge to one day land a pair of twins. I certainly didn't have any intention of getting rid of my other gs400, and I didn't really know when or if I would ride this 400, but I wanted to save it from the scrap yard (the alternative destination had I not bought it).

I got it home that night, and before I went to bed I had the frame propped up on a set of blocks and the bike washed.

When I woke in the morning it didn't have that feeling of 'oh god what did I do last night'.. I guess it's true what they say: It feels better the second time around.

[BentRod]

How did that wear out?

Just after purchasing the 86 gs400, problems started once again with the original 1981 gs400. I was finding that the starter motor was having trouble cranking the bike over, and on several occations found myself push starting. Eventually, after killing the badly abused battery a few times, the starter motor refused to do anything at all. a quick check on the forum showed that the starter relay was working fine, (go figure, a clicking sound that meant something good for a change), and that the likely culpurate was damage to the starter motor itself.
Now, I have had good reason already to suspect that the previous owner did not look after this bike well at all, but this I was not expecting.
I pulled the starter motor and opened it up. what i found was that one of the perminant magnets had broken off the side walls, and had moved over and stuck to the side of the neighbouring magnet. Further more, little bits of magnet where all over the inside of the motor housing, especially up by the communtator and brushes. it took me a while to get all the little bits out, but the damage had been done. one of the brushes was worn out, and no longer making good contact with the commutator. further more, the heat from the jumping sparks had made the brush springs hot, and had snapped them.

now then, I believe I have made it clear by now that A, electrical stuff is not my best area, and B, I'm doing this on the cheap.
A new set of brushes costs about 40$, a new set of springs is about 10. so I got new springs, but this did not solve the problem. The brushes were worn and still not touching, they just could be extend far enough.
Having spent my 10 dollars and not wanting to spend more I contemplated this little problem. What i realized was that the reason the brushes couldn't extend was because the wires leading to them had to pass through a small hole, and that the wires were to thick to go any further. So with a file in hand I "fixed"/butchered the problem, reducing the thickess of the exposed wire until i got an extra milimeter of travel out of the brushes.

Resecuring the magnet in place was another issue all together. trying to glue a magnet in place, in wiht a bunch of other magnets. Thank god I was a student with out a job and nothing better to do with my time because the stupid magnet just kept on fliping and jumping around the motor housing. getting it oriented the right way was easy, but trying to keep epoxy from making a mess when the magnet's bouncing like an 8 year old on a sugar high was a pain in the a....anyways.. it got done..


I really have no idea how you break a fixed magnet off the wall of a motor housing, but considering the gym sock in the air box, the rust in the tank and the use of twist ties, I'm can say I was surprised. I am able to conclude though, that if you are restoring a bike on a student budget, you time would not be worth more that 4.50$ an hour

[p_s]

Glad the story is coming along again.

[BentRod]

I am looking forward to trying to maintain this thread again. Its been a couple of summers now since I got my first bike, and I now have lots of material... which can be a good thing or a bad thing. on the upside I have stories to tell, on the down side, I feel like a walking joke... oh well, so long as someone is amussed.

I'm glad to see the views count going up. I'm writing my forth year exams now, but I will try to give all of you lots to read anyways.

[BentRod]

A Season Rider

I thought about telling you folks about the restoration of the 86gs400, but it has now been over a year since I last saw that wonderful bike, and my memory is stretching. I remember fighting with tank cleaners, changing bearings and cables, putting on new sprockets and chains. working on a second bike, it was obvious to me that I had learned so much, and inside of a month I had that bike running, and one sunny day I put my plate on the back of it and took it for a spin around the local roads. It would turn out that, that ride, that day, would be the only ride I would ever get to have on that gorgeous bike. I still remember it though. I remember how it turned, and how much higher and lighter it felt compard to my other 400. I remember gliding down widing forest roads, and passing water falls. It was very relaxing, and felt almost like i was floating. It was a wonderful ride.
That blue gs was eventually sold to a friend of mine, Jacob, who had come with me when I went to check out and buy my first bike, my first GS400. Jacob eventually sold it and upgraded to a 84GS550, but for the end of that season him and I went around on a pair of GS400's, visiting neighbouring towns, traveling for a couple of hours in any direction, stopinng at any ma & pa diner, and then making our way home once we figured out which way home was.

That was how I ended my first season on my first bike. I took my bike home to my parents' place in Toronto, where I could store my bike in my Dad's garage (although mother was still not impressed with this machine). before I left I starting getting the bike ready to store. I took the bike over to the university, and in the receiving area behing the engineering building I ran a can of SeaFoam through the carbs and into the running engine, you know, to clean it out. Well, it must have been dirty. Not only did it leave marks on the concrete behind the bike, but I created such a large, dirty white/grey cloud that the campus police and maintenance showed up to find out what was going on. Apparently the smoke was so thick that I had managed to blind several primary and hidden security cameras, not more that 100ft from the university's nuclear reactor. The police were not so happy, but lucky for me one of the cop's recognized me. (There is a sentence I never thought I would say). The officer knew my girlfriend from their home town, and they let me off the hook with a stern warning. Mean while maintenance had been watching all of this. when I looked over at them I notice 2 out of the 3 staff were chuckling away with their hands on there hips. The third member did not look impressed at all. Apparently, not only are there a lot of cameras out back, but the also a ventalation intake, one of them at least, was within reach of the smoke....

oops...
...
And looking into the shops and offices behind me, I could see some of them on the ground floor were getting fogged up. oh well, I left at this point, running on gas, but still smoking a little.

I stored my bike the cheap way. I put it in an unheated garage, leaving the fully changed battery in the bike. I topped up the tank and added a generous helping of marine fuel stabilizer (I heard it helped to absorb water and air moisture). I also put a little oil in the cylinders. I came back in december , january, and february, to start and run the bike, charge the battery, and put a little more oil in the cylinders.

When I put my cover on my bike, MY Motorcycle, I couldn't help but be proud of what i had done. I had started 1 year prior, with nothing but a fun idea, a fist full of dollars, and varying degrees of luck. Now I was a motorcyclist. I had my own motorcycle, and the idea seemed better than ever. I had barely a dime left to spend, but I had more pride and believed in myself more than ever before, and I think that's more important. I had made some good friends, and I still had that cute red-head.

I couldn't wait for next season.

[BentRod]

Back!

Just got back from a trip from Vancouver to Toronto, time to start writing again soon.

next up, replacing headlights... the really cheap, really wrong way.

[mcloud]

Too funny!!
Subscribed

[omaharj]

Great storytelling! Keep it coming.

[Skateguy50]

Just got back from a trip from Vancouver to Toronto, time to start writing again soon.

next up, replacing headlights... the really cheap, really wrong way.

You would love my Moosehead lake rally repairs, my wifes headlight bracket broke on the 250 rebel. I found a nice 8 inch stainless steal eyebolt at the hardware store, just needed to be bent a bit like... 200ish degrees and was good to go. Then my clutch cable broke and I found a wire clamp at the little hardware store, adjusted the cable to get as much slack as I could and looped it through teh clamp and got that going again as well. I was super nervous with it but made it the 500ish miles home and even a few trips after that till my new cable came in.

Oh and I did put a "proper" bracket on her light can this year, bought a $12 side mount braket to go on the forks. Then drilled out the rivets for the big bolt on the bottom of the can, and drilled new holes on the side of the can for the bracket. Since it wasnt flattened for the mounts I bent the braket to match, put in some cut gasket as a washer to cut down the vibrations and some bolts through, now its pretty solid.

I love reading what you do, reminds me of someone I know

[BentRod]

Yes Officer

Thats funny. Would you mind posting a picture of the bodged headlight if you have one?
The broken cable seems to be a more common experiance than I would like to hear. (Yes, I got busy then I went away again, sorry, Visiting the family with the afformentioned cute red head)
I can remember last summer taking a dive on a down hill oil slick towards a "T" intersection (Really nothing you can do about that kind of a situation) I ended up driving to work using my leatherman tool to yank on the throttle cable. I made it through Toronto ok, but I took the bus home, and left the bike at the yard until I had parts to fix it.

I suppose since I'm on this topic, I might as well tell you all the that story, cause it's vaguely bike related, and while I was not impressed my funny funny co-workers had a good giggle, and may be someone here will too.

As mentioned above, I lost control in the oil, and my throttle cable, apparently nearing the end of its life, snapped the little nobby thing off the end where it connects to the handle bar twisty do-hic-a-ma-jigger, (Aka a do-hicky). this was at 6:30 am, and I had to get to work for 7am. I had taken a tranfer to the Toronto Yard of McNally Construction Inc, a large civil engineering consulting and construction company. I had moved offices the day before, the monday, and this was to be my first full day with my new team, and new supervisor, James McNally, (ya.. owners son and senior construction engineer for the new project).

I made it to work on time with a story to tell. I met all the guys in the yard, and the other 3 members of the in office team. The day went well.

the next morning I came in early with a 2 foot par of crimpers (or swaging tool) and aluminum swages, or little aluminum collars to be crimped to the handle bar end of my throttle cable. for those of you who do not know, a swaging tool looks a bit like one of those heavy duty cutters they use in hardware stores to spilt mid gage chain. I made my repairs and tooke the bike for a spin. when I got back is was just before 7am, and everyone was in for the day.

I got inside and found two guys from the yard talking to James, and a couple others talking to a police officer. I didn't know what had happened, so I went to my desk, put my bag down, got my self organised and started in on the stack of documents already piled on the corner of my desk. It was about 10 minutes later I found out what had happened. apparently at least three men had broken into the yard the night before in a full size van. The had back the van up to the gates, cut the lock, and driven in to the yard. They stole about 5000$ in copper cable, tools, and then just to rub it in, they filled their gas tank with the company fuel pump. They had hidden their faces, so it was not possible to ID them. The officer had taken photos of the tread prints left by the van in the now hard mud, and of the shoe prints, as there had a series of simular robberies in the area. He also photographed any other tire marks he found in the area. I was sure to explain to him that I had arrived eary to fix my bike, hence the additional set of tire prints from me.

I went to get my coffee and bumped into Bill, the yard manager, who informed me that while I had been away from my desk, the officer had taken a look at the tools in my bag, and started asking questions about me. He wanted to know why I had what looked like a set of bolt breakers with me, how long I had been with the company, my full name, if anyone had seen me come in that morning, etc. I kind of freaked out. Of course no one had seen me come in early, and I had not used the main gate aways so I would not be on video. I went back to find the officer, but he had gone, and my supervisor told me he had asked for a copy of my personal file, and they had given him one.

I was not at all happy about this, and proceeded to run out of the office to try and catch the officer. I got outside just intime to watch the cop car pull away. I went back inside, foudn the officers card and started dialing. Before I finished Bill finally informed me that it was all just a joke, something to do to the new guy. There had really been a break in, but apparently it was nothing new, and it was covered by insurance anyways. I took all kinda of comments and teasing for over reacting and getting pranked for weeks to come.