Black Magick

[Jeepfreak81]

That exhaust looks good! I'm scared to touch mine....haha

[ShadowFocus603]

I would have been but the previous owner already had it loose when I got it so I wasn't worried too much. I gotta go out later tonight and fix the threads on number 3 exhaust port.

[ShadowFocus603]

So finally made a little more progress tonight with the rain and all. Ordered a set of 7mm Dyna suppression wires as well as a new set of NGK plugs and boots from Z1 earlier this week and got them installed. Re-used stock coils (for now). Whoever at Suzuki decided to epoxy the damn plug wires into the coils has earned a serious spot on my sh!t list for a while. What an utter PITA to do. Anyways, now that they are done and the new plugs are in the bike is running better than ever. Started a lot easier and seemed to lose some of the hesitation I have been tracking down. Of course, the fact the old wires were original and wrapped in 3 layers of electrical tape clearly indicated they were arcing at some point in the past and the PO chose to rig them rather than fix it right.

[growler]

So you just dug out the epoxy? Any tips? I'm going to be doing that pretty soon myself, if the coils test out ok.

[ShadowFocus603]

What I did personally was work a single coil at a time. I marked each pole on the coil for corresponding plug then I cut the wire flush as possible. Then I used a 90 degree grinder with roloc discsto grind the wire and epoxy flush with the face of the coil taking care to only go until I saw the free wire with no more epoxy around it. Then I used a long sharp pick to break the upper edge loose where the glue had seeped into the wire sheath and pry it just enough to get the wire with pliers and it then pulled right out. There is one wire on the coil that is pretty shallow and the other is DEEP in there. With the deeper one I took care to work gently to avoid having it rip down inside the coil where I couldn't get to it. The grinder method may not be popular with some folks on here but it was what I had on hand and it sure beat the hell out of picking at it forever. Total time, including pulling the tank and coils doing the wires then reassembly and re fire only took maybe 30 minutes.

[ShadowFocus603]

So been awhile since I have done anything noteworthy to the bike besides ride it. However last night I got tired of looking at the last vestige of the terrible brown oem paint that was on the tank and finally decided to get the tank done up. Sanded entire tank with 80 grit on a DA sander then smoothed it out with 320 grit. End result was smooth as glass. Laid the flat black and called it a day. Will need another coat at some point, but I just might leave it until I get the bike painted this winter when I do the teardown for powdercoating the frame wheels and forks amongst other bits and bobs. Aesthetically the bike is done for now. Mechanically I still haven't gotten around to the rear brakes and wheel bearings but with life and family time to wrench, let alone ride, comes at a premium. As ever, pics.

[ShadowFocus603]

Finally got a decent camera and took some fresh pics tonight. Pic quality improvement is off the charts.

[ShadowFocus603]

Been awhile since my last post. I swapped out the superbike bars for a set of Daytona's I came across in my garage. Essentially the same look just a bit more rise and pull back. Made the change to try and adjust riding position a tad. The superbike bars will get repurposed to the 1100E once I get around to getting the pods and jet kit for it. Will try to get pics posted up tomorrow. Added the tank and side cover emblems as well.

[ShadowFocus603]

Been awhile since I did anything much but ride this bike. Decided today to retorque the head and get the coil and horn relay mods done. I also removed the Jardine exhaust and resprayed it matte black after the weather had gotten to it a bit. While I was there I replaced all the exhaust bolts with hex head cap screws with stainless washers.

[ShadowFocus603]

Fully disassembled the forks and replaced the seals today. Put in some 4" spacers and fresh 15W fork oil. Initial test ride felt awesome. No air in the forks.

[Caferacernoc]

Fully disassembled the forks and replaced the seals today. Put in some 4" spacers and fresh 15W fork oil. Initial test ride felt awesome. No air in the forks.

4" spacers with the stock fork springs?

[ShadowFocus603]

4" spacers with the stock fork springs?

Correct but I removed the factory metal spacers which were about 3" . So I only added about an inch of extra preload. I weigh 250+ so I needed the extra preload until I can replace the springs.

[Caferacernoc]

Correct but I removed the factory metal sacers which were about 3" . So I only added about an inch of extra preload. I weigh 250+ so I needed the extra preload until I can replace the springs.

Awesome. Thank you. I want to do the same on my 650g. Was it hard to reinstall the fork caps with the extra spacer length?

[ShadowFocus603]

Awesome. Thank you. I want to do the same on my 650g. Was it hard to reinstall the fork caps with the extra spacer length?

It was certainly a bit harder than before. My forks have the air nozzle so I used an adjustable wrench to turn the cap while pushing down on it. It took a couple tries but it went. Without the wrench it was nye impossible.

[Caferacernoc]

It was certainly a bit harder than before. My forks have the air nozzle so I used an adjustable wrench to turn the cap while pushing down on it. It took a couple tries but it went. Without the wrench it was nye impossible.

Yeah, mine has the air nozzles too. That's why I asked. But it it sounds doable. Think I'll give it a whirl this weekend. Thanks. Your bike is coming along great by the way!