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Like most project threads, this is a tale of tragedy and woe. And stupid PO poo poo. And powdered rubber. And squirrel malfeasance. This is going to be pic-heavy. Sorry 56k! Part 1: Don't Buy a loving Track Bike All three of you that read my posts know that I love the Hawk GT. I had originally chosen the Suzuki GS500 as my first bike (it was the early 2000's) and stumbled upon a pic of the culty Hawk GT. Instant love. Drove from western Wisconsin to Escanaba MI to pick up my first one:  Loved it, rode it for a couple years but decided (wrongly, it turns out) that I wanted more. Sold the Hawk and purchased, rode, and sold whatever bike floated through my transom. I never found anything I liked more than the Hawk. So in 2016 I purchased another one:  Cheap and in very good shape but not running. I more or less refurbished this bike with new freaking everything, when I was done it felt like an off-the-showroom floor Hawk GT. It was perfect:  Too perfect. Around this time my whorish wandering eyes saw an ad in Craigslist for another Hawk GT. I wish I had screenshotted the ad, because there were huge red flags that it was a scam and I assumed it was. It was a very grainy pic of a Hawk GT with yellow bodywork. Back in this day of Craigslist there were a huge amount of scam ads but there were always clues. For example, we don't have palm trees here so if the picture of the bike is next to a palm tree it's a likely scam. The fauna around the yellow bike didn't match what we have here, looked more like the South. The text accompanying the ad was very vague and odd. There was no phone number attached. Convinced that it was a scam ad I sent an email because the price was only $1200. I would not have paid this much for it in hindsight. A few weeks went by and I completely forgot about it, but then I got an email reply from someone who seemed to be a human saying the bike was available and was being stored at a friend of the PO's about 60 miles west. I hooked up the trailer and drove over to take a look. Things were rough. This was a trackbike that had been converted to street. It had been non-op for who knows how long. The PO couldn't provide me with much information on it over the phone. She wouldn't budge on the price. Everything was screaming at me to run away. But GOD drat did the thing look good, even with all the dings and dents. I knew that at this price someone else would buy it, and that thought offended me. All I would need to do is get it running! So I bought it:  This was 2017. The tail is from a Ducati 748/996 etc. The fiberglass bodywork, best I can tell, is the 90-93 RVF750 from Airtech: https://www.airtech-streamlining.com/honda-fairings-seats-fenders-parts/RVF75093.html Here is a quick inventory of mods from the PO if anyone gives a poo poo: quote:Hawk Forks with Racetech springs  It was very rough, but it was mine. Part 2: poo poo's hosed That sinking feeling in your gut you get when you realize you may have completely hosed yourself:  Ok so the PO's more of a function over form type of person no big deal....  heh ok we all make some concessions when it comes to wire routing and....  that doesn't look like rubber but thisisfine.jpg  wait what the gently caress   A quick turnaround was off the board. This bike wasn't just rough, it was abused and then cobbled back together at trackside. Everywhere I looked there were problems. But I persisted. The cam holder had been broken by someone overtightening the valve cover, then was heli-coiled which failed and cracked the cam holder when I removed the cover to check valve clearance. I replaced the cam holder and finished checking the valves. Cleaned the carbs and filled it with fresh fuel and it ran as I had assumed it would, until it stalled out and I had to push it back home. Carbs plugged again somehow, and this time when I checked them there was brown stuff in the bowls. That could come from only one place.... This is the real low point of the project, a real dark ages era. Hawk GT tanks are notoriously unobtainable. I don't have any pictures but that brown stuff in the bowls could mean only one thing: the tank was rusty. Turns out, it had been sealed with Caswell or something similar and the lining had started to fail. I could probably go on for hours about how miserable it was to remove an old liner with increasingly toxic chemicals but in the end MEK was able to dislodge the old liner and I was down to extremely rusty metal. I had a POR15 tank sealer kit at the ready and applied it. Waited weeks for it to dry, filled it with fuel AND AND it leaked. The tank had pinholes at the low points. I gave up and plugged them with tank sealer putty. It held and continues to hold to this day, but the tank will never be right unless it's completely stripped and welded. To top off this Greek-rear end tragedy I dropped the tank and put a nice dent in it. Don't try to work on a rusty tank yourself send it off to a tank specialist or radiator shop. Trust me, it's just not worth it. The failure nearly made me give up and sell off the whole project. Because of this, it did not get much attention for a year or two. Part 3: I Can See Clearly Now, My Brain is Gone Time passed, I stupidly sold the good red Hawk to clear space for other bikes I would wind up liking much less. I needed a rideable Hawk so I plowed headlong back into my poor cursed bird. The 900rr shock was ditched for a Hagon. I cleaned up all the plumbing and wiring, poo poo-canning the electric fuel pump for a Mikuni vacuum pump mounted up underneath the tank, and added the  pod filters. There's so much data on Hawk GT jetting that it's fairly easy to dial in.  Parts came, parts went. At one point it had a 2003 CBR600RR front end on it and a VFR800 rear wheel:  VEERRRY much a 10ft bike in this pic. You can't see the rough details in the way the fairings fit, or the little cracks and other damage....or the goddamn fabricobbled subframe and fairing mounts, but more on that later.  Changing the Hawk GT's rear wheel out requires a modified spindle, this one is modified for 4 lugs. But why have one wheel mod when you can have two at twice the price? Changed the rear wheel out for a NC30 18" wheel, requiring a differently modified spindle. I now have 3 spindles, stock, 4 lug, and one modified for the RC30/NC30/RC35: The V&H can was hilariously toast so it was replaced with the Leo Vince SBK. As it turns out, the CBR600RR forks were bent just out of spec. I wound up selling the forks themselves out as parts and sold the other good bits on ebay. Incidentally, I still have a pair of brand-freaking-new Galfer rotors but since they only fit the 2003-2004 CBR600RR and CBR F4 nobody wants them. If you can use them, make me an offer. a side note here, you might see us old farts use the terms "F2, F3, F4, etc" this just refers to the generation of CBR600. CBR600 was the first, followed by F2 (91-94) F3 (95-98) and so on. They stopped using this label after the F4/F4i. Virtually all the front ends from this era are interchangeable. Newer front ends like the 2007+ USD 600RR front ends also bolt right up. Same bearings, same stem length.Wired in a Vapor, most importantly, wired it using stock type plugs without modifying the original harness. One saving grace on this bike is the wiring harness had not been horrifically hacked.  Rebuilt the rear brake, replaced the dust-cushes and worked my cleaning magic on the swingarm. Totally rebuilt the eccentric with new bearings, replaced the grooved rotor with an aftermarket one:  If it seems like I'm making good progress here BRRRT nope I'm not these are changes over the course of three years. During this time I replaced the questionable motor with a super-low mile stock motor. I switched the front end to a rebuilt CBR F3 front end with Race Tech springs (.95 iirc).  It's now time to sit down and have a serious chat about the seat and subframe. This is not the only Hawk GT to have a Ducati tail but considering the work was likely done in the late 90's/early 00's it may have been the first. The Duc tail obviously does not fit the Hawk so the mod is usually accomplished with an aftermarket or custom subframe. The PO went the, uh, custom route:  That's the best pic I have, the tumor on the left is both the support for the rear of the tail and the mount for the taillight. Not only is this hideous but in any kind of crash that subframe is going to shred into shrapnel. I like to work with fiberglass, so I fabbed up a battery box and rear support. It's not pretty but is not meant to be. It served the purpose much better than the PO's solution:  I admit that the Duc tail looks really good....from the right angle. If you've ever seen or sat on one of those Ducs you'll notice just how wide and flat those seats are. The Duc seat is nearly twice as wide as the Hawk tank. It looks odd directly from the back. I bought a Sargent seat for it but even so it had all the comfort of a bench seat at Lambeau Field. So, I gave up on it and threw all the time spent into the shitter and picked up a stock subframe and seat. I had a rear cowl in need of attention, along with the tank these are also unobtainable on the Hawk and always have broken tabs. I recreated the tabs using monomer liquid and acrylic powder (liquid plastic):  ...which finally brings us to the near present:  It runs well now and the jetting has been dialed in, not much more to say on this other than it requires removing the carbs for tweaking a bunch of times. I'm in the bodywork phase now, which is tedious af. I'm replacing and/or improving all bodywork mounts as well as fixing the cracks, warps, and weak spots in the fairings. Oh, and a single headlight?? On a 90's race replica?? Not on my watch:   more later
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Oct 2, 2021 15:58
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 18:51 |
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 The frame on the Hawk is sooo good looking.
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Oct 2, 2021 18:59
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 projects & vtwins rule
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Oct 2, 2021 19:21
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Right now the to-do list looks like this: Fabricate new fairing mounts (mostly done) Fix, straighten, strengthen bodywork Cut headlight holes, mount headlights Route and tidy up front wiring Paint I'm keeping the same "livery" and colors because it's  and I'm not creative enough to come up with something better.I mentioned before that I like working with fiberglass. The main reason is that with fiberglass what is hosed can always easily be unfucked. This is the looking down a straight edge of the lower fairing and it's as crooked as a politician. To fix it I flex the fiberglass along that line until it cracks lightly. Then I add a layer of resin and cloth to the back and clamp it down, ending up with a straight edge after it cures. None of this is necessary but these little fitment flaws will bother me if I don't.  These gaps cut into the lower fairings for header clearance were covered by aluminum shields riveted into the lower. Honestly it's not a bad solution and the work was good but since the fairings have been shifted they no longer line up. I'll be using fiberglass instead. 
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Oct 3, 2021 14:54
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This thread sucks
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Oct 3, 2021 16:13
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:This thread sucks Make a build thread, they said. It will be fun, they said.
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Oct 3, 2021 19:42
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I promised drive-by shitposting, not encouragement
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Oct 3, 2021 19:46
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For real though I didn’t realize you could reform fiberglass by flexing it until it cracks and re-resining it. I’d always assumed the only option was to scrap it or load it with filler and sand. Cool poo poo.
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Oct 3, 2021 20:58
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:For real though I didn’t realize you could reform fiberglass by flexing it until it cracks and re-resining it. I’d always assumed the only option was to scrap it or load it with filler and sand. Cool poo poo. Yup, don't need to crack it all the way through if it is thin enough you can just work it over a bit with a pliers or something. Fiberglass does have some "memory" in the sense it will go back to the shape it was before if you don't make it forget its old shape. Thicker fiberglass might need cuts perpendicular to the line. For just straightening or repairs this is Good Enough but since this is all painted vanity nonsense I'll have to smooth and sand one side. The other option to fix a warp is to fill the "inside" bend of the warp and then sand down the outside, but this creates a ton of extra dust and uses up more sandpaper and material as this highly technical diagram illustrates:  "Fill" in most cases means resin and cloth. I only use filler putty on very small holes or dips . I should add at this point I am in no way a fiberglass expert; I picked it up a long time ago and taught myself how. A true hack.
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Oct 4, 2021 11:14
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Every once in a while I remember things that were so wrong with this bike that I have apparently memory-holed: The original single front caliper was taken from a different bike and adapted using an adapter plate using the stock Hawk rotor...nothing out of the ordinary there. However the caliper they chose used pads with a wider surface area than the rotor, so that the pad overlapped the inner (non-braking) area of the rotor. As you might guess, those two surfaces along with the pad material have different wear rates and looking at the pads you could see the uneven wear where the pad was riding on the inside of the rotor. I thought about ways to fix it for about 3 seconds before tossing the whole thing out. Now it has dual F3 rotors and rebuilt calipers: 
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Oct 4, 2021 11:42
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A milestone of sorts was passed today. The PO's fairing mount was a homemade "T" shaped bar that mounted to the front tank bolt then attached to the rear upper "wings" of the fairing, typical of 90's supersports. The mirrors were also mounted at these points, making them 90% useless:  The part on the right held the headlights and was bolted behind the steering head. This made the cockpit super cramped, you couldn't see the gauges or mirrors, and the rear mount would cut into your hand if you even approached full lock....probably not big issues for a track bike. I needed something better but the lack of a welder was holding me back. I picked up a used stick welder while this isn't ideal for this kind of work it does let me booger things together. Cobbled together this thing:  By taking the PO's headlight mount, cutting it short, and welding two mirror mounts cut from a CBR900RR rear fairing mount. I then added two tabs to the upper fairing for the mirrors. This eliminates the rear mount and gives way more clearance.   Mirrors work great now. The tabs will be cut down and smoothed out. These are the original mirrors and not the mirrors I'll be using.
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Oct 6, 2021 22:45
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Hell yeah, that looks so much better now.
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Oct 7, 2021 00:05
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Just doing a bunch of touch up with fiberglass that takes time. I like to give it several days to cure before I sand. This is definitely not my preferred way of working, I'm someone who will work on mechanical things until I run out of either parts or tools, but with bodywork the waiting breaks up my work flow. Speaking of, I was back at it yesterday but this time on the VFR. The Goldwing has taken its place as the "get poo poo done" bike and I just don't ride the viffer anymore. I'm trying to pare down to 3 bikes max so up for sale it goes. Sadly, these old VFRs are worth less than a beat up Ninja 250. I think it's the carbs and the (mostly justified) difficulty of working on them that turns people away. This one had a combination of F4i forks rebuilt with brand new stanchions and Race Tech springs, F4i brakes, Gen 6 VFR triples, Gen 6 front wheel with new bearings, and new rotors. I pulled this front end off and put the original back on because it's worth almost nothing on the bike but about $600 off it. Harsh lesson on how you never get your money back on upgrades. Whole front end switch took all of 1.5 hours, jobs that used to be daunting are now routine.  Even in this market it's only worth $1800-$2000 which is an insane bargain for this bike especially since unlike other VFRs this one needs nothing. Literally everything works, including all the dash lights(I rebuilt it). Anything less than that and it isn't worth selling and will go on the future project list.
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Oct 21, 2021 12:14
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tell us about it in the discord https://discord.gg/XR8aNyMJ
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Oct 21, 2021 13:23
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Totally get the breaking up workflow thing. Really hard to pick up where you left off after a break.
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Oct 22, 2021 10:40
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Just found this thread and the presence of pod filters is distressing but I'll bite my tongue. What made you go for the 18" nc30 wheel? I can't imagine they're easier to get tyres for than they were ~10 years ago when I had one.
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Nov 1, 2021 02:08
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Slavvy posted:Just found this thread and the presence of pod filters is distressing but I'll bite my tongue. I have paid the price in time for making the pod filters work. There's a good amount of data to draw from the racers so getting the jetting right wasn't too bad. That said I do have the original box and if the intake noise ever bothers me it's going back on. I bought the 18" wheel because I got a good deal on it and because this is an NC30 replica of sorts. Tire choice is not great. I would much prefer the 17" from the RC30 (e: meant RC35, RC30 is 18") or RC45 but prices on those are astronomical. I'd also like to get another 17" VFR 5 spoke for it since I have the spindle for the swap. I've been dealing with a bum knee so I've got gently caress all done on this in the last couple weeks but I couldn't resist this minty Sherpa for $2300. Like every bike I buy it doesn't run, hasn't been registered since 2018. Just need to clear out the pilot jet. 
Gorson fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Nov 2, 2021 |
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Nov 2, 2021 13:08
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oh gently caress yes
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Nov 2, 2021 15:08
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Fixed! Runs good, plenty of lean pop but it's only low 40's out.
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Nov 2, 2021 17:56
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gently caress yeah!!! The best bike in the world returns! They are jetted a little lean out of the box, iirc I stepped my pilot jet up a little and when I got a noisy muffler, shimmed the needle a bit.
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Nov 2, 2021 20:47
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I could work on air cooled single dual sports all day, everything is bing bong so simple. It's at e:4200 miles and due soon for a valve check, when I do that I'll do some fiddling with the carb.
Gorson fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Nov 5, 2021 |
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Nov 3, 2021 19:26
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Slavvy posted:gently caress yeah!!! The best bike in the world returns! This thing is being strangled by the pilot jet (17.5 lmao) do you remember what you went up to? Internet says #20.
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Nov 5, 2021 01:57
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Gorson posted:This thing is being strangled by the pilot jet (17.5 lmao) do you remember what you went up to? Internet says #20. I think 22? But I know I went a bit too big and had to run only half a turn on the screw so 20 sounds right.
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Nov 5, 2021 02:06
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Slavvy posted:I think 22? But I know I went a bit too big and had to run only half a turn on the screw so 20 sounds right. Internet also says 130 main but I don't think that will do any good on this bike. You wouldn't happen to know if there's a short choke knob that fits this carb? I'd prefer that over the cable operated one. I'd also like to swap in a manual petcock.
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Nov 5, 2021 02:27
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Gorson posted:Internet also says 130 main but I don't think that will do any good on this bike. You wouldn't happen to know if there's a short choke knob that fits this carb? I'd prefer that over the cable operated one. I'd also like to swap in a manual petcock. I know it's possible to do but I don't know which particular one it is, as I've seen one set up that way. I wouldn't bother upping the main unless you're doing exhaust and intake mods, in which case the needle is your first port of call anyway.
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Nov 5, 2021 02:31
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Gorson posted:Internet also says 130 main but I don't think that will do any good on this bike. You wouldn't happen to know if there's a short choke knob that fits this carb? I'd prefer that over the cable operated one. I'd also like to swap in a manual petcock. I’ve used the generic Yamaha petcock on one Yamaha and two Suzukis successfully. It’ll be listed as the replacement for a Yamaha Raptor on eBay. Zero issues in many years and many miles.
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Nov 5, 2021 02:31
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:I’ve used the generic Yamaha petcock on one Yamaha and two Suzukis successfully. It’ll be listed as the replacement for a Yamaha Raptor on eBay. Zero issues in many years and many miles. Looks like that fits the sherp so I'll order one up, thanks.
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Nov 5, 2021 13:47
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Update? Process of winterizing 16 some odd carburetors and brutal winter weather with brutal garage heating costs has left me with zero desire to work. Honestly if someone came along and stole all these things they'd be doing me a huge favor.
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Feb 1, 2022 12:55
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Gorsoff
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Feb 1, 2022 21:34
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Lol fuckin got im
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Feb 2, 2022 06:33
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shacked up with Brenda posted:Gorsoff HenryJLittlefinger posted:Lol fuckin got im  Winter season has changed to Potential Nuclear Winter season, so lets start some bieks! First up the Sherpa, this should be some easy points-on-the-board. Bowl was drained, battery moved inside, tank filled with non-ethanol primo, choke on, last run early November, ambient temp 35F. Goin vertical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY8zDEILLcQ Choke plunger is sticky which is why I don't like dash mount plungers.
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Mar 10, 2022 15:41
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Fellow travellers/readers of The Gorson Thread will definitely want to check the voltage your tender is putting out. I have 3 tenders, 2 brick Schumachers and a Battery Tender wall wart. One of the bricks is older and heavier. It charges at a max of about 14.5v and will cycle down when the charge is full. The wall wart does about the same. However the newer, much lighter, cheaper feeling Schumacher brick will charge up to 15.5v which over time may be a bit much for some batteries. I don't trust that charger and only use it for short periods.
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Mar 10, 2022 16:05
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15,5v is definitely way too much. For old skool buzzboxes that's to be expected, but it's too much for unsupervised charging. SLAs will get badly damaged by that, if you leave it for a while. SLAs will vent and then be screwed. Refillable batteries vent hydrogen, but can be refilled (duh). If your bike doesn't explode, then you can refill the battery with demineralized water. There are quite a lot of stories of battery tenders that are supposed to be 'smart', to wreck batteries by overcharging and boiling (or rather electrolysing) them dry. LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Mar 10, 2022 |
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Mar 10, 2022 17:02
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I'll allow it
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Mar 10, 2022 22:57
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Hm. I'll have to check my Battery Tender. I just clip that poo poo on and run away.
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Mar 14, 2022 22:07
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:I'll allow it SA is basically nothing like Reddit, you can't get probed for anything these days. The VFR has always been a hard starter. I fully drained this one of fuel in the fall so I could swap the tank. I do a little prep on it first by priming the fuel system with a relay jumper, then turn the bike over a few times to get the juices going. Then I'll let it sit on the charger for a day while the battery gets back up to full. Choke on, last run in November, ambient temp about 40F. Had to fiddle with the idle stop screw because I can't remember where it was set. I'm mainly doing this out of boredom, but also to show that even ancient carbed bikes owned and maintained by a hack fraud will still start in the Spring. The biggest mistakes people make are not priming the fuel system and cranking the bike over until the battery is shot. Sometimes you have to take it in bites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chyzaN-LQGI We had some nice weather here yesterday so I finished putting the VFR back together with the stock brakes, new pads, and new fluid. I'm tempted to sell it but nobody wants them so their value bottomed out years ago. I'll probably throw it up for a higher price and see what happens. It does need tires, the front was what came on the bike and is dated 2011 and the back was a new one of mine that picked up a nail and is shot. I can't ride it because of this which is sad because other than the bodywork this is one of the nicest gen 4's left out there. Everything works, all dash lights, gauges, etc.  The Goldwing has been very slowly piddling coolant from both the left cylinder and from the water pump weep hole. I have suspected the left head gasket is failing for a while, and the coolant from the weep hole is likely the water pump seal. These are not difficult fixes on the GL1100, but they can wait a bit. I do not expect issues starting it they have big batteries and a big starter motor and the boxer configuration spins up easily.
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Mar 17, 2022 14:28
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Gorson posted:SA is basically nothing like Reddit, you can't get probed for anything these days. You keep your witchcraft reverse psychology away from me!!!!!!
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Mar 17, 2022 14:41
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Maybe take the plugs out of the wing before your turn it over as one of the cylinders might be filled with coolant
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Mar 17, 2022 19:32
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Slavvy posted:Maybe take the plugs out of the wing before your turn it over as one of the cylinders might be filled with coolant Pulled the left plugs:  Steam cleaned. Pulled the right ones and they look the same. If I stick my nose down next to the cylinder I don't smell coolant but I obviously have some getting into the chamber. Also noticed this (left side):  You can see some coolant pooling there, it's coming from the coolant fitting above it. This explains the leak on that side. You can't see this with the plugs in there is a rubber boot covering that area. GL1100's are still cheap as poo poo and it might be time to start looking for another parts bike. Anyway I've cleared space on the main stage so that the lord's work can continue: 
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Mar 18, 2022 19:05
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Switching things up a little today, a friend of mine wants to get Goldwing #2 running so he can ride it around this summer. It also has been weeping coolant from the pump weep hole, so it needs the same seal and pump replacement as my other Wing. Removed the front cover, cleaned out some significant sludge. The water pump seal is on the bottom right, and when this seal fails the oil and coolant mix. It was intact when I started but after ripping the crusty rubber off it a bit you can see it has failed, the steel inner ring is rusted:  Several of the o-rings in here were failing so I'll be replacing all of them. Here's the original pump, I know it's the original because the fan is bakelite. You can also see the mocha colored milkshake that indicates a mixture of coolant and oil:  Just need to clean up the surfaces of old gasket and install the new pump. Not a terribly difficult job and I'll get some practice for the other Goldwing.
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Mar 24, 2022 11:53
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