New Bits, Missing Bits And Dodgy Bits!

New parts are rolling in fast.
But some of the old bits seem to have done a bunk! I cleaned, painted (then scratched) a LH handlebar switch last week. Convinced it wasn't the one off this bike, and that it came in a box of Katana bits, I did it anyway. Why didn't I think it was off this GSX? The choke lever is snapped off on the Katana one.
I just went through all the pics I took of the bike and, sure enough, the choke lever is intact on the original switch - but where the f#*k is it?

I had a massive clear-out and general tidy in the garage this weekend and went through all the boxes. The switch and clutch lever have definitely gone AWOL. Oh well, hopefully they'll turn up soon.

In the meantime, new acquisitions have been turning up while I had some spare cash. Needing new master cylinder reservoirs, I went looking on good old eBay. A nice, anodised black, aluminium cylindrical reservoir was found for the princely sum of $7.55 delivered. How could you possibly go wrong? 

For one, it came from Hong Kong. They look good, but needed a little finishing inside to remove some metal flash from the casting/machining. But that was no problem. I used a dremel inside to get rid of any rough edges, loctited the little union for the brake hose and then fitted the hose on so I could test it for leaks. After all, leaks on brake components can be a pain. Yes, I know, it's only the brakes, but even so.

With a plug fitted into the pipe, I filled the reservoir with new brake fluid and screwed the top on. I hung it up at varying angles to make sure the top, or sight glass, didn't leak. A few days later and all was well. Then I just left it on the bench for a couple of weeks when, what looked like, condensation started to appear on the hose. I dried it, cleaned it with brake clean and left it for a few days more.

The fluid is sweating through the thin tube so I'll be using proper rubber, or the original hoses. Always worth testing these things first huh? Could've ruined a new paint job on someone's pride and joy, or meant a potential brake failure! You pays your money...

But it's not all bad.
The headlamp brackets arrived which look great, along with the new 530 DID X-ring chain, All Balls shock bearings, HT lead and NGK spark plug caps.

I need to seal the new HT lead into the coils with epoxy as the retaining clips have long since vanished. Later coils came with that treatment anyway. The All Balls bearings are a much cheaper alternative to genuine, and will hopefully last. They're the same bearings as early RM250's etc., although you need two on the GSX rather than the one on the 'crossers.

Progress has been slow lately, although I have begun to make the side panels and done a bit more to the seat/tail unit. Long weekend coming up, so it's time to get a move on.

Now if I could just find that switch and clutch lever.