Straightening Bent Levers.

So you dropped the bike?
And the levers took the hit. Well, as long as they aren't snapped clean off, you might be able to save them. 
I'm concentrating on aluminium brake, clutch and gear levers for this post (I'll mention steel at the end).

Aluminium (Al) is light, corrosion-resistant, and can easily be cut, drilled, machined, polished etc. It can also be worked (bent or shaped) relatively easily if you treat it the right way. But it will work-harden, which means the more you bend it, the harder, and more prone to cracking, it becomes. Hence why they normally snap in a spill.

Why can't I just bend it back?
Hey, you might be lucky. A slight bend may go back easily enough, but I don't recommend trying it without annealing the part first. And it's such a simple process, you'll be glad you spent the time doing it properly.

Tools
1) Blow lamp
2) Soap, yes really.

If you've ever needed to bend steel, using heat, you'll know it needs to be cherry-red to allow it to move easily. But you don't have that luxury with aluminium; it won't change colour, and excessive heat will just melt it (660.3˚C). Which is where the soap comes in... so, without further ado.

Bridgestone S20 (Quick) Review

Bigger is better!
So the 190/50 is apparently now old fashioned? Strange times indeed. The lower the profile the better back in the day, but now a taller, rounder tyre is the preferred choice - to give more sidewall grip if you will. 
Fair call. The more grip the better; no one would disagree there.
So, with the second set of Rosso II's completely knackered (the Gixer was becoming hard work to ride fast), I perused eBay for the cheapest pair of decent 190/55 120/70 tyres I could find. Chaparral Motor Sports in the States came up trumps, AU$360, delivered, for the new Bridgestone S20's! Happy days, let's get them bought.

Cracking service.
They arrived in just over a week, so Saturday morning was spent stripping the old tyres, cleaning away the slight corrosion on the inside of the rims and slapping the new ones on. Balancing was carried out on the static rig I knocked up before, and soon they were ready to go back in the bike.

Whoop, time to play. 
Lucky enough to live on a mountain, most of the roads I travel involve bends, and plenty of them. So off I go, and after a few turns I start to think I've made a huge mistake. New tyres always feel strange (our bodies have an incredible ability to adapt to the worn-out rubbish we've just taken off), but this was weird!
It wanted to fall nicely into the bends, but there was a nasty weave while leant over. Oops. After reading about the benefits of the 190/55 on a K5/6 Gixer, I was a little worried about what I was feeling. But a couple of k's in and the, let's face it, amazing human body started to relax and let the bike do what it needed to do. And then it started to click. 

Bridgestone S20 190/55R17

Relax, don't do it... 
It's the only way to ride. Mellow out, loose hands, let the bike do its thing and help it out by moving your body position to suit. I started to enjoy the new profile. Even with the front forks suffering (leaky seals, original springs), the difference in handling was stunning! The more k's the better it got. 
The Bridgestones are typically soft, just take a look at the bits of rubber all over the tyre after a ride. Good enough to convince you that you're quick through the bends. Hmm, same pace on a Michelin will sort that nonsense out. But I like them! This bike has taken on a new lease of life. I even gave it a much needed wash!

Are there any bad tyres nowadays?
Probably not, I've tried to follow an old giffer on a Blackbird, shod with Shinkos, and could barely hold onto him! This (almost) pensioner is fast as bastard fu#*, goes out with no gloves, a pair of jeans and an old Goretex type jacket and this old boy could quite easily do half hour in ten minutes. On Shinkos! 'Twas an eye opener the first time I tried it on.
So while these S20's feel absolutely superb, it's hard to say whether or not the major change is because of the aspect ratio, or the tyre manufacturer. All I know is I'll be sticking to this size (although a lad who rides locally swears by the 200/55 on the same bike).

190/55R17 Bridgestone S20R

Chicken strips
Vanity huh? It'll take a while to get to the edge of these, and I'll be going even slower than normal to get there! Call it the safety aspect - always something in reserve to save your ass when all goes wrong. Or maybe it's time to attempt elbow down on the road?

The S20 is a good looking tyre.
As strange as that sounds, it matters a lot. I love the look of them and the feel. It's early days yet, but so far they've made one of the biggest improvements to my bike. If you've been wondering about the upgrade to a 55, give it a whirl, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Conclusion?
Bloody brilliant. A lot of people moan that Bridgestones feel crap once worn but, in fairness, I think all tyres feel crap when worn. For now, the pizzazz is back in this Gixer, and that's all that really matters to me. I'm running 36psi front and rear at the moment, in coolish weather, and it feels perfect.

"Kneedown? Need bloody elbow sliders me!" Two Wheels Magazine.

Also...
I've got linear rate, 0.975kg springs coming from Traxxion Dynamics soon. Expect a full run through of the fitment, and how it feels on the road. No more bottoming out I hope! Stay posted.

Diagnostics - Inlet Rubbers and O-Rings.

Saving the diagnostic heartache.
If you had to name a fault on an engine that causes no end of diag. grief, it's an inlet air leak. From a worn carburettor to a knackered O-ring, any extra air sucked in with your [perfectly] metered fuel will have you chasing round the bike looking for obvious problems. Not always easy.
So, if you're trying to put together an old bike, be sure to change the O-rings on the inlet rubbers while you're at it. Why? Take a look at the picture below. This is the combined result of thirty years of engine heat cycles, and intense Australian sun. The O-ring on the left has turned into a flattened, plastic ring - no longer supple, and no longer sealing. When compared with the new O-ring on the right, it's easy to see why it won't work.

But before changing them, check the manifolds themselves. Although the rubber tubes on my GSX have hardened, I can't find any splits and a quick clean up should have them ready for use. The next step was to run a blade around the inside of the inlet tube where it meets the cylinder head. There was a rough, raised edge on each of them (either rubber or carbon) so I cut it away and smoothed it with 180 wet & dry. 

Next was to make sure the surface was flat. Anyone brought up on Brit bikes with Amal Monobloc's or Concentric's will know this scenario all too well. Previous gorillas (ok, owners) tightening up a two-bolt flange like this tend to warp them, allowing a nice supply of unmetered air into the engine. Luckily, these particular inlets are held by Phillips screws, which generally prevents over tightening, but I still clean them up on a flat plate with a sheet of 180 emery cloth. Why take chances?

See how the new O-ring sits proud of the groove, ready to seal both surfaces together.

Perfect!

Make sure the mating surfaces are clean and shiny. Any dirt left here will cause you grief. 

 

Sorted! I've even made sure the "lefts" are fitted to the left, and vice versa. Is there any stopping me?

And moving on... 
With old gasket eventually scraped off, I thought I'd slap the clutch cover back on. It's far easier to clean gaskets off with dowels removed. Again, you need every bit of the old gasket off. Don't expect a new gasket to seal around tiny lumps of old gasket. Spend the time to get it right. A clean surface with a new gasket shouldn't need any additional sealant. 
While you're in there, clean any crud out of the threaded holes with a tap or thread chaser. Even run a larger drill around each hole (by hand) to remove any raised/stretched metal from over tightening. Easier to sort out this stuff now.
With dowels back in place, the gasket has something to locate on.
If you don't have the correct tap or thread chaser, make your own using a bolt of the correct thread - see this post.

Personal preference is a light smear of grease on the dowels to prevent corrosion in the alloy cases. Then offer up the cover and push it on squarely, before tightening the bolts in an even sequence. 

Great! Hopefully oil tight too.

Repairing Threads (On The Cheap)

Getting you out of a hole.
At some point of working with bikes or cars, you'll be faced with a thread that's been damaged through over tightening, cross-threading, or simply full of corrosion/paint. A good set of taps and dies, or a thread chaser set, is invaluable for these times, but here's a neat trick that can get you out of that hole when you have neither.

But first, here's a few of the sets I use regularly. Well worth the investment, even it only saves you once.

Snap On Thread Chaser Set

M10x1.25 Chaser, Nut andTap

Beta Tap Set

Now the cheap method.
1) Take a bolt of the correct thread. 
In this case an M8x1.25 - this refers to the diameter of the bolt, not the size of the head (M8 = 8mm), and the pitch (distance between each raised point in millimetres).

 

2) Cover the thread in rag, and place the bolt in the vice. 

3) Take a square, triangular or flat file and start to cut a slot into the end of the bolt.

4) Once it starts to look like this, turn it 120º and cut another slot. 

5) Repeat one last time so you have three slots around the bolt. These are going to carry the swarf away from the problem thread, and prevent further damage. 

I use plenty of WD40 when clearing threads in aluminium, and take my time. If it tightens up, work it back and fore, and spray with lube until it frees. 

If you can't work out the correct angle the bolt should be screwed in (due to cross-threading damage), see if you can screw some other bolts in surrounding holes. This will give you a guide to follow when you're trying to get it back on track. Similarly, a spark plug will normally follow the same angle as the others in a multi-cylinder engine. 

Take your time to work out angles before screwing the chaser, or tap, into the hole or you'll cut a good thread at a crap angle!

The budget thread chaser. 
This can also be put to good use with old spark plugs if somebody's managed to cross-thread them or the holes are full of old carbon etc. Just slot an old plug in the same way. One thing to remember, your budget chaser isn't as hard as the correct tool, so don't expect it to keep clearing in the same way. This is more about getting you out of a jam on a Saturday afternoon when those vital stores have closed.

  

Suzuki GSX750ES — Painting the Engine.

Yeah, so it's been quiet lately.
A twist of fortune gave way to some time in the garage, which meant a little more got done to the GSX. I'm currently zipping between little tasks on the bike  and not getting anything finished. And one job I did want to get out of the way was a splash of paint on the engine. 
I initially thought I'd go for bare alloy, except for barrels and head, but thirty years of corrosion was proving hard to remove. It would have been ok with constant polishing, but I relented and chose to paint it instead. 

It took a lot of cleaning from this:

Real Life Bike Building. Enjoy!

The Build Film from Instrument on Vimeo.

Allen Bolts and Bodges.

Oh the abuse!
It seems the older the bike is, the more damage she takes from Bodgett and Scarper Esquire. A familiar sight on the GSX engines are the large-capped Allen bolts holding down the rocker cover. Nice and shiny when new, chiselled to death several miles down the road. 
I'm on a budget here and there's no way I'm forking out for new bolts when I don't really know how good the rest of the bike is. Anything to help them would be good. 

Here's a pic of them with engine still in bike, note the chisel mark in the centre rear bolt.

The centres of the bolts are visibly rounded. A 6mm Allen key will undo them, but is a very slack fit. Although we can never make them exactly like new, we can do something to help. Fetch the hammer.

1) The raised edges are what we want to try and knock down again. Try and brush the hammer across the bolt as you hit down - as if you're pushing the metal back into the hole.

2) Here you can see how loose the Allen key is in the bolt.

3) Hammered down flat. You'll probably need to tap the Allen key into the hole after hammering. This should give it a nice hexagon again.

4) Much better fit. It won't be perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better and doesn't look so bollocksed!

5) Next, it's back in the drill for a spin up against some rough emery cloth, 240 wet and dry paper and, finally, 320. Finished off with a rag and Autosol will soon have it looking respectable.

But some of these are bad!
Two of the bolts in the GSX cover are smaller in size, and must be harder to remove going by the chisel marks! They get the same treatment, but the hexagons are pretty worn on these two. Not much can be done with the abuse on the edges bar for filing and polishing. They're hidden under the tank to some extent so all should be good.

Big improvement huh? 

At a quick glance you'd never know, and that's what it's all about - trying to make something good from a previous owner's learning curve. Right, what's next?

The rocker cover needs more work, but all in good time. Bolts are looking so much better than before!