Sunrise - It's a Little Bit Special.

Took an early one this morning.
5.45am, kit up, sneak quietly into the garage, bike off paddock stands, open garage, push bike outside, roll down the drive and hit the starter button. Second gear snicked in, and head out across the top of the mountain. It's stunning out here!
With the sun due to come up at 5.57am, it's still too dark for the visor, but the temperature at this time of the year is just right. Happy rolling along at 60km/h while the petrol light flashes at me on the Gixer's dash, I'm soon at the perfect spot.

Perfect being this...

Now that's a sunrise!

GSX750ES - Switch Gear

The Intricate bits.
Fiddly, corroded, delicate, but pretty simple to bring up as good as new. Having temporarily misplaced the lefthand switch, I set into its better half. 
Apart from the throttle tube, the righthand side contains the light, starter and kill switches, and all were working ok previously. The red plastic of the kill switch has, unfortunately, faded to pink, so I've decided to paint it in satin black to keep it low key. The lettering will also be left in black (at this stage) because I don't want to draw attention to it. Of course, I may change my mind on this later on. But, without further ado, here's what it looked like.

2013 KTM 50SX - Clutch Replacement.

Clutch slipping, loss of drive but, more importantly, no race wins!

Moving on from the centrifugal, three shoe clutch of the previous mini KTM's, they now have an adjustable, multi-plate assembly fitted. Let's have a look inside.

GSX750 - Cleaning the Carbs, Carbies or Carburettors.

Call 'em what you will...
But this is the thing, the 6Sigma jet kit was ready to be fitted; the carbs were looking a little worse for wear; they needed a damn good clean; and I bought a damn cheap ultrasonic cleaner.

That last point, and my grammar, was a problem...
Now the bike ran ok - ok it didn't idle properly (but then it was in a pretty bad state), but it gave me enough of an inkling that most of it was pretty good inside. And that's half the battle. If you have a non-runner, "do it up" and find something's not right afterwards, it can be hard to pinpoint the problem. At least now when it all goes tits up, I'll know it's probably something to do with a part I've stripped - like the carbs.

Initially, they looked like this.
Dirty on the outside and, due to an air filter that was long overdue for replacement, not too good inside either. So onto eBay for an ultrasonic cleaner.

Delivering the Volts and Sparks - Wiring Looms.

What a bloody mess!
The problem with buying non-running, old junkers is you never know quite how bad something is until you rip it apart. When you buy them unseen, it's worse.

I must admit, the wiring loom left a little to be desired when I removed it. In fairness it looked as rough as fu... I'd seen anywhere. 

• Insulation tape covering a myriad of twiddle joints (hate those). 
• Wires chopped off and left exposed (woohoo).
• Multi-plugs missing and a different set of clocks wired in (aargh!).

But nevertheless, I labelled various wires that went to the regulator/rectifier, coils etc. just in case I needed it for future reference. I'd already worked out we had no functioning charging system, oil light, gear indicator or fuel gauge when I'd fired it up previously, so repairs were definitely necessary. (The gauge was actually connected up to a brake light switch circuit if I remember rightly.)

So, yesterday I decided to pull some stuff out of boxes to see what else was hidden away. There was the loom covered in dust, mud, road grime and black paint. Out it came and straight into the sink with a dose of washing up liquid, Jif, scourers and a brush. After a bit of scrubbing I could actually tell the colour of the remaining multi-plugs, the wiring colours and, as I pulled away the torn insulation tape, I came across more cut wires. Oh joy.

With it dried out in the sun, I pulled it back inside to further inspect. It's no problem to tidy up the wiring with solder joints and heat shrink (although you do need to be careful when soldering because the vibration on a bike can crack them) but, because I'll be moving the position of some of the electrical units, I'll need to wait until the bodywork is complete. 

Happy New Year!

2014 is upon us. 
Resolutions? Hmm, never bothered before, but it's 5.00am as I start this on 01/01/2014 and maybe, just maybe, I feel the need for a new start. So, without further ado, and a good cup of Tetley.

What did you achieve in 2013?
For me, apart from the boring old crap, I did get a bit done on the GSX, did another track day, at long last, and started a new job doing something completely different after years of fixing things, and handing out jobs to other techs. Everything's good, I'm surrounded by great mates (here and overseas), and have an amazing family (here and overseas), and incredible kids who love to help out in the garage when they're allowed. Does it get any better?

What about the resolutions? 
Couldn't really come up with much. Don't have enough interest in it I guess, but here goes:

1) Somehow, whatever way possible, try to get more Suzukis into the garage (I will, however, settle for a lesser machine - two wheels is its ticket in).
2) Get the GSX750 finished - ok, not finished, but usable.
3) Buy less beer, buy more parts.
4) Talk to my wife more - some would say I talk too much (but that was me).
5) Learn to walk a tightrope, play an instrument and juggle - useful skills I can no longer manage without.
6) Become a banker.
7) Stop quoting Seinfeld all the time (see number six).

I've hit a blank, no imagination so that's all - seven resolutions - isn't that lucky? Lucky for you at least.

Enjoy folks, some of you have yet to sample 2014 at this point so have a great time getting there. As for me, it's a beautifully sunny day and I'm off down into the garage while everyone's asleep...

Brake Judder Problems On Your Bike?

What is it?
If you're getting a bad vibration every time you apply the brakes, there's a good chance you've got a warped disc. But before you order [expensive] new ones, carry out some basic checks first. 

1. Lift the front end of your bike and turn the steering from lock-to-lock slowly, feeling for any roughness or looseness in the steering head bearings. Any play, or harsh movement, and it's time for new bearings. Get that sorted first.
2. Are the brakes binding at all? Spin the wheel. You'll hear the pads rubbing the disc, but it should spin freely, not stop as soon as you let go of the wheel. If they're binding, you need to free up the pistons or overhaul the calipers. Binding brakes run hot and can lead to warped discs.
3. Is there any play in the fork stanchions/sliders? There is always a minute amount of play to allow for easy movement but, if excessive, could cause a juddering through the handlebars. In fairness, this isn't so common and points one and two should be checked out first.

The visual.

It's not always necessary to use a dial test indicator to check for runout. Sometimes you can see by eye how bad the disc is. Check out Bryan's CBR here.