The Bikeshite Thread

[DodgeRover]

When I've had brake drums relined and they have been pinned the pin has always been pretty obvious - I'm not sure how it would work in your situation as you would need something stronger than phosphor bronze but it mustn't touch the bearing surface.

 

Imperial bearings must have been a thing surely?

[Guest Hooli]

Getting suggestions of green loctite on the Back Street Heros FB page, along with flaring the ends of the bush to fix it in place. Next thing is to ask my neighbours who run a business building custom bikes...

[Jerzy Woking]

After I get the bike on Monday, I'll see about taking the exhaust off to have a better look. Was speaking with one of my pals that thinks brazing might be an option for it.

 

When I had a look at the bike last night, the collector area wasn't as crispy as I was expecting. That opinion might be revised once it's removed from the bike of course...

 

Thing is, the bike is generally very corrosion free, everywhere else, the exhausts must be very low grade to begin with.

 

 

What does for exhausts on most of those I see are short journies where the exhaust doesn't get hot enough to boil off all the condensation. My commute is 60 miles each way, so the exhausts on those last (original exhaust was still on my 1984 GSX-R in 2003 when the bike was written off with 180,000 miles on the clock).

 

Hope the exhaust isnt that bad and can be rescued cheaply - don't see many Zephyr's about. Nice looking bikes.

[gtd2000]

What does for exhausts on most of those I see are short journies where the exhaust doesn't get hot enough to boil off all the condensation. My commute is 60 miles each way, so the exhausts on those last (original exhaust was still on my 1984 GSX-R in 2003 when the bike was written off with 180,000 miles on the clock).

 

Hope the exhaust isnt that bad and can be rescued cheaply - don't see many Zephyr's about. Nice looking bikes.

 

It's remarkably clean overall. I was surprised that the exhaust was rotted at all really as it looks pretty decent from above.

It is a low mileage machine and condensation may well have been partly to blame. It's being delivered this evening so I'll get photos up at some point tomorrow assuming everything goes to plans.

 

I also have an '86 GSX-R750 but I dumped the original exhaust many years ago (was in perfect condition as well!) and replaced it with a Motad Nexxus unit because I wanted the 4-2-1 configuration to suit the roads in Hong Kong. The other option was a Yoshimura (4-1) which wasn't going to suit HK traffic and speed limits. I bought mine with about 30K km on it. Be lucky if it's done 50K km by now.

 

 

Roughly 20 years ago in original trim:

 

[gtd2000]

Here's the Zephyr.

 

Pics from when I went to view the bike

 

 

[Guest Hooli]

Oh it's quite nice that, I'd lose those crash bars though.

[DodgeRover]

^^^ what he said, loose those crash bars!!

[gtd2000]

Yeah, not my sort of thing crash bars either.

 

If the weather is decent tomorrow I'd give it a quick wash down and take a few pics, it was driven down the road tonight so it's bound to need hosed off, at the very least.

[strangeangel]

Had a very windy ride up to Leeds this morning for the DN's MOT, which it passed in fine style

[strangeangel]

Right... well, I was going to do some moped bothering today, but I'm freezing after fitting (yet another) new alternator to the BX, as well as fixing its washers.

 

So, I've retreated to the house to try something that I've been thinking about for a little while now. The Caren's panels are pretty manky, and I was wondering if a go in the dishwasher might brighten them up. Thing is, there's no way of knowing whether 80s plastic will distort under such conditions, so I've taken some of the damaged panels from the scrapper bike and...

 

 

[it goes without saying that this experiment is being conducted while Our Lass is at work.]

[DodgeRover]

I think they should be ok, I've steam cleaned them within an inch of their life before with no ill effects.

 

Anyway they should be done by now - what's the verdict?

[strangeangel]

I think they should be ok, I've steam cleaned them within an inch of their life before with no ill effects.

 

Anyway they should be done by now - what's the verdict?

 

Well, it certainly hasn't damaged them, but they've not come up very clean either.

 

Now you mention it, we've got a steam cleaner - I think I'll give that and go and see what happens.

[DodgeRover]

Good scrub with TFR as concentrated as you dare before steaming.

[bezzabsa]

It's remarkably clean overall. I was surprised that the exhaust was rotted at all really as it looks pretty decent from above.

It is a low mileage machine and condensation may well have been partly to blame. It's being delivered this evening so I'll get photos up at some point tomorrow assuming everything goes to plans.

 

I also have an '86 GSX-R750 but I dumped the original exhaust many years ago (was in perfect condition as well!) and replaced it with a Motad Nexxus unit because I wanted the 4-2-1 configuration to suit the roads in Hong Kong. The other option was a Yoshimura (4-1) which wasn't going to suit HK traffic and speed limits. I bought mine with about 30K km on it. Be lucky if it's done 50K km by now.

 

 

Roughly 20 years ago in original trim:

 

the oroginal whels on the gixxers still scare me.....way too flimsy looking!!!

[strangeangel]

And here we are again: a Piaggio Zip 50, with a Tecnigas exhaust YO. Doesn't appear to be excessively scroted, and the MOT history looks promising. The last ticket ran out in 2015, at which time it apparently RAN WHEN PARKED. I know, I know... but it's local, and cost less than filling the camper up with diesel

 

 

I plan to tidy it up, MOT it and punt it on, with the proceeds going towards works needed on the Caren and CT90.

[Dave_Q]

Looks pretty good, hardly been dropped or dismantled at all.

 

That is a NRG rather than a zip though blud, any self respecting shit moped wrangler should know that.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Thinking about getting a flyscreen for the LML. Reckon they make much difference? Less wind? Higher top speed?

[strangeangel]

That is a NRG rather than a zip though blud, any self respecting shit moped wrangler should know that.

 

And some might say I should have noticed that, given that it's written on the side in 6" letters...

 

Two keys and a V5 as well - fully loaded, this one!

[strangeangel]

Thinking about getting a flyscreen for the LML. Reckon they make much difference? Less wind? Higher top speed?

 

I had a cut down Rickman handlebar fairing on one of my Cubs. Pretty sure it made no appreciable difference to top speed but it definitely kept the wind and rain off my hands, and IMO worth it for that alone.

[strangeangel]

If ever those of you who frequent this thread thought to question the logic of owning and repairing Rank Mopeds, then consider this: the return to the road (and useful service) of this device:

 

 

has actively helped our very own Will_CLELAND in building a school in Nepal

 

 

which, in my book, is an entirely worthy and just cause.

 

You can read more about what he's been up to, and the work of All Hands Volunteers in general, here, and even chuck them a few quid if you feel so inclined.

[Six-cylinder]

If ever those of you who frequent this thread thought to question the logic of owning and repairing Rank Mopeds, then consider this: the return to the road (and useful service) of this device:

 

doooooom.jpg

 

has actively helped our very own Will_CLELAND in building a school in Nepal

 

 

 

I need a barn built, which of my mopeds will do the best job!

[UltraWomble]

I've treated the Moped of doom to a new number plate made of tin as I've bent (broken) the other one.

 

Doom is making itself useful ferrying me to work and also on post box spotting trips. As well as helping people in Nepal

 

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

[Jerzy Woking]

the oroginal whels on the gixxers still scare me.....way too flimsy looking!!!

 

A few years into the ownership of mine (the F model of 1984 vintage) I saw an article written by Roland Brown in which he said you could bend any one of the three spokes by hand. I tried doing so on mine, and, by jove, he was right!

 

It was written off in 2003 when a Transit flat bed truck U-turned in front of me, and I almost* managed to avoid it. I clipped the dropped kerb with the front wheel, and up onto the grass verge where, the bike flipped end over end a few times, and I attempted to run at about 60 mph. The resulting cartwheeling bike stopped doing so with both the front and rear wheels shattered, the rear rim and hub were intact, but the spokes had snapped clean through. I always wondered what would have been the result with proper wheels.

[UltraWomble]

Doom is making itself useful ferrying me to work and also on post box spotting trips. 

Bastard threw me off this morning - locked the back wheel up solid.

Engine still runs OK, but back wheel utterly seized.

 

No warning, just  skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid

[gtd2000]

Well I decided to take the exhaust off the Zephyr this morning to see what the extent of the corrosion is and where it was blowing from.

 

From the first look it appears there's two areas where this is occurring.

 

1

 

 

2

 

Exhaust needs a general clean up in the not so easily seen areas.

 

 

Doesn't look too bad at all from the top of course!

 

 

Any tips or suggestions for cleaning up and fixing the aforementioned leak points?

[Jazoli]

The hardest part with trying to weld bike exhausts is getting enough clean good metal to weld to, when you take a wire wheel and try and clean it up you may find there's a lot less good metal than you thought, I've not seen an exhaust like that before, looks like its got a weird colostomy bag type thing going on.

 

Edit, the hole in the first picture should be there, its to allow water to drain away, and you will get gases out of it but its normal.

[strangeangel]

Bastard threw me off this morning - locked the back wheel up solid.

Engine still runs OK, but back wheel utterly seized.

 

No warning, just  skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid

 

Shit, hope you're OK! Has the belt snapped and jammed the rear clutch pulley I wonder??

[UltraWomble]

Shit, hope you're OK! Has the belt snapped and jammed the rear clutch pulley I wonder??

Possible - or maybe one of the rear pads has become unbonded and jammed the drum up.

 

Im fine - in fact a bloke came up and thanked me as he had been trying to reverse into his drive for ages and I had stopped the traffic!

[plasticvandan]

I chucked the mz up the road on some ice this morning as well

[Guest Hooli]

This is the first year I've not ridden in the frost, can't say I miss it.

 

I'd planned to as normal, but a combination of having a car I like and a broken garage door means I've not bothered to drag the bike out.