Dave's shonkers - one in

[Dave_Q]

Minor update today, an air filter.

With the bigger carb space to fit one in was non-existent.

First I tried overcomplicating things, I 3d printed a holder for some paper filter element and glued it to the rubber off a foam sock filter.

Sadly this still didn't fit. So I did what I should have done in the first place and cut down a slice of the foam and hot glued it to the rubber.

Success.

It's probably not the most free flowing but I don't want to be running it without a filter as I do think some of the biggest scores on the old top end were from grit/stones going through. Other options are to buy about the same thing from SIP for about 30 quid or a different inlet manifold (Polini, $$) that puts the carb over to the left more to give a bit more space. Will run as is for now and see how it goes.

[Fabergé Greggs]

On 6/19/2022 at 4:43 PM, Dave_Q said:

@Fabergé Greggs

 

 

 

Production values are not going to have any of our resident youtubers worrying about their ad income any time soon.
The camera ended up pointing kinda down throughout, I do look at the road when riding, honest.
The engine noise and wind combo sound like someone blasting gabba into a biffa bin through a blown speaker at some points, but there, VIDEO ENOUGH FOR YA?

 

Amazing! That looks like exactly the right combo of yellow / noisy / that particular type of fast feeling that you get with 125cc’s and lots of gearchanges. FUN

On 6/19/2022 at 4:43 PM, Dave_Q said:

@Fabergé Greggs

Fun fact: the ANC sign at the start of the second vid points to the entrance of the Ashdene Naturist Club.

I don’t fancy their chances at being able to hide their approval of the sound and smell of a 2 stroke. 

On 6/19/2022 at 5:15 PM, Matty said:

I hated that Servetta I built for my dad. Loved how it looked hated riding a scooter (coming from bikes that actually handled). Now you've posted them videos I just caught myself saying "you know dad, I'd have another. Probably a vespa this time though." Damn you Dave, damn you 😁

I’ve had a bit of a fleet shuffle recently which means I’m gonna sell my “I would never sell this”  LML actually. 

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

I’ve had a bit of a fleet shuffle recently which means I’m gonna sell my “I would never sell this”  LML actually

I couldn't do it if I wanted to. 4 cars and a bike I've no more room. Thanks though you big tease 😆

[Dave_Q]

Check this out, riding to work and shit like an actual mode of transport.

Did have to remove the air filter for it to run though, it wasn't happy with it on.
There is still a level of further dicking about with jetting required so I will have to have a think about whether I do that with the filter on or not, I guess the main jet will need to go down a bit with the filter on, hoping that doesn't mean I'll lose power?

[Dave_Q]

Some time back I chucked this 125 engine in the Chaly and got it running briefly.

With it being a sort of step thru design, with the standard 70cc powerhouse the tiny carb fits inside the frame. With bigger engines people tend to hang them out the top like this:

I'm not keen on that as a look and I couldn't find a way to fit the 24mm carb I have in there so I ended up thinking about another way.

£9 later I'm the proud owner of a throttle body off an injected Honda SH125.

The little manifold fits straight on, albeit at a jaunty angle:

The throttle body fits in the frame pretty nicely

Success!

Obviously there is a bit more to it than that but hopefully not too much. I have the fuel pump and injector off the SH and I plan to run it all off a Speeduino DIY ECU.

Deffo gonna be a slow burner project but should work alright, the hole in the TB is about the same size as the carb I had. Plus it'll probably be the only fuel injected one in the world?

[Dave_Q]

Bit of progress.

I've had some lights and shit to go on the Chaly for ages so I bolted them on.

Had to make a bracket for the rear, it's a bit rough so may end up buying one for £25. The seat is a funny shape as it's designed to go round a rack, not sure if I want the rack on tho so not sure what to do here. Nothing just yet.

I've received some more fuel injection bits, hoses, injector, pump, and a wiring loom to butcher for connectors. Looks like the fuel pump will fit in the frame OK where the original airbox went.

Throttle body looking quite at home there.

I had a go at the frame with some thinners etc, I was kinda hoping that the black smoothrite or whatever it is would just fall off and leave lovely original paint. Not quite so, looks like it's been red then yellow then red then yellow then black. And the bottom layer of red came off the easiest.

I think it's time to strip it and paint it. I'm going for red as that's what's on the log book and it's my smallest daughters favourite colour.

I've ordered a repro legshield and front mudguard, the main thing I need to decide is what colour to do the mudguards. From all the pictures I've seen the legshield is white regardless but the mudguards are either white or body coloured. As my rear mudguard is black plastic, something needs painting either way.

[Dave_Q]

Escalated quickly etc. Doesn't take long to strip down when its got an engine held in with 2 bolts and not much in the way of wiring.

Given it a quick rub down first in the hope that it will help the paint stripper do its thing.

It's that starchem/synstryp stuff off ebay that comes with all the warnings, I still don't think much of it tbh, it totally failed me on some wheels although there is some bubbling occuring.

[Back_For_More]

Bit late - but I (often don't waste time trying the stuff) found that if I wrapped the target in clingfilm it prevented evaporation and I got (slightly) better results...... trying it on the car was a ballache though tbh 😀

[Dave_Q]

14 minutes ago, Back_For_More said:

Bit late - but I (often don't waste time trying the stuff) found that if I wrapped the target in clingfilm it prevented evaporation and I got (slightly) better results...... trying it on the car was a ballache though tbh 😀

There is still plenty left to do, last night was just one half of the main frame and even then it didn't all come off after about 3 applications.

[Back_For_More]

I've resorted to grinder/soft wire and then wire brush into the corners and stripper only on those bits....... just making the best of a bad job really.

Good luck fella - soul destroying sometimes.

[Dave_Q]

Been a good week or so for shite mojo although I have been applying it in a pretty haphazard way. In roughly chronological order:

Chaly: continued stripping the frame and prepping for paint. Suddenly decided to list it for sale as it stands

Agreed a deal on a Honda Grom, hopefully collecting on the way to shitefest

Ignis has been sat for a few weeks and the test is out. It had one advisory on the last test for rear engine/gearbox mount. I pulled it out and it was intact but very soft. The mounts are Sport specific and more than the £20 or so I think a lump of rubber should cost. Bodgery ahoy!

I know, it looks bad. This isn't actually bathroom sealant, its Puraflex 40 which is a 40 shore hardness urethane adhesive. Similar hardness range and material to the original bush. I've filled all the voids and left it for a couple of days to go hard.

I carried on painting the chaly, as you do when its currently for sale as a pile of bits.

There were a couple bits gone thin on the swingarm, I don't think overall strength is impacted too much:

Applied rust converter (went a bit mad, there were only actually a few smoll bits of rust under the paint on the main frame)

Etch primer

Filler primer

Action shot taken by child assistant

I've rubbed down the primer and its ready for some colour, maybe at the weekend.

Tonight I put the engine mount back in the Iggy:

You can just about see the wob in the background. They do do it in black FFS but I ordered white off amazon in a rush. I don't actually think this can be an MOT fail, it just looks bad.

Brompton loaded up so I don't have to walk the 600m from the garage to work tomorrow like a peasant:

I do like the little Iggy. It is still a hoot to drive and is so dependable, I've never had to dick about with chargers etc when its been sat, just jump in and drive off, maybe with a couple of hard stops to clean up the discs. Hopefully it'll pass tomorrow but we'll see.

Longer term it is leaking from a driveshaft as you can see in the upskirt pic. The clutch still slips if you try to shift too fast and the underside is going kinda brown, not in a massive way but in a "apply some vactan soon if you want me to live" sort of way. So I really need to do the clutch and clean up the underside a bit if I can ever manage to stop buying new shit so I can focus on the existing shit.

I did list the Chaly on ebay and have a bid but I think I will cancel the auction, paint it and chuck it back together, get it running at least then relist it as more of a going concern.

[UltraWomble]

Eagerly awaits photos of Grom

[Dave_Q]

Our correspondent on the ScouseWales peninsula is kindly gonna go get it for me, maybe at the weekend.

[Dave_Q]

Not mega.

Hard to interpret the first one, is this an ARB bush or what? 

If it's a track rod end, ARB bush, a spring and some dicking about cleaning up the brakes I'll probably do it, if it needs loads of money spending then it's days might be up.

[Fabergé Greggs]

 

How dare they!! It’s PERFECT 

[Dave_Q]

1 hour ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

 

How dare they!! It’s PERFECT 

Fucking lol, I reckon that he couldn't actually find anything wrong with the repair but felt like he couldn't not mention it in some way so worked it into an advisory 

[Dave_Q]

@UltraWomble

So this is what I won. 2014 with 24k miles. It's been a cat N a few years ago (theft damage, of course) and the plastics look like they've been painted with a yard brush. Probably salvageable other than the cable tied mudguard.

Seems in decent mechanical order, tyres are almost new and has a few of the usual bits already done, fakeropovic exhaust, protaper bars, crash bobbins on the engine, tail tidy.

It was advertised at £1620 with full MOT but I've taken it as is for £1500. Hopefully it'll go straight through.

Still seems a lot for a fairly rough bike but I think it's about as cheap as they get, I was watching a slightly crashed one that could have had a bent frame or owt on ebay and that went for nearly 1600.

[UltraWomble]

Looks like an E (will say on the logbook MSX-d/e/f) you can tell with the colour coded indicator /headlamp bits (probably a technical term).

Serious grin factor, loads of styling & tuning bits available, you can if you are a glutton for tinkering add the kick start from the Innova engine.
But yes, tea leafs seem to love them as there is zero anti-theft as standard.

Oh, and plastics are not expensive if you want to refresh it / change its colour.

 

[Dave_Q]

27 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

Looks like an E (will say on the logbook MSX-d/e/f) you can tell with the colour coded indicator /headlamp bits (probably a technical term).

Serious grin factor, loads of styling & tuning bits available, you can if you are a glutton for tinkering add the kick start from the Innova engine.
But yes, tea leafs seem to love them as there is zero anti-theft as standard.

Oh, and plastics are not expensive if you want to refresh it / change its colour.

 

It comes up as an E model, 2014 plate. I did want red so was planning to have a go at painting the plastics that are on. Theft is deffo a concern, it'll be kept in the house but looking for bright ideas how to leave it outside a shop etc without carrying a massive chain around.

2 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

I've been eyeing up Groms recently, looking forward to seeing how you get on with yours

Yeah I managed to convince myself I needed one by having a go on one owned by a chap at work and watching lots of YouTube videos of people dicking around on them. I'm far too old and untalented to be trying to do wheelies etc but I do think I am a pretty shit motorcyclist in terms of basics like how to lean round a corner properly so kinda hoping hooning this round might help. 

You can get a new one with a 5 speed gearbox for £3400 I think which is still daft money for a trumped up monkey bike using basically an overbored C90 engine but it's worth considering just because second hand ones go for so much and have potentially dodgy history.

[Dave_Q]

Never in doubt.

(narrators voice) reader, it definitely was in doubt, purchased blind from a lad who wasn't quite sure what his own name was who insisted it was ready for a test.

Not even an advisory although I'm told a verbal advisory that the rear caliper sliders need cleaning up.

[Dave_Q]

In an effort to make the Chaly more saleable I've painted and reassembled it.

Got it wired in and running, also made the exhaust fit. It's a top qwalitee Vietnamese cub pipe that was about £29 quid off ebay. I've cut about 4 inch out and lashed up a mount.

It's very close to being rideable. Still no lights though as needs the wiring reconstructing at the front end.

[tom13]

Grom's looking promising. There are loads of graphics kits available for cheap on these. Basic paint job and a kit will make it look near mint again.

[twosmoke300]

That grom is whats known as on OG if that helps searching for bits . The later one like mine is an SF apparently

 

[Dave_Q]

Fetched it, brummed it to work today.

Massive plate is massive. This is a legal 9x7, I've ordered an 8x6 to go a little smaller but hopefully not attract attention.

It's pretty dirty, looks like it was used as an all weather commuter.

Dunno what's going on with the paint here, repainted then petrol dashed on it?

Bizarrely the wheels are clean/in good shape and the tyres are close to new.

Dunno what's going on here, is this deliberate or did a can of graff paint explode under here?

Bar end mirrors are shite, tbf you can see more behind you than I expected but they'll be going in the bin asap.

So first impressions:

Very happy little thing to ride, peachy engine and snickety gearbox. Don't think I'll ever get tired of bouncing it off it's little limiter in 1st.

Arse is not a fan of the seat even on a 20min ride to work.

RH controls can move slightly on the bar, they're as tight as they can be so not sure whagwan here. Might try some carbon grip paste seeing as I have it.

Overall it's great. I probably will paint it red eventually but will hold fire for a while and just enjoy as is. I've also put my wife on the insurance so there is some danger she might do her CBT and use it too.

[Dave_Q]

Forgot to add, speeds achieved:

Up big hill on way to work, 40mph, which is handy as it's a 40 limit

VMax (short dual carriageway, slightly downhill) 60mph

I can see why lots of people mod them as it just needs about 10-20% more power to be perfect.

[Dave_Q]

Ignored the very good advice of many bikeshiters on here and went for a slightly smaller plate. 8x6 so still illegal but hopefully doesn't look like a pisstake.

Also fitted some proper mirrors, I can still see quite a lot of my own shoulders but also a much better version of what's behind me.

Still haven't cleaned it, if anything made it dirtier by riding to work in the rain last week.

[Dave_Q]

Status updates:

Chaly: allegedly being collected tomorrow
Vespa: MOT Monday
Ignis: bought the bits for its test but not yet fitted
Vito:

In a couple of weeks I am off to drive this 1000 miles for a holiday so I'm trying to get it sorted ready. Today I started by fitting a towbar - I need it to put a bike rack on.

Towbar bit was pretty straightforward, I found an OEM YO one on ebay. It fits nicely inside the bumper and just needed a couple of small bits cutting on the bottom.

Didn't take a picture of it all back together it seems. 

While the bumper was off I treated a couple of bits of rust back there:

And made the mistake of poking some of the rusty bits and pulling off some of the peeling underseal.

It's not amazing but it's about standard for one of these.

I applied some rust converter and just decided to wob up the holes for now. The arch I don't think is a major problem, the sill does have a hole in the outer skin so is probably technically an MOT fail.

Its absolute bodgery and no doubt but it looks a little better. I only had £shop matt black and only sanded it with 60 grit, I might try and buy the right colour paint and sand it back and do a better job.

I'm a bit torn now as to how much effort/time/money its worth putting into this van. On the one hand it seems to be mechanically OK and I was thinking of doing some camper bits to it, maybe including a pop top. The rust is all fixable, they do do arch repair panels etc and I could get it painted to smarten it up a bit. But will it be a forth bridge job and need some sort of rust treatment every other year?

The alternative would be to get a newer version but I would have to put a lot more money in to get something better. There is no guarantee of reliability with a newer one and they have some pretty scary sounding electrical maladies, adblue shit, NOx sensors, etc etc.

So do I roll the dice, for quite a lot more money, to get something nicer and theoretically more worthwhile? Or stick with this and just fix the rust every other year like a land rover owner? Dunno tbh.

[Dave_Q]

Vespa was meant to have gone for MOT today.

Pulled it out this morning and put the new indicator relay on - less than a year ago I got 2x duff RMS ones from new then bought a genuine one for £25 which has also already given up the ghost. Anyway, had indicators.

Also had petrol absolutely pissing out from the carb and a big oil puddle where it had been parked. It's leaking from the gearshift again which is incredibly frustrating after that being the reason I rebuilt the engine earlier this year.

I've ordered a gasket for the carb as it seems to be leaking from the float bowl. I will put it in for MOT when it comes but I am gonna send the engine down to a famed smallframe  botherer to get the leak looked at again as I simply cannot be arsed this time.

0-1 down I decided to fit a new chain to the Grom, I had a few hours of listen only meetings and it's been sat there waiting a while.

The area was pretty grim.

Nice easy job really, the front sprocket that's gone on is a -1 which should give me a bit more acceleration at almost no top speed penalty. The thing is geared really high stock, it's like it's set up to rev out at about 75mph in 4th but as a result barely has the power to accelerate in 4th when you get there.

Shinies:

Obviously you can't see how clean it is under there but it is, cleaner than it was at least.

1-1.

The chain is a DID and gold because tart. Also goes with the wheels a bit. Because smoll bikes are the best bikes it was only £22. Increasingly happy with the bike overall. From some forensic investigation of the state of it it looks like it was really well looked after, stolen and extremely badly painted in light blue graff paint, then painted back by whoever bought it as stolen recovered, but not that well and not in fuel resistant paint.

I really think I can make a very tidy little bike with some time on the plastics plus there is the grin factor every time I take it out for a brum.

If I hadn't got so much emotionally invested in the Vespa I might get rid of it.

[Dave_Q]

Hopefully all 3 of the people who click on this by accident are sat down as I have MAJOR happenings to report.

Sad indicator:

Now erect indicator:

Update ends

[Dave_Q]

Off on holiday in the van on Friday so trying to make sure it will make it the thousand or so miles it needs to cover. 

I fitted the towbar electrics, my OEM YO towbar came with a Merc 13pin jobber with almost no wires left on it, I went for a generic 7 pin socket with bypass relay as recommended by @Barry Cade. All pretty easy to install as my van happens to have an accessory socket right by the D pillar to take the relay power from.

Today I was gonna get some of the mechanical work done. Changed the fuel filter which I've had waiting for a while, no pics but use your imagination. When firing up after the fuel filter change I heard a familiar Thomas the Tank engine sound from the top of the engine. FFS.

It was injector #1. No obvious reasons why it should be chuffing again, assuming I did not do a good enough job of cleaning up the seat last time. 

I got it to here:

Seems to be a bit of a carbon deposit/stain that won't shift but I decided to stop as I was concerned about how much I was cutting from the seat. It's all back together after an emergency trip to the dealer in Bradford for a washer. They kindly gave me 4 and couldn't be bothered to charge me for them, I already had an unused new bolt from last time.

So yeah several hours lost and before we leave on Friday AM I was hoping to:

• Fit 2x ARB bushes
• Fit steering rack gaiter
• Swap diff (due for delivery tomorrow, longer ratio and this one is a bit squeaky at times)
• Fix sliding door (new rollers to go on)
• Fit single front seats and swivels

Not sure what my prospects are for achieving all that but I'll see what I can do, only the first 2 are properly essential I reckon.

I also added some stickers to the 2 wheeled fleet, bit of an obscure reference but if you know, you know