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Post by striderider on Nov 11, 2011 20:59:51 GMT 1
Back at the beginning of 2009 I picked up a UK Revere 600 from ebay for £800 - A full service (replacing most consumable, fluids & filters) and this became my work bike (Motorbike Instructor). It was all standard, except for a poor spray-can, matt-black all over done by the previous owner: From Feb'09 - Nov '09 it was used, abused & the occasional ride-out with my Dad (Custom built VX800): This was on the way to a bike show in Hereford (can you spot her amongst the pretties: From Dec '09 till now it was sat outside as SORN. (I moved cities & 100 miles commute on the M/way was no place for an unfaired bike. I needed a cage) One day it got pushed or fell over & smashed all the instrument clusters, not a problem for me - one quick trip to ebay again & got replacement speedo for £4.99: A little screen to hide the non-clocks: Still SORN & 18 months later, I thought I'd treat the ol' girl to some TLC & gave her a fresh MOT. By now the collector box was completely shot & needed a new system. I'm not one to pay £100+ of my lazy-earned sterlings for a new end can, so got a mate of my dads to make one for me. A pair of straight-through, stainless-steel pipes with internal baffles: roar!! (these failed the MOT; "exhaust noise is clearly in excess of that emitted by a similar motorcycle fitted with a standard silence in average condition". So went somewhere else who wasn't as fussy - we all know loud pipes save lives) This is where I am now, with fresh T&T and the following planned for sometime in the future: - Top-yoke from NTV 650 to fit - then can put on some 'proper' bars
- Air-box & filter to be removed, to be replaced with individual pods
- Carbs to be changed for the larger Deauville 36.5mm CV's & insert 148/143 mainjets
- Single-seat conversion - possible sub-frame cut & side-mount Reg-plate holder (where to put the blinkers)
- CBR600 F2/F3 or VFR750 front end swap (dual callipers), would prefer some USD's or something from a Buell (drool....six-pots with rim-disks)
More pics to follow (it's to wet & dark at the moment) All of this on a budget of nothing & no mechanical skills to speak of. It's going to be an interesting adventure to see how she shapes up. Input & advice always welcome
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Post by striderider on Nov 12, 2011 16:29:07 GMT 1
I have had a few comments this week whilst out and about about the paint work on my tank: I have to admit - this is what happens when you have no idea how to paint a tank. It was a surprisingly cold summers evening & the tank was empty. I had roughly sanded the old paint & sprayed on some new stuff. The next day, in the summer-sun heat, the metal must've expanded & caused the cracked affect - I think I'll leave it as it is - looks a bit nifty.
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Post by striderider on Nov 12, 2011 16:49:01 GMT 1
It's mid-November, the sun's out, & I've a morning away from the duties of the house. Time to 'play' mechanic with her outside: 1st job, changing the final drive oil with some nice 80-140w hypiod fully-synthetic gear oil. The old stuff dribbling out was very thick & black, I've no idea how long that's been in there!!) New air-filter pods fitted: Two problems now: 1) The crank-case breather hose - I haven't any spare pipe that'll fit. Solution = Cable ties!! 2) Some other breather type arrangement from each carburettor which feed into the airbox into a secondary air-filter. Solution = Bit of washing up sponge & electrical tape I managed to source an old Triumph Stag or 200Pi instrument warning cluster for a couple of quid from ebay. Thought it would look nice next to the generic-cheepo speedo currently installed: I haven't got round to fitting this yet as I'm scared of the elec-trickery. Trying finding a wiring diagram from a British car in the 1970's to then match the correct colour wires with a Japanese bike from the 1990's - my head hurts far too much to do this today. What I did manage though was to hook-in a 5v Diffused, Blue LED (with whatever resistor the shop recommended) as the back-light to the speedo). So now I can see how naughty I'm being during the night time.
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Post by striderider on Nov 14, 2011 0:17:20 GMT 1
the LED speedo backlight mod didn't quite work as hoped, but it's better than nothing
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Post by oddjob1 on Nov 16, 2011 22:52:30 GMT 1
what size are the cone air filters and does it run ok with them on?
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Post by striderider on Nov 17, 2011 14:15:08 GMT 1
Can't remember the exact sizes, got them from wemoto (after putting in bike details).
There's an induction noise (which I can't hear over the exhuast)
On cold starts the choke is massively over-fuelling, but mid-range torque & top speed is easier to access (bear in mind I'm running stock carbs which are 20 years old)
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Post by striderider on Dec 20, 2011 10:16:04 GMT 1
Quick update; now please bare in mind, I've no tools, space or knowledge of anything mechanical - I'm basically making it up as I go along. 1st job was to put some 'proper' bars onto the Revere. I sourced a NTV650 top-yoke and with some gentle 'pursuasion' with a rubber mallet it was a simple swap-over. The fuse box is now re-positioned where the tool-kit lived (behind the right-hand-side panel). I have to say I was a bit nervous cutting the main loom to place 8-10" extension wires spliced in. Even if I say so, it was a proper job (clean soldered joins, two layers of differing sized heat-shrink-wrap, covered in electrical tape, then plastic sheath over the whole lot). I deliberatly went overboard and the cabling runs behind the spar-frame near the heat of the engine. Next up was changing the indicators, now being confident with the soldering gun, I changed the fronts to some mini's & the rear with a LED light-strip (wrapped around the rear light-cluster) The side-mounted number-plate is to encourage me to 'bobber' the rear sub-frame for a single-seat conversion. I haven't figured that part out yet as will have to re-locate a few items
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Post by rj2para (Bisto) on Dec 20, 2011 18:32:05 GMT 1
All black is not my ideal choice. But that said I like what you have done so far. I even like your designer tank
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Post by striderider on Feb 17, 2012 9:43:12 GMT 1
it's been a while since I've done any work on my bike, due to the weather, low-light & the unwillingness to work in the snow & ice. I finally put some 'magma-wrap' on the exhausts; being 6'3" my trousers were melting on the rear-downpipes. Result:
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Post by thatsawkward on Feb 17, 2012 9:57:55 GMT 1
I do like the look of that... having never used it, is it easy to apply? Is it sticky or just held at the top/bottom with jubilees?
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Post by striderider on Feb 17, 2012 12:52:40 GMT 1
There's the 'standard' type wrap which is fibre-glass based. That requires soaking in water to allow it to stretch then covered in a silicon seal. When it drys, it then shrinks to get a snug-fit. Comes is several colours & can be sprayed over with VHT paint.
I choose to use the more expensive carbon-weave type which doesn't need two people to apply & doesn't need any pre-prep work or sealing.
The pack I bought comes with 10x metal ties (stainless) - these look and act like stronger cable ties.
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Post by skyhook on Feb 17, 2012 22:05:43 GMT 1
Cpl Qs 1) How much wrap did you use for both down pipes ? ( As I have 4 )
2 Was they wraped instiu ? or did you take downpipe off ?
Must say they look V good
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Post by striderider on Feb 20, 2012 9:52:56 GMT 1
On the site I ordered the wrap from, there is a calculator: www.thermalvelocity.co.uk/page.asp?id=calcI removed the pipes as I wanted to thoroughly clean them & apply VHT paint on the hanger brackets at the same time, I supose you 'could' apply it with the pipes still in place, but you'll probably make it much harder work
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Post by skyhook on Feb 20, 2012 13:08:05 GMT 1
On the site I ordered the wrap from, there is a calculator: www.thermalvelocity.co.uk/page.asp?id=calcI removed the pipes as I wanted to thoroughly clean them & apply VHT paint on the hanger brackets at the same time, I supose you 'could' apply it with the pipes still in place, but you'll probably make it much harder work I never was any good at maths...................lol Now theres me problem, takeing pipes off, looks like its going to be some hard work if i go ahead with it. Thanks striderider for info
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Post by striderider on Mar 7, 2012 19:55:05 GMT 1
After a discussion with a local bike fabricator the other week, (and her helpful acceptance in carrying out some work) it seems I need an 'overall' thought/design for the future of this project rather than an 'ad-hoc' approach. My thoughts were to try and stray away from the "matt-rat" look & try for a more "industrial road-warrior". Perhaps a cross between "Mad-Max" and "Sons of Anarchy". I'd like the bike to say "I'll survive anything", but with some nice detailing & shiny bits added. This Sportster sums it up nicely: I stumbled across this John Deere take on a Honda NTV for some inspiration: The colours not to my liking, but the rear sub-frame is very much in keeping with what the builder may be able to conjure up for me & the over-sized sump-guard adds the 'indestructibility' element. Watch this space.........
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