Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

I always drain the oil warm. I want any deposits or gunk build up from sitting to be dissolved into the oil for draining. Cold oil is thick and clingy and won't fully drain, so the contaminants will just get mixed into the new oil.

 

Speaking of the old dr350 I tore into it a bit tonight. Pulled all the plastics off to access some stuff easier and clean it better! Loads of mud and loads of mud dauber nests thankfullly dead lol. But I’ve found more issues with the bike that will need to be addressed.
Parts needed:
-Chain
-Fork seals
-Throttle cables
-Carb rebuild kit
-Brake lines
-Gas tank cap (his is plastic minus the inner bits and they rusted away lmao)
-Petcock
-Tires
-Tubes
Fluids needed:
-Brake fluid
-Oil
Cosmetic:
-Gas tank is severely yellowed it doent look to be cracked but wonder if I can clean it up again. It’s plastic btw
-Front headlight has two of the mount straps broken off and the lower mount is bent pretty bad
-All other plastics are good
Ergonomics:
-Foot pegs are rusted af and should be replaced with something better
-Seat is really old and hard and after a few runs will most likely cause it to tear.
-Hand grips (already got a set)
-Bark busters his are busted up pretty good


I think that’s everything??

 

So I posed the question as I have two thought processes on this.

1. Old oil has lost its lubrication properties and additives settling out over time and should not be ran as it could cause harm even if ran for a short period. So drain before running
2. Cold oil and shit that has settled wont drain out easily.

For the amount of oil we are talking (~ half a quart) with regards to my situation (small generator), I'm almost inclined to do a little bit of both. Drain cold and not ran. Fill with proper amount. Run with the "fresh" oil for 5 - 10 min or so (to get to temp). Then drain, this will get all the crap that has settled but with the benefit of fresh oil so as to not cause harm to the motors bearings / friction surfaces. Then store with a fully fresh oil change ready to go.

Honestly im probably overthinking it. Just something about a "emergency" generator that you want absolutely make sure things are proper and ready to go at a moments notice.

Looks like an awesome project!

I got some questions to maybe start a discussion to salvage what you have as I have brought back to life a few "ran when parked" specials.

-Brake lines and throttle cables. What are the issues there? Cracked / rotted / frayed?

-Tires. Are they worn / cracked? Age really isnt a problem if they have been stored out of the sun.

-tank. There are ways to "de yellow" a natural/clear tank, Ill see if i can find the threads on this but the best things I have seen are from the old school stand up jetski forums on restoring a tank to its more white color.

-Foot pegs. Rust is easy (at least surface rust.... im not talking ye ole tacoma frame rot rust). A bit of light brushing off of the surface rust then coating with something... spray paint etc. A few coats of Cold bluing works well if they are steel.

-Seat - depending on the seat covers conditions you might be able to get a new foam piece and re wrap with original cover thats been rejuvenated with some product.

- PLASTICS. If they are all there physically (IE no half fender missing from being a 12 oclock boy), a heat gun can do wonders to restore the vibrancy of plastics. See here for an example https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/motorcycles-bs-thread-2-0.420753/page-2291#post-29293375 if you want to try something before going as extreme as a heat gun in close proximity to plastics a 50/50 mixture of boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits works well to rejuvenate tired plastic pieces.

 

Definitely over thinking it on the oil, these aren’t high strung engines. Main issues with generators is the gas going bad. Drain the float bowl and pour out the gas from the tank if it’s going to be sitting for awhile. With my generator I have the tools to clean the carb at the ready if for whatever reason it gets clogged.

 

its something haha the main thing is my dad has wanted a new bike for awhile but didnt wanna spend the money on it at all... so might as well replace and fix all the old crap that never had any maintenance or care to it and see if he even wants to ride again if not then i guess he will sell it or ill take it over.

-brake lines. they are super soft.... with my klx when they were like this they didnt break like at alll so replace and upgrade to a braded line for him.
-throttle cables. one is completely rusted and sized up while the other is severly sticking i tried using oil on it but it was a no go
-tires. they are crazy old! they were shiny and old when i was practicing to ride 8 years ago! to the point they held no grip in grass or dirt! so they are bad
-tank. thanks that would be super helpful! im not sure if its a clear tank but it is a plastic lol
-footpegs. yes but they are super skinny rusty and beat up so ill swap them to the imp style i have on mine which are wider and have a better grip.
-plastics.ya ive looked into that and i did that with the klx where i just used the seat pan and replaced the foam and cover. his looks really neat but it was always awful to ride with way to slipery!
-plastics. ya ive used a heat gun the issue i have with one is the mounting tab is damn near flattened over from missuse (my dad not fixing the headlight mount back..)

 

I've managed to save some old throttle cables by loosely coiling them in my oil drain pan covered in a quart of cheap oil and letting them just soak for several days or even a few weeks while working on other stuff and they weren't needed yet. That rust didn't happen overnight so you can’t expect them to loosen up so quickly either. Had to do this for the clutch cable on my vintage Honda.

 

I’ve done that before I’m something I was selling but for this I’d rather just buy a new one since it’s still modern ish and I should be able to get cables for it

 

Just make sure you can get them first. I also hang onto them until new ones are installed to be safe

 

yup everything is up on my bench lol im lazy about throwing out old stuff that might be of use on a bike.

 

Happy new years gents.

So I stopped at my buddies house on Saturday. I've been trying to buy one of his motorcycles for probably about 8 years now. I think he's ridden it once since he bought it. He actually bought the bike from my brother and I was pissed my brother sold it. So I came to him with an offer and his wife said you better take that offer lol. I offered him for a straight up trade for my 19 yamaha wr450f with a 122mi on it. His bike is a a super clean 03 honda cbr954rr. I told him we will talk about it again when the weather warms up. He also owns a used car dealership so it would be easier for him to sell the dirtbike if he wanted too. I'm keeping fingers crossed that this deal goes through.

 

Good luck with the trade! Makes sense that he can more easily sell the newer bike.

 

Awesome! I had a 954RR back when they were still cheap. Mine was kind of beat up but it was a monster. I loved it till I crashed it.

 

I'd keep the wr450f personally. That's a cool go anywhere bike. Why only 122 miles? That's barely a task of gas

 

Haven't rode it since I bought it in 2019. And honestly just lost interest in the bike altogether. One of the biggest reason is I bought it to go riding with my brother and we did the summer of 19 but he sold his that winter and no longer have a riding partner. Although I don't really need another steetbike as I have 2 already but that 954 is special. Every part on that 954 was upgraded by hrc. The orginal owner of that bike raced for team honda hrc. And he upgraded that bike very nicely. It's worth alot more than the wr450. It's never been crashed all orginal besides the hrc upgrades.

 

No New Year's Day ride for me this year. Rainy and ugly out so I passed. I did ride to work this morning though. 37 degrees and dry roads. Worked up my riding stats for last year.

1977 Honda CB400F got 159 miles added to it
1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt got 128 miles added to it
2013 Yamaha FJR1300 just purchased November 24 got 399 miles put on
2014 Yamaha FJR1300 got 18,462 miles added to it

Total miles ridden in 2023 = 19,328
Days ridden 260 out of 365. Lowest month was November when I only rode 11 days due to vacation then Covid. Longest stretch without riding a bike 7 days.

Completed the GLMC GT event photographing 1012 murals in 6 states for a 2nd place finish
Completed the Team Strange GT event with a 8th place finish

Added 2 more IBA certs to my wall with a Memorial Saddlesore 1000 in memory of a friend who passed and a Bun Burner 1500 in 36 hours during the same trip weekend.

Attended FJR forum meets in Ohio and West Virginia.

States ridden in 2023: PA, MD, VA, WV, OH, MI

Not a bad year by most standards but I'd hoped for more.

 

got almost everything minus brake lines, gas cap, and fork seals and new hand guards.

 

Hundred miles of single track on Sunday.

 

100mi is a serious day of singletrack. We usually cap it at about 60mi, those 100mi days are in the rear view mirror for me.

 

Yeah started at 9:45 AM and ended after dark at 5:30 PM. Of course some double track connectors here and there to fuel up once. My training has been paying off though, I didn't feel that whooped until the ride was over besides my quads locking up on me after the gas stop at 2.

 

The weather was beautiful yesterday so we got out for a New Year’s Day ride:



Today’s back at work. It was a struggle to wake up early after a few weeks of sleeping in but the S10 made the ride in easy.