Renovation Time

[z1100r]

 That escalated somewhat didn't it.... I know how it happens, I've been there myself.

 Just when I get going on the Honda  I'm on hold again. I have a trackday March 11 and my RD500 is in a million bits.

 I got the wheel rims and spoke kits from Silvers yesterday, I'm chomping at the bit to get this Honda ready for our IOM TT trip, and now I'm stuck reassembling my track bike.

 Just out of interest does anyone know how you measure handlebar rise...I'm trying to figure out what the rise is on my bars.

[z1100r]

Well it took me 2 hours...but man I enjoyed it..!!!

Rear wheel Half done..!!


Finished...just got to true it up now..!! Another 2 hours I guess. All spokes are tight at the moment.


The front to do next. Blimey brand new wheels..!!!At this rate my rat bike is going to be my best show bike..hahaha

[Spitfire]

Nice job, I made a mess of just tightening up some loose spokes !

Den

[z1100r]

 Thanks..still got to true it though. In  saying that I've spun it and to the eye it is true, those rims are very good. an even toque on all spokes and it seems unbelievably good, so it might just be a 2 minute job with a clock and a tweak here and there.

 Decided I'm going out for a final sentimental ride on the dirty old slapper this afternoon. The RD500 motor is now rebuilt and waiting for re-insertion, so the plan is to do that this evening. As I have the afternoon off I'm going to have a tootle about on the Direblade this savo before totally stripping it over the weekend. I've got to get rid of that 4 year old petrol somehow, and the oil needs to be warm for draining. I'll have to use an old RD battery and kickstart her but thats OK.

 Her last afternoon of being reliable old Bessie before starting her new life of  'I would..!!!'.

[z1100r]

 Deary deary me. The nightmare begins. First of all I've spent what seems like an age altering the DSS seat to fit properly, still not completed that, need some trim glue. So start to strip down bike.

 I get rid of the rickman box and the rack, I get the wheel out, I take both bits of mudguard off, the shocks off, its all going swimmingly. All nuts undoing no bother. Chainguard off...I'm lovin this..!!!

 Right then, Swingarm out.. take off lovely crome nut and tap spindle with copper mallet. Hmmmm solid, does it screw in and is this just a locknut. Make with big wrench and socket on bolt head the other side, nooooohh that dont turn. Its seized absolutely solid  aint it...bollox.

 3 hours later, its out. Took some monster blows with a big hammer, my beefy impact wrench, Oxy/acetylene heat, and WD40. Its done though, so I'm happier now. Then I take a look over the swingarm, oh my god, its rotten as a pear. Where the plates for the wheel weld in the tube has rotted out underneath tube side of the weld. The big brace plate that welds across the whole thing at the front is rotten and fractured all over the place. Thats the end of that then...BIN !! new swinger needed, more expense...tch, tch, mutter, mutter, WTF am I doing ffing about this heap of junk. Hee, Hee.

[Spitfire]

That's a real nasty surprise, stripping mine down was similar, I just thought I would need to touch up some rust patches on the frame, but in the end the rust patches joined up and the whole frame needed a paint job.

Cheers

Den

[matthewmosse]

Could use the rotted swinger (reduce it to ends and bearing tube and re do from start?) to build a new box section swinger or something fancy? Bin nothing, you'll think of a use for it later or someone will and you could do some trading to recoup costs..........

[z1100r]

 I've just sat here at work worrying about what the rest of the frame is going to be like. I hope I haven't religiously collected all these new shiney parts over the years only to find that behind my back the main chassis has slowly returned to mother nature.

[z1100r]

 Ok haven't got time to worry..this bike is going to the IOM in June - must get on with it.!!

 I have now laced, trued, and fitted new bearings and tyre to the front wheel. I've vapour blasted the brake discs and swinging caliper aluminium bits - and Ive repainted everything. Looks good..!!! ran out of silver so hub and brackets are gold...eeek.!!!

Tonight I will be vapour blasting/painting and rebuilding the calipers. I will then need brake lines for a twin disc setup. I noticed exactly what I want on here somewhere ages ago...I think it was on a 750F1. Hel brake line direct to caliper.
  Would like to know what was involved in ordering the direct to caliper system as some seem to retain the steel pipe and others have an adaptor in the caliper for the braided pipe.

 I want my twin disc bike to be as the Orange 750 I once saw on here or the US forum. Anyone know which bike that was.

[Bryanj]

Its not difficult to make up your own braided lines as the ends are fitted with olives that crimp to the inner plastic.

There are several ways of fitting up

With steel original type

Banjo and shortened bolt

adaptor in caliper with an ngled hose end

Somewhere i have a word document with pictures as i used to make them up for our US cousins. PM me with your e-mail addy and i will try and find it for you---may even have some fittings and pipe left if i look hard

[matthewmosse]

I think I just asked Custom fastners to make up my set of lines for the 550 twin disk setup. The whole lot was put on new in stainless, top to bottom for

[z1100r]

 Heres the front wheel with a Gold hub...it will be OK you cant bloody see it anyway with 2 discs.
 
 The calipers below were a bit of pain...well the left one was. The pipe and bleed nipple came out of the right
 one easily but the left was a different matter. I got th ecaliper very hot with my heat gun (spit sizzles) and then took it very steady.
Took me about an hour. Cleaned blasted and painted in about half an hour. Left hand piston very pitted, righthand OK. All very strange as the left is the original and the right was off a 79 K3. The K3 one has been on since about 1984 yet seems to have survived alot better.

Fork sliders next.....very unsure about what to do with them.

[UK Pete]

Thats looking real good , what paint did you use on the calipers?
Peet

[z1100r]

Its now called Simoniz Tough Black. I use Satin and have done loads of parts in it including nearly all of my RD500 engines, its good stuff I think.

 Like any of these aerosol paints though its not that tough when new. Give it a while and this stuff is better than most I've found though. Of course if you 2k laquer it anyway it doesn't matter. The Satin finish looks good on cycle parts. Its the best aerosol paint I've found to date.

 

[z1100r]

Finally found this piccy again.
These are the type of brake lines I'm after Bryan...I want the abrasive braided bit covered. In fact an exact copy of these would be perfect.