[pushrod]

Wow, glad you caught it when and where you did.

[mattsz]

luckyly, i'm very skilled in electronics and electricity...

...and firefighting!  Sure, water isn't normally recommended for an electrical fire, but it may have saved your bike!

[strat71]

...and firefighting!  Sure, water isn't normally recommended for an electrical fire, but it may have saved your bike!

No choice, no time to think... hi hi... but i'm seriously considering to buy a small fire extinguisher now...

[strat71]

Today:
install a side stand which was collecting dust hanging in my mess...
i need it cause it's not always easy to park its bike on a flat and safe surface...
had to cut a few pipes but it ended well...
Ben

[strat71]

a few days ago i installed the 3.25x19 and 3.50x19 on the bike to replace the "nailed down" original tyres...
i already used some K70 on my 2003 classic and it did improved the riding A LOT...

in this case, hmmm not really... it's strange...

with the original tyres cornering was easy and secure...
with the K70 the bike acts like if the wheel were not aligned... good in straight line but cornering is hard... the bike resists... and at some particular angles it's easier... very strange... the tyres have a very "rond shape", i didn't expect this behaviour...
of course i did check the alignment with my favorite string... the wheels are correctly aligned...
i don't know, maybe the tyres will break in and cornering become smoother??
accept all comments on this...
Ben

[Ice]

Tire pressure ?

 The tire pressures listed in the owners manual are for Avon Safety Mileage and Speedmaster only when fitted to our Bullets and for no other tire.

 It has been suggested on this forum for other tires in most cases to begin by setting the rear tire pressure at 10% below the maximum listed on the side wall then set the front tire pressure 10% below the pressure in the rear tire, see how it feels and go from there.

[Blltrdr]

I run 28 psi front 32 in rear with k70's. Great handling. One thing I did do when mounting them new, lined up the balance symbol on tire with tube stem. I believe it helps a lot. No weights, no problem. Guess I lucked out. I would also check your spokes tightness. Check your steering head bearing adjustment. Probably something very simple causing your handling issue.

[strat71]

thanks for ideas... will check all that later... and report of course...
today, i received my german alu turn signals... to get rid of the ugly stock turn signals... pure cosmetic of course... but like it very much...
Ben

[strat71]

a few more kilometers...

the K70 definitly get broken, they are wayyy more easy to drive... strange how they were stiff at the beginning but i feel now very confident when turning and cornering... great...

i keep on checking stuffs...

i did the tappet setting... the left one was very hard to turn so i free it up a little... and the engine now has a softer sound... should be a good thing...

i entirely open the front brake, it did not brake well... but as it's my first drum front brake motorcycle i did not know what should be considered as normal or not... a emergency stop convinced me to look for improvements here...
i remove everything, put some grease on the axis, clean the old dust and gunk.. i did the hitchcock mod, deglazed the brake pads, and now it's braking very hard... good...

Ben

[strat71]

hi, long time no see...
yesterday i received my solo seat and short bottle exhaust...
one hour later, everything is installed...

about the seat: i feel in a upper position, but my bottom is well secured...
the springs feel harder than expected but no problem for me...

about the exhaust: it's wayyy lighter... and is held in place way more tightly than the big bazooka... the sound has little to do with the stock exhaust... deep powerfull sound... i first removed the baffle inside and put it back immediatly, it sounds very good with it...

now what??? i'm waiting for a new handle bar, lower than this one... just like the C5 bar... and i'll be able to put some bar-end mirrors.. and i'll be done on the cosmetic...
Ben

[strat71]

i had problems with my Micarb setting with the old bazooka exhaust...
wet plug...
i opened the carb twice... checked everything, changed all the rubber parts... but it have a very erratic idle... not stable...
it's hard to find the sweet spot... turning the pilot screw doesn't change much... sometime the idle accelerate but it goes down very soon... so not sure if it's the screw or something else..

so i had to read the plug and find the setting where the plug is not wet anymore.. found a spot but still not perfect... not sure about the richness though..

But with the installation of the new exaust, i have to do it again, i tried the recommanded jets for free exhaust and free airbox:

• 27.5 pilot jet
• P2 needle jet (2nd position from the bottom needle clip)
• 125 main jet
• stock throttle valve

but there is a bad case of wet plug....
i get down to 25 pilot jet and 120 main jet, works better but still not perfect...

i'll keep on trying to fix this but i'm quite sure my carb is not working the way it should...

i think the problem comes from the boost system... so i checked it several times, close it and don't use it anymore...

anyway a mikuni TM32 is on the way, Ace helped me finding the parts to fix it... Thanks Tom....
i think using a mikuni will help a lot...
Ben

[ace.cafe]

Ben,
I will ship the 32mm alloy intake manifold, and the parts for your Ace Air Canister conversion to fit TM32 Mikuni in the morning.

[strat71]

Thank Tom, you rocks...

[strat71]

I report back the front brake job i did on my bullet, you can see on https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,22941.0.html thread:

trying to setup the front brake, i broke the rod connecting the two parts of the brake (cheap metal!!) so i replaced it with a simple stainless rod (see pictures...)

of course i had to drill the upper and lower pieces (like on hitchcock brake overhaul but on both sides..)

the rod is held on the lower part with a counter nut (see pix) and is tightened on the upper part...

now my setting up process is:
1) with the rod left loose, i tighten the cable adjustment until the wheel is stopped by the brake and get back a little to free the wheel... (of course at this time just one side of the brake pads is moving and braking, not very efficient and the brake lever is quite spongy... don't bother)
2) i tighten the upper nut on the rod with the same procedure... tighten until it stops the wheel's movement and back up a little until it's free again...
now the brake is firm and tight... maybe the brake lever is too tight, just loosen the cable adjustment until it feels good to you...

i do believe it's the same principle as on hitchcock "overhaul"... not a new method... it's a good mod:  the setting of the brake is way easier as stock system...
of course you need to deglass the pads and all the cleaning/lubrification process as usual...
Ben

[strat71]

as you know, i received my front seat and installed it...
i found it to be higher than the stock one, at first sight, i though it was good but after a few kilometer i finally found it quite inconfortable, as if i was sitting on a chair above my bike.. i'm tall (1m84) and i almost can't put my feet on the ground...
i also thought that the solo seat was too far from the gas tank... 3cm between them...
so i removed the plate holding the seat (2 - 13mm nuts) and drilled a few holes to be able to set it the way i wanted..
i now have two height holes on the braket... the stock one and a second 2 cm above...
and 3 pairs of depth holes to set up the distance between the gas tank and the front of the seat...
i tried a few positions and so far my setting is: stock distance from the tank and 2cm under the stock position. i'll ride a little like that and see if i keep this configuration.. as you'll see on the pix, i can also play with the springs lengh... i'll receive shorter ones soon, will report..

here are the pix:
pix1: stock position
pix2: closer to the tank and to the frame
pix3: closer to the frame and stock distance from the tank