[Handirifle]

Did some work on my top box rack.  I have a pic of the mock up I did out of 1/2" conduit.  Too thin to use but served its purpose.  Let me iball my idea, and get practice with the new tubing bender. 

Then I started with the new 5/8" (16mm)x .060" tubing for the final build. 

I hit a bit of a snag yesterday.  I was using (actually abusing) my 18yr old cheapo 4" bench vice, and it finally got tired of it and broke.  I tried welding it, but of course cast iron did what cast iron does, and refused to stop cracking when getting welded. 

Sooo, off to Harbor freight for a new one, and an upgrade.  I got the 6" Doyle made from ductile iron, with a 60,000 psi rating.  This ought to last me the rest of my life.

Back to the bike, the changes still doming to the rack will be two 90* elbows from the front of the rack that will curve down towards the rear of the pillion seat frame.  I plan on using nut inserts to bolt the front of the 90*'s to the pillion frame.  This will give me a three point attachment.  Hopefully this will provide the strength I want to support the top box, especially if on bumpy dirt roads.

[Handirifle]

The pics are out of order.  Top pic is the 5/8 tubing.

[AmBraCol]

What did I do today?  Tanked up the Rumbler 500 after the first road trip since before the pandemic lockdown.  Last week I topped off the nitrogen in the tires, checked and lubed the chain and did other pre-trip preparations, filled the tank for the first time since... a few months ago (poor bike's been neglected as far as regular rides go) and then packed the dry bag, lashed it in place and took off over the central range of the Andes, across the Magdalena river valley to the foothills of the eastern range of the Andes to the little town of Nilo. After the activities there I packed up again and headed off in the rain for home, arriving last night in the middle of a fairly heavy rain that thanfully let up while I was at the top lf La Linea pass.   What a way to get back into a road trip after such an absence from the same.  It was good to get home and the new tunnels and now divided highway over La Linea for most of the route  made the trip much better than "in the old days" of playing cat and mouse through the heavy semi-truck traffic over and back.  Tanked up today after 455 kilometers of 105.62 km/gal fuel consumption. Ran lower on the fuel level than I care for, but the high prices and heavy rain made stopping to top off unattractive. It's good to be home.

[the possum]

What I did today - I rode my motorcycle in the rain.
Following a failure to get home a few weeks ago, my machine now makes all the right noises in all the right places.

While travelling 200 odd km's from home, the motor went silent. A check with the multimeter showed 9 volts at the battery.
Following recovery, the nice man at the shop said my stator was shorted out. Once the motor was opened up, it (the stator) was black and crispy in parts.
A new stator showed up rather promptly in a genuine RE box and has been installed.
With the side cover off, we decided a nice new 19t sprocket was in order, and matched with a new rear one and a new chain.

Todays run showed all was well. Full mudguards are a wonderful thing !

Has anyone else had issues with their stator, or am I just the lucky bugger?

Classic 500 - 31,006 km when it went quiet.

[rattonshaw]

Not today, but on Saturday.  Competed in the ACU National Road Rally.  I went for the one day, Gold award, which is 290 to 325 miles and 13 controls.  Weather was atrocious; it rained virtually all the time apart from some brief sunny gaps.  On occasions, the rain came down like six inch nails.  Boots leaked, gloves saturated, but the Electra was faultless. didn't miss a beat and plenty of grip even on the knobblies (Battlax AX41F front and Michelin Anakee Wild rear).  Just glad I didn't do the Sunday as well.

[AmBraCol]

Not today, but on Saturday.  Competed in the ACU National Road Rally.  I went for the one day, Gold award, which is 290 to 325 miles and 13 controls.  Weather was atrocious; it rained virtually all the time apart from some brief sunny gaps.  On occasions, the rain came down like six inch nails.  Boots leaked, gloves saturated, but the Electra was faultless. didn't miss a beat and plenty of grip even on the knobblies (Battlax AX41F front and Michelin Anakee Wild rear).  Just glad I didn't do the Sunday as well.

Sounds like fun.  A couple weeks ago I did a 200km stretch across the Magdalena river valley then up and over the central range of the Andes. About 2/3 of the route was in the rain, half of the rest on wet asphalt.  No controls to worry about, but that last 1/3 when my glasses got fogged and rain spattered to complement the rain spattered face shield was rough. It's amazing how much rain drops refract light from the tail lights and headlights of other vehicles. Thankfully my rain gear didn't leak, but my boots were soaked as I've no over shoe rain protection.  I hear you about the rain like nails!

[Silverback]

Removed starter, related gears and sprag clutch. Installed hitchcock starter blanking plug and relays.

Waiting for RTV  gasket  to cure.

Can't wait to get bike back on the road.

[MowgliB5]

Got an MOT without any advisory’s, a new Battlax BT46 rear tyre fitted before hand and went out for a 110 mile ride to break the tyre in in the glorious sunshine on it.
A very enjoyable day on the whole!!

[Blackdog62]

Stripped the cams out of my C500 efi and pulled the rockers just waiting for the correct diameter decompression pin 4.0mm  to arrive so I can swap out the original 3.8mm one that is simply way too small and is causing cam follower issues, hopefully won't have to wait too long then fingers crossed no more tap tap tap from the exhaust follower

[Crabsapper]

Couldn't find a 110x18 rear Roadrider, so fitted a 120 instead. Goes on without problems, looks better, and the slightly raised gearing is nice.
I noticed some time ago that Tribute Blacks in other markets had 120 rear tyres, and the owners manual states that a 120 is the correct size. Picture shows the 110 tyre, the 120 fills the rear mudguard up much better.

Also made a baffle (well, a friend did) for my Silman silencer, which avoids needing fibreglass packing.

All in all, very happy now with the bike, and just gone past 14000 miles.

The carb conversion is excellent, just need to weld up the holes in the RH toolbox to be able to use it, and Lengthen the reserve pipe on the Yamaha fuel tap, as I only get about 10-15 miles on it, which isn't enough up here.

[Brockett]

2021 500 classic matte black stealth
My new to me bike arrived Tuesday I found the Clutch lever cocked up at a strange angle. Inspection showed  that someone has installed Hot Grips and the glued it on so that the wire feed prevents the clutch lever being operated when in a normal position.
I cut off the hot grip and turned the lever mount to a more normal position. I searched my odds and end box and found a suitable handgrip and installed that.
The oil level was at the low mark on the sight glass
The kick start lever was jammed up against the front of the air box so I thumbed the starter and it fired straight away.
The exhaust was blowing loudly down through the silencer joint.
I removed the silencer and found there was no gasket in the joint but instead exhaust wrap was turne a few times around it and three clasps kept it in place. the wrap is quite useless and much like trying to carry soup in a lace curtain.
Wednesday I bought some oil and a gasket.  Note here I was offered two different size gaskets and I opted for the small one an it fitted my matte black stealth classic 500
I removed the kick starter and repositioned it on its splined shaft, refited the silencer with it's new gasket and then topped up the oil 150 ml or so.
I have come to the conclussion that the previous owner had no idea how to do anything properly.
I suspect that since new in 2021 the bike has never had an oil and filter change as it has not yet reached the mileage for a service. 
I am hoping that with just over 2300 miles on the clock the bike has not suffered long lasting damage.
No one is born with knowledge but with all the advice and guidance video from Hitchcocks there is no excuse for not finding out and learning.
I ordered Filter and gaskets from Hitchcocks and they came within 48 hours.
The bike has an MOT  dated in March showing the same mileage that was delivered to me. You have to wonder how the thing passed an MOT with the clutch lever at 45 degrees and a blowing exhaust.   
Take care out there - Dave

[Blackdog62]

Fitted new exhaust and 19 tooth front sprocket

Adjusted the throttle position sensor, to eliminate flat spots but have found the engine revs so much cleaner it hits some sort of rev limiter that cuts the engine, it re starts again after a second or so but very unexpected,
Any help with this will be greatly appreciated

[oldphart]

A couple of months back I changed all the dashboard lights to LED, all that is except the one behind the speedo - I thought that'd be too bright. So nice to be able to see things in daylight (I'm in Australia so the daylight is particularly bright).
Last night, I had the need to ride it at night and, you guessed it, the speedo light was blown so I've just finished putting in a new globe. Because I had to buy one (couldn't find the ones I'd taken out earlier) I decided to buy an LED. What's the bet it's too bright?

[Brockett]

Further to my post above I discovered that the previous owner had removed the speedo cable guide from the front mudguard  Now fitted one I got from Hitchcocks. I also bought a 'Booster Plug'.  I installed  the probe inside the air filter intake. I also discovered a bolt was missing from the ABS mounting bracket. Only one bolt in place so it began to rattle. The only way to fit fix a bolt in there is to remove the ABS pump. Can't do that without getting the ECU re mapped. I think the bolt was never inserted by the factory as it can't fall out with the ABS pump in place. The loose bracket also caused the outer oval cover to not fit and that also rattled. Then I realised the rear chainguard is missing. I have to say this bike looks ok but has been generally messed about with by someone who had no idea what they are doing.  I got a repcement from Hitchcocks
I replaced the plug with an iridium type from Hitchcocks. The original was white like it has been running very weak. That may have been caused by omission of the header to silencer gaskett and the insane use of exhaust wrap as per my earlier post.  Only a few more things to do this year. New tyres if I can sourse ones that will fit and a then fit the 19 tooth engine sprocket.