Mr_Asa said:"a little higher level"
Criminy.
I'm going to try. I think the ultrasonic cleaner will take me just a little further than my previous methods. I've never felt like I'm getting quite as good of results with things like carburetor work as I maybe could have.
ebelements said:I have always secretly wanted a goldwing, so watching this vintage model come together is a guilty pleasure.
Had to google dynabeads. They appear to be synthesized from some sort of dark magic. Have you used them before?That loctite moly paste you bought for the rear splines is the same stuff the FJR guys recommend as well. With how infrequently it's needed I feel like I'll be passing this little bottle down to the kids I'm not planning on having.
I haven't used the Dynabeads, but they're certainly thoroughly talked about on various forums. I figured I'd give it a try in hopes of avoiding having to pay a "professional" to balance my tires or having to buy another tool to take up space in my shop and get seldom used.
The moly paste was pretty eye watering to buy. I had been putting it off until I noticed my credit card was offering a "one day, 10% cash back on purchases from Zoro" sale. I've been a long time customer of Zoro and they treated me as well this time and they always have, ie. perfect. Like you said, I should be able to will the remainder of the bottle to future generations. Besides, my splines are worth it dammit.
I bead Ballance truck tires often. Works good on 33" to 44" tires
Professor_Brap said:I bead Ballance truck tires often. Works good on 33" to 44" tires
That is encouraging.
The Harley shop manuals, going back to the beginning of time, show you how to balance a wheel/tire without any extra tools. Put the axle in the vice (OK, that's an extra tool, but not really as everyone has one already,) put the wheel on the axle, spin it, wait for it to stop. Mark the bottom. Spin again. If it stops in the same place, that's heavy. Put some weight on the opposite side. Spin again. Now, with that drive arrangement, I dunno how you would stick it on an axle in the vice.
Or just don't bother with the balance. I've done that too and never noticed any difference. Especially on a back tire. The dyna beads are real popular in HD world too.
Dr. Hess said:Or just don't bother with the balance. I've done that too and never noticed any difference. Especially on a back tire. The dyna beads are real popular in HD world too.
This is me too. I haven't ever balanced a tire on any of my motorcycles. Never had a complaint about vibes either. But since the Wing is reputed to be so smooth, I figure to hedge my odds with the Dyna Beads.
I am making new battery cables to replace the old corroded originals.
I had ordered my supplies from an online place for a good price. I really feel like the heat shrink they sent me is just a wee bit too big. It shrinks down and more closely resembles a piece of hose over the wire. It does have some melty goo inside of it to seal it though. I don't hate it enough to place another order for smaller heatshrink and wait another week. I just prefer my heat shrink more svelte.
The originals have corrosion.
Cool tool I bought a few years ago. A poor boy terminal crimp tool.
Insert cable and tighten vise to crimp the terminal.
Terminals in place, bent and tweaked for best angles.
Mock up to determine cable length and end orientation.
Then crimp, solder, and install.
Honestly, I'm not a bit happy with the results here. I really need to figure out how to do more sanitary work when making cables. I know that using an 8 dollar universal crimper and soldering with a torch isn't ideal. I'll let the whole matter weigh on me enough to lose sleep over it and will finally figure out what I need to do to do nicer work.
I use a set that look like a big set of bolt cutters, it's my go to, my hydrologic one is nice, but a bit tedious. Also they sell them that are bench top with a long handle.
All right, my dumb ass is back. It took me a minute to figure out what I was doing wrong. The terminals are closed socket. So I was having the cut the insulation short to leave a gap, allowing me to run solder into the joint.
And the results looked uglier than a sack of mashed up shiny happy people.
So, I grabbed a couple of new terminals and drilled holes into them. That way I could get solder directly into the crimped area.
Now, that's a little better looking.
Cousin_Eddie said:All right, my dumb ass is back. It took me a minute to figure out what I was doing wrong. The terminals are closed socket. So I was having the cut the insulation short to leave a gap, allowing me to run solder into the joint.
And the results looked uglier than a sack of mashed up shiny happy people.
So, I grabbed a couple of new terminals and drilled holes into them. That way I could get solder directly into the crimped area.
Now, that's a little better looking.
nice improvement, but why no shrink tube? technical reason? just forgot? inquiring minds!
AngryCorvair said:Cousin_Eddie said:All right, my dumb ass is back. It took me a minute to figure out what I was doing wrong. The terminals are closed socket. So I was having the cut the insulation short to leave a gap, allowing me to run solder into the joint.
And the results looked uglier than a sack of mashed up shiny happy people.
So, I grabbed a couple of new terminals and drilled holes into them. That way I could get solder directly into the crimped area.
Now, that's a little better looking.
nice improvement, but why no shrink tube? technical reason? just forgot? inquiring minds!
I think I'm going to order some thinner stuff. The stuff I have really doesn't suit 6ga wiring in my opinion. It's weighing on me. The OEM cable didn't have any. Still not satisfied. Will walk around muttering under my breath all day until I settle on a final plan.
I promise more substantial updates will be coming if that freakin UPS guy would ever get here.
For now though. Those janky cables I made yesterday were weighing on me. So I went down a rabbit hole learing about heat shrink tubing and shrink ratios and size. Amazon to the rescue. I got some proper size heat shrink with the glue inside of it.
Much, much better.
As soon as my ultrasonic cleaner gets here I am going to go full depth into brake system overhaul. It should be more interesting than the interminable posts about the nuances of heat shrink tube and battery cables. Even I'm tired of that already.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
AngryCorvair approves! ;-)
I did the drilled lug trick on all the heavy gauge wiring connections I did on my Cougar. I used the same crimper too. I'm pleased with the results I had. Your attention to detail is impressive!
This should improve my work quality from here forward. It seems pretty robust so far.
Rear cliper cleaned in the new ultrasonic cleaner. Many, many buenos. Much clean.
I shopped hard on eBay to find deals for the parts. I found the caliper rebuild kit and pads from an overstock inventory of a closed down motorcycle shop that was being liquidated. Best offer was accepted on both items.
Installed back on the bike. I made no real effort to detail the surroundings. This bike isn't meant to serve that purpose. And I know myself well. If I start off down that road I'll be powdercoating stuff and having hardware replated.
Now I need to rebuild the rear master cylinder. That is an entire story in itself, to be told in a later post.
Nice score on that rebuild kit. And that ultrasonic parts cleaner seems to really be the business.
I just ran into a epic game changer here. As I was removing the rear master cylinder I exposed something I hadn't seen.
Some jackass has run a Tek screw, slathered in silicone into the gas tank. It's way below waterline too.
Now I have to remove and repair/replace the gas tank. And it is an epic job on this motorcycle. And it requires me to completely undo all the work I did on the rear end of the bike, plus much more.
See, the gas tank is mounted under the rider, in the center of the bike.
What a kick in the slats. I'll have to mope around a while over this. No worries, I will fix it. I don't quit projects. I just didn't want to do this. Oh well, I'll wind up with a clean and nice tank somehow in the end.
I know its not the way you roll, but cant you remove the bolt and use some sealant?
I know, I know. I probably would also take it all apart as well as it would bother me to no end.
It wasn't too bad honestly. Maybe 30-45 minutes. Cordless impact tools and having the bike up on a lift make all the difference.
I threw it in the bed of the minitruck and I'll take it to work this week and see if I can bribe my radiator guy out of retirement for a little cash job of vatting it and welding the hole closed. Then I'll POR15 tank line it.
Did you post the brand and place you got the cleaner from? It's been one of those things I've been keeping half an eye open for, and it seems to a good enough job to have you happy with it.
Mr_Asa said:Did you post the brand and place you got the cleaner from? It's been one of those things I've been keeping half an eye open for, and it seems to a good enough job to have you happy with it.
In my opinion, that's a story well worth telling.
I had been wanting an ultrasonic cleaner and figured I'd just do the 80 dollar Harbor Freight units. It's cheap, low power, and Chinese.
Then I read on some board a guy saying the best deals in ultrasonic cleaners were on eBay under liquidated dental equipment. Sure enough, there are guys on eBay selling used dental equipment from closed down dentist offices. This is an 1700 dollar, made in USA unit. Of course a dentist going into business buys nice, new stuff for his office. Then when he goes out of business, it gets sold at fire sale prices. So, I got one hell of a very powerful unit for 160 dollars. That's less than 10 cents on the dollar. No cheap Chinese stuff here.
In my case, they were asking 192 dollars and accepted my offer of 160.
So, if you want one, hit the eBay and look at the used dental equipment stores. There's a pile of them on there for sale.
Cousin Eddie: "this bike is for riding and not for detailing."
also cousin Eddie: "I bought an ultrasonic cleaner to clean off the brake caliper."
:)
In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
That's a great tech tip. Now it's time to buy one before everyone else gets there first.
dculberson said:Cousin Eddie: "this bike is for riding and not for detailing."
also cousin Eddie: "I bought an ultrasonic cleaner to clean off the brake caliper."
:)
The truth is that I got the ultrasonic cleaner to try and step up my carburetor game, of which this bike has four. I am finding it handy for cleaning other stuff though. It does do good work on intricate brake parts with little passages.
I cleaned a wiring harness in it today as a matter of fact. It removes all corrosion in the plugs and connectors. All the little pins and sockets were clean and shiny when I got finished.
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