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Sidecar Bob
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#16

Post by Sidecar Bob »

octane wrote: How on earth did you come up with that!
A friend who was into hot rods mentioned that you can buy spark plug caps that flash whenever there is a spark and that they work by having a neon bulb mounted close to but not touching the high tension wire.
I put 2 & 2 together & stuck a neon bulb in the end of a piece of tubing.
BTW I guess it's what we over here call a halogen bulb????
No, halogen lights (more properly called tungsten-halogen or quartz-halogen) are simply more refined incandescent bulbs. They have a tungsten filament in a quartz glass envelope filled with halogen gas.
Look here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light

Neon lights are the types that you often see signs made of - the ones with a clear tube that glows reddish orange when turned on and can be bent into shapes & letters. They work by exciting neon gas between 2 electrodes mounted inside the glass envelope. The envelope can be several feet long or the size of a flashlight bulb, as long as the appropriate voltage for the distance between the electrodes is applied.
Look here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_lamp
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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octane
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#17

Post by octane »

...oh silly me. The halogen has a filament....I forgot.

I see in the 'neon' link you provided; there's this cheap
elec. screwdriver I use for testing household sockets etc.
witch apparently has a neon bulb
Gotta try it with that

Image

Thanks Bob.


EDIT: tried it. Works fine.
Brilliant!
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Whiskerfish
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#18

Post by Whiskerfish »

At one point in my Navy Career I got stuck working on Jets for a while. That sucked considering I been a Helo Mech all my Career!! Anyway we had to load electronic pods on fighters and set them up for flight including a Electronic Radiation test. The pods were used to simulate a incoming missle electronic radiation signature, and they would fly at the ships so they could do defense training. Well The Navy had this big bulky, Very expensive, Piece of Crap to test these pods. Weighed like a hundred pounds and cost thousands and thousands of dollars. We used a 4 foot Flourescent bulb!! Stand off to the side tell the guy in the cockpit to hit the swittches and wave the bulb in front of the pod. If the pod was putting out that flourescent tube would light right up!! Worked like a champ :lol:
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
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spaniard
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#19

Post by spaniard »

Sidecar Bob wrote:I have a bic C-clamp that I only use for brakes. It is old and has a nice rusty patina that has been soaked with brake fluid over the years, so I am extra careful not to use it for carpentry.


My tip: To tell which spark plug lead (if any) is dead (bad coil/points/ignitor/&c) without removing the plugs I use a neon bulb (the kind that used to be used in the pilot lights of electrical devices pretty universally before LEDs came along).

I have a small neon that looks something like the one in the pic below, and I cut off the leads and pushed it into a 6" or so piece of plastic tubing.

I hold the bulb near each plug lead (with the engine running) and if there is voltage present the bulb flashes with each pulse.

Image

Note: This will not work with an incandescent bulb. Some neons seem to work better than others, and you may need to be in a relatively dark place to use it.

I bought a tool that does the exact same thing. Have been using it for a while and like it a lot as well.

http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=187
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semerm
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neat use for liquid tape

#20

Post by semerm »

I bought some liquid tape to use on some wires and looked at my back rest pad that had some of the black covering cut and white was showing through. I cut off the excess and then, you guessed it, I applied some of the liquid tape on the white part and it looks great again!
Last edited by semerm on Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Sidecar Bob
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#21

Post by Sidecar Bob »

This has nothing to do with bikes.

We have been doing some plumbing the last few days. I discovered that the best thing for cleaning the outside of 1/2" copper pipe & fittings before soldering is a battery terminal brush of the type designed for cleaning up the post type terminals that used to be common on car batteries & their connectors.

Works like a charm - no more sanding the ends of the pipe.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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octane
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#22

Post by octane »

Next to my workbench I have a thick sheet of glass
on witch I've taped two pieces of wet'dry, grade 1200 and 1000.

To check if a machine part is flat and true before I
join it up to some other machine part
I mark it with a thick marker-pen

Image


carefully twist and turn it on the 1200 grade
Image



and any "un-flatness" will show up
Image


in this case (water-pump body part) you can see
that around where the bolts go in, the surface it a little 'lower'
(marker-pen black still there)
witch is a good thing, as when you tighten up the bolts
you actually press the two parts/surfaces together
Had the surface been 'higher' around the bolt-holes;
you would tighten the bolts,
and even fully tightened, there would be a distance between
the two surfaces.

In other cases where I want 'flat/flatness'
and the surface is a little uneven:
I take it to the 1000 grade paper.


Old habit from dealing with British bikes
where absolutely nothing, witch are meant to fit together,
actually does fit together.
Da' Supercharged Bulldog

Image

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection
not when there is nothing left to add
but when there is nothing left to take away"

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Whiskerfish
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#23

Post by Whiskerfish »

That is a great tip!!
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
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Alabass
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Stubborn allen bolts

#24

Post by Alabass »

Most of you probably already know this but if you need to apply a little more torque to remove allen-head bolts that are stuck, slip the appropriate sized boxed-end wrench over the allen wrench. I did this when separating the brake calipers on my 77 Wing. I don't think I could have gotten them apart without breaking the allen wrench otherwise.
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Strawb
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#25

Post by Strawb »

i'm prety sure you guys have thought of this but i did a little modification on the jetting needles for the carbs ......

i soldered a simple extension on the end of the jetting that needs a customized flat screw driver just to adjust the fuel/air mixture of the carbs once the carbs have been installed on the bike for fine tuning

............. this way you dont need a special flat screw driver cos you can adjust the jettings by simply twisting the extension on the jetting to get a more accurate setting cos you can adjust the mixture by feel

hope this helps
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skylane5sp
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Engine Removal

#26

Post by skylane5sp »

From the Shop Manual:

NOTE
To disengage the output shaft from the U-joint assembly, adjust the jack and move the engine forward. Separate the engine from the frame and remove it to the left.


Easier said than done, especially if you're working solo. After lots of pushing, jack adjusting and creative verbal coaxing... I said screw it. Since I'd taken half the bike apart already to remove the engine, two more bolts wouldn't hurt so I removed the two pivot bolts from the swingarm and slid it back to clear the output shaft. Engine then moves straight out to the left.

Dave
'76 in lots of pieces...
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Sidecar Bob
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#27

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I always use a flat dolly for removing engines.

Every home should have at least one - basically a piece of plywood with a caster at each corner. We have used ours to move everything from sofas (standing on end) to refrigerators. When I made ours I happened to have a suitably sized piece of plywood with a plastic laminate like they use for countertops - when I spill oil on it in the shop I can wash it off with detergent and it's still OK for furniture. If I hadn't have had that piece I probably would have made a second one by now.

To remove the engine from the 'Wing I:
- put the bike on the centrestand and remove all the stuff attached to the engine (see manual)
- roll the dolly under the engine and put blocks of wood between the dolly & the engine so that it is just supporting the engine
- remove the subframe and all engine mounting bolts
- roll the engine forward to get it free of the u-joint and then move it to the left and out.
It's not quite as easy as it sounds. You may need to move it to the left at the same time and possibly rock it a bit to get it clear and a helper to push down on the back end of the bike to make the front raise could be helpful. But the engine will be far less likely to fall off of the dolly & blocking than it would be to fall off of the 2" or 3" diameter lifting pad of the jack.

You should never have to disturb the swingarm pivots to remove the engine.


Note that I said a caster at each corner. Casters are wheels that can swivel in a horizontal direction. If you put wheels that can't swivel on one end and casters on the other it won't move the way you need it to.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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skylane5sp
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#28

Post by skylane5sp »

The jack I was using was this neat Motorcycle/ATV jack my wife bought me for Christmas. I has 4 swivel casters and two nice large pads that fit perfectly under the bottom of the engine. It will lift the whole bike almost a foot.
Working solo, I just could not get the engine moved around enough to clear the rear mounting tabs on the frame to move it forward and clear the u-joint. By this time I already had the carbs, heads, radiator, fuel tank, seat, rear wheel and fender off and out of the way so two more bolts (the pivots) wasn't an issue...

Dave
'76 in lots of pieces
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Sidecar Bob
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#29

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Hey - that sounds like a good use for a bike lift.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
LikeMike64
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#30

Post by LikeMike64 »

To clean rusty parts without damaging them, I use a mixture of white vinegar and table salt.

Basic Fact and Cautions:
  • 1. --> Do this in a well ventilated area away from metals as it produces hydrochloric acid fumes! <--
    2. Use a plastic or glass container, NEVER copper or galvanized.
    3. Time is not overly critical. The solution will react only with the rust (ferric oxide) and, in the absence of air, will not react with the base metal.
    4. Using warm vinegar in a warm place will speed the process.
Process:
  • 1. Place enough white vinegar in a plastic container to completely submerge the part (very important, any exposed part to air will badly corrode).
    2. Mix in as much table salt as it will absorb. I add, stir, wait a minute, repeat; until salt starts settling on the bottom.
    3. Place part in solution.
    4. Stir occasionally.
    5. Wait until rust is gone (you can remove, scrub, and resubmerge, if desired).
    5. Remove and immediately wash in warm soapy water and rinse.
    6. Dry immediately.
    7. Oil, paint, coat(, etc) part.
This process will not damage the part like muriatic acid will.

Mike
Mike
So many interests, so little time...



'76 GL1000: "The Super Bee" - finished.
'75 GL1000: Basket Case, Next project in queue
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