Nightmare Start

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ANDYGEE
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 10:42 am
Location: Dunstable,Bedfordshire

Nightmare Start

Post by ANDYGEE »

Well!! having waited a month for delivery of my handlebar conversion kit I was eager to start, now bear in mind this is the fist time I have worked on a bike in any real depth.
So i start to strip the bike down and before I remove the indicator wires i decide to jot down the corresponding colours, my garage in not that well lit so I use a lead light, and while I jot down the colours I rest the lead light on the seat .... yes I know your all saying foooool, well your all correct, to say I was gutted is an understatement a £100.00 seat destroyed in seconds.
After much swearing and slapping myself in the face a fag and a cup of tea I decided to continue, the strip down went well after that, then it was time to put the new hand made yolk on, well it fitted perfectly, now I had to remove the ignition from the old yolk, sheer bolt mmmm i had seen these before and I thought using a hammer and punch i should be able to tap them round, nooooo they were made of metalic jelly or something, the punch just slid through the metal leaving a useless groove all round the head of the bolt, then the little light bulb appeared above my head , I know I'll drill them out, well that worked and I could now fit the ignition in the new yolk.
Well it wouldn't fit, it wasn't even close it seemed that the ignition hole and adjoining holes were not made for a vtr100f as they had advertised, Dilemma .... do I wait till the morning and contact the supplier and get the right one, meaning i will have to wait another month because they are hand made to order or (after another light bulb appearing), fashion some kind of bracket to secure the ignition.
By this time of the evening I was getting frustrated with it all and beginning to regret staring it, i was going to miss riding and it looked like I could be without the bikre for a month.
So I started to make a bracket, found some steel bent it and I thought to myself this is gonna work then all I had to do was drill the holes and I'm done, first hole goes fine on second hole the drill snags and snaps the lug clean of the bracket In temper I grab the bracket to throw it across the garage but...... its red hot and it sticks to my thumb and forefinger leaving a bracket shape brand on my thumb to remind me of my amaturish atempt and to make matters worse I could not use my iphone properly because a large blister on my thumb would not opperate the screen, at that point I called it a day.
Day Two. Having thought all night as to what to do I started that evening fresh and managed to make a good semi hidden bracket and fitted the ignition. Happy days.
The rest of the fitting was uneventful and I was quite enjoying it, until.... I got the replacement hoses out of the box for the brake, they had only supplied me with two hoses and no double banjo bolt for the cylinder, what to do what to do, so I rerouted all the cables and fixed them with cable ties rang the company next morning and they have now sent me the bolt.
After much testing and swivelling or the steering I was happy that all the hoses and cables were free of obstruction and i bled the bake and clutch and re fiited all the fairing. tHe cutting of the fairing was the easy part thanks to you guys with the advice of using a dremel.

I am astonished with the result, the comfort is sublime the look is great and although it may not sound like it, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.
This is just the first step, next step is a respray, third step is the cct's which so I am informed are stuck in customs at the moment.

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For those about to rock I Salute you !
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Kev L
Posts: 11232
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:57 pm
Location: Hertford, England

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by Kev L »

Nice write uo Andy. Got to admit I did have a giggle at the seat and hot bracket :lol:
Glad it turned out well in the end.
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero
F3, 954 USD front, K Tech springs, Braced swinger, Penske shock, Six spoke Mockesini wheels, Harris rearsets, QaT, Flywheel diet!, A&L stacks, stick coils, K&N, FP Ti jets, lashings of Ti & CF
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ging500
Posts: 540
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:00 pm

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by ging500 »

My new saying is, if you think it is going to be an easy 10 min job think again. I changed a spark plug that nearly took me three weeks.
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MacV2
Posts: 17543
Joined: Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:07 pm
Location: Grain

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by MacV2 »

:thumbup:

There isn't a smilie with a bandaged thumb sorry... :lol:

Good job...it will be a job for me sometime soon.
Making up since 2007, sometimes it's true...Honest...
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rocco-jocco
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 7:52 pm

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by rocco-jocco »

Nice work mate, hows the blister on your thumb :lol: :lol:
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sirch345
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Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2003 10:35 pm
Location: The West Country.

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by sirch345 »

That was a good read Andy, I'm glad you got there in the end :clap:

Chris.
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ANDYGEE
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 10:42 am
Location: Dunstable,Bedfordshire

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by ANDYGEE »

Thanks guys, my thumb is ok now, got a stylus pen for phone and pad. I'm stripping it all down again on Tuesday night, ready to be sprayed on thursday then its off to the Isle of Wight for a week basking in the glorious downpours, then its back to the rebuild. I know you guys love to banter about the colour choices so heres mine "electric blue" do your worst :D. I have been told from a gentleman (loosely speaking)on the forum that Green is the fastest colour but I'm just not ready for that kind of speed. 8O
For those about to rock I Salute you !
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Kev L
Posts: 11232
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:57 pm
Location: Hertford, England

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by Kev L »

I can't imagine who would talk such bollox to promote the colour of a septic pond, must be radio!!!
You have shown excellent taste choosing the fastest colour, congatulations fella.
:thumbup:
Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero
F3, 954 USD front, K Tech springs, Braced swinger, Penske shock, Six spoke Mockesini wheels, Harris rearsets, QaT, Flywheel diet!, A&L stacks, stick coils, K&N, FP Ti jets, lashings of Ti & CF
tony.mon
Posts: 16022
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:46 pm
Location: Norf Kent

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by tony.mon »

ANDYGEE wrote:Thanks guys, my thumb is now ready to be sprayed on thursday then its off to the Isle of Wight for a wee, then its back to the rebuild. I know you guys love to banter about the colour choices so heres mine "electric blue" do your worst :D. I have been a gentleman (loosely speaking)on the forum - Green is the fastest colour but I'm just not ready for that kind of speed. 8O
Excellent, one more gone to another colour; soon yellow will be rare, collectable and worth more money.

Anyway, it doesn't show the oil seed rape bee splats, so less cleaning.

So what about the nightmare start? Flat battery?
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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darkember
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Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:48 pm
Location: South Wales Abergavenny

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by darkember »

Nice job M8 :thumbup: I recently did my bars, it took me near on 10hrs to complete but not half the hassle you had. The only issue with mine was the fact the previous owner had changed them back to clipons & left the extended clutch cable on, I ended up with a useless canary yellow Hel clutch cable which is far too short as i was fed incorrect measurements before ordering.

BTW that clutch cable is still for sale if there are any takers
tony.mon
Posts: 16022
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:46 pm
Location: Norf Kent

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by tony.mon »

darkember wrote:Nice job M8 :thumbup: I recently did my bars, it took me near on 10hrs to complete but not half the hassle you had. The only issue with mine was the fact the previous owner had changed them back to clipons & left the extended clutch cable on, I ended up with a useless canary yellow Hel clutch cable which is far too short as i was fed incorrect measurements before ordering.

BTW that clutch cable is still for sale if there are any takers
Assuming you mean a hydraulic line, not a cable, the length will be important to any potential buyer.

It'll do just as well as a brake line, though.
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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AMCQ46
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Joined: Mon May 11, 2009 4:54 pm
Location: Worcestershire / Warwickshire border

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by AMCQ46 »

Great write up, I did laugh at your misfortune....sorry...


I was going to ask what was wrong with your eyes fitting blue bar ends on a yellow bike (will slow the movement ofthe bars down more than a damper :lol: )... Then I read the last post and I now understand the blue bars....you are not blind, you are mad :lol:
AMcQ
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darkember
Posts: 2194
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:48 pm
Location: South Wales Abergavenny

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by darkember »

tony.mon wrote:
darkember wrote:Nice job M8 :thumbup: I recently did my bars, it took me near on 10hrs to complete but not half the hassle you had. The only issue with mine was the fact the previous owner had changed them back to clipons & left the extended clutch cable on, I ended up with a useless canary yellow Hel clutch cable which is far too short as i was fed incorrect measurements before ordering.

BTW that clutch cable is still for sale if there are any takers
Assuming you mean a hydraulic line, not a cable, the length will be important to any potential buyer.

It'll do just as well as a brake line, though.
Well spotted tony yes it is the hydraulic hose :)
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agentpineapple
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Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:16 pm

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by agentpineapple »

that made me chuckle, you sound just like me..... :lol: :lol: :lol:
glad it turned out ok buddy, if i had a standard storm i'd be going the down the route of risers, i did 250miles today and i feel like i'm crippled......... :thumbdown:
HEY YOU GUYS!!!!!!
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VTRDark
Posts: 20010
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:24 pm

Re: Nightmare Start

Post by VTRDark »

Great write up, I did laugh at your misfortune....sorry...
+1

As I was reading that for some reason I could hear Betty shouting "Frank" :lol:

Well done for your persistence and you have turned something negative into a positive. :thumbup:

(:-})
==============================Enter the Darkside
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