Other Peoples Bikes

This weekend I went down to LA to help my brother move do the family reunion thing. Since Sony was moving, I was helping out and was luckily tasked with riding his two motorcycles over to his new place. He has a ’87 Honda CB 1100 I think. I’m not sure. Apparently they only made that model for two years and it feels like a touring bike, with a very upright posture but oh man it was such a pleasure to ride. Totally smooth, great suspension, responsive. You could forget about the bike and just enjoy the scenery. I hope the Interceptor is as smooth. The other motorcycle was a Le Mans edition 850cc Moto Guzzi not unlike the one pictured below.



The Moto Guzzi was like flying a really old jet fighter, like before they had that whole aerodynamics thing down. Built as a racing bike for an large oval track the bike is very narrow. The handling leaves something to be desired but when you pull on the throttle you just go, go, go. Crazy fun. At idle it just sits there and rumbles from side to side. You can actually feel the pistons firing and the bike moving left to right in sync. Sony was saying they took the racing version of the bike, slapped some ligts on a few thousand and sold them to the public. I’ll be honest, I was a bit scared opening that bike up. Especially in tennis shoes and jeans.

What it made me realize is that this motorcycle thing, for me, may not be the passing fad I once suspected it was. So going back to the source I’d like to thank Big Eric for selling me his GPZ for such a reasonable price (did you ever even cash that check Eric?) for Sony for setting the deal up and keeping my thoughts on motorcycles through the years and lastly Dushan for teaching me to ride back on the motocross track in the dessert when I was twelve. Hrm, maybe it’s time for a dirt bike...

Briefly

Last week during class I had some time to burn while I waited for the JB Weld to bond, a whole day actually since it take JB Weld a day to dry, but since I was there I asked Lisa if there was something I could do. She was in a cleaning mood so that is what I did. Specifically I was to disassemble a few engines and strip them of some useful parts and trash the rest.

The point of this whole thing is that the insides of engines are truly pieces of artwork. The detailing, the clearances of fractions of an inch, distances so small that the only thing that can possibly move between them is fluids, well it is all just majestic. It amazes me to think 200 years ago people were creating swords by beating steal with a hammer on an anvil and now we can make machines with specs accurate to thousandths of an inch. That fact that we can even create these machines at all and that they are as cheap and ubiquitous as they are is as miraculous and beautiful as anything I can imagine.

And I dumped them into the recycling bin because the pistons were worn.

I'm Strong but Not Too Smart.

As you might recall, getting the carburetor out of the Interceptor proved much more difficult than I might have suspected and I managed to non-catastrophically break them. Since then I cleaned them, replaced the bolts I managed to lose...I'm going to digress real quick. I learned this super handy trick that probably everyone but me knows. Lets say you have a bolt and you need three more of the same size. Well if you are like me you can't just eyeball the bolt and know exactly what size it is. To find the right size bolt, just grab one of the bolts you didn't lose and take it to a hardware store. Sort through the nuts until you find a nut that fits around your bolt. Once you find that nut, go to the bolt section and find a bolt that fits in that nut. The bolt that fits will have the same size threading as the one you brought in with you. Digression over.

So I cleaned the carburetor replaced the bolts and tried to get the carbs back into the rubber boots that hold them in place. The same rubber boots that gave me so much trouble when trying to get the carbs off. I can go into length about what I tried but for the sake of sanity lets just say that lube, another guy from class and couple four foot 2X4's didn't do jack except, yes that's right, damage the plate that holds the carbs in place. A nice two inch crack right down the side. Plus of course we didn't get the carbs in.

Lisa said some JB Weld would work on the crack, and let me tell you JB Weld is like ultimate bonding agent. It comes in two tubes that you mix together. Within 24 hours it dries to provide a heat resistant bond that I firmly believe will out last roaches. It's ugly, ugly as sin really, but it'll work and it's at a spot where no one will ever have to see it again.

But that still didn't get my carbs on. That took Lisa Duke, a rubber mallet and about a minute and a half. Rather than using brute force, leverage and sweat. She just tapped gently all around the boot as I gently pressed the carbs into them. A tap here, a tap there and viola! They're in.

Every time I think am getting the hang of things I realize how much more I have to learn. This week, I'm planning to put some oil in theinterceptorr and see if it'll run. If so, then I'm buying a new chain, and radiator cap. I also need to adjust the carbs and if it seems feasible adjust the valves though I may wait on that to see how it runs.

Lisa Duke Was Right

When I first bought the Interceptor I bought a new battery and tried turning it on. At first I didn’t get lights or anything. After checking the fuses and just generally messing around, but doing nothing substantive, the lights came on. A little more messing around and I could get the solenoid to make a clicking noise. But the bike wouldn’t turn over. I played with it now and then but still to no avail. By the time I took the bike into class the battery wouldn’t hold a good charge (that is to say hold a charge up of 12+ Volts, you really want 12.6) despite repeated attempts to charge the battery. Even so, I explained to Lisa that I had had a new battery in their and the bike wouldn’t turn at all. She told me to get a new battery. I explained again that it had had a new battery and that it all my attempts previously hadn’t worked and maybe there was some other problem electrically between the battery and the starter. She was having none of it. She said you need a new battery before you start playing diagnostic doctor and refused to look at the bike until I did (In fairness I’m not even enrolled in the class so that is totally her prerogative). So I did get a new battery and on Saturday I put it in and hit the starter and what do you know? The starter turned over like warm kitten. I didn’t have the carbs in (and I am two bolts short, having stripped them getting the carbs disassembled, so I have to wait on that but I suspect once I get the carbs back in the bike will run. I can see that the carbs need adjusting visually and it’s going to need some more parts (fuel filter, oil filter, radiator cap, etc) but I believe that the engine is going to be running maybe tonight.

Incidentally, on the way to pick up bolts for the Carbs I drove by a &^!#ed up GPz550 on the road. I pulled over and checked it out and it looks like an ‘83 (which is the same year as mine) that has been sitting outside since ’84. The airbox and carbs are missing but I think there is a lot of salvage I could use off of it. The tank has no dents (unlike mine) and much less rust. Also the blickers and fuse box, I could use. I’m going to leave a note and see if I can pick it up as a parts bike...I feel the slow inexorable slide to becoming a grease monkey with a yard full of motorcycle parts.

Photos For Now

Some pictures and hopefully and update after Saturday. Apparently the battery I bought previously went bad/sucked ass so I'm getting a new one for class on Saturday. For now, a couple of pictures as the bike looks now.

Moto Classes

Incrementally someone emailed me and asked where and what classes I’m taking.

All the class are through San Francisco City College (the local community college also know as CCSF or simply City College around these parts). The classes are at the Evans campus in Bayview.

Last semester I took the Intro Motorcycle Maintenance Class (Moto 60) and this semester I’m taking General Service and Repair (Moto 72). I also show up for the Monday-Wednesday Moto 60 class being offered this semester to get some extra time in and to work on some projects for the motorcycle club (aka the Monkeywrenchers).

I highly recommend the program and encourage anyone with any interest to contact me.

Not So Bad After All

I talked to Dave (the teach) during class about my broken carb housing and he said not to worry about it and not to even bother with glue. All the other bolts should hold it in place just like Lisa said (sorry to doubt you Lisa). So I open it up and cleaned out all the jets, needles etc. and really, it was all pretty clean. There was one that was a little sticky but all in all it probably wasn't necessary, which is fine. I managed to get some carb experience under my belt and it's good to know that the carbs won't be any issue in the future. One more potential problem alleviated.

I also got to think about my battery. I've been leaving it on the trickle charger days at a time between classes and while that shouldn't matter maybe it does. I'm going to take it home on Monday and then Tues at lunch I'm going to start charging it, by time for class at 6:30 it should be fully charged and ready to go, if not I know it's the battery and not the charging method and can just worry about getting a new one.

And that is where I'm at.

*!&@^#*!@&(*#&!*&)!^(!(#)*-*^!

I went by class last night only to find that my cheap ass battery is toast. It just won't hold a charge despite my having bought it less than six months ago. I don't know what is wrong with it, no one does, but it's crap so I'm out $50 and about a week of trying to get it to work. Now I need to order a new battery.

I decided that I might as well get to work on something since I had a few hours. Last week I had opened up the carbs case and they were sticking, so I decided to take them out. That way I could clean them on Saturday while I waited for a new battery.

I followed the instructions in the book and at the stage where it said "Now lift the carbs out being careful not to damage them" I had some trouble. See they wouldn't lift. I pulled and pulled and nothing, so I looked around to see if there was anything bolted on but there wasn’t. I pulled some more and still nothing. leaned in with all my strength and not a budge. More looking, more pulling to no avail. So I got a 2X4.

I know, I know, I know. I assumed that the rubber boots that were holding the carbs in place were just sticking and with a little leverage they would give. And they did! It really was just the rubber boots holding on! But despite that I still gave them a little to much force (though honestly I am at a total loss on how one is expected o get the carbs out without a 2X4). In any case, I cracked one of the metal parts that holds all four carbs together.

I don’t know how much it is going to cost to replace them but I think ‘a lot’ is probably the answer. Lisa saw my despair and busted out some optimism on me. She said that the part I broke wasn’t a pressure point and that we could maybe use some industrial glue to hold it together. Maybe some spot welding too. I hope so. A while back I promised to start only hobbies that were cost neutral (surfing) or that actually made money (vending) but somehow here I am with a hobby that, so far, is just costing me money.

Also I found two springs that came off the carbs. I have no idea where the go and really I couldn’t be bothered to figure it out then. Saturday is another day again.

I hope I can get this bike running.

Step Two Complete

This time from my yard (is it a yard if it is made of concrete?) to class.

Last Wednesday day a guy I met in class by the name of Frank called me to let me know that if I was available he could stop by with his truck to help move my Interceptor to class, a nice 6.3 mile jaunt. The first issue was that it seems that not only were both tires totally flat (and both of which will need replacing as they are mealy*) but the breaks seemed seized, which is to say locked, both of which made rolling the bike a pain in the arse.

We managed to set the truck up on a slope and set my trusty 2X6 in place and tried rolling the bike up, only getting about half way up the ramp. Right before our second try a guy walking his dog offered to help (sans the dog which was tied up momentarily). What is worth noting is that this has happened before. I’m not sure what the draw is about people loading a motorcycle onto a truck that makes people want to help out but this happened the last time I had to load up a bike. It warms the cockles I tell you. In any case the three of us with some help from gravity got it up on the truck.

When we arrived at the campus shop it was a whole other story. I asked in the office if any of the Moto teachers were in and barring that if I might be able to leave the bike in the shop, no on both accounts. I then went looking for Ron who runs the tool room where students can check out tools, and asked if I could borrow the metal ramp to take the bike off the truck.

See, wood ramps are fine for getting stuff up, because when they slip (and the always do) they slip in the direction of movement. In the case of putting a bike on a truck they slip a little up into the bed of the truck, to little or no harm. However, when removing a motorcycle they slip off the tailgate onto the ground leaving you with an 800lbs bike in midair which is sort of a pain in the, well body, to deal with. Hence the need for a metal ramp.

Ron was not only happy to loan it out, but he also Dave Miller up (the teacher for the class) and asked if it was okay if we placed the bike in the cage under his supervision. Dave was cool wid it (cuz Dave is cool like dat), and Ron helped get the bike off the truck and we wheeled it in to the cage to be worked on that Saturday.

I’d like to note that Ron might have actually saved me bike for me. I hadn’t thought about it till later but about three blocks away is a scrap yard. Ron mentioned that derelicts will come by and grab anything that rolls (or sort of rolls) and take it down to be scrapped. Leaving my bike on the street even for a couple of day might easily have meant it annihilation.

So in conclusion, this posting is dedicated to cool humans like Frank, Ron and the dude with a dog that are out to make everyone of our lives easier. Remember kids when you see some one that needs a hand, err on the side of helping, it’ll easy you heart on your death bed.

---

*Interestingly, the tread of the tires is in good condition but rubber, especially in sunlight, will just go bad over time even if it is not used. It gets 'mealy'. That should cost me another $100 or two. But skimping on tires is about as smart as skimping on replacing you break fluid. (Return above)

Step Two

Step two is getting a non running motorcycle to class which is turning into a pain in the ass. As some of you know, all I need is a truck, a old 2X6 and a flock of delinquents to move this thing. However you'd be surprised how hard that is.

So far I've placed and ad in craigslist asking for truck to help move the pick but I think I may need to offer more $. More when something actually gets done.

Huh, I can't figure it.

So as you might kin imagine, I have done exactly no work on this bike. The issue is, I have no idea what I’m doing. I thought I had a basic grasp on how to wrench, very basic as it turns out, way more basic than I thought. The problem being that electrical systems suck ass and not in the good way. If there is a single problem in the system, you have to go through and check everything. This is often facilitated by having some idea of how electrical systems work on motorcycles. I have no such knowledge. Everything I’ve done up to this point has been mechanical. I’m pretty sure it is a problem between the solenoid and the starter, since the solenoid clicks and the starter doesn’t. The issue I have is that while it is probably the starter and the manual suggests replacing rather than repairing it I don’t know that is the problem for certain, or actually with anything near a degree of confidence and I don’t want to be one of those Kragen mechanics, replacing everything in sight till the bike works. So what I’m doing is waiting with what passes for patience, for my next class to start in September. I’ll be back then.

Electrical Clickiness

So I bought a new battery. If you didn’t already know you can buy batteries wet or dry (though for most car batteries they come wet) which just means that either the acid has been already added to the battery (wet) or you have to add it yourself (dry). There are also maintenance free batteries which are sealed wet batteries meaning you can’t (and shouldn’t need too) get into the battery and add distilled water if the levels drop. Which is all neither here nor there.

I hooked the battery up to the interceptor and nothing happend. I took out my little test light and it seemed like the juice was making it to (what I learned later was) the solenoid. I have no idea what the solenoid does (I’ll look it up later) but I know juice was getting there. After a little tinkering and the checking of fuses the lights came on and all the standard electrical stuff seemed to be working. When I tried starting it, all I got was a lot of clicking from the solenoid. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to click like that but I took it as a good sign. Since I didn’t have a voltmeter I went and bought one, at which point I was locked out of my house so I was pretty much done when with working on the bike when I got back in. That and I need to read the manual for the voltmeter and the motorcycle to do any more debugging, I’m guessing something between the starter and the solenoid or the starter it self. I dunno. I have little expereince working on electrical systems...and everything else really.

One thing I did notice while taking off the fairing and body plastics was that they are beat to crap and that the bike looks really ugly without the fairing.

Other than that I also noticed little patches of rust everywhere, especially on the bolts. I think I’m going to replace most of them as I remove them. I’m sort of surprised at the level of rust, it seems to have hit some parts really hard (bolts) and other not as hard as I would have expected (exhaust pipes)

I need to get a digital camera so i can document some of this stuff for you, my internet fans.

PS You can thank the following smart ass remark for this last update.

It's great that you created an entire blog page devoted to bikes when all you have up for the last two weeks is the original :)

J

VROOM! VROOM! 2.0

I guess you all get to be the first to know. I am the proud new owner of a 1985 Honda VF 700 Interceptor. Like the one pictured below it is red, white and blue, so if you have any Bush Cheney stickers send’em in. Unlike the image below this one looks like it's been sitting in the sun for two decades, has a pair of chewed up tires, ripped seat, a dead battery, a chain rusted as all hell, etc. Needless to say getting this thing running will be a learning experience.



I would like to take a moment out of this post to thank Dave for suggesting I take the Into to Motorcycle Mechanics (MOTO 60) class offered through SF’s City College and taught by none other than the lovely Lisa Duke (2004-2005 Motorcycle Department’s Female Teacher of the Year) as well as locating this very inexpensive new (old) project bike for me.

Incidentally, as I’ve mentioned to everyone I know, I’m running a motorcycle clinic in my back patio on Saturday mornings (9am to 2pm-ish) so if you are interested in learning to ride, tuning your bike or just hanging out, feel free to drop by. The BBQ is always hot and Nathan and I could use the company.

I better go call the owner at let him know I’ve already transferred the title.