$50 mod thread

VonYinzer said:
For those of you takin shocks apart go to an autozone and rent a shock compressing tool. I think its 15 bucks and you get that back opon return. Also if anyones using rattlecan paint for anything, soak the cans in hot water for 20 min or so before you paint. The heat will help to atomize the paint much more efficiently. Ive seen spraybomb jobs come out as nice as a real paintjob when the cans were soaked beforehand....
NOTE: I shouldnt have to say this but just in case.... When i say hot water i mean hot, as in out of the tap... Dont go boiling paint cans tryin to get that perfect finish.........

hey bud although a great idea... it will not work... auto spring compressors are WAY to big
to give you an idea these shocks are off a radian they have some of the largest spaces between the coils you can find
2yk05qp.jpg
 
they carry two different types...... there is the strut spring compressor which is way too big like the one you have there, and another one, which i cant remember the name of now..... i worked at an autozone a few years back, so the memories are a bit fuzzy. if you ask them to let you look through their rental tools, theres all kinds of neat stuff that they dont advertise they have.
 
can people who tried the soda blaster post up specs of their compressor?

oh and did you get a chance to try out the blaster jrk?
 
Just used a product called "evapo-rust" and i gotta tell ya.... AWESOME, and under 10 bucks. Picked it up at the local auto parts store. You just soak rusty whatever in it for at least 30min, rinse her off and thats it. If you let it air dry it protects from flash rust for two weeks. On top of all that, its biodegradable, with no fumes, so use it at the kitchen table, that dump it down the kitchen sink. I bought a small bottle. Not sure how much the gallon runs.
 
boomshakalaka said:
can people who tried the soda blaster post up specs of their compressor?

oh and did you get a chance to try out the blaster jrk?

I just used my small 6 gallon compressor for the soda blaster. Just had to let it fill the tank up once in a while. It worked pretty good though.
 
valvesprung said:
Well here's the latest project. I took my inspiration from a fellow KZ400 builder. A good buddy had the exhaust ready to be scrapped so I figured I couldn't justify not trying this out considering the cost.

Materials used:
-worn out stock exhaust from an '81 KZ440D
440stock.jpg

-cocktail shakers (x2, purchased at ROSS for $6/ea)
Cocktail-Shaker-Regular-with-Design.jpg

-1200 deg header paint
-heat wrap (grabbed from last exhaust)
-Duplicolor 500 deg Ceramic low gloss black (same as frame and engine)

Now the 440 system uses plate baffles rather then stuffing/fiberglass to muffle the sound. It gives the bike a throatier sound then the early bikes, but it's still very quiet.

crappy MSPaint pic to show basic idea:
tehawesomepchop.jpg


Basically we cut down below both of the upper plates leaving only the lowest in the pipe. There is now only a plate with an off-center hole baffling the sounds and it's loud...but good loud..."f-ing angry gonna eat your babies" loud, but not quite "open pipe, gonna rupture your ear drum" loud

First cut (quickly moved to power tools...)
before.jpg


Then cut the strainers off of the cock tail shaker caps and slip them into position:
almost.jpg


Painted the head pipes with header paint (had some decent surface rust and pitting), wrapped em up, shot the "mufflers" in ceramic black, tossed the caps and chrome shields on and.......
done1.jpg

done3.jpg

done2.jpg


As soon as the new gaskets arrive I'll post installed pics with a real camera and maybe shoot a quick video. For about $42 I'm super happy with the results. The ride I took after a simple test fit felt much more open, sounds great, and and really got the neighbors lookin :cool:
 
VonYinzer said:
How much to do my shocks if i send em out to ya?

send me a picture of the shocks you have now... if they are in decent condition and will not req hours of prep work... ill do any of ya'lls springs for 35 for the set (you pay shipping of course) * that is 30 bucks off what i normally charge to do dissassembly, powder, and re assembly... for an extra 20 ill also clean up the actaul shock for you... let me know if you need any help

*that is for black, specialty powders cost more so i have to charge more.
 
JRK5892 said:
send me a picture of the shocks you have now... if they are in decent condition and will not req hours of prep work... ill do any of ya'lls springs for 35 for the set (you pay shipping of course) * that is 30 bucks off what i normally charge to do dissassembly, powder, and re assembly... for an extra 20 ill also clean up the actaul shock for you... let me know if you need any help

*that is for black, specialty powders cost more so i have to charge more.
Cool... Ill get ya a pic asap.
 
ok... i have added the index... crap took me forever to get it done... i added the name of the person that listed the mod so it is easier to find... hope this helps us out!
 
JRK5892 said:
ok... i have added the index... crap took me forever to get it done... i added the name of the person that listed the mod so it is easier to find... hope this helps us out!

Thanks Joe! I was going to start bugging you about it, but I figured you were busy actually building bikes.
 
Here is a great idea suggested by GammaFlat over at SOHC4
Original Thread = http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=47239.15

GammaFlat:

The below picture shows a Ford Regulator (Duralast VR730) available at AutoZone for 13 bucks (sitting next to a Honda VR). I tore it apart - it used to be mechanical inside like the Honda's but is now solid state but has the same "form factor"/case that it had when originally introduced.
IMG_0200.jpg


I tore it apart and tin-snipped the daylights out of it to get it down to this - compare the size of the white connector with the above picture - it's the same "guts" with all the tin cut away (now 2"x2" overall):
IMG_0211.jpg


After I butchered up the Ford regulator - I hope to get it inside the Honda enclosure (yes, it's the same one as the above pic. I pulled the top off - it seemed to be glued, then I got the tin snips out and cut away most of the rest (The AutoZone part number is VR730):
IMG_0246.jpg


RadioShack rectifiers (25A 50V) - better ones can be used but I got antsy and found them locally.
Find it here: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062584
Also shown in this pic is a heat sink from an AMD CPU based computer (not sure of the vintage but heat sinks are cheap and widely available - mine is just an old spare part.
IMG_0242.jpg
 
That's awesome! before you know it, I'll have every electrical component on my bike replaced with modern solid state stuff. I've already done the rectifier swap. I also swapped out the fuse holder with a waterproof heavy duty blade type.
 
Chrome cable wraps
ok... since my cables where all done i did this how to using my oil lines for my oil cooler... still the same idea though
what you need...
http://cableorganizer.com/chrome-sleeving/

5/16 will do most cables and what not, may have to go a touch bigger on the cables for the tach and speedo (i did mine in side entry black... another write up for another day)

here is how you do it:
what you need,
1. cable or hose (what your wrapping)
2. lighter or heat gun
3. razor to clean up the wrap after it is heated
4. wire sleeving
5. shring wrap
6. Scissors
2ir2544.jpg


before you start cut it smooth and heat that end wiht a lighter to melt it together a bit... this will help keep the end together as you stretch it around to get it started on the item you are wrapping:
347tjxc.jpg


when you start to install this stuff go slow, push it up on the cable and then pull it down... it moves inch by inch (least it does on rubber, on reg cables it slides on pretty easy)
vrg8ra.jpg


before you cut the wrap to length slide on your shrink wrap... it will make it SO much easier to get on without fraying up the ends
102kqwp.jpg


once you get the wrap to the lenght you want it you have to cut it... it will fray out a bit... i use a lighter to heat it up (it does spark up after a bit under the flame) just blow it out and use your finger to dab down the fray ends so it is melted tight
1z1wspt.jpg



slide the shrink wrap over that and heat with lighter (or heat gun)
302bewm.jpg



finished product:
2h6arh3.jpg


Black on my HD
v7tr88.jpg
 
8 dollar tender
as many of you know our charging systems BLOW balls... here is a good anwer to that so you can plug in your ride at night

what you need:

harbor freight floating charger
quick release plugs (radio shack)
2 wire hoops
solder
shring wrap
solder gun

-pick this up:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42292

42292.gif


-then cut off the alligator clips
solder on the wire hoops so that it will hook right up to your battery

- from here cut the line right after the slinky part of the cable and solder in the quick release:

- hook it all up...
done!
4rvtop.jpg


2emd0sn.jpg


plugs right into the wall
mll79d.jpg
 
You didn't mention how much that cost. I got a Battery Tender Jr. for Christmas for $32. It comes with some battery connectors (with inline fuse) that end in a plug. I mounted it on my bike and attached the plug to the seat lock with a zip-tie. On the actual tender side, you can either plug in the provided clips, or plug in your bike. The plug on the bike even has a cover! Genius!

battery%20tender%20jr_410x360.jpg
 
i added the price... the tender was 6 bucks, the plug and wire hoops cost about 2... total = $8 quick release and it can stay hooked up to your bike so you do not have hte aligator clips... you can make the same thing with what you have {just cost a bit more :) }
 
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