dixiedevil
Active Member
BUMP the gasket making, that just saved me $$$
$50 mod thread
- Thread starter JRK5892
- Start date
interceptor
Coast to Coast
Don't know if this is the right place to post this, but seems like it might be.
And, I don't know if this exists on the market, but I made it about 7 years ago, and I swear by it.
It's a syphon that uses compressed air to start the "flow".
I used spare parts I had lying around at work, so there was no cost to me. But can't be more than 10 bucks to make.
1 thin aluminum tube about 10" long
1 hose clamp
about a 4' piece of flexible rubber tubing that fits over aluminum tube
Drill a hole in aluminum tube towards the end where you clamp the hose to the tube. Done. Stick flexible tube into fuel tank, place aluminum tube end in container (gas can that is lower than tank being syphoned), blow compressed air through hole in tube (shoot air towards container) and a syphon will be made. Drop aluminum piece in container when you see fuel, and go have a beer. I would guess that the bigger the hose, the faster it will syphon, but don't know how easy it would be to start syphon. I'm using about a 3/8" hose. I'm also using a blow gun that has a detachable rubber end on it so it creates a nice seal with the hole.
And, I don't know if this exists on the market, but I made it about 7 years ago, and I swear by it.
It's a syphon that uses compressed air to start the "flow".
I used spare parts I had lying around at work, so there was no cost to me. But can't be more than 10 bucks to make.
1 thin aluminum tube about 10" long
1 hose clamp
about a 4' piece of flexible rubber tubing that fits over aluminum tube
Drill a hole in aluminum tube towards the end where you clamp the hose to the tube. Done. Stick flexible tube into fuel tank, place aluminum tube end in container (gas can that is lower than tank being syphoned), blow compressed air through hole in tube (shoot air towards container) and a syphon will be made. Drop aluminum piece in container when you see fuel, and go have a beer. I would guess that the bigger the hose, the faster it will syphon, but don't know how easy it would be to start syphon. I'm using about a 3/8" hose. I'm also using a blow gun that has a detachable rubber end on it so it creates a nice seal with the hole.
interceptor
Coast to Coast
Sorry guys, heres another one. I made this the day a backpack blower wouldn't start. Suspected it wasn't getting a spark because it wouldn't start, so I pulled the spark plug off and held it against the engine and pulled. The only problem is that the engine was flooded. So when all the fuel came rushing out of the spark plug hole when I pulled the recoil starter, the spark plug created a spark and actually ignited the fuel rushing towards my face. Scared the shit out of me.
So I went to the spark plug bin, grabbed a spare spark plug, grabbed a hose clamp and a spare medium size electrical clamp (alligator clip type). I bent the ear on the end of the electrial clamp 90 degrees, then I clamped that to the threads of the spark plug. I now have my own spark tester. Unplug spark plug wire and put on tester, then clamp the tester to the end of the spark plug still in the engine, try to start engine and look for spark. Works great. Worked for a long time, but then I found one at the store and I bought it. Works just the same.
So I went to the spark plug bin, grabbed a spare spark plug, grabbed a hose clamp and a spare medium size electrical clamp (alligator clip type). I bent the ear on the end of the electrial clamp 90 degrees, then I clamped that to the threads of the spark plug. I now have my own spark tester. Unplug spark plug wire and put on tester, then clamp the tester to the end of the spark plug still in the engine, try to start engine and look for spark. Works great. Worked for a long time, but then I found one at the store and I bought it. Works just the same.
rockcitycafe
I make things.
saw a clamp like this somewhere a while ago, couldn't find it again, so I made some...
machine screw, wing nut, washer, taper pin and some square tubing scrap
cost me about $10 for 4 of them, work like a charm for holding butt jointed sheet metal for welding
machine screw, wing nut, washer, taper pin and some square tubing scrap
cost me about $10 for 4 of them, work like a charm for holding butt jointed sheet metal for welding
sebatron
Coast to Coast
need to bend sheetmetal but can't fork out for a pressbrake? enter the...
Seriously Ghetto Bending Brake
As always I forget to take pictures along the way:
And just as a terrible example:
(yeah - pretty much only need 2 fingers to bend a license plate)
Seriously Ghetto Bending Brake
- Required:
- Square steel tube - 4 lengths. 2 need to be the same length, one should be that length minus the width of the hinges, and one to attach as a lever
- Welding - Otherwise you can use screws
- Hinges (2)
- Bench vise
- Optional:
- Awesome paint so it doesn't rust
As always I forget to take pictures along the way:
And just as a terrible example:
(yeah - pretty much only need 2 fingers to bend a license plate)
sebatron
Coast to Coast
Alright I'm on a roll.
All photos so far are here:
http://s857.photobucket.com/albums/ab137/sebatron_sc/Skateboard%20Seatpan/
F*#k Hannah Montana Skateboard seatpan! (PART 1)
All photos so far are here:
http://s857.photobucket.com/albums/ab137/sebatron_sc/Skateboard%20Seatpan/
- Required:
- Skateboard - $20 from BigW (Australian chain)
- Files/sandpaper/sander
- Adhesive - Apparently spray adhesive is the poison of choice, but it didn't stick worth a shit for me so I used PVA. $2 a bottle.
- Seat foam - I used 1/3 of a camping mattress for 3 layers ($6 at local camping supply) It's good and firm but not too firm
- jigsaw
- a good sense of how you want to attach it to the frame - I made a cardboard template as I'm making a aluminium pan for this to rest on
- a drill
- nuts and bolts
- vises/clamps/weight to hold it together while the glue sets
- Optional:
- Paint/lacquer to paint the bottom
- Sheetmetal to cover the bottom
- Upholstery
I'm actually doing an Al pan that will sit between the frame and the skateboard, but it's shaped accordingly so it doesn't really matter. The part we're making here will be upholstered in leather, and I might rivet a sheet of Al to the bottom to seat the leather and protect the wood, in case condensation or rain get in there somehow.
From the top:
Remove the trucks and the protective plastic sheet. Put the trucks aside, safe in the knowledge you'll probably make a bike stand out of them later.
Firstly, you need to think about how you want to secure the seat itself once it's finished.
My bike (Honda CB125S frame) has a raised mounting tab for the tank which the original seatpan fit under, and after shaving has 2 perpendicular holes in the frame to secure it just ahead of the fender:
(forgive the iphone blurry photo)
I started by making a cardboard template for a rough shape and how to stick it under the tank tab.
Now the fun. Take 1 Hannah Montana skateboard; contemplate ramifications of supporting this corporate monstrosity, reminisce of embarrassment when dealing with store clerk and walking off with this deck.
Get yer Sharpie (permanent marker) and work out what you're going to cut off.
Cut that shit, and see if it sits right and secure under the tank tab:
At this point, I took it and shaped the end of the board for a squarer edge (my tank's pretty square, I want to maintain that shape)
I also smoothed out the sides flat with file. More photos in the gallery.
Now, line up the mounting holes, drill through and check if it all lines up:
Bit short, so I went for longer bolts that I'll cut to length later.
Once happy with the shape, hold it up and take a photo to make yourself feel warm and fuzzy later:
You can see how easy it'd be to cut a shorter one down, put normal grip tape on the top, a sheet of aluminium on the bottom, stick it on a bobber and call it a day.
Me, I want some padding. Take the camping foam, cut it to shape and stick it down. put some weight on it, pinch the edges with clamps, whatever works.
At this point you notice you're 30 miles from home, it's 8pm on a sunday and you need to get home.
Stick another 2 layers down the same way, with pva or adhesive of your choice between each layer. clamp it, weigh it down and hope it looks alright next week:
Again, all photos so far are here:
http://s857.photobucket.com/albums/ab137/sebatron_sc/Skateboard%20Seatpan/
When I get back out there again, I'll take some proper photos of the end result and edit this post, consider this a PART ONE.
Thanks for reading.
CresentSon
Over 1,000 Posts
Too bad the genius around here isn't focused on a cure for world hunger, or cancer. I am perpetually humbled by the ingenuity of DTT.
Hoosier Daddy
Earache my eye...
Seeing as how DIY tools are in here this is my valve spring compressor
Being the kind of guy who has various "stuff" laying around and little $$ I didn't want to spend much on a valve spring compressor to work on my Cyl heads. I fabbed this and had the heads apart in less than an hour... Total cost $0
Parts used, 2 thick flat washers the same size as the spring retainer and a piece of round stock.
Cut the round stock to two equal sizes and tack weld to one washer then the other. I then put it in a vice to hold square and finished the welds.
Use a C-clamp with the new tool to compress the spring by putting the pivot foot at the threaded portion against the valve face and the tool on the spring retainer, compress and remove the keepers then slowly loosen the C-clamp.
*UPDATED* Because "webshots" where I hosted my pics went belly-up, I had to come back and reload my photos. Since that time I had to make a similar tool in a smaller size for my CB750 with shim and bucket style valves. This style is even easier to fabricate with no welding , just a piece of regular sched 40 PVC pipe (not the cheap thin wall sched 20 stuff).
Same idea as before plus I found a regular drink bottle cap just fit over the pivot foot of my C-clamp.
Being the kind of guy who has various "stuff" laying around and little $$ I didn't want to spend much on a valve spring compressor to work on my Cyl heads. I fabbed this and had the heads apart in less than an hour... Total cost $0
Parts used, 2 thick flat washers the same size as the spring retainer and a piece of round stock.
Cut the round stock to two equal sizes and tack weld to one washer then the other. I then put it in a vice to hold square and finished the welds.
Use a C-clamp with the new tool to compress the spring by putting the pivot foot at the threaded portion against the valve face and the tool on the spring retainer, compress and remove the keepers then slowly loosen the C-clamp.
*UPDATED* Because "webshots" where I hosted my pics went belly-up, I had to come back and reload my photos. Since that time I had to make a similar tool in a smaller size for my CB750 with shim and bucket style valves. This style is even easier to fabricate with no welding , just a piece of regular sched 40 PVC pipe (not the cheap thin wall sched 20 stuff).
Same idea as before plus I found a regular drink bottle cap just fit over the pivot foot of my C-clamp.
Attachments
bikeboy
Over 1,000 Posts
Re: $50 mod thread - restoring badges
Some suggested I post this here for all to see. So I have
While there seemed to be planty of tank badges on ebay, none of them where a match for the ones on this bike. While I waited for the right ones to pop-up, I thought I'd try to restore the originals.
Undamaged, other than being weather-beaten.
First step is to strip all old paint from the metal base.
I used an old toothbrush to apply the paint stripper, then ran the 'outlines' over the polishing buff just to give them a bit of a clean-up. Then I wiped them down with some thinners to clean off any residual polish.
Using double-sided tape, I stuck the badge on to a piece of aluminium I bent to match the curve for some support, and to make it easier to handle without touching the badge itself.
Masked and painted black.
I masked to the outer edge of the raised outline, then sprayed on a couple of thin coats of satin black. It's important to spray from as many angles as you can to get the most even coverage. The cross-hatching between the letters makes it difficult to cover with straight passes. you also have to make sure to hit all the egdes of the casting.
Once the paint has dried, peel the masking off.
For the white mask, You need to cut from the inside edge of the raised outline. This will leave the outline the unpainted chrome finish.
Masked for white coat.
All done, and looking pretty good.
Not sure if the screws are still available or not, so I painted them anyway
So feeling confident that nothing could go wrong (!), I attempted to rescue the sidecover badges as well. While one of these was OK, the other was fairly beat-up. Most of the chrome had gone-along with the paint-and there were some scratches on the metal. This is the best of the two, with the chrome in a 'servicable' condition:
So I started the process again by stripping all the paint, then masking up and painting the black background. While I was doing this I thought that a brushed finish might look good on these, because the sidecovers themselves are finished in a satin black.
Stripped of paint, and first try at a 'brushed' finish on the raised section
I also figured that I could finish painting the internal space of the GS lettering, then hand paint the red DOHC, and if I were to sand back the raised outines to a brushed finish, it would neaten up any messy fills.
So that's what I did. The red and black are both satin finishes, which sits nicely behind the brushed silver outlines.
It's not stock, but I reckon it's what they should have done ;-)
I had to tackle the faded lettering on the guage cluster eventually, seeing as it was the only thing letting them down after the rest cleaned up so well. I ended up using a piece of aluminium as a sort of 'stamp pad'. Looks like this:
I masked the areas surrounding the lettering to prevent any accidental bleeding. I thinned some white acrylic laquer and applied an even 'film' to the bottom of my 'pad'. I placed it over a raised line of lettering then rocked it gently up and down, then lifted it up. I washed the paint off the pad and re-applied it for the next line. All in all, it worked really well, and it looks pretty good:
Looks pretty darn good. Nice clear letterforms, and no stray paint Unfortunately I don't have a 'before' picture, but there was next to no paint at all left on the lettering.
Some suggested I post this here for all to see. So I have
While there seemed to be planty of tank badges on ebay, none of them where a match for the ones on this bike. While I waited for the right ones to pop-up, I thought I'd try to restore the originals.
Undamaged, other than being weather-beaten.
First step is to strip all old paint from the metal base.
I used an old toothbrush to apply the paint stripper, then ran the 'outlines' over the polishing buff just to give them a bit of a clean-up. Then I wiped them down with some thinners to clean off any residual polish.
Using double-sided tape, I stuck the badge on to a piece of aluminium I bent to match the curve for some support, and to make it easier to handle without touching the badge itself.
Masked and painted black.
I masked to the outer edge of the raised outline, then sprayed on a couple of thin coats of satin black. It's important to spray from as many angles as you can to get the most even coverage. The cross-hatching between the letters makes it difficult to cover with straight passes. you also have to make sure to hit all the egdes of the casting.
Once the paint has dried, peel the masking off.
For the white mask, You need to cut from the inside edge of the raised outline. This will leave the outline the unpainted chrome finish.
Masked for white coat.
All done, and looking pretty good.
Not sure if the screws are still available or not, so I painted them anyway
So feeling confident that nothing could go wrong (!), I attempted to rescue the sidecover badges as well. While one of these was OK, the other was fairly beat-up. Most of the chrome had gone-along with the paint-and there were some scratches on the metal. This is the best of the two, with the chrome in a 'servicable' condition:
So I started the process again by stripping all the paint, then masking up and painting the black background. While I was doing this I thought that a brushed finish might look good on these, because the sidecovers themselves are finished in a satin black.
Stripped of paint, and first try at a 'brushed' finish on the raised section
I also figured that I could finish painting the internal space of the GS lettering, then hand paint the red DOHC, and if I were to sand back the raised outines to a brushed finish, it would neaten up any messy fills.
So that's what I did. The red and black are both satin finishes, which sits nicely behind the brushed silver outlines.
It's not stock, but I reckon it's what they should have done ;-)
I had to tackle the faded lettering on the guage cluster eventually, seeing as it was the only thing letting them down after the rest cleaned up so well. I ended up using a piece of aluminium as a sort of 'stamp pad'. Looks like this:
I masked the areas surrounding the lettering to prevent any accidental bleeding. I thinned some white acrylic laquer and applied an even 'film' to the bottom of my 'pad'. I placed it over a raised line of lettering then rocked it gently up and down, then lifted it up. I washed the paint off the pad and re-applied it for the next line. All in all, it worked really well, and it looks pretty good:
Looks pretty darn good. Nice clear letterforms, and no stray paint
Unfortunately I don't have a 'before' picture, but there was next to no paint at all left on the lettering.
Hoosier Daddy
Earache my eye...
Nice work! Got a question on the gauge cluster pad-print job.... How did you mask off the lettering to prevent bleeding? For me, that would be some mighty fine x-acto knife work... I drink too much coffee I guess. :
bikeboy
Over 1,000 Posts
Hoosier Daddy said:Nice work! Got a question on the gauge cluster pad-print job.... How did you mask off the lettering to prevent bleeding? For me, that would be some mighty fine x-acto knife work... I drink too much coffee I guess. :
You don't really need to. I just put tape around the surrounding area to protect it, but the raised lettering is enough to keep the pad from touching anything else. I thought if I put it down a bit skew or rocked it too much I would have a mess, but fortunately the embossing was high enough to make it easy. Another way is to get a fine brush and 'wipe' it across the letters, but this give a more even result.
cheers
ian
tWistedWheelz
BUILT NOT BOUGHT!
bikeboy said:
On those raised letters, a paint pen from you local hobby shop found in the modeling area works great...they have a nice felt tip that you load by pressing it in..then just lightly wipe it across the top of the raised letters....Works great!
midnightcafe
Been Around the Block
Stebel Nautilus Airhorn. 139 dB. Stock horns average at about 97 dB. If you're not familiar with the dB scale, 100dB is the relative sound of a jackhammer from 1m, and the human threshold of pain is 137.5dB. So yes, you will be heard with this!
Mounted on the battery box. Fits behind the air pods, and its position still lets it dump enough sound to be heard from far away-my friends came out of our house when I first tested it, telling me they thought they heard a train... (we don't live near train tracks!)
Very easy to install. It comes with a four way relay, which I mounted on the battery box again. The instructions in the box weren't too helpful so follow this diagram:
This was the safest, cheapest mod I've made on any project. I highly recommend anyone to do this, It costs $40 on Amazon and can remind cage drivers that motorcycles exist.
Mounted on the battery box. Fits behind the air pods, and its position still lets it dump enough sound to be heard from far away-my friends came out of our house when I first tested it, telling me they thought they heard a train... (we don't live near train tracks!)
Very easy to install. It comes with a four way relay, which I mounted on the battery box again. The instructions in the box weren't too helpful so follow this diagram:
This was the safest, cheapest mod I've made on any project. I highly recommend anyone to do this, It costs $40 on Amazon and can remind cage drivers that motorcycles exist.
midnightcafe
Been Around the Block
Another safety/cool investment is making your own stainless brake lines:
I found that switching from buckhorn bars to superbike bars left A LOT of slack in the front brake lines, and the result was looping the line a full circle and a pathetic sponge feel that had the lever pulled all the way to the handlebar and brakes not fully engaged.
Materials:
purchase all the materials from this site:
http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index.php?
Follow the video to make the hoses, it's actually much easier than it seems. Note the ferrules mentioned in the video come with the banjo hose ends, so you do not need to purchase extra ferrules. You can use large plier cutters or tin snips to cut the line, but not a saw blade because it can melt the teflon inner hose.
Practice pulling the outer braid apart for the ferrule on the material. You'll only need to spend an inch or two for practice (remember to put the hose end crimp nut on the line before pulling the outer braid and installing the ferrule, I kept reversing this order :) The ferrule is installed correctly if the teflon is uniformly up to the ferrule's inner rim. When threading the crimp nut to the hose end, turn the hose with the crimp nut until hand tight. Finish with a snug wrench turn until the crimp nut is flush with the hose end on the straight banjo bolt, or until only 1-2 threads are exposed on the angled banjo bolts.
Install the angled banjo ends first, these go on the splitter at the master cylinder. Mock them up to the MC and run the hose lengths to the front brake calipers. There should be a comfortable length to allow for steering and suspension movement. Mark where you want to cut (remember to label which side is which!) and install the adjustable straight banjo bolts. DO NOT tighten the straight banjos down completely, just hand tight for now. install the brake lines (with new crush washers) at the MC, and run them to their respective calipers. The reason for the adjustable, hand tightened banjo bolts is because stainless hose is very strong and will not flex like rubber hose. Install them to the calipers and then fully tighten down the hose ends. Torque the banjo bolts, bleed the brakes, and you're done!
Your own setup may be different, with the line splitter located at one of the calipers. My setup has two lines coming from the master cylinder:
Another free mod is to switch the front and rear brake MC filler covers, assuming they are the same unit, because the rear will be like new given it hasn't been exposed to the elements as the front cover has. Black double sided cloth tape also cleaned up the ugly appearance of the master cylinder reservoir.
-midnightcafe
*Clear coated hose requires the coat to be cut back 3/4" from the end to make room for the banjo bolt:
http://www.anplumbing.com/TURBO_TECH.html
I found that switching from buckhorn bars to superbike bars left A LOT of slack in the front brake lines, and the result was looping the line a full circle and a pathetic sponge feel that had the lever pulled all the way to the handlebar and brakes not fully engaged.
Materials:
purchase all the materials from this site:
http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index.php?
- X7' of -3 speed flex hose. This is plenty for any front brake application. I only used less than 3 ft. per each caliper, so you're likely to only need 6'. part number is 600003 or 6000031 for coated hose.*
- X2 non-adjustable 30 degree banjo hose ends, part number 600803. Don't bother paying for the stainless hose ends, they are very expensive and the zinc parts have a great finish to them for the price.
- X2 straight & adjustable banjo hose ends, part number 600403
- X1 pack of 3/8ID crush washers, part number 177003. This is if you plan on reusing your banjo bolts (You need two single banjo bolts and one double banjo bolt)
Follow the video to make the hoses, it's actually much easier than it seems. Note the ferrules mentioned in the video come with the banjo hose ends, so you do not need to purchase extra ferrules. You can use large plier cutters or tin snips to cut the line, but not a saw blade because it can melt the teflon inner hose.
Practice pulling the outer braid apart for the ferrule on the material. You'll only need to spend an inch or two for practice (remember to put the hose end crimp nut on the line before pulling the outer braid and installing the ferrule, I kept reversing this order :
) The ferrule is installed correctly if the teflon is uniformly up to the ferrule's inner rim. When threading the crimp nut to the hose end, turn the hose with the crimp nut until hand tight. Finish with a snug wrench turn until the crimp nut is flush with the hose end on the straight banjo bolt, or until only 1-2 threads are exposed on the angled banjo bolts. Install the angled banjo ends first, these go on the splitter at the master cylinder. Mock them up to the MC and run the hose lengths to the front brake calipers. There should be a comfortable length to allow for steering and suspension movement. Mark where you want to cut (remember to label which side is which!) and install the adjustable straight banjo bolts. DO NOT tighten the straight banjos down completely, just hand tight for now. install the brake lines (with new crush washers) at the MC, and run them to their respective calipers. The reason for the adjustable, hand tightened banjo bolts is because stainless hose is very strong and will not flex like rubber hose. Install them to the calipers and then fully tighten down the hose ends. Torque the banjo bolts, bleed the brakes, and you're done!
Your own setup may be different, with the line splitter located at one of the calipers. My setup has two lines coming from the master cylinder:
Another free mod is to switch the front and rear brake MC filler covers, assuming they are the same unit, because the rear will be like new given it hasn't been exposed to the elements as the front cover has. Black double sided cloth tape also cleaned up the ugly appearance of the master cylinder reservoir.
-midnightcafe
*Clear coated hose requires the coat to be cut back 3/4" from the end to make room for the banjo bolt:
http://www.anplumbing.com/TURBO_TECH.html
jay_kent
1979 cb650
Hoosier Daddy said:Seeing as how DIY tools are in here this is my valve spring compressor
Being the kind of guy who has various "stuff" laying around and little $$ I didn't want to spend much on a valve spring compressor to work on my Cyl heads. I fabbed this and had the heads apart in less than an hour... Total cost $0
Parts used, 2 thick flat washers the same size as the spring retainer and a piece of round stock.
Cut the round stock to two equal sizes and tack weld to one washer then the other. I then put it in a vice to hold square and finished the welds.
Use a C-clamp with the new tool to compress the spring by putting the pivot foot at the threaded portion against the valve face and the tool on the spring retainer, compress and remove the keepers then slowly loosen the C-clamp.
I've got something similiar, 'cept I used a piece of conduit and cut the windows out of it using a cutoff wheel and a dremel.
Another find for those looking for aluminum tube, flat, channel. At the home depot the weekend while looking for something to put strap carpet into a corner, I was directed to the edging section of the store. (typically near the tiles and windows) and a 1/8" thick approx 1"x1"x 8" piece of aluminum L-channel was 11 bucks. CDN. The same dimension piece except 3 or 4 feet was 15 bucks in the fastener section. Save your dough because even though you might not need that much aluminum now you will later.
