Monday Articles - December 2021

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 I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. I want to take this bike for a spin around the garden before the end of the year and that means that I need to get it in a basic, rideable condition.
Item 1 on this agenda was to get a working brake and I thought we were nearly there with this (despite house moving delays) but my newly rebuilt brake system wasn’t playing, numerous attempts to bleed it proving entirely fruitless. On closer inspection, there was a tiny leak from one of the new pistons.

 So I stripped the caliper again and gave the new pistons a detailed inspection. Well neither piston was finish machined very well, but this particular one has a pronounced flat spot. It’s never going to seal. So at the moment the brake rebuild is on hold pending a response from the supplier.

 Have managed to get the chain slider back on in preparation for fitting a chain though. I was glad to have managed to wiggle it into place without having to remove the swingarm. Then I realised that I’d put it on the wrong way round - so I cursed a little, wiggled it off again and had another go! On the subject of chains, I found two lightly used Renthal chains in my spares box - sadly neither was long enough. I think, for the purpose of just getting the thing moving, we might be running two split links…

 Rear sprocket is tired, but I have a spare. (It must have sat in my garage for almost 20 years, but at last it sees the light of day!) Although, once again, for the purpose of just getting the bike moving under its own steam, the old one will be staying for now.

 Need to sort a gear lever that fits as well. This one is aluminium so I don’t have suitable welding equipment to modify it otherwise I would have attacked it with the hacksaw by now.

 Original clutch cable has gone on although it’s a bit short. After trying half a dozen routes, this one does allow the handlebars to go lock to lock - just. Once again, it’s probably going to be a temporary solution.

 That’s my list of things to sort in pursuit of taking the bike for a spin. Oh! I also need to source and mount a battery. I’ll add that to the list as well.

 Replacement brake piston has arrived. Supplier made had no quibble about replacing it, which was nice as I’d purchased them quite some time ago and so thought they might argue about it. But then again, as the original wasn’t fit for purpose, a refund or replacement should be offered.
Anyway, the new one is here, it’s already in the caliper and I have now been able to successfully bleed the brakes. The pistons were Hi Level branded. In all honesty, I don’t think they’re the best - the finish machining / sizing doesn’t look great - but they do seem to be doing the job. In future, though, I may plump for something more expensive, and hopefully better quality.

 I had thought that with lowered suspension, the original brake hose might be too long. Well, it is a bit, but I think we can accommodate it, so new brake lines don’t need to go on the shopping list yet.

 Chain’s on as well. I’m sure no one will notice the two split links…
Need to get some chain rollers (forgot about those!) before I can correctly set the tension. Everything’s so expensive now. Chain rollers used to be quite cheap, but it cost me the best part of £25 to get two in standard 1996 Yamaha sizes. That’s about double what I was expecting to pay.

 I’ve also got the gear lever on. In the end, I managed to persuade the original lever to fit. It did involve some brutal work with angle grinder and file, but it’s on and I can select gears, so that’ll do for the moment.
Battery is on order and should arrive before Christmas, then (I think) I have everything I need to allow me to have a tentative ride around the garden…

My ambition to take the bike for a quick spin before the New Year took a few steps forward this week.
Battery arrived and fitted in its allotted space.

Too much space really, and as I couldn’t come up with a quick and easy method to secure that battery, it’s temporarily wedged in place with a blanket of non-slip rubber matting.

Chain rollers haven’t yet arrived. Some temporary ones have been made from some offcuts of plastic bar. They’ll do for now, and fitting them meant that the chain could now be correctly tensioned. Well it would have been, but…

The adjusters are seized. This one refused to move.

This one did start to move, but then decided it would rather shear. Sorting these now would definitely put me behind schedule, so the chain has temporarily been tensioned using some washers as spacers. 

 Fuel tank is in place. There’s not much spare space but fortunately it did mange to fit over all the electrical gubbins. Throttle cable may need rerouting, but that’s okay for now. Fuel tap has been added and connected to carburettor.
With the seat on, it’s ready to go. Just add petrol. Hopefully, if it ever stops raining, this week should see it running. Before that, though, I need to run through a mental checklist just to make sure that I haven’t overlooked anything…

The first ride has happened! It wasn't without some minor hiccups, though...
First time I pressed the starter button, nothing happened. After first ascertaining that the battery wasn't flat, I then started checking the wiring. It turns out the when I fitted the tank (it's a tight fit) it pulled one of the connectors apart. With everything connected back up and the tank carefully refitted it willingly fired up.
It felt nice to ride (I could reach the floor, but the rear sags a bit too much at the moment, so that might change) and I kept trying to use the rear brake, which isn't yet fitted. Other than that, I think it's going to be a fun bike to ride when it's finally completed. I would have tootled round for longer, but the grass was very wet and I didn't want to chew it up too much - it isn't my garden to ruin!