What did you do to your bike today

[Papa Lazarou]

Finally had some time to work on the Velosolex. New tyres, inners and outers. New spark plug, new fuel filters, new fuel pump diaphragm, cleaned the lines and the jets.

Does it run?

Nope.

Good luck!

https://69ed1a3e-73fd-440e-8041-5d6d636013d8.filesusr.com/ugd/524cc6_321b0c82805c4aeabf91b3052bb4909b.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3AT2v6oPLScsaQR3oH0Io-UOZeqS6v5mZ3t7vFC0Wrvpu_6AUjT33PYAc
fixed them before and there's an idiot guide now:

[Vulcanbill]

Put a barn door on the front of it. New Givi screen and gps shelf showed up today. Simple installs, both. Hoping screen will get all air off me so I can crack my face shield in the cold without my eyes watering. My otherwise awesome Shark doesn't have the crack feature.  Since I plan on commuting well into the cold, a barn door will be a welcome addition. I think I'm going to move the switch for the grip heaters to the shelf. Might then put the switch for the new lights where grip heaters was. Maybe velcro a badge holder onto the shelf too and ditch the bulky ram mount currently doing the job. Lots of options now. Pricey but nice.

[Skee]

Hoping screen will get all air off me so I can crack my face shield in the cold without my eyes watering. My otherwise awesome Shark doesn't have the crack feature. 

FYI Bill - You might resolve that problem by taping a short piece of rubber tubing just below your visor.  When you need the face shield opened just a crack, flip the tube up in-between the chin bar and the face shield, and close the visor to pinch the tube in place, leaving just a crack for air flow.  If it works for you - say thanks to garry - he showed me this trick.



I "installed" heated gear lead this morning.  Found the helmet lock makes a good place to coil the unused lead.  Cable-tied the lead to the frame so when I dismount before disconnecting ... well, you prolly know how that goes.  Now if the sun would just come out & dry off the roads, I could go test the connection out and scrub-in those new Dunlops.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[miles]

I prepped my bike for the annual Monterey Madness ride.  It has been pushed up from the traditional date (first or second weekend in December) because BMW-K is leaving sunny SoCal for his new home in Nashville next weekend.

[Jay547]

Mounted a new tire.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[CLAY]

Changed fluid and bled all the brakes on the SV.  It needs new tires.

[Baxter]

I was able to get out and ride for an hour. Temps dropped from 46 F to 39 F while we were out. 

[Black Hills]

Aired up a low tire on my wife’s pickup so checked the bikes while I had the air hose out.  All were 5-10lbs. Low.   Not that it matters as it is snowing. 

[st2sam]

Put the cover on and hooked up the battery tender.

Probably get a few more rides in before the snow flies but it'll be heated gear needed rides...

[Baxter]

Mounted a new tire.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

It looks like the Michelin PR4.  I've been thinking of the Road 5 for my next set of tires.  I'm curious why you chose the 4 over the 5, is there something I should consider?

[CLAY]

Also fixed the rear brake.  Looks like when it has a low-speed tip over on the right side, the rear brake mount/peg mount bent, cause binding of the rear brake lever.  So I removed all that, heated it in the right spots and straightened it all out.  Works like new again now.

[Jay547]

Mounted a new tire.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

It looks like the Michelin PR4.  I've been thinking of the Road 5 for my next set of tires.  I'm curious why you chose the 4 over the 5, is there something I should consider?

The one I took off was a Road 5. I just didn't like it as well as the 4. Enough so that I went back. I felt it slip a couple times and had that mini-heart attack. It was bad enough that I pulled over thinking I was getting a flat. I had run the 4 a few times before and never had that problem.

This was just my personal experience. I didn't do any research to see if it was happening to others. I tend to stick with things that I know work for me.

[BMW-K]

I prepped my bike for the annual Monterey Madness ride.  It has been pushed up from the traditional date (first or second weekend in December) because BMW-K is leaving sunny SoCal for his new home in Nashville next weekend.

Well, I burned off a lot of miles chasing miles through the backroads of Monterey and Santa Cruz...

[viffergyrl]

I prepped my bike for the annual Monterey Madness ride.  It has been pushed up from the traditional date (first or second weekend in December) because BMW-K is leaving sunny SoCal for his new home in Nashville next weekend.

Well, I burned off a lot of miles chasing miles through the backroads of Monterey and Santa Cruz...

Oh... there you are, ya weirdo.

[Baxter]

Mounted a new tire.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

It looks like the Michelin PR4.  I've been thinking of the Road 5 for my next set of tires.  I'm curious why you chose the 4 over the 5, is there something I should consider?

The one I took off was a Road 5. I just didn't like it as well as the 4. Enough so that I went back. I felt it slip a couple times and had that mini-heart attack. It was bad enough that I pulled over thinking I was getting a flat. I had run the 4 a few times before and never had that problem.

This was just my personal experience. I didn't do any research to see if it was happening to others. I tend to stick with things that I know work for me.

Thanks!  Now I'm wondering whether the 5 will have a short manufacturing life and be replaced soon with a 6.

[CLAY]

New headlight brackets for the SV- but now I have to lower the gauge cluster bracket I built. 

[Jay547]

Mounted a new tire.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

It looks like the Michelin PR4.  I've been thinking of the Road 5 for my next set of tires.  I'm curious why you chose the 4 over the 5, is there something I should consider?

The one I took off was a Road 5. I just didn't like it as well as the 4. Enough so that I went back. I felt it slip a couple times and had that mini-heart attack. It was bad enough that I pulled over thinking I was getting a flat. I had run the 4 a few times before and never had that problem.

This was just my personal experience. I didn't do any research to see if it was happening to others. I tend to stick with things that I know work for me.

Thanks!  Now I'm wondering whether the 5 will have a short manufacturing life and be replaced soon with a 6.

I know guys who love them. I'm just not one of them. I never tried a Road 5 front. I still have the 4 on the front.

[melville]

I meet a group of guys in Montana each year in June, or I try to.  We camp in this guys yard, burn meat, drink beer, and talk about how we have failed and succeeded in our relationships.  I made it to Montana in 2018 and 2019 and would have gone to the same group again in 2020 but for COVID, a changed deadline at work, and me moving house. 

One of my Montana friends died on the way home from the 2020 gathering:

https://advrider.com/f/threads/alan-beck-aka-duckworth-has-been-killed-in-a-crash.1454551/

I had to think that he didn't see the left turner, as he was riding into the sunrise.  And of course, that the left turner didn't see him.  One of my friends found these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083TXGSGV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They looked to me like they could be mounted on the fork brace screws and that the wires would reach to the dip relay I'd installed under the tank.  And that as LEDs they wouldn't draw too much power.  So I ordered a set.

Here they are in the flesh:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


They are wired individually, and have male ends on the wires.  Not DIN code here--yellow is high beam, red is low beam, and black is ground.  A slight annoyance to me, but I can deal.

I combined the harnesses and the two 20 ga wires were a good fit in a 14-18 ga terminal:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I did female spades on the hot wires and a ring terminal on the ground.  The hot wires were piggybacked on the relay spades along with the main beam wires, and the ground went to the relay mount screw.

Mounted:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Lit:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


They are brighter than the headlight.  I need to improve the wire routing a little, but it's working great so far.  I took a ride in the mountains and found that they were throwing a bright spot on the road in the shadows, something I've not seen in the daytime from the main headlight.

I got out for a twilight ride with my sweetie and got a couple pix of the lights on my garage door when I got home.  Here's low beam:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


And here's high beam:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Yes, that pitiful yellow bit is the OG headlight.  The bulb is only a few weeks old!

I haven't ridden in full darkness yet and may not for a while.

[Black Hills]

mid 70's but winter comes back next week so took them both for a spin, topped off with gas and sea foam..

[CLAY]

I meet a group of guys in Montana each year in June, or I try to.  We camp in this guys yard, burn meat, drink beer, and talk about how we have failed and succeeded in our relationships.  I made it to Montana in 2018 and 2019 and would have gone to the same group again in 2020 but for COVID, a changed deadline at work, and me moving house. 

One of my Montana friends died on the way home from the 2020 gathering:

First, I'm so sorry for your loss.  That just sucks.

Second- I really like those lights.  Do they have mounting holes so you can mount them sideways or up and down?

[melville]

I meet a group of guys in Montana each year in June, or I try to.  We camp in this guys yard, burn meat, drink beer, and talk about how we have failed and succeeded in our relationships.  I made it to Montana in 2018 and 2019 and would have gone to the same group again in 2020 but for COVID, a changed deadline at work, and me moving house. 

One of my Montana friends died on the way home from the 2020 gathering:

First, I'm so sorry for your loss.  That just sucks.

Second- I really like those lights.  Do they have mounting holes so you can mount them sideways or up and down?

Yes, they can be mounted in any position.

A sharp eyed guy thinks they may be mounted upside down as the low beam setting has the same top cutoff as the high beam.  I'll reorient them soon (I have a water heater to replace) and report back.  If he's right, and these are made consistently, the wire should exit out the bottom as mounted.  I think there's still enough wire to reach under the tank to my dip relay.

[Papa Lazarou]

new coil, condenser and points on the Solex-the electrics were producing insufficient current to cause the plug to spark (but enough to give a nice shock). Found the flywheel key has been sheared off by someone, which will make setting the timing fun.

[Black Hills]

moved it from one side of the garage to the other 

[Vulcanbill]

Put the barn door back on.  I'd put the stock screen back on for the ride Saturday and forgot to put it back on when we got back.  Monday's ride was a tad chilly.  Guess the barn door works.. 

[Skee]

Added gas stabilizer & filled the tank.  Then I rode it for an hour to flush it through the system.  Cold days are coming.

[Andrew]

Been working on a neighbors generator in the driveway, so hard to get the GSA out of the garage. Its a large industrial diesel genset (has licence plate) and it's has been in the driveway tooo long and I would like to be able to ride the GSA. This afternoon I broke down and did the 500 point u turn with the bike. Now she is pointed out of the garage and ready to ride to work tomorrow. 
  Maybe I'll finish reassembling the generator's engine this weekend and finally get it back to his house were it belongs.

[melville]

Been working on a neighbors generator in the driveway, so hard to get the GSA out of the garage. Its a large industrial diesel genset (has licence plate) and it's has been in the driveway tooo long and I would like to be able to ride the GSA. This afternoon I broke down and did the 500 point u turn with the bike. Now she is pointed out of the garage and ready to ride to work tomorrow. 
  Maybe I'll finish reassembling the generator's engine this weekend and finally get it back to his house were it belongs.

Is he gonna hook you up with some good stuff?

[Andrew]

Been working on a neighbors generator in the driveway, so hard to get the GSA out of the garage. Its a large industrial diesel genset (has licence plate) and it's has been in the driveway tooo long and I would like to be able to ride the GSA. This afternoon I broke down and did the 500 point u turn with the bike. Now she is pointed out of the garage and ready to ride to work tomorrow. 
  Maybe I'll finish reassembling the generator's engine this weekend and finally get it back to his house were it belongs.

Is he gonna hook you up with some good stuff?

Lots of Ben's, the genset is for his business and not that kind of "business" he can report this on his taxes. He sets up pumpkin patches with jumpy rooms and blow up slides. This year the patch was scratched, but this might not have been a bad year to cut the patch as the genset began to push oil into the cooling system. 
  Got to put the rockerbox back and set the overhead tonight.

[melville]

Been working on a neighbors generator in the driveway, so hard to get the GSA out of the garage. Its a large industrial diesel genset (has licence plate) and it's has been in the driveway tooo long and I would like to be able to ride the GSA. This afternoon I broke down and did the 500 point u turn with the bike. Now she is pointed out of the garage and ready to ride to work tomorrow. 
  Maybe I'll finish reassembling the generator's engine this weekend and finally get it back to his house were it belongs.

Is he gonna hook you up with some good stuff?

Lots of Ben's, the genset is for his business and not that kind of "business" he can report this on his taxes. He sets up pumpkin patches with jumpy rooms and blow up slides. This year the patch was scratched, but this might not have been a bad year to cut the patch as the genset began to push oil into the cooling system. 
  Got to put the rockerbox back and set the overhead tonight.

Just an artifact of where I lived until this last summer.  Laytonville useta have a business called Mendo Power which had about a dozen trailered gennies for sale at any time.  Legalization has killed Diesel Dope for many reasons.

[Baxter]

I winterized Ninjette Noire last weekend as I had a hernia repaired on Tuesday.  It looks like I should stay relatively inactive for about 4 weeks after the surgery, so that puts me in Mid December before I should go for a ride again.  It would be nice if winter held off, but I can't really count on that happening.

[Black Hills]

rode it, well not today but yesterday. 100+ miles of twisties (only a little bit of needles highway was wet/gravel the rest was all good) probably the last ride of the year for that bike but it was fun and I got to test my brakes/reflexes thanks to a wayward deer, we missed each other by a few feet so all was good.

[Vulcanbill]

Moved it out of the way to make room to assemble the new splitter.  Haven't ridden at all this week.  Wind earlier this week, then cold.  22 at the house this AM.  Nope.  Will probably ride tomorrow tho.  Can't go a whole week.  Not yet. 

[Papa Lazarou]

gave up on trying to make a new key for the Solex's flywheel and gave it to an engineer to fix.

[Andrew]

Finished the genset and delivered it back to the owners property.

 Work done, pay time followed,.....  Filled the tanks of the CT110, Chappy and mixed up a gallon of 2 stroke for the Puch. My sons and I went out and tried to lower the fuel in said tanks. 2 hours of fun followed, many smiles from neighbors and a few scowls from a dog walker or two (most smiled and the dogs cared not).

It's been a good day   

[mr.awesome]

Houston we have a problem..

Last two times I had the Sprint out I could smell gas when I pulled it back into the barn. Now getting a puddle under it. There is a history with these bikes having bad  plastic fuel connectors. Cleared off my rolling bench last night and put it on the lift table. Will go out today and pull the plastics off to see where it is coming from. If the tank has to come off, will check the valves while I'm that far in.

[mr.awesome]

Pulled all the plastics off and found the plastic quick disconnect fitting at the fuel pump is cracked. Turned on the ignition and fuel came pouring out. Have to order some metal replacement ones. While in there found a mouse condo in my air filter. Will check the valves next weekend if not too cold.
I have been on the fence of replacing the Sprint with a speed twin or other naked bike. The amount of work just to get to the air filter is pushing me closer. Not that it hard work, it is just a lot to go through. The air filter is under the fuel tank. To get the tank off you need to remove the tail section plastics which requires luggage rack removal. Side plastics have to come off to access the fuel disconnects. Handle bars have to come off because LSL riser plate is in the way of tank removal. All this just to get to the air filter. I'm sure there are other bikes much worse but I think I may be looking at something a bit more naked next year.
Any recommendations to stop the mice from getting up in there.

[Black Hills]

rode it

[Vulcanbill]

Pulled all the plastics off and found the plastic quick disconnect fitting at the fuel pump is cracked. Turned on the ignition and fuel came pouring out. Have to order some metal replacement ones. While in there found a mouse condo in my air filter. Will check the valves next weekend if not too cold.
I have been on the fence of replacing the Sprint with a speed twin or other naked bike. The amount of work just to get to the air filter is pushing me closer. Not that it hard work, it is just a lot to go through. The air filter is under the fuel tank. To get the tank off you need to remove the tail section plastics which requires luggage rack removal. Side plastics have to come off to access the fuel disconnects. Handle bars have to come off because LSL riser plate is in the way of tank removal. All this just to get to the air filter. I'm sure there are other bikes much worse but I think I may be looking at something a bit more naked next year.
Any recommendations to stop the mice from getting up in there.

Yep.  I remember that crap.  Wasn't as hard for me.  Didn't have risers or luggage so it was just disassembly.  Still a PITA.  Good luck.  You could put a large mesh screen over the air filter hole.  Won't be any more restrictive than the mouse pad. 

[melville]

A sharp eyed guy on another forum thought that my aux lights might be upside down due to the shape of the beam cutoff.  I think he was right.

Before I worked on the /7 yesterday, I took a few minutes and flipped the auxiliary lights over.  There's enough wire, even with the wire coming out the bottom, and the routing was actually improved as the wire is now semisecure between the fender/fork brace and the slider/gaiter.  Here's low beam:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


And high beam:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


The brackets are not moved from the original install.

[CLAY]

Yesterday:  New tire on the new rim for the SV.  I need to change out the rear tire, then get them balanced.

[CLAY]

Rear tyre (for papa).  Threw them in the truck to drop off for balancing tomorrow.