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Good luck, I remember asking about an engine from a wrecker in Melb. They wanted 3k shipped, ridiculous considering I got my engine from the states for a total of $1600ish from memory (including the freight company rapage). Hopefully they don't try and screw you over with S&H.
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The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred - Soichiro Honda
Hopefully they get here by next weekend when I get back to Adelaide. Now all I need to do is replace the headstem bearings, check the triples, and get it all back together.
After all this time, the last parts I need have finally arrived!!!
The Forks were delayed out of America due to Hurricane Sandy.
They're in better condition than I thought, seals look good, no marks and straight as a ruler.
My All Balls tapered headstem bearings are here too, which means I can change them over as well.
Considering my rims are black, I cant afford to have them powdercoated blue in true Konica style just yet (and even then, matching the powdercoat to the fairing colour will be tough)... so I've picked up some sky blue rim tape. (Based on pictures from other forum members - the colour matches almost perfectly).
Lastly, I now have all the little well nuts, and other assorted fairing fasteners that were lost/destroyed in the original crash.
It worked out almost as cheap to get them from the local dealer, so I was happy to pay a little more for the convenience.
Keep your eyes peeled... Now that everything's here.. I'm hoping to have it done ASAP.
So, I promised myself that I'd finish the bike by the end of Christmas day as a present to myself. I still have all day tomorrow, but I'm not sure I'll make it.
Today was headstem bearings day, and triple clamp assessment.
The first step is to support the bike by any means necessary (that isn't your forks/headstem stand). I chose the conveniently located housebrick (read: the closest thing to my work area).
Make sure the load is spread evenly over all 4 headers.
I'm not going to talk you through the process because well - Nico does a much better job of it. But here's a few photos, and discussion points along the way.
I noticed a reasonably big dent in the steering stop on the frame (something I hadn't picked up on before) It concerns me a little, because it means that there must have been a reasonable tortional force put through the headstem during the crash for it to dent this badly... It's easily one-two millimeters deep. Thoughts?
The old races themselves looked to be in reasonable condition despite the front end crash (see pic below), there was no actual notching by the feel, but there are a few small visible marks where the wear was starting to show.
Whats Missing?!
Thats Right! You guessed correctly, NO DUST SEAL on the lower bearing (Between the bottom triple and the race). Whoever changed the bearings last time must have forgotten to put it on. This made it an absolute to try and get the race off. However, I succeeded.....eventually.
What it did create was a really sandy bearing - Kinda glad I was planning to change them....
My only concern at this stage is whether the lower triple is tweaked at all.. There's a little bit of damage where the race sits (from some previous muppet changing the bearings I would assume), but there's no way to tell whether the triple itself is tweaked.
This is how it currently stands.
Realistically all i have to do is get the front end back together, and the fairings on.
The frame is aluminium, it doesn't take a whole heap of force to do that kind of damage to a relatively small boss... and that bearing is a PITA to get off anyway.
Once you have it back together and rideable you will be able notice any significant misalignment in the front end by the way the bike feels.
What would Christmas day be without a few sessions working on the bike.
I removed the old bearings yesterday, and today was time to fit the new bearings.
I've got to admit, I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the allballs racing tapered head stem bearings.
The races fit well too.. nice and snugly, but not an absolute B#%$@ to put in.
And because we all know red goes faster........
Lubed up and ready.... (and that's what she said)
It was at this point in time I went to start putting it all back together.. that the steering head nut fell apart in my hands.
It looks like the guy before me beat the crap out of it at some stage trying to straighten it back out, but in doing so weakened the crimping which held the two parts together...
I'm going to put the front end back together with the part as it is, and then order a replacement when the stores open back up after the christmas break.
It's about bloody time to be honest! I feel really slack for having let it take this long, and I can't believe it's been almost 14 months since I was on a bike.....
This is where I got up to last night: Front end is now re-assembled and correctly torqued.
All I have left to do is the new rim tape (before I put the front wheel back on) and then fairings (and a few little incidentals here and there - like put the stock levers back on)
On that note - the Red ASV levers are now not going to work with the blue Konica scheme... :(
I figured while the front wheel was still off, it would be the perfect time to sort the rim tape situation out.
The original guy had (somewhat wonky) 1/8 inch red rim tape to match the black/silver tribal fairings. This would have been fine until he decided to shred the tribal fairings sideways under a car.
With my new Konica scheme, the red rim tape needed to go, and considering I cant justify powder coating my rims, the next best option was rim tape.
I saw them from another post on 600rr.net, and "cool blue" is a reasonably close match to the Konica Paintwork - it's not perfect, but you'll barely notice, especially once the bikes moving.
Rim Tape:
Preparation: After pulling off the old rim tape, there was a substantial amount of glue residue remaining. First step was a lot of elbow grease, and rag well soaked in methylated spirits to remove it all.
Once the rim was clean, I gave it a wipe down with this:
Like Metho, isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) evaporates leaving absolutely no residue, which means the new rim tape will stick directly to a clean rim, giving a long lasting bond.
Applying the rim tape is pretty easy, and it does come with instructions too.
Basically, once your rim is cleaned, you peel a small section of tape away from the backing paper and place it on the outer lip of your rim (you'll work out where it looks best). I usually start at the valve, just to give myself a reference point.
At this point, all you have to do is slowly work your way around the rim.
When you finish the first strip (1/4 of the rim), take the second strip, overlap the first by about 6-7mm (1/4 inch) and continue on in the same process.
I have to admit that the pre curved tape does make life a LOT easier. And to be honest, you can barely notice the joins. (see pics below)
Old Rim Tape:
New Rim Tape:
Half way there!
...and because including his arse only in the previous shot just wasn't fair.... My helper.
Mate good to see things coming along! New rim tape looks the goods, will definitely complement the fairings! So once the fairings are on it is ready to run? Have you started it recently?
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The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred - Soichiro Honda
Mate good to see things coming along! New rim tape looks the goods, will definitely complement the fairings! So once the fairings are on it is ready to run? Have you started it recently?
Fairings, then down to Regency for a roadworthy and Vehicle Identity Inspection before I can get it back on the road...
Also need to do a few small things, like change back to the original levers and give it a good once over.
So.. When I woke up this morning, I had every intention of having the bike finished today.
Alas, 'twas not meant to be...
After getting the rim tape done, and tidying up the last few bits and pieces, I went to start pulling the fairings back out of the box that I had so delicately (and with enormous padding) stored them in.
At this point in time I stumbled across my front upper cowl, only to remember something I'd posted about when I first received them.....
THIS.
I'd totally forgotten about the overspray on the inside of the front fairing. FAAAAARRRRRRKKKKKK.
At this point in time, it was about 4:30pm... so I made a mad dash to the hardware store.....for these.
A can of quick dry undercoat, and quick dry "vivid white" - the closest I could find to the fairings themselves.
The theory is that with two coats of undercoat, and another few coats of "vivid white" I can have the entire inside of the front fairing suitable for public consumption.
At this point I started masking off the fairings so that (unlike the guys in China who made my fairings) I wouldn't overspray...
The Product of approx. 1 hour worth of masking...
The outside edge of the fairing was by far the most painstaking to tape up. I wanted to ensure a clear edge where it will transition from the white on the underside, to the blue on the front side.
Also need to remember to tape up the two headlights, the "third eye" as well as the rear-view mirror holes and winscreen holes.
(You can see in the picture above that it was actually easier to stuff the windscreen holes with a bit of rolled up fabric. This allows you to spray right up to the edge of the hole, unlike taping over the hole, which will leave a small unpainted ring around the hole.
So far I have two coats of undercoat on the inside of the fairing which has adequately covered the blue overspray.
Tomorrow's task it a light sand back using 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper, then two or three coats of the "vivid white".
At that point I can then get the fairings on the bike :)
But it's now at a point where I'm just really itching to get it all finished... it's so close I can feel it... but I just keep finding little things that need touching up that get in the way!
So I got a chance yesterday afternoon to get two coats of of undercoat on the front upper fairing.
The main function of the undercoat was to cover the blue, and give a solid base for the top coats of "vivid white" to build on.
A trick for those at home - especially when painting with white...
Use Bright Lights.
Bright lights allow you to easily see the patches that you've missed/dont have an even coating on.
The finished product:
I got two coats of top coat on this morning. It takes 24 hours to dry properly, which means I wont be able to finish up with the front fairing/headlight/windscreen/air duct assembly until tomorrow.
Guess that means y'all are gonna have to wait for pics of the completed bike....
Hey Atrang - is it your bike I see parked on Halifax street every now and then?
Oh.. and PS Nico - having to stretch the tail fairing onto the subframe - scariest. moment. ever.
I was shitting myself that I was going to crack it.
While I'm waiting for the paint on the inside of the front fairing to dry, I figured I'd finish off all the other task to prep the fairings for installation.
Solo Seat Cowl
The solo seat cowl comes in two parts from Auctmarts, the painted cowl, and the cowl's black frame (but unfortunately no bolts to put them together).
The painted Cowl:
The cowl's frame (inside the painted cowl):
After a bit of planning (and some good estimations) I headed off to the hardware store again (or as Nico put it... the big green shed) to grab some 15mm bolts and a stack of washers.
Now here's the trick. The bolts need to be bolted from the cowl through to the black frame, so the nut can be tightened from the top. The downside to this, is that there is no way to keep the bolts in place while the black plastic frame is placed on top.
The Solution:
Place the bolt through the bracket (as shown), washer and then nut. This will hold the bolt in place for you to then bolt the black frame down on top.
At this point I realised that the cowl sat a bit low and was likely to rub on rear fairing. Being as paranoid as I am about scratching/damaging my brand new paintwork, I figured I'd raise the height of the cowl a little bit.
To do this... we use washers between the black bracket and the painted cowl.
My mates have been reporting a doppleganger riding around but yeah it is indeed my bike on Halifax, I live just off there diagonally opposite the Greek. Do you work nearby?
I like the nut/bolt/washer thing with the rear cowl, mine sits a bit off so when I get around to it I'll get it sitting nice and flat.
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The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred - Soichiro Honda
to Nico, and his writeup on this forum on how to change the headstem bearings. It can be found here: 
to try and get the race off. However, I succeeded.....eventually.
