Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004
I’m still some 300 miles from the 8400 mile service, but thought I’d document some pending changes to the bike. A while back I traded some cash and my old R69S carbs for newer R69S carbs and a new rear fender. Why a new rear fender?
hinge area
scratches
I did zero body work on the tank or fenders as part of the original restoration. I should have. The first picture is a close up of the hinge area showing that the two pieces don’t match correctly, causing the tail piece to bow out in places.
The second picture shows the result of not being careful enough when putting the fender back on the bike. I tried to balance the fender on the frame and while my back was turned it slipped, with the shock towers scratching the paint.
new painted fender
My friend Jeff brought the replacement fender to a painter he knows in SF along with my license plate bracket for a color match last week. He returned the freshly painted fender (the pin striping is still wet!) to me yesterday. I’m going to let them sit for a while to give the paint a chance to cure then put it on the bike. I figure it will be ready just about the time the bike will be ready for its 8400-mile service. I also got some touch up paint to take care of future scratches.
Wednesday-Friday, June 2-4, 2004
I’m back from a visit to Japan which explains the delay in working on the bike. I’ll put the new fender on the bike this week.
old fender less license
semi stripped fender
ready for storage
The license was sent off for restoration about 3 weeks ago. It will be back in another three or four weeks. The license bracket, taillight bucket, and luggage rack are stripped from the old fender and the old fender removed from the bike. Notice the scratches.
power jack
As long as the fender was off I installed a power jack. It’s wired per the diagram with juice only flowing when the (parking) lights are on.
ready to pull wire
fender wiring near battery
fender wiring at hinge
An electrician fish tape was used to pull a new section of wiring harness through the trough in the fender. Very easy. Very quick.
hinge section
hinge section wiring
new fender installed
The hinged section was added using a new hinge pin. The wire was pushed through the small section by hand and the tail-light bucket and license plate bracket installed. In checking with an ohm meter I discovered I’ve a small, 6.5 M ohm short between +6 and ground. I’ll look for that next.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
generator power contacts
inside generator housing
Pulling the power wire from the generator in the headlight bucket didn’t change the resistance of the short, so the problem must be at the generator. I pulled the housing and checked the resistance from the power contacts to the housing. 6.5 M ohm.
I disconnected the regulator. Still 6.5 M ohm. OK, probably a buildup of carbon dust between contacts and the housing. Some contact cleaner followed by paper towels and compressed air got a lot of black spooge off around the contacts. Checked with a meter. No connnection. Much better.
While the cover was off I checked the rotor. Sigh… about 3.5 M ohm instead of the open I was looking for. The insulation is braking down. Looks like I need a new rotor.
Monday, June 14, 2004
The odometer says 8393. That’s close enough to change the oil and do the other few things required for the bikes 8400 mile service. I’m also going to change the oil in the rear end as it hasn’t been changed since I re-shimmed it last service.
engine oil drain plug
rear end oil drain plug
This is not my week. I found a few flakes on the engine drain plug and the rear end drain plug is showing fuzz, again. I’m going to ride the bike as is for 300-600 miles then check again. I’m hoping the rear end is left overs from before my changes. There is less fuzz than I found last service. The engine is another story.