Topic: Terry's Boneyard Barn find Budget Suzuki T500 Reanimation.

[RAFster122s]

Problem is Bear will employ a monkey and have a few experienced ones he can call...

[RAFster122s]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-suzuki-gt500-titan/

[MauiK3]

Current bid $141,000? Really?
I guess I need to start a few more projects!

[RAFster122s]

Sold for $4000, not sure how you saw $141k

[MauiK3]

Oops, need an eye exam. Still, lots of $$ for a heavily modded bike.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I really enjoyed riding the "Hondamatic" yesterday, was good fun. I hope Brian (Bear) is going OK, last time I spoke to him he wasn't well, one of the problems with being a paraplegic is that your quality of life isn't great. I've only ridden a bike with a sidecar once and unless I become a paraplegic I definitely won't be fitting one to any bike I own, as it wasn't a positive experience.

No bike work today, but now I've moved the CB750A out I noticed the T350 again, so wandered over, turned the ignition on, turned the fuel on, pushed in the choke and gave it three kicks, and it fired right up and settled into a healthy idle. Tomorrow when the wife goes shopping and the driveway is clear I think I'll have to do a lap around the block.

[MauiK3]

Distracted easily are we?

[PeWe]

Harvest the fruits of the hard work,  a test ride!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, yep definitely easily distracted, especially with 19 bikes in my immediate vicinity. Last night I wandered down to the garage to close the door when I could smell fuel. I immediately remembered that the petcock on the CB750A has leaked ever since I got it, and of course there was a pool of gas under it.

I attached a hose to the leaky petcock and filled a 1 gallon jug, and that was enough to stop the deluge. It was about this time that I realised why the top of the crankcase, the alternator cover, starter motor cover etc are in bad shape compared to the rest of the bike, that fcuking petcock has probably been leaking for most of it’s life. I jumped on Ebay and saw a NOS petcock for $118 plus $45 shipping from the US, or some aftermarket ones for $18 with free shipping from Melbourne, so I ordered 2, because I realised that the reason the rebuilt carbs on my F2 were dripping a year ago is probably because of the leaking petcock, so I’ll replace them both.

Back on the T500 front, the new kickstart gear, pawl and spring has arrived at my shipper in Florida so I’ve pad the Fedex shipping to Oz, and I might hold off putting the tank etc on the T500 until those parts arrive and I can rip the engine out and fix it. I’ll have to take the T350 for a ride around the blck while I’m waiting.

I’ve got physio after work today so probably no bike work, (the weather is crap anyway) so I’ll bottle my latest Ginger Terry batch into my new clip top bottles that I can check for carbonation every couple of days. Yep definitely easily distracted, because there are so many distractions around here….

[grcamna2]

Thanks guys, yep definitely easily distracted, especially with 19 bikes in my immediate vicinity. Last night I wandered down to the garage to close the door when I could smell fuel. I immediately remembered that the petcock on the CB750A has leaked ever since I got it, and of course there was a pool of gas under it.

I attached a hose to the leaky petcock and filled a 1 gallon jug, and that was enough to stop the deluge. It was about this time that I realised why the top of the crankcase, the alternator cover, starter motor cover etc are in bad shape compared to the rest of the bike, that fcuking petcock has probably been leaking for most of it’s life. I jumped on Ebay and saw a NOS petcock for $118 plus $45 shipping from the US, or some aftermarket ones for $18 with free shipping from Melbourne, so I ordered 2, because I realised that the reason the rebuilt carbs on my F2 were dripping a year ago is probably because of the leaking petcock, so I’ll replace them both.

Back on the T500 front, the new kickstart gear, pawl and spring has arrived at my shipper in Florida so I’ve pad the Fedex shipping to Oz, and I might hold off putting the tank etc on the T500 until those parts arrive and I can rip the engine out and fix it. I’ll have to take the T350 for a ride around the blck while I’m waiting.

I’ve got physio after work today so probably no bike work, (the weather is crap anyway) so I’ll bottle my latest Ginger Terry batch into my new clip top bottles that I can check for carbonation every couple of days. Yep definitely easily distracted, because there are so many distractions around here….

Terry,do you use Grolsch clip-top bottles for your brew? I like that beer,plus those are high quality bottles.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, no I’ve never tried Grolsch beer, I bought the bottles at a home brew store. I usually press caps on re-sanitised Ginger Joe bottles, but the problem is that if they’re too gassy they can explode, so with these I can fill them and “burp” them every couple of days.

[krusty]

I've tried Grolsch (bought from Aldi), it's terrible stuff but I kept the bottles with the clip caps and gave them to a friend who does home brews.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, I'm not a beer fan at all apart from ginger beer. Don't get me wrong, I've been, rotten-falling-down, almost-drowning-in-a-pool-of-my-own-vomit drunk, on beer many, many times over the last 50 years or so, but I always preferred Bourbon/Whisky/Rum, or even better, Ginger Beer.

I got an email from MyUS.com this morning to say that they've sent the kickstarter gear today, by "Global Mail". I shat myself straight away thinking they'd sent it by USPS, because I know that USPS aren't delivering to Oz at all at the moment, and then when it gets here it'll sit in a Post Office warehouse for another month before they deliver it, because they're so busy due to Covid-19, the "Excuse Du-Jour". But I googled "Global Mail" and realised they're most likely sending it via DHL Global Mail, so it should be here a lot faster, I hope.

I'm currently waiting for my OEM tail light and bracket to be delivered. I bought a new repro tail light but I just don't like it, so I then bought a good used OEM unit from the US, and I received an email from Fedex to say it's being delivered today. Having said that it's late in the afternoon and I haven't seen it yet, but hopefully it'll arrive soon and if I don't fit it tonight, I will tomorrow. My new OEM brake lever arrived this morning though, so that made me happy.

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

As soon as the lunch bell rang, I ran out into the sun to install it. The lever that was on it was a repurposed clutch lever that has had a hard life.

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Also, the clutch lever doesn't have the slot for the brake light slider to sit in, so it wouldn't have passed a roadworthy certificate inspection without a functioning brake light.

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

As per the second pic, the bolt is drilled for a cotter pin. ('split pin' in "Oz-lish", a cotter pin is something entirely different here) I initially didn't use one, rather I used a spring washer under the nut, but that clamped the lever body, which then wouldn't allow the lever to fully return. Well that made sense, so I got rid of the spring washer, installed a plain washer and a cotter pin. It definitely looks and works better now.

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr   

While I was wandering back and forth to check to see if my box had been delivered, I walked past the T350 and thought, "Why Not?". The wife has gone out and my son has gone to work so my driveway is empty, so I turned the key, kicked it over (feeling bad for the T500) and it fired right up. I made the mistake of tipping some fuel into the tank when the engine was running and splashed it all over the tank, but happily the bike didn't explode. I did 3 laps around the block which equated to 1.9 miles according to the odometer, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did think about a 4th lap, but decided that 3 is my lucky number, and was happy that the little bike is going so well, it's definitely a keeper as it is so light, I had to back it up like I did the CB750A but instead of being close to 600 pounds the T350 is only 300, and a cinch to roll uphill backwards, compared to the Auto.

I was getting peckish and as I'd been watching food video's all day decided to make some mini Calzones. I made some pizza dough, used some re-heated Spagooli and added some mozzarella cheese as a filling, then baked them in the oven for around 30 minutes, and it* was glorious. (*I could only eat one)

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Thursday 14 Oct 2021 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It's 6.30 as I type this now and I just checked my Fedex delivery, and it's been delayed. Poop. Oh well, more tomorrow.

[grcamna2]

That's a good meal to my eyes Terry 
Would travel restriction limitations keep you from riding to the market for supplies? Take a round a'bout route with one of the bikes possibly?

[MauiK3]

Great looking calzone.
I may need to look for a two stroke later.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, loved the calzone, will have the other one for lunch. I can ride my bikes to the store for groceries Bill, but I never ride my bikes to the store as there are too many arseholes who will either steal it, scratch it, steal my fuel cap or oil tank cap, or just drive their cars into it, so that’s not gonna happen. That’s ok, the lockdown will supposedly be lifted at midnight(?) on October the 21st, so I can definitely wait that long.

[Terry in Australia]

Well the Fedex man finally found my house this morning, and the tail light arrived. Looks good, a little surface rust, but much better than what I had.

T500 Friday 15 Oct 2021 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I sneaked outside and installed it right away. I didn't like the little OEM washers so I used some 1 inch OD penny washers under the fender instead. It looked great, and the added bonus was that the lights and stop light from both brake levers worked, woohoo! I decided that I needed to install the original number plate, that I've cunningly turned into a custom personalised plate.

T500 Friday 15 Oct 2021 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[spotty]

well thats saved you a few dollars, screw vicroads and their capitalist ways

alternately you could advertise that plate in NSW for a TY rider to personalise their trials bike

[desertrefugee]

I’ll say one thing for you Terry, when you start in on one you don’t waste any time. Looking back on the machines that I have gone through over the years, I could’ve doubled my throughput if I’d been as engaged as you are on a project.  My last acquisition, picked up in late spring, is still waiting for me. I’ve moved it along closer… Actually much closer… But still need some time and love. Hope I can squeeze it out.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks mate, that 750 of yours looks great, I love that (Kerker?) pipe! Yep a quick build is a good build as far as I'm concerned, this year has been a horses arse for "Quality of life" here in the world's most locked down state, and apart from waiting forever for some parts (some that still haven't arrived since I started the project 10 weeks ago) I've had plenty of time on my hands to build some bikes that while not show quality, will be lots of fun to ride.

[Terry in Australia]

The weather was a little kinder to me today, so as soon as the sun came out (about midday) I wandered out to see if I could sort out the locking fuel cap that didn't want to lock in the closed position. Seriously, this thing is a pr1ck of a design, I was never good at working out my Rubik's cube, and there were more twists and turns in this mechanism than an Agatha Christie novel, but eventually I'd tried every possible combination and managed to get it back together. I still don't like it, but there's no other option, hopefully I won't end up with a crotch full of 91 RON on it's first outing. Anyway, once that was done I decided to install it, the tank badges and the petcock. Now the petcock looked OK, but of course was untested, so I tipped 3 litres of two stroke fuel in, and watched what happened. It dribbled everywhere. Poop.   

I wondered if the seal from my new Chinese Honda CB750A petcock would be close? Turns out it was identical, just thicker. I reassembled the Suzuki petcock with the Honda seal and put it back on the tank, and tipped the fuel back in, and ...... it didn't leak. Woohoo!

T500 Sunday 17 Oct 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

While I was at it, I decided to install the left sidecover. The sidecover mounts on a couple of tabs, and is held on by a knob with a short shaft with a threaded end, that threads into a tab welded onto the frame. I don't have a sidecover badge yet (I do have the original but it's tatty so ponied up for a new repro) but once I'd ran a threading tap through the tab, it threaded right in, and didn't look too bad.

T500 Sunday 17 Oct 2021 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Back to the tank. I took the seat off and sat the tank in place, and as soon as I did, the petcock started to dribble. Motherfcuker. Oh well, it was only dribbling out of the fuel line spigots so I just installed the fuel and vacuum lines and watched it for the next few hours (still am now) to make sure the dripping doesn't overwhelm the floats and start the carbs from overflowing onto the concrete. I just walked outside and saw that there's a puddle the size of a tablespoon of fuel, so, as the floor of the patio is sloping down slightly, and the bike was on the sidestand, I wheeled it out, turned it around and wheeled it back and put it on the centrestand, facing downhill. Hopefully that'll be enough. I think I'll buy an el-cheapo petcock like the one on my T350. It did look good though.

T500 Sunday 17 Oct 2021 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Sadly the wife's car was in the driveway so I couldn't sneak it past, and push start it and go for a lap, but that's OK, once the driveway's clear I'm going for a hoot. More soon.

T500 Sunday 17 Oct 2021 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T500 Sunday 17 Oct 2021 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[PeWe]

That bike look very fine Terry!
You plan to pull engine to fix the kick spring?

[MauiK3]

We are all out here waiting to hear this thing run!!
Very nice

[grcamna2]

We are all out here waiting to hear this thing run!!
Very nice

That's looking Good Terry !
I imagine an OEM petcock gasket might serve you better than that 'repro rubber' cheap part does.Do you have an NOS Honda petcock which you can swap it's rubber 4-hole donut seal with ?

[Terry in Australia]

We are all out here waiting to hear this thing run!!
Very nice

Here's the video I posted 12 days ago Steve, I think you must be the only one here who hasn’t seen it?