Author Topic: What did you do to your bike today ? (Read 3216461 times)

Greggo · « **Reply #12450 on:** October 30, 2012, 03:54:51 PM »

Put an old school oil temp gauge on the 500...found it on a 750 tank in the Motherlode

mono · « **Reply #12451 on:** October 30, 2012, 04:24:26 PM »

Didn't do anything to the bike, but i painted this full face helmet black. I got it for free from a buddy. It was previously SPARKLY TEAL...

:o

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

maduncle · « **Reply #12452 on:** October 31, 2012, 02:22:56 AM »

Quote from: mono on October 30, 2012, 04:24:26 PM

Didn't do anything to the bike, but i painted this full face helmet black. I got it for free from a buddy. It was previously SPARKLY TEAL... :o

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Not that I know anything about anything (ask anyone) - but doesn't spray painting a helmet weaken the plastic?

dave500 · « **Reply #12453 on:** October 31, 2012, 02:40:33 AM »

thats what were told,,i think its horse #$%*,you have a bang up enough to damage a helmet and your in #$%* enough as it is?its never been reported i think?,,like head lines??biker has painted helmet and suffers injury?i think its myth plus disclaimer?!!the weakness it might incour is probably way below the threshhold of physical impact damage anyway?,i see plenty and all have seen plenty of painted helmets,let the rider decide?

jas67 · « **Reply #12454 on:** October 31, 2012, 02:51:51 AM »

I bought the CB400F a friend, a 1975 CB550, see here:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=114508.msg1289653#msg1289653

Tintop · « **Reply #12455 on:** October 31, 2012, 05:48:57 AM »

Quote from: dave500 on October 31, 2012, 02:40:33 AM

thats what were told,,i think its horse #$%*,you have a bang up enough to damage a helmet and your in #$%* enough as it is?its never been reported i think?,,like head lines??biker has painted helmet and suffers injury?i think its myth plus disclaimer?!!the weakness it might incour is probably way below the threshhold of physical impact damage anyway?,i see plenty and all have seen plenty of painted helmets,let the rider decide?

Looked into this years ago, and spoke to a guy from Arai. The issue(s) are the material the helmet is made from and the type of paint used. It's the solvents in the paint that attack the resin and weaken it. They don't fall apart just become brittle, and therefore loose strength. Just means contacting your helmet manufacturer to find out whats OK, and what's not. One of the reasons most racing orgs have a rule you have to get a new helmet every 5 years, is because the shells get brittle over time. This is from the resins drying out. 5 years is '1/2 life'. Ever checked out how brittle 20 year old fiberglas is compared to new.

mono · « **Reply #12456 on:** October 31, 2012, 07:11:04 AM »

Quote from: Tintop on October 31, 2012, 05:48:57 AM

Quote from: dave500 on October 31, 2012, 02:40:33 AM
thats what were told,,i think its horse #$%*,you have a bang up enough to damage a helmet and your in #$%* enough as it is?its never been reported i think?,,like head lines??biker has painted helmet and suffers injury?i think its myth plus disclaimer?!!the weakness it might incour is probably way below the threshhold of physical impact damage anyway?,i see plenty and all have seen plenty of painted helmets,let the rider decide?

Looked into this years ago, and spoke to a guy from Arai. The issue(s) are the material the helmet is made from and the type of paint used. It's the solvents in the paint that attack the resin and weaken it. They don't fall apart just become brittle, and therefore loose strength. Just means contacting your helmet manufacturer to find out whats OK, and what's not. One of the reasons most racing orgs have a rule you have to get a new helmet every 5 years, is because the shells get brittle over time. This is from the resins drying out. 5 years is '1/2 life'. Ever checked out how brittle 20 year old fiberglas is compared to new.

Hmm... i can see the reasoning there - that the solvents would make it brittler a bit. however, the helmet had factory paint and clear-coat on it, so.... not sure if it's something i'm concerned about. my spray paint didn't penetrate the factory paint, that's for sure. i'm betting that if it was a serious problem that custom paint jobs would void helmet warranties (does it?).

754 · « **Reply #12457 on:** October 31, 2012, 07:18:19 AM »

The old polycarbonate helmets, I believe is where this came from. Paint usually was not recomended, to be put over them. I never wanted to wear one of them, they had a visible seam line in the middle. Grant I think was one brand..

storm · « **Reply #12458 on:** October 31, 2012, 08:19:02 AM »

Placed 4 new NGK spark plugs and spark plug caps on the bike. Then I added a connector for a battery tender for my new battery since it's hitting the winter months here in WV

Also wired up a 12V female adapter that connects to the batter tender connection and placed a 2 port USB connector in there. Now I have a place to charge my phone if I need to on long trips.

MCRider · « **Reply #12459 on:** October 31, 2012, 08:55:57 AM »

Helmets are like tires, they get hard with age. Besides outgassing, Additional damage done from UV rays. Helmet gets brittle, cannot spread impact without breaking.

5 to 8 years max. Your head, your choice.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #12460 on:** October 31, 2012, 02:56:23 PM »

Quote from: MCRider on October 31, 2012, 08:55:57 AM

Helmets are like tires,

Ron, I have to disagree, after reading this i went out to the shop but there is absolutely no way that the helmet would fit on my rims, also, the tire was extremely uncomfortable on my head.....

Tintop · « **Reply #12461 on:** October 31, 2012, 04:49:09 PM »

Quote from: Retro Rocket on October 31, 2012, 02:56:23 PM

Quote from: MCRider on October 31, 2012, 08:55:57 AM
Helmets are like tires,

Ron, I have to disagree, after reading this i went out to the shop but there is absolutely no way that the helmet would fit on my rims, also, the tire was extremely uncomfortable on my head.....

RR, when fitting a tire to one's head it is important to use the right size, just like fitting a helmet.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #12462 on:** October 31, 2012, 05:18:17 PM »

Quote from: Tintop on October 31, 2012, 04:49:09 PM

Quote from: Retro Rocket on October 31, 2012, 02:56:23 PM
Quote from: MCRider on October 31, 2012, 08:55:57 AM
Helmets are like tires,

Ron, I have to disagree, after reading this i went out to the shop but there is absolutely no way that the helmet would fit on my rims, also, the tire was extremely uncomfortable on my head.....

RR, when fitting a tire to one's head it is important to use the right size, just like fitting a helmet.

Damn, i knew i was doing something wrong....

mono · « **Reply #12463 on:** October 31, 2012, 05:20:49 PM »

Quote from: storm on October 31, 2012, 08:19:02 AM

Placed 4 new NGK spark plugs and spark plug caps on the bike. Then I added a connector for a battery tender for my new battery since it's hitting the winter months here in WV Also wired up a 12V female adapter that connects to the batter tender connection and placed a 2 port USB connector in there. Now I have a place to charge my phone if I need to on long trips.

Dude that's genius. Stealing this!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

the technological J · « **Reply #12464 on:** October 31, 2012, 05:52:32 PM »

Quote from: Retro Rocket on October 31, 2012, 05:18:17 PM

Quote from: Tintop on October 31, 2012, 04:49:09 PM
Quote from: Retro Rocket on October 31, 2012, 02:56:23 PM
Quote from: MCRider on October 31, 2012, 08:55:57 AM
Helmets are like tires,

Ron, I have to disagree, after reading this i went out to the shop but there is absolutely no way that the helmet would fit on my rims, also, the tire was extremely uncomfortable on my head.....

RR, when fitting a tire to one's head it is important to use the right size, just like fitting a helmet.

Damn, i knew i was doing something wrong....

so you have to pick the tire that is the size of your head not as big as it feels

Dimitri13 · « **Reply #12465 on:** October 31, 2012, 06:21:03 PM »

It's not the shell that gets weak over time, it's the impact foam inside. Most manufacturers recommend replacing helmets every 4-6 years regardless of use.

marknpb · « **Reply #12466 on:** October 31, 2012, 06:58:27 PM »

Yep, my new Arai helmet says to replace 7 years "after date of manufacture" and NOT 7 years after the date I bought it. Fortunately, it was a fairly recent manufacture date.

Quote from: Dimitri13 on October 31, 2012, 06:21:03 PM

It's not the shell that gets weak over time, it's the impact foam inside. Most manufacturers recommend replacing helmets every 4-6 years regardless of use.

Tews19 · « **Reply #12467 on:** October 31, 2012, 07:37:19 PM »

Well, it hit 38 degrees and a windchill of 31 when I drove 9.6 miles on the Gold K1. God is she so smooth. Even when I was shivering.....

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #12468 on:** October 31, 2012, 10:01:30 PM »

500 pages, woohoo!;D

I bought an engine on EBay for my Goldwing. $600 US plus $580 US to ship to Melbourne, and it's only done 27000 miles. The seller had a youtube vid of the bike running nice and quiet, and a 100% feedback rating, so I'm a happy "Wingman". The bike is registered until July next year, so with a complete running engine on it's way, I should be doing more riding than wrenching! Cheers, Terry.

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #12469 on:** November 01, 2012, 12:46:36 AM »

Well I got bored, so I went out to my garage. A box had arrived containing the 18 inch Comstar rear wheel I'm gonna use on my Honda CX500 Custom to replace the 16" OEM item. Honda didn't bother to alter the gearing when they put a 16 inch back wheel on my model, so it's pulling 6000 RPM @ 60 MPH, which annoys me.

Also, the bigger back wheel will fill the trail-bike like gap under the seat, which annoys me also. Speaking of dumb stuff that Honda did, they fitted some crappy "pull back" bars to continue with the "Custom" theme, which are pretty uncomfortable. I'm going to swap them out for some other high bars, but with a better, more ergonomic bend.

I also replaced the stock spark plugs with NGK Iridiums that my CB750's have all hated, but seem to work fine in the CX. Finally, I cleaned a lot of the rust and corrosion off the engine and frame, exhaust, new back wheel etc with some acid based cleaner, and some of the stuff I thought I'd have to re-chrome is looking really good. Cool.

maduncle · « **Reply #12470 on:** November 01, 2012, 01:38:44 AM »

Terry, I need to come round and see your GX and CL, so I can get a better idea what to buy next to play with.

You still planning to sell the BMW?

70CB750 · « **Reply #12471 on:** November 01, 2012, 02:45:37 AM »

I rode to work, actually first ride since that b^#tch Sandy showed up.

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #12472 on:** November 01, 2012, 03:16:58 AM »

Quote from: maduncle on November 01, 2012, 01:38:44 AM

Terry, I need to come round and see your GX and CL, so I can get a better idea what to buy next to play with.

You still planning to sell the BMW?

No worries Cliff, I won't have the GL1200 until Saturday afternoon, but just give me a ring when you're coming over. Yep, definitely selling the BMW as the 'Wing will be a comfier tourer. It might go on Ebay this weekend. Cheers, Terry.

oldbob · « **Reply #12473 on:** November 01, 2012, 12:57:04 PM »

To quote Colin Clive, "Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!" (Frankenstein, 1931)

I fired up my CB400F for the first time since pulling its head and a bunch of other work. Yes, the carbs need to be synched and two of them are dribbling gas, but IT'S ALIVE!

And it started immediately w/o smoke or odd noises.

Bob

OldSchool_IsCool · « **Reply #12474 on:** November 01, 2012, 06:41:07 PM »

Good feeling, ain't it Bob!?!

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Author Topic: What did you do to your bike today ? (Read 3216461 times)

maduncle

maduncle

oldbob