revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Found out oil and filters changed in July/August and rear wheel hub greased when pads and discs changed 1000 miles ago. I just need to do spark plugs then.

New levers and bulbs. Just works for me. Needs a new clutch cable as this one is fraying and so is rough and catching. Had a quick ride this afternoon to drop off a back back someone left in the car after our uni residential. Bike was fine on motorway at 70, plenty of punch and acceleration in hand in sixth gear. Nimble and light on the back roads through Foots Cray area. Happy me!

I am actually enjoying the fact that it is not perfect as then I have few worries about it being dirty or scratched. It needs TLC, but it will never be "perfect". Front mudguard has a crack, so will do plastic welding or similar to fix that, then spray it. Halfords do lots of black paints!

And I've not had any fuses popping at all. All been fine and the bike is behaving itself. Coolant level is fine after a topup and all seems to be rather well at the moment. Just spark plugs to do when tank has less fuel in it so easy to remove.

the_priest wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 7:02 pm I am actually enjoying the fact that it is not perfect

I know exactly what you mean. It's why I'm happy to ride the K-RS in the rain and winter salt. It's never going to be worth any less than it is now. Cheap (shitters) are so liberating

I think I need to rephrase/add that...

There's a difference between a cheap shitter and a decent bike at the bottom of it's depreciation curve.

the_priest wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 7:02 pm I am actually enjoying the fact that it is not perfect as then I have few worries about it being dirty or scratched. It needs TLC, but it will never be "perfect". Front mudguard has a crack, so will do plastic welding or similar to fix that, then spray it. Halfords do lots of black paints!

And I've not had any fuses popping at all. All been fine and the bike is behaving itself. Coolant level is fine after a topup and all seems to be rather well at the moment. Just spark plugs to do when tank has less fuel in it so easy to remove.

Absolutely! There's a great feeling to be had when you straighten up a bike and turn it round to something useable. When you invest a part of yourself into a bike, you, well, bond with it. As much as I have enjoyed the convenience of buying a perfect bike, it's an almost soulless experience compared to the former.

Taipan wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 10:07 pm Absolutely! There's a great feeling to be had when you straighten up a bike and turn it round to something useable. When you invest a part of yourself into a bike, you, well, bond with it. As much as I have enjoyed the convenience of buying a perfect bike, it's an almost soulless experience compared to the former.

I do totally get that. But the only bike I bought from new was flipping awesome in that I just had to ride it (and the 10r TBF!). No need to worry about what the previous owner had done/not done!!

I agree that its a good feeling to do up something older, but I didn't find it souless to have something perfect!! LOL

Bought a few bits. New front and rear seat pads, immaculate. Custom Long C Spanner and headstock socket special thing! Triumph Workshop Manual and gear lever rubber. Will probably buy the tyres off him as well as they are a great price and he has a couple of other bits like a rear shock in excellent condition.

the_priest wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 7:02 pm
Coolant level is fine after a topup

All my triples would leak water out of the overflow when they got hot if the water level was higher that the Minimum mark. I stopped topping them up after a while.

Druid wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 7:38 pm

the_priest wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 7:02 pm
Coolant level is fine after a topup

All my triples would leak water out of the overflow when they got hot if the water level was higher that the Minimum mark. I stopped topping them up after a while.

Yes, I was given that headsup by Jason at TriMoto. I am going to wait for oil/filter to arrive, pop it onto the Abba Stand and give it a fresh service. However, I will be taking it for a nice ride tomorrow, at least 60 miles and some on fine Kent roads to West Malling.

Exhaust headers.



Meet Taipan's Harpic treatment! Et Voila!!



I will give them another going over with a scouring pad next time and perhaps some steel wool.

One small change... Also started swapping out old manky engine bolts for stainless ones. Cases need a good clean and paint too, but that will happen when there is no oil in the bike.

Started work on the clocks. I have swapped out the horrid broken case for a nice shiny new one. Also swapped old speedo, tacho and temp gauge bulbs for nice clear LED ones. However, the 12V 1.7W T6.5 bulbs are more difficult to find! Managed to get a set of 10 for £5, but they will take a little while to get here.

Bike is now on the Abba Stand, bits are being taken off and cleaned. I've got the spark plugs and will change those at some point soon.

3C in the garage, so I'm being Michelin man and wrapping up warm to do the work. I bring bits into the house to clean them up! I have some G10 finishing compound to clean some of the body panels up.

I might even take the rear shock out and clean it up too! But then again, maybe not! Brrrrr.

All the stuff stripped off. Bar risers need new M10 allan key bolts. Waiting for new bulbs and want to get risers and instrument panel back on before doing spark plugs. Also took off front mudguard it need more work as it has a crack and I need to plastic weld it or glue a supporting plate to the back of the crack.

List of things to be done. Be January by the time I get to do this!

Short term:
Brake Fluids front and rear - Front Done
Brake and clutch levers - Done
Fuses check, change 10A for 30A fuse - Done
Replace Instrument Cluster back box - Done
New engine bolts, stainless steel - Started
Speedo Cable - Ordered
Clutch Cable – Waiting to change
LED Bulbs for Headlights - Done
LED Bulbs for Instrument Gauges – Waiting for 286 bulbs
Oil and Filter Change – Waiting to change in 2021 after some more miles
Fit Bar Risers – Waiting for Delivery of longer M10 Allan key bolts
Replace Indicators – Waiting for Delivery
Replace Brake reservoir – Waiting for Delivery
Fit Fork Guards – Waiting for Delivery
Fit Spark Plugs - Waiting to be changed

Fork Protectors now fitted


LED bulbs are all working and little bulb fitted.

Don't know if yours has the low fuel LED like the Daytona but if so, you might want to get the brightest LED you can - Mine was very dim and way too easy to miss.

To be honest, I use the trip meter for my fuelling, always have on all bikes I've ridden. Pure habit. I tend not to trust the fuel lights, range calculators etc.... I will have a look at some point, I do have brighter bulbs to fit to that side of things if I need to. All the other lights have been bright enough so that may not be an issue.

Just used TuneEcu to clear all errors from the system, reset the TPS, checked fuel pump, fan, purge valve and idle thingy. All working great. Also runs a bit better now that I've reset everything to stock. I will have to fit new speedo cable and clutch cable next. It is getting there, such a pleasure to work on a bike where things are fairly accessible. However there is the fair share of corroded connectors, bolts and nuts. It won't be totally easy to get to everything, but I have PlusGas, ACF50 and patience!

Speedo cable now fitted. The screw holding it in stripped, but it was easy enough to break the plastic surround (replacing it anyhow) and then extract the horrid thing. Rusted to bits. New SS alan key bolt holds the new speedo bit in place. Needs a good clean though!

You could at least use black cable ties to hold the guard on the oil cooler, and trim the ends off!