My 950 Refresh or Mission Creep...

[sakurama]

Originally Posted by teti

do they use the same silicone for sealing joints?
[COLOR=red]

I've since updated this method to not include the SealAll - my experience was that it was too hard and brittle and spoke flexing made small voids which gave leaks. The GOOP however works fantastic and so I'd just say use that by itself and skip the SealAll but do at least 2 coats and three is better. Gino did his wheels on his 950 and they're holding fine and mine have been great too.

Don't expect it to be perfect right out of the box. Chances are you'll need to mount the tire and check for leaks and mark those spokes that leak. Remove and reseal those nipples and you should be done. Once it's air tight you don't need to worry about it again.

Gregor

[teti]

http://www.akapol.com.ar/

fastix alta temperatura sera buen resultado?
fastix high temperature good result?


saludos

[sakurama]

Originally Posted by teti

http://www.akapol.com.ar/

fastix alta temperatura sera buen resultado?
fastix high temperature good result?


saludos

Sorry, Teti, I can only comment on what I know and have used. Lots of people have experimented with lots of stuff so give it a whirl. The worst that could happen is you get a leak and have to scrape the stuff off and try something new but I'd look for something that's known to work.

Gregor

[cpmodem]

Have you had any trouble losing the seal after tightening the spokes?

Originally Posted by sakurama

I've since updated this method to not include the SealAll - my experience was that it was too hard and brittle and spoke flexing made small voids which gave leaks. The GOOP however works fantastic and so I'd just say use that by itself and skip the SealAll but do at least 2 coats and three is better. Gino did his wheels on his 950 and they're holding fine and mine have been great too.

Don't expect it to be perfect right out of the box. Chances are you'll need to mount the tire and check for leaks and mark those spokes that leak. Remove and reseal those nipples and you should be done. Once it's air tight you don't need to worry about it again.

Gregor

[teti]

Originally Posted by cpmodem

Have you had any trouble losing the seal after tightening the spokes?

Do CP good question I need do it?

[sakurama]

Originally Posted by cpmodem

Have you had any trouble losing the seal after tightening the spokes?

You know a lot has been made of this and in all honesty I've never tightened a spoke ever since Woody has been building my wheels. His triple lace is bomb proof. That said, if you did need to you'd most likely need to reseal. I used to seal the wheels with "cap" over the nipple to allow adjusting and then I quit doing it since I never adjusted them.

I'd also say that for pure dirt wheels I don't recommend it. My 18/21 set runs tubes as the rims are too narrow and lack the appropriate bead to hold a tubeless tire. Flanny runs the tubeliss system and likes that so maybe he can weigh in.

Gregor

PS - love your location CP. Had to look it up.

[SS in Vzla.]

Originally Posted by teti

By this time I'd done the whole wheel so I'm going to hope for the best and add the GOOP tomorrow and then let it sit for a day or so and by then my new Conti Attack will be here and I'll see if it worked. I'm looking forward to getting a 170/60-17 on that new rim.

Teti no problem with the way you are sealing the rim.
I did the same method ( Seal All + Goop) about two months ago on my bike and had the same doubts about the bubbles. But it turned out to be OK and the rim was sealed properly on the first try.

[Flanny]

Originally Posted by sakurama

Flanny runs the tubeliss system and likes that so maybe he can weigh in.

Yeah - for dirt I would not use this method. At low pressure, the bead can burp, and there is not enough of a rim bead to hold the tire on. Tubliss has been working super well on my 18/21 excell dirt wheels so far. On our last ride together, I flatted the front just as I was about to pass Gregor's slow ass at our last ride, and even at some speed, the tire stayed planted, and I was able to ride it out no problem...

For my 19/17 street wheels, I use the silicone method, but will do the goop next time.

Flanny

[Deadly99]

So that was what was going on Flanny....I was stuck behind you and trying to pass because you were riding so damn slow. Then I realized you were being held up by Gregor, I was going so fast you probably didn't notice me flying by Gregor on the other side as you were passing him...the classic double pass. Ah well, we all ride differently and not everyone enjoys speed

[sakurama]

So I've been spending a lot of time tooling my workshop space and so oddly enough I haven't worked on bikes all winter as I've been preparing to work on bikes all winter. It's sorta messed up really. We like to joke at the shop that we're so into motorcycles that we don't even ride them anymore. There's some sad truth to that as building takes away from riding when you have limited time.

Anyway.

Some crazy Italian came by the shop today and helped motivate me to pull the engine instead of assembling the cold saw. Gino and I set to work, iPad on the lift (shop manual) and this time I bagged the assemblies and marked them.

Airbox off:



Electrics, exhaust and oil lines off:





Tommy came by to borrow an XR100 to teach his girlfriend to ride and we roped him into helping us pull the engine:



Success! Even clowns can work on these bikes!



There was a lot of metal shavings in the oil that looked like aluminum - hard to say yet what was the final demise of the lump but I'm not sheading a tear. I've gotten a lot of good hard miles from it and it's time for a fresh engine.



One of the really depressing things about doing such a big tear down is finding out how filthy the bike is - there's dirt everywhere; the frame, the wires, the clamps, inside the connectors and then, on top of that, there's rusted fasteners. Ugh. I hate rust. It's going to take a solid day of hard scrubbing to get the bike clean again. I'm going to try to do that Tuesday between jobs.

One thing I wanted to see was the intake ports and this encouraged me greatly. Seriously, I'm so excited about what I found.

Stock 2004 950 intake port:


Stock 2009 990 SMR port:


That is a massive difference in port size and shape. I'm starting to believe that there's going to be a decent hp difference between the two bikes. Flanny? Do you see that? Just checking!

The other thing I decided was that I really want this bike to be "new" to me when I'm done. It's going to be the bike that I'm taking to Portland to explore and since I can't buy a new bike I want to make this one new. I don't have a lot of time to do it but I'm going to try.

So, James Renazco hooked me up with these super cool Leo Vince shorty carbon exhausts last year and I was going to use them on my Hypermotard which was stolen. Since I can't get that bike back I've decided to let my 950... er, my 990, become what I was hoping my Hyper would. Namely, a very stripped down and purposefully butch and nasty bike. Since the pipes are short I'm going to shorten the tail of my bike.

Here's the new cannisters:



I'm trying to decide if I angle them steeply up like this or tuck them in like stock but much shorter so they barely poke out. I've stripped off the tail light and signals - you won't see them again. In fact, that little fender is almost all I want back there. I've also decided that I really hate all panniers for this bike. The racks ruin the lines and the bike looks like a fat bag lady when they're on.

I have two ideas that I'd like to do but I don't have the time right now but one is a monocoque subframe gas tank and the other is to design and make my own panniers and finally do it right. I can promise I will make the best looking panniers ever for a 990.

Oh, and paint. My graphics are peeling off, the body panels are all scratched and worn and you can't make the bike new without some fancy new custom paint. If this bike is coming to Portland with me it needs to be painted before it goes while I still have the paint booth. Suggestions? I'm thinking about silver and orange. Was thinking white but I want more bling. More zazz. Yeah, zazz.

Alright, that's it for tonight.

Gregor

[viola-tor]

Don't let Geek see those pipes, he might go into cardiac arrest.

Go man, go! Fun fun.

[Master]

Man, this build is epic, can't wait to see the result!

[Flanny]

Originally Posted by sakurama

Flanny? Do you see that? Just checking!
Gregor

All I can see in this post is an ugly Italiano...

[Steverino]

Sweet, I should have bought a 990 motor from Pyndon too.

The motors are easy to get out! Good luck with the mods.

[sakurama]

Not much more to report but I'm trying to keep this alive as I need to get this bike back on the road and I have a whole lot going on in my life that is working against me finding the time. These are the times I'm so envious of people with garages who can spend an hour here or there. It takes me an hour to get to my shop sometimes (especially now that I have no bike). I may put the supermoto wheels on my Husaberg but I really don't want another bike stolen - that's getting really old now.

Anyway. I got a little time to work on the bike and right now that just means cleaning it. I removed the bodywork before I brought it in and took it to a carwash but as anyone here who's ridden their bikes off road knows the dirt gets everywhere. I take each assembly down the hall to the slop sink and scrub it down with degreaser and a paintbrush (one of the best bike cleaning tools out there). After degreaser it's soap and water and then I use Pledge to help bring back a shine in the powder coat.



I sat at the lift and wiped down the wiring harness and the frame too. Basically it's clean from the head tube back right now.



I am compiling a parts list of stuff to order from Munn too. I also ordered a new chain and sprockets from KTM Twins and then navigated to the page with the Keihin flatslides and selected 39mm and then sat there for a good 10 or 15 minutes debating if I should click "Add To My Cart".

And then I clicked it.



Well, there you go. They claim they're backordered until the end of the month and as long as that means this month it should work out. The carbs are sort of a way to kick my ass into making sure I do the pipes. The pipes are a way of kicking my ass into doing the paint. I'm making a lot of work for myself and I it will be hard to finish but I have to do it so I'm going all in.

G