Just sick, want to cry. Going to have a shot and a beer instead

[JohnT]

Last weekend I thought I had my clutch problem fixed. At least till the new slave cylinder gets here. And actually it is.

However.

Today I go out to the shed for the first time in nearly a week, since I messed with the master cylinder. After bleeding I didn't notice but there was fluid that had dripped and run onto the fairing / dash, down the seam and into the inside of the fairing. Care to see what brake fluid does to your plastic in a week?

[JohnT]

Not to mention running down onto and into the lower. Melted / weakened mounting tabs and made a puddle that weakened the plastic to the point it broke in half. I didn't even need a tool to remove it. It literally fell off in my hand once I unhooked the vent.

I removed the other side and the chin piece and used simple green and a hose to rinse the interior of the fairing clean. (After removing in minutes hours worth of stereo installation.)

If I didn't have dinner with my Mom in an hour I would sit here with a bit of whiskey and a few beers and just feel like poo in general.

But life is kinda short for that. A fact in great clarity in light of my 55th being Sunday. So it will be off to dinner with Mom and in the morning I go to work with a container of G-Flex, some fiberglass cloth,perhaps pop rivets and a bit of metal to reinforce from the inside, and the new attitude of a new day. Have to try to fab mounting tabs and hopefully be able to get into the corner of the fairing without removing it.

After a few shots and beers this evening.

Edited June 27, 2013 by JohnT
add picture after resize

[Flyinfool]

Sorry to see that.

The effects of brake fluid on plastic is well documented.

Washing it off once the damage has started will not stop the damage, the bad spot will still continue to grow because the brake fluid soaks into the plastic and just keeps eating away.

Sorry to say I do not know of a way to neutralize it and make it stop.

 

When I work on the masters I use a plastic sheet and a bunch of towels to be sure that I get no brake fluid on any plastic. As soon as the masters are sealed back up and I carefully remove the towels and plastic sheet, I then flood the area with water just in case a drop got by.

[gibvel]

Yup, that's very nasty stuff when applied to ABS. Don't ask how I know!!

[JohnT]

So, that area of the fairing is basically a write off?

[abusive throttle cranker]

If I recall.........baking soda? Scrubbed in with a toothbrush? Can't hurt to try it...

[JohnT]

If there is any good news to this it appears that the damage done is going to be the extent of it. And if so I can repair it. Or at least most of it.

In my haste to get things apart and wash it I disconnected a vacuum line and I can't find where the one end is supposed to hook up. If you look in from the brake side of the bike between the V there are 2 "vacum" lines coming up from the crank case, One goes forward to the thermostat(?). THe second is in further and appears to be a "PCV" hose that goes back tween the rear cylinders. Off this large hose here is a smaller line going to the shifter side and the other end of this line is unhooked and I just don't see an obvious place that it connects to.

Taking a deep breath and hoping that nothing major has to come off t finds where this goes.

I need a real repair manual. Any suggestions? Clymer? Yamaha?

[Trader]

I need a real repair manual. Any suggestions? Clymer? Yamaha?

 

You can download one from this site!

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3384

 

and several others also

[Big Lou]

brake fliud also eats rubber

 

I worked for this guy at a junk yard and if a seal was leaking on a car he would pour in some brake fluid to stop the leak ,, steam clean the car and run it through the auction ..

 

so all wires and rubber parts NEED TO BE CHECKED TOO

 

man what a b#+%&

[Marcarl]

Yep, found that out last winter as well,,, darn stuff just falls apart,,,mine wasn't as bad as yours, but I feel your pain.

For the hose, take a look at the front left corner of the bottom of the air box, maybe you'll find what you're looking for, probably have to feel up there to find it.

[JohnT]

The deterioration seems to have stopped. At least there is no change in the last 24 hours. It was actually a small amount of fluid. Just amazing the damage it did do. I have reconciled myself to the damage, no more "crying over spilled milk". I am going to wait till I get back from my work run on Wednesday to even consider starting the repair. Want to make sure it has actually finished.

I still can't find where that vacuum hose goes. It's not the one to the air box, that one is intact. I'll get a buddy to take a peek, sometimes all it takes is a fresh set of eyes.

[Huggy]

I was visiting the boy at CFB Trenton Ont last week why couldn't you have done this then? I could have brought over a 24 of GOOD Canadian beer or some Crown Royal and we could have sat there and watched it as team effort to see if it got any worse!

 

[Big Lou]

there is a little box next to the TCI box gets vacuum

[CaptainJoe]

It's one burbon, one scotch and one beer!

 

 

Get it right or you'll be reliving this...

 

See George Thorogood.... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISmgOrhELXs]one bourbon one scotch one beer - YouTube[/ame]

 

ENJOY!

 

HARRISBURG , PA! YEAH!

Edited June 29, 2013 by CaptainJoe

[JohnT]

I was visiting the boy at CFB Trenton Ont last week why couldn't you have done this then? I could have brought over a 24 of GOOD Canadian beer or some Crown Royal and we could have sat there and watched it as team effort to see if it got any worse!

 

Bud, I like the way you think! Does Labbatt still make / sell Labbatt Wildcat? I seem to remember an evening at Murphy's Point Provincial Park that that particular brand of suds made for an interesting out of lawn chair experience,,,

[JohnT]

As Flyinfool mentioned the fluid does indeed soak in and continue to destroy for awhile. I got another hole in the fairing where the left end of the bag hanger was through the fairing. So I carved out around it with a knife and then a dremel. I have not final finished th repair (paint prep) and will hold off till I am sure the damage has stopped spreading.

Big Lou mentioned wiring. Which may explain why my driving lights are suddenly suspect. I pulled the fuse till I can check / rep;ace / reroute the wiring for them.

On the positive side of things. I sanded the interior of the fairing, then painted it with a coating of G-Flex. I saturated a piece of fiberglass cloth (that I had cut to fit the interior contour) with G-Flex and put it in place on the inside of the fairing. The next day I appied another layer of G-Flex to the outside. And then just a bit more to get it to sanding height. G-Flex is odd in that the thicker you apply it the better it cures. The following day I sanded the repair, drilled the holes for the bag hanger and the snap for the bag and put everything together.

So far so good. No new ABS rot and a solid repair. I still have to rebuild the lower. It cracked in half where it runs along the frame tube. And build / rebuild a few mounting tabs. But for now it is ride-able and doesn't even look bad, with the bag in place.

I can't speak highly enough of G-Flex. Great stuff.

[Flyinfool]

It is just like treating cancer.

You remove the damaged material and then some more just to be sure.