camos

Probably should have titled this post as Spring Redacted. Woke up this morning to this:

The meat grinders I have seen would not do anything with ABS. Although I've never seen one, I have heard of burr coffee grinders and think something like that would probably work. I cut leftover ABS pipe or fittings into half inch chunks that will dissolve quick enough in the MEKS solution. When I cut the pipe in a vise using a handsaw it is done with a cloth spread to catch the cuttings. Otherwise I use the ancient tried and true manual grinding with a wood rasp to create finer pieces. These are used to quickly thicken a too runny mix. This dissolving process is not in any way fast so when I use quickly, it is loosely meant. It takes a couple of days to dissolve the bigger ABS chunks but only a couple of hours to dissolve the small cuttings. Getting the right consistency is mostly a matter of timing. When the mix in the jar is thick enough to be scooped out in a blob without running off the cutoff table knife being used as a spatula, I let it dry for a few seconds until it loses its stickiness then roll it into a 1/2" ball with my fingers. The rolling essentially kneads it and gets the air out. Before prepping the ABS mix, squirt some MEKS on the area to be repaired. This will soften the mating surfaces a bit then give it another squirt before pressing in the blob. MEKS is very volatile so the outside of the blob will be a bit dry but the inside is still quite wet. The extra squirt reactivates the outside surface of the blob so it sticks better. Hairline cracks or tight fitting cracks can be successfully glued together by squirting a little MEKS into the crack and holding closing pressure on it for a few minutes until it sets. None of this is very difficult, it is mostly just a matter of doing it and getting a feel for the timing. Setting is relatively fast depending on how much is being used. Curing can take a day or so to get a usable strength but full strength could take a week or a month depending on how thick the repair material is. A last thought, when I refer to squirting, I have a small solvent applicator bottle with a 10 gauge needle that works great.

I have done two similar repairs using my favourite mix of ABS and Methyl Ethyl Ketone Solvent. One was the right front corner of the trunk around the hinge and the other was the inside corner of the right front fairing where it transitions into the removable side panel. Both had a spiderweb of cracks that went all the way through. After taping the visible surface with cello tape I pushed a fairly soft mix of ABS and MEKS from the inside out to fill the cracks. Once it all set up, I left it for a couple of days, removed the tape and was left with a solid repair that did have fine black lines where the cracks were. These are noticeable from close up but not from a short distance. Both these repairs have lasted for over two years. I can't say how much it cost because it was so small, probably less than a couple of dollars. No repainting required unless you are after a show bike.

I tried it before I came up with the MEKS method. Way too expensive and not that adaptable to different requirements. Probably some confusion here. Most people who say fiberglass mean the combination of glass fiber and polyester resin. I don't think polyester resin chemically bonds very well, if at all, with ABS plastic. The way it sticks is by physically gripping the tiny indentations in the surface, mostly provided by sanding. Applying fiberglass to wood works fairly well because the resin will soak into the wood fibers before setting up. On ABS or metal surfaces that does not work so well. The other thing to be aware of is that polyester resin has a different bending coefficient from ABS which can lead to separation of the two surfaces, particularly when exposed to direct heating and cooling such as HOT Arizona sun. Unless I'm off base here, Saddlebum and Flyinfool both refer to using glass fibers embedded in ABS. In any case, that is what I would use when trying to achieve a strengthening repair. Fiberglass cloth has a fairly close weave which makes it more difficult to soak up liquid with fillers while the fiberglass tape used on wallboard has an open weave and comes in a much more convenient form for these types of repairs. As Saddlebum said the tape is like laying down rebar and is also similar to embedding copper wire in the ABS to strengthen a repair. When doing any repair but particularly when using fiberglass, it is far better to do it from the back unseen side. It's a real chore to feather the line between ABS and Fiberglass because they have a different hardness.

The drywall tape you refer to is made from glass fiber and is a very good choice because the open weave makes it easier to embed it in whatever repair compound is being used. The firmness of the tape way easier to work with than glass fiber cloth. Also being easy to find in convenient amounts is a big plus.

When I do a repair, a few days before I put some fresh MEK Solvent in my mix jar so it has time to dissolve the left-over plastic and add a little more ABS so there is enough to do the repair. It is easiest to get the mix a bit on the runny side and then add more ABS until it gets to a reasonable thickness. The process is just guesswork as to how much of each will be required. The consistency should be something like the natural peanut butter rather than Kraft or Jiffy... so a little runnier. Scoop a little out, about a half inch around. Put the lid on your jar and let what has been removed dry for a minute or two. When it stops being really sticky it is ready to roll around in your fingers. Kneed it a bit to get any air out. Work from the back side of the crack so the mess is not on the visible part. Put a squirt of MEKS on the area to be repaired then press the putty into the crack. Give the area another little squirt to help activate the putty. Two years ago I had to repair the front corner of the trunk bottom which had a spiderweb of cracks around the hinge. Nothing was missing but the cracks went all the way through. After removing the hinge and the metal brace I covered the outside painted surface with cello tape to contain the plastic repair then pushed the putty through until I could see it coming through to the tape. After scraping the inside to clean it up as much as possible I put the hinge and brace back to help keep the corner in the proper position and to make sure it wasn't deformed and the lid would close properly. These major repairs will set up in a few hours but will need several days to cure and will take a few months to get to full strength depending on temperature. The cracks can still be seen, from close up, but the repaired area is strong and would only need a light sanding to paint if I wanted to go that far. Just a point of information, MEKP most likely refers to Methyl Ethyl Keytone Peroxide which is the chemical that is used as a catalyst for the polyester resin used in common fiberglass products. It is not the same thing as MEK Solvent. MEK Solvent is fairly inexpensive, I bought a liter of it about 8 years ago for under $10 CAD and still have almost 1/3 of it left after doing a lot of repairs. The ABS cost me nothing because they were scraps from plumbing repairs. FF mentioned using a fiberglass cloth to strengthen specific areas. This should work very well when liquid ABS is worked into the strands in a similar way to laying up polyester resin. The mix would need to be liquid enough to be absorbed by the glass fibers, so not a putty.

Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide solvent is a better choice than Acetone because it does not dissolve the paint used on the Ventures. Cracks can be masked using a cello tape like Scotch Tape which prevents or at least reduces the need for much cleanup. I use a small glass jar with a metal lid that seals to hold the MEK and small bits of ABS water pipe while they dissolve. It can take a day or two to dissolve small chunks which is the biggest con to this method. Collecting the saw cuttings from cutting leftover pipe or fittings can be used to fairly quickly alter the thickness of the mix. It seems to be about as strong as the original ABS once you learn how to apply it without getting any air pockets.

You guys forgot the biggest event in the history of Yamaha. Seems Mommy Yamaha failed to design a 3rd Gen Venture so they chose to adopt a Harley in its place.

Everyone with a Bluetooth headset should have at least a Bluetooth transmitter to connect the bike's audio to their helmet. It would also be nice to have a receiver to input other devices. Tell us what you had in mind.

Kickstand bolt.

I can't talk about the stator you found but I installed a high output stator from Rick's Motorsports on my 90 and 89 VR's. I used the one on the 90 for 3 years before I got the 89 and have used the 89 for about 4 years. It is still giving me almost 14 volts at 950 RPM. Not a long time but still a good indication. The HO is supposed to be 20 percent more output than stock and is $158.

Yes, I saw that. It's nice to find useful things in your parts bucket. The point I was trying to make for you and anyone else who might mess with the throw of the clutch lever is that you must bleed the system thourghly or you may find there is very little leaway within the movement range available. It's one of those things that is pretty obvious to most but not necessarily to everyone.

Can't check it at the moment because I'm in Puerto Vallarta basking in 79 degree sunshine but as I recall, the clutch should start disengaging pretty close to the outside end of travel. That would be on a properly blead system with no air to compress before there is enough pressure to move the clutch. For a small handed person there should be room to reshape the lever before losing compression on the clutch. As mentioned, the levers are brittle so it might be best to source a pair with a deeper curve before attempting any modifications.

Here is a clip from the Seafoam info page: Looks like it should be safe to use to help keep oil passages clean. It's probably not that necessary if oil changes are done on a recommended basis.

Don't forget de-regulation as an impetus. Companies lose interest when something takes 10 years to get approved. Not to mention the actual cost to the economy of all that bureaucracy. Every election is about imposing your will on government so you must not get angry about the results. There is far too much anger on both sides and it needs to be defused. All you can do is try to properly and calmly inform those in your personal sphere... if they are willing to listen. There is a lot of really fake news out there which muddies the water far too much for ordinary folk to wrap their heads around. Good luck getting Congress to actually accomplish something useful since they have been so involved with partisan bickering for a couple of decades or more occasionally flipping their position and being against what they previously argued for. It's bewildering.

Good luck with that. Your other side doesn't know how to fight dirty. Not encouraging at all. Remember, Obama said 2% GDP is the new normal and you would need a magic wand to get manufacturing jobs back in the Rust Belt. The streets of San Francisco are running in poop, Chicago is a war zone, Orange County turned blue and saddest of all, 66 people dead with a thousand still missing mostly due to environmentalist resistance to sensible forest management. Do you think that is even close to being possible with a 50/50 split. Seems more like 1984 or perhaps another Venezuela. I'm looking at this from afar and it makes me feel so sad.

Yes it does but you have one side that wants to make things better while the other side has no message except for "Impeachment! Impeachment! Impeachment!" It's hard to believe almost half the country can't make up their mind on what direction is in their best interest. Not aspersions here. We are just as screwed up as our American cousins. It's a head shaker.

And did you notice all three proportional choices left out the detail on how the various constituencies would be laid out? That's like being asked to vote for a pig in a poke.

This Guzzi has everything I would like in a small bike except that I detest the look of most adventure bikes, most of which seem to have an asymmetric layout and those really ugly aluminum boxes and up-swept exhausts. I would prefer a road bike that looks as good as the VR MkII and is a bit lighter. I kinda doubt I'll find anything approaching a downsized version of the MkII. When I get too old to handle the weight perhaps just removing all the heavy old electronic components will be enough to get me by. Of course, I could also do some weight training so I can lift the damn thing.

This new bike being released next year looks like it will be a very capable choice for those looking to downsize. It's 850 cc with 80 HP, traction control, cruise control and more weighing in at around 500 lb. The only down side for some is the 32" seat height. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/autosmotorcycles/moto-guzzi-v85-tt-details-announced/ar-BBPn5vh?li=AAggFp0 https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/2019-moto-guzzi-v85-tt-first-look-review

I'm not familiar with that tire since I have always run E3's on my VR MkII. I like to keep the E3's at 40 lb on each and do not get any squirmy feeling. Occasionally the pressure gets down to 36 lbs, mostly due to weather changes although sometimes due to a lack of attention on my part and I do notice the occasional squirmyness and or tracking on tar snakes. I suggest you try running your tires at 40 lbs or at the Max rated pressure on the tire and see if it makes a difference.

That's interesting info. Looks like I have been overfilling it when setting the level just below the fillier lip. I'll give those things a try before deciding to take out the reservoir. Thanks again Kevin. You are a fountain of detailed information.

Thanks for all the pix Kevin. Looks like I should remove the reservoir and see if a proper cleaning will free up the float. Do you, or anyone, think the level line for the non existent sight glass is actually the preferred fluid height? I have always filled the reservoir to just below the lower edge of the fill hole which is significantly higher than the level line.

The only pic I've seen of a broken reservoir showed the break to be at the filler plug. Putting a wrench on the boss would not prevent that, perhaps a vise-grip would be better. The pic you put up must be for a MkI since the MkII does not come with a fluid level glass. In the diagram it doesn't look like the bellows would be likely to cause the level warning issue. Any thoughts on that?

I guess that means the reservoir needs to be emptied in order to see the bellows. According to another thread, the bellows might be able to be lifted up to relieve the pressure on the reed switch. I say might because some tried it, gave up and jumpered the connection to the CMU. Just had an additional thought: Would the bellows be at the top of the reservoir in the same way it is on the handlebar? @ Banks412 The MC can be found at the other end of the hose coming out of the bottom of the reservoir.