SR400 Café

My SR for sale!

2012-01-28T00:39:00.000+11:00

Ah, bugger.

Life is-a-changin' and excruciatingly, I've got to let the SR go.

I'm hoping to get $10,000 for it.

Comes with amazing 500cc engine from Carl in it - with FCR39, cam, exhaust, Carillo rod etc. Ohlin springs and shocks. Lots of frame work etc.

It's been sitting under a cover in my backyard for the last couple of years, so it needs a bit of TLC. I'm going to be giving it a clean up in the next couple of months in the hope to get a little bit more for it. (Polishing the sidecovers, steering head bearings etc.)

If you're interested, drop me a line. I'm not doing the full on selling yet as crunch time doesn't arrive for a while. But I'm looking to change things so I'm going to uni full time and working part time, the opposite of what I'm doing at the moment.

Wish me luck!

Yamaha Garage Girl Story

2011-08-25T12:14:00.000+10:00

Alright, there's something a little unnerving about a few scenes in this but the message is nice. A homosexual looking father and his attractive daughter almost end up screwing after working on their brand new SR400 together after it fails to start. Nice sentiment, if the execution is a little... odd.

All boxed and ready to go.

2011-08-18T12:59:00.000+10:00

Jesus, that cat in the background looks like mine!

All for about $170AUD to ship the thing internally. The fun bit is getting it from Japan down to Melbourne, but I think I might have it sorted. We'll see.

Update from Japan

2011-08-08T04:26:00.000+10:00

A little closer now...

Nakajima Sakae - 14 Cylinder Air Cooled Goodness

2011-07-31T16:48:00.000+10:00

I think I prefer the sound of this to the Merlin...

Skip to the 1.00 minute mark for audio porn.

I've got an engine!

2011-07-31T01:42:00.004+10:00

1993 SR400 399cc of oil-leaking goodness.

Woooooo!

It'll be a while before it arrives but here it is...

It'll be a while before it lands - quite a while actually, as it's still in the frame in Japan, but I think I've nutted out a working shipping option. I'm told the engine itself is in need of a rebuild - but it still has compression and still runs.

The trick will be for it to keep running after I'm done with it.

I got me some books...

2011-07-30T01:07:00.000+10:00

And I can't read a word of Japanese. But they're fun anyway. Ordered from Amazon Japan.

A Microfiche! I've already tracked a coupel down, but It can't hurt to have a physical copy...

It's interesting to see how visual the Japanese guides are compared to our Haynes or Clymer...

Although I'm missing out on a wealth of information by not speaking Japanese I still think they're worth taking a look at. I can't have enough photos when I'm pulling stuff to bits. The first book in the pic would be the most useful - mostly about engine based things and performance hot ups. The second cover would be the least useful as it shows really basic things like adjusting brake cables and so forth.

Hacked off a mirror...

2011-07-26T23:56:00.001+10:00

I've left a fair few of my tools at my girlfriends house, which is also a building site. What hasn't been stolen* is now underneath a metric ton of furniture and insulation and I couldn't get to them. So picked up a hacksaw and chopped off my mirror today.

It was rusted on so tight I couldn't undo it without the nut starting to slip. So I chopped it off to get a socket on it. Came off with a bit of a struggle, but at least I didn't have to drill it out. Only problem is... I don't really have a good replacement. The hunt continues.

*My bass amp and cabinet, which was kept at her house too, has gone missing. Grrr.

In Sydney

2011-07-23T03:57:00.004+10:00

I was back to my old stomping grounds for a week while I was on leave from work. While doing the touristy thing in the CBD, I came across this guy...

Having a bit of a professional interest in ESO's it was great to see ambulance single responsers on bikes. I've often wondered why we use sedans and territorys down here in Victoria when they don't offer any real advantage over a standard ambulance unit.

I also went to Deus and caught up with a mate who now works as a mechanic there. Spending all day playing with bikes. What a shithead.

And the case splitter works too!

2011-07-02T14:31:00.001+10:00

The flywheel puller works a treat...

2011-07-02T14:18:00.004+10:00

Nice SR

2011-07-01T18:31:00.002+10:00

This was that at an SR meeting a few months back. Really, really, really, really, really clean. Lots of nice bits on it.

Bits and Peices

2011-06-30T09:25:00.008+10:00

Two weeks ago I ordered some bits and peices from German company Kedo, and today it arrived! I haven't ordered anything from them before and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. Although you have to create an account to log in the whole system is ruthlessly German - well organised, click here, click here, take this soap, walk into this room and you've got your order. Fantastich.

Pre-oxidised (Hmm) case seperator. (Kurbelgehäuse-Trennwekzeug)

Meine flywheel puller tool und brass protection thing. (Polradbzeihe)

There were two other little tidbits that made the order kind of neat. A colour catalogue about the same size as a Munich phone book:

And a bit of liquorice!

Well there you go. Big thumbs up for Kedo from me. I think I'll be using them again. It's a bit of a shame that Thumperstuff don't really do the email thing but hey, this worked pretty well. But anyway, Kedo are good.

A+++++++ will bid again etc.

Yoshimura Japan

2011-06-20T03:07:00.005+10:00

I'm doing some more research on SR engine mods, what to aim for with the rebuild, parts suppliers and all that kind of thing. As it turns out engine part supplier and designer of large green dinosaurs in Mario games, Yoshimura, are now selling a slip-on exhaust for the 03-08 and FI SR400. An interesting design...

Hmmm. Very "interesting". It looks like it retails for around $700, which, although it might shock a few people, is on par with other slip ons. Although I wouldn't like it on my bike I'd still be curious as to what is inside it.

Yoshi also sell other engine components on their website - cams, pistons, carbs, valve springs, cam chains and digital tach/temp gauge/shift indicator/stopwatch/clock/geiger counter. Interesting!

Website is here - Yoshimura Japan

Crank Hunting

2011-06-16T00:08:00.004+10:00

Good news - I might be onto a SR400 engine. I'll have to see if it actually all works out but it's a bit of a double edged sword. On one hard it'll have a better designed head for oil flow, but I will have to change the crank for a 500. And here comes my friend Matt with a spare rooted bottom end he has. He needs the layshaft from it and I need a crank...

There's no vertical movement in the crank, which I'm told is a good thing? Doesn't look real flash though.

And it begins...

So we'll see how things go. It's great fun doing this inside my room. I've got the radio, the internet within arms reach which is important for my level of ability. (None). God. I'm such a product of the 21st century.

Er...

2011-06-14T13:48:00.002+10:00

... That's dedication.

Taken from the ever-amazing http://yamahasrxtphotooftheday.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday To Me!

2011-06-13T12:18:00.007+10:00

I got an SR for my birthday!

A mini champs die cast model. Not a bad little replica. Looks like it's got an XT engine instead of the SR, but it's got lots of great details about it - fuel lines, brake lines, carbs etc. I've never been a die-hard die-cast fan but to have one of the humble SR is quite neat.

New Project!

2011-06-09T10:08:00.006+10:00

I don't have the money or the space for another bike project, but I'm still getting the hankering to start breaking things and paying other people to fix my mistakes. Rather than continue working on bikes in the yard the plan is to start smaller, with just an engine, and work away on that in my bedroom.

I picked up an engine stand from Hanks Engineering for $43.00 delivered. (If you've got a MIG and bits of scrap metal around Stew Ross has kindly provided the plans to build one yourself here.) So this is where I'll be working...

Notice something missing?

I'm hunting around for all the peripherals at the moment (I've always borrowed other people's manuals) but the real test is proving to be the engine itself. It seems the days of $500 engines are gone, with Vic Wreckers and Scotts Motorcycles wanting around $1100 for a complete 400 engine. I've got an ad up on the forum, on the SR500 clubs website the and have also tried Find A Part, all with no luck.

I'd be able to get a reasonably-priced 400 engine from Japan quite easily, but I want to keep trying to find a 500 first - just because the smaller niggly thing like cam chain tensioner set up are the same that most English-speaking engine builders have dealt with. I know there's not a huge difference between the 400 and 500, but I'd like to get answers to my stupid questions in English rather than worry about googletranslate. Very much be thanking you.

So the hunt continues, I'll start doing some research into getting a donk from America or the Fatherland. If anybody knows of an engine being sold for around $500.00, drop me a line!

SR500 - How to Change the Oil

2011-02-21T08:15:00.002+11:00

Working for the (top triple) Clamp Down

2010-12-02T18:32:00.007+11:00

I really struggled for a pun there.

Anyway, top triple clamp stuff is going well. A few days ago I purchased some VHT grey primer and some gloss enamel engine paint to have a shot. Figuring that if it went badly then I'll just strip it back again.

After two light coats of primer.

I masked off the inside of the forks and stuck two scews in so i'd be able to move it around the yard when painting it, and hopefully it'd block the threads too. Same goes for the ignition mount.

It actually looks pretty good for a first attempt. As per the instructions the can I'm going to wait seven days and give it a final coat. I'm not too sure if I should clear coat it or something like that. Some people are telling me I should be sanding between coats and stick it in the oven or something like that but it seems to be going okay so far*.

As an aside I've ordered some handlebar mounts for the clamp as well as I've managed to lose my immaculate ones that are... well, I don't know where they are. They're in pretty ratty condition so i've started sanding them back with some degreaser on 800 grit wet and dry and they're going well. I gave them a rub with some 1200 grit to finish with some autosol and they've got a bit of a sheen to them.

Turns out they're coated in some kind of lacquer...

One I refinished on top, the lower one I haven't had a shot at yet.

And the good one from above.

Looks okay! I wonder if I should clear coat these? I'm going to paint some more of the fittings, but other than that, progress seems to be going pretty well.

*That usually means I'll stuff it, when I don't listen to other people.

Top Triple Clamp

2010-11-22T22:24:00.004+11:00

Long story short - I'm probably going to be changing my bike back to a more upright position. So, first up, a triple clamp to mount standard bars to! I'm going to strip it and paint the thing gloss black so it matches the bottom clamp.

After a bit of a scrub with some 800 grit sandpaper and a bit of degreaser it started looking a lot more like something ready for paint:

The underneath of the clamp is an absolute bastard to sand. There's lots of gummed up little nooks and crannys and I know prepping this end for paint isn't the biggest priority, but hey, if a job's worth doing...

I spent plenty of time stuffing about with tiny bits of sandpaper and trying to find a dremel bit somewhere between 'polish' and 'cut triple clamp like butter'. Then I remembered! The Dishwasher!

I've also got to decide whether or not I want to keep the ring for the ignition unit and stick a clock in there or something or just grind it off. Hmmm.

Three ways to pass a gas pump...

2010-10-15T15:49:00.002+11:00

Valve Clearences

2010-09-30T00:32:00.006+10:00

Besides vainly watching the top of my head on the teev last night I did actually do something constructive yesterday. The valves have been sounding a little loud lately so I figured I'd check check them.

Everything off and ready for action:

With the flywheel cover off to find TDC I had a chance at how my rust prevention technique of some gear oil after a light sanding worked. Seemingly well:

There was some oil that'd gathered at the bottom of the cover.

With the feeler gauges in. 0.4 inch intake clearance and 0.7 outlet clearance with the new cam.

One more thing I've somehow misplaced, the retaining bolt for the fuel tank. There's also a bit of surface rust in there too. Any ideas on how to patch this up?

I didn't start it out after I'd done it, but I'm curious if it's stopped the valve noises. The inlet clearence was a tiiiiiiny bit lose and the exhaust needed a bit of a tighten. I've got a little bit of a routine downpat for doing valves and the whole thing takes around 20 minutes allowing for my usual faffing about, losing feeler gauges and misplacing spanners.

Shooting Rockets and Neigbours.

2010-09-29T23:21:00.006+10:00

I'm going for a new job at the moment that has around 4 stages to go through before you get an offer. I've done the typical group interview, a typing test, had to look things up in a street directory and listen to some fascinating, yet slightly upsetting phone calls.

Anyway, yesterday I went to an Audiologist for some testing. I've got more than a bit of a passing interest in what they do as my sister is profoundly deaf and at one stage of my pathetic career I used to sell PPE. We had a talk about high risk activities that can put your hearing in danger and each time I told him about something he'd ask some very pertinent questions about it.

Q: Are you involved in any shooting or hunting activities?
A: Yep.
Q: What bore?
A: Large - military service rifle.

Anyway, we had a talk about firearms and exposure to firearms discharges and pressure waves and things like that. As it turns out, don't stand behind a Carl-Gustav anti-tank rocket launcher because when it goes off at around 180db it'll suck out your earplugs.

Anyway, going down the list of potential-for-deafness warnings was motorcycling, whereby he asked if I rode with a full face or open face helmet, and if I wore ear protection. He recommended ear plugs for all riding. As many of you guys would have noticed already during long rides a loud exhaust not only sends you deaf but really affect your levels of concentration. He told me about some studies that showed how prolonged exposure to industrial noise, comparable to those when riding, will shorten your attention span and interestingly, your temper.

You learn something new every day. Always ride with ear plugs, never stand near a bloke firing an Carl-Gustav and never expect anything interesting from one of my posts.

Oh, and last night, lookee who was on neighbours!

Nice... er... head eh?

More interestingly:

Well, I was pretty chuffed. Two Harleys being used to frame a Yamaha.

Oops.

2010-09-27T15:17:00.004+10:00

During the usual ebay search I came across this interesting SR. It's certainly different but there's something else that caught my eye. You win something very small and very boring if you can guess...

Yep, the tuning fork logo is upside down. That'd really shit you up the wall if you'd done that.

Sprocket Cover

2010-09-07T01:34:00.005+10:00

Hello Again!

Just another quick collection of images... most of these have been pulled from the fantastic http://yamahasrxtphotooftheday.blogspot.com/

Some interesting ideas. More to come as I find them.

SR400 vs. SR500 Fuel Tanks

2010-09-06T01:15:00.004+10:00

Things have been pretty quiet on the SR front lately, so I've gone digging through my photo collection and found this nice comparison between the 400 and 500 fuel tank. Besides the obvious fuel cap change the 400 (On the right) holds a litre more of fuel.

On the same bikes, this this shows the difference between wheel sizes:

Pissed 'n Broke

2010-09-01T23:48:00.004+10:00

God I've become lazy with the site lately!

I came across this the other night at the SR500 club meeting.

Now THAT'S what's technically called "Fucked".

Big time.

It was only noticed when the bike lost compression. But apparently the bike isn't in too bad nick apart from that. I'd have thought a bottom end flush out/fucked oil pump/rooted top end sort of thing might be called for, but there you go.

On another note the Pirelli Sport tyres that I've got on the SR are going well, now they're wearing in and I'm not falling off all the time.

Spotted...

2010-08-25T22:31:00.003+10:00

I came across this the other day while meandering around.

Sometimes the simplest can be the best.

Czech this out!

2010-08-19T01:29:00.003+10:00

I went for a brief ride with a couple of mates last week. One of which was Jim who was having a bit of trouble with his CZ.

Look at how easy MattB's bike kicks into life.

Bolting for It

2010-08-18T23:13:00.004+10:00

Well!

Apologies for those who saw the blog over the last couple of days. I fiddled with the HTML settings, fucked up and threw my hands up in the air. It's not as though I had any good news to post anyway...

After having a shithouse month where my girlfriend of three years finally realised I was a bit of a dickhead I managed to drop the SR a week later, and cracked a few ribs. Entirely my own stupid fault.

I'd got some new tyres put on it and simply laid on the gas, not even thinking, as I left the shop. The back end slid out and I came down relatively lightly and at a low speed. And in front of a bit of an audience!

Anyway, the bike's mostly okay. The left rearset was ground down a little. The left clipon was pushed around a little which pushed the gauges together and bent them out of shape a little.

And that's about it!

In other, more cheerful news I replaced some rusting screws on my Daytona throttle. I've got to keep on top of little things like this because more than blackened spokes, dull sidecovers or scratched fuel tanks nothing looks worse than a rusty fastener.

Before:

And After:

I'm also swapping a few over. There's a local store, Metro Bolts Richmond, who stock all sorts of funny sized bolts and don't have a minimum. I picked up a few stainless socket-headed bolts and I'll have to head back there to get some assorted boxes of bolts for the future.

I also ordered a mirror from Japan, which turned out to be the wrong one - silver and not chromed. In the meantime the existing bloody mirror won't come out. Out again tomorrow to have a shot at getting it off again...

SR400 Front Brakes

2010-08-03T00:22:00.000+10:00

I dug this up a little while ago while ago. It's got plenty of information regarding front brake upgrade options and interestingly, the history of the SR's front brakes.

http://srx6blk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/SR/SR-DiskBrake.htm

Turns out the current SR400 brake assembly and hub, in true Yamaha style is actually lifted from the XVS400.

Learn something new every day...

Looking into Mirrors - Part II

2010-07-27T00:23:00.008+10:00

After a fair bit of procrastinating I've taken the plunge and gone with Mark's recommendation - Daytona BSC mirrors. So hopefully I'll able to see something other than my elbows.

It looks like they sit fairly low on the bike and Mark said they have good visibility, aside from when the speeds pick up and they vibrate. Not all that different from my current mirrors.

Take a look at them mounted on his annoyingly good looking SR here.

Big Bottom

2010-07-26T00:29:00.007+10:00

When I first started looking at wider wheels and better tyre choices I wasn't a fan of it's looks. But after I looked at more and more and more I started to love what it did to the profile of the bike, the wide choice of tyre options it opens and the view from behind...

Lovely stuff. The guys on the SR500 forum have been answering some of my stupid questions and they seem to say that changing to 17"s was the best handling change they made to their bikes. I think they were coming from the bike 19" loops, but hey, most new sportsbikes run 17" rims, so there's gotta be something to it anyway.

http://www.sr500forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1674&start=20

And some more examples...

It's not all that often the Japanese will relace a wheel. Most of the time they seem to do straight swaps with XJR400's or something similar, changing swingarms as well as mags. That way they seem to be pushing 4.25-4.5 inch rims and that opens up Pilot Powers and all sorts of stuff.

When they do change rims the standard sizes appear to be 3" fronts and 4" rears. Any wider than around a 140 rear and you start to get clearance problems with the chain.

I found the one below on a blog somewhere. This one is actually running a 110 front. It looks like they've just laced the rear 18" wheel to the front. Makes sense actually, but you'd be losing out a little by not changing it to a 17" as well.

And here's a bit of a more traditional style cafe SR with the wider rims...

Hmm.

Anyway, half out of curiosity and half with the intention of changing my bike over to wider wheels i'm doing a bit of research about building some wheels. Thankfully I've got a mate who has built a fair few over the years while racing motocross who would be able to help me out.

Either I can spend a couple of hundred bucks up front and get a set of DID rims and stainless spokes from Japan and use my hubs...

Or alternately, and maybe more likely, I'll start searching around for some SR400 front and rear hubs that I'll tidy up, get powdercoated/painted and start looking for some cheapo stainless spokes and 36-hole rim. I'll have to do some more research on what spokes etc, but if I've just got a spare set of hubs sitting around I can do it in my own time.

More musings on tyres and wheels coming shortly.

#Neighbours, everybody needs good Neighbours#

2010-07-20T20:26:00.004+10:00

Tomorrow I'm one of ten going to Mont Albert to be in a scene from Neighbours. I saw an ad somewhere for males aged 25-35 and with naked bikes for a bit of paid extra work for a day and a half. So I'm off!

As I sit here, throwing poses at the mirror and practising laughing at Toadfish's hijinks I have to reflect upon my acting career thus far.

IMDB Entry for Marlon Slack (Draft)

1997-2002
ABC1 ANZAC Day Ceremony
Slightly chubby 13 year old cadet later becoming a scrawny 18 year old Leading cadet in the AIRTC. Marlon was seen struggling to carry the banner for the ever diminishing ranks of the RAAF Signals Group during the annual ANZAC day march.

-Hiatus-

2008
Channel 9 News, Channel 10 Nightly News, SBS World News Tonight, ABC News, SKY News
Featured in the background of an evening news report on the steps of the Magistrate's court as some bloke pushed cameramen around. Marlon was eating a Snickers bar at the time.*

2009
The Einstein Factor
Lost spectacularly in front of the whole nation on his special topics of "Military Small Arms of WW2". He was competing against an expert on "The Princess Bride" and "The Work of Bon Jovi".

In-House Corporate Video
A as-yet unreleased production in which Marlon featured as a satisfied customer. For this role Marlon drew upon years of study of Brechtian theatre and Stanislavski acting theory to hold a phone while smiling.

Hmph. Less than impressive! Ah well, it's a bit of fun and I might get my ugly nut on the tele.

Autographs by application.

*During my lunchbreak I'd walk around the block and walk in and watch committal hearings for shits and giggles.

Bar-Ends and Top Caps

2010-07-19T00:02:00.006+10:00

I've picked up some toys for the SR from Vanem:

Fork Top Caps

Bar End Weights

And inside the packet:

A little allen key - a nice touch. Even more surprisingly, it didn't round the screws when I installed them. I'm guessing the smaller rubber is for bars with a smaller ID. Buggered if I know how to install them correctly, but I just screwed them in and that seemed to work. I'm guessing the screws squish up the rubber which expands to hold the inside of the clipon. Seems to work...

I took the bike out for a 4-odd hour run up to Flowerdale/Yea/Broadford today and the weights have made a difference. Not a whole world of change but they've certainly taken the sting out of the vibration. I think the feel would be greatly improved with some thicker grips.

The top caps just pushed in. I've seen a fair few top caps that are were heavily rusted. Next chance I get I'm going to pull the caps and put a bit of oil/grease down there to prevent this happening in the years to come. I think it makes a huge, huge difference to the look. So much so it's got me rethinking the gauges again. Ha.

For something so easy to install, there's a hell of a lot of instruction.

Maybe there's something important in there?

As a sidenote, today I was seeing how long I can last on the bike before getting some real pain, and about three hours into it I felt a stab in my upper left shoulder. This has been happening for the last year or so I've owned the bike. Before then I was doing 10-12 hours without too much pain. So I'm going to have a play and maybe try something closer to the standard seating position. Having a Cafe racer is great... but it'd be even better if I could ride the thing!

My bike on the Dyno

2010-07-04T11:52:00.006+10:00

Someone organised a dyno day where for $20.00 you get a run and a A/F readout. It was run atDynobike in Morabbin.

After running sportsbike after sportsbike he opened the door of the sound proof booth and saw the SR. "Jesus, will it make it?" he laughed and said something about finding a helmet for when it goes bang.

But it didn't, and here's the vid!

Original link is here.

And the same run in high-def, if you're that way inclined.

Results? 34. something horsepower. And I'm pretty bloody happy with that. The guy there said a standard WR450 puts out the same. And that's a four valve, liquid cooled, DOHC short-stroke motorcrosser. Mine's an air-cooled SOHC 30 year old dirtbike.

(Now we won't say what happens to the WR450 when you start to let it breathe better. Let me have my moment in the sun.)

That seals it - I've forked up!

2010-07-01T22:34:00.005+10:00

Well, last weekend I changed the fork seals on the bike.

And I got to use a grinder.

Strange mix really. Usually the two things go hand in hand but as always one or two little challenges reared their head.

I did the work at my girlfriends house, which is a large building in Melbourne that's undergoing some renovations. I was lucky, nae, blessed with the use of a good work bench and a vice for the weekend and I shudder to think of going back to work without one.

Due to having to do the whole thing I was a bit under the pump having to get the bike in and out of the place by the end of the day and I'm not happy with the job I've done. So I'll do it again one weekend... oh well.

I put the SR up on the Harley Cruiser stand that I'd bought from Anderson, choked it up with some bricks as the weight was biased forward a bit and went about undoing the pinchbolts that held everything together at the front. All 8,000,000 of them.

Forks came off beautifully, I drained the oil into a bucket and a bit on the the floor and put everything in the vice. I'd been to alltools where I had multiple orgasms looking at the shiny tools there and picked up a 50cm extension of my ratchet and a 17mm hex head.

Everything was in the vice but...

... The socket wouldn't fit inside the inner tube.

So it was upstairs to play with a grinder to take a bit off the outside.

Lovely stuff.

The whole setup basically looked like this:

Everything turned easily and with a few swift pulls the whole thing came apart neatly.

And here's a similar pic, showing the order in which it sits when mounted.

So from top to bottom is the fork seal, the spacer, the bushing and at the bottom sits another bushing which I didn't remove.

Anyway, here's the parts all laid out. Not in the correct order, of course. I managed to stuff up what could have actually been a helpful picture.

So here's where things get interesting. The All-Balls fork seals that Deus sent didn't seem to be the same as the OEM ones that were fitted.

So, long story short... with the spacer the new seals would sit above the recess for the retaining bolt.

To give you an idea, this is how it all fitted together when I started:

Get my drift? So, it's one of two things. It's supposed to fit without the spacer. Or it's the wrong seal.

Running short of time I went the first option. I haven't had the chance to test it yet, but on Saturday I'll be motorbiking around and should know if it's worked, but in the hackjob I did forcing them in I'd be surprised. A fork seal driver is next on the list.

So, class, what did I learn this week?

A vice and a good bench makes all the difference.
As does the right tool.
A fork seal driver would be a good investment.
A need a bloody garage.

I'll pick up some OEM fork seals shortly. I know it should be okay mounted how it is at the moment, but I don't like changing things from standard.

Yeah, shutup. You know what I mean.

Looking into Mirrors

2010-06-10T18:18:00.004+10:00

First up - pardon the pun.

I've spent a lot of time trying to get the front end of my bike to appear more streamlined. It was looking great, until I stuck my old WM mirrors on the thing and it looked stupid. Besides the mirrors being of questionable quality and having a solid level of rust on them, they spoil the lines of the bike.

So, I've turned into a bit of a mirror pervert. Bar end mirrors seem a bit cumbersome to me but I've found a lot of intersting options, most of which are based off the Napoleon style mirrors, except mounted off the top of the handlebars. This option seems quite popular in Japan, but I haven't seen too many of these on the roads in Australia. Many of these designs, and lots more, are available here:

http://www.okada-corp.com/en/ex_products/napoleon/mirror.html

It looks like WM and a few other Japanese suppliers take delivery of these guys goods. The company appears to be a importer/exporter like McLeods in Australia.

So of the above I'm looking at these:

And the more tradtional style, which is on the WM Mirror Page

There's also this, which is a Y's gear product, a genuine Yamaha mirror for the DSC4 - the V-Star 400.

Available at the bottom of this page - http://www.steve-kamechan.net/cgi-bin/shop/itemlist.asp?cno=215&rcnt=41&pcnt=3

I wonder if the arms will be too short for the SR? I'm leaning towards that one, even if it's around $50 each for these opposed to $30 each for the others. Y's gear stuff is very well made, and should last a bit longer than the others.

But if anybody has any opinions from a styling point of view, be sure to let me know!

Suspension of Disbelief - Part IV

2010-05-23T23:17:00.009+10:00

Things have been pretty quiet here lately as I've been so busy with other stuff I'd rather give my cat oral than have to work on the bike. But things are settling down on the home front and it's time to get to it. Working on the bike, that is.

The Ohlins Springs arrived and I headed around a mate's house with some 15w oil to swap them over. I don't have a centre stand anymore, so we hoisted it up on a dirtbike lift, which was actually much sturdier than it looks.

(Note to self - must set aside some cash for a Harley-style lift from the guys at Anderson. )

As you can see, the front wheel all came off easily enough, and the fork top caps were really easy to get out, not like the first time I tried. I'd spotted these two little holes on the inside of the forks a while ago, and assumed that a few twists of an allen key would bring them out and drain the oil.

So we turned and turned and nothing happened. We started thinking that we've either got a bolt with the finest, longest thread known to motorbiking or we were just turning the bastard in it's place. It was the latter. A quick search on google and it looks like it's attached to the bloody damping rods, which have to be held in place with a 2 foot long hex key while undoing the bottom. Not the most practical idea. There's a description on how to do a fork oil swapover on a similarily stupid bike, the FZR. There's two good descriptions here and here.

So, it was getting late in the day and we decided that as the whole forks probably had to come out, and it was getting late in the day, we'd just plonk the Ohlins forks back in and ride it for a week and go pull the whole forks next weekend and do the fork seals then too.

Anyway, here's the Ohlins springs (bottom) compared to the Ikons. Interestingly the Ohlins are linear-wound. Now, I know 99% of spring upgrades that people do will be progressive-wound and there's great arguements for both. Now many people will be saying that the progressive springs are the way to go but in all honesty you can shove it up your arse. So there.

Look how tightly wound the buggers are. The Ohlins are also a bit shorter, by around 1cm.

First impressions of the springs... absolutely f'n brilliant. Handles beautifully now, very firm and the front holds the road brilliantly. The front and the rear feel exactly as I'd hoped - perfectly matched up in compression, although the rebound was a bit "how's your father" due to the fork oil being a bit low. But I have to say that suspension set up is now very, very promising.

But it wasn't all beer and blowjobs, a few things did spring to mind on my way home. The first being the cartridge emulators from Racetek, and whether or not they'll be worth the extra cash $170USD now the Aussie dollar has taken a dump. And the girl there who responded to my email didn't answer any of my questions regarding shipping except for "Get in soon, we have three in stock and they might not be here tomorrow!".

Asshat.

Another bit of food for thought are those preload top caps. I might drag a friend, kicking and screaming, to a carpark or something to measure the sag of the bike and if they're actually needed. And the last thing is a bad shudder I feel through the front end when coming to a stop. Methinks it's the front disc warped. So while it's all off, I might as well hunt around for a new disc. More on that in a day or two's time when I've tracked one down...

Also, a set of thanks to co-worker and retired Baja motocross superstar B.J. who helped me out with the tools, the time and the childish photos.

More on Rotors next time kids!

- Marlon

My SR...

2010-05-07T14:44:00.005+10:00

I've discovered the magic of backdating blogs, and I've gone all the way back to 2006, when I purchased the SR. There's a couple of pics of the bike and I'm starting to put together a service history to track when I've changed the oil, brake pads etc.

http://srpornography.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B11%3A00&updated-max=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00%2B11%3A00&max-results=1

I'm probably going to put a "Links" section in here as well, mainly to Japanese aftermarket parts suppliers but also some local guys too.

Just a quick ride...

2010-05-03T00:24:00.006+10:00

I've decided I'm going to start updating the blog with rides I've been on. There's people here that do much more interesting rides and write about it much more eloquently than me, but it'll help for me to remember certain roads around Victoria. I've found that in the past couple of years I've lived here and been riding motorbikes I've mainly followed friends when heading out. This means I have a terrible knowledge of the roads around the state, although I've plodded through many of them, usually following Matt.

On Saturday I actually had to google how to get out of the Melbourne CBD.

On Sunday I headed out to Broadford to watch the Motocross. In a carefully considered plan to fit in I'd bought large skater shoes and bleached my hair. However, all this was in vain as the whole event wass called off due to the death of Andrew McFarlane. The former world #2 overcooked a jump in the practice round and landed head first, with 100 kilo's of Austrian alloy and plastic following him into the deck.

With that, and the death of Judd Greedy last year, one has to think about how dangerous motorcycling racing still is. Even though we've come a long way from the crepe-paper racing suits and brass helmets it's still a dangerous past time.

Anyway, after taking a moment to soak up the depressing atmosphere at the track I headed out to Strath creek and went a longish way back.

As I was in a rush to get out there, I headed straight up the Hume Highway. Yes, I googled the best way to reach the Hume from Richmond.

As seems to happen after a long break in riding my tight cornering was terrible. I would approach a well surfaced corner that had good visibility and knock back too many gears, slow down too much and be cautious on the gas on the way out. Must find a stretch of these roads and spend a day just going up and down to get the skills and confidence back. After that it was open 100kmph sweepers for a while with virtually no traffic and Victoria's finest already busy booking people.

Anyway, onto the bike! The rear suspension is feeling quite good under different road surfaces. The front was shit as always, but it's only a few days 'till the Ohlins arrive and that can be fixed.

If you're looking for a proper blog with information about riding and the day tours around Victoria (sometimes on an SR!) it's worthwhile checking out my mate's blog Contemplative Motorcycling. It's an excellent read.

New springs should be delivered by this weekend. I'll find a way to chock up the bike and put them in on the weekend, and I'll be able to take it out next monday. Wahoo!

Rusty the Flywheel

2010-04-30T01:41:00.001+10:00

A few weeks ago I did the valve clearences for the first service on my new engine. I got a bit of a fright when I took the sidecover off the flywheel and found a light coating of fine surface rust.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

Shit.

The gasket had perished over time and allowed some water to enter the cover and sit at the bottom, causing condensation and the bane of motorcyclists and Lada owners everywhere - Rust.

I took some of the rust back with some fine sandpaper, and sprayed it with WD40. After asking around the best option for me was to get some heavy gearbox oil and apply a light coat over it. I've gone back and checked it in the time since and it looks fine. There's a new gasket in there as well - Deus to the rescue at the last minute again.

It's interesting the things you learn when you ask around. One guy suggested that I don't run a gasket at all and simply drill a hole at the bottom of the cover that allows water to escape. While I admire thriftyness, at $10.00 a pop I think I'll just keep replacing a gasket once a year.

Oh, and before I go - I need a new name for the blog. I've had three people say they can't check it at work because of the title, so I'm taking submissions now!

Tool Pouches

2010-04-28T01:30:00.003+10:00

I've gotten away without a toolpouch for too long now. Mind you, there's been a few occasions where just having some allen keys and a 12mm spanner would have helped tightening or attaching something for a bit of peice of mind. Come to think of it, some tools would have helped on a few occasions...

1. My first muffler, a supersound exhaust had a pretty spectacular failure and I was left travelling the hume buying cigarettes from service stations in exchange for using what was left of a workshop out the back.

2. My second exhaust, the same model again, fell off at Kangaroo valley and with the help of a little Japanese fellow called Hiro, mounted it with a coat hanger after spending a while trying to find a screw driver as leverage.

3. Another time a mate of mine lost all power on his SR500 and we were missing just the right size allen key to have a look under the sprocket cover to see what had gone wrong. Turns out it had a stripped layshaft and it was fucked anyway but it would have passed a few hours if we'd been able to have a look, and given us a headstart on the problems that followed.

Now, I've looked at a number of different options and many of them that are sold look like they belong on a Harley, which isn't what I'm after...

Besides being a bit out of proportion it also looks a little like it'd hold something that'd buzz at a BDSM party.

Doing some thinking, I went back, as I do with everything, to small arms and ammunition pouches that could fit the bill. One was a Soviet SVT pouch, another the standard British and Commonwealth pattern '37 Bren pouch..

But thinking a bit more Japanese I remembered the 6.5 Arisaka Type 38 ammunition pouches (who wouldn't?) and realised it could work -

And Inside...

By my calculation the space for tools (with the divider removed) would be about 6" long and should be large enough to hold a few small spanners, a spark plug removal tool and some small allen keys. I'd also like to keep a wind-up light in there and some of that tyre sealing gunk but that'd be pushing it. However for short trips, it could mount along the bottom here. Bear in mind that plate is cut for a standard chain guard, and when It's redone it'll be cut a lot wider.

If anybody has any other ideas, feel free to make a comment below.

Bugger!

2010-04-19T01:25:00.009+10:00

Not long after I started this blog, which was going to show a lot of pics of custom SR's somebody else beat me to the punch with a bloody extensive selection of XT/TT/SR pictures. I thought I'd seen a lot of the custom SR's doing the rounds on the net, but I haven't seen most of these!

Yamaha XT SR Photo of the Day

It's well worth checking out - he's doing it much better than I could!

Sadly, it's taken some wind out of my sales so the blog will probably focus more on modifications and buggerising around with my own bike. However with the title of "SR Pornography" it'll seem a little self-idulgent and with complaints from a few people about the name of the blog - being hesitant to type "Pornography" into a work computer it might be due for a chage of title anyway.

Any suggestions?

Niggling Things

2010-04-18T02:45:00.009+10:00

I -finally- got around to doing some stuff on the SR. I seem to have more money than time these days so I rarely get a chance to sit down and actually fix all the niggly things that come with owning a bike.

First up was hiding the stamped fuel tank seam. A cover is provided for part of it but I wanted the whole thing to be hidden. After a bit of asking around I went to Clark's rubber and bought some "Pinchweld" edging in the smallest size available.

It's got alloy strips in it so it can be bent and holds it's shape. $24 dollars and three minutes later, it's looking good!

Before:

After:

I'll need to take a better pic in the light, but it really has made quite a difference!

The other thing I did was put a new lever on. All of four minutes worth of work after putting up with it bent like this for the last four years.

It took me four years to get around to doing this? You'd better believe it. It's amazing how quickly you get used to it.

Two niggling things down - only a few more to go now! Hopefully most of these will be sorted in the next few weeks.

Mount Bash Plate.
Order new screws for sprocket cover.
Make a number plate... er... plate?
Put a crush washer on oil downtube drain bolt (I have a slight leak)
Link oil breather to air filter - saves having two filters
Make a new plate for the airbox gap.
Find the damn mounting bolt and funny stepped washer for the fuel tank.
Order and fit XR650 clutch/decomp perch.
Find a way of mounting some small guards so my boots don't scratch the frame with the rearsets. Current bit of strategically placed fabric tape won't cut it.

More Major things are:

New Tyres
Find some new Mirrors - probably going to be bar ends
Fit fork Springs
Round Master Cylinder
Make it a little more ergonomically friendly.

I've already ordered some new Ohlins springs which should arrive in two weeks so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully they'll be matched nicely to the rear.

BSA - Regal SR500

2010-04-14T23:36:00.005+10:00

I couldn't resist - with the previous post about the snobbish BSA fan - to draw attention to the link between BSA and Yamaha, so I created a new Youtube account and uploaded this tonight:

It's a bit of an oddity isn't it? There's a review here, some detailed pics of one in this thread and the BSA-Regal company timeline that has some of the reasoning behind the build here.

In Defence of the SR

2010-04-14T21:39:00.003+10:00

It's always amusing to see comments having a dig at SR owners. This was passed on to me by a fellow SR400 Wanker Wannabe. Click on the pics to enlarge...

Originally taken from here. I don't know about you, but I "wannabe" riding my bike, not fixing it.

Suspension of Disbelief - Part III

2010-03-30T05:01:00.007+11:00

How cool are these?

They're preload adjusters now availble from Wellington.. Can be spanner or screwdriver adjusted so they'll work with clipons or standard bars. They retail for around $155.00.

On a similar note, I'm not 100% sold on the Ohlins that I have at the moment. I've had a close look at the Gazi shocks mounted on a mate's bike and they appear to be very well made, and they have rebound adjustment, which the Ohlins don't. If I was to sell the Ohlins I don't think there'd be too much difference between the two, but i'm going to get some front fork springs from Ohlins to match the rear, top up the oil and see how I go.

Oh, and I'll probably have some of those preload adjusters too... Just because.

People are idiots...

2010-03-25T23:44:00.004+11:00

This was sent to me by a mate - it's MCN's typical second-hand journalism, on the new SR400EFI There's nothing too exciting in the article except the comments, a couple of which are worth rebuking here.

"Although I should be one of the people that this would appeal to
the XT500s and SR500s had a dreadful reputation in the 80s for not starting or for getting stuck in 1st gear and ate chains regularly. Think I would pass."

Yes you peanut, they had such a dreadful reputation that they were manufactured for the next 30 years. Due to their power delivery, singles tend to eat chains. Somehow my SR400 managed 16,00k's with it's stock 420 chain and sprockets. The SR is hard to start, if you neglect your bike and don't know how to properly kick it in the first place.

"Yamaha have made a 70's looking bike, with 70's style
performance for £3700 in 2010. At least no-one in the UK will be wasting £3700 on one of these. What a pile or pseudo retro rubbish. . You're better off buying an original piece of 70's nostalgia for £200! "

Yes, but the SR will run. Parts will be available. Although when someone says that the SR features 70's style performance, it makes you question where they're coming from. It's more like 50's style performance.

And more...

"The old SR500 was ok and a half decent run around. But why
bother with this now, and who the hell is going to buy it. I think it's a
pointless exercise and they will have shot themselves in the foot. "

It's been "bothered with" for a long, long time. The SR has sold strongly in Japan for all this time.
Ah well, some people either get it or they don't! I'm in the process of collating a bunch of information about the new SR400EFI, and I'll be trying to put it all in one post soon.

Mag Wheels by Y's gear.

2010-03-23T00:02:00.012+11:00

Q: What's the diffence between herpes and SR Mag Wheels?
A: You can give herpes to someone.

Well, that was the school of thought about the dear old SR mags. They're quite heavily stepped in late 70's design and many owners go about replacing them with the more traditional wire spoked wheels. Over time the SR mags have really grown on me and I've become a bit of a fan. On the right bike they give the whole thing a solid look... and they'd be easier to clean than standard.

For the last few years, Yamaha's aftermarket part supplier,Y's gear, have been producing producing the mags again for around $2200 AUD. And before everyone gets excited and drags out your old mags from the shed or the bottom of the sea these new ones are a little different.

The front is 1.5 kilos lighter and the rear is 2 kilos lighter than stock and can also run tubeless tyres. The front is also an 18" which looks pretty neat to me.

Suspension of Disbelief Part II - Fitted Ohlins

2010-03-15T22:40:00.011+11:00

Well, the rear Ohlins are on.

And man, are they stiff! It's quite hard to tell how they perform without the front set up correctly but when it's going it feels quite planted and firm. They also feel longer than the already-longer Ikons, which in turn gives the impression that it's sharpened the steering a bit. Unfortunately, the front end now feels very mushy and not in-line with the rear After an hour or two blat around Melbourne streets at 1AM this morning in it's current form the bike is nearly approaching unrideable, hard at least.

They aren't adjustable for anything but height. This worries me a little, as people like Stew from the SR500 forum change their settings often depending on the roads. He's a fan of the Gazi shocks

Gazi Shocks which do have a good range of adjustments available. I'm not 100% sold on the cosmetics of them as yet, but they do perform well as he says in this review. He is sponsored by Gazi on his salt racing SR500 but I know the guy and can't imagine him recommending something unless he really believed in it himself.

I've contacted one or two suspension shops that have come recommended -Promecha and krooztune but they both have 2-3 weeks wait before anything can be done. And I'm supposed to be leaving town in a little over the week for a 1500k trip to Sydney. Always leaving things to the last minute...

So I'll keep sending some emails and asking around for some kind of preset formula to match the front with the rear. I've also got to take the time to measure out all the sag measurements, especially at the front, so I can work out what basic settings I need. I'm guessing that the front fork springs that Ohlins sell for the SR400/SR500 should match up, and get it a little closer?

In the meantime, it's searching Japanese websites to find out what people are running.
This guy changed back from Ohlins to WP shocks for more adjustment. He seems to be keen on making his SR handle, so his opinion might be valid, or it might be complete shit - it's very hard to judge the tone of writing through google translate! He also speaks highly of the Dunlop TT900GP tyres. He's running WP springs at the front in an effort to get rid of what looks like a similar problem to mine.

There's some other links too, but are either pretty vague or I'm sure they don't know what they're talking about either. It seems everybody in the world is doing up their engines but nobody has much solid information on suspension set up!

Oh well, I'll probably just put more oil in the forks to start off with and maybe some 20c peices as preload to see how we go.

2003 Onwards SR400 Wiring

2010-03-12T02:09:00.004+11:00

From 2003 onwards Yamaha introduced a new key/ignition unit for the SR400, changing it to a coded key the same as the rest of their line. When purchasing a new SR400 you'd receive three keys, one of which was the red "master" key. Only this one could be copied.

Each key contains a chip in it, which is matched to the arial which surrounds the ignition barrel. Only the keys issued with the bike will match the ignition system. Others may fit, probably even turn the barrel but a red LED that sits in the speedo will stay on. No matter how hard you kick it, she won't start.

If you lose all the keys there's no option but to replace the whole unit - I've seen them go for around $500AUD on Yahoo auctions but the system new from Yahama costs a few thousand dollars. So don't lose your keys.

Anyway, while having some problems with the ignition system I contacted a friend in Japan who hunted down these diagrams for the late model wiring system. They might come in handy for ordering replacement parts and/or stuffing about with the electrics. It's also yet another reason to learn Kanji, if dirty Hentai magazines weren't enough.

If it's any help, the arial has to sit directly around the barrel for it to work. Just in or out or around won't. I stuffed around, and stuffed a friend around for quite a while before we realised that it didn't work.

2003 SR400 Wiring Diagram

Ignition System

Other Stuff

-Marlon

Good Luck, SR400

2010-03-11T15:50:00.002+11:00

Above are some selected highlights from the Japanese TV series, "Good Luck". It's about a girl and her love affair with the SR400 or a Pilot. Or something. It gets boring in the middle but it's probably the best filmed bit of SR footage on youtube, even if not the most watched.

17" Wheels - before and after. Wheeley good?

2010-03-11T14:34:00.001+11:00

While wheel diamater changes seem quite common in Japan, I haven't seen all that many over here.

I've been thinking about a change to 17"s on the books for quite a while now, but struggled to actually find some before and after pics.

Some google searching found this 2005 model -

Interesting stuff.

With a smaller rim and wider tyre you're running to closer to modern sportsbike dimensions, have a much better selection of modern tyres. A lot of people who've done wheel swaps on the SR forum say that difference in handling - cornering and particularily braking (As the contact patch is greater) - is the best handling modification they've done.

In Japan kits available for the 36 spoke SR400 wheels - usually around the $350.00 mark. Ideally, I'd love to have lighter hubs as well. Some modern dirtbikes have much ligher hubs than the SR, and are easily available as motard kits off ebay, with calipers and the assembled wheel going for around $1200.00 AUD, if they sell at all.

But I'm not too sure about the aesthetics of the smaller wheels. Proportionally, the 17"s look too small and elongate the look of the bike a bit, making it seem awkward. Whether or not it'd look that way on my stripped back bike is another thing. More food for thought.

- Marlon

From the saved files... XT/SR Manx

2010-03-09T02:29:00.005+11:00

I remember sifting through some photos from a classic race meet in Italy or France, and found this hiding in the background. Amongst the smell British bikes leaking oil, the crackle Italian bikes electrics frying and the dull empty sense of nothingness of old Hondas sat this little gem...

Looking at the engine and the frame it looks to be a XT. The nicest thing about this bike looks like the tank/seat combination. Although it's the traditional Manx Norton style tank, the cutout at the bottom lends a nice touch. The seat is quite modern in it's shape, and it suits the stance of the bike as well.

I've got no real information about this bike at all - If you know anything about it, or have any more pictures I'd love to see them.

Moto Dog SR - With Ultimate Suspension?

2010-03-07T16:50:00.001+11:00

I came across this on youtube today...

Built by the guys at Moto Dog. Besides having the optional extra-loud valves and camchain it's got some pretty cool stuff on there. The front forks are 41mm Ohlins from aYamaha XJR1300. It'd be interesting to see how the bike actually handled on the road without some pretty major internal tweaks. I'd imagine that if the forks were left set up for a 200-and-something kilo bike it'd be a bit stiff up front.

Nonetheless, it's something to think about. The swingarm is pretty cool, with its protection bars and rear disc. It's also got a Magura hydraulic clutch in there too - an unusual addition.

A pretty drastic way of getting your SR to handle, and not really my style but certainly something out of the ordinary!

Suspension of Disbelief - Part 1

2010-03-07T02:28:00.004+11:00

I seem to come to a stage when playing with my SR. I usually get some kind of half-baked idea in my head and become a little obsessed before deciding bike parts are more important than rent money and blow half a paycheck on some bizarre SR part from Japan that I might never use .

For a while now I've been unhappy with the SR's suspension.* I was going for rides and feeling unsatisfied with the way the bike felt going around corners, and riding some friend's bikes only reaffirmed that there was something a bit odd with mine.

Sometimes, when going into corners hot It felt like the rear had no traction when exiting - it felt very light and as if it wasn't gripping all that well.

I had some Ikon Shocks , which are adjustable for height and have four rebound settings. I'd played with the height and the rebound, but still couldn't get the rear to feel like it was actually part of the same bike I was riding.

In typical form, I decided to throw money at the problem without even thinking about it. I did some searching on Yahoo Japan auctions and with the aid of a friend in Japan through the SR500 forum I ordered some of these...

Gucci Ohlins , over $600AUD by the time they were landed here, but still a damn sight cheaper than the $1200 or so they are new.

My thinking was that the Ikons I had on the rear were part of the problem. Interestingly, my SR doesn't seem to have any static sag at the rear. That couldn't help. I'd also emailed Ikon about getting some softer springs on the rear so I can have some static sag. I've no doubt that the shocks are fine for a stock SR, but there's so little weight left at the rear there's nothing holding it down.

I thought by getting the Ohlins, and chucking money at the problem in my usual way, I'd have the issue solved. I was going to be wrong.

Not long after ordering them I was going for a ride with two mates when I noticed something.

Going UPHILL on the Black Spur the bike felt great. Stable, and the rear felt fantastic going around corners.

Going DOWNHILL on the Reefton Spur the bike was diving excessively when I'd dab the brakes (Or grab, it's a scary bit of road for a while) and when getting on the noise out of corners I'd find the rear very light.

So... these things must all be related. What I think is happening is my front forks are too soft. When I get on the brakes the bike's weight bias shifts forwards which lifts all the weight off the rear. When getting on the gas again the weight is still all the way over the front of the bike, and the rear isn't planted at all. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

So now it's the long process of researching , what the options are I have. I'm doing some hunting around for information on preload, rebound and all that kind of stuff.

This time I won't just throw money at the problem. But have a think, a search for information and decide what to do then.

And then throw money at it.

*Standard amount of 16w oil in the front forks, Ikon progressive springs. At the rear I have a 7610 Ikon shock. I've also got a Daytona fork brace and steering damper. I run BT45's on the standard 18" rims with low 30lbs tyre pressure in each. I also have an aluminium box section swingarm.

"Farkles" - Oggy Nobs for the SR

2010-03-02T17:55:00.001+11:00

I've noticed another weird word has entered the lexicon of motorcyclists.

Farkle.

It's a combination of "Functional" and "Sparkle". Anyway, couldn't help but think of it when I was browsing through Moto Dog's website and found some oggy nobs, or engine protection bars, as many of you may know them.

Moto Dog Ant Lion Frame Slider.

They come with black or white sliders and mounts through the front engine bolt. retail in Japan for around $120AUD or ¥9,450. Not bad value really, and something I'll certainly be looking into it in the future.

Links

2009-05-07T15:22:00.000+10:00

Links:

Australia

Cafe Racer
http://www.caferacer.com.au/
They carry parts and do dyno work and some scarily quick engine builds. Pretty much the go-to guy for SR/XT/TT500 performance work.

The Mischief Makers

These guys are based in Melbourne and are a very affordable custom part maker/fitter. I've had these guys do a fair bit of work on my bike and can't recommend them enough. A bit of a disclosure - I've been helping them set up their blog, but that's it!

Europe

Kedo

Japan

Beltlan
http://www.beltlan.com/pg207.html
Makers of some nice CNC stuff for the SR. Some of their products seem to overlap with another Japanese company, Bore-Ace. They make a variety of billet parts with more of a sports focus. The highlight of their kit is the most beautiful rear hub disc brake conversion known to man. I've never ordered anything from these guys, but they have a good reputation in Japan.

Custom House Stinky

Orange Boulevard

Peyton Place
http://www.peytonplace.co.jp/
These guys make good looking exhausts that aren't too loud, and a variety of parts in a more traditional style. However the real shining star with these guys are the full fairing kits they sell. I've had a chance to look over one in person and it really does look the goods. However their rearsets, while light, felt a bit flimsy. That being said in Japan there's people who do nothing but buy products from these guys.

Service History

2006-01-01T16:29:00.004+11:00

I've started compiling a history of the service of the bike for my own records. It'll be a bit slapdash and some stuff only approximate, but it'll give me an idea of what I need to do with the bike.

January 2006 - 800k's

Yamaha SR400 purchased from Deus ex Machina with 800k's on the clock. Bike is daily transport. For the next three or so months I fit an aftermarket seat, indicators, supertrapp exhaust etc.

April 2008 - 8,000k's

Exhaust melts and falls off - probably due to header wrap and incorrect jetting. Replacement exhaust is fitted

14,000k's

New aluminium swingarm fitted, front fork springs and rear shocks from Ikon, fork oil changed to 15w. Exhaust also changed as a result to a Peyton place Sp-001.

16,000k's

New chain and sprockets fitted at Deus ex Machina. Oil change completed at the same time.

July 2009 - 18,000k's

Engine Rebuild and strip down. Discovered massive problems with the head, splitting a valve guide and the head was hammering itself apart. Engine was ported and a new cam fitted, new exhaust, FCR39 carb,bottom cleaned and flushed out, carillo rod and SR500 crank. All work done by Carl at Cafe Racer in NSW.

2010 - 0k's

Bike is received, new instruments fitted and electronics cleaned up by mark. Indicators are found to be flooded with water and generally pretty fucked, loom cleaned up, tabs taken off by Craig from the Mischief Makers, electronics fitted under the seat.

March 2010 - 990k's

First oil change completed, using Belray 10-40w. Spark plug changed. Old a musty black-grey, looking healthy. Valve clearences completed - .4 and .7 as per advice from Carl.

For most of it's life engine oil has been changed every 2,500k's and filter and clearences done every second. With the new SR500R engine I'm increasing it to every 2000k's with a new filter and checking the clearences each time. This is probably unnecesary but I can afford it, i have the time, and it can't hurt. It also has the benefit of making me feel like a proper man with oil under his fingernails and the appropriate swagger that comes with motorcycle maintainance.

Out of interest, here's some pics of the bike as it's come about over time.

Not mine, but exactly how it looked when I received it:

I had one guy say to me: "Only 800k's? They wind them back at the wharf. I've seen them do it. Your bike's got more than that." But mine had 800k's - I'm confident of that. If someone had wound the k's back they also replaced all the footpeg rubbers, repainted the frame, repainted the seat, cleaned out the headlight shell, got rid of all traces of oil on the downtube etc. Anyway, I'm rambling. It was new. What a nob.

Cunningly hidden behind a Toyota engine and in front of two 400kilo cars...

This would have been the day after I bought it - I got it home and changed the seat straight away. I copped a lot of flack from the folks for buying another bike, but my sister did the right thing and bought herself a bike which redirected the ire of my ma.

That weekend...

I started pulling stuff off the bike just to see how everything fits together. I fitted what I now realise was the worlds ugliest tail-tidy kit. Setting the tone for much of the bike's life, I broke a resister.

Trying to cram everything into the headlight bucket. Each thing I changed I learnt something, least of all with the rearsets. On my way to work one night I changed down to cut in front of a truck in Villawood, and "Clunk" - the whole assembly fell off. A little bit of poo came out as the B-double narrowly missed me.

A little more progress a month or two later.

Stupidly, I decided to wrap a perfectly beautiful header pipe. While I thought it looked good at the start, it did a great job of staining the header pipe. Although I've heard the jury is out on wrapping the header all the way to the exhaust port, there's enough debate about it for me to not wrap any bikes in the future. I've played with the miracle-balm Solvol and realise it can cure whatever ails ya header.

A few months later, a mate took this photo of myself on the pacific highway, just north of Sydney.

Stuffing around in my old garage...

Changed the swingarm, rear shocks, fork springs and exhaust all in one sitting. Pretty hard working where there's no lights. Harder when junkies kept throwing syringes into my shed.

As she stood in 2008. Before any of the frame was chopped. Interesting to see the difference in the tail section here and a few months later when it was taken back. Looks 20 kilos lighter.

I think that's a new chain too - has that white gummy chain lube that I've never used.

Same thing but side on. Shows the Peyton Place exhaust that replaced the terrible "Supersound" supertrapp copy.

Wasn't a bad exhaust either, but when the new engine came it had to be replaced by something that breathed a lot better to take advantage of the souped-up donk.

Not long after it went in the snow for a while.

Not the smartest move on my behalf, but worth it for the pic.

The dash at the time looked like this -

Stock, with aftermarket mirrors , headlight bracket, clipons and an oil temp gauge that cracked about 5 minutes after I put it on.

That was the next thing to suffer my ire.

With the help of a mate, Bize, we dremelled out the bars, tapped them and rewired the headlight, kill switch, indicators etc on both sides. The new switches were sweet little things and the throttle assembly was by a company called "biltwell" and it wasn't. Made of plastic, it last about five seconds before it snapped. Lesson of bike building #345 - Don't buy anything advertised in Deus.

Riding outside Ballarat. Only a couple of weeks before I removed the engine and shipped it off the Carl.

And here's the most recent shots of the bike, with new exhaust, carb, shocks, and much of the frame taken away. Makes a huge difference. There's no longer a centre stand mount either.

The arse - my bike's best angle. Kinda like a white Beyonce.

This next pic is of the ignition unit that had been relocated. All things that involved cutting and shunting and painting was completed by the disgustingly talented Craig from the Mischief Makers. The wiring itself was given a good seeing over and a redoing by Mark, ex Ducati mechanic. He did a wonderful job of cleaning up all the niggling little crap that I'd neglected to do - rubber grommets etc.

They both did a great job. Craig was the same guy who cut and welded my rear subframe.

View of the underseat.

Despite the spaghetti-like appearence, it's actually really logically laid out.

Just another wanky shot:

The new cockpit view...

Exactly what I was after, smaller gauges that sit just above, flush or below the top triple clamp, neat idiot lights (Also from Daytona) and the headlight bracket was just moved upside down. No odometer, which is a pain, but I tend to work off time - fill it up ever 2.5 hours or so. I haven't hit reserve or even come close to an empty tank yet.

I love this view. All the flash stuff...

Getting rather trendy with the angle there. That's about the sum of my photographic knowledge - it involved getting down on the grand and using my cheapo camera to take a photo forwards. That's as trendy as it'll get folks.

And ready to rock...

And there she stands as of March 2010. There's always more to do... 17"s? Paint? New dash with even smaller instruments? Change the whole thing back to an upright seated bike because my back hurts so damn much? Only time will tell...