The battery box debacle

I'm not the kind of person that reads a manual before using a new phone for instance. Most of the time I figure things out by myself and like this autodidactic approach. But sometimes this method backfires on me. Case in point: the stainless steel battery box of the CX500.

For this battery box to be mounted on the CX500 there needed to be drilled 4 holes on both sides of the box. I got my trusty drill and a new set of drill bits to do the job. As I started drilling I noticed that there was little progression in the depth of the hole. So I applied a little more force... this didn't help. I thus applied more speed, which I thought was the logical thing to do. Suddenly the bit went red hot and almost disintegrated before my eyes. The bit now looks like pictured below. 

After this incident I started searching on the internet about methods to drill through stainless steel. At the first result I found out you should never apply too much force or speed when drilling through stainless steel. Really?

Next time I'll try to keep that in mind.

Wiring woes

When you lay out a wiring loom on your living room floor it looks easy enough to see where all the connectors and parts need to go. Looking at this picture below you can see almost every connector and electrical component on the bike. In the middle is the headlight, computer and injection system. On the lefthand side are the control elements that will be placed on the steering. Looks simple, doesn't it? But when putting the wiring loom back on the bike it becomes a whole different story. 

I started out by putting the computer/ECU back onto the bike and went from there. The wiring loom has some bents in it that have been formed whilst the loom was initially put on. This helps to get a general idea of how the wiring loom was run through the frame. I don't want to cause any wire breakage when it's all done. So I'm very meticulous at putting the wiring back exactly as it was when it left the factory.

It still looks like a completely tangled up piece of string and most of the connectors needs to be placed but it's starting to look like an actual bike again. 

The puzzle begins

Last saturday we started putting the Hypermotard back together. A buddy came over to help me with major parts like the frame and engine. We began by putting the engine on a crate with some wood and cloth to keep it in place. The engine was painted and isn't fully cured yet. It needs to be run and heated first. So we were very cautious not to scratch any of the painted surface. 

Next step was to fit the freshly powder coated frame. We also installed the mounting brackets that serve as pivot point for the rear axle and attachment point for the rear sets. Here we struggled a bit with the parts as I didn't make clear enough notes on where to put certain washers. 

Following the frame was the rear axle. The area of the pivot point was greased sufficiently and everything went together remarkably easy. When putting back the rear axle you needn't forget to mount the chain. This is quite essential if you don't want to cut the chain. 

When we were done with the rear axle next were the steering, front axle and wheel. Because many parts were powder coated, the fitment is a little thigh but manageable. The shocks were fitted in the triple trees without any problems. We've also put on the rear subframe to get a general idea of the end result.

Next up is the wiring, injection and exhaust. 

Dreier

Now I've always been a sucker for everything RWD. There is just something special about the power being delivered to the rear wheels. Many automotive journalist have written countless articles about the sensation of driving where the front wheels only take care of changing direction and the rear wheels supply the propulsion. 

A few years back I've own an BMW E30 Touring. It was a joy to drive and have very fond memories of this car. It was one of the 1993 runout models so it had all the bells and whistles like sunroof, central locking, sport interior, etc.  But it wasn't all hosanna. The car was lowered and had a different engine installed, a 318is. Most of the time this wasn't a bad thing. But it also meant that the oil sump was only centimeters away from the tarmac and consequently smashed it to bits... ...twice. Unfortunately I had to sell it some time ago. 

But when the opportunity came along to own yet another BMW E30 I didn't hesitate one second. The car you see here is an early 1988 316i model. It has a 1767cc full injected engine with about 74Kw (100 bhp). Unlike the E30 Touring I had, this is a very basic car. It doesn't have central locking, no sunroof, not even a rev counter. 

Some maintenance is needed to have it in adequate condition again but overall it's very tidy and well looked after. There are some minor rust issues on the rear wheel arches and the tires need replacing eventually. The interior is a little worn and needs some repair or replacement. 

Perhaps I'm going to use this car as a base for another project. But not this year. This year I've got enough things on my hands. 

Back from Powder Coating

Yesterday was a big day. I've received a message that all the parts of the Hyper I sent to the powder coater were done and ready to be picked up. So I went over and collected them. It really came out better than expected and I couldn't be more satisfied with the result.

For the frame I've chosen RAL 9005-30, a black with satin finish. This is the same color the wheels of the CX500 were coated. Apart from the frame I've also sent some other bits and pieces to be powder coated. Bits like the footrests, rear sets and triple tree all have been powder coated too.

I haven't had the chance to clean up the tape that was used by the coater to mask up the bits that needn't be coated. Fortunatly all the threads were plugged with silicone plugs and these were already removed. The dent in the frame was professionally welded and is hardly noticeable now.

Hopefully the finished bike will be a sinister looking beast with most of its parts in this moody black. Each part look like pieces of art when finished in this nice satin gloss paint. It really shows off the shape of the part but also hided some of the imperfections, like welds and possible scratches.

Next weekend I'm hoping to start building up a rolling frame again. A buddy is coming over to help me putting this puzzle back together.

Deflaper

Here's a little write-up I did on replacing the midsection of the exhaust of a Ducati Monster 1100 for a 696 part.

Step 1:

Remove the box that holds the toolkit that sits underneath the seat. 

Step 2: 

Disconnect and remove the servo cable and servo. There is a washer that needs to be removed underneath the rubber dust cover. The washer can be seen on the lefthand side of this picture:

Step 3:
Remove the (slip-on) mufflers.

Step 4:
Loosen top bracket by removing the 4 hex bolts on the left- and righthand side of the subframe. Also remove the center hex bolt which connect the gas tank to the bracket.

Step 5:

Undo the hex bolts located underneath the gas tank.  These connect the subframe bracket to the bracket on the exhaust. They were the only bolts which were a little fitly to get to. I used the grip of a screwdriver to force the tank some 3-4 centimeters off the bracket.

Step 6:

Loosen up the exhaust clamps situated to the right of the servo and behind the rear set. There is also a hex bolt hidden away behind the rear set that needs to be removed. I've also unfastened the header (cylinder side) of the vertical cylinder.

Step 7:

You should be able to remove the midsection of the exhaust and end up with this:

Step 8:

Placing the 696 midsection should be reverse of removing the 1100 midsection. I've test fitted the exhaust with mufflers without fastening all bolts. My Arrow slip-ons have a tendency to line up wonky when installed with all bolts already fastened.

Step 9:

I've sourced a Duc.ee to eliminate the error message on the dash. It can be held into place by the tie-rips that come with the Duc.ee.

Step 10:

You should end up with something like this

Historical Grand Prix

Last summer my father and I went to see the Historical Grand Prix at Zandvoort. It's a three day event at the circuit on the coast of Holland. During this event the paddock is open for public so you can get up close to some very special machinery. 

One of these Benelli's was fired up while I was in the proximity. The noise these bikes make is amazing!

This (replica) Sharknose Ferrari Grand Prix car is the only one in existence. A very rare beast of which you can watch a short documentary here