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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Aha! YES!! If I do choose to get me some grip puppies I... HA! I DO have access to compressed air. So there. Ner. HA! What will actually happen is the compressed air will prove equally ineffective and I'll end up with a combination of compressed air, lacquer, washing up liquid, vaseline, beeswax and zip ties. And several torn grip puppies.
27/09/2022 09:06:33 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Don't know about the GPs - mine were a long time ago - but I always use petrol for rubber grips. Finger over the hole in the end, put a cc or two of petrol in, swill it about and the grip slides on as if by magic. It then evaporates in seconds and probably makes the grip a bit sticky to boot.
27/09/2022 12:00:00 UTC
Glyn said :-
I ventured into the garage and was met by a strong smell of petrol. It was emanating from the ZZR that I had ridden 50 miles the day before. There was some evidence of spillage under the bike but, when I mopped it up it was thicker than petrol. It was oily petrol! So on checking the oil in the viewing window it had either all gone or faded in colour considerably and filled itself up above the window. This was indeed the case, one of the carbs (completely rebuilt by me 750 miles ago) must have overflowed and down through the engine had gone the petrol. There is a petcock on the ZZR but it's under the fairing and only useful if you're going to remove the tank. I could always cut a hole in the fairing to make the tap turn off-able but that would not be my style. So I've opted for the electric solenoid in the picture. It's 12 volt and I could also add a hidden switch that will add to the security of the bike by disabling fuel line. However, firstly, I have to drain the oil out, remove the plugs and let things stand for a while to let the fuel evaporate. Then, look at the carbs yet again, I replaced all of the float valves 750 miles ago (not with the "made in Chine" ones either) so am a little perplexed by this happening again. Might just be some muck in there somewhere I guess, I hope.
29/09/2022 12:15:24 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Glyn, I feel your pain.
But your plan seems sound.
Enjoy taking them carbs apart.
Upt'North.
30/09/2022 12:30:45 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
How's it going Glyn? I suspect you'll likely find a foreign object in the float needle seat, otherwise you've been particularly unlucky with an out-of-box failure. Urgh - the idea of removing a 4 carb setup fills me with dread. Mind you not as much dread as doing the tappets on my 500 which will need doing this winter.
03/10/2022 09:03:52 UTC
Glyn said :-
Well there didn't seem to be too much obviously wrong with the float valves but I've cleaned it all out anyway. I've fitted the ex electrical fuel tap in the fuel line and it works well with a hidden switch under the seat. However, the unit gets hot, almost too hot to touch. It's marked as 12 volts but I haven't had a chance to measure the current drain yet. The unit is designed to be used in petrol / gas conversions so should be ok but I'm a little nervous now.
03/10/2022 12:35:56 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Surprising it's getting hot although obviously there's constant current going through it when it's activated. Can you find one that's latching which would have a lower The people in the link weem to have them:
Although a simple manual tap might be better.
http://www.solenoidvalvesuk.co/12voltsolenoidvalves.asp...
03/10/2022 13:43:30 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Electric stuff does get hot, don't it? You've also got one hell of a heat sink/frame to dissipate all that heat too.
If you're not going to sleep at night Glyn, why not put a vacuum valve in?
Upt'North.
03/10/2022 16:33:59 UTC
nab301 said :-
Glyn , I can't figure out where the OE tap is positioned, is it not possible to fit an extension to the lever ? Although it seems mad that the bike isn't supplied with a vacuum tap as standard with a prime position like the old Suzuki Bandits etc.
Nigel
03/10/2022 20:34:58 UTC
Glyn said :-
Hi All,
Ian, good information in that link, thank you. The solenoid coil measures 11.8 Ohms which means it draws approx 1 Amp (V x I = P). This is not extensive and I should a fuse in line but not sure of the Inrush current. However, the fuse is to protect the feed cable from melting and that would probably entail something in the order of a 5A fuse as the cable will be 8.5Amp load (.75mm). The unit goes from room temp to 50 degrees C after 10 minutes of engine running.
I've read of several cases of vacuum taps failing and giving the same symptoms that I have encountered. I even modified the vacuum tap on the XJS600 to become a manual after reading about it. I'll look up vacuum valves as a stand alone unit.
Nigel, the manual tap is under the tank and, if you leave the side fairing off, it can be seen and operated perfectly well. But with the fairings on (fitted with many screws and bolts fixing the entire rear light assembly and Givi rack mounts) I am unable to see or even attempt to operate the lever. I could bore a 30m hole in the fairing but I'm not really happy to make this type of modification as I do like my bikes to look original if possible.
04/10/2022 15:36:12 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You are right about vacuum valves failing Glyn, but I wonder what the failure rate of electric valves would be? I think the problem we all have is that everything seems to be made as cheaply as possible in a rush to the bottom. So trying to find a quality new part is a bit of a suck it and see exercise.
I suppose with that in mind it would be easy enough to bypass any valve when on the road if problems occurred on the journey.
Good luck fella.
Upt'North.
04/10/2022 16:17:10 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
There was a vacuum tap on the Honda CB400 "Big One" (I kid you not) I had for a short while. It was a real pain and I converted it to manual operation. I fail to see why manufacturers insist on automating things that cause grief when they go wrong. Manual ignition advance/retard anyone?
04/10/2022 16:18:45 UTC
Glyn said :-
Manual Advance / retard reminds me of the Allen Millyard video on You tube about the construction of his V twin 5 Litre "The flying Millyard" motor Cycle. He fitted a lever operated Advance retard on the power unit he made from 2 cylinders of an Aeroplane engine. It rotated the points mounting backplate by a lot of degrees. Add to that his hand gear change and carburettor mixture enricher (enabled by lifting the float chambers vertically up and down the carbs)and you have a very interesting program watch. We were discussing the building of Centre stands recently, Allen Mllyard made a ratchet operated unit for his 10 Cylinder Viper engined bike. I think the bike weighs in at about 600Kgs.
The new fuel solenoid valve that I've fitted does have a manual override lever but its not possible to fit it anywhere that I can get to it.
04/10/2022 16:41:09 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Do you agree that this rear mudguard is probably useless? I mean what we're they thinking?
Upt'North.
05/10/2022 13:26:54 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
So.......they must sell some'at on the interweb thingymabob? Nope, nowt any blummin good anyway. How hard could it be. £14.00, several days and much bad language later.
Upt'North.
05/10/2022 13:29:45 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
And again......
05/10/2022 13:30:27 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Call that a mudguard? This is a mudguard.
However, you do realise you're not supposed to ride it in the rain......
05/10/2022 14:06:32 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Agreed, it's as though they are in cahoots with the aftermarket brigade. It'll need a hugger too over the winter lay up. Surely someone at Honuzuamakionumph know that water and crap flings off tyres.
Strange innit.
Upt'North.
05/10/2022 16:12:16 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
It's fashion over function Upt'.
I am sure if you ask nicely Ren would make you a hugger from an old oil can!
05/10/2022 18:39:59 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Thanks for the suggestion Rod......but no.
Upt'North.
05/10/2022 18:42:01 UTC
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