Found a nice-looking MZ/MuZ forum while trying to Google myself. It's definitely alive, but not busy like some forums I've been on in the past - which is good because I won't feel the need to monitor it all the time. I tend to get in trouble at work when I'm forumming...
I've put a link to them in my useful links slot, although probably the only people who are ever going to visit this blog are people from the forum (and not many of them and not very often). Hey ho.
So hello to everyone from http://www.mzriders.com/, see you on the forum!
Friday, 25 April 2008
Shopping (again)
You can tell I'm a girlie! I've been shopping again. Just to get some more tags and a permanent pen (I noticed the biro had mysteriously disappeared from a couple of tags the other day).
Haven't been in the garage since last weekend as I was away in Hoofddorp (nr Amsterdam) for the early part of the week. That wasn't as interesting as it sounds because I was doing an audit on one of the contractor companies that I work with, and basically saw the hotel and their offices. I hate it when people do that, but I didn't have much choice. I could have got on a bus and done some exploring on my own, but knowing me I'd've got lost. If I'd had the Skorpion with me it would have been a different story!
Haven't been in the garage since last weekend as I was away in Hoofddorp (nr Amsterdam) for the early part of the week. That wasn't as interesting as it sounds because I was doing an audit on one of the contractor companies that I work with, and basically saw the hotel and their offices. I hate it when people do that, but I didn't have much choice. I could have got on a bus and done some exploring on my own, but knowing me I'd've got lost. If I'd had the Skorpion with me it would have been a different story!
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Up to date!
Hooray, that was all of the previous items I'd created and saved to the memory stick promising myself I'll set up a blog "soon"... So now you're up to date, apart from this weekend...
Well, yesterday. A trip to Halfords yielded a can of 3-in-1 oil and a nasty plasticky modern version of the oil can I was on about. It works, but isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the old-fashioned variety. Oh well. Still haven't tracked down any barrier cream though. I NEED to get some of that, it takes days for my hands to be clean again after a proper session, and I'm supposed to be doing an audit in the Netherlands early next week. Ah well, they'll just have to think I'm slightly mad. They won't be far wrong, will they?
On to the work. I realised I'd made a basic mistake with the brake caliper when, after an amount of huffing and puffing and leaning on spanners etc to get it apart, I realised I'd need to push the pistons out from behind in the normal way (ie with brake fluid, which would mean putting it all back together and rigging up a master cylinder & lever etc). Biscuits. I don't wan't to damage them by pulling out from the front if I can help it. So I spent a lot of the afternoon taking the front brake setup off the 251 in the corner, getting that caliper broken down properly & rigging the 125 caliper to its brake line. I'm not sure it's ever going to bleed through though, as there was a lot of a kind of waxy substance in all the channels in the caliper, and of course I'd disturbed the (rather dry and old-looking) seal too. At the time of writing, the system is hanging from the garage ceiling with the lever cable-tied open and the bleed nipple open to see if the fluid will just seep through given enough time. I seem to be getting more fluid out of the joints in the brake line than the bleed nipple though. We'll see next weeked I guess. If it hasn't made any progress by then I'll have to think of another plan. I also got the exhaust off, broken down, cleaned and bagged up. Now I've got the oil can, all the components that are going into bags are getting a smear of oil so hopefully at least won't deteriorate any further. Many of the nuts & bolts etc probably won't be used again, but it's a useful discipline and it'll be good to be able to identify them for replacement purposes... That was about it for yesterday, aside from formally christening the kettle and getting the CD player to work for 2/3 of a CD, until I started hitting things on the bench which put it right off its stroke. It still hasn't forgiven me. Will have to keep an eye out in charity shops etc for a new one...
Today, 20th April. Thinking back on the day, I don't seem to have got very much done. I faffed around with the brake caliper some more, and got that rigged up to the ceiling to gravity bleed over the week. I made a bit more progress towards getting the engine out - carburettor and generator cover off. This engine is the ETZ version (I think of as the "old" style) with the clutch actuator on the right hand side, and a pin all the way through the engine to the actual clutch on the other side (no, I don't know why, either). So I'm struggling a little to break down the clutch actuator assembly inside the generator cover itself. I need to fabricate a tool as the retaining system for the arm is, um, interesting. I'll try to remember to double-check the manual before doing too much more next week. Haynes are quite good at suggesting alternatives to the "special" tools.
The carburettor is all broken down, oiled and bagged up. It wasn't in bad nick really, there was a bit of jellified fuel in the bottom of the float bowl and bottom end of the main jet, but that'll clean up with some brake cleaner (something to add to the list there) apparently. It could have been a LOT worse. I couldn't get the idle adjuster screw out though, will have to attack that again sometime.
I also had to spend some time fixing the chain on the Skopion again. It had managed to lose the retaining clip of the joining link... I seriously didn't think it was a good idea to ride the bike, knowing it was like that - obviously I must've ridden it a bit before I saw the problem - but I have no idea how far. So Justin (bless him) took some time out from finishing coursework and starting revision to help me out with that - the chain tool just doesn't have long enough levers for me! I made a good stab at it myself first though, I promise. Then Justin wanted a lift up to town to go in to the Uni for a while, and (cheeky sod) a lift home too when his friend wasn't available for a beer... Still, he's cooking a bacon and mushroom omelette for tea, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too much.
Taking the generator cover off also confirmed my suspicion that this little bike was once well cared for, under the rubber bung that hides the end of the clutch mechanism on the outside, was evidence of a generous smear of grease last time it was assembled. I'm impressed. A lot of the alloy is furry, but it cleans off fine and hopefully the oil should stop it coming back while in storage.
Basically I ran out of time today. I was in the garage until after half past nine last night, and as I'm going to be away for three days this week I figure Justin deserves some of my time tonight. So when I got back from picking him up from town I really only tidied up and called it a day. I do prefer to finish the component/assembly that I'm working on, but I can see that clutch actuator taking a while to extract. And it's going to have to come out if I'm going to repaint or otherwise refurbish that cover...
TTFN
@
Well, yesterday. A trip to Halfords yielded a can of 3-in-1 oil and a nasty plasticky modern version of the oil can I was on about. It works, but isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the old-fashioned variety. Oh well. Still haven't tracked down any barrier cream though. I NEED to get some of that, it takes days for my hands to be clean again after a proper session, and I'm supposed to be doing an audit in the Netherlands early next week. Ah well, they'll just have to think I'm slightly mad. They won't be far wrong, will they?
On to the work. I realised I'd made a basic mistake with the brake caliper when, after an amount of huffing and puffing and leaning on spanners etc to get it apart, I realised I'd need to push the pistons out from behind in the normal way (ie with brake fluid, which would mean putting it all back together and rigging up a master cylinder & lever etc). Biscuits. I don't wan't to damage them by pulling out from the front if I can help it. So I spent a lot of the afternoon taking the front brake setup off the 251 in the corner, getting that caliper broken down properly & rigging the 125 caliper to its brake line. I'm not sure it's ever going to bleed through though, as there was a lot of a kind of waxy substance in all the channels in the caliper, and of course I'd disturbed the (rather dry and old-looking) seal too. At the time of writing, the system is hanging from the garage ceiling with the lever cable-tied open and the bleed nipple open to see if the fluid will just seep through given enough time. I seem to be getting more fluid out of the joints in the brake line than the bleed nipple though. We'll see next weeked I guess. If it hasn't made any progress by then I'll have to think of another plan. I also got the exhaust off, broken down, cleaned and bagged up. Now I've got the oil can, all the components that are going into bags are getting a smear of oil so hopefully at least won't deteriorate any further. Many of the nuts & bolts etc probably won't be used again, but it's a useful discipline and it'll be good to be able to identify them for replacement purposes... That was about it for yesterday, aside from formally christening the kettle and getting the CD player to work for 2/3 of a CD, until I started hitting things on the bench which put it right off its stroke. It still hasn't forgiven me. Will have to keep an eye out in charity shops etc for a new one...
Today, 20th April. Thinking back on the day, I don't seem to have got very much done. I faffed around with the brake caliper some more, and got that rigged up to the ceiling to gravity bleed over the week. I made a bit more progress towards getting the engine out - carburettor and generator cover off. This engine is the ETZ version (I think of as the "old" style) with the clutch actuator on the right hand side, and a pin all the way through the engine to the actual clutch on the other side (no, I don't know why, either). So I'm struggling a little to break down the clutch actuator assembly inside the generator cover itself. I need to fabricate a tool as the retaining system for the arm is, um, interesting. I'll try to remember to double-check the manual before doing too much more next week. Haynes are quite good at suggesting alternatives to the "special" tools.
The carburettor is all broken down, oiled and bagged up. It wasn't in bad nick really, there was a bit of jellified fuel in the bottom of the float bowl and bottom end of the main jet, but that'll clean up with some brake cleaner (something to add to the list there) apparently. It could have been a LOT worse. I couldn't get the idle adjuster screw out though, will have to attack that again sometime.
I also had to spend some time fixing the chain on the Skopion again. It had managed to lose the retaining clip of the joining link... I seriously didn't think it was a good idea to ride the bike, knowing it was like that - obviously I must've ridden it a bit before I saw the problem - but I have no idea how far. So Justin (bless him) took some time out from finishing coursework and starting revision to help me out with that - the chain tool just doesn't have long enough levers for me! I made a good stab at it myself first though, I promise. Then Justin wanted a lift up to town to go in to the Uni for a while, and (cheeky sod) a lift home too when his friend wasn't available for a beer... Still, he's cooking a bacon and mushroom omelette for tea, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too much.
Taking the generator cover off also confirmed my suspicion that this little bike was once well cared for, under the rubber bung that hides the end of the clutch mechanism on the outside, was evidence of a generous smear of grease last time it was assembled. I'm impressed. A lot of the alloy is furry, but it cleans off fine and hopefully the oil should stop it coming back while in storage.
Basically I ran out of time today. I was in the garage until after half past nine last night, and as I'm going to be away for three days this week I figure Justin deserves some of my time tonight. So when I got back from picking him up from town I really only tidied up and called it a day. I do prefer to finish the component/assembly that I'm working on, but I can see that clutch actuator taking a while to extract. And it's going to have to come out if I'm going to repaint or otherwise refurbish that cover...
TTFN
@
08 April 2008
08/04/08
Had a lovely shopping trip today. Walked down to Halfords, which was disappointing as they didn’t have any barrier cream, but I got a catering size can of WD40. Tescos only had Large resealable bags – will have to go to Sainsburys sometime for small and medium, although my local Savacentre doesn’t always have small ones. WHSmith provided a magnetic dry-wipe notice board which I hope will be very handy. Wilkinsons supplied their usual line in el-cheapo stuff, a handful of notepads, washing up brush, toothbrushes, little food storage pots for tea/coffee/sugar/milk. Finally, a trip to Argos yeilded a kettle for under a fiver. I’ve decided to keep an Accounts spreadsheet, and this shows I spent £25.64 today, which isn’t bad for the amount of stuff I got. I’m nearly there with the scrounging list, although I haven’t really managed to “scrounge” much of it yet… I’ll steal some teabags, coffee, sugar and dried milk (only bought for breadmaking – we don’t normally use it!) from the kitchen at some convenient moment, that’ll make me feel better about it. Now, how to get all this lot home from Uxbridge…?! I’ll have fun loading up the Skorpion tonight. It might take a couple of days… Although I always say “where there’s a will there’s a way”, so I’ll give it a good go before I leave stuff here.
Had a lovely shopping trip today. Walked down to Halfords, which was disappointing as they didn’t have any barrier cream, but I got a catering size can of WD40. Tescos only had Large resealable bags – will have to go to Sainsburys sometime for small and medium, although my local Savacentre doesn’t always have small ones. WHSmith provided a magnetic dry-wipe notice board which I hope will be very handy. Wilkinsons supplied their usual line in el-cheapo stuff, a handful of notepads, washing up brush, toothbrushes, little food storage pots for tea/coffee/sugar/milk. Finally, a trip to Argos yeilded a kettle for under a fiver. I’ve decided to keep an Accounts spreadsheet, and this shows I spent £25.64 today, which isn’t bad for the amount of stuff I got. I’m nearly there with the scrounging list, although I haven’t really managed to “scrounge” much of it yet… I’ll steal some teabags, coffee, sugar and dried milk (only bought for breadmaking – we don’t normally use it!) from the kitchen at some convenient moment, that’ll make me feel better about it. Now, how to get all this lot home from Uxbridge…?! I’ll have fun loading up the Skorpion tonight. It might take a couple of days… Although I always say “where there’s a will there’s a way”, so I’ll give it a good go before I leave stuff here.
07 April 2008 (2)
Spot the difference! Today’s work on the project consisted of the start of the dismantling work on the 125. I don’t think very much of this bike is going to end up getting used in the 2x250 rebuild, but I’m building in as many good habits as I can re. tagging everything that comes off the bike with what it is and which bike it came from. There are a lot of items already removed from various bikes that aren’t tagged, but I’ll work them out when I come to putting things back together I think. So far all the components are getting bagged up in groups by item (so, for instance, the brake caliper is with all its bolts, hydraulic fittings etc.). I’ll find out how good a system it is when I get to rebuilding… I’ve noted all the different wires on the blocks in the headlight surround, what colour they are and where they go to, on little diagrams that are in with the cowl, and noted the “headlight end” of all the separate bits of loom that have come away from the front end of the bike so far… I might even be able to rebuild this loom!! I don’t think it’s possible to have too much information of this type, so I’m taking it slowly and getting down what I can. I would’ve taken photos of the wiring but it was such a tangled mess in there, I don’t think it’d have been any use anyway. I’ve been quite impressed with how easily this bike is coming apart. It had been abandoned in a sorry state (partially dismantled) but would seem to have been a pretty well-cared-for bike before then. Apart from one item, the throttle cable housing on the handlebar, everything has come off/apart very easily with only a light, pre-emptive, squirt of WD40. I’ve basically gotten the front end apart now, back to the fuel tank (which was full of water…). I’m leaving the wheels in until the end of dismantling so the bike can be moved if necessary. Next job is to get the engine out. I’ve squirted all the relevant bolts with WD40 so it’s got time to work its way in over the next week, and drained the oil (UKK!! I’ve rarely seen nastier looking “oil” come out of an engine, and there wasn’t much of it either! But it’s not siezed up, so I can hope that there’s some life left in the gearbox yet. Engine stripping is much later, but we’ll find out what the damage to that is then. I’ve made a note that I need to strip the brake caliper down & at least oil all the bits, as the hydraulic line was open to the sky when it was standing, and all the bits I took off squirted water everywhere. As water is heavier than brake fluid (I presume – it’s heavier than oil anyway!), I fully expect the caliper to be full of water, so it’ll be a mercy to it if I get rid of that & sort it out sooner rather than later. Today (or tomorrow) I will have another shopping trip & get some more stuff from the buying/scrounging list. It would be really useful to have one of those magnetic notice boards they’re selling in WHSmith (I think) for ongoing notes and “to do” lists. I’m also going to see who sells barrier cream as I don’t really get on with working in gloves, a couple of proper old-fashioned oil cans (always wanted one!), a couple of notebooks, some more food bags – re-sealable this time, the tie-tag ones are OK, but resealable is better I think. And I’m going to cheat and get a cheap toothbrush from Wilkinsons. We use an electric toothbrush and the heads from that aren’t really what you need for cleaning motorcycle parts. If I can find one for under a fiver I’ll get a kettle too, and a supply of teabags, sugar and maybe some of those longlife milk cartons like you get in cafés. So, Halfords, Tescos, WHSmith and Wilkinsons. Quite a walkabout for a lunch hour…
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