Sunday, 27 June 2010
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
More about 'The Old Lady'
Albert here....blogger (and newly elected Blighty XV750 restoration specialist.)
I've been having a dabble at The Old Lady's parts. She doesn't mind. Better to be dabbled and broddled occasionally than to exist forgotten under a damp dust sheet in a dark shed.
1mm spacer was inserted into starter motor before a thoroughly cleaning internal and external, re-assembling and then sprayed with silver house radiator spray paint. It would pass any concours inspection. Well not really but it's not bad even if I say so myself.
2.75mm spacer inserted into starter bendix mechanism along with 3 new springs. Compering old against new showed up a couple of suprises. I didn't expect to see any difference but the original smaller spring that acts on the gear attached to the starter was stretched quite considerable, and the original thin coil spring at the end of the bendix appeared to have some missing. Hum.....only time will tell if fitting new will show improvement. I'll tell you something though......the starter gear now sits pretty damn close to the stator / flywheel gear.... Shit if that connects at speed...gulp !
Top tip - I used string to hold the bendix in place whilst I readied the outer casing and gasket for fitting.
To be continued.................
I've been having a dabble at The Old Lady's parts. She doesn't mind. Better to be dabbled and broddled occasionally than to exist forgotten under a damp dust sheet in a dark shed.
1mm spacer was inserted into starter motor before a thoroughly cleaning internal and external, re-assembling and then sprayed with silver house radiator spray paint. It would pass any concours inspection. Well not really but it's not bad even if I say so myself.
2.75mm spacer inserted into starter bendix mechanism along with 3 new springs. Compering old against new showed up a couple of suprises. I didn't expect to see any difference but the original smaller spring that acts on the gear attached to the starter was stretched quite considerable, and the original thin coil spring at the end of the bendix appeared to have some missing. Hum.....only time will tell if fitting new will show improvement. I'll tell you something though......the starter gear now sits pretty damn close to the stator / flywheel gear.... Shit if that connects at speed...gulp !
Top tip - I used string to hold the bendix in place whilst I readied the outer casing and gasket for fitting.
To be continued.................
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Crackleport turns J.A.P. to japanese
Hello again Oilyracers, Albert here with an update from his shed.....
Along with the 'pile' of xv535 parts Team Blighty happen to have a more complete xv750 also undergoing civilianising. Bought as an 'almost runner' and affectionately known as 'The Old Lady' by the previous owner I can vouch for that fact...............just like any old biker bird she's takes a bit of starting and a bit of work on the button before things start to whirr and a spark ignites the go-go juice......hum....
Now as it 'appens Albert likes his rides to have a bit more willingness to go for a long 'un, so a poke and broddle in the mechanism was required.....
Which is a bit dangerous 'cause anything could be lurking underneath the wrinkles....and thickly applied war paint!
Poor 'Old Lady'.... It didn't take long to discover that she had given her best to a previous owner and would need all Alberts skills to bring her back from the wrong side of the tracks and tighten her up so she would ride again with confidence and have the looks of a younger model.
Now Albert doesn't mind spending the time but spending the money is a no no.... 'The Old Lady' wasn't going to be seeing the bright lights of a spares department....oh no, this make-over would be done down the back streets of town in a world famous establishment who's location is known only to the chosen few......Yes......
'The Old Sidevalve Bar' a former pickle emporium with a reputation for breathing life into waifs and strays that society have cast to one side and proclaimed beyond hope.
Right then mi' lovely lets get ya stripped down and see what can be done.....
Oh dear no wonder.....
You would have thought that after 20 years the famous Virago starter shims would have been in place, well they were not, and a hell of a lot of grease didn't help matters either. A bit of internet searching gave your old uncle Albert the sizes and the prefered positions of said shims. At 30 bucks from Captain Virago I wouldn't be placing an order, no, I would be searching the scrap metal pile behind the workshop for something suitable to make a couple.
Lucky ? well no, it's a big scrap pile and usually stocks everything I need....
and this time was no different.
The thin shim for fitment into the starter motor would be turned out of an off-cut from an old J.A.P. engine cooling cowl....John Alfred Prestwich would be proud.
The thicker shim for inserting into the bendix starter gear mechanism would be machined from 3mm steel plate of unknown origin which didn't appear to have suffered too much from being covered in soil and slugs for years before being chosen for this job.
Lets get engineering.......
J.A.P. shims.....cost £0.00
All done...Oh and I had to make a bush for the motor too.....bit of old brass, knew it would come in handy one day....(could have done with being phospher bronze but hey, beggars can't be choosers).
Did it work ? I'll let you know later.....it's time for a beer....
Along with the 'pile' of xv535 parts Team Blighty happen to have a more complete xv750 also undergoing civilianising. Bought as an 'almost runner' and affectionately known as 'The Old Lady' by the previous owner I can vouch for that fact...............just like any old biker bird she's takes a bit of starting and a bit of work on the button before things start to whirr and a spark ignites the go-go juice......hum....
Now as it 'appens Albert likes his rides to have a bit more willingness to go for a long 'un, so a poke and broddle in the mechanism was required.....
Which is a bit dangerous 'cause anything could be lurking underneath the wrinkles....and thickly applied war paint!
Poor 'Old Lady'.... It didn't take long to discover that she had given her best to a previous owner and would need all Alberts skills to bring her back from the wrong side of the tracks and tighten her up so she would ride again with confidence and have the looks of a younger model.
Now Albert doesn't mind spending the time but spending the money is a no no.... 'The Old Lady' wasn't going to be seeing the bright lights of a spares department....oh no, this make-over would be done down the back streets of town in a world famous establishment who's location is known only to the chosen few......Yes......
'The Old Sidevalve Bar' a former pickle emporium with a reputation for breathing life into waifs and strays that society have cast to one side and proclaimed beyond hope.
Right then mi' lovely lets get ya stripped down and see what can be done.....
Oh dear no wonder.....
You would have thought that after 20 years the famous Virago starter shims would have been in place, well they were not, and a hell of a lot of grease didn't help matters either. A bit of internet searching gave your old uncle Albert the sizes and the prefered positions of said shims. At 30 bucks from Captain Virago I wouldn't be placing an order, no, I would be searching the scrap metal pile behind the workshop for something suitable to make a couple.
Lucky ? well no, it's a big scrap pile and usually stocks everything I need....
and this time was no different.
The thin shim for fitment into the starter motor would be turned out of an off-cut from an old J.A.P. engine cooling cowl....John Alfred Prestwich would be proud.
The thicker shim for inserting into the bendix starter gear mechanism would be machined from 3mm steel plate of unknown origin which didn't appear to have suffered too much from being covered in soil and slugs for years before being chosen for this job.
Lets get engineering.......
J.A.P. shims.....cost £0.00
All done...Oh and I had to make a bush for the motor too.....bit of old brass, knew it would come in handy one day....(could have done with being phospher bronze but hey, beggars can't be choosers).
Did it work ? I'll let you know later.....it's time for a beer....
Friday, 28 May 2010
Saved from scrap.
Blighty calling in on status.....Albert typing........
Now all you Oilyracer fans know our next task thanks to the indepth description in Koens previous blog I will unveil our machine.
A Virago vx535. I can hardly call it stunning but there is potential.....maybe.
Bought on the dreaded ebay for a couple of hundred english smackers and collected under the cover of darkness from a coal shed in Oldham (nr the great metropolis of Manchester) our virago is lucky to be alive. (or it will be after intensive surgery)
As yet Team Blighty haven't checked what we have got for our hard earned cash, so within the next couple of days we will have a rummage and report our findings.
The task ? - to correct the faults built into the Virago by the Japs at Yamaha H.Q. and make it socially acceptable to all Eurolanders. In fact we are extending our knowledge and skills worldwide for all to take advantage of, and best of all it's free advice so get a Virago and join in. For over 20 years Virago owners have tried in vain to civilianise this unique machine......This will be the definitive guide.
(Uncle Alberts Lesson No1 - Stop sticking bits of 'Ride like the wind' bling crap all over it's lovely curvacious body, a Virago doesn't deserve to be humiliated that much !)
As always with any Oilyracer project this has to be completed at minimum cost, work done in-house if possible and lastly it's gotta run !
So hold on to ya crash helmet this could be a rough ride.....
Now all you Oilyracer fans know our next task thanks to the indepth description in Koens previous blog I will unveil our machine.
A Virago vx535. I can hardly call it stunning but there is potential.....maybe.
Bought on the dreaded ebay for a couple of hundred english smackers and collected under the cover of darkness from a coal shed in Oldham (nr the great metropolis of Manchester) our virago is lucky to be alive. (or it will be after intensive surgery)
As yet Team Blighty haven't checked what we have got for our hard earned cash, so within the next couple of days we will have a rummage and report our findings.
The task ? - to correct the faults built into the Virago by the Japs at Yamaha H.Q. and make it socially acceptable to all Eurolanders. In fact we are extending our knowledge and skills worldwide for all to take advantage of, and best of all it's free advice so get a Virago and join in. For over 20 years Virago owners have tried in vain to civilianise this unique machine......This will be the definitive guide.
(Uncle Alberts Lesson No1 - Stop sticking bits of 'Ride like the wind' bling crap all over it's lovely curvacious body, a Virago doesn't deserve to be humiliated that much !)
As always with any Oilyracer project this has to be completed at minimum cost, work done in-house if possible and lastly it's gotta run !
So hold on to ya crash helmet this could be a rough ride.....
Friday, 21 May 2010
A new era
Belgium Calling in on status!
It has been almost one year now since the last gathering of the Oilyracer cooperation in Balen.
We thought it was time to get ourselves in a meeting to plan something which was a proper plan.....just trying to be of some valued assistance to somebody.
But who would it be?
Where better to have a nice chat and a good meal than the Tan Hill Inn somewhere in the Dales (U.K.); just the right altitude so no one could hear in..
Unfortunately that day the menu and their manners were showing, they had been expecting us....we had to get out ....and not in a slow pace !
We hid in a small town called Haworth somewhere on Belle Isle Road...me thinking "so that didn't go as planned".
But still we had to get ourselves a proper task for the future.
Suddenly all sort of shady figures came on play ...we saw Russians patrolling, GI's hiding stuff, even some of the most feared came to play.
It freaked us out ....what was happening.....and most important of all to whom was all this happening?
We couldn't figure it out....until we saw who was missing..........the Japanese !!!
Why weren't they represented? What horrible thing had they done not being allowed to be on play?
We had to think about it extremely hard until Crackleport saw the whole picture...."it must have been the Virago"
The Virago was Yamaha's first attempt to help Western civilization, it's massive twin would help poor families all over the globe giving them enjoyment and so much
more for the rest of their lives.
....Petty it turned out different .....why? Actually we don't know....but we saw our plan appearing ....
The Oilyracer cooperation will attempt to make the Japanese Virago a pillar of Western society...a thing 'not to be missed'
To have a better chance of succeeding UK and Belgian site will attempt simultaneously....buying each there own VX and giving it their best.
Why...because it's cheap and loads of fun? No!
We're just trying to get a Nobel Price for it ..
It has been almost one year now since the last gathering of the Oilyracer cooperation in Balen.
We thought it was time to get ourselves in a meeting to plan something which was a proper plan.....just trying to be of some valued assistance to somebody.
But who would it be?
Where better to have a nice chat and a good meal than the Tan Hill Inn somewhere in the Dales (U.K.); just the right altitude so no one could hear in..
Unfortunately that day the menu and their manners were showing, they had been expecting us....we had to get out ....and not in a slow pace !
We hid in a small town called Haworth somewhere on Belle Isle Road...me thinking "so that didn't go as planned".
But still we had to get ourselves a proper task for the future.
Suddenly all sort of shady figures came on play ...we saw Russians patrolling, GI's hiding stuff, even some of the most feared came to play.
It freaked us out ....what was happening.....and most important of all to whom was all this happening?
We couldn't figure it out....until we saw who was missing..........the Japanese !!!
Why weren't they represented? What horrible thing had they done not being allowed to be on play?
We had to think about it extremely hard until Crackleport saw the whole picture...."it must have been the Virago"
The Virago was Yamaha's first attempt to help Western civilization, it's massive twin would help poor families all over the globe giving them enjoyment and so much
more for the rest of their lives.
....Petty it turned out different .....why? Actually we don't know....but we saw our plan appearing ....
The Oilyracer cooperation will attempt to make the Japanese Virago a pillar of Western society...a thing 'not to be missed'
To have a better chance of succeeding UK and Belgian site will attempt simultaneously....buying each there own VX and giving it their best.
Why...because it's cheap and loads of fun? No!
We're just trying to get a Nobel Price for it ..
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