Ordered and got some paint to do the lower front side panels (due to road rash) and the top side panels due to the repair I made. Started with the lower panel and sanded with 180, 320 then 600 grit pads. Here it is after the primer has been applied: When I went to spray the black the nozzel on the can was a duffer so had to swap to the one used in the primer After applying the black the lacquer went on: Will let it fully cure then try to buff up to see how it looks. Cheers
Got the right mirror the other day and all fitted. Busy with work and stuff so not touched the fairings to finish them off (away this weekend too) but will hopefully get them sorted next week.
A few extra jobs as part of this years Thruxton service Gearchange pivot plate, clutch pressure plate bearing, new centre nut & C washer to refit the clutch and wheel seals. Because of the well documented issues with the water cooled twins gearshift and my own experience with the same failure on the Daytona I replaced the pivot plate as a preventative measure at 10k shortly after buying the bike, now its at 26k thought i'd throw another new one in for peace of mind. also had a slight squealing sound when pulling in the clutch with the engine fully warm, only notice it when I get home but thought I'd replace the pressure plate bearing at the same time to see if its that. Clutch cover removed, last time I lightly greased the mating surfaces so thankfully no gasket at all stuck to the crankcases and only a few bits to the cover, have to catch the starter idler gears & shafts as they can fall out. Using the gasket packing to keep track of the different length screws. Clutch out to access the gearshift, impact gun makes this job much easier, again have to catch the top idler gear as you remove the outer drum, can see the pivot plate behind the oil pump chain. gearchange shaft out, old pivot plate on the left in surprisingly good condition, maybe they have improved the quality, one of those things you can't tell until you go in to look and at that stage you may as well replace it anyway for peace of mind, for the sake of £9. Was ready to heat up the pressure plate to remove the old bearing but it just fell out, new one didn't fall back in though, 10 mins in the oven though and it dropped in nicely. Measured the clutch friction plates, all between 2.90mm and 3.00mm, new spec size is 2.90 - 3.10mm (limit 2.80mm) so no wear, steels look good as new so should last the life of the bike. Refitting the clutch outer drum probably the trickiest bit, getting the centre bearing in and aligning the oil pump drive pins while juggling with the starter idler gears all at once, also need to be careful refitting the cover, as well as the gearchange shaft running through the cover the balance shaft adjuster needs to find its home plus the two starter idler gear shafts as well as engaging the clutch lifter. All buttoned up with a quick polish to finish off Only had opportunity for one test ride so far, gearshift feels fine, which it did before to be fair, couldn't hear the noise from the clutch, early days but fingers crossed the bearing has fixed that.
Steffy finally got taken for its spa day yesterday at the detailer's, and I let some other poor sod do all the hard work for me. It's come home cleaner than I've ever seen it, ceramic coated and with new heel guards and tank protectors put on. It's looking bloody gorgeous! A massive thanks to FC Trott's for the hours spent on it.
Oi, hers & hers on "my" side of the garage, thank you! Mr J is a proper biker and rides all year round, so his bike doesn't need these wussy things like trickle chargers.
They've done a cracking job, and that's from someone who's a bit OCD with his cleaning. Paintwork looks glorious, and going the extra mile polishing the headers, it was always a great combination the blue and gold but yours looks stunning. Although saying all that, have they missed some balance weight residue on the rear wheel
I thought that I'd got away with no one noticing that! I've spotted a few little things that have been missed since getting it home, but it's still a million times better than I'd do. Or that I can be bothered to do
When replacing the wheel seals last week during the Thruxton service found the front bearings a bit tight turning the inner races by hand, despite the wheel spinning free as a bird when it was all together. Decided to change the bearings, managed to buy the exact same NSK 6004 bearings AND a blind bearing puller kit for the same price Triumph were asking just for two bearings. Seal (2 week old) removed and circlip, my plan to use the bearing puller came unstuck now as the spacer is tight up against the back of the bearing there's not enough room for the lip on the edge of the collet insert. Service manual says move the spacer over and knock them out from the rear with a punch, I thought the puller was a more elegant method but I'd have to start them at least with a punch. Next problem couldn't move the spacer, after a long struggle had to partially insert a bar, similar size to the spindle, and force it over just enough to start the bearing with a punch. Once it had moved a few mil could then use the puller and they came out with no more issues. Can see the lip on the puller collet below. Triumph use a tool to draw the bearings in, I prefer to tap them in as long as they're not too tight as you can feel and hear when they bottom out much better. My 30mm impact socket was dead on 42mm OD same as the bearing so had to grind 0.5mm off to make the ideal tool for inserting, warmed the wheel hub and had the bearings in the freezer overnight (debatable how useful that is) and they went back in nicely, only had to use my No.2 hammer. Don't forget the spacer before the second bearing Finished with new seals again, these just push in with your thumbs. Now weirdly once the old bearings were removed they felt perfect turning by hand, it was only when the inner races were preloaded against the spacer did they feel less than perfect. Even the brand new bearings feel a little tighter once in the hub than out of the box, so maybe they really didn't need replacing after all, like I said with the calipers removed the wheel would spin seemingly forever with only the seals slowing it down, but better over maintained than under maintained, especially with free labour.
After the little accident (the bike fell into the gates and smashed the top of the front cowl etc) I have finally put it back together. Resprayed both bottom panels and the offside top fairing panel as I had repaired a few cracks etc. Not used for months so will go for a blast tomorrow morning - weather permitting
The 'bikes looking gorgeous again! That's a lot of work you've put into getting it back to that condition. Hope you've got about three miles of bubble wrap to go around it now.
Thanks Janey - a scuff on the tank which needs to be addressed then hopefully all good. No need for bubble wrap as the speed I ride at, no chance of anything happening
Fitted the Oxford heated grips today - too wet for riding & it’s getting chillier out there… so popped into Aldi & got a new merino baselayer top for £20 to go with the Spada bottoms. It’s proper autumn already, isn’t it…
Sunny yet chilly 200mi run out over the mid wales. Perfect bike for it (with heated grips fitted mountains to the coast & back on Saturday
I'm very late to the party with heated grips and I only discovered the wonder of them a couple of years ago. They're up there with the greatest gifts to humanity. Ever!
Today I had to do something to the 'bike that I've never had to do before... I had to clean off red kite spillage from the screen and my helmet . Hitting something with a 2m wingspan head on at 60+mph is not something I'd recommend.
