Saturday, January 12, 2013

Rebuild

The forks have been returned, which allows the installation of more new and/or modified parts.  On  Thursday, I returned home from work to be greeted with this waiting for me... nice!  I tore it open, and including the rebuilt forks, I had the components of the old fork innards, and the sponsorship swag as well.  Sweet.

Forks went on quite easily.  Note decal on fork bottom.  There is a nice rubber ring on the other fork leg to gauge fork travel. No more zip ties for me!

The forks allowed me to install the dash.  I've changed the design somewhat (a few times, actually) but I think I have something that is compact, and allows me to mount the lap timer (on top) and the temp gauge (below the gauge) to the same piece.

The new dash had a knock-on effect in that the steering damper had to be replaced with a traditional side-mount unit.  I sold the GRP damper for $100, and bought this WP unit for $70.  The previous owner indicated it was not adjustable, but he goofed -- this one has 7-8 clicks of adjustment as a decent WP damper should!  The rag is there to catch any drips -- I've removed the brake lines to allow the installation of the new Speigler lines to the R6 calipers.

I tracked down a quick turn Domino throttle.  This has been a bit of a bugbear for me, even the other solutions I have tried from stock still required far too much twist to open the throttles right up.  This is the solution... likely a 1/5 turn throttle, ready to unleash the massive 71 horsepower!  Scotty at Transcanada let me root through a bin of unclaimed throttle cables to get an outer sleeve that would work.  As usual, I custom-made the inner wire, soldering on the ends after cutting the stainless wire to suit.

Vortex offered a 50% off deal for racers who are a part of their support program.  I jumped at the chance and got a matching clutch lever to go with the 636 perch scored off of eBay.

The bellypan has made some progress as well.  This is where it is at now... I've applied one coat of "microspheres" -- a powdery mix you add to epoxy resin (until you get the desired viscosity), and then spread it on the panel.  I think it will make a nice surface for paint prep, is far lighter than typical bondo, but sands to a fine talcum powder-like consistency that likes to hang in the air for quite some time.  A breathing filter is absolutely critical when working with these microspheres -- they are tiny glass bubbles... not something you want to breathe into your lungs!

A word about the temperature.  Working in the garage today it was -21 Celsius... that is -6F for you Fahrenheit types.  When sanding with the mask on, the humidity from your breath coats the inside of the breathing apparatus with condensation, and if the mask is left outside afterward, it freezes solid.  Your fingertips get so numb that you lack any tactile sensation, so you are constantly dropping nuts and bolts.  Finally, for several hours afterward, your fingers feel like needles are jabbing into them... a sign of minor frostbite.  I have decided that a summer project is to finally insulate the garage... for NEXT winter!

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