Thursday, March 26, 2009

It's alive (for awhile)

Well it's running.... for awhile. I was able to get the bike full of fluids -- oil, water, and gasoline. Jury-rigged the ducati battery, hotwired the ignition, and after a few tries, got it running! Hooray! Did learn a few things.

Water: radiator appears to be sufficient size and volume... although not much overheats at +5 degrees celcius. We'll have to wait on that one.

Gas: tank for sure doens't leak. Carb float WAY too high (pool of fuel under the bike the next day, intake throat flooded, etc.) Stinky garage, but I re-set the float height to a level that should work. Also got a larger pilot, drilled out the plug for the idle jet, got a larger main jet, and shimmed the needle. Total cost: $5.00. Who needs jet kits? Will still require mucho fiddling, I assume.

Oil: oil tank (Raptor 700) is too small -- barely 1.5 litres can be held. Not enough. As well, one section of press-fitted, hose-clamped oil line leaks. Its not a barb fitting. Turns out the tube is not 3/8 OD, but actually 10mm. Went to a hydraulics place in Brandon, and they are confident they can solve this problem by securing a barbed fitting to the line itself -- usually these are good to hundres of PSI. Looking positive. Also stopped by Cycleboyz with some pictures of other oil tank from other monos'. They are confident they can put something together in alloy for me, using some of the fittings from the other tanks I have acquired. Makes life easier attachment wise, but I still might spend some more money and go NPT. The reality is, the tank is the only outsourced part that I can't properly build or modify myself... and it will be expensive. So be it -- the oil volume is too important to cut corners on. Shopping out this, and likely the paint isn't much when you consider I've been able to do everything else on my own. And it's just for lacking a tig welder...

Snagged a supersport Ducati tail for under $100 -- new. Just need to figure out turnsignals and taillights, and it's a done deal. The tyga tail will be for the track.

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