Roxy II: Carb Swap

 So after the first shakedown run where she couldn't hold idle once warmed up, decided to swap over to the Keihin CS90C (#1).  

Had the total golden touch today.  The carb swap went smoothly (nice to have the looped extra length of fuel line) and she started right up and ran with no issues.

Then ran the kill switch between the points wire and the coil and that worked a treat.  Ran the black/red wires along ridge behind the air filter and zip tied it into the holes for the stock air box.  Used the cloth electrical tape to tidy it up.

New brake cable went in.  The nodule was a bit too tall to fit the lever, but shaved it down just a bit and then it went in no problem.

Finally, padded the inside rim of the headlight with more cloth tape to get rid of the rattle.

Four jobs that could have gone either way but all ended up smooth as butter and everything worked!  Love days like this...

 

 

Roxy II: Yellow Tint

 

 

Got a $6 roll of unbranded yellow tint material at Amazon.  Tested it out on the old can't-change-the-bulb headlight.  Pretty fiddly procedure and couldn't really get it very smooth.

But tried it the following day on Roxy's actual light and found the glass was much flatter so made application a lot easier (or maybe I'd just gotten the hang of it).  Came out looking way better than I'd been expecting...

 

Roxy II: Switches and Lights

Hooked up the horn switch.

Hooked up the low beam so that it is powered on by the key switch but can also be toggled from the handlebar switch.

Tried to run the kill switch wires straight up from the battery box along the clutch cable.  The wiring was fine, but realized that it doesn't actually stop the engine because the alternator is providing power at that point.  Need to interrupt the alternator wire.  Would be nice to even make that a switch so that it I could have the option to run it at any point if needed.

Cleaned and lubed the chain.  Slack ok.

Front tire down to 25.  Rear is ok.

Waiting for handlebar wrap and then I think we take her out for a shakedown.

 

 

Roxy II: Drag Bars

 Perhaps even more bizarre than Roxy having that sudden too-rich-can't-idle issue was the fact that I came down today, started her up and she seemed to run just fine.  Maybe a touch of hesitation, but certainly nothing like the day before.  

So what could have possibly caused the issue in the first place... and what could have possibly resolved it??  Thought about swapping over to the Keihin as a test but decided to just keep the Sheng for awhile longer to see what happens.

Went ahead and swapped over to the chrome drag bars which were instantly more comfortable for some reason.  And turned out that the width was just right, no need to cut.

Ran the engine for several minutes multiple times just to test the idle again.  Noticed that there was a very heavy "bubbling" leak from the neutral gasket and instantly remembered that the breather valve was Roxy's in the first place.

Added it back and leak disappeared.

The clutch cable was feeling very crunch, so lubed with fork oil and now it's buttery.

 

 

Roxy: Stymied Left and Right

Getting stymied from every angle today.

Detaching the switches and getting the old handlebars off went smoothly.

Put on the new black bars and was looking for a comfortable position, though never quite felt 100% right.

Went to cut off the left side and after doing way more turns with the Ridgid than usual, realized that the metal was way too thick for the cutter!  Was already bottoming out against the tool before it had cut all the way through.

Left that to simmer and went to start the bike using the new throttle cable and setup and she would not hold idle!  Classic symptoms of being way too rich: had to dial out the idle and air screw way, way out just to barely keep her running.

So bizarre since really nothing on the carb should have changed as I'd only swapped in a different cable.  So tried swapping back to the old cable to test and still had the same issue.  The Sheng had been running fine just the day before!

Saw heavy white vapor coming out of the throttle cap and air intake side whenever the engine died, again confirming a rich mix.

 

 

Roxy: Venhill Throttle Cable #3

Did up a new Venhill cable for Roxy's bars.  This time just used the tiny ball nipple instead of taking the trouble to open up the hole on the lever.

Melted the solder directly over the bird's nest and just worked it in with the tip of the iron.

Venhill notes in Volume 3, page 73.

 

 

Dremel Stripping Wheels

 Got a pack of stripping wheels for the Dremel.  Came as a pack of 40 with 10 of each grit.  Using the coarsest 120 grit to start.  Tested on various fiddly bits that the grinder couldn't reach.

Does an ok job for the price ($13 Amazon) but just doesn't have the power I was hoping for.  Going to be tough to get these sections down to clean bare metal without media blasting.

 

 

Ivy Neutral Leak?

 Suspect that the oil spray is coming from the neutral gasket.  Put a cork cover over it to test the theory.  Does Ivy need a breather valve, too?

 

New Makita Angle Grinder

Picked up a new Makita 4-1/2" angle grinder, model #GA4542C.  $157 from Home Depot (and got the 2-year protection plan).

Felt familiar in actual use, basically like a gigantic Dremel.  A bit heavy, but that may just be me not being used to a big tool like that.

Used a Roloc stripping disc (5 pack for $33) which did the business.  Worked well on the flatter sections but will still need something for the fiddly bits.

 

 

Roxy: Fork Oil Replaced

 

Changed Roxy's fork oil.  Was worried at first that the plug was clogged, but used a single strand copper wire to clear the muddy gunk enough to let it flow.

 Drained 125 mL and added the same amount back.

 

Roxy: New Headlight Installed

Was worried that it would be tough to get Roxy's bridge off, but realized that when I'd had that issue in the past it was probably due to the axle nut being tight and the forks causing too much tension in the bridge.

With the axle nut loosened, the bridge popped right out, no problem.

Got the old wiring out and fitted the new light just as I'd tested it on Evie.

Cleaned up the old wiring, added labels, swapped out to Waco connectors as needed.

Tested and everything working as expected!