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!

 

 

Roxy: Headlight Wiring

Got new shorter black mounts, but the width of the mounting points is too wide for the forks.

But found that by using smaller 8mm bolts (instead of 10mm) it gives the mounts enough room to bend diagonally inwards so that the light can mount.

Also has the benefit of creating a tension (as both mounts push outward) that can actually hold the light in place even without the outer bracket.

So the outer bracket becomes just an extra measure of securing instead of the only thing holding it up.

 

 

Roxy: New Headlight

Testing the new Dime City 6-1/4" headlight on Evie, looking to replace Roxy's stock.

Got the wrong mounts - AGAIN!  They are way too long and extend out too far...

 

 

Red: Headlight Grill Chop #2

Drilled out new 8mm holes in the headlight grill.

Started out with the step bit just to make a solid indentation.

Then switched to the DeWalt bits and just started with the smallest and worked my way up.

Finally, went back to the step bit to clean up the hole and smooth out the edges.

Came out trick.

Mounting was fiddly.  Ended up switching to 3 washers for spacers as the ones that came with it were now too wide.

 

Red: Headlight Grill Chop #1

The grill I've had sitting in the closet for years is perfect for the new Dime City headlight as it squares it off and gives it a better profile.  Only problem was that the mounting ears were way too long.  Not only would I have to drill new mounting holes but the ears themselves needed to get chopped otherwise they'd hit the mounts.

Dremel cutting wheel made short work of it.

Summer Garage Day Three

Installed the new headlight switch (just $13 from Amazon and looks trick!).  Surprisingly took 3 hours to do it all and then clean up all the wiring.

Summer Garage Day One

First day of Summer Garage Week.

First things first, pulled Ivy's top end after she lost all compression a few days back after running for a few seconds.

Leak test (with gas) was pretty conclusive.  Definitely a valve stuck slightly open.  Left it all disassembled for now.


Switched to testing Red's LED light when hooked up straight to the battery.  Confirmed that while it still flickers slightly at idle, it's almost unnoticeable under throttle.  So definitely could work but now just need a handlebar switch.

Messed with moving Red's needle position to address the stumble/running rich issue, but didn't make much difference and realized it wouldn't matter much under throttle.

So did the full swap to the brand new carb (same model) and voila!  Stumble completely gone and feels like there's much more power.

But wonder why the old carb gunked up so quickly?  Going to order an ultrasonic cleaner and give it a thorough cleanse.

 

Red: LED Tease

Nothing's ever easy...

First up, the new Dime City mirrors were great because of the almost limitless adjustability, but the included 10mm allen bolt was too long for the handlebar mount.  I had to shim it with 3 washers to get the length correct.

They seemed to do the job, though.  Almost giving me a full view of what was directly behind.

I was more excited to hook up the new 5.5" side-mount headlight with the new LED bulb I'd swapped out for the included halogen.

I swapped the buckets over and rerouted all the wiring, which was a lot simpler with the Wago connectors.  Turned it on with the kill switch and it looked fantastic.

It was all going swimmingly until I actually started the motor.  Got a very, very noticeable flickering, pretty much in rhythm with the pulse of the motor.

So... left everything as it was but disconnected the bulb.

Back to the drawing board...

Run Red Run: Odd Jobs

A few odd jobs on a half day-off...

• Mounted the headlight... you have to install the mounts before the light itself!
• Added the new taillight to the rear fender (using the extra holes drilled into it).  Then mounted the fender itself.  Nice!
• Pulled Astrid out for the first time in ages.
• Pumped up the tires which were flat.
• Checked to see if gas was flowing.  Discovered that it would flow in Reserve, but nothing flowing out when switched full on.  Figured there was a clog in the filter.  Only when packing up did I bother checking the gas level and saw that it was way below the inlet pipe so of course only the Reserve would work!  Dumb, dumb, dumb...
• Also realized/remembered that the big reason you can't run a full on S90 head on the CM91 is because the frame blocks the intake/carb.  So you can run the top end but you still have to use the CM91's carb/air filter.
• Checked the sizing of the new 48mm Flexhone in the CT90 jug and it looked like a good fit.

Red: New (Smaller) Headlight Mounts

Got a set of cheap (Chinese) mounts that are much shorter and bring the headlight back toward the frame.  They don't look that great, though, and now that I see the headlight set back, I'm not sure I like it as much.  I left it on for now...