S90: Speedo Update

I didn't actually touch up the black paint near the 40 mph mark yet, but I went over the white border piece with plain old Wite-Out (which worked beautifully), and replaced the green neutral indicator lens.  I'm pretty sure the lens is in upside down, and should actually look like the turn signal indicator on the far right.  However, I can't see an easy way to position it under the speedo face and then glue it in.  But since I only used white glue to hold it in, I can always re-fix it again in the future.  Obviously, the glass got a good wipe down as well.


Before...

After...

S90: Tank 2, Left Cover

Popped off the left hand cover on Tank #2 for a closer inspection and light cleaning.  This is the one with a big dent, so it's a good one to beat up on.

S90: Rubber Gas Mount

Not sure why the old rubber mount bothered me so much.  Seems pretty pointless to work on making the gas tank mounting more sturdy on a bike that won't run for another year.  But regardless...  old mount out, new mount in.  Took quite a bit of elbow grease to fit it onto the frame - which is probably a good thing.

S90: Speedo Repair, Part I

Unfortunately, the speedo isn't designed to be easily disassembled.  That doesn't appear to stop anyone, however.  Trouble is, you literally need to peel the metal lid off the main housing centimeter by centimeter.  It's almost as if you had to remove the lid to a pickle jar - except you can't do it by unscrewing it.  Instead you have to pry the metal up all the way around until you can literally pull it straight off.

It would probably be easier if you had the exact right tool for the job (not sure what that would be, though).  But I ended up having to use a large flathead screwdriver.  I'd work the tip under the metal lip and pry just a little bit up, then just repeat that down the line.  But the rounded edges of the speedo were difficult because it was hard to get any purchase under the lip.  This job just took time and a lot of patience.

Once the cover seemed almost ready to come off, you have to get some leverage and pry it off.  I was conscious of warnings not to ruin the glass face.  Unfortunately, it's hard to know exactly where your screwdriver tip is the first time you're doing it and I ended up putting a couple of gauges in the glass.


Poor lighting on these pictures, but you can see the metal lip being pried up little by little.

After a working all the way around the perimeter, this is the lid about ready to be pried off.

Close up of some paint chips that need to be fixed.

S90: Rear Light Modification

Classic rookie mistake: there have been at least three different versions of the S90 taillight bracket over the years, and the first two I ordered were both wrong.

The first one I tried was made for a completely different type of fender.  So I ordered another one that I thought was right, but while it fit the curve of the fender, the mounting holes weren't in the right place.

So, Dremel time...  The left hole below is the original size and location.  On the right is how much metal I had to remove to make it fit.  Once both sides were done, it fit perfectly.

S90: Handlebars Stripped

Yanked out the winker wiring, speedo cable, and the remnants of the old left side handle grip.  We're now left with a nice clean handlebar that we'll have to build up from scratch.

Evapo-Rust

My gallon of Evapo-Rust got delivered the other day and I was pretty eager to see if it lived up to the hype.  Twenty-four hours later I was sold.

Not only is it effective, the process itself couldn't be simpler.  And it's non-toxic to boot.  And it's not that expensive ($26.95 shipped for my gallon jug).  And it's re-usable.  What more could you ask for?

So you take a badly rusted bolt that looks like this:

You soak it overnight, and end up with this:

Viola, no more rust!