Productive Night

[Sidehopper]

Last night I drained and replaced my final drive oil - 1/4 inch below the threads, per the gurus. I'm happy to report that while the oil was very thin, it was free of debris and was still pink and translucent. I'll drain it again a few rides from now to make sure it cleans up the old gear oil, especially since the manual says to replace the oil with the same brand as was in the case before and I have no idea what it was filled with previously. My son helped me with that project, it was awesome Father-Son time. Then today he helped me get his new, bigger bike ready for him. We filled the tubes, greased the chain, and installed retractable training wheels. He's growing up so dang fast

I got some black Plastic Weld to fix a crack in the fake tank. I drilled out the edge of the crack, sanded and sawed away the old epoxy "fix" attempted by some PO, laid some vaseline coated tape over the top of the crack, and crammed as much of the Plastic Weld into the crack and drilled hole as I could. Hopefully this will hold.

While I had my fake tank off, I finally found the two frame bolts on the right side that always come loose and lo, they were both finger tight. The top one was easy to tighten up, but the bottom one was a real pain to do without taking the fairing off. Tonight wasn't the night the for the fairing teardown I plan to do sometime - but I got the bolt tightened. That's bound to help stiffen up the ride even more. I tried running the forks without air (Progressive springs installed), but they were pretty bouncy and deceleration wobble was pretty noticeable so I put in about 5 PSI. I imagine the frame bolts being loose could certainly cause some wobble when the front takes more load while coasting. The front fork oil was added when the friend I bought the bike from put the Progressive forks in. He actually had the Kawasaki dealership do the job for him, too, and the manual says replace the fork oil roughly every 19k miles so I should have a lot of life left in that oil.

It feels good to be working on a bike again

[Nails]

I got some black Plastic Weld to fix a crack in the fake tank. I drilled out the edge of the crack, sanded and sawed away the old epoxy "fix" attempted by some PO, laid some vaseline coated tape over the top of the crack, and crammed as much of the Plastic Weld into the crack and drilled hole as I could. Hopefully this will hold.

I'm hopeful, too. The "tank" is ABS, and ABS cement works really well. Cheap, at any hardware store. Generic "plastic cement" might not do anything the epoxy didn't. (Maybe yours was ABS cement.)

It feels good to be working on a bike again

I can honestly say that I don't like working on my bike, except (sometimes) fabricating something new. But I'm looking at a lot of maintenance ... as soon as I finish getting doors on my shop.

[Sidehopper]

I'm hopeful, too. The "tank" is ABS, and ABS cement works really well. Cheap, at any hardware store. Generic "plastic cement" might not do anything the epoxy didn't. (Maybe yours was ABS cement.)

I looked a few times at my (small) hardware store, but they didn't have ABS cement specifically. I ended up using Permatex Black Plastic Welder, which is somewhat similar to ABS cement, except it contains mostly MMA plastic instead of ABS plastic. I'm hopeful that this will hold better more because of the difference in technique - PO just mixed up the epoxy and dumped a big glob onto part of the underside of the crack, without even coverage. I'm guessing they only applied it as far as the crack had progressed at that point and hoped it would just hold it together enough to prevent more cracking, but they didn't put any near the edge where the crack started so it didn't actually stop the tank from flexing and cracking through the epoxy glob they added. If they had even coverage and ensured the epoxy filled the crack properly, I'm sure it would have held a lot better.

I can honestly say that I don't like working on my bike, except (sometimes) fabricating something new. But I'm looking at a lot of maintenance ... as soon as I finish getting doors on my shop.

Troubleshooting and problem solving are fun challenges for me most of the time, and since most of the jobs I am doing are dead-simple maintenance or repairs I get to feel that "I did work with my hands and improved something" satisfaction. It's definitely a healthy hobby to help balance the fact that I work in IT and sit at my desk all day! I'm also taking my time when I'm working and not biting off more than I can chew, so it usually stays frustration free, and since my bike is also in need of neglected maintenance tasks I'm able to see and feel how the ride is improving as time goes on. I watched the NorCal Voyagers video for the rear shock oil change last night, so that's a job that's on the radar and will improve the ride immensely. Good luck getting the doors on your shop!

[Nails]

somewhat similar to ABS cement, except it contains mostly MMA plastic instead of ABS plastic.

The critical thing is that it contains acetone (I think it's just little bits of ABS dissolved in acetone). That's how I identify ABS in the first place. In my view, all other plastics are "other" and basically nothing sticks to them. I understand that polyethylene (most of "other") famously has no glue whatsoever.

I've torqued cracks closed (using a nylon cord and a trucker's hitch, pulled very tight) and then applied ABS cement with a toothpick. They've held, much to my surprise.

ABS is simple to sand. It leaves little flags, but a thin coat of Bondo holds them in place to finish the sanding.

It's definitely a healthy hobby to help balance the fact that I work in IT and sit at my desk all day!

I'm happily retired and have hobbies/volunteer work to satisfy my brain. It's ironic to the extreme that I finally have a workspace, warm and out of the weather, just as I'm getting too old to bend around and otherwise do the work. But the simple fact is that I only wrench because it lets me ride.

Despite saying that, I have two bike restorations in the queue -- both smaller than my XII, for when I get too old for that, too. But right now, I need to finish this shop and get some firewood. And I'm leaving again for another two weeks (this time riding the train). Plus, I need to get the XII ready for a winter trip through Organ Pipe Cactus and along the border. ("December is our highest visitation month.")

I have complete control of my life, plenty of fun options, and still complaining. Sheesh.

[Sidehopper]

The critical thing is that it contains acetone (I think it's just little bits of ABS dissolved in acetone). That's how I identify ABS in the first place.

This is a really helpful tip, I did try to find some ABS glue online but it was impossible to find something that wasn't just "glue that is compatible with ABS". If my attempt at fixing the crack doesn't go as well as planned, now I know what to look for to get ABS glue for the second attempt - thank you!

I'm happily retired and have hobbies/volunteer work to satisfy my brain. It's ironic to the extreme that I finally have a workspace, warm and out of the weather, just as I'm getting too old to bend around and otherwise do the work. But the simple fact is that I only wrench because it lets me ride.

Clearly the ride is still worth the wrenching, I hope that equation stays tilted towards "fun" for you for a long time :)

Plus, I need to get the XII ready for a winter trip through Organ Pipe Cactus and along the border. ("December is our highest visitation month.")

I have complete control of my life, plenty of fun options, and still complaining. Sheesh.

I've always loved cacti, even as a kid, so Organ Pipe Cactus would be an amazing ride. So beautiful and desolate, life flourishing despite the harsh environment...but what fun would life be without something to complain about?I bet the cacti would complain if they could!

[VoyKimmer]

This is what I ordered from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U ... UTF8&psc=1

ABS is not used in my area only PVC so ABS glue can’t be found at any hardware store at all.
Have to order it online only.

[Nails]

Have to order it online only.

Or find some acetone and roll your own.

[Sidehopper]

Or find some acetone and roll your own.

I was just reading about the process to make my own ABS slurry, seems like a good thing to know about. I also looked into the Plastic Welder I used - it reacts and turns into PMMA, AKA acrylic, which can also be dissolved in acetone. It softened the area around the crack where it touched, so it should have a pretty good weld to the ABS.