I've started compiling a history of the service of the bike for my own records. It'll be a bit slapdash and some stuff only approximate, but it'll give me an idea of what I need to do with the bike.
January 2006 - 800k's
Yamaha SR400 purchased from Deus ex Machina with 800k's on the clock. Bike is daily transport. For the next three or so months I fit an aftermarket seat, indicators, supertrapp exhaust etc.
April 2008 - 8,000k's
Exhaust melts and falls off - probably due to header wrap and incorrect jetting. Replacement exhaust is fitted
14,000k's
New aluminium swingarm fitted, front fork springs and rear shocks from Ikon, fork oil changed to 15w. Exhaust also changed as a result to a Peyton place Sp-001.
16,000k's
New chain and sprockets fitted at Deus ex Machina. Oil change completed at the same time.
July 2009 - 18,000k's
Engine Rebuild and strip down. Discovered massive problems with the head, splitting a valve guide and the head was hammering itself apart. Engine was ported and a new cam fitted, new exhaust, FCR39 carb,bottom cleaned and flushed out, carillo rod and SR500 crank. All work done by Carl at Cafe Racer in NSW.
2010 - 0k's
Bike is received, new instruments fitted and electronics cleaned up by mark. Indicators are found to be flooded with water and generally pretty fucked, loom cleaned up, tabs taken off by Craig from the Mischief Makers, electronics fitted under the seat.
March 2010 - 990k's
First oil change completed, using Belray 10-40w. Spark plug changed. Old a musty black-grey, looking healthy. Valve clearences completed - .4 and .7 as per advice from Carl.
For most of it's life engine oil has been changed every 2,500k's and filter and clearences done every second. With the new SR500R engine I'm increasing it to every 2000k's with a new filter and checking the clearences each time. This is probably unnecesary but I can afford it, i have the time, and it can't hurt. It also has the benefit of making me feel like a proper man with oil under his fingernails and the appropriate swagger that comes with motorcycle maintainance.
Out of interest, here's some pics of the bike as it's come about over time.
Not mine, but exactly how it looked when I received it:
I had one guy say to me: "Only 800k's? They wind them back at the wharf. I've seen them do it. Your bike's got more than that." But mine had 800k's - I'm confident of that. If someone had wound the k's back they also replaced all the footpeg rubbers, repainted the frame, repainted the seat, cleaned out the headlight shell, got rid of all traces of oil on the downtube etc. Anyway, I'm rambling. It was new. What a nob.
Cunningly hidden behind a Toyota engine and in front of two 400kilo cars...
This would have been the day after I bought it - I got it home and changed the seat straight away. I copped a lot of flack from the folks for buying another bike, but my sister did the right thing and bought herself a bike which redirected the ire of my ma.
That weekend...
I started pulling stuff off the bike just to see how everything fits together. I fitted what I now realise was the worlds ugliest tail-tidy kit. Setting the tone for much of the bike's life, I broke a resister.
Trying to cram everything into the headlight bucket. Each thing I changed I learnt something, least of all with the rearsets. On my way to work one night I changed down to cut in front of a truck in Villawood, and "Clunk" - the whole assembly fell off. A little bit of poo came out as the B-double narrowly missed me.
A little more progress a month or two later.
Stupidly, I decided to wrap a perfectly beautiful header pipe. While I thought it looked good at the start, it did a great job of staining the header pipe. Although I've heard the jury is out on wrapping the header all the way to the exhaust port, there's enough debate about it for me to not wrap any bikes in the future. I've played with the miracle-balm Solvol and realise it can cure whatever ails ya header.
A few months later, a mate took this photo of myself on the pacific highway, just north of Sydney.
Stuffing around in my old garage...
Changed the swingarm, rear shocks, fork springs and exhaust all in one sitting. Pretty hard working where there's no lights. Harder when junkies kept throwing syringes into my shed.
As she stood in 2008. Before any of the frame was chopped. Interesting to see the difference in the tail section here and a few months later when it was taken back. Looks 20 kilos lighter.
I think that's a new chain too - has that white gummy chain lube that I've never used.
Same thing but side on. Shows the Peyton Place exhaust that replaced the terrible "Supersound" supertrapp copy.
Wasn't a bad exhaust either, but when the new engine came it had to be replaced by something that breathed a lot better to take advantage of the souped-up donk.
Not long after it went in the snow for a while.
Not the smartest move on my behalf, but worth it for the pic.
The dash at the time looked like this -
Stock, with aftermarket mirrors , headlight bracket, clipons and an oil temp gauge that cracked about 5 minutes after I put it on.
That was the next thing to suffer my ire.
With the help of a mate, Bize, we dremelled out the bars, tapped them and rewired the headlight, kill switch, indicators etc on both sides. The new switches were sweet little things and the throttle assembly was by a company called "biltwell" and it wasn't. Made of plastic, it last about five seconds before it snapped. Lesson of bike building #345 - Don't buy anything advertised in Deus.
Riding outside Ballarat. Only a couple of weeks before I removed the engine and shipped it off the Carl.
And here's the most recent shots of the bike, with new exhaust, carb, shocks, and much of the frame taken away. Makes a huge difference. There's no longer a centre stand mount either.
The arse - my bike's best angle. Kinda like a white Beyonce.
This next pic is of the ignition unit that had been relocated. All things that involved cutting and shunting and painting was completed by the disgustingly talented Craig from the Mischief Makers. The wiring itself was given a good seeing over and a redoing by Mark, ex Ducati mechanic. He did a wonderful job of cleaning up all the niggling little crap that I'd neglected to do - rubber grommets etc.
They both did a great job. Craig was the same guy who cut and welded my rear subframe.
View of the underseat.
Despite the spaghetti-like appearence, it's actually really logically laid out.
Just another wanky shot:
The new cockpit view...
Exactly what I was after, smaller gauges that sit just above, flush or below the top triple clamp, neat idiot lights (Also from Daytona) and the headlight bracket was just moved upside down. No odometer, which is a pain, but I tend to work off time - fill it up ever 2.5 hours or so. I haven't hit reserve or even come close to an empty tank yet.
I love this view. All the flash stuff...
Getting rather trendy with the angle there. That's about the sum of my photographic knowledge - it involved getting down on the grand and using my cheapo camera to take a photo forwards. That's as trendy as it'll get folks.
And ready to rock...
And there she stands as of March 2010. There's always more to do... 17"s? Paint? New dash with even smaller instruments? Change the whole thing back to an upright seated bike because my back hurts so damn much? Only time will tell...
