Homemade and Unique Tools

- picked up a steering head bearing remover the other day in a fit of retail madness/therapy

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- saw these too...work kind of similar

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This is a simple way to bleed brakes. Most master cylinders are located somewhere above the caliper or wheel cylinder and bleeding can sometimes be a real pain. If you have ever changed a brake hose, master cylinder, wheel cylinder or caliper you may have had air become trapped somewhere in the system. Since most master cylinders only move a small amount of fluid, the air in the system will simply stay trapped. Also air being lighter than the fluid wants to move up in the line not down so I use a new lever type oil can with 3/16" piece of fuel line about 18" long attached with a hose clamp. Attach the other end to the brake bleeder. Empty the master cylinder. Fill the can with clean fresh brake fluid, open the bleeder 1/2 to 1 turn and bleed brakes in reverse from the bleeder up into the master cylinder. Keep an eye on the master cylinder that you dont over fill it as brake fluid can raise hell with painted surfaces. When the master cylinder is full, close bleeder and check brake lever or pedal feel. You should have good brake pressure at this time. The reason I specify a new lever type oil can is that any oil can previously used for oil will contaminate your brake system........ BG
 

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I use a 12v universal fuel pump with 2 lengths of 5/16" rubber fuel line and an inline fuel filter to drain or fill my fuel tanks. You can use any 12 battery or run it right off the motorcycle battery. This is especially nice for draining tanks on fuel injected bikes that dont have a shut off valve and when filling a tank its much better than trying to pour from a gas can into a funnel........ BG
 

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Great write up on the tire changing stuff!! Tire changing is high on my list with at least three bikes needing new shoes.
 
- to undo the front sprocket...hattip steffi aus helvetia

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- a length of old cleaned chain min 16 links long
- a piece of 10mm alu 100mm x 50mm
- brace the alu block against the strengthened areas of the case, double the chain as shown

- also here is another solution

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- to undo the clutch hub nut...again hattip steffi aus helvetia

- 3 old friction plates and 2 old steel plates
- drilled and fixed with 4 bolts
- insert in hub as per normal

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- block the primary gears with a piece of plastic or nylon or alu
- undo...wont break the hub

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Side oil filter cover attached for the ages. hmm......... this worked well, two 1/2 bolts two 1/2 holes on 2 7/16" centers drilled in a suitable heavy chunk of bar. The bolts actually lightly thread into the recesses just enough for them to be nice and snug without creating any damage. keep the bar tight to the cover to reduce twisting on the bolts.

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Ring compressors from hose clamps and piston supports. Note the bent spots on the clamp-made with pliers. Clamps are just lightly tightened so they will slip off easily.

John
 

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Has anybody cobbled together a stand for truing spoked wheels after replacing the spokes? I'm thinking about just cobbling something together from 2x4s and hose clamps, maybe. But I'd be very interested in seeing one that actually works.
 
Not exacty home-made or unique, but if you ever do any of your own painting, a sandblaster outfit can be mighty handy to have. Great for cleaning corrosion off hard-to-reach surfaces too.

This one is sold by JC Whitney. I bought one several years ago, and paid full pop for it. At this sale price, it is literally a no-brainer.

I've blasted frames, tanks, fenders, and more down to bare metal with it. You'll need a decent-size air compressor. For sand, I've used a variety of media, but "play sand" which you can buy at Toys R Us works fine. Be sure to wear a mask, though, because silicon dust is hazardous.

Just dump the play sand in a bucket, stick the tube in the sand and have fun.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/portable-abrasive-blaster/p2007614.jcwx
 
Stupid simple but a very useful tool EVERYONE should have and can afford. Don't crank your engine without the plugs attached and grounded this is the simplest method I know of to ground and be able to see the spark. 18" of bare copper house wire. wrap each end around a plug base, check spark, done.
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Gary, don't you still need to ground that wire somewhere? Or is the fact that it's bare sufficient for it to get good ground through incidental contact?
 
yes touching a good ground (not carbs) passed through the engine like that is plenty for me. If you are picky wrap it around something, 20,000 volts finds ground pretty easy, it isn't real fussy.
 
When using a dual output coil gggGary's bare wire will work great. On a dual output coil the spark current flows from the coil to one plug, through the engine,the other plug to the coil. The wire replaces the engine. It doesn't need a frame ground.
Very clever. I'll remember that one.
 
The pictured set up works perfect it has two OEM early XS650 coils fired by two sets of points on a KZ305 that smoked it's coils when I left the ignition on for a few minutes with the engine not running.
 
I just built a tool today, no pics.
I was tearing down a set of forks.
Some people have used All Thread rod and put on a bunch of nuts and try locking the nuts together, and have trouble. I used 3/8" All Thread rod, instead of using a bunch of nuts and locking together, I used one 10x1.50 threaded metric nut. It's 17 mm on the outside. The same size as the damper rod.
It won't thread on right but far enough to get most of the nut on the All Thread.
I then fired up the torch and brazed the nut to the rod. I then dropped the rod down into the fork and engaged the nut with the damper. I then heated the All Thread a few inches above the fork to easily bend the rod. I then removed the rod and quenched the nut and bend in the rain barrel.
Put the rod into the fork. Set the rod on the ground. Tried my electric rattle gun. It didn't get the bolt loose. I think the 3/8" All Thread rod has to much flex to hold well.
I used a ratchet and the bolt came right out.
What I may do is cut the nut and a bit of the rod and braze it into a piece of 1/2" black pipe. It wont flex that way.
The Allen wrench I used came from a set I picked up at Harbor Frieght. A set of long Allens with a 3/8" drive like a socket. Work very good.
 
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