Yam_Tech314's official build thread

I have tools from most of the major brands, but the majority of my tools are from HFT. I've always said: "...if I was making a living off my tools, I'd buy better tools." But as a putterer, tinkerer, and fixer of broken things, the ones I have serve me just fine. (My wife still doesn't buy it when I tell her "...the more tools I have, the more stuff I can fix..." :shootme:
 
Trust me. I'm loaded with high end and very expensive tools. I just didn't buy them all at once and I only bought what I thought I needed. You can't have all the information to make the right choices in the first weeks on the job. Some inexpensive stuff can see you through. We are on the same page.
Same here, I never bought anything I wasn't 100% sure I needed and I never bought it on credit. Most all my tools are Snap-On but I saved my money and paid cash for em all. Most of my FAVORITE tools were second hand swap meet finds or hand me downs. I've picked up a lot of Wera and Vera tools on trips to Deutschland in past 10 years and I really like them but they're a lot cheaper in DE than they are here. It doesn't hurt to work for a German GMBH here in the states either, I get a care package of tools from my German counterparts stuffed into machine crates occasionally:cheers:.
 
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You guys definitely think the same way I do. When I was in school, the snap on guy tried like hell to sell us a digital torque wrench... "IT BEEOS WHEN IT HITS THE TORQUE AND YOU JUST PRESS A BUTTON TO SET TORQUE" ooooooo how fancy... It's just as easy to spin the wrench, and wait for the click. And the digital parts don't have a lifetime warranty, only two years! Needless to say (or maybe I DO need to say it...) I'm a cheap ass. I'm working to get a paycheck. Not to give it away. I am going to need a new tool box, for real, because my drawers are falling apart, and it can't keep up with the tools I already have. HF sells good ones. (US General) for $500 that I'm investing in when I can pay for one outright. Ive already got debt from school, and debt from moving. (Bought a truck, had to buy air conditioners for the new house, etc etc....) I've got enough debt as a 25 year old to share some if anyone is interested .

My boss is really knowledgeable. He told me not to waste my money on that truck either. He also lets me use a lot of his tools until I can afford to buy my own. He's quick to tell our manager what tools the shop needs to buy so that we have one "for the shop". I love the work, and so far I've only ran into a few instances where I didn't have a tool I needed.
 
On another note, I had the bike on a lift for the first time in my ownership. If it had been on a lift more in it's past life it may not have been in such poor shape when I bought it! Going to work on building the rear brake set up, and getting the forks rebuilt ASAP. I managed to change the front tire around to the proper rotational direction, and I re-bled the brakes to try and sort out an issue I was having with losing brake pressure intermittently. I think there's a problem with the brand new TC Bros master cyl.

I put my DEAD battery on a charger and brought it back to life yesterday, so I think the bike will see some run time today. As soon as I get rear susp. Upgraded, and rebuild the forks, the chassis is done. Then I can finally move onto replacing electrical switches, and installing the front headlight bucket. After that, it's chain can go on, and I can attach throttle cable, clutch cable, chain, and seat the rings under load with a ride down the road... Likely a spring time event, but I'm finally in an environment to get the work done right, and at a faster pace than my house, considering I'm only allowed to work on it after hours or on super slow days.
 

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You guys definitely think the same way I do. When I was in school, the snap on guy tried like hell to sell us a digital torque wrench... "IT BEEOS WHEN IT HITS THE TORQUE AND YOU JUST PRESS A BUTTON TO SET TORQUE" ooooooo how fancy... It's just as easy to spin the wrench, and wait for the click. And the digital parts don't have a lifetime warranty, only two years! Needless to say (or maybe I DO need to say it...) I'm a cheap ass. I'm working to get a paycheck. Not to give it away. I am going to need a new tool box, for real, because my drawers are falling apart, and it can't keep up with the tools I already have. HF sells good ones. (US General) for $500 that I'm investing in when I can pay for one outright. Ive already got debt from school, and debt from moving. (Bought a truck, had to buy air conditioners for the new house, etc etc....) I've got enough debt as a 25 year old to share some if anyone is interested .

My boss is really knowledgeable. He told me not to waste my money on that truck either. He also lets me use a lot of his tools until I can afford to buy my own. He's quick to tell our manager what tools the shop needs to buy so that we have one "for the shop". I love the work, and so far I've only ran into a few instances where I didn't have a tool I needed.
The US General boxs are nice, I wouldn't one bit ashamed to roll up in a shop with one of those.
 
Some very slight progress on the bike this week. Got a chance to change out my fork oil finally. Does anyone know how many CC's of oil they're supposed to have? I just replaced the oil with the same amount that came out. (About 165-170ccs) I did read up that this was about right. The oil was DARK and pretty thin. I put 20w fork oil in, and no leaks so I think I can skip a rebuild. I also adjusted them to the middle stiffness setting. Might go stiffer, as they're pretty darn light still.
 

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The oil spec is 10W. So, you've slowed the high speed dampening. I use 10W Bel-Ray. At 200 lbs, I have the preload backed off all the way and run increased oil level.
Read here: http://www.xs650.com/threads/buzzys-revival-82-heritage-special.60737/page-5
Start at post #90.
Took a moment to read up on it a bit. Seems that I should wait til I get some time in the saddle before I'll really know what I need to do. I'm only 165lbs so I might not need them to be as stiff as a modern motorcycles forks. It's just the only thing I have to compare them to, so I figured they were quite under par. They still might be but I won't know til I ride it...
 
Took a moment to read up on it a bit. Seems that I should wait til I get some time in the saddle before I'll really know what I need to do. I'm only 165lbs so I might not need them to be as stiff as a modern motorcycles forks. It's just the only thing I have to compare them to, so I figured they were quite under par. They still might be but I won't know til I ride it...
How good or bad is the pavement you ride on? You'll want 10W for potholes.
 
Some very slight progress on the bike this week. Got a chance to change out my fork oil finally. Does anyone know how many CC's of oil they're supposed to have? I just replaced the oil with the same amount that came out. (About 165-170ccs) I did read up that this was about right. The oil was DARK and pretty thin. I put 20w fork oil in, and no leaks so I think I can skip a rebuild. I also adjusted them to the middle stiffness setting. Might go stiffer, as they're pretty darn light still.
20W is pretty heavy for these forks, the oil viscosity wont make em any stiffer but it will slow the dampening speed WAY down. If you want stiffer you need to increase your preload or change your springs. modern progressive rate springs can be a huge improvement, but I've always been satisfied with the OEM's. A lot of guys have had good luck with cartridge emulators but again, it wont make em any stiffer they just change the dampening speed. I found 10w and 10w/15w mixed to be to fast for me so I run straight 15w. But I think any slower would be to slow for the salt ate roads around me.

FWIW I also have reamed, chamfered, and polished the transfer ports on my forks. So it makes em a little faster/efficient and thats why I'm able to run heavier oil. It helps with brake dive a bit...
 
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How good or bad is the pavement you ride on? You'll want 10W for potholes.
PA has some gnarly roads but I'm closer to Maryland where I live now so the roads ARE better. Far from perfect. I'll switch it out eventually. It may be a track bike though who knows! Lol
 
Took a moment to read up on it a bit. Seems that I should wait til I get some time in the saddle before I'll really know what I need to do. I'm only 165lbs so I might not need them to be as stiff as a modern motorcycles forks. It's just the only thing I have to compare them to, so I figured they were quite under par. They still might be but I won't know til I ride it...
If you're comparing these to modern bikes you're comparing apples to porkchops. These don't really perform like cartridge, inverted, leading/trailing axle, gas charged forks. They're simple creatures, based on nothing more than mono rate springs and basic fluid transfer speeds. They have no manipulatable valving, just oil viscosity, head space, and spring preload. If you're going to put it on the track your gonna want to seriously consider a different set of forks. If you're just going to ride it on the street, these forks do just fine.

I run them on my Eleven Special. They are not to be used with progressive wound springs. It makes tuning near impossible.

Good to know, I have no experience with them, but was considering a set. Are you running gold valves or knock offs?
 
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