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Jim's 1980 SG Miss September
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
I figured that once i re- read your posting..so cutting it down 1" is the solution...
Longer shocks benefit the visual stance of the bike. The seat height and the handling as well.
Center stand ease is also a benefit of longer shocks.
Center stand ease is also a benefit of longer shocks.
You could always cut a 3/4" deep hole in the garage floor....
Whatever you do don't roll the rear wheel up on a piece of 2x6 before using the center stand, it takes all the fun out of it.
I have a beat up, needs welding centerstand for the Norton on the way from England, Commando stands are like hens teeth.
I have a beat up, needs welding centerstand for the Norton on the way from England, Commando stands are like hens teeth.
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Bad news , good news. Finishing off the seat pan, reaming and tapping the 6mm bracket holes only I tried, after lots of penetrating lube to back out a broken screw and the reversing bit grabbed and stuck....and broke it off clean in the hole. Biting in there good. Good news, machinist is back but not feeling to hot like the weather is. Looking like I'm going to have to build up a layered seat foam on top of this pan as I am pretty much out of options for ready made molded foam....may explain that later.
Hello Jim,
I am having trouble with the power stud on my starter - it is rotating. Ihad thought it to be irreplaceable but I just found this thread. Did you replace the rusted stud when you did this starter rebuild?
I am having trouble with the power stud on my starter - it is rotating. Ihad thought it to be irreplaceable but I just found this thread. Did you replace the rusted stud when you did this starter rebuild?
No I didn't. Once I got the rusted nuts and washers off, the stud was actually in pretty good shape. I saw where yours is twisting. Iirc, once you get it apart, you should be able to tighten the stud.
Cheers, that's what I'm hoping.
Thanks for the info JimCenterstand.... Done.
While playing around with it to see if there's anything else to be done to make things easier, I realized the feet throw the geometry off when you push it down. The front part of the feet hit the ground long before the downtube is almost vertical.....
View attachment 141493
That's approximately the angle it sits at when it makes contact. I suspect that an additional 5° could be had if the front of the foot wasn't there.... so I cut it off.
View attachment 141494
Looks to be about 30% less foot area now. If that proves to be a problem, I'll weld some plate to the backside to restore the area. Since I have no plans to deploy the stand in the dirt though... it shouldn't be a problem.
Made a bump bracket to attach to the muffler bracket (I drilled a hole for it when I made the muffler bracket). Found some glue on rubber buttons in a scrounge box... installed it.
View attachment 141495
View attachment 141496
Also made and welded on a tang brace. And the centerstand is officially done!!!
View attachment 141497
I've had 250's that were harder to get on the stand than the SG is now. EXTREMELY happy with how easy it is.
My 75 will just get grease zerks it goes easy now
But my triumph will have to have the stand shortened some more and for sure I will have to alter the feet
I know that where the problem is it's like your fighting the angle of the feet
It's been shortened 3/4" and it's still a hernia maker
Oh, they will fit, all right, but it takes some careful shaving of the ends to get them into the MP08 coils. In my case I was determined to get them to fit because the leads were supposed to be some super high-tech stuff that would (did ) cost a lot for the original owner if he was fitting them to his fork truck
These leads came with moulded plug caps for the business end and that meant I had to use resistor plugs and the NGK plug caps got retired. Way I see it, is every set of new plugs automatically fits a new resistor too, so saves an extra point of hassle down the road.Can't say I noticed any difference, but perhaps it's more of a relibility issue and the lack of trouble won't be noticeable until some time I realise there have been no plugwire / cap troubles for thousands of miles.
I was down at my local mechanic shop yesterday. It's run by a couple of old gaffers, ('bout my age), who are the epitome of the genuine "backyard" mechanic type - long grey hair in a pony tail, dirty blue jeans, sneakers, flanno shirt over a grease stained "Humble Pie" T-shirt, unwashed and smoking rollies. They have worked on my SE a couple of times doing fine tuning and providing compliance plate advice and their knowledge and product is excellent. I rode in and did the centre stand shuffle, nearly dumping the lovely old thing on the driveway. Skinniest of the two walked over and asked,
"What the hell are you doing?"
I replied that getting the SE on the stand was an impossible chore. He responded, "Observe."
He pushed the bike onto its wheels, put his right hand under the grab rail, stood on the centre stand foot extension with his right foot, (left foot off the ground), and lifted it cleanly onto the stand. To say I was amazed is an understatement - it actually works - all weight on the extension and lift it straight up. I thought the extension was so that I could kick the stand down not lock it so it rolls up onto its feet. It is now my practiced parking technique. I'm going to take down a carton of Coopers when they're closing up and see what other essential info I can scavenge. It irks me that guys like this pass away and take all their experience with them. If you're struggling with the centre stand I suggest you try it. Will post a video when I get a chance.
Cheers
"What the hell are you doing?"
I replied that getting the SE on the stand was an impossible chore. He responded, "Observe."
He pushed the bike onto its wheels, put his right hand under the grab rail, stood on the centre stand foot extension with his right foot, (left foot off the ground), and lifted it cleanly onto the stand. To say I was amazed is an understatement - it actually works - all weight on the extension and lift it straight up. I thought the extension was so that I could kick the stand down not lock it so it rolls up onto its feet. It is now my practiced parking technique. I'm going to take down a carton of Coopers when they're closing up and see what other essential info I can scavenge. It irks me that guys like this pass away and take all their experience with them. If you're struggling with the centre stand I suggest you try it. Will post a video when I get a chance.
Cheers
IMO the key step to getting the bike on the centre stand is to:
The XS Specials are more difficult to lift because the centre stand does not match the lower back wheel. Some people shorten the legs a little to correct for this on Specials. However there is a simple solution for your garage. What I did was place a piece of 3/4" chip board on the ground and roll the rear wheel onto this. This means you have now already achieved the most difficult part of the lift. Then when you use the centre stand it is far less effort.
Putting my Virago XV1000, a heavier bike, on the stand is similar to lifting an XS Special with a board under the back wheel. If I put a board under the wheel of the Virago then the bike lifts by just standing on the stand's tang with the other foot off the ground.
The use of the centre stand is mainly about having the confidence to hold the bike vertical with one foot on the tang and both feet of the stand touching the ground.
- hold the bike perfectly vertical
- push the stand down gently until it touches the ground
- give the bike a very slight sideways rock to confirm both stand feet are touching the ground - very important
- then proceed as the mechanic showed you.
The XS Specials are more difficult to lift because the centre stand does not match the lower back wheel. Some people shorten the legs a little to correct for this on Specials. However there is a simple solution for your garage. What I did was place a piece of 3/4" chip board on the ground and roll the rear wheel onto this. This means you have now already achieved the most difficult part of the lift. Then when you use the centre stand it is far less effort.
Putting my Virago XV1000, a heavier bike, on the stand is similar to lifting an XS Special with a board under the back wheel. If I put a board under the wheel of the Virago then the bike lifts by just standing on the stand's tang with the other foot off the ground.
The use of the centre stand is mainly about having the confidence to hold the bike vertical with one foot on the tang and both feet of the stand touching the ground.
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What Paul said.
A breakthrough for me, many years ago, a fellow biker saw that I was a bit awkward/putting too much effort into putting a bike on the centre stand. He said, 'You're pulling the bike back to get it on the stand. You need to pull up!'
For the XS, I am facing the bike, one foot on the tang, right hand takes the grab rail, pull up.
A breakthrough for me, many years ago, a fellow biker saw that I was a bit awkward/putting too much effort into putting a bike on the centre stand. He said, 'You're pulling the bike back to get it on the stand. You need to pull up!'
For the XS, I am facing the bike, one foot on the tang, right hand takes the grab rail, pull up.
Yes Raymondo, that was my previous error as well. As you say....... up not back.
I can remember trying to pull the RD250B backwards to get it on the stand back in 1978. I can even remember trying to pull the bike back a bit first to get up some momentum. It all never worked. I think someone showed me roughly how to do it then I figured the rest out myself. In 1982 while living in Australia I remember showing someone how to do it on a Susuki 650 Four and they could not believe how easy it could be.
It seems that everyone learnt from someone else, so who showed the first person how it was done?
It seems that everyone learnt from someone else, so who showed the first person how it was done?
Yes, standing on the tang is an important part of this operation. That's why bracing the tang makes it even easier - you don't lose as much force through tang flex as you used to. Most all of it now gets transmitted into deploying the stand.
Stomp it... stomp it good.
Was talkin' with Greg the other day and he asked if I'd worked on a heel toe shifter yet. Said I had too many projects goin' to work on it. Woke up this morning intending to work on the basement remodel.... finally said screw it, let's make a stomp shifter instead... would be lots more fun.
Started with these...
I'd previously hacked up that shift and brake lever for forward controls. Changed my mind on that, so here we go. First I gotta put the shifter back together...
Yes... I really did weld that back together barefoot. Sue me....
It was bent about as bad as any I'd seen before. Nothin' the orange beast couldn't handle though...
... and a vise and 12" crescent. Actually, that's a metric crescent.
Once it was back to good as new
started bending the brake lever to what I thought was close to what I wanted.
The problem here is the footpeg is in the way of just welding the brake lever on the back of the shift lever. It needs to attach in front of the splines and bend itself under the footpeg. Jigged it all up and tacked it together. Up the stairs for a test fit (welders are in the basement workshop). It worked but I wasn't quiet happy with the fit. Back down the stairs, cut it apart, bend some more, tack it together and back up to the bike. This step actually consumed about 2 hrs and more stairs than I could count. I'll spare y'all all the pics of what didn't work.
I finally got it to where it cleared the footpeg when shifting and it felt about right when I rested my foot on it. Back down to the basement and welded it together. What I didn't like now was the look. It looked like two pieces of metal stuck together at an odd angle. The term "butt ugly" comes to mind. After all the work I put into the SG, that just won't do. Satisfied it was where I wanted it, I burned about a half pound of wire into it and made a filet around the joint. So that decision meant several hrs of grinding, filing, sanding and polishing.... whew. And here we are...
Still needs more work before I send it off for chrome. Or I might just pay the extra for the chromers to finish it.
Overall I'm happy. It's elegant and looks right at home now... I like it.
Was gonna take it out for a test ride but after 6-8 hrs of up and down the stairs my knees and feet have vetoed that idea. Maybe tomorrow.
Was talkin' with Greg the other day and he asked if I'd worked on a heel toe shifter yet. Said I had too many projects goin' to work on it. Woke up this morning intending to work on the basement remodel.... finally said screw it, let's make a stomp shifter instead... would be lots more fun.
Started with these...
I'd previously hacked up that shift and brake lever for forward controls. Changed my mind on that, so here we go. First I gotta put the shifter back together...
Yes... I really did weld that back together barefoot. Sue me....
It was bent about as bad as any I'd seen before. Nothin' the orange beast couldn't handle though...
... and a vise and 12" crescent. Actually, that's a metric crescent.
Once it was back to good as new
started bending the brake lever to what I thought was close to what I wanted.The problem here is the footpeg is in the way of just welding the brake lever on the back of the shift lever. It needs to attach in front of the splines and bend itself under the footpeg. Jigged it all up and tacked it together. Up the stairs for a test fit (welders are in the basement workshop). It worked but I wasn't quiet happy with the fit. Back down the stairs, cut it apart, bend some more, tack it together and back up to the bike. This step actually consumed about 2 hrs and more stairs than I could count. I'll spare y'all all the pics of what didn't work.
I finally got it to where it cleared the footpeg when shifting and it felt about right when I rested my foot on it. Back down to the basement and welded it together. What I didn't like now was the look. It looked like two pieces of metal stuck together at an odd angle. The term "butt ugly" comes to mind. After all the work I put into the SG, that just won't do. Satisfied it was where I wanted it, I burned about a half pound of wire into it and made a filet around the joint. So that decision meant several hrs of grinding, filing, sanding and polishing.... whew. And here we are...
Still needs more work before I send it off for chrome. Or I might just pay the extra for the chromers to finish it.
Overall I'm happy. It's elegant and looks right at home now... I like it.
Was gonna take it out for a test ride but after 6-8 hrs of up and down the stairs my knees and feet have vetoed that idea. Maybe tomorrow.
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