Jim's 1980 SG Miss September

Confession: After several tries to get that rubber piece on I made a short taper on the lathe. The widest end matched the diameter of the metal piston shaft and the thin end matched the diameter of the rubber thing. With the rubber piece on the narrow end I placed the taper against the shaft and held it all in the vice. With some brake fluid to lubricate I push the rubber up the taper and it expanded nicely and popped onto the shaft. Then I spotted I had put it the wrong way around so had to remove it and start again.

Good to know that an o-ring does exist out there - Thanks kshansen.
 
Taming the Spaghetti Monster.
I used Gorilla Tape to fasten all the connectors inside the bucket. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic.... and no.... no I ain't openin' it back up. :rolleyes:
Tested again and everything still works.

IMG_20180822_153609_1.jpg
 
I’ve always been puzzled by how shallow the headlight bucket is. If they made the darned thing 2-3” deeper, life would be SO much easier when doing the wiring and as far as I can see, there isn’t any reason at all why it couldn’t be deeper.

I’m currently searching for a deeper headlight bucket (but standard 7” diameter) for my cafe bike - anybody found a source?
 
The bucket from an XS850 Special might be an option. I don't think it's much deeper overall but it does have a rather pronounced bulge on the bottom that may help .....

1UMSkTI.jpg


4WmR6RY.jpg


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The headlight is the same size as the 650's, that's what I bought it for. Cross-referencing part numbers showed me that the chrome ring was the same which means the headlight had to be the same size, and it's an H-4. That's what I was looking for, a factory H-4 I could swap in. This deal came along on eBay, $25 for the whole bucket, so why not. Aftermarket H-4's alone usually cost around that. The only "glitch" I ran across is that the side-to-side adjuster screw for the lens is angled differently in the 850 bucket. You need to use it as the straighter 650 one won't fit in there. The other small mod that would be required is re-working the bottom "tilt" bracket. The 850 bucket mounts the tab for it in a slightly different spot, off to the side more.
 
One more thing about that 850 bucket - it doesn't use or need rubber grommets on the wire loom holes, the edges are rolled over and not sharp.
 
Front Master Cylinder.
Scrubbed the master cylinder in the stoddard tank. Taped up the inside bits and bead blasted it. Wire brushed the inside and scrubbed it again....

Fr master1.jpg


Fr master2.jpg


Painted it with VHT gloss and baked at 175F for 2 hrs.. Put it all back together with a K&L rebuild kit....


inside front.jpg


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Jim, very nice work - again! How well does VHT stand up to brake fluid. I ask because I need to redo my virago MC on the XS. The previous coating I used did not cope well. Thank you
 
They actually have special caliper paints now, available at most auto parts stores. They are heat resistant and I would imagine they aren't affected by brake fluid as readily as normal paints. I've used them on cars but not on a bike yet. They come in spray cans and brush cans.
 
Thanks Paul. I used Q-tips to lubricate the bore and seals, so I managed to put it together without gettin' any fluid on the paint. If I do spill when I bleed it, I'll put a comment up here on how well it holds up.
 

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