My next Yamaha project

[Vincenthdfan]

Could you instead bond large metal fender washers on the backside and drill the hole to desired diameter to fit your needs?

I'm just spit balling since I have no idea how they actually fit together...just a thought?

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Could you instead bond large metal fender washers on the backside and drill the hole to desired diameter to fit your needs?

I'm just spit balling since I have no idea how they actually fit together...just a thought?

That is certainly worth trying, in conjunction with Bosco659's suggestion of body panel adhesive. The washer would hopefully form a permanent mold for the adhesive. There are parts of this which the washers may make the fairing part too thick, but worth exploring

 

[Melnic]

I"ll be interested to look at your plastic restoration and also what material you use for filler.
we used to use a soldering gun or soldering iron and stainless steel staples. Heat up the staples and push in.
For 3D prints at work we just used bondo cause it was easy to sand down and paint. but our stuff was for industry shows and temporary. Often throwing away when we get the production thermo formed parts.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Great progress today with the bikes. They are both now rolling.
On the rider bike:
Rear signal lights installed.
New valve cover gasket and new valve cover bolt seals installed.
Centre stands exchanged (donor bike was easier to use as the rider bike centre stand had been welded on)
K&N air filter cleaned.
Sprocket covers reinstalled on both bikes (sprocket nut torqued yesterday)
More various parts cleaned.
When I was more closely cleaning/inspecting the sprocket cover I realized the aforementioned loose offset socket on the rider bike has actually worn a hole through the cover! Nice one, PO!

 

[bosco659]

Good progress report. Seems the po was a real hacker? Glad you’re getting things sorted out. You’ll be riding it in a couple of weeks! Do you have enough parts to make 2 running bikes?

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Good progress report. Seems the po was a real hacker? Glad you’re getting things sorted out. You’ll be riding it in a couple of weeks! Do you have enough parts to make 2 running bikes?

Yes indeed he was. I do not have enough parts for 2 running bikes. The donor bike's fairings are really rough too. Lots and lots of repairs on them. It looks good from maybe 25 feet. Once I'm done with the rider bike and have some time at some point I will likely get the donor engine running if possible, and maybe sell some parts, maybe... I've decided to order new tires and get some braided stainless brake lines made, so would be good to do some fundraising for that.

 

[bosco659]

Yes indeed he was. I do not have enough parts for 2 running bikes. The donor bike's fairings are really rough too. Lots and lots of repairs on them. It looks good from maybe 25 feet. Once I'm done with the rider bike and have some time at some point I will likely get the donor engine running if possible, and maybe sell some parts, maybe... I've decided to order new tires and get some braided stainless brake lines made, so would be good to do some fundraising for that.

For tires try pricing them out at GP Bikes in Whitby. Should be free shipping. That’s where I buy 90% of my motorcycle stuff now.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

at some point I will likely get the donor engine running if possible,

I would support the idea of keeping the donor engine in case you have gear shifting issues in the future.


.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Another day of small steps forward. I moved the grips from the donor bike over to the rider, and started to reinstall mufflers. Getting the clutch side grip off was tough! Major cement on that grip. The shop has less of my bike mechanics footprint in it now too, which is nice, because I am doing this at my workplace. Donor bike is now stuffed into the "bike garage" we have at work. One of my employees has two bikes here. The one under cover is a an older BMW like in a Pierce Brosnan James Bond, and the XSR700, the evolution of our XS650s.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

A question about plastic restoration: this first photo is part of the "dashboard" above the instrument cluster. It is quite scratched. Through sanding is this possible to make smooth again?

This photo shows the tail lights, bottom one from donor bike. Note the different wiring harness on the top one. It has a circuit board installed inside the lens by the PO. Some sort of flashing brake light?

I'm checking the instrument cluster lighting to confirm all bulbs are good. Check out the cool Japanese writing. Nerdy motorbike stuff appreciated by few folks for sure.

 

[gggGary]

Yes plastic responds well to scratch removal, buffing. Water is needed especially with buffing. Those taillight, turnsignal lens can be made to look better than new.
Let a buffing wheel get dry and the plastic will smear, weld to the buff compound, practice a bit on some old parts.

Power up the light wires and see but yeah I'll guess a brake light flasher/strobe.

 

[Jim]

Through sanding is this possible to make smooth again?

Not really. Or at least I've never had any luck trying to sand scratches out of that kind of plastic. Your best bet will prolly be to use a high build 2 part epoxy primer. And even then it'll show the scratches, unless you let the primer cure for a week or so before sanding it out.

 

[Jim]

Well there's two opinions for ya...

 

[GaryInVA]

Well there's two opinions for ya...

At least we have a definitive answer.

 

[bosco659]

Well there's two opinions for ya...

Well as a tie breaker, I agree with one of you!

 

[Jim]

Well as a tie breaker, I agree with one of you!

Well, in my defense, I did qualify it with the standard "I'm too stupid to figure it out"... statement.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Some more evidence of the crazy PO. This adjustment screw with the universal joint is for adjusting the lateral sweep of the headlight. This first picture is of some hardened putty which PO used to freeze it in position (presumably). The second photo is of how it is supposed to look, after I cleaned it up.

 

[bosco659]

I’m not 100% clear on what part you’re trying clean up. Is this the part with the scratches? If it is, will you really be able to see it while riding? If you can’t remove the scratches to your satisfaction, maybe you can apply a matte black vinyl overlay to cover up what you don’t like?

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

I’m not 100% clear on what part you’re trying clean up. Is this the part with the scratches? If it is, will you really be able to see it while riding? If you can’t remove the scratches to your satisfaction, maybe you can apply a matte black vinyl overlay to cover up what you don’t like?

View attachment 259946

It is just above that, visible by looking through wind screen a bit. You're correct though, I won't see it when riding. I'm getting too fussy with this bike. I need to focus on the mechanical issues.

 

[bosco659]

Some more evidence of the crazy PO. This adjustment screw with the universal joint is for adjusting the lateral sweep of the headlight. This first picture is of some hardened putty which PO used to freeze it in position (presumably). The second photo is of how it is supposed to look, after I cleaned it up. View attachment 259944

View attachment 259945

Could be it vibrates itself out of adjustment. If that’s the case, you could “tighten” up the u-joint by wrapping a rubber band around it. I do that sometimes when trying to use a limp socket u-joint.