This morning I decided to refit the exhaust so it’s straight!!! Then I removed the fork caps with the bike jacked up to take the pressure off the forks, to expose these.....(whilst it was off I stuck in about 25ml of oil to each fork). Then I dug out an old pair of preload caps which were given to me some time ago, I think from a Fazer 600??? I spoke to my tame machinist (Darren ) after doing some measuring and asked him to make me 2 x spacers 36mmOD x 12mm thick with a 10mm x 2.5mm dimple to take the adjuster and keep things central. Which look like this. And after a bit of swearing trying to squeeze it all together they look like this And the bike is now back in its wheels and feels a little firmer with 3 notches of preload in the rear and the rebound adjusted for a bit more return in the rear which also means that with the adjusters I can now dial in a further 17mm on the front if required. The RH rear indicator wasn’t working which was just a poor contact on the lamp and I need a new switch for the front brake lever then it can go for its mot.
Good old paraffin to start off, and then good old elbow grease and a selection of small brass brushes, followed by fine wire wool. Also a selection of dentist picks for stubborn awkward areas.
Well, I bit the bullet and stuck a full set of seals in all three calipers as Robinson’s Suzuki had them on offer anyway and I stuck a new set of NGK plugs in her. I took it for its first MOT since 2011 yesterday and it passed with no advisories and a few positive comments from the tester. It goes surprisingly well. Anyone want a 97 Bandit for £1150?
