Workshop Rants...

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by DCS900, Nov 19, 2021.

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  1. DCS900

    DCS900 Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!

    Sep 11, 2021
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    #1 DCS900, Nov 19, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2021
    Ok, we all have bad days or experiences that make us lose our cool, but sometimes... there’s nothing like working in your garage or workshop to meet your match, or even be surpassed by an inanimate object!
    Well, before you make a “King Dick” shaped hole in your garage door, or rive out your cupboards in a rage, trying to find a plaster that will stop the flow, but allow you to continue working... here’s a little sanctum for failure, even if for a brief time! If you feel the need to swear aloud because you have knocked the scab off your knuckles whilst undoing the “impossible” nut... share with us here, and our sympathetic demeanour will ease you through your troubles... we won’t laugh, honest...


    Much...!:p
     
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  2. Ducatitotriumph

    Ducatitotriumph Crème de la Crème

    Apr 25, 2019
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    Not quite the same but I lifted (tilted) the tank on the speed and it has little plates underneath the rubber mounts. One fell in the top of the bike/engine and I spent 3 sodding hrs trying to find it. Still no f ing idea what happened to it as it’s never dropped out (as far as I know)
     
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  3. DCS900

    DCS900 Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!

    Sep 11, 2021
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    #3 DCS900, Nov 19, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2021
    As an opener, I’ll happily admit to not being the worlds greatest sparky... adequate at simple electronics, but getting into more involved stuff... then we’re so far out of my comfort zone, I may as well be naked in Tescos!
    I recently acquired a nice Yamaha freebie, and thought “I’m gonna make summat of that!”... I’ve enjoyed bands like Rush and (early) Genesis for years... And I love the way they use Bass Synthesiser pedals to fill out their sound... so I hatched a plot to try and replicate the effect in my own playing, to some degree... so when an old Yamaha organ with an octave foot pedal was offered up locally, I thanked them very much and filled my ever deceasing garage workspace.
    Cutting a long story full of broken dremmels, swearing, soldering iron burns, more swearing etc. I finally got to the stage where I could do a trial run tonight... and being on this thread, you’ve probably guessed, it wasn’t a successful trial.
    Being fair, I’ve tried to utilise as much material from the old churches musical behemoth as I could and graft it into a modern midi (digital) musical output...but somewhere, in the mass of wires, knackered soldering iron works and a desk that keeps filling up with stuff I hadn’t intended to be doing parallel to this project...I’ve dropped a bollock.
    I can power up the midi conversion board and the midi output board (both new purchases) but can I get the actual pedals to talk to the amp? Can I fuck... I’ve gone through the wiring until I have a blind spot for it... I’ve checked the connections as best as an amateur enthusiast with only two hands, a multimeter, with several connections and switches to actuate, can do!
    Nil, nada, nuffink n’nowt...
    The bastard’s just glowing in its orangey LED glow, smugly telling me to “feck off, there’s gonna be nowt but white noise n’ static from me tonight!”
    :triumph::poop::triumph:
    Bastard!!

    Edit - embarrassing workshop photo added, Tesla will be spinning in his grave.

    D59470A4-6019-453F-BBE6-7B079DB7AA9A.jpeg
     
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  4. Cyborgbot

    Cyborgbot Guest

    #4 Cyborgbot, Nov 19, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 20, 2021
    Did you make the cables? I’m a champ at forgetting little things like cross over between pins… output pin on one plug is input on the remote end equivalent plug (sometimes).

    Only after making the same mistake for a zillionth time do I occasionally get it right.

    Oh, I think orange LEDs illuminated means you have accidentally wired your Yamaha (bike) indicators to your Yamaha (organ)…

    PS: what’s the pedal end look like? Where’s the power for them coming from? Got a scope? If not how about using the GPIO on an Arduino to monitor the electrical connectivity on the pins - are they doing what they should?

    PPS: It can all be reprogrammed with a large hammer if you get really cross.
     
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  5. DCS900

    DCS900 Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!

    Sep 11, 2021
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    It’s working, no it isn’t, yes it is, no it isn’t....
     
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  6. Pegscraper

    Pegscraper Elite Member

    Jun 12, 2020
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    I have a Skylift and swear by it, not at it. A brilliant piece of kit IMO although first time I used it and took the bike off for a run I left one of the adaptors stuck in the swing arm pivot which obviously fell out and was lost. The guys at ABBA very kindly sent me a new one FOC:grinning:

    Back in 1990 I was doing a valve service on a GSXR1100 I had at the time and was using a 240 volt inspection lamp with no guard over the bulb. All was going well until I dropped it on top of the engine, shattering the bulb and covering the valve gear with broken glass. Many hours were than spent scrupulously cleaning out every fragment I could find. After reassembling and running the engine for several minutes I decided to remove the exhaust and the sump to see if any fragments had been washed down the cam chain tunnel. I then bought a new inspection lamp complete with guard. Tosser!
     
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  7. Georgez

    Georgez Senior Member

    Nov 2, 2019
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    #7 Georgez, Nov 20, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2021
    Use the Mirror, flashlite & telescoping magnet from your tool box....
    Sweep the floor good, before you start working on the project.
     
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  8. Ducatitotriumph

    Ducatitotriumph Crème de la Crème

    Apr 25, 2019
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    I did. I have a bahco light and magnet but still couldn’t even see it anywhere.
     
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  9. Oldskool

    Oldskool Elite Member

    Jan 29, 2019
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    Topping up the 2 stroke oil on my RD 250 ( the tank is under the seat) . Undid the seat lock with the key, placed key on the tool tray under the seat. Filled up the tank with two stroke. Put lid on tank, shut seat. Locked out of my own motorbike…..Just hilarious now, how can you lock yourself out of a motorbike? I’ve heard of people doing it to them selves with keys locked in the car, but this was a motorcycle ffs….!
     
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  10. Helmut Visor

    Helmut Visor Only dead fish go with the flow
    Subscriber

    Oct 3, 2018
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    Fitted the EvoTech tail tidy to @Mrs Visor's Street Triple and one of the securing bolts rolled down the left hand side of the chassis. I saw it initially and tried to retrieve it but it dropped further down :mad: Seat off, battery out, searched everywhere, Halfords trip for magnetic probe and mirror, more searching and probing :triumph: never found it, now been for initial service and a couple of hundred miles, still remains at large :eyes:
     
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  11. Oldskool

    Oldskool Elite Member

    Jan 29, 2019
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    Is it worse to be one bolt short at the end of a rebuild or have two left over ? Asking for a friend o_O
     
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  12. Notso

    Notso Senior Member

    Dec 17, 2018
    624
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    Solihull
    #12 Notso, Nov 20, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2021
    Car wouldn't start, lights on, relay click etc. Just not turning over, so charged the battery and it worked. Then a day later wouldn't start. Removed all devices from sockets in the car, turned interior lights off, charged battery again, but this time it didn't work. Booked into garage, but not able to see for a week and I had a trip planned at the weekend. I had recently fitted a new starter and battery, so ordered an alternator (couldn't now test as couldn't start it), in the meantime removed all earth straps and the chuncky starter cable, cleaned the connections. Still not turning over. Tried jumping, but no luck, now thinking alternator not the problem.

    Get wife to turn the key so I can check voltage under load, but looks good. Then decide to push the starter control terminal and the bloody thing starts turning over, it was just loose from when I fitted it! To cap it all I drop the 10mm socket into the depths of the front wing/bumper...
     
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  13. TRIPLE X

    TRIPLE X Well-Known Member

    Sep 1, 2021
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    Been there done that. I did eventually find mine though. Now I always make a point of removing them as I lift the tank after stuffing any gaps with paper towel that they might disappear down. I think a modified design is in order.
     
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  14. Col_C

    Col_C I can't re...Member

    Aug 5, 2015
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    #14 Col_C, Nov 21, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2021
    Me too, I think there needs to be a sub-section/club for SpeedTrip tank plate losers (usually catches on the battery cables as you're lifting), so far I've always managed to retrieve them (usually with aid of a magnet stick).
    Getting the cam cover out off the frame is another good one, spent half an hour trying to extract it as described in the Triumph factory manual (towards the rear), didn't work for me - comes out sideways under the frame rail though.
     
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  15. DCS900

    DCS900 Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!

    Sep 11, 2021
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    I guess it’s a bit like the old Legend 900, changing the air filter on that engaged the fruitier parts of my language!
     
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  16. andypandy

    andypandy Crème de la Crème

    Jan 10, 2016
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    Had a similar problem getting a Bandit 1250 Cam cover off. If I'd have had a dog, I would have kicked the poor sod to death. Yet when I put it back on, it just slipped into place first time. :rolleyes::relieved::)
     
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  17. TRIPLE X

    TRIPLE X Well-Known Member

    Sep 1, 2021
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    Don't mention cam covers to me. The time I have wasted removing and then refitting the damn things. I am sure the computer aided design said it fits just fine but in practice just an extra 5mm or so of clearance would make all the difference. :mad:
     
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  18. PatW

    PatW Senior Member

    Apr 4, 2021
    762
    193
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    I never fancied a moped at 16, so I bought an RD200, the round tank model with drum front brake, it was lovely and went like stink though I had to ride it within a mile of school then park it up and walk in as the teachers would have grassed me up. Anyhow I was offered a set of crash bars cheap but not for an RD200, I managed to get the rears to "fit" but nearly ditched it on the first ride as I'd "accidentally " hard tailed it, yes in getting them to fit, I'd bolted them to the top and bottom rear shock mount, 44 years later..I'm still learning.
     
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  19. Petrol

    Petrol Well-Known Member

    Sep 18, 2016
    178
    93
    North Wilts.
    Had a welder mate who made me a maintenance lift . We used a standard trolley jack to lift it .
    One of the most important things was to make sure having removed the ramp after getting the bike on was to make sure the jack was correctly positioned.
    Having done a full service including shims in record time I needed to lower the bike . The jack was a sealy one and to lower it you rotated the jacking handle anticlockwise. It was stiff , I gave it full effort . . You've guessed it ! The lift went down like a rocket the bike dropped off its centre stand and then fell off the stand .
    Miraculously it fell onto the handlebars and just the exhaust pipe . Incredible really . I had to run and get my neighbour to help me pick it . Trust me that takes some effort with the wheels still on the ramp. I now ratchet straps it to the bench .
     
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  20. DCS900

    DCS900 Careful, man! There’s a beverage here!

    Sep 11, 2021
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    Awesome learning curve
     
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