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Jason wrote:Looks terrific!!

Is that wheel fully built? The spoke nipples don't seem to be pulled down??

Thanks Jason.

These are the spokes and nipples that came out of this wheel. The spokes are tensioned but l did pull a nipple out and check the seating/alignment. The rim is a Sun rim and is thicker than the standard rim so the nipples dont protrude through the rim as far.

Cheers

Geoff

Back brake refurbished




New rear sprocket and tyres on the way. I'm not far off getting this bike back on the ground !

You must have a lot of free time.

That looks great.

Thanks Jason :-)


For the first time since Feb the bike is almost ready to stand on its own 2 wheels.



l still need to plate a few used spokes for the front wheel, finish painting sanding painting the pipe, mount the rear guard (which means I'll have to actually drill holes in my brand new Stilmotor guard) and sort out the ignition with the kdx250 wiring. I'll grab a front wheel off another bike, l cant wait to sit on it !

Disconnected the rear suspension so l could check the rear wheel alignment in the guard (fender) prior to drilling, lm sure everybody does this.....



The guard (fender) sits low enough so l can still use the rear frame loop as a grab handle.

I'm using a 175 shock and spring atm and it feels nice and plush and not to firm or soft. See what its like when l can ride.

Which guard are you referring to?

Jason wrote:Which guard are you referring to?

Fender ?

Well, this is getting very real.

Back on the ground and the rear feels good and that saggy arse is gone too but the front is too soft. The previous US owner had long spacers in the fork which l shortened because the springs were in spec for length. lm going to use a set of 250 springs in the front as they're longer and l dont need to have air pressure in the 250 l ride forks.



lm currently zincing spokes for the original front wheel so the disc on the front will go.

Fender it is.

Goodbye disc.

On the fork springs, have you looked at KLR650 springs?

Race Tech may make some springs that will work.

Just using parts in the shed. I've fitted a 80mm preload spacer on top the standard spring as l want to run nil air pressure and put an extra 20mm of oil to go to 130mm from the top.



Front brake cable before a bit of love.







l have NOS spokes and old spokes that Ive restored in this wheel. All the nipples are used that have been restored also.

The awesomeness continues.

Pretty cool to see some USA made rims.

The precision is surgical and the results artful. Masterpiece in the making. Can't wait for the next update. Thanks for sharing!


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KDX Geoff, your restoration is awsome, thanks for all the tips you show in this thread, one question : what did you use to clean cable and boots ?
Thanks

Thank you blokes :-)

JoKDX220r wrote: one question : what did you use to clean cable and boots ?

Thanks

Do you mean the cable end at the brake ?



Here's a trap for young players....

In the US you have a odometer and trip meter.



In Australia, our kdx's have speedo's to comply with our design rules for road rego. That's what lm putting on my bike so it looks like the other kdx's l have.



And after fitting the recoed original front brake cable to the bike l find it fouls up on the speedo and wont let the forks fully extend because your front brake cable is a tad shorter than ours, just enough to foul on the speedo. l have a spare 175 cable to reco and fit to eliminate that problem.

There's not much in it, but enough to make a difference.

If you want to improve he appearance of your bike you can't beat replicating OEM zinc plating. DIY means that l can plate whatever piece l want at a time to suit. Its not particularly difficult or expensive and you can plate to whatever standard you want.

The top cable is the shorter US front brake cable and below is the AU cable. First degrease and bead blast.


This is a mild solution of pool (hydrochloric) acid. It removes the old zinc platinf but wont move rust or oil/grease so your part must be very clean beforehand.


It doesn't look any different to the above shot but with the zinc removed surface rust can start in a few hours.


The rubber gloves go on now because the oil in your skin can affect the finish. The parts need to be scrubbed with a detergent super clean and rinsed in distilled water as the chemicals in tap water apparently muck things up.
The disc on the right is the zinc anode which gives the zinc coating to the part through the electrolyte (liquid) via an electric current.


l dont go over the top wiring bits up, as long as they're touching it all works well


l put half an amp into these parts for around half an hour.


Out comes the part shiny and new


On the right is a pre chromate dip that makes the chromate stick better and make the zinc plating more durable. l dipped the part into the yellow chromate solution for around 10 seconds, longer time equals deeper color.


And here's another one

Very cool and thanks for the details. I just might give it a whack!


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wow, excellent job!

Time to get the lights working.

KDX Geoff wrote:
Do you mean the cable end at the brake ?

Yes the boots at the cable end and your brake/control cables and electric wires, what did you use to clean them ?

JoKDX220r wrote:

KDX Geoff wrote:
Do you mean the cable end at the brake ?

Yes the boots at the cable end and your brake/control cables and electric wires, what did you use to clean them ?

A strong mix of laundry detergent, hot water, sponge and elbow grease. l tended to chuck those grotty plastic/rubber things in the bucket and leave them to soak for a day or two .