"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR MOTORCYCLE TODAY"

[motogrady]

Who’s JC Whitney?

Just kiddin.

Today I resumed the search for the elusive thing on my Suzuki 450 GS.  

Spark.  

[Fatfatboy]

Boy, JC Whitty. I’ve not heard that one in a long time.
Used to buy old gold wing stuff and VW stuff from them.
They had good prices on universal fairings and windshields.
The last thing i bought from them was a universal top cap for the xt350 around 2010 or so.
I don’t think they sell motorcycle related stuff anymore.

[hacksaw]

They don’t. It looks like it isn’t even really jc Whitney anymore. Search for JC takes one to CarParts something .
The Whitney name is still used as a lead in , but it’s all car shit and it’s stock replacement crap. Nothing off beat like they used to have.
Velour steering  wheel covers, moon hub caps, curb feelers and 8 ball shift knobs a thing of the past .or so it seems.
 

[motogrady]

hacksaw wrote

They don’t. It looks like it isn’t even really jc Whitney anymore. Search for JC takes one to CarParts something .
The Whitney name is still used as a lead in , but it’s all car shit and it’s stock replacement crap. Nothing off beat like they used to have.
Velour steering  wheel covers, moon hub caps, curb feelers and 8 ball shift knobs a thing of the past .or so it seems.

Ya I looked over there.
You’re correct, clickbait to a car only site.

Did see a cool story in the “Culture “ section.
Woman bought her car brand new in 1964,
still has it.

540,000 miles on it, original engine, still driving it.  

[hacksaw]

Most likely FoMoCo!

[m143]

Cleaned the Big Scramler.

[Fatfatboy]

Spiffy spiffy.
Get her dirty.
Repeat.

[oldironnow]

Proper that it’s on a pedestal.
Magnificent.

[m143]

Thanx,

The dirt theme continues.
I bought this little TTR 125 for my daughter in 2003.
It last ran 2005. Her son and I are getting it going again.
I am pleasently suprised at myself for buying a Mikuni from Sudco way back then. That saved a bunch of agrivation.

[hacksaw]

Sudco was great. Mikuni VM kits rocked.

[m143]

You are right about Sudco, I've bought a few Macaroonies from them.
Bike's together and running again.
My grandson came out to ride his Mother's TTR125 wearing his uncle's Trials Gear.
I'm grinin' ear to ear.

[hacksaw]

Cool

[Fatfatboy]

That's so awesome, Walt.

Are you adopting? I don't eat much and I'm potty trained, for the most part.
I could be the shop dog.

[oldironnow]

Fatfatboy wrote

That's so awesome, Walt.

Are you adopting? I don't eat much and I'm potty trained, for the most part.
I could be the shop dog.

A pack of dogs.
I don’t bite (much).

[m143]

It'd be fun!

[oldironnow]

Ratana, the rattiest Katana 750 on the Central Coast, got its rebuilt shock installed today.

The damping disappeared on the leg back from COTA last year, and I’ve been limping around ever since. The jack hammering that occurs after sharp bumps has accelerated rear tire wear.

The internet indicated there weren’t new shocks available. But the stock shock lacked a Schrader valve to release the pressure, and didn’t seem to be rebuildable.

Expanding the search, i discovered new shocks being sold in Europe and Australia and even custom shocks made here, running at $1200 to $1500, which took the spring out of my step

So I bought a shock off of ebay for $110 two months ago.

Installation was a journey in first-time lessons, including lubing the linkages. Unfortunately, the shock was just as worn-out. (Shipped clean, though.)

Back to the internet and noodling around Race Tech’s website suggested they could disassemble the shock and upgrade it.

A phone call confirmed their service existed,  and with rebounding spirits, I bundled the stock shock off to Corona, CA with a worksheet filled out indicating my weight, skill-level, type of riding, and services desired.
Bottomline was to get back to OEM quality, as everything was cush before.

They called when my parcel arrived to verify data and desires. I asked when it would be done - “like, in a month or six weeks?”
“That’s about right,” came the reply.

Well they turned that sucker around right away and shipped it home before I even got back from Wisconsin.

Parts, labor, shipping - $485

First ride is up in minutes.

Stock -


Ebay-



Raceteched-









.

[oldironnow]

Back to stock, and that’s fine.

On to the forks.

[hacksaw]

That’s. Excellent!

[Fatfatboy]

New life for Ratana! That’s a beautiful thing.

[Fatfatboy]

I got the bar swap completed today.





Removed the stock 4”risers with 1” pull back and stock flat bars.
Replaced with a 2” riser and 14” ape hangers with 9” pullback. Had to add some wire extensions after running the wires through the bars and top tree.
Had to replace the upper clutch cable and brake line as well.
Added some new grips to help with death grip of the right hand which should help with the elbow pain on long rides.

Also changed the windshield out to a 10” windshield that I can look over if needed.
 I had replaced the stock 6” with an aftermarket 13” windshield I put on a little after I got the bike.  It was wider and taller so gave better protection for the passenger but it had a slight bit of distortion in the upper corners that threw corners off causing a bit of depth deception in certain curves. So I went to an HD windshield. Shorter and not as wide but much better quality.

The bar swap took the aggressive stance of the sport tour out but comfortable riding is more desirable at this point.
It sits me straight up with my lower back against the passenger bump up. I can even lean back if wanted.

I gotta say these newer bikes are a lot more time consuming to tinker with. It used to only take an afternoon to do this job.
I started this project in July and tinker with it here and there, ordering parts in between tinkering and doing life.

While setting up bars I noticed that because of the more upright position I’m getting more pinching in the hips.
Fortunately Harley put slightly more forward controls on one of their other bikes. An eBay search found a pair of take offs on da cheap, I love Harley people, that are a direct bolt on. So those will be next then the adjustable Progressive rear shock which will more than likely sit in its box until winter. After this project I have a feeling the rear shock swap won’t get done in one afternoon like the dual shock softails were.