imago

It was (almost) entirely down to that rotary damper which when it was worked hard stopped damping.

Absolutely no reason for this photo other than the sun came out.

Hopefully you'll get a few hours in before monsoon season continues.

I think I'd start with getting some miles on it, bed it in and get a few heat cycles through it then see how it is.

Good job too, I don't think the shed wall could take much more clutch freeing!

Whilst it'd be a dull task, it'd be worth having a look through the specs and/or contacting a supplier to get something of suitable dimensions which could be shortened or have the OD reduced to suit. Such as :- Serdi. Engine Parts UK. Elring.

I've got my fingers crossed that the front discs arrive before it goes to Stafford, otherwise up and down the ramp's going to be fun.

Good call, I'd forgotten about that but now you mention it I've had a carb or two in the past with those little crescent shapes of rubber on the inlet side of the float valve.

A bit of clag moved into one of the carbs after the fuel system being disturbed? Hopefully something simple whatever it is.

Everything's been replaced side from the frame (which has been stripped and blasted) the tank and the seat unit (which will be stripped and painted) since you saw it.

I think that's about as far as I'll get with the Dresda before Stafford in a few weeks.

Managed to get it done between other stuff this morning. Just need to cut a thread and trim it down at some point in the week.

Someone asked the same on FaceBook and in truth the main reason I'm doing it this long winded way is to keep my hand in on the lathe. Absolutely the easier/quicker way would be as you say to thread both ends of round bar and face up a welded nut one one end. But as I don't spend lots of time turning stuff up, doing it this way keeps the 'feel' for working with long thin stock.

One of my least favourite things to do on the lathe. Today I'm making the foot long lower rear engine mounting bolt for the Dresda. 17 mm hex bar turned down and threaded to M10.

It's all vague memory, but I seem to recall that the Laverda was a one off commission and there were also three Suzuki frames.

Well you'll just have to avert your gaze. Getting on with turning up engine mounting spacers, one of those dull but necessary jobs.

Getting rid of the old graphics and sticking on some test graphics makes things clearer. Change the Dresda lettering to black and I reckon that works.

The trouble with a build taking a while is you can end up coming back to the beginning with your plan. I'm back at the "that looks pretty good" stage with the RG bodywork.

Thanks, useful to know. Probike are decent lifts, it sounds like the Automech are the same deal but a bit cheaper.

I'll leave the girlfriend comments to @Blubberas that's more his area of expertise. As for the bike, it's coming together nicely. Always a great point when you get the big lumps going together, really lifts the mood and motivation even when you know the next phase is all the time consuming can barely see a change stuff. On a side note, how do you rate those Automech ramps? I'll need another when I move and the Pro-Bike lift I have is good but a few hundred more.

You're right it can and does, so I've allowed for that in the calculations. Once it's properly complete and mobile I'll be able to strap down the suspension to load it and do a real world check. There are loads of factors to take into account (tyre width and stiffness, suspension settings, CoG of the bike, corner camber etc) and calcs will only give you a rough guide.

Funny you should say that, I have one coming up very soon after the move is done. It will involve a Katana, a GSX1400 and a Hayabusa.

Yes, he's got some bloody nice projects and finished bikes in his workshop. Hopefully once the move is done I'll be able to get everything in one place too.

From a company point of view FaceBook is a necessary evil, but it's really frustrating with the amount of utter bollocks people post. Loads seem to reply to something just to reply, some reply with identical answers to ones posted previously, and others jump in with the "What about [insert the blindingly obvious]?" You, well I do anyway, really have to be in a happy calm place before going on there otherwise you'd end up on a multi-storey car park with a rifle having a cull.

It's unlikely to get anywhere near that in real life tbh. I was just curious how the geometry was stacking up with my K1 GSXR1000 reference. Part of the idea for the build being to see how close I could get to K1 GSXR specs using 40 year old gear. Absolutely no idea why, but posting it on FaceBook seems to have stirred up a few loons.