TRX Restoration Project

[fung]

are you implying that there may be a disproportionate number of single mothers in penrith?

[devlin]

Not only single mothers but very young single mothers. Scarily young.

[fung]

as is the case with many dormitory suburbs.
low employment rates and lack of affordable activities.

[devlin]

Actually if you took the bogans out of Penrith it's not to bad a place. Plenty of things to do and is almost self sustaining given the industry that is out that way. It attracts the type because it's further from the city, hence a bit cheaper on the housing front but not by much. I'm generalising the demographic of course.

Back to our regular program........

[Wombat]

Take the bogans out of most places and they're nice places to live.

Bob

[fung]

and just when i invested in a shop selling moccasins, skinnyjeans, beanies, long sleeve skivvies and cigarettes !!

[Con Rod]

just got back from my first decent spin. I am grinning ear to ear. Starting to understand what all the fuss is about.

[devlin]

^^^ he's fully converted now. NEXT!!!

[Wombat]

and just when i invested in a shop selling moccasins, skinnyjeans, beanies, long sleeve skivvies and cigarettes !!

Isn't Moe and Taralgon in Victoria, Bogan capital of Australia?

Bob

[Con Rod]

Ok so it has been a couple of months since I finished this build and got the bike back on the road so I thought I would put up a timely update of my experience thus far.

I have been working my way through the carb set up for the last few weeks to get everything tuned just right. I had to get new needles and jets to replace worn ones and I have them set up well. They are still a smidgen rich so I am going to file a couple of washers down to give me finer adjustment. I am too lean in the second clip on the needle with a washer and a tiny bit rich on the bottom clip without the washer....its really minor though and I am just being fussy and I enjoy the fettling.

I was down in the Snowy Mountains last weekend for 3 days riding, covered about 2000km and I couldnt be happier with the bike.

Power delivery is very linear and predictable and it just pulls from any gear. I had it up to gps indicated 220 and it was still pulling when I had to back off for a bend. 220 surprised me because I thought it would top out at about 210/215. The carbs are tuned pretty well though and I have straight through pipes on it so I guess that would give me a bit of extra go.

It is not a smooth engine/not harsh but not smooth either. It’s all sound and character. I would imagine it would be similar enough to the Ducati 750ss in that there is a fair but of vibration but is just sounds great.

It needed an oil top up of about 200ml so using about 100ml per 1000km, which I can live with.

I set the sag up on the suspension last weekend and that has made a marked improvement to the handling from where I had it. I was a bit hard on the front and a bit soft in the rear so I got a mate and a tape measure to set it all up properly. We cranked up the rear and backed off the front and that shifted the weight forward a bit which suits the bike better. I did some fidling with the rebound (front and rear) and damping/compession (rear) but pretty close to stock for the R6 shock.

The chassis is very rigid and the rear shock is excellent. It is off an 07 R6. Feedback from the rear is very good. I found myself banked over on a bend at the weekend on a newly surfaced bit of road that still had a fair bit of grit on it. I could feel the back of the by starting to slide out but it was very progressive and controllable and you could feel exactly what I was doing. Pretty reassuring actually.

I have a Michelin Power (single compound) on the back which is great for sticking to the road but a bit too soft in the middle considering the freeway miles in getting from Sydney to the Snowies and back. I will switch to a dual compound when the current tyre is worn out but its looking a bit square unfortunately. Nicely feathered on the sides the amount of rubber lost from the middle due to the freeway is a shame.

On sweepers the bike is fantastic. Very stable and it loves if you get the power on straight after tip in. Only thing I would say is the tip in could be a bit better so I may try bringing the forks through the steering clamp another 5mm or so.

On the tighter stuff is surprisingly chuck-able but really I am still getting to know the bike through the very tight stuff.

For touring it is not the most comfortable bike. The clip-ons are fairly low so it is tough on your back but that said we did 2000km on the weekend I don’t feel like a visit to the chiropractor. I rode a Ducati Diavel and a Blackbird at weekend and by comparison my bike is uncomfortable but I wouldn't sacrifice the riding position in favour of more comfort.

All up I am delighted with it. It’s not a smooth refined bike, it is noisy and it vibrates it has a great engine a handles excellently. It is a proper bike. Simple and effective. Great package.

There was only one glitch over the weekend. About 10km before Thredbo on the Alpine Way I thought the bike was sounding a bit noisier than usual and was backfiring a bit too much. I pulled over to inspect and discovered I had lost my right hand exhaust can. Luckily I was able to go back and find it and use a few cable ties to put it back on but the bracket which is welded to the subframe had cracked so I will have to weld a new one on. I ended up with some pretty deep scratches (no dents) on the can but they are after market stainless and the metal is pretty thick so I should be able to sand the deep scratches out and polish it back to a mirror finish.

Anyway I am really starting to get to know the bike now and I am enjoying riding it more and more

photo (33).JPG

[dandywarhol]

Good report - you could experiment with float height rather than mess about with filed washers - works for me.........................

[Mincehead]

Good read there Con Rod.

[Con Rod]

thanks guys,

fixed the broken exhaust hanger bracket today. A friend who it handy with a welder welded a piece of 5mm steel plate in which we threaded. Also put a nylock bolt on the inside.

I decided to do the brackets on both sides, not just the broken one. I am Irish so did both, to be sure, to be sure

bracket a.JPG

bracket b.JPG

[Mincehead]

Bloody ell, MMA (stick) or MIG? A tad pidgeon shitty.

[dandywarhol]

Not often you see welding worse than the normal Japanese stuff