Bandit 600 in a Box

[Big_Jim59]

I spent the day installing the carbs and my eBay air box on the Bandit. I know now why the previous owner ruined the original air box trying to get it out. It goes in the frame and then everything else is installed around it. I had to remove the carbs, the carb boots and the oil feed lines to get it in place. It was a tight fit but worth it.

I also replaced the plugs. I am happy to report that the bike runs like a new one, smooth revs all through the range with great power. It has a really nice feel. I think the cure is evenly split between having a stock air box and nice new clean plugs after the old ones were left to drown in gas due to the stuck choke condition caused by the PO.
 

This picture says it all. It’s still ugly as an old boot. It still has the instruments zip tied on and the body work is still sitting on the floor of the shop but it runs really well. I am really happy with today's progress.

[Big_Jim59]

I committed Saturday to Bandit work and while I worked pretty much all day I got a very small amount accomplished.

This first thing I did was attack the nasty green front fender. It was both a hideous color and cracked. Using fiberglass I patched the cracking pieces and with body filler I reshaped the offending split. Paint stripper made quick work of the green paint (this was left a short time and rubbed so as not to harm the plastic) and I shot a coat of rattle can semi-gloss black over all. It's not great but it is a lot better then it was. I'll address the real look of things when I do the full strip this winter.

I assembled the front end with the new headlight brackets I purchased on ebay. Last week I pulled both stanchions and used paint stripper again, to removed the five layers of paint on the sliders. I used a bit of electrical cleaner and a soft cloth to remove the over spray for the disk roters and wheel spacers. (There was even a bit of metallic blue on there.)

I made a bracket for my gauges. Since the original faring is history I needed a way to mount the clocks. I laid out the drawing to scale on my computer, made a paper mockup to check the fit and then cut a prototype out of steel sheet. It works great and is almost sturdy enough to use as the final version. I will remake it in heaver gauge sheet metal with a few minor alterations.

Lastly I installed new grips after using shims to give the switch housings more bite on the bars.

It's all a bunch of tiny details the culminate into a great bike.

[Big_Jim59]

Another update on my Bandit project.

I have made progress on two fronts. Last week I went to the Texas department of Motor vehicles with my paper work and waited my turn. The helpful lady processed my paper work and presented me with the forms I needed to obtain a bonded title. Around here, no title means no tag and no tag means you have the worlds worst dirt bike. All I need now is money to pay the sales, tax, the title transfer fee and the bond and I am good to go.

I finished the bracket I needed to mount the gauges. It is not very pretty or polished but it works. The original gauges mounted inside the faring that bolted to the frame. I made a pattern for my bracket using Adobe Illustrator. I pre-fit the design as a paper mockup. Then I cut the actual bracket out of 16 gauge sheet metal with a jig saw, using a sheet metal blade. My arm are killing me from having to hold the saw and the plate tight to keep it from kicking back. I have a buddy with a computer controlled laser plasma cuter. If I give him a DXF file he can cut a perfect copy out of heaver gauge metal or aluminum plate.  He could even cut “Suzuki” in it or skulls or anything else I wanted. A plasma cutter is pretty amazing.

So I got the gauges mounted, I got the electrical sorted out and I got my headlight mounted. It is not exactly like I want it but it will work. It is kind of hard to see but they are Honda Ruckus headlights with black brush guards.



My camera sucks so my picture is blurry.

[sandy klock]

 I also went to dmv. michigan style and am ready to ride, at least according to state of MI.  Good Job brother.

[Big_Jim59]

At this point I am ironing out small rough spots and detailing bits. I ordered some grommets for the tail piece and I fitted a license plate bracket in the anticipation of getting the title straightened.

The title and the tires will be the biggest expenses. I was hoping to sell my Honda Ascot to cover the expense but so far I have had no luck. It will happen, just not as fast as I would like.

The bike runs great but has a bit of a tick coming from the top end. It sounds like a timing chain but I am not very familiar with these bikes so it could be anything. I should have pulled the cover and run the valves while the engine was out. It would have been much easier.

I am posting a better, clearer image showing the lights. Imagine the green changed to black or dark grey if you can.

[pmackie]

Looking good.

It is starting to look more like a normal naked bandit, and your costs to date appear pretty modest. The ticking could be the cam chain, or the valve clearance. You should make sure the cam chain tensioner is not seized, and check the valve clearances. Both are not that difficult.

[Big_Jim59]

I sold my 1982 Honda Ascot Ft500 and now it is full steam ahead. I have money for tires and I will be getting them later this week. I need a chain and I need brake pads all the way around but those are my biggest expenditures. I did get the title straightened out and in my name because as you know "the job's not finished until the paper work is done." It was not as expensive as the Ascot title, I think in part because the Ascot was older and hadn't been registered in a very long time.

I am working on the plastic tail piece. It has been really beat to hell. It has gouges and ripples in it and I have work a lot of them out but I am not too hung up on cosmetics right now. my goal is to make it streetable and safe. This winter I'll strip it for paint and powder coating.

I am really looking forward to finally riding the bike.

[Big_Jim59]

In my last post I told of my Ascot sale and how it provided money for some needed accessories like tires and title. I have been doing a bit of shopping and bought a new chain. The old one is junk but the sprockets look good. It seamed the the previous owner couldn't keep it off the ground and out of the ditches long enough to put any miles on it. I also purchased a new chain tool. It seems that riveted chains are here to stay so I might as well have the right tool for the job.

I have a running list of things that need doing before I ride. After the tire replacement I noticed a wet spot, on the ground, under the left fork. I added fork seals to my list. Here is what I have to do:

• Attach tail piece (make some .5" spacers)
• Install chain when I get it
• Install turn signals when I get them
• Replace fork seals when I get them
• Set valve clearance
• Set carb ballance
• Get tags (when the title comes in the mail)
• Get safety inspection

All this is a pain in the butt but it has to be done. I really want to change the oil and filter again too. I have put less than three miles on it total but the engine was full of gas when I got it and it can't be flushed too often for me.
[/list]

[stormi]

Hey Jim,

A couple of money saving ideas for you.

Lifting the front of the bike to get access to tires and forks etc:
http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=5937.0
It's a homemade front stand that we used to do the same things to a 919 with no centerstand.

And, though it sounds like more than a weep (because there's fluid on the ground) it's worth trying the old "film trick" with the forks.  Run a piece of 35mm film under the seals to see if a rock or sand got lodged in there and is holding the seal open.  I know Ryan uses some sort of spray fluid to help it along,.. brake clean or something.  I'm sure someone here will pipe up with the method.

And you know how to make a carb balancing tool if you don't own one, right? it's just tubing, a ruler, some fittings and some fluid.
http://www.powerchutes.com/manometer.asp
and http://forums.banditalley.net/index.php?topic=2355.0

[JRK5892]

looking good man! paint those guage pods so they dont stand out so much

[Big_Jim59]

Yep, I gotta paint those gauges. First I have to paint over the green tank. I got the tail piece painted and mounted. Today I picked up the tags. It is a good day. I was thinking of cutting the clocks down a bit. Most of the bottom part of the bullet shape is just wasted space and it causes the instruments to be unnecessary high. Maybe I'll get a used eBay set to carve up for practice.

I also mounted so cheap LED turn signals and i am making a bracket the hangs the front turn indicator just below the headlight assembly. They stay tucked in and are unobtrusive. New pictures soon!

[Big_Jim59]

Today was a big mile stone. I got the inspection. The title came in the mail last week and I ran out and got the tags. It took a few more days to rebuild the forks and a fix the turn signals but today I was able to take it up the road to get the state vehicle inspection that is so necessary to ride of the street around here.

The title stated that the bike had previously held a California re-builders title. When I purchased it it had been wrecked in Texas. The very fact that this bike keeps getting thrown down and keeps getting back up has earned it the name "Roller Girl" from those Roller Derby Queens that get knocked down and bloodied but who keep getting back up to roll on.

As for today's shake down ride, first the good news. She is pure rolling hell. It it's only a 600 but as the revs climb she just keeps making speed. The wide bars make her easy to handle and the few turns I pushed her into she tracked true and easy. Now the bad. On the way back I lost the shift knob from the cheap ass rear-sets. I was fortunate that it happened when I was down shifting from a high speed run and I had just dropped into first to turn off on my dirt road. I was able to ride 15 mph in first for the mile of dirt riding required to reach the house. The second teething problem is the petcock. There is no off position only on, prime and reserve. I gotta do something about that. One thing the bike had when I got it was a belly full of gas. If there is no off position and the vacuum petcock has been disable it really needs an off position to be safe.

All in all it was a successful trip all be it a short one.


It's dirty already!

[bullet5]

She's doing well!
Well done with your efforts, it's really paying off.

As for the fuel tap, the "On" and "Reserve" positions only allow fuel through when the 4th carb provides a vacumme, i.e when the bike is running. There should be no fuel passing through the tap when it is in either of these positions and she's not running.

The fuel will only flow of it's own accord and fill the belly up with fuel if she's left on "Prime".

This is why when removing the tank it is only nessesary to put the tap to either the "On" or "Reserve positions to stop fuel coming out.

Hope this helps somewhat.
Keep at it!
Bullet5.

[Big_Jim59]

When I removed the tank I had gas flow on all three position. I opened up the petcock and all looked good. I tested it with my handy, hand held vacuum pump and it holds vacuum and opens the valve. I added a little heaver helper spring to keep the valve closed and I am no longer passing fuel in the "on" and the "reserve" positions. I tested this configuration and it works well.

I am stripping the tank down to the metal with a chemical stripper. The previous owner had stripped the tank by either heavy sand paper or wire wheel. It is a mess under the nasty green paint and would never have looked right even with a hundred coats of paint. It will take some time and a lot of elbow grease but it will look a lot better in the end.

It is getting there. It is going to be a really fun and practical bike.

[Big_Jim59]

OK, so the tank is stripped but there are huge scratches from where the previous owner used a heavy disk to remove the original paint. I am the world's worst painter. I just do not have the patents for it. Plus the tank has a fist sized dent just aft of the filler and another on the right side just behind the steering dimple. They are filled with Bondo but are just not contoured right. I sanded the tank and put a couple of coats of semi-gloss black on it. I am going to put it back on the bike and ride it, warts and all. This winter, If I like the bike well enough and if I can get the funds together, I'll strip it down and get a real body expert to fix the tank and paint the whole thing.  I hate the way the tank looks but it pretty much matched the rest of the bike with its rattle can frame paint job.

I wana ride not rub on it!