Update time.
Tank - In the mean time I have ended up redoing the front corner again
It turns out there was more damage further past the repair I made. It only showed once the tank was in the sun. I have now learned that if I use a heat gun I can quickly see where there are problems. I am still finishing up, I am hoping the spray some primer today after work.
I have prepped the inside of the tank for the epoxy, I am hoping to pour it in on Wednesday after work. I am going to leave the tank in the sun for the next two days to ensure it is 100% dry inside.
Side Panels - These are proving to be complicated to repair. The issue is not the flexing it turns out. Every time the panels get hot from the sun the paint becomes soft and bubbles where the crack is. This is replicated when using a heat gun on it. I have come across a youtube video where lego (ABS plastic) is used to repair cracks in ABS plastic panels. I think I am going to give this a go. I should probably firstly see what the hardware has to offer then it comes to plastic repair...
Front Brakes: I ordered some braided hoses for the front as I simply couldn't get the front brakes to feel good without feeling spongy. I decided this was due to the 25 year old brake lines as I had bled the brakes many, many times without any air coming out. There was some drama with my online order, but it is sorted out (Why can't I just get good service
). The brakes are now only marginally better
. I have tested the master cylinder by placing a bolt in the master cylinder instead of the banjo, it passes 100%, I can barely move the lever then. I have never struggled like this to bleed brakes before! I have also tried tying the lever to the handlebar overnight, no luck. Once I have ridden the bike a bit I will try again, maybe there is air trapped somewhere and it needs a bit of vibration to move.
Back Brakes: I finally sourced a brake reservoir. After a long chat with the owner of the shop he ended up giving it to me for free
I love free stuff! Once I took a look at it at home I saw why, I needed to get the blue paint off it + the screws where stripped. Once opened I ended up needing to clean out very old brake fluid that had dried on the inside. It is currently on the bike, I must still finish bleeding it properly.
There were two more 400 bandits standing at the bike shop (to be repaired, not for parts), both of their front brakes felt spongy like mine, so I don't have much hope of getting mine better.
While bleeding the back brakes I discovered the rear bleeding nipple was gone. I realised once there was brake fluid sprayed everywhere already
oops. The bike was on it's center stand at this point. It was getting late, so I decided to call it a night, I didn't have a spare nipple so there was nothing else I could do (I found one on Saturday and filled the system). I rinsed everything off and went to park the bike. The problem is that the bike parks on its side stand where it is stored. All the left over brake fluid inside the caliper dripped out while the bike was at an angle over night from where the bleeding nipple would go in
This is the aftermath:
It ate all the paint off the rim
A stupid mistake on my side.
Electrics: There was a bad connection leading to the regulator at the point below. It would get so hot that the insulation would start melting (As you can see on the middle one, but all three would do it) I decided to solder the wires together instead of using crimp type connectors. You shouldn't be replacing a regulator often anyway. All sorted out now, the wires no longer get hot.
I wanted to see what the bike was going to look like in black, so temporarily placed the panels etc on. I made a good choice with the black
I am very happy with it.