Rattle can painting complete-now we wait

Had just enough time around a friend coming over to pick up a motorcycle jacket, supper and sunset to get the Sportster tank painted.  I've been sanding it off and on for about 2 weeks and have it close enough for how this paint job is intended to look.  I'm using semi-gloss black paint with no top clear coat, so some texture and marks are actually desired.  I may even "distress" a few spots.

So I grabbed the newer primer and two old cans of semi-gloss and one new one, the tack rag, and set back up the "redneck paint booth".  This is the last hurrah for the easy-up-years of sun damage since we never take it down have taken their toll.  Taped up the tank, rubbed it down, and shook the cans.  Three coats of primer from the can and the old white flames were pretty much gone.  Quick supper and out I went for the black paint.  First can-nothing.  Second can-specks although shook like it had maybe a third left, but it's pretty old.  Toss that one aside and go to the new can.  Now we're talking.  One small run on the underside of the tank near the vent nipple, so that's not getting sanded out.   Three pretty good coats and time to clean up.

I'll let it set up overnight and check it out in the bright sunlight tomorrow afternoon.  If there is nothing too bad, I'll let it continue to set.  Two of the rubber grommets were shot, so I won't be getting the tank back on immediately anyway.  I need fork seals as well, so I'm hoping my Chrome Cash gets here soon and I can pick all that up.

I'll try to figure out how to merge the videos I shot and post my first YouTube video when I get the bike back together.

The world-famous Kawasaki Concours C10 fuel gauge resistor fix

One problem with the older Kawasaki Concours (AKA C10 model, for 1000cc engines) is the fuel gauge.  When full, the needle goes past F, which isn't too big a deal.  But as you ride the bike, after about 2-2.5 gallons are gone the needle drops halfway across the gauge.  NOT GOOD as this is a 7.5 gallon tank.  Then you ride another 80-100 miles and it drops to near empty, making you think you are about to go on reserve.  The problem is you have only used about 4.5 gallons-so you still have 100+ miles on the tank.  The needle now stays down near E as you burn off the remaining gas knowing the gauge is wrong.

Well, one of the great things about the Concours C10 is that over the nearly 30 years the bike has been on the road and the 20 year production run, lots of Concours Owners Group (COG) members have found fixes to one or another of the bike's issues.  One even has a business called Shoodaben Engineering (get it?) and like most on the board he's a great guy that probably gives away more knowledge than he makes on parts and mods.  Well in the case of the fuel gauge there are two fixes-the harder of the two involves messing with the actual sending unit in the tank.  No thanks.

The easier of the two is putting a 220 ohm resistor in the wiring from the fuel level sending unit to the gauge.  The easiest way to do that is on the pigtail from the tank to the wiring harness, where there is a blade connector easily available if you slightly lift the tank.  A clear step by step "how-to" is here and its what I used so I'll spare you a worse write-up by yours truly.  I even used the yellow zip-tie as you can see in the picture.  The second photo is a picture zoomed in on the pigtail-my work isn't as clean as in the instruction post, but it works fine.  BTW this picture was taken when I had the tank off the bike for another project-you can do the fuel gauge resistor mod with the tank bolts removed and the tank propped up like in the post. 

I was able to give some of the remaining resistors away on the COG Forum, as the whole pack probably cost 2 bucks (if that) and would have soon gotten lost or damaged in my garage.  I rate this project as a 2 out of 5 for difficulty as you have to remove the seat and the tank bolts at a minimum (removing the right side cover may help if your pigtail has dropped down).  For a California bike, any time you mess with the tank bolts you've got to clear out the hoses, adding to what would otherwise be a simply project.  Since you don't have to remove the pins in the pigtail connectors, even a non-electrician can do this mod.  I hate doing electrics but found this to be do-able.

If anyone reading this post has a Ninja 900 or Ninja 1000 from the 80s, I'd like to hear if their gas gauge has the same issue and if this fixes it for the sportier sister (as saying she was "faster" would be impolite!).

 

Today's example of over-engineering-Harley-Davidson Sportster edition

Look at that wiring harness!  I've removed the tank from my Sportster to finish the rattle can paint job.  The picture is along the backbone of the bike.  While I have relocated the coil, so some wiring is re-routed back instead of forward to the original coil mount under the tank, look at that monstrous amount of wiring for what is a pretty basic bike!  No Gucci electronics like cruise, radio, accessory power-just the basics according to DoT, CARB, and H-D.  But that is 2 wiring looms both of which are about 1 inch in diameter.  How much is needed for ignition, turn signals and a brake light?  Really.

Everything "beneath" the rail (in the picture) is all wiring.  I'm going to see if I can tuck more of it up out of sight, but previous attempts failed and I don't want to mess with the frame and route it internally.  If I was better at wiring and what electricity is required where, I would take everything off, buy an older wiring harness and start over, but that is beyond my ability to manage trons and the magic blue smoke.  Guess I'm living with this excessive wiring eyesore.  Yuck.

Will finish sanding the tank tonight and shoot paint sometime over the next few days.  I'm awaiting chrome cash certificates for the fork seals, so I probably will get the tank back on and keep running the bike using the "bandana on the forks" trick to keep from wearing too much more fork oil.  Good thing it smells pretty much like veggie oil!

Tool Review: Harbor Freight Lift Table

I'm still working on the rattle can paint job and will post an update in the next few days on that project.  But to keep from going too long without a post, here's my update on the Harbor Freight Lift Table I have owned for about three years.  Like many Harbor Freight products, by watching their website, flyers and ads I was able to get a pretty good deal on it-I think about 50% of it's normal list price.  While a solid piece of equipment, the normal list price seems high compared to other table lifts that are a few hundred dollars (or more) expensive but also higher quality.  That said, at the current web price of $429.99 (as of 9/24) I think it's a satisfactory lift and if you can get it even cheaper, there is more money for improvements or other tools.

There is the picture of the lift (from the Harbor Freight website-my lift looks the same, well with some stickers, fluids, dirt, a bit of damage but more on that as we go!).  Don't be freaked out by the ramp hanging off the back-it comes off easily, and most times when I raise mine I take it off.  It's fairly sturdy, as is the table itself.  I have put both a Kawasaki Concours and a Concours parts bike on the lift without any concerns.  I haven't gotten to the 1000 pound advertised capability, but the Connie is about 2/3s that weight.

Goods:

Price for the home mechanic
Assembly is straightforward and mainly the installation of the chock parts and the wheels to the frame
Durable construction-Again, for the home mechanic, most components will outlast me
Two heights for locking bar to be passed through legs and lock lift in-both get the bike up at decent heights to work on seated or standing

Bads:
Front chock isn't very secure.   Either tie down the bike EVERY TIME or replace the chock (more later)
Mounting hardware for wheels and chock low quality-I snapped one bolt during installation without much torque whatsoever
Cylinder leaks, but could be from not using lift for almost 2 years while remodeling house/garage
While lock bar is substantial, two heights are sometimes too limiting

I have used this lift for various projects and also use it as an adjustable height workbench at times.  Over-all I am pleased with it with the major warning that the front wheel chock should be replaced.  One of the local independent shops uses this lift as their back-up lift (with a power lift being their go-to lift) and have mounted a wheel chock that almost doubles the value of the lift table.  Another option I am considering is mounting a Cycle Gear Trackside Wheel chock in place of the chock on the lift.

With that caveat, I'd recommend this to someone looking to get a lift table for periodic use, especially on lighter bikes.