Well then? Greetings from Colorado!
Ever looked at your side stand and wonder what you could to to help hold the bike more upright?
Kiss Principles:
The U-shaped bracket on the swingarm usually becomes worn bent etc..
For a simple fix, you can drill a small hole on the motor side of the bracket, then insert a hex head screw from the inside with a nylock on the outside, this gives you a new adjustment to the "over-traveled" side-stand...
So how about part deaux and tres and so-on?
cha ;)
Tom Brosius
Tom, like the thread! I vote for a separate Forum sub-category for just these bits of wisdom to quickly help others. Some carb tips:
- Carb access on Pen/KTMs is #%&@ tight. For quickest Bing jetting changes or float height settings, pull loose the fuel line, loosen the front carb clamp and rubber boot clamp, rotate 1/4 turn to the right (away from pipe), pull the top two 7mm screws from the cap, pull the carb top loose just far enough to extend the spring and provide slack but not so far as to pull the slide and needle all the way out, then rotate the carb a full 90 degrees to the right. Working under the pipe from the bike's left side, you can pop loose the float bowl, replace jets, etc. When done, all can be put back in order in a couple of minutes.
- If you do have reason to pull the slide & needle all the way out, most often the needle won't drop back into the needle jet easily, creating much frustration, swearing and Bing-spletives. Far easier to pull the left side cover off, pull out the air cleaner, then stick your hand far into the airbox with long fingers down the carb throat, where you can get a digit or two on the needle with one hand while you urge the slide down with the other hand...usually goes right in that way and blood pressure gets back to normal.
Jon McLean
Lake Grove, OR
Hi Jon, thanks for the tip, as a sidebar to re-centering the needle, I have had great success by removing the large throttle stop screw and insert a small piece of safety wire in thru the hole and wiggle the needle a bit, works so far on three different models...Adios, Tom...
Hi Poggers, in keeping the "tech-share" option alive, have the following:
Small ISO vibe mounts for the clamp mounted VDO.
McMaster-Carr p/n 9225K65, specs:
M6x1 3/4in. height 1in. width (neoprene) male studs are 1/2 in.
Adios, Penton Pals
Tom Brosius
VDO illumination bulb BMW p/n 07119978279 $1.99 (12v2w)
Adios Penton Pals.
Tom Brosius
Hi Poggers, tho not truely related to Penton Tech Tips, have recently become more aware of Spam types of email and their ability to go undetected, and also the ability of theaves that can cause Identity Theft. Recently updated my pc with "Spybot" which examines the mechanisms of "cookies" and registry entries which can cause an undetected process to occur. Upon first scan, Spybot found 86 entries on my pc and removed the "cookie communicators" and the registry entries.
Caution!!! Before downloading any software in general, I recommend a full backup of your hard drive, I "ghost" mine to a second drive aptly the "slave" in an IDE configuration. Ribbon cable supports two drives ie: C and D....Also backup all my critical files to R/W c/d drive....
How painfull It would be to suffer ID theft!!!! But there are sic people in this world that would just love to have what you have earned..
Protect yourself........
And please share any Tech Tips that you might have....The Penton Skulldana will protect you head, but not your PC..
Adios Penton Pals ;)
Tom Brosius
Tom this is a pretty good idea.
My tip is when dealing with rubber parts like the rubber shoes on the kick starter and the gear shift or the carb boot. Let the rubber soak in almost boiling water for about 10 seconds. This will make it very pliable and easy to install. They'll fit like socks on a rooster.
Rod Whitman
Omaha, Nebraska
1972 Six Day (Rider)
1972 Six Day (Project)
"socks on a rooster" ???
No wonder the Sooners are gonna kick some Husker butt in about an hour from now!
Larry Seale
I choose to ride
Hello Poggers!
"N Gawa Bwanna"
Wonder what Tarzan really meant when he was talking to "chita"
Today I used N Gawa Bwanna in a explicative fashion, due to the monkey bonehead @ the other end of the wrench.
Was prepping to pull a head off of a 400 and came to one of the 13mm nuts on the head, got it off ok and then proceeded to lift the head off of the motor, now of course, the carb was not mounted....off comes the head and one of the washers went flying off in the direction of the intake manifold.....yipes, in a panic, I took a deep breath in hopes that I would find the washer sitting inside the intake manifold. I breathed another gasp and realized I positioned the piston at TDC.....Visions of histeria wreaked as I imagined if the washer fell into the bottom end. N Gawa Bwanna came out again (you stupid APE).
As my luck continues, the washer was on top of the intake manifold, no harm done, prayed to the Penton God!.
Better to be smart, than to be lucky; should have taped the intake mainfold eh!
Best you be smart too, or else you might be mentioning Afrikanr Explicatives!
Your Penton Pal [}:)]
Tom Brosius
Tom,
I have a tech tip for that right out of "Ripleys Believe It Or Not".
I DID have a washer go into the bottom end once. Placing a small magnet inside the rod channel against one of the counter balances and slowly turning it. The foreign metal item came out 1st turn....and then I inhaled a sigh of relief.
TB
N Gawa Bwanna, Power to weight ratio, is not the answer,what we have, is from the heart!
It says right here on page 43
Thanks for everything!
H.H.
Tom Brosius
Ok Mr. Brosius!My PTT naturally (being from Arizona)involves heat baby-Yeah!,and the proper use of it.A small map or propane torch(they even have freon sized cans now),and a heat gun do wonders in persuading fork bushings,main bearings,rusty wheel bearings,races,and a host of other stubborn things that i have seen a lot of even "veteran" technicians struggle with.One of my guys at work the other day said the customer needs a new fork assy.-this one won't come apart.I asked did you try a little heat in the bushing area and, of course,he had never heard of heat in this application-(even with 30 years experience!).I went over and within 30 seconds had the fork apart unharmed.Of course you have to be careful where you use it(i.e. magnesium,around fuel,contact cleaner,etc.-use common sense) but a little heat goes a long way sometimes.If you heat your wheel bearing before attempting removal they are less likely to break apart leaving you with only an outer race to remove which can be a pain...I also use my heat gun a lot to heat up areas i'm putting seals in like countershaft and shift shaft seals-heat it up a bit and the seals slip right in.Also stickers,seat covers (i use a bit of heat gun to help stretch the covers),crusty old numbers can be removed from # plates in no time.Hope this helps somebody out there,someday!Happy Holidays to all my fellow POGGERS!!!Go Penton in 07! Ric
ric emmal
If you've got a motor that's been sitting a long while and has become "one" try this. Head on down to Wally world or any such bargain store. Get one of the totes with a lid on it just big enough to set the motor in. Disassemble as much of the motor as you can, then set it in the tote, cover it with deisel fuel, put the lid on and let it soak [ totally submerge it]. Let it set for a week or so, then pull it out and drain out the fuel and see what's come loose. When you reach an impass, put it back in the fuel and let it soak some more. With a little patience you should be able to disassemble almost anything. I've managed to salvage more than a couple of motors this way. And as long as you keep the lid on, you can use the same fuel multiple times. try it, it works for me.
"motor" that has become "one" sculpture, as in magnesium. Post, that continues to support.
In appreciation,
Thanks!
Tom Brosius
"N-Gawa Bwana" was again mentioned at the top of my very short lungs today in the shop.
Yes the "stupid ape" was me, the bonehead @ the other end of the wrench.
Recently completed the rebuild of a 78/400 motor.... testing the gearbox thru it's range, when shifting up to 6th and rotating the shafts, an instant bind occured within 1/3 rd. of c/s shaft rotation......6hrs later, after replacing one component one at a time, until I had the entire gearbox replaced, did I realize that human error could be a part of the problem......As a lesson, I had 6th gear on the mainshaft upside-down, which pushed the gear more towards the clutch side, that gear has a recess, that shoulda been facing outwards......
In recalling an episode from Super Hunky's book, he replaced an entire Can-Am motor for a friend, only to discover the pipe was plugged.......
Moral to the story.......Humans find ways to complicate issues....but Humans also find a way to fix them
Good Night, Penton Pals
Tom Brosius
I 'spose this one does'nt really classify as a tech tip, but....
....you can hear the ocean if you hold a MC5 airbox up to your ear.
:D[:o)] Bob
Bob,In Michigan ?? last time I heard the ocean in a Penton air box was back in 1976 Dec 31, when I was riding the 7 miles of Sandy beach on my JP here in Southern Me.[8D]
Heres a tip, dont try that today, they will impound you and your bike, the beach is for the rich, silly.
Raymond
Down East Pentons
Okay heres a tech tip for all you guys that dont put your bike away in September, when it gets "really cold out". ;)
Grind off the points of the ice screws before installing them in your tires. The rocks you hit in between ice patches and frost will less likely puncture your tube [V]
Raymond
Down East Pentons
Hello Poggers.
In keeping the trend alive, there is a song by Allison Krause
"Gravity"
Perhaps to prove that words, like music, do mean something in our lives.
"Gravity"
I left home when I was seventeen
I just grew tired of falling down
And I'm sure I was told
The allure of the road
Would be all I found
And all the answers that I started with
Turned out questions in the end
So years roll on by
And just like the sky
The road never ends
And the people who love me still ask me
When are you coming back to town
And I answer quite frankly
When they stop building roads
And all God needs is gravity to hold me down
Thanks, very much for the input! [:p]
Tom Brosius
Hey Tom, I learned something the other day.... new bearings need to be handled very carefully.... I was told by a master mechanic that works on those German sports cars. that the simple act of spinning a new bearing without lubing it first can cause serious damage... As it turns out, new bearings have microscopic peaks on the surface of the bearings and these peaks if they are not buffered by oil can scratch the races or even the cage. the result is a small amount of damage that turns into a major damage as the bearing is put under a load...
Also, you know how the manual always tells you to instal the bearing,, they are not making a suggestion. as it turns out too much side load or shock caused from installing the bearing incorrectly can damage it as well, so follow the manual exactly....Find a better place to use that huge hammer, like driving tent pegs into the ground to hold down your easy up from blowing away at the races....
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)
72'sixday (project bike)
An Ocean heard within a "Penton" airbox? Never heard it described that way...but perhaps a quiet Penton motor. Hear is a link to replace the rubber vibe tubes, a simple jig LOA is 21 inches. id is to allow the insertion of 1/2 in. butyl rubber with twisty wires etc...jig is made to stretch a piece of 6 in. to 9 in. with ample room to insert the wires and the rubber into the cylinder....We draw, because we are the POG...
Tom Brosius
Mile High Pentons
http://cone.viawest.net/users/dkwracer/savetwo
ingenious idea Tom, simply ingenious.
Raymond
Down East Pentons
WOW Tom! You are the man. I was just looking at a 250 cylinder in my basement in preparation for painting it and was puzzling how to remove those pieces. Outstanding
Chris
Hmmmmm, seems a little quiet around here,.........
I often forget which way to turn the petcock levers to the off position (doh), try this: superglue the plastic pads the the on/off lever, grab a triangle file and file some notches to the upper side of the plastic when the lever is in the off position (facing upwards)
grab some bright finger nail polish and fill the gooves so that when they are visible in the up position, you can see which way is off...
Bat-jezzz, we don't need no stickin Bat-jezz.......
http://cone.viawest.net/users/dkwracer/savetwo/
Adios, Penton Pals!:D
Tom Brosius
Mile High Pentons
Tom,is that Rollie Free on that KTM?;)
Lew Mayer
Lew, there is a force, which constantly asks "why do you do"
One motorcycle, a Dream, a Penton, a Podium
This would never have happened, without:
JP
Tom
Quotequote:Originally posted by bentrims
Tom,
I have a tech tip for that right out of "Ripleys Believe It Or Not".
I DID have a washer go into the bottom end once. Placing a small magnet inside the rod channel against one of the counter balances and slowly turning it. The foreign metal item came out 1st turn....and then I inhaled a sigh of relief.
TB
Many years ago as a 16 year old, I had the head and cylinder off my 125 SDT and was attempting to install a new piston. I dropped a clip down into the bottom end. I was horrified at what I had done and was literally sick about it. Without moving the crank, I waited for my father to come home from work for advice. My father, held a master degree in Mechanical Engineering. When he arrived home I explained what happened and he paused for a moment, walked over to the garage got a bottle of oil and poured a little on each crank lobe. Then he slowly tuned the crank. The clip, stuck to the crank lobe and rose to a point where I could grab it with a pair of pliers. Needless to say, I was astonished.
A year later, a friend did exactly the same thing with his Yamaha, I tried the same retrieval technique and it worked.
Jerry
1972 125 Six Day
CRF150
CRF230
CRF450X
I've discovered a trick for removing small heavily rusted screws. I haven't tried it on large screws. I wanted to save the hand controls for my 125 SDT but all the screws were very rusted and seized.
Not wanting to use heat, I realized that extreme cold should work just as well. I had a can of "Freeze Spray" used in electronics (Sold by MCM Electronics). This freeze spray cools to -60 F.
The trick is to spray tiny amounts of the spray onto the screw head very slowly. Spray a little, let it evaporate and frost form, then spray more let frost form. Take your time. Then once the spray seems to take a long time to vaporize, the screw is very cold and ready for removal.
I was able to remove all the screws, without breaking them or stripping out any of the threads from the aluminum hand controls after they had sat out in the rain for 20 YEARS!
By the way, I've since discovered a company that sells a product which mixes freeze spray and penetrating oil. I tried it and found it does not work nearly as well as freeze spray alone. It appears the oil slows the evaporation of the coolant to the point it doesn't cool adequately.
Jerry
1972 125 Six Day
CRF150
CRF230
CRF450X
Perhaps, an ODE to a Penton?
Had a problem with a spun rear wheel bearing ie: wallowed surface...
Locktite 660 to the cure?...Worth a try?
Much, like the "fire" that burns below.
Adios, Penton Pals, MM day ;)
Tom Brosius
Bing fix... learned this from the Bing Agency gurus: Have inconsistent/hard starting? Or ever have your bike flood when you parked and forgot to turn off the fuel stops? Symptoms of a leaky fuel float valve.
The drain screw in the cranckcase bottom (between the fins-KTM) gets the excess fuel out if all else fails, but a fuel valve fix is the cure. Replacement needles are God-awful expensive, something like $22, and are only half the battle. Needle seats are only like $8. Replace both and it's a guaranteed fix.
How to remove the pressed-in brass seat? Turn a tap into the seat--believe it's a 6mm size--until it's deep and grabbing tight. To get the bugger out, grab the tap in the jaws of a vise with the carb hanging below and bang the carb body down using a wood block or some such to soften the banging. A pair of vice grips rigged similarly should work if you don't have a vise. The seat should come right out.
Press in the new one with a soft block and careful banging.
It's easy to test your float valve with the float bowl off, using one finger to gently hold the floats up while you turn on the gas tap. If it drips, you're due. I've found a new float needle fixes it only half the time. When it's right, and floats are set parallel with the base when the valve is closed, your tickling and starting ritual will be spot on and the same every time.
Jon McLean
Lake Grove, OR
Ever have trouble getting your air filter out of the MC 5 ? I took a piece of nylon string and attached it to the frame. when I intall the filter I leave the end of the string in plain sight so that I can use it to pull the filter out. It can get stuck with all the crud.
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)
To my dear friend TMC, such an adventure, today in my shop...
Had everything to start my new Penton. All is new, timing good, new piston, new R5 porting, new tires, new shocks, new forks, new chain...
Black with Red Pearl paint, and then only to discover a missing carb plunger, that I plugged the remote tank into, and yet, when I re-consider this (laps around a Penton)....my thoughts continue..........
http://cone.viawest.net/users/dkwracer/savetwo/
There is a fire,
Tom Brosius
what happened to the fire below
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)
Thom, last time I checked, still have it......My new MC5 250
Special thanks to Al Buehner for various parts, Ron C. for the seat base, Skip Miller for the custom Silver decals, Andy at ACE pipes
JP for everything else![:p]
http://cone.viawest.net/users/dkwracer/savetwo/
Adios, Tom Brosius
Tom,
The seat dosen't look right. Is the seat a bit short or not mounted correctly?
Tony
Sharp looking-nice paint, I'll bet it sounds sweet with that new pipe!
1973 Penton Six Day
1973 Penton Jackpiner
1982 Yamaha XT200
1982 Yamaha XJ650J Maxim
1984 Husqvarna 400WR
1987 Yamaha YZ490
2005 Honda CRF450R
Tony, I don't think so. It looks right to me..If anything the fender looked longer than the stock on on my bike... Nice bike, never seen one done all in black...
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)
It's the rear shocks, bumped up to 14.25 in., with 70/135 spgs..
Should turn a bit sharper.....
Adios, Tom Brosius