What did you do to your motorcyle today?

[fffCycles]

Yeah, you have a point there Bill, I have four bikes insured but the nuclear proliferation continues in the shop no matter what.

Frank

[kilowop]

I too tend to do maintenance in the off season.  I currently have 3 bikes insured.  No wonder I'm always broke and forced to eat Kraft Dinner and Wieners.  I do it mainly to have 'back-ups' in case of mechanical issues.  I hate to waste good riding time sitting around waiting for parts, or having to use good riding days to FIX something I should have taken care of in winter.

[Wheels]

Okay you guys are sounding way to reasonable for me.   We did not have a winter here in Vancouver so all of our bikes were ridden and projects were halted.   Me being the dumbass that I am decided the Norton needed new spokes in January and that seemed to lead to a domino of events that likely should have waited until next winter.   I am still waiting for a thank you letter from ICBC for our continued support as we currently have 4 bikes insured and 3 automobiles plus the lowly bike trailer.

On a higher note June just asked me what I am planning on doing in the garage this afternoon and I told her I would be cleaning the floor mats in her Jeep and having a peak at the low sheen coming from the fenders on the Jeep as I am sure it had more of a shine on it when it was purchased....

Gotta keep the peace around here. 

[Wheels]

Okay so here is what I did tonight.  Finally laced the 40 year old rim and hub on the rear of the Norton.    Just need to set up the offset and gingerly tighten the spokes.   I am making progress and summer is not over yet.  Heres some cheap pics from my cell phone.    Ignore the name "front wheel" in the pics as all my family pictures also have the same tag as well as pictures of my dog.

[kilowop]

That is going to be too damn pretty to ride.

[rz5mark]

I have never laced a wheel, replaced lots of broken spokes..... Would like to have someone look over my shoulder as I attempt this one day.

Anyone ever deal with "Z" spokes on mid 80's Yamaha off road bikes?  Total headache, breaking one means 2 are screwed. They dropped that design really quickly.

[bear]

John,

Are you running wm2 19 inch or some other size rim on that rear? I know some owners switch to wm3 18 rears to get a bigger tire. There appears to be a built in offset in the hub outside the spokes on the non sprocket side that was not used in the Triumph or BSA (looks like about 1 1/8 inch?

Looks damn fine!

Bear

[Wheels]

Bear,  the rims and hubs are the originals from my understanding and are WM2-19s on both front and rear.   I am currently running Avon Road Rider 100/90 on the bike and will remount them.
I think on the Norton the skinny tires work for me as I don't need bigger or wider tires for grip and I think the narrow tires handle better for the speeds I do on the bike. 
The offset is a bit of a grey area and when I removed them I had measurements of 1 3/16 on one side and 1 7/16 on the other for a difference of 4/16 inch.  I took lots of measurements and pictures when removing and made many notes on paper including the swing arm position from left to right.  Once they are on the bike I can run a plum line along both sides of the track and see how close we are.   I have read several articles that suggest 3/16 is the proper offset on the cush drive disc brake units like mine.
One thing I have noticed when lacing both wheels is the fantastic machining from the Buchanan spoke set and the exacting tolerances.   When tightening the nipples hand tight the hubs seem to have magically aligned themselves ( or pulled themselves ) into nearly the exact measurements as when I removed them.   We will see what happens when I start to tighten them a little bit.   
It is a good experience for me as I seem to recall tossing many bicycle rims in the garbage as a child trying to straighten rims that I had abused and making them worse. 
I will let everyone know how the mounting, tightening and balancing goes.

[MotoLobo]

Hey John,

Sorry for the tardy reply to your request, I just remembered now. Must be getting old in the head or something, I had meant to bring it up on Sunday.

Yes, I have a bag full of wheel rim rubber liners (cheaper by (buy) the dozen) and you're welcome to as many as you need but they are for 18" rims. I would suppose they'd work fine. Let me know if you still need them and I'll run them out one evening. You home tonight? Lemme know....

[Wheels]

Rob,  hang on to two of them for me I am sure they will work fine.   I  wont be home until late tonight and tomorrow by the looks of things so I can buy you a beer Thursday or we can just wait until next week there is no hurry.

Thanks John

[1000J]

In between many projects,waiting for parts and everything else I need to do thought it might be a good idea,for some reason, to clean up the Suzuki a little...Kawasaki's are much easier...sorry Trevor   

[Wheels]

Chris,  the XN85 is featured in this months Canadian Biker magazine.    They are doing a few pages on blower bikes.

[754]

 Finally got he K4 750. Running halfway decent.. Lots of little things need attention.... Getting er done.. Looks like I will have it at Okeefe...maybe even race it...... Slowly sorting it all out.....about  time to go on a ride.

[Runningdog]

While sorting through the Concours this AM, I stumbled across a broken piece that had been repaired, so decided to acquire a new replacement (identity of piece unimportant to this tale).   
Checked American parts fiches, part is $83US, plus shipping.   Found one on ebay, $89US plus shipping, used.
Tried VMS for cost of new direct from Kawasaki.....$62CAD, plus minimal shipping, if any......moral is, sometimes, it is better to buy new than vintage...

[Bucko]

.$62CAD new for Kawasaki?  Must have been a screw or washer.