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Well I did a Little of This, A Little of That....

OldTLSDoug

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Yesterday I swapped throttle bodies onto the Super Duke 990 to replace the secondary butterflies. I picked up all of my lost bottom end torque. Almost looped her when I smacked second from a first gear power wheelie. Seems much more "beastly", an excellent piece of work if I say so myself.

Today, I put the stage II hot cams with compression release into the DR-Z so I can start her easier. While in there I also installed the kickstarter I have been holding onto for a year or two. Well, I had some ups and downs, but got her done. Had the exhaust cam out 4 times (first 3 were math errors, when subtracting to determing new shim size, one should use enough math to ensure you leave room for the gap) and finally got them all spot on. If I could have mathed it out I would have pulled it once.

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As I installed teh kcickstart, I did find out that I installed the retainer for the idler gear bushing backwards and it was rubbing on the clutch basket. I must have missed it. Usually I don't miss stuff like that. Anyway, kickstart install was uneventful otherwise. Until I kicked it the second or third time. Since I was wearing a tennis shoe, I slipped, got shin to footpeg as foot came off kickstarter, then continued to knee down on lift then slid foot out to floor and tweaked hip. So the key would have been to better secure the bike before I started it on the lift. I am sore but no longer limping.

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The DR-Z idle was way off, I kept slowing it down and finally got around 1400-1600 and she is good. The bottom is a touch better with the new cams and she runs out a little bit early up top, but if you never rode it with the other cams you wouldn't notice. She is a goer now. I kicked her to life a lot and when I got home the battery will now handle cranking duties quite well. So this is also a win win.

Next up is the DR-Z70 to get a carb clean so she will be more attractive to a future buyer here at Christmas time. And of course, I need to finish wiring Mr. 1969 CJ5. Life is good. Of course there is still V Strom stuff ahead but I think I am on the downhill side of that mess.
 
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Enjoy reading your posts. Very inspiring. I too find the need to either be tinkering or riding.
 
I'd be happy if I had just a thimble full of your mechanical knowledge...
I'd be happy if I could avoid rework. Seems to be more and more common these days. I read a lot and watch all the videos I can find. I am a lifelong tinkerer started with bicycles. When I was 9-10 my Dad figured out I loved working on stuff and taught me about electronics and engines. Plus my little hands could get to the difficult stuff. He enjoyed heckling later in life. I am not ashamed to say I tossed a wrench at him a time or two. I love to take stuff apart, fix it or make it better and then move on. Probably why I pump so many scooters through my shop. I do enjoy the work though and I have lots more time these days.
 
My Dad was the same way. In his last year I was fortunate enough to have him move in with me so I could care for him.. I would get him outside with me and he would ask why I was always so busy. Learned it from you Dad was always my response. Rework is part of getting older and doing the job right. I feel your pain.
 
One memory I have is putting a fuel pump in a 1961 GMC truck with a straight six while I was still in the Navy (pre-1982). My Dad was watching and said useful stuff like, "You smashed your knuckles because the wrench slipped" or my favorite "I knew that wouldn't work". That was the day I flung a wrench at him as he giggled and dodged. We did a lot of fun projects and a lot of not so fun ones over the years. But I always think of that 61 GMC and still smile about it.
 
seems like your description of the hotcam was somewhat the opposite of mine with the stage two on my xr650r. I got more revs on top and bottom end felt strong still. Maybe its a different design objective cam. I also found overlap to be excessive making it hard to start often. Had to release the manual comp release quickly after getting the piston moving.
 
seems like your description of the hotcam was somewhat the opposite of mine with the stage two on my xr650r. I got more revs on top and bottom end felt strong still. Maybe its a different design objective cam. I also found overlap to be excessive making it hard to start often. Had to release the manual comp release quickly after getting the piston moving.

Remember I had the old stage II Hot cams that 9.58 mm lift at 243° Duration that I took out. The lift of the replacements is like 9.05 mm and duration is 238° so I lost a bit on top but they are nicer down low and in the middle.
 
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