AllanB

I could just about get a 65/75mm flexible in, turn through 90deg then get a small pancake filter in, having trouble finding one. Do they call them pancake filters?

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Not my thing but looks good, tidying is a personal thing be sure someone ear can give some ideas.

As for your airfilter is there any way a cone type will fit they come in many shapes and sizes.

I found what I wanted. 

 

 

15 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

A VT400 Replica must be rare.

Called the NV400, a Japanese home market import there were a few here. As you can ss it was identical to the VT Shadow series quite popular in the USA.

This morning made up an air filter "pack" made up of the original mesh and some oiled sponge... and just stuffed it in. There isn't any room to do much else since the original air box now houses the CDIs/brackets, HT cables and coollant expansion bottle. That seemed to have stopped the popping on over run, will check the plugs after a while.

So, work to be done, twin pipes, but the company is closed for a month, new fork gaiters and some sort of luggage rack..oh and the seat. Then a lot of tidying up, including a rethink on the airfilter.

But the engine is strong and torquey, gearbox 100% and shaft drive too, just wish I had a bit of artistic flair to make it look amazing.

27 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

A VT400 Replica must be rare.

Called the NV400, a Japanese home market import there were a few here. It was identical to the VT Shadow series quite popular in the USA.

Will post some photos tomorrow, not finished yet though.

Seems the secret to an 80s Japbike rewire is a speedo with all lights built in @B700 (plus elecronic Tacho @B700), a couple of relays and a B500 wiring kit and all that 37 year old complicated Honda wiring <deleted> is gone, back to simple. Moved the CDI units to the back, well away from hot engine location.

Rode the bike back this morning and it runs fine, still a few things to do, make up an air filter box and still waiting for the twin pipes to give me a nice sound from that V-twin, it ain't no HD, but here's hoping for a decent note.

After a year of illness looking forward to get back on the road notwithstanding the restrictions, nice to have the old gal back. We also found a major blockage in the water system durung the stripdown.

Done some minor "chopping" or rather took bits off and a paint job, lots to do in my Aircon'd shed. My stepson inheritted my CRF250 who set about modding everything, so will get the old mirrors for free.

My Honda Shadow 400 is nearing completion and a friend of mine is looking for a low riding bike 400cc+(he has short legs), so would like to get hold of a 2 bike trailer. Not happy about putting my Shadow on my 4 door pickup and can't fit two big bikes on anyway.

Will also need a towbar, any ideas? 12 year old 4 door Isuzu.

Cheers 

I need a towbar fitted to my Isuzu 4 door pickup 12 years old any ideas, I am in Isaan, but could travel to Chiang Mia and BKK to get one.

Cheers

On 2/9/2020 at 3:22 AM, daveAustin said:

How are your combined chlorine readings? No disrespect intended as you clearly have a passion for it, but I am always wary of pool owners that state they never bother with shock (unstabilised chlorine). Shock dosing is part of standard pool maintenance to take care of chloramine build-up (should it be significant) and would be a given unless you are really on top of your dosing/testing.

 

Would also worry about fibre as method of pool filtration (it's not a tub). You'd have to be very studious about cleaning as you will not have the capacity of sand filtration, while any caught nasties will go right back in. Pool pumps are designed to operate under load and high flow rate is not a biggie (more about time) - just ask Olympic swimmers. Anyhow, it sounds like you have a setup there and don't want to rain on your parade, though I would urge to test total against free chlorine levels especially if you have little kiddies getting in there. 

A bag or cartridge filter is pretty simple, it stops everything above a given partical size and unlike a sand filter it is easy to clean, easy to prove it is clean and doesn't waste water. When it is mounted on the suction side of the pump, it warns you when it is blocked, if not you fit a pressure gauge, so why would you be worried?

Why would you need to shock-chlorine if the chlorine is doing it's job?

All water pumps are designed to operate under load, water is not compressible, so I don't understand your point, but if you are implying these pumps are designed to work under a heavy load, that is untrue. The higher the load the lower the flowrate and lower the dischange velocity, all bad news for water circulation. The higher the flowrate the less running time required, plus a pump working harder and running for longer, the shorter the lifecycle of the pump.

Ask olympic swimmers, no you got me there????

My chlorine levels are fine and water is crystal clear, as someone mentioned the roof plays a big part in that. It is a combination of factors all of which play their part, the downside is the low water temperatures which don't suit everyone.

Woah there! Find a local test lab and get a stool and urine test, maybe a full blood analysis. No need for an invasive procedure to begin with. Then take the results to gastrologist.

I take statins, blood thinners and antacid tablets and my stools are now grey, mind you I have eat a lot of oats, nuts and fruit. Have you changed you diet? 

Aim to consume around 2 litres of water a day.

On 1/30/2020 at 1:53 PM, nongkhaidude said:

 Yes a properly built concrete overflow swimming pool with PebbleCrete and a salt Chlorinator is the most trouble free easiest maintenance Swimming pool there is.  

Salt water is very abrasive and is not good for the pool glaze, especially on fibreglass pools, a guy I knew lost his glaze in a few months and it stained the concrete surround slabs. A year on it looked a right mess. The other problem with plastic pools is the scructure has very little mass, so they move/tilt/bend, even worse if you empty the water out. I agree concrete is the only amswer and the heavier the better, I put a 30cm sub base in mine and built on that. Overflow pools not perfect for Thailand where flooding fills the pool up with <deleted>, go for traditional skimmer, chlorine and 100mm tile.

2 hours ago, rech said:

how much did you pay for it and who made it ? thank you.

 

 

I built it, well my wife's family did the building work, I did the plumbing and electrics along with design and project managing. It cost about B350,000 including the roof. Took about 6 weeks.

That was around 8 years ago though.

In the 7-8 years since I built the pool, I have experimented a lot, indeed I added the spray jets after I built the pool. I have changed chlorine levels and pump times and come up with my current optimums.

I originally built the pool with an infinity edge and changed that to a skimmer system after a year of dealing with a messy and undersized tank, so I have made mistakes along the way.

There are a number of factors that allow short running times and these low levels of chlorine.

1. The roof means low evaporation levels and much less UV to destroy the chlorine indeed there is vertually no direct sunlight on the pool at all.

2. The bag filter means no pump pressure loss = maximum flow levels from the pump and higher jet velocities. A sand filter puts quite a heavy load on the pump, slowing the flow considerably and the cleaning effect isn't as good as a low micron bag filter. Rather than guessing, I can look at the state of the bag and clean it when it gets dirty and I tend to use a finer mesh bag when the weather gets hot, but it means it needs cleaning it more often. The high level jets tell me when the filter is dirty as it is on the suction side of the pump, so the pump cavitates and pulses slightly. All this flexibilty means I can sort problems out before they occur and preventing algy is 100 times easier than trying to get rid of it. 

3. As a result, my ph levels stay pretty constant without any correction chemicals, indeed I bought some ph+ quite a few years ago and have never had a need to use it up. I bought some shock chlorine years ago too and that is still on the shelf.

4. The more different types and larger quantities of chemicals you use the more problems you have, sticking to one makes things much more straightforward. Howver, this is very much dependant on the pool design, the equipment used and.... well having a roof.

5. The roof and the fact that the pool is half about ground level, except along one side, means mush less dirt ingress and any leaves that do blow in are fished out in the morning. So phosphate levels are kept very low.

6. Finally I do encourage friends and neighbours to use the pool as this helps with water circulation, we have a simple volleyball net set up and these games create a lot of water agitation, which often goes on for hours. Ideal for the water, but we do have to top up after.

Incidentally bag filters are available in many mesh sizes, I tend to alternate between 25 and 10 micron for general use, pop a 5 micron from time to time and use a 1 micron, or even a 500 pico (I got from China) to clean the pool. My pool cleaner is a home made jobby, using a submersible pump on a pole feeding a bag filter hanging from the roof.

Questions

1. What is a clean and bright sand filter?

2. The spec of the pump is one thing, but what is the actual flowrate, have you measured it?

3. I have never undestood salt water systems, could someone please tell me why?

Many thanks for your helpful replies, wasn't sure that sex was anything but heart healthy, but I don't overdo it nowadays, don't need viagra...yet. Still get twinges of heart/chest pain, but have learned to live with them, as most of it is acid reflux related.

As for "why me", stress and lack of exercise. Stress, I inheritted my mum's temperment, which I am working on with a few Buddhist techniques and lack of exercise due to osteoarthritis in my knee. After I lost all that weight that helped on the exercise front and I began walking 2-4km every day, but jumping down off my pickup recently, screwed that up for the time being. So doing the BHF 10 minute workout twice a day to compensate.

Since I met my Thai wife 10 years ago, my eating habits had been good, but previous years of eating processed <deleted> have taken it's toll, I guess. Gave up smoking when I was 14 and never been much of a drinker. After my HA switched to a Dr Esselstyn's whole plant based diet, but the weight fell off me and I got really depressed. Now I have a great vegan breakfast and eat oily fish, a little meat and loads of fruit and veg, especially greens. Spinach and balsamic vinegar creates nitric oxide for the heart and then antioxidents are the main key.

I have spent a lot of time researching different diets and their are a thousand different opinions out there. But no one has looked at the French diet in any depth, which contradicts much of what the experts say. Now if you look at Europe the French have by far the loweest rate of CVD and worldwide they are one of the lowest too. The BHF (British Heart Foundation) recommend the "Meditereanean" diet, but if you look at those countries, Italy, Spain and Greece, they don't have low CVD rates. While France is on the Med the french don't really eat that diet.

I tried discussing this on the BHF forum and got banned, that and wishing to discuss Dr Esselstyn's theory. So there are some politics there.

We now spend half the year in central Portugal, where the food is very good, the raw materials I mean, although we have had some superb fish meals the few times we have eaten out.

I am an inherently lazy person and really have to work on that, if I am going get anything like another couple of decades. Used to do lots of sports when I was young and skinny, now I am skinny again I need to get up of my <deleted>. What is this expensive cardio machine somone mentioned, a treadmill?

10 months ago I had a heart attack, had two stenting procedures and now take the usual cocktail of drugs, 4 in all. I have had ups and downs since, still have a few <deleted>ty days and am very envious of people in the UK who go to rehab classes.

I am in Khonkaen and wondered if anyone had found any help in terms of aftercare, since I have had just 2 off 3 minute sessions with my cardiologist here and the rest has come from Youtube. The anxiety has lessened over the months, as I have learned about my condition and my wife has been a true diamond. I dropped from 83kg to 66 and am now around 68kg, a bit gaunt for a 6ft tall 68 year old, but walk around 2km a day and do a bit of light weight training.

I would like to hear from anyone who has heart issues, exchange info etc.

In previous years I got a letter from the Bristish embassy and otained a 12 month O retirement visa and that can no longer be done. Instead they offer a visa if you have B400k in the bank for 2 months, which I don't have, or a big "fee". I understand I can get a 60 day visa in Vientiane, which can be extended in Khon Kaen for 30 days.

Are there any other alternatives and is the Laos route straightfoward, also can it be repeated? My Current O visa runs out 23rd December, so plan on going early.

This bike has been out for a year or so now, read all good reviews and wonder if any had one. Was going to buy one in the UK, then at least try one out, but this hasn't been my year, anyway does anyone have one and are they as good as the reports say? How about the dealers in LOS, I hope they are better than the Lifan shops, who think a PDI is "Pretty Damned Inconvient"?

On paper, love the sound, looks, build quality (European models) and performance and I think the price is B213k?

On 20/08/2017 at 10:25 PM, Ahnsahn said:

.... I hear ya', 
w/o actually have test rode the Xmax (like Mr. J was able to), the Xmax looks to be The Number One 300 cc mid-size scooter to have right now. I too, would definitely like one and would lean more towards the brownish color and I agree that the yellow color really stands out but the grey color would be my second choice. Luckily (sadly?), my situation gives me the option of waiting a few months before making a purchase. In that time, Honda could release an updated Forza 300 version that is a clone of the Forza 125, sold in UK, which in itself is practically a copy of the Xmax 300: 15" -14" wheels, nice dashboard, etc. - I would jump on a blue-white-grey color model in a NY minute!

 

Not really a mid sized scooter, I'd call is small. The Forza "bath-tub" as you call it is a good mid sized scooter..IMO. Plenty of leg room for both riders and storage for trips too.

It the days before 4 stroke Karting, the 2 strokes were rebuilt after every race meeting, so I assume the wear rate was much greater, especially where high performance is a key factor.

The upside is that the 2 strokes were cheap to recon, maybe that is true of your bike? 

Our local Yamaha dealer in Khon Kaen has about 50 of these machines in stock, all very old looking and dusty, but with zero km, so new bikes. I don't know why he is keeping them, but this is Thailand.

They are two stroke and being fast and bought for that very reason, they tend to get thrashed, so the kms you have may not be that high.

The CFR250L is going to be my next bike and for reasons like this:-

52,000 miles (84,000km) without any mechanical issues, that's all I want to know.

My what an original looking bike....... I can't wait to see one......

^

You're referring to me, and, as usual, you've gotten it wrong.

Actually you said leather has no place in Thailand at all, and implied that people who wore leather had sexual identity issues and offered to point those who did to some 'special' sites they might like. You also completely ignored the fact that using different colors (light with dark) was explained to you previously, as well as many other factors that determined whether a jacket was suitable for the heat. This was back when you had a plan to make your own silver reflective jackets.

My exact reply to you was The argument isn't over what colors absorb more heat, but, rather, how those colors can be combined to give the best of all worlds- all black runs hotter- all white/light colors get dirtier- how can they be combined to run cooler and last longer? This is the third time I've tried to explain it to you- you really need to work on your reading comprehension.

Here's the thread if you need a reminder: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/663322-ventz-jacket-sleeve-vents-for-increased-airflow/page-2- you weighed in (sarcastically and unnecessarily) from post #28.

Then you weren't the person I was referring to, so calm down Mr Down, it's hot. There was quite a gang if I recall and it is under those circumstances that I tend to react.

So we both agree this is a suitable jacket for Thailand if you are moving at a rate of knots?

There are some nice white leather jackets for women in the UK, so may start with her, since she is more vulnerable than I.

Anyone have any pictures of this tape installed, does it look pukka? The plastic heat shield on my bike has lost it's chrome and looks a bit crap anyway and wants replacing.

Just bought the Revit Galactic jacket from Panda Rider. Very nice, 13,500 baht including 10% member discount. It's a mesh leather combo which I feel is the best option for day to day riding here, 100% mesh makes me feel a bit vulnerable on a proper ride and my full leather Dainese is really really hot. I really liked the Komine JK-021 I had before this (also leather mesh combo) but it's a copy and the stitching is poor so I decided to replace it. Fine for low speed rides though, super comfy. Paddock has original Komine JK021's for about 12,000 baht but I didn't see them until I'd bought the copy for 5000 baht - annoying...

This Revit has pretty good airflow at the front and back but all impact areas are leather. Best of both worlds! Nice soft leather too, and the predominantly white portion always helps in the sun! Highly recommended...

Looks just about ideal. I remember arguing about having white leather and was pilloried by a number of (expert) members for the idea, saying it would get filthy dirty and that I knew nothing about "real" biking. Nice to see there are some sensible people on this forum too.

But anyway that looks really stylish, white in the right places and a very reasonable pricetag too, how is in this really hot weather, it was 45c today in the centre of Khon Kaen? Perhaps that was a silly question, I know the answer is bloody hot, but possibly bearable?

I bought a white fabric bikers jacket last year, secondhand for £10, which works and a new one for the missus, but this is really nice, do they do a ladies version too?