Changing Bike Frame - Legal Procedure..?

[MaiChai]

Thanh, if you want to sell some bits off this bike, I could offer to buy the brake caliper off you (assuming its the same as my rear caliper).

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

Thanks for all replies. Don't have much time now but will try to cover all

As to the NSR/CBR, yes, the whole elctrical system from the NSR has to be migrated to the CBR. Lots of things will be to different between the two. However that is not really a huge problem

Transferring the RXZ in the evening is worse than in the day - because it's got no headlight. Driving w/o lights at daylight might be overlooked, but certainly not in the dark. And i won't need a shop to get it driveable - if the engine has spark, i'll get it to run. I have a spare carb after all, and besides a spark i only need a carb to run the engine I will bring my set of wrenches, a multimeter, hammer and screwdrivers with me of course, if it really won't run maybe i can dismantle it right there and somehow stuff it into my Volvo.

About that brake caliper, if it is still on the bike (haven't seen that bike yet, just one low-res picture) and fits yours you can have it, sure. What i need is the frame, what i want is the engine, and what i'll also keep is the fork, tank, side panels, rear incl. tail light, all electric bits that are still there, exhaust (if it's a good one), swing arm, shock absorbers etc - basically the whole bike minus the wheels and seat, i really have no use for those. And limited space under the bed to store the bits But as i said - i have yet to see the bike, if it's frame is bent or broken i won't buy it (i still want the engine but my BF would go ballistic as "frame" is the reason i have permit to get it at all).

Best regards.....

Thanh

[MaiChai]

Good man! Good luck with the purchase. Let us know how you get on.

I have been very lazy with my Thai, but if I get my act together I could navigate mocyc.com better, because I can read Thai enough to get by (with my Thai dictionary/Thailanguage.com). Basically you can find lots of parts on it, and if you need something, can put a request in for what you need too.

My gf's smash has a noisy transmission/clutch, but I will start a new thread for this and see what folks can advise on it.

[Lickey]

that is how i got the shop to get me a new carb as after the umpteenth time them messing around with it and saying "all fine now" the bike was parked, engine off, fuel cock open and suddenly,

Oh, and i'm a certified motor mechanic on top of it all, i have been handling carbs for a few years (17) and seen a number of them.

Careful Thanh, dont contradict yourself like you did in the leaking carb post,

with best regards, Lickey.

[Thanh-BKK]

Honey, i know you are out to seek another fight after losing the last one. Sorry, i won't fall for it.

Carbs ain't rocket science, and if everything that can be swapped has been swapped and the problem is still present, it's time for a new one. I also mentioned clearly that i lack tools, you can't fix a carb with a set of wrenches. This is the reason why i have that shop do certain things (they also built my wheels, something i suck at, i'm an engine guy). I have plenty of photos showing me doing work on my bike but i won't bother posting them only to hear "Photoshop" type comments again.

But as i do have that very carb (the leaking one) which still works apart from the leaking (the engine runs!) i can use that to coax the "new" bike into running, as it's owner mentioned "carb needs cleaning" which can as well mean "carb is fcuked up", and, i will mention it again before you accuse me of contradictory statements, i do NOT have sufficient/specialized tools to do a full-blown carb service at the road side. However to swap one i need only a couple of screwdrivers.

@the others

Ignore Lickey, he's almost like a troll. He put up a challenge in another thread, i took and won it, provided evidence and all yet he accused me of faking my evidence etc etc and refused to admit defeat, his excuses becoming more and more ridiculous until a mod closed that thread. This is my first and only comment to that in THIS thread as it is off topic, this one is about changing a bike frame which i am close to be doing.

@MaiChai

Have the bearings checked. Is that smash the semi-automatic or the manual version? If manual, it could be the clutch basket (or whatever that's called, heck i'm German) or the clutch plates. A common problem is when clutch plates are used that have steel as base material, while the clutch basket (??) is aluminium - the plates slowly destroy the basket. If it's a semi auto it can be the bearing(s) or worn gears, depending what type of noise it is (buzzing when driving, in certain gear only? Rattling when idle?).

Best regards......

Thanh

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Well, i now GOT that bike. No book, but still a very good buy for 2.000 Baht - the engine runs top and is very powerful, there is a genuine "Showa" fork in it and i guess if i sell those 17" aluminium rims i get my money almost back. The tank is trash tough - very rusty inside, has a dent on the right side (just like mine!) and even a small hole - rusted from inside. That bike hadn't been moved in an eternity. I can use almost all of the parts except tank and wheels

Took me about half an hour there to get it to work - new spark plug, cleaned the carb (float bowl ful of rust, but dry - hadn't seen petrol in a long time. There is no air box either, i wonder how there was no water getting into the cylinder! But then it was standing under a roof, protected from rain. Pumped up the tires (good that i bought a foot pump just yesterday specifically for this purpose!), filled two Pepsi-bottles of petrol (premixed with a quarter liter two-stroke oil) and was good to go.

Oh, and despite it not having a book, a license plate is on the bike, it just hasn't seen any road tax or insurance for a few years The owner had the keys for ignition and tank, so not a stolen one. Also the head light is not only there but even works. No problems with cops on the loooong way home (around 50 kilometers across town).

@MaiChai

I think the brake caliper won't do any good for you - it's not the original RXZ one but some 2-piston model, i guess (by the look of it) from a Honda or Kawasaki. Tomorrow i'll take the bike apart and take a picture of that unit, if you have use for it, let me know, i'll provide sizes etc.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[MaiChai]

Looks nice; you should do it up The brake looks like a Honda one that you will find on Sonic's, etc; the reason I say this is I bought new piston seals for mine and the shop got a box of them out and the Sonics are small like this (actualy my NSR looks the same too). In my experience Honda reuses parts alot between models, which is good news parts wise. No worries about it not being useable on my bike; if I need another one I will post on mocyc.com. Looks like my problem is the piston for the actuator is sticking and not springing back fully; I went down to Sapan Kwai yesterday and went to my favourite bike shop there who sell decent stuff and got a replacement piston/kit for 80 baht. Will try and fit it tonight, and hopefully the rubber seal is not as tight as the last one. I have tried to wear it in, and it probably will wear in over time, but I need it working straight off. Cheap spares are not always a perfect fit (even Honda original spares can be troublesome in my experience). I also got a gasket set for a Smash while I was there since I will be opening that up to have a look at the clutch/drive.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

Thanks for reply. No, i won't do up this one... as it has no green book, i can't get it legalized (still have no definite answer as to "how to obtain a green book" and "price of said procedure", i have been told "600 Baht" or, alternative, "25.000 Baht". One or another, there are many bits missing from this bike (entire cockpit, air box, 2T tank, front indicators, indicator relay, horn, front mud guard) and the rest would require lots of work - the bike is way too low for my taste (racing fork!) and those skinny 17" wheels are not for me either. An RXZ is supposed to run on fat 18 inchers, not this "bicycle" stuff that the young racer boys here use

But i will take both engine covers and put them on my engine, also of course the 150cc cylinder kit - that thing has a push out of the basement like a tractor, several times i started off a traffic light accidentally in 2nd or even 3rd gear, and despite it having a VERY long transmission (looks like 16-32 as opposed to mine 16-40 and original 16-46!) it went off just fine. But the boost bottle is missing as well, as a result it doesn't rev high - that, and the missing air box.

The gearbox isn't well either, there is a racing clutch in it for which you really need bear power to pull that lever, and it is next to impossible to find the neutral - those gears need an overhaul.

Then there is a weird exhaust on it - from a Honda LS or something! Says big and fat "Honda" on the silencer, cops love such stuff! I don't - that thing will be sold to the scrap metal guys. It's too loud, too, something (loud two-strokes) i hate.

But most important is the frame - and that one is perfect for the job. I don't even need to take mine completely apart - just the tail needs to be stripped, then cut off and replaced by that from this bike. Then add a decent reinforcement to prevent once and for all it bending and/or breaking again and my Bulldozer will, once again, live up to it's name - now able to carry a ton and move it off decently too, thanks to 150 cc

Best regards.....

Thanh

[sbk]

Inflammatory posts and their responses have been deleted. Attempts to incite arguments with inflammatory comments are against forum rules and further such attempts will result in action. Lets try to keep this civil, please.

[MaiChai]

I know this is not my post but thought I would give an update on my rear brake caliper for anyone that might suffer the same problem. Basically the bleed valve has been overtightened so many times that it broke through to the cylinder and does not seal the brake fluid anymore. This means you can't bleed the system and get the pressure up again so you end up with a non working brake, and the cost of a replacement cylinder is 6000 baht if you buy from Yamaha, maybe 2k/3k if you get a copy one, or maybe 500 baht if you can get hold of a second hand one. I was advised to take it to a machine shop and get them to drill it out and fit a fatter one; Yamahas used 6mm wide ones and Honda uses 8mm wide ones, so in theory could get it drilled out for a Honda one. Anyway took it to a machine shop and the guy advised to get it drilled out for a 10mm one, and he rode off on our bike to get a valve. Cost of this was 150 baht (Bangkok prices), plus 20 baht for the valve. I had to over tighten the valve to get it to seal (a bit of brake fluid seems to lubricate the process). Also had to take the piston out to clean out the bits left over from the drilling and thread tapping, and thus I popped in a new piston seal rubber for 20 baht. Seems to be working.

Wonder what will break next on the bike? Such is the way with having an old bike. In theory if you keep fixing and replacing things you will end up with an almost new and reliable bike?

Edited June 8, 2008 by MaiChai

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Hey i have a very similar problem here with MY rear brake now..... my bike had the "big operation" yesterday, and as it was apart anyway i opted for new brake pads and a new rear tyre, too. now, as i use a fake "Brembo" rear caliper which is not sold in Thailand and which obviously won't take REAL Brembo pads, my pads were "repaired" - and that took less than two hours! Impressive, they are really like brand new ones.

However the same problem that was there upon first installation of this brake - it is a b!tch to bleed. Something i can NOT do (i'm not almighty!) and the mechanic went almost crazy over last time as it just won't build pressure.

So yesterday they did a little trick - which basically keeps the system under higher pressure, simulating a halfway pressed brake pedal. That worked fine - at the start.

While riding home i wondered why i lost power. No, not the "new" cylinder - i figured out that the brake had suddenly re-generated it's original pressure and now it was indeed like i was driving while standing on the brake. Thus reached home with an almost red-hot disc.

Today the shop was closed, so i decided to remove that device which they had put in to simulate the pressure - however when i got to the bike i found that it had returned to the state where it was yesterday when i left the shop! I.e. a rather perfectly working brake.

So now i don't know - will it keep working or will it again "slam shut" after driving for a while? As much as i love to have a rear disc brake, i hate the troubles in getting it working right. I now also want to change to a VRR brake (after all i have a disc, i "only" need a caliper!) but i really have no spare money anymore. By the looks of it, a whole "spare VRR" will cost less than half of a new caliper anyway.

By the way, it was found out that my 2.000 Baht RXZ was a real jewel - apart from the Showa-fork which alone is already an expensive item, also the engine - it is a highly customized, pure-bred race engine! Custom primary gears, racing clutch, lightened flywheel, racing bearings all 'round and of course the bored-up cylinder and TZR piston combo (the cylinder is also ported). Cylinder, piston and both engine covers have now moved onto my daily driver "Bulldozer" and generate a massive push from below, tough not as good as with the other engine, yet a lot better than stock Maybe with a larger carb i'd get even more, but don't want to overdrive it - my crankshaft has 72.000 + unknown kilometers on it, still in like-new condition tough.

Tomorrow i'll take a couple of pics and post them here, looks really good now and - perfectly straight frame!!

With best regards.......

Thanh

[MaiChai]

Brembos are available in Thailand. There was a shop in Suttisan Road that used to specialize in brakes and they sold Brembos. However I went there a couple of weeks ago and they dont do brakes anymore. Now they machine fancy bits out of aluminium for Finos.

Seems like the global credit crunch/economics is kicking in here and everything is changing? You think you know a good shop for something, and they either close down or change what they do?

My rear brake will probably need rebleeding in a couple of days; I have made alot of changes to the system and it will need time to settle in.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

Yeah, i know you can get Brembo in Thailand - but mine is a FAKE Brembo (something Chinese that just has "Brembo" cast in but definitely isn't from Brembo!) and it doesn't take any standard brake pads. I "imported" this from Singapore as a complete, second-hand, rear disc brake set, as you can't find such things for an RXZ here. VRR - no problem, but $$.

About the shops that suddenly disappear, tell me about it - i always bought a certain kind of blank DVD's which are difficult to find here (genuine Verbatim, 16x DVD+R) in one specific shop in Panthip. Last time i needed some - shop wasn't there anymore but a different one in it's location that sold printer inks. So i spent a couple of hours searching for those DVD's, finally found them and bought TWO packs - that'll last for a few months

Now about my brake, on the way to work it went ok, but when i got here i noticed it was just starting to "become tight" again..... however after half an hour parking it was back to normal again. Maybe it really is a matter of the new brake pads having to adapt to the disc first....... still i'll be looking for something genuine, be that VRR or Honda or Harley-Davidson, i don't care as long as i can fit it to my RXZ and it works and isn't too expensive. I have that Honda (?) front one from the bike i just bought but that doesn't fit the adaptor which i have - i need a single-piston model.

Anyway i'll attach some pics of my "new" Bulldozer, the look didn't change too much but it's perfectly straight now, very powerful and runs really nice, despite making a strong noise at certain rpm's - the original cylinder had vibration dampening ruber elements between the fins, this one doesn't.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[Thanh-BKK]

And some pics from *before* and *during* the "operation And yeah, i did all myself except for the actual welding and the bleeding of the brake.

[MaiChai]

Your bike looks very clean. I know my bike is old so not much point in making it beautiful. Just keep it roadworthy and safe. It doesn't look bad, but not as clean as yours. May get round to buying an almost new bike one day (although really like the one I have).

Talking about what will break next... Front brake lost some pressure today although still working. Usual trick with this is to bleed it, which is a doddle for a front brake. Anyway start bleeding it and pumping the brake, and it looses all pressure, so I assume the seal has gone inside the actuator/piston. Take it apart, and its very similar in design to the rear one (a threaded piston with a seal at either end). The main seal has a split in it and the piston has fracture so its in two parts (surprised the outside bit hasn't dropped out). Looks like the original; very old, dirty and quite worn. Since the shops in Sapan Kwai supplied a new piston for the back one for 80 baht, am sure they will have the front one for similar money. Brake hose is also rubbed away in two places so will get a new one of these as well.

Can I ask how you painted the frame, since I am thinking of touching mine up next year? Did you use paint that is resistant to break fluid? I have a tin of silver and a tin of black synthetic enamel gloss that I am thinking of using; not sure if these resist brake fluid; would need to decipher the Thai.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

Thank you for reply and comments on my bike. Well, you haven't seen it up close - this is nowhere near "clean", as it's a daily runner basically built up from a heap of junk and "restored" under lack of time and money. First paint job happened without taking bike apart, removing old paint or even stickers - flat black over everything

The second time i actually removed the parts to be sprayed, but again - dusted off and sprayed over, no sandpaper or similar involved.

This bike isn't to win the awards for "best looking" but to bring me to work and back and around town without as much as a stutter, and in THAT discipline it's perfect.

Now the frame was sprayed with precisely the same paint as the rest of the bike - ordinary spray cans, i think the brand is "TOA" acrylic lacquer, nothing special. Maybe some day i have a lot of time, a lot of money etc and then i'll do a REAL paint job, full service so to speak, but as of yet - no specific schedule for that, just keep on chugging, 300-400 kilometers per week.

Regarding the brake, my rear brake behaves well now - it was only the first ride that this problem occured, probably because the brake pads weren't run in to the disc yet. Nevertheless i have a new brake caliper including a set of "original" pads on order from Singapore, can take a few weeks tough as the guy needs to actually buy it in Malaysia. It'll be the exact same fake Brembo again because that fits perfectly

Two more observations i have made meantime - i can actually wheelie with my bulldozer, in second gear even! Quite powerful, that engine. However, as a downside - it burns more fuel, too....... and i'm going to install these vibration dampeners again like on the original cylinder! The vibrating of the cooling fins sounds awful in lower rpm's (altough beyond 7.000 it howls like a turbo!) and i prefer it to run quiet.

Best regards......

Thanh

[fridgemagnet]

Thanh, my g/f told me that the 30k doesn't apply to motorcycles under the 250cc range, this to her idea this will not be more then the maximum of 600 Baht for motorcycle registration.

Sorry, we never try to change a frame of a smaller displacement motorcycle......... Still she says it can be a endless story for a end user, so probably better you contact a Yamaha dealer to inform them of your change and pay them to do the paperwork.

Please give me a link, or some connection, for info. of the real type regarding cheap registration of under 250 motorcycles. I can only find hearsay type stuff.

[LivinLOS]

I too would love to know the facts..

Doesnt this now mean all those paperless Vespas and classics can all be regged for 600 baht ???