Der Ratte Attack stage 2 complete ...

More fine weather, more second thoughts, and at last a chance to break out the matt black rattle can again. I changed my mind about the path some of the wiring and the engine vent-2-pod plumbing took. For those who know what I'm talking about, you can see that the vent (lower right corner) now goes straight up and then over to the left, level with the frame, and then hits the T junction to go back to the pods. This should stop any condensating vapour from pooling. The wiring looked very messy but now most of it is tucked up out the way at frame/seat level and just the bare minimum heading south to the battery and solinoid, etc.

Aside from the fact that rear guard has now got rattle canned, and the battery sled wood doesn't look like wood anymore now it is painted, notice anything strange towards the top left ? Where has the shock absorber gone, and WTH is bolted there instead ? See next pic. Heh.

Okay, this is called my "claytons" suspension, so named because it is the suspension you have when not having suspension. A bit like the drink by the same name. It is essentially two bits of flat bar bolted between the existing shock mount and a spare hole on the old seat/guard mount, and then the stock shock firmly bolted closer to the latter than the former, giving me pleasing 28cm distance from old centre to old centre where formerly it was near 35cm.

Not only has this given me a much lower and more comfortable ride, especially now I can rest at traffic lights with both feet flat on the ground AND have bent knees, but also made the ride so much easier to control - the handling has vastly improved. Who woulda thunk !

Due to certain angles and bulkiness, the shocks are under a little sideways stress but I can live with that in the short term - the shock covers make it look worse than it actually is, but it is hidden from certain critical eye by the saddlebags anyway.

Yes, I am on the look-out for shorter shocks and have even made a trip to the local bike wreckers in search of them, but they are somewhat elusive in this neck of the woods so I'm going to have to wait to do it properly but in the mean time I am quite happy to do it Ratte Style.

Which is what I also had to do to the kick-stand. Left at it's stock length it pushed the bike over the wrong way. Not very useful, and the centre stand is a chore now things are so much lower - also not helped by the fact that I've also dropped the front forks near 3cm in the triples. So, off came the kick-stand, out came the angle grinder and welder, and half an hour or so later, most of it spent muttering about the reduced conductivity aspects of a badly rusted welding lead clamp, a shorter kick-stand came into being.

Yup, my ratty guestimations had made it a bit on the short side and the bike now had a bigger lean going on than a politician coming out of the Parliment House bar after a long Friday lunch. So, more muttering and more welding saw the stand grow the necessary 1cm it needed to look good whilst also being functional, as well as prevent the draining of battery fluid from the lowest corner. Seriously, I am amazed how much angle you can put on this bike when lowered before it even thinks of having a lay down.

So, that is how the beasty now looks without the saddle bags and side panels. Yup, got the beasty all nekked in time for summer. You can see I finally got around to stretching the gaitors down and hose clipping them. The sticker ? It says "Support the Royal Flying Doctors" which is a charity I like to support and promote the support of. It won't mean much to you if you are outside Oz mind you.

And once again with bags on. Stage 2 over. Can there be a stage 3 ? Maybe. I've been tossing around the idea of enclosing the top third or so of the rear wheel by adding removable covers to each side of the guard. Sure, the bags do that to a degree already, but I don't like that gap showing between the wheel and the rear of the rear guard, which is why I wanted to go for a wheel hugging guard in the first place. Too bad I've had to abandon that idea for the time being.

Anyway, just say no to shiny expensive ridable things. Make cheap and matt black your friend instead. Trust me, more fun is to be had with something you're not worried about taking an angle grinder to than something you don't want to get wet, have to keep clean and polished, and costs you a fortune in insurance every year.

Riding should be about fun and feeling free, so buy yourself that rather than yet another possession that makes you yet more of a prisoner.

Ratte IS the new black.

regarDS

Burbles and Wobbles ...

A quick post-note to the last entry where I mentioned that after a day and a half of throwing various tools and lumps of wood etc at Der Ratte, it still looked more or less the same as when I started and merely smelled worse due to a good fish oiling.

I have now discovered that removing the stock air-box and replacing with the Pods makes a simply marvelous difference. Not only in the get Up and Go department, but also in the 'hey, that sounds Good" section too. I'm sure those of you who have done similar are nodding their heads knowingly.

What a beautiful burble now emits when cruising, and what a satisfying 'hey, I'm here, get out of my way" volume increase when opening up the throttle ! Who would have thunk that such a simple change could make a bike so much more enjoyable to ride !

The economy seems to be better too ... I've already gone over 20 kilometres over where Der Ratte usually starts coughing for a switch over to reserve, but still no sign of cutting out.

Okay, that is the Burbles" side of this blog entry done.

Now for the Wobbles. Nope, nothing to do with Der Ratte.

I was reading with some interest today as to how quickly ice is melting away in the Northern Hemisphere due to this current cycle of natural global climate change we are being blessed with.

Glaciers are retreating at a fast rate of knots even in most Northern Greenland, Arctic ice is soon going to be no more, permafrost in Siberia (etc) is becoming swamp, millions of tons of driftwood and scary amounts of defrosting mammoth meat is finding its way down Northern rivers after being released from previous frozen areas, etc, etc, etc.

In short, billions of tons of frozen water accumulated in various heaps in the North, is following the path water best likes to travel, and is flattening out into the form of less cold wet stuff wot boats can float on.

All good as far as I'm concerned ... we're merely returning to the way things were back when Greenland was more hospitable to the Vikings and the like.

But what is happening at the better end of the globe ? That place South of the land of Oz where yours truly lives, loves, and laughs from ?

Apparently ice at the Antarctic is getting thicker. A bit like all those Environtologists of the Church of Environtology who are running around telling all who will listen to their religious nonsense (and be taxed for the privilage) that the sky is falling and it is all our fault.

Ok, here we get to the wobble part.

Anyone got any kind of idea as to how much ice has to turn to water (with accompanying changes in water tempurature and current directions, etc) in the far North in comparison to how much water has to turn to ice in the far South before this spinning mis-shappen ball we live upon must naturally see a change to its axis wobble due to weight redistribution ?

regarDS

One of those Ratte days ...

Ever have one of those morning when you jump out of bed bright eyed and bushy tailed all eager and ready to carry on with where you left off on yesterday's work, then when you go out and take a look at it you realise that you just hate most of what you actually managed to get done the previous session ?

That was me this morning. I looked. I pondered, then I put on my beret, pulled the cork out of a bottle of red with my teeth and took a swig, cut myself some cheese with my belt knife and ate it off the blade, then put on my best French accent and stomped around telling myself off saying things like "merde, sacrebleu, what waas ayee thinkin, thees is sheet. non, non, thees will not do at all, escargot but this rat weel not, now feex it beforrr I taunt you a second time".

I took a look at the tail-light cluster, slapped my forehead and said "non, non, you eediot". I looked at what I was doing with the rear-guard and proclaimed "your mother wears army boots and your father sucks elderberries, you silly canigit".

I decided that the only thing I had done right was the bit of bar that the tail-light was bolted to, and the removal of the air-box and all. Sigh. So, back to the drawing board. First I decided to remove the tail-light again, turn the bar it was mounted on slightly, then raise the rear-guard up to meet it. I drilled and bolted it (yes, I did remember to put some rubber spacers inbetween the bracket and the guard). I had to turn upsidedown the mounting I had made for the battery end of things but same holes worked, so all cool. Back to a fixed guard rather than swingy one.

Okay, that looks a bit better. Note that the shocks and exhaust is off at the moment. The plan to trial a Hard-Tail look and feel rather than head straight away for shorter reach shocks. Next was to rebolt the tail-light cluster back to the mount bar I made yesterday, this time use some rubber spacers and put a third bolt into the guard at the top so the thing can't fall/be pushed forward. Deem it a case of removing temptation. Heh. The two holes in the guard to the right of the light are for bolting the seat back on. Yep, that means all my clever bending and bracket making yesterday was in vain. Sigh.

What else does Der Ratte need ? I'll give you a hint. The Best boats are made of this stuff and apparently witches who weigh as much as a duck are made of it too. Give up ? WOOD ! Yes, not only have I added MORE plastic to a motor cycle, I have now also added wood. You will see it better a few pics down. It has been incorporated as a base for the battery to rest on.

What are you looking at in this next pic ? Ah, a bit of Ratty cleverness I hope ! I've replaced the stock airbox with these pod filters, but what to do with the engine vent that usually feeds into the airbox ? I figured "why not split the feed up and direct it into each pod ?" What I did was drill a hole in the center of each pod and thread a couple of outboard engine fuel fittings through from the inside (with an o-ring on each) then push it into some suitable hose and then clamp. Lurking to the lower right of the photo you can see a white T junction. This is on a hose that connects up with the engine vent. See where this is going ?

Next you can see the pods now clipped onto the carbs and the twin hoses being fed by the T junction and the hose leading down from near the guard then across near the bottom of the battery and back to the engine. I've relocated the indicator relay to up under the seat on a bracket using the twin square thingumijigs mounting point. The other mounting point is the new earth. The regulator is now bolted direct to the guard. The starter solenoid is mounted on the side of the battery strap/bracket. And there is The Wood. :)

Next is a look from the other side, providing a better view of The Wood, the regulator, the pod and engine vent feed, and how I've secured the battery. I basically bolted the original battery strap thingo to a stainless steel angle that formerly was the wet end mount point for a boat echo sounder. All the holes were in the right places - ie, regardless of where the holes were, I compromised to use them rather than try and drill new ones and destroy more drill bits. Anyway, this lovely bit of stainless steel has been secured by four stainless steel self-tappers into the bottom of The Wood, and the original battery thingy first bolted with nylocs to a bit of mild steel bar, then that bar nylocked to the stainless steel ex-echo sounder bracket.

Why did I put the whole thing on The Wood ? It actually acts as a sled to give access to the battery should it need removal as there is not enough room to swing the door open on the original thingy. The sled is merely secured with two bolts (and nylocs) to the metal tray underneither and I reckon The Wood looks much better than yet more metal, and I'm sure the battery will be healthier on it.

Oh well, there went the light again. Sheesh, where did a day and a half go ? Here is a last shot before the side covers go back on again. "WTF ?" do I hear you exclaim ? "You do all that and then put the covers back on ? Anyway, how can they go back on with the pods and the fact that the top mount points have been removed ?"

Why ? Coz I'm not quite ready for Der Ratte to go nekked yet. I want to get it lowered and re rattle can matted first. On the lowering side of things, I did bolt on a bit of tube with holes at 9" centers to see what Der Ratte felt like when that low and that rigid.

It was scary. To start off with, it was a LONG way down from off the center stand, and the side stand was useless - it wanted to push the bike over rather than hold it up. I liked the sitting position, but even without riding it, it was painfully non-flexible. Worse than that, LSCP, (the gorgeous girl who has been my Life Style Choices Partner for the last six years) didn't want to go pillion and see how it was. Not a good sign. Like I said, scary. :(

I still want to do it though, so I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and go for some shorter shocks. The default ones are 13" centers, so I guess a 4" drop is too far. Maybe an 11" will be the go ? In the meantime, I adjusted the defaults to the sloppiest/weakest/lowest they can be. I was even considering taking to the springs with an angle grinder to drop them a bit more, but there is no way back from that kind of mod and it doesn't help with the UP bounce. sigh.

And here is the final short for the day just prior to me slinging the saddle bags back over again ... making it look like I hadn't done a damn thing for the last day and a half. Heavy sigh. See, the side covers fit just fine with the pods ! How did I put the covers on ? Simple, the bottom bits went into their usual slot, and the top bits I just cable-tied to the top frame. Chuckle.

End result ? Cosmetically it virtually looks just like it did a couple of days ago, but it smells far worse due to a liberal dosing with good old fish oil in preparation for some more rattle can matt black. No doubt my neighbours hate me again for that. Heh.

Anyway, what a Ratte of a day. How was yours ? Accomplish much ?

regarDS

Ceasefire over. Der Ratte Attack Stage 2 continues ...

I was confronted with the prospect of a day of beautiful weather upon crawling out of my bed around midday today. My first 4 day break after near a month on the new shift pattern with the new contract, so it was about time I got to treat myself to staying up Really Late, and then similarly sleeping in Really Late too.

So, what to do ? Do I put the boat in the water and go for a cruise down river ? Or do I do some more damage to the CX500 Rat in the making ?

Having decided that because too many folk were getting used to/accepting of the increase in fugliness I have already inflicted on an ugly by default motorbike, it was now high time I resumed hostilities against the rideable metal, and see how much more fugly I could make it.

So I figured that the river could wait, coz it was time to break out the Made in China safety boots, angle grinder, drill, rusty mild-steel bar, blunt drill bits, striking devices of various sizes, weights and shapes ... and the odd cuss word.

First to do was to rip the seat off again and then the rear mudguard. This meant that the stoplight and number plate cluster had no where to go. Hmmmm, time for the first bit of rusty mild steel bar !

Above picture is the planned new rear-guard. Gunna make it so it swings up and down with the wheel rather than the wheel swing up and down into it. Except there won't be any swing having decided to Hard-tail it anyway.

Take a last look at current battery position on the airbox, and the old rear-guard on the ground to the far lower right. Note the handy holes at the end of the Harley sissybar. See where this is going ?

Ok, you can see that I have my Made In China safety boots on. This is important. So too is taking the guard from off the angle grinder. Safety First, Folks ! Then it was a case of bashing a right-angle into a bit of mild steel bar, roughly marking off where the number plate finished and leaving enough for the other end to be bashed over when cut. After the cut, a quick score with the angle grinder makes for an easy bend. A bit of drilling, muttering and cursing while looking for non-blunt drill bits, and yowser, the following was soon possible. I was a little bit worried for a moment that the stop-light and number plate cluster could easily end up pointing towards the ground with a bit of a push ... and it probably could if one had the mind to do so. Heh. Anyway, then it was time to break out some more mild-steel bar and do some crafty bending in order to provide a new way of holding the seat on now that the rear-guard was gone. Note hurled to the ground drill bits. Heh++

Seat now securable, time to get the new rear-guard on. Before that though, it was at last time to remove the battery and air-box ready for the new plans for that to come later. Here is a pic of the airbox gone and most of the electrics swinging in the breeze and my crafty front mount for the seat involving a stainless steel bit of bar held onto the frame with some hose clips.

Next is a view of how one end of the rear-guard is now secured to Der Ratte. I found a stainless steel bit of angle in my boat stuff, so after more muttering and cursing while trying to drill it (don't you just HATE how stainless steel can kill a dying drill bit in no time flat ?) and a few thumps with a hammer to bend it over even further (I jammed it into the boat trailer to do that) it was simply a case of a stainless steel bolt and nyloc nut cushioned by a rubber washer between the guard and the bracket, then another stainless steel bolt and nyloc between the bracket and the up-and-coming battery tray that came pre-equiped with a suitable slot for proper centering.

Yes, I realise that this anchor point will have to change if I don't hard tail things, but I'm determined to give it a go for a week or two. Alternative is to drag the welder out and tack an anchor point mid swing arm under where I've currently bolted it ... or better still, loop it with a large U bolt ? Did that make you shudder ? Yes, I realise I'll have to rethink certain clearances too. Nothing that can't be sorted out with an angle grinder and a bit of muttering.

In that above pic, you can also see my front seat mount a bit better. Maybe I'll weld it on, maybe I won't. Anyway, I ran out of daylight, so more tomorrow ... gotta have it back on the road by the end of the day. Will break out the matt-black rattle cans another day. The fish-oil spray will need a day or two to dry out and set properly anyway.

While I'm repositioning all the electrics in that area I'm going to make a point of doing away with every connector and solder every join instead.

I call that the "take off and nuke it from orbit - it is the only way to be sure" approach. :)

regarDS

CX500 rAt Attack stage 2 begins ...

Yay, at last I've rid the ratte of the Hateful Honda Custom seat. I scored off ebay for around $50 a "Bar Enterprises" Cobra model designed to suite Harley Sportsters and then had to fend off some fierce bidding (actually, I just swooped down der spatz like at the last minute to clean up) for the Harley Sissy bar to compliment it. Not so cheap at about $135 but considering the bidding that was happening I reckon myself to be a winner AND a grinner this time around.

I had to hose clip to the top of the frame a stainless steel rod (borrowed out of a boat trailer roller) in order to hold down the seat at the tank end, and I simply drilled through the mud-guard at the rear to use the existing holes in the seat along with the bolts from the original oh-so-gay Honda seat to hold down the other end.

All temporary measures. I'll weld on proper brackets when I pull the mudguard off and replace with a wheel hugging version late in "stage 2" or early "stage 3".

I decided to junk the Honda pillion grab rail (LSCP is happy enough holding on to either me or just below the back rest) and instead mount the indicators into the perfectly matched stem holes in the Harley sissy bar. For now, I've also raised the positioning of the default stop-light cluster on the mudguard to bring things more into line.

To aid in the ongoing uglification I've bunged a mini cargo net thingy over the tank ... got a spare one coming so that will probably be stored in streched out form over the same location. Heh.

What else ? Added some Triumph Cub gaitors to the front

forks to cover over more annoying shinyness. Lots of fun with a wheelie mega hydrolic car jack, lumps of wood under the centre stand, and light tapping on a cut off broomstick to push the forks down through the triples in order to get them on. Left the front wheel on the forks and just let the brake calibers hang and disconnected the speedo cable from the gauge end. Learned that what can be tapped out easily enough ain't so easy to push back in when gravity is going the other way and a heavy round thing is on the bottom. Heh++

Actually, it wasn't so hard to get the forks back in the triples again. Once they were lined up and well sprayed in suitable lubricant it was simply a case of holding the front wheel with one hand whilst letting pressure out of the jack under the engine with the other. A little pushing of the wheel back towards the radiator saw the forks easily glide back in. Then it was a simple matter of tightening up one side at the right spot then letting down the jack and applying pressure to the other side to get the top of fork line-up exactly the same as it was before the operation to hide shiny metal behind dull rubber.

Next ? Observe the small-arms ammo box, the brand new Harley chopper custom guard, and the pod air-filters an image ago. Yup, that means that the stock air-box is going bye-byes along with the standard mudguard and side covers and instead the battery and half the electrics are going to live in the ammo box which will be where the airbox used to be. While that area is all opened up I'll take the tank off and weld in some new seat brackets and a bracket to the swing arm in order to mount the new guard that will remain a constant distance from the wheel and swing up and down with it. By then I'll be ready for some lower shocks, so I guess I'll see what I can trade at the local 2 wheel wreckers from what I've junked ...

Oh, and why remove the tank again ? Coz I don't like welding and angle-grinding around petrol containers. Safety First Folks (yup, those are armoured and double lined chamos I'm modelling under that beaten up old Belstaf jacket, leather cut-offs, and nice unshiny new helmet), and until next time ...

regarDS

CX500 rAt Attack stage 1 completed

Okay, never mind the current and well justified "Art Rage" re: Uncle Bill's highly questionable, inappropriate, and universal betrayal of adult to child responsibilities (not to mention clearly being at odds with any "permit for working with a child" police clearances) going on in Oz at the moment, here are some more happy snaps of my current "rAt Rage" instead.

The CX500 that I'm applying my own forms of artistic freedoms of expression to is of 1981 vintage, which in bike years (that at least match human years) makes her 27 years old - more than old enough to have her photos taken in such compromising states of being ... and she certainly didn't consent NOT to have such happy snaps taken. :)

Until the new seat along with a modest Harley sissybar and backrest arrives, I've resorted to camoflaging the current seat with some classic beaten up leather saddlebags virtually donated to the cause by an old friend who probably doesn't share my distaste for shiny, polished, and clean machinery. Cheers again CW ... perhaps you'll have time to take it for a spin next time ... oh and you were right about the bad earth probably causing the indicator to play up! Actually, I reckon the bags lend themselves well to The Look I'm aiming for, so I hope they are still high enough when the new seat goes on.

Like the red light installed on the centre stand ? It's wired into the park lights (and on a separate switch) and puts out a nice glow to remind night drivers there is something on the road in front of them. Which is also the reason for the gratuituous use of those ugly looking reflectors.

The narrow 55watt drive lights have been relayed into the high beam ... decided I didn't care about doing the split thing of putting one on the main beam and the other on the high beam. Yes, I realise that the charge system might not keep up with the drain, but I doubt that the drive lights are actually going to get all that much use anyway. Like the light-up toggle switch ratted onto the fusebox next to the ignition ?

Yes, that IS plastic spiral wrap that has been used on the pillion grip, crashbars, and handlebar tie-bar. Yes, I've deliberately introduced MORE plastic to a motorcyle. Who says my idea of "rAt" has to be the same as your, hmmmm ? Heh.

Aside from the seat/sissy bar arrangement on order, some pods for the carbies are coming so I can get rid of the stock airbox and move the battery and electrics into the middle under the seat and get rid of the side-covers. I'm still on the search for some shorter reach shocks so I can lower the rear a few inches. I've also got a different kind of guard on its way. That one is going to be mounted off the swing arm so that it hugs the tyre.

I'm also on the lookout for an old B250 Tractor seat to interchange with the main seat as whim takes me. Why a B250 seat ? Coz ten years or so ago I spent many hundreds of hours sitting on one as I used the tractor it belonged to as my beast of burden to get artistic and creative with the 5 country acres I had.

See pic of one gorgeous piece of quality 3D functional Art. Oozes talent, eh ? Oozed a bit of hydrolic oil too.

Remember folks, chrome won't get you home.

Oh, and IL BL, you're a IL DL. Both of you even. Heh.

As for more on the Art Rage as opposed to Rat Rage going on at the moment, see: http://www.behindthebox.com.au/showthread.php?t=31467

regarDS

CX500 Rat Attack stage 1

More of a slide show than a waffle this time. Stage 1 in the deliberate Rat Attack of my CX500 1981 Custom. No real modifications at this stage, just getting busy with the Matt Black rattlecans after fish-oiling everywhere for rust control , fixing the tank weep, pulling off logos, getting gratuituous with reflectors, and installing some spots.

True Rat work with the spots - bit of aluminium angle I had laying around used as a reinforcement to the "Honda" logo on the triples then just bolted the spot mounts straight through both after some drilling. Drilled a couple of reflectors onto the rear shocks, and hoseclipped a couple more on to the frame under the side guards then bunged a bit of gaff tape over a couple of rust holes behind the stop light.

Most time so far has gone into the tank which needed one of those liquid repair kit thingies where you wash it out with one kind of thing, etch it with another kind of thing over night, then seal it with another kind of thing. Tis busy curing as I type and to speed it along I've got a small fan off an old IBM mainframe blowing air through it at a pleasing pace.

Hopefully will get the tank painted and back on the wee beastie in time for a ride on Saturday. Then it is just a case of looking out for suitable mod parts on ebay and Ratting accordingly. I want to change the seat to something less gay and also get twin headlights going but using two CX500 lights side by side.

The pot-belly matt black spraypaint on the exhaust has given me second thoughts about changing them for the moment ... they don't stand out so much like Gabriel's Trumpets now that they are "cast down to earth" kinda dirty.

regarDS

Biker Boy Rides Again ...

What with diesel prices going extremely North lately making things somewhat expensive to keep my tRusty 4x4 on the road, I've decided to revisit my days of youth and do The Biker thing again.

Result is pictured. Scored myself my third Honda CX500 and this time I got myself the "custom" design. The last one I had was the "sports" but I got rid of that at least 8 years ago.

See the picture within a picture ? That was me at around 20 years old when I had the a CM250 Custom, which my current CX500 Custom is a Big Brother (Heh) to.

Yup, still just as good looking, still just as much a kid ... just not so much the virgin anymore. Oh, and not so much hair these days either.

Here is what it looked like when I was bidding for it on ebay and won it for pleasingly reasonable price, and below that is a pic of one idea I have for it.

I'm planning to get very busy with some matt black spray paint on it in the next day or so and I have also been very busy visiting the excellent http://www.ratbike.org/ site getting ideas on how I can properly show my contempt for brand names and shiny over-priced sporty things and the kind of people who worship them. Heh.

Logos and brands are coming off post-haste and as much chrome as possible is either going to be gone or covered under beautiful ugly matt black.

I'll keep the blog posted re: my progress and the transformation of a somewhat ugly bike into a truly ugly bike that I shall be proud to ride and park among the high priced vehicles it is likely to encounter on a regular basis in a month or so.

Remember folks, "chrome won't get you home".

Rat bikes are the new black.

Matt Black.

regarDS