New speedo came in. It is the style without CEL/Water temp gauge. Currently whirring away on the drill press to get the mileage proper.Only had 55.1 miles on the original odometer so that won't take long.
First impressions: VASTLY superior reaction speed to gear changes. No more waiting 1-2 seconds before the proper gear indicator / neutral light pops. YOu can see it briefly light N when going from 1 to 2.
I did have to swap 3rd and 4th wires. Fuel gauge took a while first start, but I think it was measuring the sender because the gauge slowly climbed to the proper level. Second turn of the key and it was instant.
I do need to rewire the speedo connection. Gauge has a female lead, bike has a female lead.
Steering on this thing feels a bit janky. Not sure if it's the soft front forks, the under-damped rear shock, a cheap, out-of shape swingarm, or a combination of all three. I am conquering them is order of ease. First will be completing the grom swingarm swap. I'll put in the Honda rubbers at the same time. Currently pending arrival of factory parts and the YSS preload adjustable rear shock. I believe I still have a bunch of bushings from my Progressive Suspension rears on the XJ, so those will be put to good use.
The steering stem was slightly over hand tight. Gave that a few love taps with a screwdriver and hammer with a touch of red loctite on the top set of threads.
I am going to at least re-oil the forks. I have 12 quarts of redline D4 ATF back when I owned a car with an auto trans. Works like a dream in my 84 XJ; can;t see a reason why it wouldn't be better than whatever swill is in these. You can hear it gushing about when the front is loaded.
I still need to lube the cables. I got it all set up with a slit in a finger of a rubber glove zip-tied around the entry, then found my can of cable lube was empty.
After work I hit up the local Autozone after placing an online order at 7AM. (12 hours later). Waited in line for 20 minutes, realized I was at the wrong location. Went to the proper location watched a friendly gentleman without a mask help several customers, accept payment, etc, all with the same, stained gloves. Had me sign the pad using their pen too. Everything from Autozone plopped down on the front seat, and I proceeded to wipe myself down with lysol wipes (and all the products, bag, and seat.)
By the time I got home, it was too dark to do anything. And hey! My drill press finished while I was in the process of typing this.
I need to wire that speedo properly now. My XJ aslso needs the mufflers re-packed. They are causing it to lean on midrange.
Why are the miles so low despite having an over-enthusiastic speedometer? Because the factory exhaust/muffler can melt a piston if left too long. My replacement is stuck in god-knows-where but supposedly in the US for 10 days now. No movement. Super frustrating.
Carb is a Nibbi PE28. My atmospheric density isn't high enough to take advantage of anything bigger on this engine, esp without a 4v head. The Nibbi has a 4.0 slide, and I can tell. The bike is weak and lumpy just off idle. Finding a 3.0 slide outside of paying $75 for it seems almost impossible. I might just move the clip down one notch, sigh, and live with it.
I've actually been doing a good chunk of sighing after riding my brother's KP Mini.That thing is so nice.we're putting a BBK 223cc kit in it soon. I have upgraded clutch plates and springs at the ready, as well as a gallon on GN4 10w-40.
I can't do too much riding without the freaking exhaust. Oh well. It feels slightly disappointing right now, but I am sure I'll fall in love with it again once it actually runs.