Post 2/2
I was actually planning on having to use the OEM exhaust, so I also bought the
cheapest integrated brake light at the same time as the muffler. I think it was only $10. The reason behind needing the integrated brake light is, as the bike was with the fender-elimination I did, the turn signals were RIGHT in the way of the muffler. The only way to use the OEM exhaust with turn signals was either to put the stock license plate/turn signal holder back on or make/buy a integrated tail light.
I chose the integrated taillight that I bought for a few reasons;
1. CHEAP!
2. Easily modifiable. Many of the reviews stated that the lens cover fell off after just mocking up the light to their bike. Perfect! I won't have to worry about breaking the entire light housing by taking it apart with screwdrivers and the hammer of encouragement. All of the LEDs are through-hole; easily removed and replaced/upgraded.
3. Subjectively, it seemed the least... immature? Some taillights had sections shaped as eyes or wings. Not my taste.
The quality of construction is what you would expect by buying from the lowest bidder in china. Very dry solder joints, Poor wire-to-PCB soldering, drilling holes right through the PCB for mounting in the housing. But it works.
Some of the common complaints of this product were LEDs snapping off at the legs, supposedly because of harsh vibrations. I could party cure the reinforcing of the LEDs and at the same time reduce or eliminate the chance of the PCB corroding from trapped moisture/water. I just needed a lot of clear nail polish. You read that correctly.
I've used clear nail polish as a protective coating on electronics before and it worked great. It's cheap compared to the "professional" products and it doesn't require dangerous chemicals to remove if repairs are needed. I poured about 1/2 of a bottle of nail polish on each side of the PCB and spread it out over the whole board, making sure to coat all exposed copper traces. On the other side I made sure all of the LEDs had nail polish brushed up against them as mechanical reinforcement against vibration. The pictures show the end product of the coated taillight.
The fitment of the light wasn't as good as the OEM brake light. The old brake light aimed along the lines of the fairing; it pointed and shone at an upward angle, where the eyes of a driver behind you would be. The new light points at the horizon/no upward angle. All of the lights are still very visible from the "flat" angle, but it is obvious that this light was originally made for another platform and someone at some time discovered that it fit the grom well enough to sell it as a grom taillight. In the pictures of the new muffler on the bike, the top right picture shows how the new taillight is angled horizontally
I had to super glue the bolts that anchored into the back of the light housing - just approaching "snug" would make the bolts turn in the housing. I also had to use some washers around the bolts and the rubber mounting pieces on the bike. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures showing exactly what I mean here.
I also included pictures of the stock/OEM brake light PCB in case anyone wants/needs to repair/upgrade/modify theirs. Quality is about the same as the integrated taillight.
As I was working on installing the taillights, I noticed that one of the rubber feet for the seat had broken free and was just resting next to the battery. The LITTLE conical tip that is supposed to hold the rubber foot in place in the seat had sheared off. Not surprising really, this "rubber" can be ground away with one of your fingers.
The rubber feet on the seat are ALL that keeps the seat from just sitting and rubbing on the battery and the frame, I needed to fix this before I could ride the bike again. I didn't take too many pictures of this process, I wasn't in a good mood when I discovered that I now had a compulsory repair on my bike. I needed to use a bolt to hold the rubber foot in place, but the hole in the seat is only open on one end - there's cushioning and covering blocking the other side. You can kinda see in the right-most picture of the seat repair, I had to grind and drill a smallish slit into the side of the rubber foot mounting point. I got a washer and a bolt in through the side-slit (that sounds dirty) and managed to get screwdriver to hold the bolt in place while I tightened a nut down from the outside. After a test ride, the foot stayed where it was supposed to.
I wasn't planning on replacing the shifter arm so soon, but a fortuitous deal happened to cross my path. I got
this even though it doesn't explicitly say it will not work with grom-sized engines. One of the reviewers stated that it did fit his grom. Oh, and just so you know if you are looking for a similar shifter arm; all of the stock images for the IMS folding shift lever (at least on amazon) are the same, you will have to look at reviewer pictures to see what the shifter arm really looks like.
The shifter arm is between the two arms I have now in length. The shortest one is the one I have been using. It is difficult to get into neutral as well as really "feel" shifts with this one. The largest one has very poor quality welding. I can just see that arm snapping off after 100 shifts.
The new shifter arm does fit the splines on the shift shaft! But, without modification it cannot move at all once installed on the shaft. Both top edges touch the left side engine cover. With some chamfers ground it to the top edges, the shifter works perfectly. I also included a top-down shot showing how the shifter arm lines up with the foot peg, in case someone was thinking about getting this same shifter arm.
I have made some progress on the short shifter circuitry. I got 99% of the design into software so it will be easier to plan out how every chip is laid out relevant to every other chip. I've attached a copy of a schematic for most of the circuitry. This is my first time using this particular piece of software, so I'm not sure I'm doing anything correctly. The files I have attached should be treated as a rough draft and a guide, not as a finalized design. I take no responsibility for the out come of your actions with or without the use of the files I am providing (It might go boom and it's not my fault).
Whiny/needed-to-vent/oh-man-I-need-a-therapist stuff starts... ... Now!
I'll save you from having to become my therapist for this post; I'll keep things short...ish (I tend to write a lot in my posts).
I know I've mentioned my anxiety in previous posts, but I don't know if I said that I damn near have an anxiety-induced panic attack EVERY time before I ride my bike. At first I thought it was the more-or-less straight open exhaust and muffler screaming LOOK AT ME!! (not to mention making your chest pound from the sound pulses, which feels exactly like a panicking heart beat). As you can read in my previous posts, I tried to quiet down the exhaust by repacking it and making an additional baffle/silencer. The repack did nothing, the baffle helped marginally, anxiety temporarily reduced, but the exhaust was still to loud for my tastes/mental state (honestly I'm not sure if there is a difference between my personal tastes and whatever reduces anxiety the most).
I bought a new designed-to-be-quieter muffler, it further reduced the exhaust note to something I can tolerate if not learn to love. The first ride after installing the new muffler was great. The second ride wasn't as good.
I'm still making stupid beginner mistakes during every ride. I need more seat time to get used to and learn... everything. But every time I even think about going out for a ride my insides tighten and I get increasingly panicky. I has become a chore to push myself to go ride. A passion absolutely should not be like that.
Another facet of my mental state is the realization that owning/riding/working on a bike has been one of the things my brain decided it just needed to experience. Let me elaborate;
All throughout my life I have never had (except for one, kinda) a real lasting hobby/interest/passion. I ravenously attack any new interest I happen to find with more planning, research, question asking, and mental focus than I am capable of. Notice I said, "more... than I am capable of." I will forget to go to the bathroom, eat, and notice that I am tired. One of the many symptoms of ADD. Oh yeah, I'm 95% sure I have undiagnosed ADD. Where was I? Right, Any new interest will usually last no more than a month. The attempted EFI conversion I did in this thread was the longest a single project has held my interest. Well the spark has stopped um... sparking (my mental interest spark, that is). I can never predict when my interest in a particular thing will stop or what will cause it to stop, but like death, taxes, and stupidity; it is unavoidable.
This post is going to likely mark my (long) pause in this project. Depending on how long from now it is when I decide to start messing with the bike, I may either continue this thread or start a new one. I'll still try and check on the thread and answer questions. In the event that I do decide to sell some or all of the bike, I'll try my best to give the forum here first dibs on items. All of you have been so kind to me. Thank you.
TLDR - I cannot enjoy something that I have to push past horrible feelings to get to. I got bored. I'm looking for a new hobby to sink my mental teeth into. I'm making excuses. I love you all.
Later Dudes.