Honda CR 500

TerryK
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TerryK 10/31/2012 8:12pm
10/31/2012 8:12pm
CamP wrote:
.010" thick Aluminum sheet stock is the perfect shim material for this application. It has all the same properties of the clamp itself. It's relatively soft...
.010" thick Aluminum sheet stock is the perfect shim material for this application. It has all the same properties of the clamp itself. It's relatively soft, so it grips well and doesn't allow the forks to move. I have 8 hours of racing on mine and the forks haven't moved one iota with just 15ft/lbs on bottom clamp.

Read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance", and you find a very interesting analogy to this. It talks about the analytical mindset of a German engineer that would find an aluminum beer can shim the perfect solution to a similar situation, as opposed to a mechanically inept drummer that finds the solution totally unacceptable.
I know for some people, this is perfectly acceptable.....but not for me. I'm a stickler for details and to me shimming forks seems like a barbaric practice. If the two parts aren't meant to be together, or can't be made to work in an efficient and mechanically sound way I'll search for another solution.
CamP
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CamP 10/31/2012 8:23pm
10/31/2012 8:23pm
CamP wrote:
.010" thick Aluminum sheet stock is the perfect shim material for this application. It has all the same properties of the clamp itself. It's relatively soft...
.010" thick Aluminum sheet stock is the perfect shim material for this application. It has all the same properties of the clamp itself. It's relatively soft, so it grips well and doesn't allow the forks to move. I have 8 hours of racing on mine and the forks haven't moved one iota with just 15ft/lbs on bottom clamp.

Read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance", and you find a very interesting analogy to this. It talks about the analytical mindset of a German engineer that would find an aluminum beer can shim the perfect solution to a similar situation, as opposed to a mechanically inept drummer that finds the solution totally unacceptable.
TerryK wrote:
I know for some people, this is perfectly acceptable.....but not for me. I'm a stickler for details and to me shimming forks seems like a barbaric...
I know for some people, this is perfectly acceptable.....but not for me. I'm a stickler for details and to me shimming forks seems like a barbaric practice. If the two parts aren't meant to be together, or can't be made to work in an efficient and mechanically sound way I'll search for another solution.
That's what's interesting. It's seems like a knucklehead approach to the solution, but it's actually a great solution to this particular problem.

Something so simple, and made from such a common disposable material that fills up landfills, yet it's the perfect material for the job.

The funny thing is anyone that knows me will tell you I'm the most anal mechanic you'll ever meet, but this works beautifully.
reded
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reded 10/31/2012 8:27pm
10/31/2012 8:27pm
CamP wrote:
That's what's interesting. It's seems like a knucklehead approach to the solution, but it's actually a great solution to this particular problem. Something so simple, and...
That's what's interesting. It's seems like a knucklehead approach to the solution, but it's actually a great solution to this particular problem.

Something so simple, and made from such a common disposable material that fills up landfills, yet it's the perfect material for the job.

The funny thing is anyone that knows me will tell you I'm the most anal mechanic you'll ever meet, but this works beautifully.
X2
TerryK
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TerryK 10/31/2012 8:34pm
10/31/2012 8:34pm
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part and my mind will always be drawn to it when riding. lol.

The Shop

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CamP
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CamP 10/31/2012 8:45pm
10/31/2012 8:45pm Edited Date/Time 10/31/2012 8:47pm
TerryK wrote:
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part...
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part and my mind will always be drawn to it when riding. lol.
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed to buying an expensive custom made lower triple clamp.

Read pages 46-49 of the aforementioned book, and you'll probably get a kick out of it.
2TYam27
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2TYam27 10/31/2012 9:11pm
10/31/2012 9:11pm
CamP is very particular about his bikes and you can tell by looking at them.
TerryK
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TerryK 10/31/2012 10:14pm
10/31/2012 10:14pm
TerryK wrote:
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part...
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part and my mind will always be drawn to it when riding. lol.
CamP wrote:
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed...
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed to buying an expensive custom made lower triple clamp.

Read pages 46-49 of the aforementioned book, and you'll probably get a kick out of it.
I've read the book Cam. Love it.
TerryK
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TerryK 10/31/2012 10:19pm
10/31/2012 10:19pm
And before you think I can't be analytical and creative, I built this bike....from scratch, in my tiny garage, with only basic hand tools, creativity, ingenuity and in the spirit of the original cafe racer types.

Kartwheel84c
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Kartwheel84c 10/31/2012 11:47pm
10/31/2012 11:47pm
As I said earlier, I trimmed it, you can not see the shim now, and contrary to your implication, it's an elegant solution to the problem.
CamP
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CamP 11/1/2012 6:04am
11/1/2012 6:04am
TerryK wrote:
And before you think I can't be analytical and creative, I built this bike....from scratch, in my tiny garage, with only basic hand tools, creativity, ingenuity...
And before you think I can't be analytical and creative, I built this bike....from scratch, in my tiny garage, with only basic hand tools, creativity, ingenuity and in the spirit of the original cafe racer types.

That's a cool bike. A friend of mine is doing something similar with a '71 Scrambler 350 right now.
TerryK
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TerryK 11/1/2012 6:10am
11/1/2012 6:10am
Kartwheel84c wrote:
As I said earlier, I trimmed it, you can not see the shim now, and contrary to your implication, it's an elegant solution to the problem.
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it works for you, more power to you sir!
CamP
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CamP 11/1/2012 6:49am
11/1/2012 6:49am
Kartwheel84c wrote:
As I said earlier, I trimmed it, you can not see the shim now, and contrary to your implication, it's an elegant solution to the problem.
TerryK wrote:
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it...
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it works for you, more power to you sir!
It's not really a bubblegum solution. It just seems that way because the material used doesn't come in a tidy OEM package. 4-stroke engines use valve shims and you don't see anyone poo-pooing that and re-engineering the valve train to eliminate them.
reded
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reded 11/1/2012 7:08am
11/1/2012 7:08am Edited Date/Time 11/1/2012 7:09am
Kartwheel84c wrote:
As I said earlier, I trimmed it, you can not see the shim now, and contrary to your implication, it's an elegant solution to the problem.
TerryK wrote:
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it...
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it works for you, more power to you sir!
CamP wrote:
It's not really a bubblegum solution. It just seems that way because the material used doesn't come in a tidy OEM package. 4-stroke engines use valve...
It's not really a bubblegum solution. It just seems that way because the material used doesn't come in a tidy OEM package. 4-stroke engines use valve shims and you don't see anyone poo-pooing that and re-engineering the valve train to eliminate them.
No doubt, talk about a hack, bandaid solution to a huge problem. "My motors worn out, maybe if I shim everything back into tolerance I can run it a bit longer so that it's sure to blow up and destroy twice as much shit".
-eagle-
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-eagle- 11/1/2012 7:30am
11/1/2012 7:30am
TerryK wrote:
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it...
Not implying anything. I'm saying that in MY opinion, it's a bubblegum solution that I would never use. If you want to use it and it works for you, more power to you sir!
CamP wrote:
It's not really a bubblegum solution. It just seems that way because the material used doesn't come in a tidy OEM package. 4-stroke engines use valve...
It's not really a bubblegum solution. It just seems that way because the material used doesn't come in a tidy OEM package. 4-stroke engines use valve shims and you don't see anyone poo-pooing that and re-engineering the valve train to eliminate them.
reded wrote:
No doubt, talk about a hack, bandaid solution to a huge problem. "My motors worn out, maybe if I shim everything back into tolerance I can...
No doubt, talk about a hack, bandaid solution to a huge problem. "My motors worn out, maybe if I shim everything back into tolerance I can run it a bit longer so that it's sure to blow up and destroy twice as much shit".
I came to bitch about the 92-94 43mm kybs but this valve shimming back and forth is just way to funny.
Well done CamP & reded.
crc245
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crc245 11/1/2012 8:26am
11/1/2012 8:26am
Dnlp D952 wrote:
Here you go... http://www.cr500riders.com/
Also check out: www.bannedcr500riders.com

Step up and do an AF conversion! If you have some fabrication skills and a great welder, they're a fun project. Plenty of info and resources to help you along the way...Here's a pic of one my Dad and I built: it's a Gen3 125 chasis with a 94' motor.
AJ
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AJ 11/1/2012 10:10am
11/1/2012 10:10am
TerryK wrote:
And before you think I can't be analytical and creative, I built this bike....from scratch, in my tiny garage, with only basic hand tools, creativity, ingenuity...
And before you think I can't be analytical and creative, I built this bike....from scratch, in my tiny garage, with only basic hand tools, creativity, ingenuity and in the spirit of the original cafe racer types.

Terry, thats one cool bike.. nice job!
Mario2T
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Mario2T 11/22/2012 5:38am
11/22/2012 5:38am Edited Date/Time 11/22/2012 5:40am
Or do them both, like I did..

A gen.4 CR500 ,, David Bailey replica" aluminium conversion and a 1989 CR500



FGR01
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FGR01 11/22/2012 8:25am
11/22/2012 8:25am
TerryK wrote:
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part...
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part and my mind will always be drawn to it when riding. lol.
CamP wrote:
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed...
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed to buying an expensive custom made lower triple clamp.

Read pages 46-49 of the aforementioned book, and you'll probably get a kick out of it.
Why not just use triple clamps that were intended for the 47mm TC Showas off a 97-07 CR250 or CRF 250/450? I'm sure cheap used ones are plentiful.

Pit Row

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CamP
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CamP 11/22/2012 9:10am
11/22/2012 9:10am Edited Date/Time 11/22/2012 9:10am
TerryK wrote:
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part...
I hear you, because I'm the same way, yet this particular fix is not for me. My eye will always be drawn to the offending part and my mind will always be drawn to it when riding. lol.
CamP wrote:
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed...
That's because you have intuitive approach to mechanical problems, and this solution seems counter-intuitive. To someone that is analytical, this is the perfect solution as opposed to buying an expensive custom made lower triple clamp.

Read pages 46-49 of the aforementioned book, and you'll probably get a kick out of it.
FGR01 wrote:
Why not just use triple clamps that were intended for the 47mm TC Showas off a 97-07 CR250 or CRF 250/450? I'm sure cheap used ones...
Why not just use triple clamps that were intended for the 47mm TC Showas off a 97-07 CR250 or CRF 250/450? I'm sure cheap used ones are plentiful.
The steering stops are in the wrong place.

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