Day 351 - Temporary Slowdown

Just a temporary slowdown to my 365 Days of New. How do I KNOW it is temporary? Well, Christmas is NOT every day of the year, and the last four days has been spent making Christmas Cookies. This year, instead of sending gifts, I decided to send cookies.

Why not. I like baking.

That does not mean Project Vixen is stagnant. The inventory list is being proofed and corrected. Pieces are being looked at and roughly evaluated. AND I am trying to figure out just when I can make it to San Diego to pick up that donor bike!

Day 356 Continued - Parts List Complete!

Yes, that's correct. On my computer is now a complete list of every part on the American model of the Suzuki VX800. There are even fiche drawings and exploded parts diagrams!

Admittedly, there are a few items missing. They are few and far between, and as such should be easy to find and correct.

Within the next few days, a final proofed version of the list should be available. Stay tuned...

Day 356 - Paperwork!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

PAPERWORK! Without some kind of heater in my garage, that is likely the only kind of work Vixen will be receiving on the weekdays. Getting home at 6PM, a little snack for dinner, little conversation with my daughter and before I know it, it is 7:30 and quite chilly outside.

Vixen's inventory list is nearing completion and will be posted here for people to download and use in their own Suzuki VX800 repair or rebuild projects.

There were several 'oh crap' moments yesterday, day 356.

'Oh Crap' number one: My weekends are fairly busy until the first part of next year. Not that they will be non-stop action, but there will not be a single complete day free to drive to San Diego to buy the donor bike.

'Oh Crap' number two: Money, money, money... After spending money to repair my Harley and then take care of some other unexpected expenses, bills are behind. SO, even if I could pick up the other VX800, coming up with the cash might be tough.

'Oh Crap' number three: Reading through the VX's service manual, in the Rear Master Cylinder section, there is a strong admonishment against using solvents or cleaning solutions on the master cylinder. After previously spraying and scrubbing it down with brake cleaner, this worried me. According to some folks on the VX800 e-mail list, in the worst case, the rubber o-rings and other pieces will need to be replaced. One told me he had done the same as I with no adverse effects. Well, guess we shall see.

Now, does anyone have a space heater for my garage???

Day 359 - Not much today.

No, not much. This morning after taking my daughter to work I read some of the VX800's manual detailing the carburetors and fuel supply. Looked at the heads and evaluated the cylinders for rust. Unfortunately there is a little rust on the sleeve of the front cylinder. If you recall, that was the one already mucked up.

The rest of the day was spent doing non-motorcycle riding things. This evening spent some great father - daughter time at dinner, at the dinner table! That doesn't happen very often.

Then, returned some e-mails, paid a few bills and detailed my Sporty, Athena. Tomorrow we will go on the Iron Crossmen ride. Afterwords, take my daughter to her grandparents for the afternoon.

If all goes well, there will be a little time for me to clean and catalog more parts. Hope to pick up the bike I posted about earlier but a whole day is required. Now it looks like next weekend is filling up. Well, we do what we must.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........................

Day 360 - Sporty Versus the VX800

With two operable bikes in my garage, I thought of comparing them to the specifications of a VX800. Comparing my Honda Rebel would be like apples to oranges, but comparing my Harley Davidson XL1200C Sportster might be interesting. So, here we go.

	HD XL1200C Sporty	Suzuki VX800
Cylinders	2	2
Style	V	V
Valves	4	8
Cooling	Air	Liquid
Compression Ratio	9.07:1	10:1
Carbs	1	2
Transmission	5 speed	5 speed
Weight	555	470
Length	7.5 ft	7.3 ft
Seat Height	26.3 in	31.5 in
Ground Clearance	4.4 in	5.7 in
Wheel Base	60.4 in	61.6 in
Fuel Capacity	4.5 gal	5.0 gal
Horsepower	70	61
Displacement	1200	803
HP/Weight	0.1271	0.1298
HP/cc	0.058	0.076

Day 360 - What Luck!

What Luck!

Yes, this VX800 doesn't look like much but she has everything I need... A front end, exhaust pipes and parts, parts, parts!

Plus, the title is clean.

The owner is asking $250, so with $50 in gas to drive from Las Vegas to San Diego and back, I have a donor bike! Now I just need to get a free day and $300. Hmmm....

Day 361 - Headlights

Almost... No time today to finish my inventory list so I stopped at a local Cycle Gear to look at possible headlights. What do I find? The Acerbis DHH Headlight.

The size looks good. I want a dual headlight setup. It is a dual 35 Watt assembly with high and low beam capability. It includes the small windscreen and is quite inexpensive.

Then I arrive home and pull up more information.

Not DOT approved for road use. Sure I could use it, but would much rather use something DOT approved. So, the search goes on.