Going back to Ontario to visit family and friends on the 23rd. A close and long time friend is having issues and he's not doing well. Hadn't planned on getting back to Ontario in the winter, but I would not like myself if I didn't go see him and he turned for the worse. Was also wondering when would be a good time to see Mom as she is not getting any younger either, so two birds with one stone. Get to see the daughter and son-in-law as well.
Since I'm loosing two weeks for the trip, decided to put a bit of a push on with the 1200. As of tonight have the following done:
Engine timed and new timing belts
Air chamber back in, fuel injection system and fuel supply system installed and buttoned up
New fuel filter
New rubber grommets for the valve covers and timing belt covers
New o-rings for air intakes
Gr/Gl sensors installed (equivalent of the carb PG sensor(s))
Once I started doing the work, things just fell into place. Here are the pics from the work I did. Front end:
Left side:
Right side:
I used a lot of ziploc bags to keep the parts organized, easy to find and use. I'm glad I did this.
A while back when I was doing the wiring cleanup, had a roll of the TESA cloth tape I was using. Put it down and when I went to use it again, could not find it. Ordered more and have used the new rolls since. Today I found the wayward roll under the bike when I was moving some items around. Have a lot of the TESA and TESA type cloth tape now.
I was a little intimidated with engine timing. Been a while since I have had to do this and never on a bike. Read the service manual(s) that I have many times, as well as various threads on the issue and jumped in with both feet. I lined up T1 and installed the timing belt pulleys as per the service manual instructions. Had the spark plugs out as well. I installed the timing belt pulleys as directed, find T1 then rotate the crank 45 degrees clockwise, install timing belt pulleys so that the up indicator is "up" and the timing mark - a dot - is lined up with the cylinder head cover mark. Once I did this, rotate the crank counterclockwise 45 degrees to orientate T1 with the engine case mark:
With everything lined up, the timing belts slipped on without having to move either of the timing belt pulleys. Rotated the engine several times and no obstructions so all is good to go.
Every now and then the issue of having to replace the Ns crank sensor on the '85 LTD and '86 SE-i is mentioned. I replaced this sensor a while back. The PO had installed a PG sensor from a 1500. Worked well, but I thought I had an issue. I had read a thread on this where the fellow had used a PG sensor harness from a 1200 Aspencade. The installation is the same as there is an upper and lower mounting boss on the fuel injected engines as well. Here is a pic of the sensors installed in the timing belt area. I use the lower sensor at this time:
I kept the wiring harness and ran it up to the Ns connector under the shelter. I removed one set of wires from the PG sensor harness and installed these wires into the old original 2 pin connector. If anything happens to the sensor I am presently using, I can switch the wiring under the shelter and will not have to go into the timing belt area. Using the yellow and white wires of the lower sensor:
This is a better option in my opinion than using a 1500 sensor considering that you have to modify the mounting boss to use the 1500 sensor.
Going to get at it again tomorrow and see just how far I can get. Have a vacuum hose to replace for the left PB sensor, have found a better route for it and need a bit more length of tube. Will give the fuel system a once over as well to ensure all is tight. Need to test the wiring to make sure all is connected properly. Once this is done, install rad and fill with coolant. Won't be putting the front end back on until after first engine start. With the front end and fairing off, much easier to work in the engine area.
The unfortunate thing is that we are having a good spell of weather that is conducive to riding. I do like putting parts back on instead of taking the parts off. Makes me think I'm actually achieving something.
Enough for now.
