Work Habits /Tear down

[Starfruit Bongwater]

Our joke is manufactures start with an air box and build the bike around it.

[CDNRatMan]

  never thought of that .... welding the valves togather to make thicker ones so they last longer....good idea....

[greenbarn]

I dismantle bikes all day at work, if it's not a frame worth saving/using.......a Saws-All can cut your tear down time by 2/3's.

HEY RATMAN!!!   There's a good hint for you - big time saving on doing your valve adjustment!!   Just weld 'er back together when yer done!!

[Starfruit Bongwater]

Nope, not a one.  They're only two other drifters in my area besides mine.  But we just never know what's gonna show up.....luckily I get first dibs!!

[49Reo]

Ever get any Drifters come through?

[Starfruit Bongwater]

I dismantle bikes all day at work, if it's not a frame worth saving/using.......a Saws-All can cut your tear down time by 2/3's.

[pcarrell]

Pics are good, but most of the time I'm like Ratman and I put the bolt back where it came from or bag it.  I am fortunate that my garage is quite dry and I do have a propane heater out there, but that concrete floor is always cold!

[49Reo]

Oh you're funny, Ratman, like a rubber chicken you are!!

And yes, GB, the digital camera was a wonderful invention for us "tear-down artists". Unfortunately, SOME of us, Ratman, use them for shock effect.

[gdrudd13]

After having a car almost disassembled and then putting it back together, I've found that plastic baggies with where the screws go written in sharpie works well. If it is a complicated piece, I like to put a hand drawn diagram or instructions in the bag. If I remember to, I'll put the size socket/wrench needed on the bag as well. It's one of those small things that you appreciate later. Pictures also work well especially for badge/decal location when you can put rulers from some reference point. For parts that don't fit in a bag I make a tab out of tape and write where it goes. Kind of a pain to do, but a year and a half later, if you forget to label the bolts for the battery tray it creates some problems...

[CDNRatMan]

 Surprised that after 7 years he even knew he had it, let alone find the parts. Yes forgot to mention taking pictures and really easy like you say with cell cameras and even with digital instant response to look at them.

AND POSTING PICTURES OF MODS AND REPAIRS EH!

good info for people just getting started into tearing down their bikes.

[greenbarn]

7 years is a long time to remember where the bolts go!

One more thing I forgot to mention - Sometimes I take pictures of how something fits on - stuff like hoses on a carb / air intake system and stuff like that, so that you can remember later.   This is especially helpful with the invention of cell phone cameras!!

[49Reo]

I like to put the bolts back where they belong if I can; if painting/powdercoating/plating, sometimes it can't go that way. Worst rebuild I had as far as putting back together was when I completely disassembled a 1910 Fairbanks Morse 8hp engine for a major rebuild that was in very rough shape. 7 years later I put it back together.... with a lot of head scratching!! Now I make a point of keeping track of things.

[greenbarn]

I do a bit of each of those things, Ratman.  If I'm working on a project on the bench, like a small project, I try to lay stuff out in order.  when possible, sometimes I put bolts back in where they go to make sure I keep track of where they go.  But only if the bolts are easy to mix up, or if it's going to be apart quite a while, or something.  Otherwise, they go in a magnetic dish or a coffee can.

[dakuhosu]

I tear it apart with reckless abandon, do the deed, and then go by intuition to put it back together.

[John Hopkins]

My workroom is 48ft by 23ft by 14ft 6ins high and I have a small garage, so have plenty of room for real work when I need to..what I haven't got is energy and stamina.

If I have to remove an engine I erect a scaffold tower around the bike and fit straps from the tower to the frame and bars.

John.

[Drift1]

Great topic ratman ! I myself bring the scoot into the man cave to do mods /cleanings etc for the winter months . Reason being I have no heat in the upper or lower part of my garage . ( been on the list for 8 yrs know and one day I'll get around to that  ) Any way I do both depending on the project . Sometimes I lay them out , bag them , or coffee cans work great or simply place the bolts back were they should be .

[CDNRatMan]

     So today at work was talking with a few of the lads about winter projects on their bikes. The topic of how people do their rear down and maint. came up, I mentioned that I take parts off for cleaning / powder coating / painting / mod'ing. Then when I remove a part I always put the bolts or screws back into the frame or part that is staying on the bike. If there is no place to attach the pieces I put them in a zip lock bag and mark it as to the part they belong to.
This is because I can not lay the parts left to right on my bench, oh I don't have one in my living room, because I don't have a shop, my spare room becomes my parts area and it is limited. So just wondering what others do with their parts and pieces as they do winter projects, if you do them, yes PC we need to move down south so we can ride all year round and never do projects.