Bandsaw drive

The speed range required for my combination metal/woodworking band saw is huge: 3300FPM down to 60FPM, a 55:1 speed ratio.  This is made more complicated by the fact that AC motors are single speed devices.  The transmission is going to have to provide all of the spread. I could use a Variable Frequency Drive, but the torque characteristics at low speeds aren’t ideal for a saw.

Bandsaw power

After reviewing every article and video I could find on bandsaws at FineWoodworking.com, I found that I might have been overzealous in my horsepower requirement.  With the proper blade, 3/4 to 1 HP is quite adequate for resawing up to 12 inches.  I am not running a production shop, so speed is not of the essence.

This will help the cost significantly.

Starting the bandsaw project

Bandsaws are very useful tools.  They can cut curves and contours. And they can slice lumber into thinner stock than you can easily find at a lumber yard (that process is called “resawing”).  As far a woodworking goes my Festool circular saw and Festool Multi Function Table make short work of most ripping and cross cutting that I need to do.  But I can’t resaw, and I can’t cut curves.

Rebuilding the K75 front calipers

One of my todo list items was to clean the calipers.  I remembered that a few years ago I had ordered caliper rebuild kits from Bob’s BMW to fix a pulsing brake.  I repaired that problem buy renewing the pads and rebedding them.    These kits contain all of the pins and seals you need to refurbish the caliper. So I figured I would actually use them.

Maintaining K75 controls.

I started off just wanting to push the protective cover over the starter switch wire harness back into the switch housing.  It turns out the the wire bundle was routed around the clutch and fast idle cable.  So I figured I may as well pull apart the control for a clean and adjust.

DIY Front End Alignment: Aligning the wheels.

Now that we have a trammel bar we can actually do the alignment.  First you need to set the camber.  For the SuperStalker that is very simple, if you are reading this for a different type of car, especially strut based suspensions, it may not be possible.

DIY Front end alignment: Make the Trammel Bar

As I said in the project list, I have been driving for the last several months on an “eyeballed” alignment.  The car drove well, tracked straight and seemed fine.  But still, it really needed to be done correctly and today I finally did it.

SuperStalker Project List

Here are the upcoming projects for the SuperStalker. This list will be updated as new ideas and repairs are required. When an Item is complete it will be lined out and linked to the post describing the project.

1. Captive nuts for windscreen. Removing the windscreen now requires a complete removal of the scuttle. Further down the list is a new windscreen, installing captives nuts will make that project much easier.
2. Wind wings. The current windscreen design spill air around right into my face when I am driving. It severely limits the utility of the car for longer trips.
3. Arm/Knee pads. I have found every hard spot that I can bang myself on, and a bit of padding here and there would be quite welcome.
4. Color sand paint. I used too big a tip on my spray gun when I shot the paint, so there is quite a bit of orange peel. This will come out with a few DOZEN hours of color sanding.
5. Finish Glove box. My glove box works well, but I didn’t have any laminating resin to finish it off. I also lost a key piece of my old spray gun so I can’t respray the dash
6. Install roll bar back tubes. This is still a question. I have the back tubes, but I am not sure how I would handle the deck if they were installed.
7. Paint firewall floor. This is just to tidy up the engine bay, but I will have to really tear a bunch of stuff apart to pull the floor.
8. Paint oil pan for witnessing. I noticed some pretty big dings in the oil pan, and I don’t remember if they were there when I installed the engine. The next Time I change the oil I will pull the pan and paint it, so any new damage will be easily detectable.
9. Shifter boot. The remote shifter looks cool, but a proper boot may be more attractive.
10. Spare tire mount. Be prepared…
11. Wind screen. I want a more attractive windscreen than what is there now, but haven’t yet found any good options.
12. Accurately model frame. I would like to model the frame in FEA to see how good it is. A good model will also help with lofting a new body.
13. Cold air box. The air intake is already design to be able to pull air in from the bonnet, but I haven’t cut the hole yet. Another project waiting for laminating resin and a new paint gun.
14. Polish belt tensioner brackets. Engine bay beautification.
15. Polish or paint supercharger housing. Engine bay beautification.
16. Polish or paint wheels. Car beautification.
17. Rear disk brakes. Rear are completely acceptable now but I can’t get the parking brake to work. Maybe switch to a modern rear disk system could help.
18. Loft new body. A very long term project is to design and loft a full body onto the Stalker.
19. Good front end alignment. Right now the alignment is “eyeballed” and it feels pretty close, but I will build a trammel and do it for real.

BMW K75 Project List

Here are the upcoming projects for the K75. This list will be updated as new ideas and repairs are required. When an item is complete it will be lined out and linked to the post describing the project.

1. Replace intake manifold boots. 20 year old rubber. This will be a recurring theme in this list…
2. Shorten the center stand to make it easier to put up.
3. Refinish engine covers. Right now the engine covers (valve and right hand cover) are really showing their age.
4. Remake instrument pod. The custom pod I built several years ago for my instruments has worked well, but could be improved.
5. Improve the heat management. The key will be modifying the Hannigan lower fairings. I haven’t had them installed on the bike for several years because they actually make the heat worse. But I think I can build ducts that will result in better engine cooling and better rider comfort.
6. Repaint. It is looking pretty ragged right now.
7. Repair/Replace Start Button. The rubber button came off and is not repairable.
8. Recover Seat. Twenty year old vinyl doesn’t react well to the Arizona sun.
9. Make a turntable, or center stand cart to aid moving the bike around.
10. Fuel Level Sensor and Gauge. The built in sensor can drive a BMW fuel tank gauge. I won an OEM Fuel Gauge and Temp Gauge on eBay and will install those in the fairing.
11. Repair panniers.  Need new latches. And there are several cracks that need to be repaired.
12. Calibrate Tank. How far can you go on a tank of fuel? There is only one really accurate way to find out.
13. Replace the cap on the choke. Minor parts are falling off now that they are twenty years old.
14. Replace fuse cover. Who knows where this went, but heavy rain could be an issue with the cover missing.
15. Footpeg Rubber. Generally all rubber is getting to the point where it needs to be replaced.
16. Clean Brake Calipers. They are gunked up pretty good.
17. Restuff right hand wires. The wire bundle going into the right hand switch box has started to pull out. This could be a problem in rain.

Calibrating the tank

Most older motorcycles do not have a fuel gauge. My BMW K75 has only a low level alarm (even older motorcycles have a secondary fuel pickup. When the fuel level goes below the primary pickup the engine sputters and you switch on the secondary and find a gas station, this is the “petcock” valve.)  After seven years of ownership I had finally gotten really sick of not know exactly how far I could go once that light came on.  So I decided to do something about it.