Your "Macgyver" moment.With your own definition.

Wingboy

Wingboy

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Sometimes you have to be creative to build or repair something in the garage.I've done lots of valve shim changes on other Ducatis,and it's usually a bit tough to hold the rocker arm for the closer shim down to get the collets out and then remove the shim.The 1100 Hyper is a different beast.The springs are a LOT stronger and i couldn't hold the rocker down and slide the collet in with a screwdriver like i usually do.I needed a "press" to hold the rocker down while i slipped the little collet in there.
Here's what i did.I deflated the front tire,wedged the screwdriver between the tire and the rocker,and the inflated the tire to about 10 psi.Tada! The shim and collets popped in easy pleasy.It will only work on the horizontal exhaust valve though.The rest i can put my weight on em to push down.Too bad that shim was the only one that needed to be changed at 15,000km.
Tire deflated pic.
scaled.php

Tire inflated and rocker down.
scaled.php




Tell us about your creative Macgyver moment.:cool:
 
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Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

Hockey equipment works for me...

I fixed fog lights to my car using cut up sections of a hockey stick as spacers...and I used a hole saw on a drill to make a new gas tank washer/bumper out of a hockey puck for my EX500.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

I've covered up holes in an exhaust using aluminum soda cans and hose clamps.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

Broke my throttle cable. Was able to operate the clutch while pulling the right carb throttle lever with my right index finger and limped home accelerating with one carb.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

HAHA!
I was riding on the 401 with a buddy who saw smoke coming from my engine...turns out I was stufidly riding with my dip stick open, spilling oil all over the engine. We pulled over into a gas station. Measured to see how much oil spilled out...there was no oil on the dipstick. So I bought some oil at the gas station but we had no funnel! McGyver Moment 1(Noob): We rolled flyers together to make a funnel =D. Check the dipstick...Bam! Right on the F. Picked up the bike...then thought...SHOOOOTT!!! I wasn't on the centre stand! Measured the oil again, waaay over the Full mark! McGyver Moment 2(Pro): Contemplating what to do, I saw a straw on the ground, and a Metro across the street. Went over to Metro, bought a Turkey baster, retrofitted the straw onto the baster by burning the tip to open up the hole and "plastic weld?" the two pieces together. Suctioned out all the oil which turned out to be almost 3/4 L. Cleaned up the mess and we were on our way =D Long night if riding ensued...and that's the night I had my first accident =D
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...0338444878452_503668451_10012750_816982_n.jpg
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

Dayao12 said:
HAHA!
I was riding on the 401 with a buddy who saw smoke coming from my engine...turns out I was stufidly riding with my dip stick open, spilling oil all over the engine. We pulled over into a gas station. Measured to see how much oil spilled out...there was no oil on the dipstick. So I bought some oil at the gas station but we had no funnel! McGyver Moment 1(Noob): We rolled flyers together to make a funnel =D. Check the dipstick...Bam! Right on the F. Picked up the bike...then thought...SHOOOOTT!!! I wasn't on the centre stand! Measured the oil again, waaay over the Full mark! McGyver Moment 2(Pro): Contemplating what to do, I saw a straw on the ground, and a Metro across the street. Went over to Metro, bought a Turkey baster, retrofitted the straw onto the baster by burning the tip to open up the hole and "plastic weld?" the two pieces together. Suctioned out all the oil which turned out to be almost 3/4 L. Cleaned up the mess and we were on our way =D Long night if riding ensued...and that's the night I had my first accident =D
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...0338444878452_503668451_10012750_816982_n.jpg
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I wouldn't call that a Macgyver moment
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

matthew said:
I wouldn't call that a Macgyver moment
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Lolz, well unless I'm understanding the "MacGyver moment" wrong, it's about quick thinking and making do with what's available in your current situation. I'd call it a mini-MacGyver moment since there are no explosions made from bubble gum wrappers and paper clips =P
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

mazdubb said:
I've covered up holes in an exhaust using aluminum soda cans and hose clamps.
Click to expand...

That's a Brilliant idea, I have a hole in my car exhaust and I don't want to pay to get it fixed. +1 for the pop can/hose clamp idea.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

On a canoe trip some fellow paddlers breached rocks in some rapids. They flipped and the canoe, with all their gear in it, took some water. This caused it to be pretty heavy. It then proceeded down the rapids and eventually got wrapped around a rather larger rock. Hours away from any civilization, the dilemma of how to repair said canoe set in. Something like a Man vs Wild except we didn't have a camera crew toting all our gear. We were able to pound the aluminum canoe into a shape using rocks as hammer and dolly. Then using tree sap and bark we closed holes and made it waterproof again. It took a few hours and I recall dinner never tasted so good.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

One time I took some cut some foam out of the seat of an old tractor, soaked it in gasoline and then stuffed it in the tail pipe, using the steering knob as a projectile and a match to detonate it, this makeshift cannon allowed me to take out the car of the russian thugs that were chasing me and the down-and-out-but-good-hearted folks I was helping to save the local daycare centre.

Oh, wait, that was the actual MacGuyver, not me.
I used a wrench as a hammer once, and a bread knife as a screwdriver, does that count?
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

matthew said:
I wouldn't call that a Macgyver moment
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I would.Make your own thread with your own definition of Macguyver moment if you don't like this one.

Dayao12 said:
Lolz, well unless I'm understanding the "MacGyver moment" wrong, it's about quick thinking and making do with what's available in your current situation. I'd call it a mini-MacGyver moment since there are no explosions made from bubble gum wrappers and paper clips =P
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You too.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

I've got another car repair one. I was changing the CV shaft on an old car and the axle bolt just wouldn't come off. I was jumping on the breaker bar and it wouldn't budge. So I wedged the breaker bar on the ground and slowly lowered the jack using the weight of the car to break it free.
 
Re: Your "Macgyver" moment.

jolomatic said:
I used a wrench as a hammer once, and a bread knife as a screwdriver, does that count?
Click to expand...

Try hair clip as a screwdriver.... now you know why I have long hair :D
 
I mentioned this, in another thread. Eight of us were out on a group ride, when one of the guys had the throttle cable snap on his old CX500. Of course it was the tension side that broke, so he was stranded. We swapped the side of the cable that went to the throttle, so that he could 'roll off to roll on', which got him home.

Another time, was when we I was helping a friend to swap out his shock. We didn't have a work stand so we tossed a couple of ratchet straps over the rafters in his garage, put a piece of pipe through the swingarm pivot, and hoisted the bike up that way. Now I use a couple of truck jack stands and a piece of electrical conduit to do the same thing, for my ER.
 
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Happens to me so often I don't even remember them my fairings are practically held on with zip ties lol... oh I thought of one I did just last week.

The fans in my 944 were sagging in their housing so they were hitting the bottom of the holes they sit in. One had completely seized. I tried remounting the fans in the housing so they would sit higher but gravity would always pull them down and they'd still hit. Well I took a look and sure enough the housing is basically symmetrical so I just reinstalled it in the car upside down. Now gravity pulls them in the other direction so they don't rub at all. Both fans spin freely and are almost silent compared to how they were before. I saved myself $100+ for a new housing and was able to fix it before my weekend trip that would require me to drive 10 hrs each way so I didn't want any cooling problems. I'll probably order a new one next year anyway but it's good for a temporary fix.

On my bike I made a cupholder out of a stainless steel pipe clamp and some scrap aluminum.

I tried to fix a broken tensioner for my SAAB with Gorilla Glue and stainless wire with a ClampTite but was unsuccessful.
 
My best one, Driving home from a gig in Collingwood, snowstorm, 4 in the morning. Blew the small by pass rad hose on my 5litre mustang. Pulled into a closed gas station, no tools, no one there. Did I say No Tools? Garage had a bunch of derilict vehicles, so I used a dime as a screwdriver, stole a heater hose off an old junker, then I broke a disposable razor blade open and used it to cut a piece of the heater hose to size, then found an open bathroom around back and grabbed some water and was on my way.
 
When I go on the road, I like to pack a small assortment of "essentials". One time when I was in the States, my front signal had severed off the post and was hanging by the wires. I used stove wire I brought and made a zigzag pattern out of it and wrapped around the parts to reinforce the connection and then wrapped it tightly with electrical tape. Then I popped into a Lowe's and bought 2 hose clamps to help it as well. Held until I sold the bike lol

Ties wraps, electrical tape, mini vise grips, a bit of aluminum foil, etc are all small and can come in handy when there is nothing else!
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