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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Pressure washers are officially frowned upon at MMI. It's not just the instruments and stuff that are vulnerable. Anywhere on the bike with an external oil seal or rubber o-ring and things like that can be damaged by a pressure washer. Yeah, I still do it, but be real gentle with it, don't hit anything real close with the nozzle, don't shove it in places you can't see. kk, I'll be sure to stay to be very conservative with the washer clutchpuck posted:I mean... power spray away. If you're happy with how it looks without going back over it with a rag, that's cool I guess. I think the results look terrible. Yeah, I'm not to worried about aesthetics at this point. The headlight is currently off of a ford pickup truck and there's a huge airhorn on the front too.
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Oct 31, 2012 03:49
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Jessican posted:I'm in Hayward and you're welcome to come sit on my bike. It's a Hornet with aftermarket handlebars that give it a more aggressive position, though, so it's probably not what you're looking for. Just let me know if you're interested. I should do another maintenance day/meet up and hangout type thing at some point I suppose. I know we've got quite a few bay area folks. Ponies ate my Bagel posted:You wouldn't feel bad if you dumped one of Z3n's bikes. IT'd be parted out and sold before you hit the ground... 
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Oct 31, 2012 03:50
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Z3n posted:I should do another maintenance day/meet up and hangout type thing at some point I suppose. I know we've got quite a few bay area folks. Let's do it. =) Last time was quite productive as I was introduced to your magical Plastex repair kit. Upcoming duties I need to do include: -installing a front tire! -oil change! (on a weird Yamaha single cylinder engine) -track prepping! -ogling other people's motorcycles!
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Oct 31, 2012 04:06
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I'm actually in need of tightening my cam chain tensioner. Also, apparently these chains are good up to 60k and my bike now has over 60k miles on it. 
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Oct 31, 2012 04:18
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So my DRZ decided to suddenly stop delivering fuel last night on my way home from work. It's my own fault, the rubber gasket from my gas cap fell off in my IMS tank and I lazily let about 10% of it sit in there and break up. I just cleaned the carb and swapped the air filter, tomorrow I'll clean the tank and do an oil change. While I had it all apart I swapped the spark plug. I picked up a spare a few months ago and have had it in a spark plug caddy ever since. I was looking for gapping info and noticed someone said it took an NGK CRE8, the plug I had in my caddy is a CRE9IX (iridium). Can I use a CRE9 instead of a CRE8 or should I just go get the recommended plug? (I already did the swap but haven't turned the bike over or anything. I figured I should ask before I started it up and it exploded or something....) @Z3n, oh I totally understand about parting bikes out.... Just thought it sounded funny given your propensity to regularly part things out.
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Oct 31, 2012 06:40
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yellowjournalism posted:I've got carpal tunnel. Should I not even remotely consider learning to ride a bike? I assume right hand? I got rheumatoid arthritis in my throttle hand. There are thumb throttles you could use (like for ATVs) at the absolute worst you could always reverse the wiring and make the left handlebar the throttle. The awesome thing about bikes is that they're so easy to alter to fit your needs. There are double amputees that ride motorcycles every day. You'd be fine.
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Oct 31, 2012 06:44
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Cramp buster http://www.amazon.com/Crampbuster-CB2-CrampBuster-Wide/dp/B000GZPH2U
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Oct 31, 2012 07:24
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what do I need to know about setting up suspension for the street? Does anyone know any good resources for it? Is it largely a matter of trial and error, and would I know a "good" from "bad" setup from the seat of my pants? I've been riding around with the settings I bought the bike with, but since it's gotten cold, I've noticed it's pretty jarring over the lumps and bumps on surface roads. Since my suspension is adjustable, I figure I might as well make use of it.
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Oct 31, 2012 13:47
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First thing to do would be to properly set the preload front and back for your weight. There are guides all over the place to set that up. Then I'd go with the stock settings on the clickers and see how it rides. PS cramp busters suck - spend another $15 and get a vistacruise.
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Oct 31, 2012 15:34
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Alright, I'm having a hell of a time getting my girlfriend's bike put back together, perhaps you goons might be able to help. Everything has been going pretty smoothly considering I dismantled everything about 4 months ago, but the wheels are giving me such a hard time. Or more specifically, the brakes. I got the wheels on, although I had to do the front all over again because I stuck the axle through the wrong side. Anyway the wheels are mounted and torqued down properly, but now I can't get the calipers back on. I completely took the calipers apart and cleaned every square inch of them, in and out. Put in new pads. The calipers will not fit back over the rotor with the new pads. I don't get it, the pads are right, the calipers are spotless, pistons pushed all the way in. I managed to get the rear caliper on, but it's rubbing so hard against the rotor that the wheel will barely turn. It may be worth noting that I haven't refilled the brake fluid yet. Was that a crucial step in getting the pads to seat evenly? Then when I get to the front caliper, I can't even get it back on. I tried mounting the caliper first and then rolling the wheel in, and I can't get the axle back through. It looks like the brake pad is preventing me from lining up the holes. What am I doing wrong? I really don't want to screw up the brakes.
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Oct 31, 2012 15:37
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Take some pictures.
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Oct 31, 2012 15:38
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Just the rear for now, the front wheel is off at the moment and I can't even stuff that caliper into place. This one has been torqued down properly and everything.  E: The pad on the left side of the photo is held in place by only the disc. Perhaps that's normal, but that's just another thing that is weirding me out. This is a 98 Ninja 500 for reference. It's like that on both front and rear, but even when I take out the loose pad on the rear it still has just as much friction, and when I take out the loose pad on the front I still can't get it mounted. the good fax machine fucked around with this message at 16:02 on Oct 31, 2012 |
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Oct 31, 2012 15:51
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Have you taken the cap off the MC? I'm wagering you don'g have the piston on the caliper pushed back far enough.
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Oct 31, 2012 16:44
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Yes, there is zero brake fluid in the bike atm. Both calipers were tore apart and cleaned inside and out, pistons are moving freely and pushed all the way in. I put the front wheel back on and tried mounting the caliper without the pads. It worked, but as you can see here there isn't enough room for the pads. The backing part where the pads seat before the pistons hit them is only about 2-3 mm from the disc. This makes no god damned sense. Even with the wheels being powder coated with 2 coats, that's only going to add 10 mils to the thickness of the wheel, tops. Pics of the front, no pads: 
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Oct 31, 2012 16:59
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Are the pins that the caliper rides on stuck as well?
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Oct 31, 2012 17:23
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You should still pry the pistons apart more just to be sure. Even with no fluid they can still be pushed out a bit, I'd double check they're actually fully in. Also take the lid off the MC if it isn't already otherwise you may be trying to push in on a pressurized system if any fluid is trapped in there.
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Oct 31, 2012 17:26
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Z3n posted:Are the pins that the caliper rides on stuck as well? Nope, took those apart and cleaned them, and re-greased them as well. I'm beginning to think that it has to be something related to the powder coating. The calipers are like new again, all the collars on the wheel are in the right place and such.. I'm about to take the front wheel off yet again to take a closer look at how the disc is sitting against the rim/paint. If the inner diameter of the disc is supposed to fit over the edge of the rim, then 2 coats of powder coating would absolutely have an effect on getting it back on properly. Son of a bitch..
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Oct 31, 2012 17:31
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Did you have the mating surface of the wheel and the rim powdercoated? That can definitely cause fit issues. Especially if the rotor is supposed to be a nearly press fit to a centering ring in the middle of the rotor...don't recall if older Ninja 500s are like that. Also let's see some pictures of the whole thing 
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Oct 31, 2012 17:33
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I'm flying to LA for work in the morning, but I have all of tomorrow off. I'm thinking about renting an 883 from EagleRider for $150 and heading north. Anything specific I should see?
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Oct 31, 2012 17:40
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edit: nvm
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Oct 31, 2012 17:53
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Ok, here's the front wheel with disc on and off. It definitely got painted on that surface, but the problem isn't what I initially thought. The disc does fit over sort of a ring, but it's only about a millimeter or two deep, and it goes down all the way over it. I'm still having trouble with the powder coating making that much of a difference though. I guess I understand how variances in thicknesses could probably warp the disc over time, but as far as me not even having enough space to get the old pads on anymore, that's not just the powder coating. There's something else going on here.  
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Oct 31, 2012 18:08
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It looks like the rotor is hanging up on the center ring by how it's rubbing the powdercoat off. Might be cocking sideways slightly when you put the bolts in.
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Oct 31, 2012 18:34
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This may not be possible, but could you file the caliper down at all safely? I don't know how thick the metal is or what the tolerances are at all, but that may be an option versus loving up a nice paint job.
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Oct 31, 2012 18:37
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Z3n posted:It looks like the rotor is hanging up on the center ring by how it's rubbing the powdercoat off. Might be cocking sideways slightly when you put the bolts in. It's not, it's rubbed off because I spun the disc around it a few times to clear off any excess paint. At this point I'm about 99% sure the discs are warped, and I still don't even think that's the underlying issue here. I put the disc on backwards, have a little bit more clearance now but still not enough room to get the pad in. This is driving me crazy. I was so drat close to having this all done, told my girlfriend it would be done by today for her birthday.. That's not happening. E: Also put the tank back on because I really just wanted to start it up, took a few minutes to get going but she's purring again.. But there's fuel leaking from the petcock now. Removed tank again, fml the good fax machine fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Oct 31, 2012 |
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Oct 31, 2012 19:19
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Anyone have a link to a DRZ manual? I'm contemplating checking the valve clearances since I've already got the bike all torn down, but it's pointless without a manual. I've never checked them, got the bike with 6500 miles on it and I'm at 11500 now. Any thoughts? (No valve noise or anything, just figured if I did it now I wouldn't have to do it for awhile.)
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Oct 31, 2012 19:28
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:Anyone have a link to a DRZ manual? I'm contemplating checking the valve clearances since I've already got the bike all torn down, but it's pointless without a manual. I've never checked them, got the bike with 6500 miles on it and I'm at 11500 now. Any thoughts? (No valve noise or anything, just figured if I did it now I wouldn't have to do it for awhile.) It's probably in your PMs.
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Oct 31, 2012 20:17
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eddiewalker posted:It's probably in your PMs. Awesome, thanks!
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Oct 31, 2012 20:29
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theperminator posted:The speedo on the 675 is gearbox driven, you'll need to get a speedo healer or get an OBD-II cable, download tuneecu and plug a laptop in to make adjustments to the speedo. My cable arrived today. Saga posted:Chain wrap? Also, will it destroy the chain guide and then start on the swingarm? I'm thinking there is a ton of room on this bike but I'll have a better idea tomorrow morning.
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Oct 31, 2012 22:16
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Nice, So being the nub that I am, what will your new sprockets do for the bike? More acceleration but less torque?
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Nov 1, 2012 02:18
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theperminator posted:Nice, Taller gearing (larger front sprocket/smaller rear) will give you less acceleration, but higher top speed and lower revs at x speed in y gear. Shorter gearing (smaller front sprocket/larger rear) will give you more accelleration, a lower top speed and higher rpm's at x speed in y gear.
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Nov 1, 2012 02:22
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Lower gearing (bigger in the back, smaller in the front) puts more torque to the wheel, so you can ideally get better acceleration, but your engine is also turning faster in every gear so your maximum speed (if it's limited by the engine redline) is reduced and you burn more fuel. Higher gearing (smaller in the back, larger in the front) ideally gives you increased fuel economy because your engine is turning slower for a given speed, and it potentially increases your top speed (provided there's enough power), but your acceleration is reduced. There are plenty of other complicating factors, but that's the general idea. e: olde weird tip 
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Nov 1, 2012 02:26
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I'm interviewing someone about their motorcycle today. I have a bunch of questions I want to ask the guy, but was wondering whether you guys had anything I may have missed. I don't know much about bikes, so my questions may be a bit boring: "Have you always wanted one" etc. Do you guys have any novel questions that a non-motorcycle person wouldn't think of? I hope this is the right place to ask - I didn't think Ask/Tell was the right place.
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Nov 1, 2012 02:57
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Ask him how long his swingarm is and what is the longest burnout he ever did. Also, does he have a turbo, and if not, when is he going to install one? Nah, seriously, what's the purpose of the interview?
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Nov 1, 2012 03:04
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orenji fucked around with this message at 10:03 on Aug 23, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2012 03:16
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Ahh ok yeah that makes sense. so if he's going from 16 / 47 to 14 / 42 would that be counted as? since they're both going down but the front would be going down by 2 but the rear by 5? Higher gearing?
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Nov 1, 2012 03:20
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Probably slightly lower gearing. AFAIK, a 1 tooth change in the front is equivalent to about a 3 tooth change in the rear.
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Nov 1, 2012 03:26
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FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:Let's do it. =) Last time was quite productive as I was introduced to your magical Plastex repair kit. Upcoming duties I need to do include: I concur, as a Livermoron I'd love an East Bay meetup. Pick a day and I'll try to make it.
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Nov 1, 2012 03:27
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orenji posted:I'm interviewing someone about their motorcycle today. I have a bunch of questions I want to ask the guy, but was wondering whether you guys had anything I may have missed. I don't know much about bikes, so my questions may be a bit boring: "Have you always wanted one" etc. Do you guys have any novel questions that a non-motorcycle person wouldn't think of?
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Nov 1, 2012 03:30
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epswing fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Nov 1, 2012 |
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Nov 1, 2012 03:39
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Safety Dance posted:
Similar to these questions, but BikeExif does some pretty cool interviews: http://www.bikeexif.com/category/interview
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Nov 1, 2012 03:47
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