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When I left for BCT and AIT (over a year total) I put my light-duty motorcycle cover on my bike, then wrapped the bike in a fairly large tarp (with the tarp wrapping under the bike between the wheels, etc). The only parts touching the ground were the center stand and the two wheels. The tarp was wrapped close to the tires and center stand tightly, so even if there was a snow drift, it would have only gotten the bottom 3-5 inches of the tires and the feet of the center stand wet. Keep in mind that I also sprayed the entire bike down with either WD-40 (painted parts) or fogging oil (chain, head, open metal bits), so minimal moisture accumulation wouldn't be a problem. The bike was also outside next to a house, but otherwise open to the elements. Long-term storage like that really should be in a climate-controlled area, because I still had surface rust spots in places. My bike was also completely shaded, but if under your deck is an area that gets sun, you'll need to be careful, because UV damage happens in the winter, too.
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Dec 14, 2012 02:27
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Any sites with decent 120/180 tire deals? Power Pure, Q2, BT003RS, or S20? I seem to remember paying like $200 a set shipped for the Q2s a couple of years ago but now... what the gently caress? About to hit the wear bars on these 2CTs. I think I bought the bike with 21k-ish on it and I rolled over 25k a few days ago. Probably squeek 5-6k out of them, if I'm lucky. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 06:21
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That's drat good for pilot powers. I always got maybe 3500 on the rear out of mine before the center was flatspotted. I bought S20's when they were on sale for 200 bucks a set but I really can't recommend them. They have a really flat profile from the start and only end up even flatter when commuting. They also loving BLOW when it gets down to around 30 degrees. I was getting on the highway the other day and actually felt it spin up when I got on the throttle which was quite an experience. This is on an R6. Never had this happen before on PP. I've had pilot powers on an F4i, DRZ, and R6 and I've really loved them on each. They're cheap and sticky and I like the triangular profile more than the flat one of bridgestones. They feel so good new - I love the turn-in.
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Dec 14, 2012 08:02
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Hmm, I also like the turn in that Michelins have - maybe I will stick with 2CTs. I've just heard a lot about them getting greasy on the edges when pushed at track days. I can spin them up coming out of corners on the throttle now so I kinda worry about when it starts getting hot out again. I've run three sets of Q2s - F4i and ZX6R and they HATED being cold, ended up in a two wheel slide at a track day on my 1st or 2nd lap. At the same time, I rode them in 0* weather while being very gentle to them and would probably place them as my second favorite tire under the BT003RS. Let's see if anyone comes up with a set of something for around $200 shipped - I think I'm over running $80 sets of race takeoffs, at least until it warms back up here. Looking like this right now: 2 sets of 2CTs 3 sets of BT016 3 sets of Q2 1 set of BT003RS takeoffs 5 sets of BT003 Pro takeoffs I can't really say I've run a tire that I hated... yet. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 08:08
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Do you have warmers? (I'm guessing not). If so, I'd stick with takeoffs. There are simply WAY too many wealthy wannabe racers that don't mind selling off tires cheap. I've never tried 003's but I hear good things. I knew the S20's would be a harder compound for sure but they've kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I picked up a nail in the front and had to replace it with an 016 which seems to perform ok. Makes me regret not just picking up PP's again. Have you ever run Pirellis? They're money but it seems everyone that runs them loves them. Supercorsas are really pricy as poo poo though, makes buying legit slicks a more tempting proposition. EDIT - Disregard that suggestion to run takeoffs as a mostly street winter tire. It's late and I'm an idiot that was thinking primarily track duty. Baller Witness Bro fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 08:18
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I've never run Pirellis because of the price (cheapass), kinda always been curious though.
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Dec 14, 2012 08:54
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ought ten posted:Besides the covers, I have some tarps lying around and I could go to Home Depot and pick up some plywood or something to make a bit more shelter for them. But I think they'll likely get at least some snow around their wheels. If it is okay to leave them out, is there anything I should do to protect them internally? Normally I just start them up every few days when I'm not riding them regularly. One is on a trickle charger. If you can, get some wood blocks under the tires so they're not sitting on the damp ground. 2x6 fragments work well, make sure to put something under the kickstand to keep it level. Stands work better but it's not worth getting stands just for winter storage. But yeah, if you can find someone with a garage corner, storage unit, dry basement etc you can throw them in it's far preferable to leaving them outside. Before storing them, give them a good clean and mix some Sta-bil in with the gas. WD-40 or some anti-corrosive on exposed bolts and hardware (I use the S300? stuff when I remember to.) Fill the tank all the way (it's better but not critical if you can get ethanol-free gas, this is impossible in many places anyway.) Some recommend an oil change before or after winter storage. If you can't keep the battery on a tender where the bike is stored, pull the battery and put it on a tender inside (mine spends the winter on my kitchen counter) - untended cold storage really reduces battery life.
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Dec 14, 2012 15:30
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Snowdens Secret posted:But yeah, if you can find someone with a garage corner, storage unit, dry basement Getting my bike down the stairs would be hard 
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Dec 14, 2012 15:32
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epalm posted:Getting my bike down the stairs would be hard Not really. Getting the bike back up the stairs is the hard part.
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Dec 14, 2012 17:16
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KozmoNaut posted:Not really. Ride it back up the stairs 
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Dec 14, 2012 17:20
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epalm posted:Getting my bike down the stairs would be hard Swap it for a sumo. Problem solved.
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Dec 14, 2012 17:23
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Jokes aside plenty of people have basements that open level to the outside, especially if their house/condo/whatever is built on a hill. (No 'do you have stairs in your basement' lines, please.) At the worst it's often less of an incline than getting your bike in/out of a pickup truck. I didn't even think of stairs when I typed that.
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Dec 14, 2012 17:28
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KozmoNaut posted:Not really. What's the problem? http://youtu.be/kPl-obEPl8k?t=35s epswing fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 17:35
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Snowdens Secret posted:Jokes aside plenty of people have basements that open level to the outside, especially if their house/condo/whatever is built on a hill. (No 'do you have stairs in your basement' lines, please.) At the worst it's often less of an incline than getting your bike in/out of a pickup truck. I didn't even think of stairs when I typed that. Just feel sorry for them as they must live in a flat wasteland.
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Dec 14, 2012 17:35
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In you folks' experience, how reliable/up to date is the motorcycle law information provided by MSF? For example, is this PDF from the MSF reliable? http://msf-usa.org/downloads/Equipment_Chart_2011-MSFlogo.pdf It's from 2011, thus why I ask.
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Dec 14, 2012 20:19
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Snowdens Secret posted:Jokes aside plenty of people have basements that open level to the outside, especially if their house/condo/whatever is built on a hill.  It was still quite a chore, the bike was wider than the exterior door. Awful Ducati turning radiuses didn't help either. MonkeyNutZ fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 21:08
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MSF info is usually pretty reliable, but state by state laws are always hit or miss. Would be a full time job to keep up with all the little bullshit changes and crap.
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Dec 14, 2012 21:28
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BlackMK4 posted:I've never run Pirellis because of the price (cheapass), kinda always been curious though. Don't buy the Diablo Rossos. I got a Rosso II front because it was cheap, and all I can say for it is that it works fine in the wet and very cold if you're going straight and it keeps the front rim from hitting the tarmac. In the dry it just tucked constantly, especially when not fully warm. Going to stick to 016/pro and 023 take-offs in the future myself.
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Dec 15, 2012 09:04
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nsaP posted:I have keratoconus and when I switch to contacts it will be hard contacts for life. I'm trying to wait as long as I can before that. Have you thought about corneal collagen cross-linking? I had it about two years ago and have shown no deterioration since. http://eyewiki.aao.org/Corneal_Collagen_Cross-Linking
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Dec 15, 2012 12:10
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Anti-fog cloth report: Not very successful. Given, it's about freezing out when I rode around for 20 minutes, so that doesn't help things. Still, after rubbing on the visor about 30 seconds worth, it managed to bring down the level of fogginess a bit. However, it was still mostly unseeable through the closed visor. It would also take longer for the visor to unfog after cracking it open. And then my face got very cold, of course. Not a total loss however, as my glasses didn't fog up once during the run. Looks like if I want to keep running around in the cold, a pinlock visor will be helpful. But now I got a new problem - my fingers are getting painfully cold in my cortech gloves. I got a small bit of room in the gloves, I could probably fit a skin tight glove or something in. Or maybe a new pair of gloves are in order? These work great in the rain, but they weren't doing anything for keeping my fingers warm.
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Dec 15, 2012 13:30
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Have you tried Rain-X? There's one for the inside of your visor that stops it fogging and I've found it works pretty well.
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Dec 15, 2012 14:50
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Lothire posted:But now I got a new problem - my fingers are getting painfully cold in my cortech gloves. $20 solution: http://www.rei.com/product/835651/smartwool-liner-gloves $70 solution: http://www.revzilla.com/product/hot-grips-heated-hand-grips $115 solution: http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/powerlet-rapidfire-heated-glove-liner-kit $200 solution: http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/gerbings-core-heat-s-2-gloves
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Dec 15, 2012 14:56
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Bark busters also do a decent job at keeping the cold air from blowing straight at your hands the whole time. Aesthetic preference may vary.
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Dec 15, 2012 16:34
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eli4672 posted:Have you thought about corneal collagen cross-linking? I had it about two years ago and have shown no deterioration since. Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard of that. Looks like their starting it in the US in 2012 so I'll keep a look out. A lot of the treatments/surgeries have turned me off because of the chance of permanent complications. I figure at this point, glasses or contacts are better than a permanent haze or blur.
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Dec 15, 2012 17:10
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Bit the bullet on the pinlock visor. $60 felt steep, but I just rode around for a while and it really, really works. My glasses were doing well on their own so long as I didn't breath too heavily. It was a little trouble - I sort of hold my breath when trying to turn the bike at low speeds, then let it all out in my own face. Trying to stop doing that. They had a pair of silk liner gloves I picked up and it has made a difference. I also loosened up the straps on my gloves. Maybe it didn't really change anything but my hands didn't get so painfully cold on the ride like they were. Probably try those grip warmers sometime but I can ride without concerns now, so I'm thrilled.
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Dec 16, 2012 06:01
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Lothire posted:Bit the bullet on the pinlock visor. $60 felt steep, but I just rode around for a while and it really, really works. My glasses were doing well on their own so long as I didn't breath too heavily. It was a little trouble - I sort of hold my breath when trying to turn the bike at low speeds, then let it all out in my own face. Trying to stop doing that. I have a pinlock visor as well and it DOES work, however my glasses still fog up if I don't control my breathing at low speeds. That being said, the pinlock's capability seems to degrade with age, nowadays it actually fogs up a bit on a hot day even at moderate speed. It never used to. They're disposable I guess.
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Dec 16, 2012 07:16
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Lothire posted:Probably try those grip warmers sometime but I can ride without concerns now, so I'm thrilled. I've got a pair of heated grips coming in the mail. My bike came with heated inserts that go under the grips, but the wires broke on one of them. Rather than fiddling with repairing narrow little wires, I figured I'd just go ahead and get a set of grips with the heating elements built in (my current grips are starting to deteriorate anyway).
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Dec 16, 2012 15:39
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Question regarding my ongoing quest to find out what this noise is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vcur_mmC-A (noise is nowhere near that volume in person, my phone just seemed to pick that up over everything else). My question is is any play acceptable in the connecting rod bearing? Wrist pin and piston clearances are all good. The only thing that seems off is there is about .002-.003" of up and down play in the rod bearing (using my calibrated caliper fingers), just barely enough to even feel anything. Just looking for a second opinion, I'd hate to split the case and have a new bearing pressed on just to put it back together and still have the noise Engine only has 6k miles on it (and 32 years). obso fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Dec 16, 2012 |
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Dec 16, 2012 16:24
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My first thought when hearing that video was cam chain but that's just a vague guess. You really shouldn't have any discernable up-down play in the con rod. I'm not sure just how bad a couple thousandths is, though.
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Dec 16, 2012 16:29
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Yeah it sounded like valvetrain noise to me too. But the valve lash was good and the timing chain was tight. Altho I did notice while tearing it down the cam chain adjuster was was screwed down almost to its maximum so it's probably time to replace the spring.
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Dec 16, 2012 16:42
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Geirskogul posted:Snowdens Secret posted:Thanks for all the advice. I'll see if I can find a convenient garage.
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Dec 16, 2012 17:51
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The tensioner it was. You can see the shiny circular ring where the plunger was smacking against the adjuster. This is the odd part tho. Here is a page from the repair manual for the bike (80 yamaha sr250).  Step 5 bottom left. But when you set the adjuster so that push rod is flush   It has less than a mm of free play before it hits the adjuster. *Spring is off in these photos for obvious reasons. I'm just going to err on the side of caution and set it a little looser than what it calls (so it has at least twice that much travel) when I reassemble it but I was just curious if I'm missing something here, or misinterpreting the instructions. obso fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Dec 16, 2012 |
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Dec 16, 2012 20:00
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I have no mechanical experience, no tools, and no garage. I intend to have the last two in five years or so, depending on life. Should I bother with valve and carb jobs at this point or just let a mechanic handle it until I've got the space and time? Changing my oil and chain maintenance aren't really a big deal, I'll be doing both of those for the first time soon.
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Dec 16, 2012 20:45
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A lack of mechanical experience is fine as long as you have a shop manual, a willingness to learn and good attention to detail. A buddy who knows what he's doing is invaluable. It would also be good to accept that as you learn you may make something worse, definitely taking more time and money than you expected and possibly requiring that said buddy or a mechanic fix it for you, so don't start learning to wrench on something you rely on for daily transportation. If you have no tools or place to work, though, I'm not sure what you're planning to do exactly anyway. Valve jobs can be a 20 minute thing that involves a couple of wrenches, a set of feeler gauges and a screwdriver, or they can basically require you to take the top of the engine apart. Carbs are black magic, but motorcycle carbs are pretty straightforward compared to their automotive counterparts. What "carb job" do you need to do, exactly? If the bike is running right, don't gently caress with them.
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Dec 16, 2012 20:54
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I will second, third, tenth and nth the idea, Don't Work On Your Only Vehicle. Particularly something like valves or carbs, where they'll stop the bike working if they go bad. Stuff you can bolt back together isnae so bad. You never know when either you or nature will gently caress it up. Corollary: Feel free to work on it if you are sure you can fix it before you need it next time. Plus, having a second vehicle (or a friend) means you have the ability to leg it down the the shop when you've broken your last x or the y you bought doesnae fit. The friend also means you'll get less bored or frustrated, even if they aren't more knowledgable.
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Dec 16, 2012 21:05
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According to Ninja250.org, a valve adjustment is long overdue for my bike. After adjusting the valves I'm apparently supposed to re-sync the carbs. I'm all but certain no maintenance was ever done on the bike before I bought it apart from cleaning the carbs, and that was 2000 miles ago. I had the carbs cleaned again by a mechanic when I bought it and that fixed some idling issues. I can afford whatever tools I'll need, I'm just wondering if it's even worth the hassle. I don't know. The enthusiasm is there, at least! Edit: This is absolutely not my only vehicle. I have a reliable truck that I commute with on cold and rainy days.
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Dec 16, 2012 21:07
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Valves aren't too big a deal. EX250s have adjustable rockers don't they? Carbs can be a big deal though. They're very complicated with a lot of tiny little parts and you can lose things or reassemble things wrong and it can just turn into a huge time-waster. Which is fine if you wanna learn, but just be aware of what you're getting into. Repair manuals won't explain which hole does what on the carb or which part really needs to be clean when other parts don't.
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Dec 16, 2012 21:17
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Tearing into carbs for rebuilding and cleaning can be a big deal yes, but syncing carbs can just be a matter of twisting some screws to the correct balance. Depends on the bike. You'll need a carb sync tool and a carb adjustment tool with the correct adapters for both for your bike. Cost of the tools can range anywhere from $50-$150 depending on what tool, accessories, and ebay magic you can pull off. On most bikes syncing the carbs is pretty much only required after changing exhaust, valve adjustments, major altitude changes, or anything else that dramatically changes the best air/fuel mix delivery to the engine. For most people it's something that really only needs doing once or twice in the ownership of the bike, and the tools don't really return on their investment vs having somebody else just do it. The job itself is fairly straightforward with the right tools though. Here's a complete how-to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYgN2-96Ik0 I own them because I have multiple carberated bikes and probably will add a snow mobile into the mix at some point. Also the V-Max has this funky crossfeed vboosty thing that makes syncing carbs a spring warmup task to keep the bike running right. I wouldn't bother for just one bike, especially if it were a 250 I was only planning on having around for another season or two before upgrading to something that in all likelihood will be fuel injected.
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Dec 17, 2012 00:38
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I want to Install twin Dominator Headlights on my `85 GS550ES and I am not sure what I need for mounting hardware or what sort of front turn signal mounting system I need to install since I am ditching the cowling. Could someone please point me in the direction I need to go?
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Dec 17, 2012 01:21
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Halo_4am posted:Tearing into carbs for rebuilding and cleaning can be a big deal yes, but syncing carbs can just be a matter of twisting some screws to the correct balance. Depends on the bike. You'll need a carb sync tool and a carb adjustment tool with the correct adapters for both for your bike. Cost of the tools can range anywhere from $50-$150 depending on what tool, accessories, and ebay magic you can pull off. That being said, I'll need a mechanic to mount new tires in the spring, anyway. Does anyone know of one in the Pittsburgh area? Is there some sort of bike mechanic review site out there?
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Dec 17, 2012 03:34
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