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JP Money posted:I wouldn't say "go by feel" is in any way a good recommendation when someone asks how to accurately measure wheel alignment. The whole reason for alignment is to make the bike track true. How is actually riding the thing and let it track for itself somehow worse than futzing around with strings?
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Jun 13, 2013 22:42
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The guy specifically asked "how can I align my wheel properly" though. I gave him a tip on how I would do it. Personally I just measure my adjusting blocks to see if the marks are equal on both sides and go with that but measuring between fixed points is a safe bet. Getting it close, taking it for a ride and then guesstimating how much to adjust it from there seems like needless futzing around to me but to each their own really. You can easily squash the issue by using my method and completely removing all those variables you listed since you're removing the front wheel / suspension from the equation completely.
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Jun 13, 2013 22:48
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JP Money posted:The guy specifically asked "how can I align my wheel properly" though. I gave him a tip on how I would do it. Personally I just measure my adjusting blocks to see if the marks are equal on both sides and go with that but measuring between fixed points is a safe bet. Getting it close, taking it for a ride and then guesstimating how much to adjust it from there seems like needless futzing around to me but to each their own really. You can easily squash the issue by using my method and completely removing all those variables you listed since you're removing the front wheel / suspension from the equation completely. Yup. I have to measure when I do my chain tension because my tensioner cylinders are upside-down; things just don't quite line up evenly. drat you Kawasaki 
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Jun 13, 2013 23:23
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Using a tool I got with a clamp that you put on the rear sprocket that aligns with the chain, I've come to the conclusion that the adjusment marks on every bike I've ever worked on is simply "good enough". No matter what brand I've checked, the factory marks are very far from exact.
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Jun 14, 2013 03:24
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They are often way off. Just one of those things.
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Jun 14, 2013 03:58
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Are you guys telling me my OCD lining up of those marks is pointless?
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Jun 14, 2013 06:37
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KARMA! posted:The whole reason for alignment is to make the bike track true. How is actually riding the thing and let it track for itself somehow worse than futzing around with strings? Also you'll be subconsciously correcting if the bike is out of true, and things like road camber and asymmetric tyre wear (which can be caused by poor trscking, of course) can throw your subjective judgement of the tracking off.
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Jun 14, 2013 08:18
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All you chumps complaining about hot weather need to shove it. I'm on tour with a band and we drove for 9 hours from Pittsburgh to Worsher(or some variation on that stupid spelling) and it rained the whole drive. Now its 4 am and it hasn't stopped a bit. I'm kinda missing Texas 98 degree weather, loading tons of amps in the rain blows.
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Jun 14, 2013 09:39
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Pokey Araya posted:All you chumps complaining about hot weather need to shove it. I'm on tour with a band and we drove for 9 hours from Pittsburgh to Worsher(or some variation on that stupid spelling) and it rained the whole drive. Now its 4 am and it hasn't stopped a bit. I'm kinda missing Texas 98 degree weather, loading tons of amps in the rain blows. Hence the phrase, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." The past couple of days, it's been 90 degrees with 99% humidity here in Atlanta. The air is so thick it feels viscous. It's the kind of heat where you work up a sweat walking to the car. I'd trade humidity for heat any day.
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Jun 14, 2013 12:48
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Safety Dance posted:Hence the phrase, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." The past couple of days, it's been 90 degrees with 99% humidity here in Atlanta. The air is so thick it feels viscous. It's the kind of heat where you work up a sweat walking to the car. I'd trade humidity for heat any day. Oh God, that sucks. There's enough things about the Northeast that I'm not fond of, but the weather isn't one of them.
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Jun 14, 2013 13:54
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Safety Dance posted:Hence the phrase, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." The past couple of days, it's been 90 degrees with 99% humidity here in Atlanta. The air is so thick it feels viscous. It's the kind of heat where you work up a sweat walking to the car. I'd trade humidity for heat any day. Yes this sucks. Rode to lunch yesterday, it was 95 but humidity wasn't bad at around 70%...then it rained for 5 minutes. 90 degrees and 100% humidity. Only how many more months of this stuff?
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Jun 14, 2013 15:58
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SaNChEzZ posted:If someone hits me/is at fault, then their insurance will cover it. Not if you live in a no-fault state like Michigan!
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Jun 14, 2013 17:22
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DJCobol posted:a no-fault state A whatnow?
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Jun 14, 2013 17:36
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epalm posted:A whatnow? No-fault insurance. In the event of an accident, each individuals insurance covers only them. Therefore, if someone runs you down, and you didn't have collision coverage on your bike, you are pretty much poo poo out of luck. You don't get to sue the other person or their insurance company.
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Jun 14, 2013 17:59
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That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard on my life, bar nothing.
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Jun 15, 2013 02:11
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Shimrod posted:That is the most stupid thing I've ever heard on my life, bar nothing. Welcome to Michigan, please enjoy your stay. But for the love of god, don't get into an accident unless you have good insurance.
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Jun 15, 2013 03:36
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Also even if you're not in a no-fault state, if you're hit or a wreck is caused by someone else and it's their fault in fact and reality, their insurance can still deny liability. If you have collision, your policy will cover you and then they'll try to recover from the other driver. may or may not succeed though. If you don't have collision, you're hosed until you go to court and then maybe you win maybe you don't.
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Jun 15, 2013 03:44
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I think I've actually just realized that Akrapovic is mostly just brand image. They aren't that light, don't make the best power exhaust wise, and cost more than most other exhausts. Maybe I'm smoking crack... or maybe I've been smoking crack and am now sober. 
BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Jun 15, 2013 |
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Jun 15, 2013 03:53
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BlackMK4 posted:I think I've actually just realized that Akrapovic is mostly just brand image. They aren't that light, don't make the best power exhaust wise, and cost more than most other exhausts. They are unique in that they tend to be FAR quieter than other aftermarket exhausts. The lighter and more powerful exhausts are just less baffled. Akrapovic exhausts in many cases can actually be bought with cats making them 100% road legal which isn't an option in many cases. Anyway, I'm not saying that they aren't overpriced - but there is a reason people buy them.
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Jun 15, 2013 04:04
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They're also fantastic looking.
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Jun 15, 2013 05:44
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IMO the devil exhaust is the best looking Daytona can. And it sounds great.
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Jun 15, 2013 06:34
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FileNotFound posted:They are unique in that they tend to be FAR quieter than other aftermarket exhausts. The lighter and more powerful exhausts are just less baffled. This is pretty much it - in Europe the fact that they're TUV-marked makes them legally equivalent to CE-marked, which is important in countries like the UK where it's a legal requirement for an exhaust system to be CE or equivalent marked. Having said that, MIVV and a few other manufacturers also make CE-marked (hence road-legal) exhausts that are much cheaper and (IMO) better-looking than the equivalent Akrapovic. Akrapovic just have the best brand recognition, not least because of their very long association with superbike racing. (TUV is the German equivalent of something like the British Standards Institute or American Standards Association, a certification organisation with legally-binding testing standards - it's a legal requirement in Germany for any road vehicle component to be approved by TUV or an equivalent organisation. CE is a mark proving that a given product meets the appropriate European Directives; TUV marking on an automotive product means that it's automatically CE-marked too)
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Jun 15, 2013 11:01
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Their full systems tend to make pretty fantastic power and you can order individual replacement parts from the factory as supposedly they 3d blueprint every part. Slip ons are kind of generally useless for adding power, the gain potential there is really affected by the headers, collector design, cat location, exhaust restrictor valves, etc. I think oftentimes their slipons are just a small adaptation from their full systems, as generally the goal for them is just noise.
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Jun 15, 2013 18:40
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Fortunately, for the 675 the slipon is the same as the full system parts number wise - the header just bolts on. An extra $750 new there. I'm just annoyed that it was designed for the stock heat shielding so it sits about an inch low below the tail light; the midpipe interferes with my WP Competition rear shock and I'm going to have to do some... creative clearancing to get it all to work right.
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Jun 15, 2013 22:05
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Dunno what you folks are using for degreaser but my GOD does this stuff work well: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Green-13406-Aircraft-Precision/dp/B001VXU7OE I did zero scrubbing, just soaked everything with a spray bottle and rinsed it off with a hose    Wish I would have taken a 'before' picture of the bottom of the engine, lets just say I had no idea it was silver. E: Sorry for the huge pics, do I need to shrink them? MonkeyNutZ fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Jun 16, 2013 |
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Jun 16, 2013 23:13
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MonkeyNutZ posted:Dunno what you folks are using for degreaser but my GOD does this stuff work well: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Green-13406-Aircraft-Precision/dp/B001VXU7OE ... I may have to give that a shot, but holy hell does Simple Green stink. Think it would do terrible things to the chain or tires? I know it'll melt plastic if you let it sit too long (adventures in stripping paint off miniatures taught me that one).
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Jun 16, 2013 23:19
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The aircraft cleaner isn't like regular simple green at all; it's clear and doesn't smell like anything. The big perk for using it on a bike is that it's totally fine on plastics, paint, aluminum, and everything else you'd find on a plane. E: "Extreme Aircraft and Precision Cleaner" is apparently the same stuff as their "Extreme Simple Green Motorsports Cleaner & Degreaser" according to the internet http://www.simplegreen.com/products_extreme_motor.php http://gsa.simplegreen.com/gsa_products_extreme.php E2: I wouldn't soak my tires with the stuff but it should be fine in normal quantities. I lubed my chain right after I finished washing/waxing the rest of the bike MonkeyNutZ fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Jun 16, 2013 |
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Jun 16, 2013 23:29
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I did some reading, and apparently Home Depot carries "Simple Green Pro HD" (which looks like Purple Power) which is rated in the same way. And it's probably cheaper to get a 14$ gallon jug of that stuff. Maybe I'll finally get the layers of grime out of the chain guard. And feel less iffy about it than hosing down parts with non chlorinated brake cleaner.
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Jun 17, 2013 00:03
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DJ_Ferret posted:I did some reading, and apparently Home Depot carries "Simple Green Pro HD" (which looks like Purple Power) which is rated in the same way. And it's probably cheaper to get a 14$ gallon jug of that stuff. Maybe I'll finally get the layers of grime out of the chain guard. And feel less iffy about it than hosing down parts with non chlorinated brake cleaner. Good to know, I'll have to try that. I've always used the original simple green diluted, usually 1 part simple green to 3 or 4 parts water, and have never had a problem with plastics or aluminum. I don't let it sit overnight or anything crazy though.
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Jun 17, 2013 00:09
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Tomorrow I'm going to buy a jug of it and try cleaning off the grime that's probably been building in parts of my KLR since 2001. The previous owner didn't do much cleaning except superficially on it, and there's some caked in carbon and grease that I'll take before/after photos of.
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Jun 17, 2013 00:13
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If you're using the rougher stuff, make sure to use gloves, dunno about the Simple Green variants but Purple Power will eat your hands up.
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Jun 17, 2013 00:35
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Started back toward Washington today, from Austin. Made it to Lubbock, found a hotel with a restaurant and I am excited to be lazy tonight. Closest call I had today was when a buzzard flew between my wife and I. Wake up call! That would not have been fun to hit.
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Jun 17, 2013 01:01
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clutchpuck posted:Started back toward Washington today, from Austin. Made it to Lubbock, found a hotel with a restaurant and I am excited to be lazy tonight. Of course you mean the buzzard . . . o.O
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Jun 17, 2013 01:29
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Oh, I gotta give that stuff a try. Surprise surprise, my new commute sucks dogballs on the bike just as much as in the car. At least on the way in - home has tended to be nicer already.
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Jun 17, 2013 17:20
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My former contract manager has to adjust all 12 valves on his Daytona 955i. I guess all of them are too tight. He wants to commit murder. Apparently it's a pain in the rear end.
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Jun 17, 2013 17:28
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Pope Mobile posted:My former contract manager has to adjust all 12 valves on his Daytona 955i. I guess all of them are too tight. He wants to commit murder. Apparently it's a pain in the rear end. Yup, gotta install the tool, pop each one out individually, measure, replace with the appropriate size, remove the tool, and move on to the next one.
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Jun 17, 2013 19:09
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Z3n posted:Yup, gotta install the tool, pop each one out individually, measure, replace with the appropriate size, remove the tool, and move on to the next one.
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Jun 17, 2013 22:01
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Meaning he doesn't have to remove the cams? He should stop complaining. When you have to do all 12, it's probably faster to pull the cams, I think it took me about ~5 minutes to do each one when I had to do it. I'd probably have gotten faster but I only had to do 2.
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Jun 17, 2013 22:41
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DJ_Ferret posted:Tomorrow I'm going to buy a jug of it and try cleaning off the grime that's probably been building in parts of my KLR since 2001. The previous owner didn't do much cleaning except superficially on it, and there's some caked in carbon and grease that I'll take before/after photos of. I did this thing today. Wasn't a magical grease remover, as I probably watered it down a bit much out of fear. It did remove a hell of a lot of grime, but it didn't sluice it off the way I'd hoped. Additionally, I have crafted a kickstand extension for my freshly un-lowered KLR out of a LA Kings logo hockey puck (all Big 5 had in stock) using a dental scalpel and epoxy. I feel MacGyver as gently caress right now. Edit: The puck is currently on my workbench, the epoxy will be used to attach it tomorrow. Adventures in unemployment means I have afternoons free to dick around with my motorcycle. DJ_Ferret fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jun 18, 2013 |
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Jun 18, 2013 02:04
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Just took my 99 CB250 out for my first road ride (other than the trip to the mechanic yesterday for a blue slip) Seemed like the clutch was slipping above 6-7k rpm or when accelerating hard uphill Just went and checked the clutch cable tension adjuster (the one on the clutch lever) and it was wound all the way out, as in no thread was engaging at all So i've wound it in enough so the clutch lever moves about 10-15mm before engaging Here's hoping this has fixed it, I don't want to have to go and buy new clutch plates and springs already  Will also change the oil next week and see if that helps at all
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Jun 18, 2013 10:39
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