|
While I like the look of the stock DOT signals and mirrors, the zeta hand guard signals are pretty rad. So, I decided to lean into the minimal aesthetic for my WR250x. The mirrors were bugging me, cluttering my view forward, so I modified some POWERMADD mirrors to fit into my Zeta's. I had my doubts about these, but it looks stunning.     Need to find some matching silver screws to use instead on the hand guards. Stock ones weren't long enough, but the included black ones were. Rear turn signals fell pray to Thumper Disease and would never stay put. The right one stopped working and rattled off within two weeks of my owning it. Not a problem, as I much prefer an integrated turn signal. It's in keeping with the minimal look I'm going with, too. Swapped the DRC Edge programmable (and brighter) integrated brake/turn signal into to tail, and rewired everything. Out with the old  In with the new  I was shocked at how cleanly wired everything was when I opened it up. Good to know the PO's cared  I tried to do a decent job, and will get some heatshrink stuff soon to do it better. Or not.  I buttoned everything back up with generous Threadlocker Blue, so I didn't want to ride it tonight. Can't wait to do so tomorrow.
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2016 03:28
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 00:01 |
|
|
I finally gave up on trying to fix the engine bog/severe power loss and took my broken FZ6 to a mechanic. Sure I've only put ~12 hours into it over the past 2-3 months, but eventually (read: Yesterday) I grew tired of working on it and failing, wasting the precious few daylight hours that I have away from work, and spending money and time on new ideas only to run out of daylight or beer. New plugs, new battery, new tps adjusted exactly in the middle of spec according to the yamaha shop manual, resistance checks on the ignition coils/plug caps/crankshaft sensor looked fine, and no ECU codes showing. There isn't any funk on the fuel injector screens for what little that's worth. The butterfly valves in the TB open up smoothly, my air filter only has maybe 3kmi on it, and until I started having issues (which got worse very rapidly) it was my daily driver due to a blown headgasket on my car. So no stale gas/neglect problems there. Even then, I entirely drained the gastank and put fresh gas in afterwards on the off chance it could be bad gas. Given that my DRZ already went down twice in the past 2-3 years due to poo poo in my gasoline it was worth a shot. My only known maintenance crimes are that the oil & filter need to be changed, the brake fluid needs to be replaced, my Pilot Road 4 front is finally close to the end of its life, my chain is likely hosed due to the past few months of neglect, and it's covered in dust. Mostly, I'm ashamed of the dust. Despite the typical Houston Traffic I eventually made it to my mechanic before they closed. I explained my situation and they explained theirs. It's springtime in Texas. Now this isn't a Harley shop so I'm spared having to wait behind the mongol hoard of middle aged men getting their polished chrome garage queens serviced for their twice yearly 2-week long barhopping season. And it's not a YamaHonKawazuki dealer either, so I'm mostly spared from having to interact with the legion of literbike bros that are just here to get some sweet LED kits so they can look totally sick on bike night, bro. But they still only have like 4 or 5 mechanics and do a lot of work on people's track bikes. And guess what? It's 75F out and track season is starting again; So while the crowd might be more interesting that still makes for a busy mechanic. It's alright though. What am I going to do? Fix it myself?  Papers got signed, keys were given, and I was told I could park it over there (with its heavily rusted chain and all of its 3 months of caked on pollen) towards the back of their pile of bikes. Behind a couple cruisers they were selling. Far away from the pristine yellow Tuono RSV4 or the mint condition Team USA Ducati 999s for sale. All the poo poo, broken, and dirty bikes with half the fairings in their owner's garage go towards the back. Over there next to that one customer's ~sikh gixxer~ with a 300 rear tire. I think they knew what they were doing. I hope my bike spreads some of its rust and general bad juju to the GSXR too. I miss that bike. Hopefully whatever is broken isn't terribly expensive. Marxalot fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Feb 29, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 05:12
|
|
|
Basically a lot of  to say that I decided "I give up. gently caress this FZ6. I'm going to a mechanic"
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 05:13
|
|
|
My Vstrom 1000 is having clutch issues (disengaging in different spots, the same 3 spots though) and today I pulled the sprocket cover and slave cylinder. Looks like the slave cylinder is leaking a bit, so I'm hoping that's all the issue is. Cleaned it up down there and bled the clutch to make sure there was no air in the lines. Clutch is still poo poo. Adjusted chain and cleaned/lubed it on the CBR500R, hosed it off for the first time in 4 months. Put new plastics on the right side the other day and the whole clean/dirty difference was bothering me.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 05:38
|
|
|
Finally got around to mounting an ammo can as a pannier.  I am aware that I am a cheeseball, thank you.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 13:19
|
|
|
Paint it to match the tank and that would own. Re-stencil it over that and it would own bones.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 13:23
|
|
|
Nah, yeah, that's actually pretty cool. Everybody knows top opening panniers are better than clams.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 14:07
|
|
|
I flushed my brake fluid on the R Nine T. The rear fluid was quite dark but the front fluid was still looking good. BMW recommends a full flush annually, not sure if that's needed but the experiences techs also say to do it. I'm not sure if I did a full flush but I'll assume that 2/3 quart (625mL) is enough to clear the front lines. Less than half that was needed to clear the rear. Interestingly, while pumping the fronts (valve closed) I did get a few bubbles come out of the master cylinder reservoir. They must have been trapped there since delivery because my brake lever feels a bit firmer now.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 14:51
|
|
|
Removed the rear passenger grips because i kept on kicking them with my leg when i got on the bike and it cleans up the look a little bit.   Next i think i should probably get rid of those decals..
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 17:27
|
|
|
Renaissance Robot posted:Nah, yeah, that's actually pretty cool. Everybody knows top opening panniers are better than clams. Problem with ammo boxes is they're heavy as gently caress. But yeah top loaders are way better.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 19:19
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Problem with ammo boxes is they're heavy as gently caress. My V Star is already heavy as gently caress for a 650. A couple of ammunition containers won't make much of a difference. This one hasn't. I was going to add a second larger one, but my wife says that this first one makes it difficult for her to mount and dismount the pillion seat, so I'm not sure if I'm going ahead with that project. I was looking forward to the asymmetry, though. Coydog posted:Paint it to match the tank and that would own. Re-stencil it over that and it would own bones. I might, but right now I'm enjoying the olive drab on black.
|
|
#
?
Feb 29, 2016 20:30
|
|
|
Mushika posted:My V Star is already heavy as gently caress for a 650. A couple of ammunition containers won't make much of a difference. This one hasn't. I was going to add a second larger one, but my wife says that this first one makes it difficult for her to mount and dismount the pillion seat, so I'm not sure if I'm going ahead with that project. I was looking forward to the asymmetry, though. I had straight OD ammo cans on my bike. I was working on a military base and came back to a business card on my triple tree. It said "you must obliterate ammunition markings" on the back; the front was for the Explosives and Ordinance Safety Officer for the base. Forty seconds with "gimme the first can of spraypaint you touch from the tool room" later, and I've got mostly OD with black stripes. Then the Florida salt air started to take its toll, so a can of greenish rust-converting primer fixed that in the trouble spots.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 01:45
|
|
|
Couple days ago, but I flushed the brake lines with fresh fluid, rebuilt the rear caliper and installed new brake pads, then tightened and lubed the chain. Gave it an alignment for good measure to try to alleviate my high-speed hands-free headshake but to no avail.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 01:57
|
|
|
Head bearing
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 02:49
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Head bearing I know I know, it's ordered and on the way. Gonna do fork seals and oil while I'm in there.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 02:57
|
|
|
Some bikes are just prone to that and can't really be fixed too.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 05:20
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:Some bikes are just prone to that and can't really be fixed too. The ex500.com forums talk about a headshake in the 50-45 range, but I'm getting it all the way up from 45+. When it's on the centerstand with the front off the ground, there is no detent-type feeling or binding. However, the bearings are stock ball bearings and I would like to replace them with the tapered rollers anyhow, since I'll be in there to respring the front for my weight at some point in the future.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 14:02
|
|
|
Beach Bum posted:tapered rollers Do this. The difference is night and day. Make sure you pack the bearings very well. And when you're done, set everything out in the sun so it gets hot, and do it again.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2016 14:05
|
|
|
I rode it off of my own street for the first time after I paid $29 to get a tiny "3" on my license.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 00:39
|
|
|
Washington? Looks pretty Salish Sea-y and the weather matches
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 02:25
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Washington? Looks pretty Salish Sea-y and the weather matches Yep! It stopped raining and the sun even came out a little bit just long enough for a short little ride after I got home from the DOL. Then it started raining again and even a little bit of hail
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2016 02:55
|
|
|
So far, replaced the brake pads on my 125, and cleaned the calliper and pots as well. It was really easy! Still a couple of tiny hard spots on the pistons, but it was getting to the point where the finish was wearing and nothing was happening to the spot, so  In progress, pulling the centre stand. By Grabthar's hammer, what a oval office! Two hours of trying to finagle oil down the gap and banging on the end with a hammer, as well as trying to unstick the rusted up insides by torquing the pin opposite the stand, and the fucker's moved barely 2mm. But is has moved. I'm taking a coffee break right now and then coming back with a heat gun and determination. (it'll be a pyrrhic victory at best, because at one point I tried levering the thing out with various screwdrivers and managed to shatter the giant flathead I forged myself back in high school  )
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 16:32
|
|
|
Put brake fluid in the wife's bike today. She got a new set of pretty red stainless braided front brake lines to we spent like a half hour pumping her lever introducing DOT4 to the whole shebang. Didn't see any leaks, banjo bolts are magic (it's not a trick it's an illusion). Brakes work. "Mission Accomplished" Next up: her lovely li-iron or whateverthefuck battery has poo poo the bed. No worky. "No way I am going back to a heavy battery." OK then. $250 and whatever it costs for the proprietary charger later.... She's gonna get it running so she can take it to the shop for a pre-Alaska check-up. Then I took the Buell for a ride and had a revelation: the Buell is totally awesome. The Buell is an oil change form ready for Alaska. Unless I break something.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 02:33
|
|
|
clutchpuck posted:Put brake fluid in the wife's bike today. She got a new set of pretty red stainless braided front brake lines to we spent like a half hour pumping her lever introducing DOT4 to the whole shebang. Didn't see any leaks, banjo bolts are magic (it's not a trick it's an illusion). From what I've read, earthx makes the best lifepo battery.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 03:09
|
|
|
I was defeated  Busted my thumb open trying to get that stand pin to move; gently caress it, it can be the next owner's problem. Only way I can see it coming out is like, a couple of bolts run through a machined plate slid behind the flange so the pin can be jacked out by the bolts pushing against the frame.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 19:51
|
|
|
It's properly fixed now, but my handguard partially fell off on the highway, ripping out one of my turn signals. I also blew a fuse in an unrelated incident friday night. Good thing work wouldn't let me go to MSRC this weekend   #justSuzukiThings Also I have new grips. Marxalot fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Mar 6, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2016 21:13
|
|
|
That big, black roll o duct tape.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 00:37
|
|
|
Finally installed my tail tidy so I now have an anorexic stealth bomber with an "orange" obsession. Day i picked it up   Also the decals have gone obviously, but the thing that I hated most was that ridiculous mud guard. Stupidly, I am probably just going to remount it so I can ride it in the wet. Also I passed my full licencetest so I ditched the L plates and the construction yard hi viz, but am still restricted for 3 years regardless. Hand warmers next and all terrains next. Edit: oh and I adjusted the spring preload to "fat bastard" (8 or 9 clicks from memory), which made a huge difference once I got used to the change. lilbeefer fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Mar 7, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 05:39
|
|
|
Added handguards and useless mirrors: Windscreen and convex mirrors on order. e: I'm the misaligned indicators.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2016 07:10
|
|
|
Scuffed the gently caress out of the valve cover. Was completing a U turn in my street after a quick test ride, ran over some leaves piled against the curb, slipped and dropped it. Damages are $300 for a new cover, a pair of jeans, and a scratched up knee. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 00:19
|
|
|
Or you could just get some sliders that go over that area in preparation for next time.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 01:47
|
|
|
No it's time to get the whole fuckoff ugly engine cage.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 01:48
|
|
|
I made $50 mistake and didn't hit the left passenger footpeg with the impact hard enough. drat thing fell off somewhere in the last 200 miles. I lost half of the bushing too, that alone is $12. I checked the other one and it was loose too! Smacked it good with the impact just to be sure it stays where it oughta. I think I'm going to buy the industrial sized bottle of blue locktite next time I'm up at Advance.
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 05:25
|
|
|
Finished putting new tires on it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 9, 2016 00:21
|
|
|
 Dropped off the disc and a hub at a machine shop to hopefully make an insert to press into the hub to convert the XR100 race bike to a disc front
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 17:20
|
|
|
Marxalot posted:
You keep saying this but those aren't OEM parts, stop blaming the bike for your poor accessory attachment skills.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 18:18
|
|
|
Dog Case posted:Finished putting new tires on it. Do you have a garage? What year is that GN125? How is it not being devoured by rust scale...
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 21:48
|
|
|
Took it out of the storage garage and drove it back home. It was a typical first trip of the season, ie stressed out. I forgot my entance card to the garage, forgot to put on my gps logger and forgot my helmet strap.. Also had a "wtf, is there something wrong with my back wheel? oh, ah, it's just crap road surface here." And added + adjusted the length of of the straps on my new reindeer fur seat mat. Naturally water repellant, hide part is impregnated, and warm.  
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 19:32
|
|
|
Supradog posted:Also had a "wtf, is there something wrong with my back wheel? oh, ah, it's just crap road surface here." Had one of those yesterday. Came around a corner through a puddle and it ended up being a puddle full of pine cones. Weee!
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 19:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 00:01 |
|
|
echomadman posted:You keep saying this but those aren't OEM parts, stop blaming the bike for your poor accessory attachment skills. The fuse and the passenger peg that broke off wasn't aftermarket .
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 19:40
|
|