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After a load of delays and other snags, I finally buttoned up my GN125 after changing its rear tire, both sprockets, and drivechain over the last 3 months, and went for a tiny test ride. After 3 months of using the EX250 to commute, I was surprised at how easy this little booger is to use. Just a bicycle that can go 60 mph. Almost forgot to mention that when I pulled the old drivechain off, I was shocked to discover that it wasn't an o-ring chain after all. As far as I could tell, it was the original chain. It was KNACKERED, having a gigantic slop point of over 2 inches from tightest to loosest, but, it managed it. Might be due to my obsessive oiling the drivechain on every fuel fill-up. Bike currently has 24,000 miles on it. Slide Hammer fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jul 4, 2021 |
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Jul 4, 2021 19:18
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| # ? May 29, 2024 15:21 |
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I rode my FZ6 to the Gas Station! I should probably back up to the beginning of this weekend. For many reasons I haven't touched my FZ6 in years. A combo of "It didn't quite fit me right" and "Depression" and "I really should have learned more about engine characteristics before I bought it" I just hadn't really rode it, and it eventually just sat. I started out on working on the Magna because I figured it would be a bike more suited to me ( A long time ago I rode a VFR 800 and miss that bike, but I'm also short and not really wanting to tiptoe every bike I come across ). But post pandemic work situation is changing and eventually everyone will have to be in the office, so this is quicker than finishing the Magna which is still a bunch of parts at this point. So long story short, the bike has been sitting for 10 years. Hearing all the horror stories about having fuel in the system after that long, I emptied the tank, to take a look at the damage, and the result was: Holy loving poo poo I got off light! No residue, no rust, the gas possibly could have still been good, but no way was I going to push my luck, and since I drained it all out I took it to the hazardous waste recycling place and put a couple of gallons in. Got a new battery, and it started right up like it was never sitting. I then flushed the coolant, and changed the oil, and cleaned / lubed the chain and threw some engine cleaner in the tank. Then because DMV wouldn't let me give them money at a AAA, I decided to do the dumb thing and ride it to the gas station down the street basically to see if I *could* and fill the tank up the rest of the way. I should have new tires on it in the next couple of days, and some point soon I will have to sit at a DMV and give them enough money to buy another motorcycle in registration fee's
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Jul 6, 2021 05:54
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 I managed to hook up the front brake in a safe and functional way! Also the first time i ever bled brakes. It's still not ideal - i am quite sure that once it has a fairing again, that it'll bump into the plastic. But i can ride it to a bike scrapyard like this, and
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Jul 7, 2021 21:39
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I put some actual Barkbusters and a skid plate that might actually do something on my KAWK. The OEM Kawasaki hand guards are these lovely flimsy pieces of plastic. I guess they'll protect your hand from a ladybug coming at your fist at highway speeds but they're not going to do much else.  So I replaced those with legit ones. White, because black is so yesterday, y'know?  Similar to the hand guards, the Kawasaki skid plate is also a piece of poo poo. I bought a Ricochet one, and here's what they look like side by side:  As you can see the Kawasaki one yielded to a rock almost immediately. I'm probably also going to replace the stupid indicators once they break off a few more times. I bought some super slim motogadget ones but I don't have the patience to wire them in just yet.
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Jul 8, 2021 01:06
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kudos for actually smashing the stock one before replacing it
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Jul 8, 2021 22:27
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I took the top case and windscreen (not the whole fairing) off the goldwing. It looks like the world's shittiest bagger now. I always hated the windscreen, I guess if it was super cold and you were on the freeway for a long time it would be nice but it sucks poo poo in any other conditions. Plus it was just swirled enough to be dangerous at night with any light coming your way, even after I polished it. It's surprisingly fun in the twisties. The lower speeds mean you can get on it in 2nd and 3rd and not hit the bogging zone.
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Jul 10, 2021 22:59
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finally found the p/n for the 790 rally white fork guards so I went back to the high fender  
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Jul 11, 2021 01:39
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Unfucked the one-way mechanical clutch on my Jawa 350/638-639 (kick start two stroke with some questionable parts) aftermarket electrical starter motor by adding MORE than the Google translated Tseckoslovakian 0,2L of oil extra. Hooooboiii, kind of hot pushing that threewheeled contraption home by hand and then sanding down the friction-welded starter clutch. New starter motor coming up, the sound of an engine at 5KRPM crunching to a halt on the starter motor is kind of interesting. Sounds like a Tie Fighter passing.
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Jul 14, 2021 22:54
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Fitted pannier stays to the YBR: a job that involved a significant amount of grinding/sanding, as the stock rack connects to the subframe through a set of standoffs which were welded to the rack in exactly the place the stays needed to go in order to not clip into anything else  lopped them off and replaced them with an equivalent pair of standoffs ordered custom off ebay. Still have to move the indicators before the panniers can go on, but that's another day's job.
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Jul 17, 2021 16:34
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Started putting together the new baffles for my exhaust (finally, like a year after the stock ones fell out)  new/old I don't have the equipment to spot weld them in place so I'll be shoving a bunch of high temperature epoxy between the two washers and hoping it drips out enough to lock the things in place. It's a hack but it's what I've got.
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Jul 18, 2021 15:32
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Renaissance Robot posted:Started putting together the new baffles for my exhaust (finally, like a year after the stock ones fell out) Chuck a bit of Gun Gum in there, it'll hold it in place and stay (roughly) where you put it to make the next replacement a bit simpler.
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Jul 18, 2021 15:44
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I actually have a tub of that I'd forgotten about, thanks for reminding me. Probably be much less messy to install that way too.
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Jul 18, 2021 16:32
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Been really dragging my feet on doing some things, mostly because my free time is sparse and I’m paralyzed with indecision on how to spend it. But, threw the raised dog bones on, and lifted the front back up. Stock kickstand on. Changed the oil, low profile drain plug on. There was some weird rear end plug on it that you could manually meter oil out but it was 2 or 3” long and begging to get snagged on something. I bought this thing from a super old guy at 5’7, so he had it dropped about as low as it could go.   I’ve got a real skid plate and a new chain. Also, my Tiger is exhibiting actual cat behavior. I’ll fill the tank, and then the gas gauge and fuel light will intermittently malfunction and show as empty. Like, I just fed you, liar.
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Jul 18, 2021 20:57
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Revvik posted:Been really dragging my feet on doing some things, mostly because my free time is sparse and I’m paralyzed with indecision on how to spend it. Ugh, this is a feeling. New pads for the rear brake, one of the old ones was paper thin and the other wasn't much better. Caliper design was a lot like the 6-pot Tokicos up front, the pads are held in with pins and clips and can basically drop right out the top of the caliper. I know the Rex was never a racebike itself, but the brakes weren't made in a vacuum; was quick-change pads that much of a priority in the 90s? E: also got some color-matched rattlecans from a local paint shop for my tank blemishes, now to read up on prep. Phy fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Jul 21, 2021 |
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Jul 21, 2021 17:38
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Quick change brake pads are the norm, it's generally cheaper bikes like the SV that force you to take the whole caliper off. There are a couple of modern-ish radial calipers out there where the pads can't come out the top and everyone hates them because it makes no sense. The rex' rear brake is from about 1985 btw.
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Jul 21, 2021 20:32
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Oh, lol that'll do it. The Weestrom was the only other of my bikes that I ever touched the pads on. I've done my cars often enough that I just think "brakes are like this." Anyway the new pads work! I think they're better than the old ones. I locked the rear a few times trying to bed them in. Phy fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Jul 21, 2021 |
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Jul 21, 2021 21:43
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So I went to put the new reg sticker on the oldwing today and... no plate. It broke off during my last ride. I knew it was raggedy but didn't realize it was hanging by a thread. The plate literally broke- there are pieces of it still on the mounts.
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Jul 24, 2021 09:08
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AnnoyBot posted:So I went to put the new reg sticker on the oldwing today and... no plate. It broke off during my last ride. I knew it was raggedy but didn't realize it was hanging by a thread. The plate literally broke- there are pieces of it still on the mounts. When you're piloting a space shuttle you can expect to lose a heat shield here and there. e: speaking of Oldwings I've been having some fun (no, really!) working this $550 GL1100 parts bike into something akin to a poor man's power cruiser. I've got a couple hundred bucks into the brakes now by rebuilding them with oem seals and Galfer SS lines and they work quite well. I don't remember what thread I was posting about it but I did manage to get the pilot jets clear and pressed back in and it starts and runs, but there is fuel in the plenum coming from carb #2 so I might have some between-carb o ring issues requiring a rebuild. However it did run quite well until it started overflowing.  The box and rear hoop will be coming off, maybe a cheap ebay tail light and some slightly lower bars, and trim up the rear fender just to tidy up and modernize the look a bit. Much easier to work on these than the bike next to it, I can have GL carbs off in 10 minutes. Gorson fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jul 24, 2021 |
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Jul 24, 2021 17:38
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Gorson posted:When you're piloting a space shuttle you can expect to lose a heat shield here and there. Actually those angular 90s Wings would look loving awesome in a white and black shuttle livery, I wonder if anyone's ever done it?
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Jul 24, 2021 18:12
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Didn't die. https://i.imgur.com/PJPHvyq.mp4 They: 1) didn't look 2) crossed the HOV lane divider 3) have a smoked plate cover to hide their number
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Jul 24, 2021 20:53
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Oooooooh that makes me maaaaaaaaad. Glad you're okay. Love the little wave they always do. "It's okay! It's okay! Thanks for steering around me! Everything's okay!" gently caress you.
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Jul 24, 2021 21:10
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Is an HOV lane like a carpool/bus lane thing bikes are allowed to use? I'm guessing cars aren't allowed to use it like that.Sagebrush posted:Oooooooh that makes me maaaaaaaaad. Glad you're okay. The limpwristed bitchwave is exactly the same everywhere in the world. 'I only nearly manslaughtered you, it's fine! Just relax!'
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Jul 24, 2021 21:13
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Yeah, it's a carpool lane. HOV is "high-occupancy vehicle." In this case it's not physically divided but you can't cross the double white line and just enter it wherever you want. You have to wait for the specific entry points where the line opens up. Also I bet that was just a single driver.
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Jul 24, 2021 21:17
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Chris Knight posted:Didn't die. love the "thanks for letting me in" wave
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Jul 24, 2021 23:35
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Swapped out the throttle tube on my MT03 with one from an R6 today; feels great, shorter throw to WOT then stock so a lot easier on my old wrist. That's kinda the last thing I was planning on modding on the bike (did shorty/adjustable levers a few weeks back) so now I can just focus on riding it. Once my summer pants get here anyway.
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Jul 25, 2021 00:09
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Slavvy posted:Is an HOV lane like a carpool/bus lane thing bikes are allowed to use? I'm guessing cars aren't allowed to use it like that. Yeah. As others have said, it’s meant to incentivize carpooling, but bikes can take them because they’re better than cars and there should be some incentive to riding. Some places like Colorado also have a lane that you can pay extra to drive in, and the cost fluctuates based on traffic. So you’ll either have a RFID device in your vehicle or it’ll charge your account based on your plate, and you can just skip traffic by paying extra. More traffic and less people in the lane? It’ll cost you more. 
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Jul 25, 2021 00:20
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Good job on not dying. They got their hand up surprisingly fast, almost like they were expecting a reaction?
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Jul 25, 2021 00:47
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Strife posted:Yeah. As others have said, it’s meant to incentivize carpooling, but bikes can take them because they’re better than cars and there should be some incentive to riding. Well a bike is a HOV, it has a capacity of 2 (really, often is closer to one), so your vehicle is AT LEAST 50% occupied which is better than the 20% most cars manage. Not to mention that bikes don't participate in most major traffic issues like the accordion effect.
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Jul 25, 2021 08:08
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Ultimately the point of a carpool lane is to reduce congestion, which it does by making carpooling more popular, and each new carpool theoretically takes one or more cars off the road. In that light it makes perfect sense for motorcycles to get to use the HOV lanes: swapping from a car to a motorcycle also reduces congestion, doubly so if you also allow lane-splitting.
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Jul 25, 2021 08:44
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Chris Knight posted:Didn't die.  HOV lane was one of the biggest perks to commuting on a bike when I was doing that, but our HOV lanes don't have a big divider like that and shithead people driving alone who were too good and unique to sit in the regular lanes were constantly using it to pass, so you had to always look out for exactly that kinda poo poo.What I did to my bike yesterday was ride it finally  Just a relaxed 1 hour ride, it's into monsoon season now so I'm not going out too far for a while and still getting a feel for it. Bike handles fantastic, it's so light. The last small project was removing the rear pegs and putting on an exhaust hanger, it looks really clean now:
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Jul 25, 2021 18:59
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Took my old 954 battleaxe to a trackday yesterday, novice group. My plan was to (a) have fun, (b) get better at riding the machine and (c) not crash. I succeeded in all 3. I've done trackdays a few times before, but never on this bike, even though I've owned it for more than 10 years. This bike is nice to ride on the street, but really, this is what it's made for. Like peeking into a different reality. I'm a pretty lousy rider, but I reached lean angles that I never saw before, and scraped footpegs, a first for me on this bike. I probably never came close to the limits of the bike or tyres, the main problems being me going too hot into corners a few times, not hitting anywhere close to apex, or clumsy upshifts under acceleration. Still, it had me wondering how a modern machine would feel, with quickshifter, slipper clutch, wheelie control, traction control, the whole nine yards.   (the answer is 42)
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Jul 25, 2021 21:27
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I did a brunch ride and then headed out of town for a coffee so a decent time out before the temperature got brutal. Got home and saw a package from TST with my integrated tail light. Set to installing that and everything went pretty swimmingly until it came to replacing the flasher relay with one that handles LED bulbs. Kawasaki saw fit to hide it behind the front fairing so unless you are super nimble you can get it off its hanger and replace the relay on the harness, but you’ll never mount it back on its hanger unless you pull the fairing. So sure enough I pull the fairing and the chief plastic tab that holds it flush with the nose of the bike snaps off  A quick trip to Home Depot later and I applied some JB Weld Plastic Bond with a reinforcing piece of metal as well. Left it for an hour or two until it “cured” (box says cures in 30, I didn’t believe that) and it seems to be holding when affixed back to the bike. I gaff taped the body panels together so hopefully it relieves some stress on the tab for the next few days to really let the jb weld set but we’ll see how that works out. I wish I could figure out some decent way to just drill a bunch of holes and fasten everything together with those dzus race fasteners but ehh
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Jul 25, 2021 22:25
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 Bought a new bike. Completely rewired it since it had a few questionable splices and connectors.
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Jul 25, 2021 22:48
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threw a scotts damper on it. had a hyperpro RSC for quite awhile, but wanted something a bit more off-road oriented and with the ability to adjust it without hopping off the bike, plus this is the only mount I’ve found that doesn’t raise the bars some stupid amount: anyways, as anyone who’s ever had one on a dirt bike knows, they rule
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Jul 26, 2021 00:10
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Realized my instrument cluster was wobbling around more than it ought to be, turns out there were a couple nuts loose that should have been holding the cluster to the bracket that bolts to the frame. I don't know if those self-loosened or I forgot to do them when I had the cluster apart to deal with the failed LED bulb, but I retightened everything, and then went for a ride up into one of the parks for a few hours.
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Jul 26, 2021 00:58
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I switched from using spray wax chain lube to gear oil and the chain already seems to just look cleaner. It also has an appropriate greasy old motorcycle smell
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Jul 28, 2021 22:40
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goddamnedtwisto posted:Actually those angular 90s Wings would look loving awesome in a white and black shuttle livery, I wonder if anyone's ever done it? Cursory Google search says no, but imagine a Vetter'd GL1100 greebled and painted to look like Spaceball 1. Dog Case posted:I switched from using spray wax chain lube to gear oil and the chain already seems to just look cleaner. It also has an appropriate greasy old motorcycle smell Gear oil, KY, butter, it's all good. I use Motul chain paste, or the sticky foam type spray.
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Jul 29, 2021 10:43
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Wanna get an angular gold wing and do like a y-wing conversion. Like
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Jul 29, 2021 12:36
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I've put a new rear tire on. Feels incredibly better/more stable taking corners on the road vs. the knobbies I had on before 
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Jul 29, 2021 13:29
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Those are Mitas e07 right? I got a set waiting for my Honda nx250, just to try something else than my staple heidenau k60.
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Jul 29, 2021 16:46
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