What did you do to your bike today?

[BA80]

We rode to the top of Pikes Peak at the Colorado Rally in July. Traffic was heavy and slow. All the bikes overheated and were barely running when we got to the top but the bikes didn't like that last 2 or 3 miles AT ALL.

[donroyal]

Added a tkat fork brace and rode to the top of Pike's Peak. What a ride!! Photos to follow

[Bigfoot]

Repainted my tank. The tank on my bike looked horrible. Last time I painted it, the clear i used did not hold up to anything. Gasoline drops just melted it away, my tank back just vibrated big circles all over it.... it was a mess. So, not wanting to bring it to another rally looking so bad, i sanded it down and repainted it. I sanded it last week but then life happened and I was not able to get back to it till today. The temp is too high and humidity too high, but the next two days are going to be even more humid, so I went for it anyway. It came out ok with the exception of I still can see some cloudy streaks from the humidity in the clear . I will let it sit overnight and see if it looks any better in the morning. If it does, I will wet sand and polish it tomorrow and get it back on the bike. If it doesn't, well its making the trip how it is and will get redone properly once I am back. I hate rushing things like this.

[timktm]

Took the DEAD DUCK for a ride Friday and the clutch lever began to feel weird as I approached home. Got it to the house safely. Investigated the issue yesterday. One pull on the lever and SNAP! UH OH.



It turns out the really cool looking CHEAPO Chinese lever (my son loves) created a really serious pinch point on the BRAND NEW cable. Fortunately, I saved all my older yet serviceable cables as none of six(6) different local bike shops had a cable in stock. Also none had an OEM clutch perch or lever. Found a new replacement (stock style but aftermarket) perch and lever >50 miles away.....Got it all fixed up this morning and we're ready to roll again!

Ya get what ya pay for! No more "Cool Looking" Chinese junk!

Just glad this didn't happen on our way to XSSE!

Or you could of course modify that cool looking lever to make it work.

[kboehringer]

Pre-XSSE Testing.... UH OH!

Took the DEAD DUCK for a ride Friday and the clutch lever began to feel weird as I approached home. Got it to the house safely. Investigated the issue yesterday. One pull on the lever and SNAP! UH OH.



It turns out the really cool looking CHEAPO Chinese lever (my son loves) created a really serious pinch point on the BRAND NEW cable. Fortunately, I saved all my older yet serviceable cables as none of six(6) different local bike shops had a cable in stock. Also none had an OEM clutch perch or lever. Found a new replacement (stock style but aftermarket) perch and lever >50 miles away.....Got it all fixed up this morning and we're ready to roll again!

Ya get what ya pay for! No more "Cool Looking" Chinese junk!

Just glad this didn't happen on our way to XSSE!

[dbbrian]

Had my stock windscreen cutdown 2"...as i was looking through it and not over it...plus i was getting alot of buffeting and turbulence at speed at the helmet level...Now the buffetiing is gone but i still have front end vibes at 70-80 mph...and I have discovered that the longer i sit on this seat the less i like it...

I been thinking about the cut down too on the windscreen. Especially since riding in rain a few times, the visibility is not great. I have been admiring JeffH's new screen. Before I pop for one, I may do a cut down to test a new height.

Regarding your front end vibes - I noticed some too at higher speed on my bike that went away with a new tire. But I think it might have been related to the balancing. You could check that if your tire is still good.

[madmax-im]

Had my stock windscreen cutdown 2"...as i was looking through it and not over it...plus i was getting alot of buffeting and turbulence at speed at the helmet level...Now the buffetiing is gone but i still have front end vibes at 70-80 mph...and I have discovered that the longer i sit on this seat the less i like it...

[Wildkat]

Will load a couple bikes on it this weekend and tow it around to make sure it is ready for the trip to North Carolina next week.

Cool

I hope it's a great trip!
Have fun and safe travels

[MaximPhil]

Hi Harry,
Looks very nice. Fit for purpose. I would say you transformed the old trailer. looking forward to seeing you and your new trailer at IH.
Phil

[Bigfoot]

Thanks Kat,

I towed it around for 10 miles or so around town just to see how it handles. Felt good. A little bouncy on bumps with nothing loaded on it. Have not had it up to freeway speeds yet but i don't anticipate any problems. Will load a couple bikes on it this weekend and tow it around to make sure it is ready for the trip to North Carolina next week.

[Wildkat]

That looks really nice, Harry!
I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to give it a decent trial yet.
I'm interested to see how well it handles.

Nice!!

[Bigfoot]

Nothing to the bike but I did turn

this


into this



Some added weight, but I feel much better about it now.

[CoreyF]

keeping the oil inside

It's been said an old motorcycle that leaks oil can be fixed for about $10,000.
Today I'm changing out the two oil galley o rings and the shift seal.

[JeffH]

That 14mm front master size should be perfect. If you had an 11mm master that would be more tricky & problematic to set up correctly. BUT, more that likely your issue is with the calipers, alignment of the calipers, engagement of the pistons or the bleeding of the calipers. Seems very likely if you went back to the original stock master that the front brakes still wouldn't work correctly. Maybe mask the pulsing but still not engaging all four pads in each blue dot caliper. My guess would be that issue is blue dot related.

Jeff

[IanDMacDonald]

Curious, what size / brand front master are you running??

To work properly everything has to be very precise and balanced. If the calipers aren't say + - 1/4 mm within center of the rotor or they top & bottom not evenly aligned then they won't work right. As in pulsate or do other crazy things.

I've got 16mm oem replacement with the original calipers perfectly aligned so I'm not expecting any problems or issues at all with my setup.

Getting your system tweaked to stop the pulsating shouldn't be to big a deal. Pulsating is either from physical misalignment or the master & lines are holding constant equal pressure on the pistons. or a combo of both going on.

Jeff

Hey Jeff- I'm running a 14mm MC, which is a mistake in my opinion. I think I should go back up to the original MC. I first switched to S/S lines with original brake components. Upon recommendation of Phil, I went down to a 14mm MC, which helped with the linear feel. But, going to the blue spots, there is too much travel in the lever. But, since it does not take much front brake to stop the bike, I have not messed with it.

Yes, dedinitely an alignment issue.