What did you do to your bike today?

[jjz28]

Now that is a pic! I wish that was at my house and my bikes. All those look great.

[Mullineaux]

And I thought I was an addict with 3.

I just have dreams of selling my kz650 and buying a naked XS11.

[BA80]

Sell that Kawi and I may put The Green Hornet up for sale by this fall. Then I could get to work on the E.

[tcoop]

Replaced the oil seal on my XVZ1200 Venture, The darn thing is buried.

Passed my son's 81 special to my son-in-law. He will soon be taking riding lesions and getting his gear.

[Slow Hand]

Pulled the cover off to have a look at the pick up coils and their wires. Three of the four are broken! I amazed the bike was running at all!

[3Phase]

I had way too too much fun with my bike today!

The Cali-Rally is coming up fast so today I went into maintenance mode:

NAPA PS4933 oil filter with new o-rings.
5 quart jug'o Castrol GTX 20W-50.
Four new NGK BPR6EIX Iridium spark plugs.
One quart of Redline 75W-140 oil for the middle and final drives.

I changed the engine oil/filter and put in the new spark plugs. The plugs came pre-gapped at 0.030" so I didn't have to mess with them. So far, so good!

This is only the fourth set of spark plugs and the third set of Iridiums that I've put in the engine since I got the bike ~85,000 miles and five years ago back in 2008. The Iridium spark plugs I took out are still clean but I think that after 25,000 miles they've done their job and they can be the backup set of plugs for a while.

I kicked Columbo awake to check for oil leaks and make sure the new spark plugs were all firing. The plugs were good and no oil leaked so just for grins I re-checked the pickup coil air gaps, the ignition timing, and synch'd the carbs. That was all good and I didn't have to change anything so I went out for a test ride to warm up the middle and final drive oil. Hmm, the new spark plugs and fresh oil are pretty nice! What a day for a ride!

When I got home I put the bike on the sidestand and let the middle drive drain into a coffee can. Then I decided I could save some time and drain the final drive while the middle drive was draining. You know what happened next, don't you.

Yep. When the bike came off the sidestand it fell over and the windshield hit the workbench. Most of the hot gear oil went all over the place and smoked and sizzled merrily on the exhaust pipes when the coffee can got smooshed. The rear wheel played Tiddly-Winks with the drain pan under the final drive and flipped it into the air. The pan did eventually land... upside down. On the bright side and I don't know how or why but I did not get a single drop of oil on me.


I might be able to get a new windshield in time for the Rally or I could put the OEM headlight shell back on and ride with just the hard bags. I also dropped a note for Clayton to see if he still has that fairing and Tourpack for sale. Now it's back to the garage to do some more cleaning.

[BA80]

Dammit Scott, your like bull in a china closet.......

[3Phase]

But! But! But I Saw The Light At The Other End Of The China Shop!

And there was a brand new bottle of REDline oil practically dancing around right in front of my face!

Weelll... okay, but the most important thing in the garage -- me! -- made a clean getaway! Parts is parts.

Important Safety Tip: When the bike is on the sidestand do NOT lean your right shoulder against the rear wheel whilst undoing the last couple of threads on the final drive drain plug.

[jwhughes3]

Scott if you dont find a windshield before friday morning (for a windjammer I assume) let me know and I can bring an extra with me to california and drop it by your place next wed.

John

[natemoen]

Got it registered in Indiana.

[3Phase]

Thanks, John!

There's no need to bring a spare windshield unless you think you'll need one! I have one with pop vents (I've wanted vents for a while now anyway ) on the way from Delaware and new plastic screws from Craig Vetter.

I have to go donate blood this afternoon so I might as well just pull the fairing now and get it over with. (no bugs in teef' yet)

[dondons1984]

And I thought I was an addict with 3.

Greg we are all addicts. you just have the funds and know how to find them. He just must over outbid you on them. bahaha

[dondons1984]

today was an interesting day.....

finished up the carbs minus sync. went for a ride and all 4 cylinders decided to start working so I hit a very very very high rpm in which i almost pissed myself. I then came home fixed. I then went for another ride in which brakes decided to give out on me . I then bled the brakes have them working and now next on the list is to sync the carbs and take small rides around the neighborhood to make sure I am solid then going for some long rides!! Oh and I painted the tank.

[ESJr1642]

Today...

I installed 2 new rear wheel bearings and 2 new seals. Cleaned the final drive up and greased as needed. Was lucky to find the left side bearing ( I know, should have ordered from James last year ) from Speed and Sport, nice folks. Cleaned up and lubed all rear caliper components, rolls nice and smooth now!

Now that I am all settled into the new house, the cleaning process begins. I hope to get it looking as good as some of the bikes Mack has!

[jjz28]

There is a shop here that will match any bearing. I got one for my Subaru AC idler pulley and the pressed the old one out and put the new one in for $8 and that's including the bearing. So, at least a bearing can always be matched whether the stop making them or not and Its a LOT cheaper to match one.