Fix it before it breaks, or wait? What's your philosophy?

[kboehringer]

Fork Oil

Is there anything else preventative that should be done?

VegasMike,
I didn't notice anyone else mentioning it yet but PROPERLY cleaning and replacing the fork oil is a fairly easy task and it is very unlikely most people do it 1/4 as often as the manual recommends. My bike was severely neglected by the POs. IF the fork oil had ever been changed it was MANY years ago, the internals of the forks were certainly NEVER cleaned properly in 35 years. What liquid was in there had more in common with MUD than oil.

A fork oil change will cost you about: $10 (+/-) in oil, $10 (+/-) for new seals, and a full afternoon of: disassembly, cleaning, and re-assembly. Although NOT a modern front end, my bike feels a lot better following proper cleaning and oil replacement.

A pretty great PM item to complete for only $20.

Sincerely,
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Kurt,
Having just spent $42 for genuine Yamaha Seals and $24 for 1 litre of Fork oil I would like to know where you shop.
Mine are in Canadian dollars and include Tax.
Phil

[MPittma100]

Repairs

When I get a new (to me) bike in, I check everything on the bike for operation, wear, aging, cosmetics, missing parts, mods from stock, and damage.

It matters not what information on the condition that the PO has offered, it all gets checked just the same.

I repair, perform maintenance, paint, replace, and adjust as needed. I get each bike as close to stock as possible and in the best running and cosmetic condition available. When completed, I will ride each one for a few hundred miles to verify operation. At this point, the decision to keep or sell is made.

Last one that I sold was a New Ruby Red full dress 1980G w/15K miles. The following was done to it:

INSPECTION/REPAIRS

Front

Replaced front tire (Metzler Lasertec), wheel bearings and seals. Rebuilt master cylinder and calipers (SS pistons), and replaced brake hoses. Rebuilt forks.

Engine

Compression - all cylinders perfect. Adjusted Valves and replaced VC gasket and cam plugs. Rebuilt and synced carbs. (Mikuni parts only used in rebuild). Rebuilt petcocks, added fuel filters, replaced all hoses and clamps. Air filter is like new. Replaced spark plugs (NGK Iridium) New oil and filter (20W-50 Valvoline m/c oil) Checked timing and verified vacuum and centrifugal advance operation.

Electrical

Battery is good and dated 2012. Upgraded battery grounds. Installed quick connect for "Battery Tender". Installed flashing ("back off") brake light unit. Checked all other electrical functions. All are good. T/sig self-cancelling also works. Upgraded fuse box to new blade style.

Middle/Rear

Replaced oil in middle and rear drives. Transmission (5 speed) shifts perfectly. Replaced rear tire (Metzler Lasertec) and inspected wheel bearings. Rebuilt master cylinder and caliper (SS piston) and replaced brake hoses.

The goal is to offer a 30+ year old bike to someone who has neither the time nor the skill set or the desire to do anything but put gas in it and ride. Believe it or not, there are a lot of those people out there.

[kboehringer]

Kurt,
Having just spent $42 for genuine Yamaha Seals and $24 for 1 litre of Fork oil I would like to know where you shop.
Phil

Phil,
I purchased "Parts Unlimited Brand" fork seals. Just double-checked, I actually paid $15.50 for those which included the shipping and the quality of them was VERY VERY good. Having used them, I absolutely purchase them again. Only problem was that this seller took about 2 weeks to get them to my mail box.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311398241324

I purchased 10w fork oil (not YamaLube brand) from the local Yamaha/Honda/Suzuki dealership for $4.99 per pint (x2) + 7% local sales tax....Basically $10 for the oil which was much more oil than needed for a normal change. It was suggested that I put slightly more oil in than the recommended 225ml so I had to get two pints. Otherwise one pint would have been sufficient.

My previous estimate was off by $5.

Sounds pretty darn expensive for your Canadian fork oil

Sincerely,
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Thanks Kurt,
I have heard some of the aftermarket seals can be a problem so wanted genuine. The US$ exchange is currently around 30% and tax here is 13% (Taxes pay for that FREE healthcare we hear so much about )
Finding fork oil has been a bit of a challenge for me so I did not shop for price.
Phil

[motoman]

Hello all!

I'm making a list of things to take care of on my SF this winter (when it's finally under 120-degrees in the garage). I MAY get the bike painted, and thought about taking this opportunity to rebuild the petcocks and remove the octy, even though I'm not experiencing any problems with either.

But this brings up a philosophical question I'd like some of the more experienced folks here to weigh in on: Do you wait for things to go wrong before fixing them? Or do you "fix" some of the more famously problematic parts before they create problems?

Should I rebuild the petcocks? Remove the octy? Replace the brake lines? Is there anything else preventative that should be done? Or should I think: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

I already plan on definitely replacing the fuse block, but that's because all the problems I've had thus far have been electrical. Replacing the broken tach might be on the list as well, although I haven't decided if I care enough about that to bother.

Thank you!

After a frame repaint.......clean to shing AL grounding locations and pror to mounting ground connections put a SMALL smear 0f COPPERCOAT lube on them........all WILL be happy from there.