|
n8r posted:If you worked at a real motorcycle shop instead of a hipster tight jean'd bro hang out you'd know what I'm talking about. n8rs gonna n8 Do they have HDs at real motorcycle stores?
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2012 21:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:19 |
|
|
GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I just got a job as a motorcycle mechanic and I am super stoked.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2012 00:14
|
|
|
Removed my old front end and mounted my new one. I managed to bicep curl the triple tree into my face in the process. My buds were amazed I didn't break my nose. Next up: rerouting the wiring and fabbing a gauge mount.  In regular bike news, I started disassembling my dad's Peugeot for a rebuild.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2012 04:32
|
|
|
Added a Corbin seat to the ZX6R. I got it for $40 off eBay, awesome find. Huge difference from the stock seat, which had been cut up a bit. Now I can ride all day. Next mods: sprocket/chain replacement, aiming for 14/47 or 15/49, and setting up the bike for the incoming savage coldness (handguards, perhaps heat grips). And replacing the odd anondized-pink footpegs. Gonna be leaving the stock exhaust and Acerbis headlight on until I move to a place that has more secure parking for my bikes. 
the walkin dude fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Sep 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2012 23:46
|
|
|
the walkin dude posted:Added a Corbin seat to the ZX6R. I got it for $40 off eBay, awesome find. Huge difference from the stock seat, which had been cut up a bit. Now I can ride all day. Next mods: sprocket/chain replacement, aiming for 14/47 or 15/49, and setting up the bike for the incoming savage coldness (handguards, perhaps heat grips). And replacing the odd anondized-pink footpegs. Gonna be leaving the stock exhaust and Acerbis headlight on until I move to a place that has more secure parking for my bikes. I say get a seat cover for the back, the two seats look weird together.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2012 00:27
|
|
|
Fixed my brake light. Turned out the connector at the brake handle had wiggled loose. Pushed it back on and gave it an extra squeeze to keep it there. I'm a bit disappointed actually, I was totally ready to tear into the bike with a multimeter chasing some elusive ground fault.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2012 14:18
|
|
|
n8r posted:Sell all your bikes that you were planning on working on because you will never work on anything of your own ever again. I'm stocking them for winter. I have a feeling it'll be slow and the shop says I can work on my own stuff when I'm not busy. Finish them at work, then sell them to keep me going till spring.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2012 23:37
|
|
|
Crayvex posted:Awesome! Now please tell me the trick for soon a carb sync on a 02 R6. I don't see a way to get at the throttle adjustment screws. remove all the things? I haven't sync'd a set on the bike yet, only on the bench.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2012 23:39
|
|
|
Even with the air box off I don't see how to get to the adjustment screws other than through dumb luck.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 03:50
|
|
|
I washed my old bike as part of 'for sale' prep while my new one snickered in the background. I don't name my vehicles or get overly attached to them, but something about this whole process is sad. The old Honda is/was my first bike.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 05:37
|
|
|
Changed the oil and replaced a broken oil filter cover stud on the GF's bike, then time for washy washy
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 11:26
|
|
|
Noticed my rear right indicator was out and did some troubleshooting while waiting for the ferry. The bulb's filament wasn't broken, and the left indicator worked when I swapped the connectors. I decided to test the connection when I got home. Turns out the insides of the indicator were rusted to poo poo. Same with the left one. Went to Cyclegear on Sunday to pick up some new ones and a pair of connector leads. They're not that great at properly labelling certain things. They listed this as a suzuki connector:  It's Suzuki or Yamaha. They listed this one as Yamaha:  It's another Suzuki or Yamaha connector. Luckily I knew which one I needed. Got home, put on the indicators, plugged everything in and was met with glorious, blinking lights. Sure, they're *technically* not DOT approved, but they're a lot brighter than my stockers. Tidied the cables up and put the plastics back on. Something about troubleshooting, isolating a problem, rectifying it and having everything work in the end makes me feel 
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 15:57
|
|
|
Before:
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 17:06
|
|
|
VTNewb posted:Before: Can't wait to see thei  when it's finished.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 17:15
|
|
|
Pope Mobile posted:Noticed my rear right indicator was out and did some troubleshooting while waiting for the ferry. The bulb's filament wasn't broken, and the left indicator worked when I swapped the connectors. I decided to test the connection when I got home. Good to know some places stock them. Any idea if they had three prong ones? The fronts were three prong iirc ( you have an fz6 as well, yeah?)
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 17:43
|
|
|
You mean three prong like the first one pictured? If so then yes. I have an FZ6 and that's the one I grabbed. I knew it was a rip-off at $6, but I didn't feel like soldering wires that day. They had a couple of other connectors (listed as Honda and Kawasaki) but I didn't bother checking those out. I actually have the leftover connectors still if you want one. I'm assuming the front indicators have the same connection as the rear? Shoot me a PM and I'll mail them too you. Hell, I can probably put them in a standard envelope and just throw stamps on it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2012 19:00
|
|
|
Upgraded my rectifier from the stock shunt style to a Shindengen MOSFET unit. Voltage at idle is now 14.45 and stays constant when I rev the motor. Before it was 13.5 and dropped to 13.2 when revving. Didn't need to do the upgrade but a failing rectifier can take a stator with it and I wanted to avoid that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2012 00:07
|
|
|
Ordered new fork seals, front/rear brake pads and a speedometer cable to try and get it all sorted before the baby comes in November. Now I got to figure out if the slight knock at idle is is a timing chain needing adjustment or something much worse.. Might as well check the valve shims while its apart. evilnissan fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Sep 11, 2012 |
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2012 02:52
|
|
|
Replaced the distractingly bright anodized-pink footpegs on my 636. All of a sudden the bike looks like a real motorcycle.
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2012 03:11
|
|
|
the walkin dude posted:Replaced the distractingly bright anodized-pink footpegs on my 636. All of a sudden the bike looks like a real motorcycle. Real men wear pink. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2012 03:47
|
|
|
Stripped the covering from my replacement wire loom, cleaned and tagged all the connections. Rewired the new loom to add a fuse block (my stock harness has only one master fuse  ). Removed my old coils and plug wires.Tonight, I'll re-wrap the new harness, install some sexy Dyna green coils and new plug wires. NBD
|
|
#
?
Sep 12, 2012 16:27
|
|
|
Crayvex posted:Even with the air box off I don't see how to get to the adjustment screws other than through dumb luck. Alright I'm retracting my earlier statement. I did one today and there is in fact a way to get to them but it requires a long skinny screwdriver and the removal of a lot of parts. I got to clean the carbs on a 2000 F4i today. Then bench sync them, then sync them on the bike, after making sure the timing was perfect and fixing the choke. That's after diagnosing WHY the bike was only running on three cylinders. I think I'm only getting paid for an hour diagnostic fee  Then I rebuilt the carbs on a ninja 250 and that made my day all better  Tomorrow is going to suck though. 60k service on a VFR. that means valve adjustment and cam inspection on a v-four GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Sep 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2012 03:41
|
|
|
f4i's don't have carbs silly  You mean an f4 right?
|
|
#
?
Sep 13, 2012 04:07
|
|
|
Did ~160km running some errands. Although only 2 (B: getting gas, C: getting my M license paperwork handed in) were actually mandatory
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2012 14:22
|
|
|
Chris Knight posted:Did ~160km running some errands. Although only 2 (B: getting gas, C: getting my M license paperwork handed in) were actually mandatory Come up through Barrie sometime... Some nice roads north and northwest of here Thread relevant: Glued on the little trim strips used to clean up the edge of my months old fender chop.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2012 17:22
|
|
|
Replaced the stripped bolt on my oil filter cap and change the oil on my bike for the first time. Also learned what happens when you overfill it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2012 18:28
|
|
|
Tamir Lenk posted:Stripped the covering from my replacement wire loom, cleaned and tagged all the connections. Rewired the new loom to add a fuse block (my stock harness has only one master fuse So that turned out to be a much bigger PITA than planned. Spent all weekend shuffling the harness to fit it. Then couldn't start the fucker. After confirming every drat connection to be legit, I figured out that when I re-routed my grounds, I did not maintain a ground for the starter relay/solenoid.  But, after hours of wiring, I know every one of those fuckers like a well-used porno mag. So now my electrics are tight, with new coils and plug wires, a better set up for the stator and R/R, and an actual fuseblock, instead of the ONE FUSE FOR THE WHOLE BIKE set up that Suzuki used at the factory.  Seriously, with the old stock wiring set up, one loose turn signal wire or bulb in a gauge light could short and kill the entire bike. AMHIFK 
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2012 18:59
|
|
|
New chain and sprockets, new rear brake pad. shouldn't it have lasted more than 15,000 Kilometers? Though I have no idea why the cheapest option for chain and sprockets was the Triumph kit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 08:50
|
|
|
theperminator posted:New chain and sprockets, new rear brake pad. shouldn't it have lasted more than 15,000 Kilometers? 10k miles is probably at the lower limit for a chain and sprocket, but it's heavily dependent on the conditions you use it in, how you ride, how often you oil and adjust it, etc. It's also way long for a brake pad IMO, but again a lot will depend on riding style. (The fact that OE is cheapest might suggest why you got so little life out of the chain and sprockets though)
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 12:16
|
|
|
Depends on how much you use the back brake. I seem to engine brake where I see a lot of others use the back brake. As such I'm pushing 8k (mi) on my rear pads and they've still got plenty of life. The fronts which I did at the same time were toast though, barely a scrap of material left. Replaced them last night, Christ, what an improvement. EDIT: as a possible point of interest, I swapped from EBC sintered pads back to the OEM Brembo ones. The EBCs were functional but the Brembo ones feel much more assertive (read: wooo stoppies like it used to). ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Sep 18, 2012 |
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 12:55
|
|
|
Yeah I think I'll replace the fronts soon. I'm still running with the pads it came with. And yeah, my bike had been out in the elements for a while combined with the fact that I've been negligent when it comes to maintenance. The new chain is an RK 525GXW chain though, which is better than what the bike came with.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 13:00
|
|
|
This happened yesterday really, but I re-registered my bike after putting my rego and insurance papers somewhere safe (i.e. I have no loving idea where they are but my rego lapsed like 4 months ago, as I discovered a few weeks back while I was washing her in preparation for a ride ). Expected it might take an hour or two but it ended up taking over 3 to get everything sorted. Then I realised that the new number plates wouldn't fit on my bike as the holes didn't line up with those on the bike - luckily I realised before I left the counter at the registry as the guy serving me gave me temporary exemption to ride without plates. Boy did I feel like an outlaw on the way to my parents' house to drill the new plate and remove the restrictor from my pipe! I didn't get pulled over, though so I didn't get to wave my piece of paper.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 14:19
|
|
|
goddamnedtwisto posted:10k miles is probably at the lower limit for a chain and sprocket, but it's heavily dependent on the conditions you use it in, how you ride, how often you oil and adjust it, etc. It's also way long for a brake pad IMO, but again a lot will depend on riding style. I got 22k mi out of the brakes on my vstar before I sold the bike, and they still had life in them. The buell is going on 8000mi since I put in pads with more than half the pad wear left. I think riding style comes into play a lot with brakes too.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 16:11
|
|
|
Tamir Lenk posted:So that turned out to be a much bigger PITA than planned. Spent all weekend shuffling the harness to fit it. Then couldn't start the fucker. After confirming every drat connection to be legit, I figured out that when I re-routed my grounds, I did not maintain a ground for the starter relay/solenoid. Now I figured out that I am dumb, since my new wiring plan for the grounds was wrong. It worked, but I was trying to achieve some optimization and did it wrong. It's all good though, just had to spend a few hours re-routing the grounds. Most of that time was spent figuring out a good frame ground point that was close to the R/R easy to reach with the ground wires, and didn't put wiring too close to moving parts, carbs, etc. Now my poo poo is ideal with all grounds (except the starter) running to a frame ground point or directly to the R/R, leaving only the R/R ground and starter ground going to the battery negative. Charging system optimized.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 16:18
|
|
|
Nicely done. Now that you're an electrical pro and a Chitown goon perhaps I can bribe you with beer to help me out on this winter project: I want to replace all this stuff:  With this cool spaceship looking thing that I can order with blue backlighting:  Motorcycle part of speedometer, digital speedometer for motorcycle and scooter on Aliexpress.com I haven't taken on anything of this size before. I'd like to leave an easy road to go back to stock in case "2012 popular motorcycle meter SS182" ends up being a piece of poo poo. Splices and extensions are easy, but working in additional sensors that are not stock is leaving me mystified.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 18:00
|
|
|
Halo_4am posted:Nicely done. Now that you're an electrical pro and a Chitown goon perhaps I can bribe you with beer to help me out on this winter project: Changing gauges is pretty easy, and you should be able to rig it so that it plugs into the connectors your old gauges used. Then when you SUPER EXCELLENT Laotian equipment fails, you can go back to stock.  Can't tell from the pictures, but what other sensors does the new gauge add? Do you have mechanical or electronic tach and speedo on the bike? Does your bike have a gear indicator? You won't be able to really add that IMO. hit me up at tamirlenk [at] gmail for more stuff.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 18:12
|
|
|
ReelBigLizard posted:Depends on how much you use the back brake. I seem to engine brake where I see a lot of others use the back brake. As such I'm pushing 8k (mi) on my rear pads and they've still got plenty of life. The fronts which I did at the same time were toast though, barely a scrap of material left. Replaced them last night, Christ, what an improvement. I use engine braking a lot, and just put enough pressure on the back brake to trigger the light, I almost never use the back brake on it's own and as a result have pretty even wear - but I only get about 5k miles out of them. Mind you most of my miles are urban so obviously that's a lot harder on them. Interestingly I had the exact opposite experience changing from OE Aprilia (I *think* they're Ferodo) to EBCs - now I've got them properly bedded in they're loving ferocious, like getting close to locking up the front with two fingers. EBCs are notorious for glazing and going all wooly if they're not bedded in properly though. Speaking of brakes and what I did to my ride - just spent half an hour stressing over what felt like a warped rear disc, I could feel a pulsing through the pedal whenever I touched it. Was just about to the point of trying the smoke test when I noticed a mark on the frame behind the footpeg - turns out my new boots are slightly bulkier and have a slightly less flexible sole than the old ones so they touch the frame when I'm braking and transmit the engine vibes through to my toes.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 19:29
|
|
|
goddamnedtwisto posted:Was just about to the point of trying the smoke test.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2012 22:26
|
|
|
kenny powerzzz posted:What exactly is the smoke test? Old-fashioned way of working out what and where is rubbing. Rub charcoal on the part, put it in position (or in this case spin the back wheel), see where it gets rubbed off. It used to be done with a tallow candle or kerosene lantern (both of which generate a lot of soot), hence the name.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2012 07:30
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 03:19 |
|
|
Soon after I swapped out the bars, I got a little extra cash to put on the pod filters for the air and cranckase. They are not the best, but I had only had that Honda 350 Twin before this, so I didn't have the money to buy pods at $150 or so a piece. More of a practice run with these, really. No problems getting everything hooked up in a timely manner. I did the removal and install before work one morning. The thing about the pods is that we will never escape the two camps on the issue. For every two or three "More hassle than they're real worth" guys, you will always see the "No problems here" guy. There's the standard circular logic of primarily pods to get easier access to the carbs, carbs need work because of the pods, etc... ...but the stock air box is this monstrous looking gently caress on KZs. So not only does it look good, but I have access to the carbs should I need it. What I never see when you have people bickering over pods on cycle forums is a matter of elevation. I bet almost all the people saying that they're a pain in the rear end, and you HAVE to re-jet, and the carb will never be quite right live towards the coasts primarily, or at least in really low elevations.  This bike sits proudly at a mile high in elevation, with much thinner air. The bikes I've put pods on have gotten a boost from the pods with little to no tinkering (I adjusted the carbs on the way to work with this set) and no flat spots. Meanwhile, trouble struck just a couple days ago. The entire day I'd been thinking that the clutch lever 'felt a little off' while riding. Well, just as I was formulating a plan to order some spare cables Just in case, the clutch lever gromit thing snapped off in the middle of traffic. At least it waited for me to get off the freeway. Of course, no shops locally had the cable. It's supposed to be here in a day or two, hopefully. Lucky for me, I read the Cycle Pictures and Videos Thread, and I was within a couple miles of a hardware store.  It's been working remarkably well, but I also haven't been going more than a few miles at a time. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2012 15:36
|
|
