New member from Vienna, AuSTria (Europe)

ST1100Y said:
A logistical nightmare either way...
I need to take a day off, have the bike and a car (hence a second person) at the shed, throw the wheels into the car, get to the shop, etc...
Or make an appointment, drop the bike off, no you can't wait, we call when its done, grab a rental scooter to get home, pick my rig up again "somewhen" in the late afternoon...
35,- you might pay when you'd also buy the tires there...

So I can do it relaxed at the evening or on a weekend, carefully clean the wheel flanges, etc...
Click to expand...
What's a day off? I have been retired 16 years. I dont get days off.....Luckily, my dealer is only an easy 20 minutes away so I grab one of my cars and take the wheel and new tire over to them and pick it up in the afternoon. Do errends on the way....My dealer will usually meet internet prices on tires but I mostly I just buy them over the web. Gas is cheeper than milk here....the tire machine would be neat to have. My problem is that I have lots of things that are neat to have and I have had to add another garage and two storage sheds.....
 
ARKNT said:
Guilty. A week or two ago I checked my truck spare. It would have worked but was way low. I plan on doing better, I even built a tool to make it more convenient to lower the spare to access it. I have no excuse now.
Like anything there are good and not so good mechanics. I do think they are getting harder to find. I'm younger than many here but as age related issues happen it will be harder to do the required stuff.

Brad
Click to expand...
Maintenance gets to be a pain but if you have a separate calander on the wall or where ever, its easier. I have three cars, plus my wife's car, and three motorcycles. Every car and bike has a jump pack and that needs to be charged and tested . That's a whole lot of oil changes, and tire pressures to check. When I worked for the state patrol, the fleet manager had us vehicle "owners" turn in our jumper cables and we were issued jump packs. Cars have lots of expensive computers. One trooper took his jumper cables and tried to jumpstart a citizen's car. It started all right....but its alternator/regulator had "run away" and put massive amounts of voltage into the troop's car's electrical system. Made toast out of the computers. Maybe they are better protected now, but I like jump packs.....
 
That's the reason I bought a trailer. I drop the bike off and pick it up when it is done.
 
Bear said:
That's the reason I bought a trailer.
Click to expand...
:ROFLMAO:
Right, like this would cure the issues with workshop appointments and get to/from them... :sneaky:
Besides that I wouldn't know where to store such a rig in my slip of the sub-level garage...
 
Inspected the tire machine today (don't like having it to fail on my right during a job...)

Fixed a leak between water-separator and oiler by replacing the plastic(?!) seal with an O-ring...
(but found the oiler being factory filled (y))

IMG_20201121_144000.jpg

fixed some loose bolts on the kinematic...

IMG_20201121_140256.jpg

ordered a spare belt for the table drive...

IMG_20201121_134454.jpg

and discovered an undocumented feature... 😎

IMG_20201121_142522.jpg
 
Chucksklrst said:
Speaking of good or bad bike mechanics. MY mech seems to be pretty good when I can get him to work on my bikes. He is not always available. However he is a good instructor. He taught my daughter how to do normal maint. Now if he can get her to do it. Here are a few pictures of him working on my bikes over the years. Only problem is he is getting a bit older and his enthusiasm for working on motorcycles is waning a bit. 😂😂😂

View attachment 16915View attachment 16916View attachment 16917View attachment 16918View attachment 16919View attachment 16920
Click to expand...

I remember this guy from back in the day when he was a pretty decent NT mechanic. :)
 
So: why didn't I get it sooner?!! :unsure:

IMG_20201229_133827.jpg IMG_20201229_134757.jpg IMG_20201229_135307.jpg IMG_20201229_140622.jpg

I mean detaching the front calipers & removing the wheel takes longer as the process of removing old tire, installing new valve stem, putting the new rubber on the wheel and checking if it's still balanced... (y)
 
And unlike after getting tires changed by a "professional" (you'll need to ride on the motorway to warm it up, so the beads settle fully...), the brand new tire holds air right away... despite the bike sitting in the unheated shed... :unsure:
 
Another afternoon tinkering in the hangar...
Bottom shock mount (needle bearing) on my GF's NT showed a little play...
So out with the rear wheel (this time I left the exhaust/muffler attached 😉) and recovering the shock
Turned out that the bearing was completely dry... :unsure:

Fabbed a DIY puller with 2 sockets and a threaded rod, broke out the heat gun:

IMG_20210109_122527.jpg

Used the bench vice and heat to insert the new part:

IMG_20210109_123530.jpg

Again the socked to sink the bearing shell in:

IMG_20210109_123724.jpg

New gaskets and packed all meticulously with marine grease, that'll last...

While at it I also topped off the preload adjuster, which was missing like 1/3rd of the oil volume.
Now I've resistance after ~1/2 a turn (before it took like 7~8 turns...)

Fumbled the shock back into it's mounts and attached the bolts, all firm, no clicking when rocking the swing-arm up and down :cool:

IMG_20210109_134941.jpg

Next was oil & filter change, + checking coolant...

I also found the 5W bulb of the license-plate illumination had fully darkened inside the tube... :unsure:
Popped a new one in, but might consider a 3W replacement or even an LED drop in there, as this thing seems to overheat easily...


As the shop had nicely warmed up by then (the mobile 3-phase 5kW fan heater works nicely...), I attached the hand-deflector kit:

IMG_20210109_170620.jpg

IMG_20210109_170641.jpg

And, still some time at hand, added some overdue nose-art :sneaky:

IMG_20210109_171356.jpg


Still due is chasing/fixing a small issue in the radio/BT-interface wiring, lubrication of shifter-linkage and kick-stand pivot... and the 2021 season can come :cool:
 
Last edited:
ST1100Y said:
Another afternoon tinkering in the hangar...
Bottom shock mount (needle bearing) on my GF's NT showed a little play...
So out with the rear wheel (this time I left the exhaust/muffler attached 😉) and recovering the shock
Turned out that the bearing was completely dry... :unsure:

Fabbed a DIY puller with 2 sockets and a threaded rod, broke out the heat gun:

View attachment 17207

Used the bench vice and heat to insert the new part:

View attachment 17208

Again the socked to sink the bearing shell in:

View attachment 17209

New gaskets and packed all meticulously with marine grease, that'll last...

While at it I also topped off the preload adjuster, which was missing like 1/3rd of the oil volume.
Now I've resistance after ~1/2 a turn (before it took like 7~8 turns...)

Fumbled the shock back into it's mounts and attached the bolts, all firm, no clicking when rocking the swing-arm up and down :cool:

View attachment 17210

Next was oil & filter change, + checking coolant...

I also found the 5W bulb of the license-plate illumination had fully darkened inside the tube... :unsure:
Popped a new one in, but might consider a 3W replacement or even an LED drop in there, as this thing seems to overheat easily...


As the shop had nicely warmed up by then (the mobile 3-phase 5kW fan heater works nicely...), I attached the hand-deflector kit:

View attachment 17211

View attachment 17212

And, still some time at hand, added some overdue nose-art :sneaky:

View attachment 17213


Still due is chasing/fixing a small issue in the radio/BT-interface wiring, lubrication of shifter-linkage and kick-stand pivot... and the 2020 season can come :cool:
Click to expand...
My Kawasaki C10 had zerk fittings on the suspension pivot points. Nickel and dime stuff to install at the factory during production. Yet they dont. I wonder why?
 
Coyote Chris said:
My Kawasaki C10 had zerk fittings on the suspension pivot points.
Click to expand...
Honda's had such on the swing-arm tube for the bronze bushings...
My ST has drain plugs on the fork bottoms, eliminating the need for removal and flipping upside down when changing the oil...
But then again who does such these days? People get furious over the suggestion to replace the fork oil every 36Tkm... "WHY?! YOU DON'T DO SUCH ON A CAR?!" :rolleyes:

120198821_10157292331641850_451268156781667105_n.jpg
 
ST1100Y said:
Another afternoon tinkering in the hangar...



Still due is chasing/fixing a small issue in the radio/BT-interface wiring, lubrication of shifter-linkage and kick-stand pivot... and the 2020 season can come :cool:
Click to expand...


I think the 2020 Season has come and gone. Thankfully.
 
ST1100Y said:
Honda's had such on the swing-arm tube for the bronze bushings...
My ST has drain plugs on the fork bottoms, eliminating the need for removal and flipping upside down when changing the oil...
But then again who does such these days? People get furious over the suggestion to replace the fork oil every 36Tkm... "WHY?! YOU DON'T DO SUCH ON A CAR?!" :rolleyes:

View attachment 17221
Click to expand...
I rememeber fork drain holes in many bikes of the last century....trying to remember when they went away....
 
ST1100Y said:
Well, GF rides again for the 2nd week now (despite morning/night temps barely above freezing...)
Due the aerodynamic changes she claims that the engine now sounds different of course... ;)
Click to expand...

I swear by mine. I have had them installed for over 2.5 years now. I transferred them to DIVA's bodywork. I had to purchase a roll of trim tape and remove the old trim tape to be able to install them. Certainly worth spending the time and effort to reuse them.

Also, a taller and wider windshield makes a big difference during colder temperatures.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom