The "Today I did something to my bike" thread

frozenfrozen

yesterday got two new tyres on. michelin power RS 120/70 front and 160/60 rear

wore the tyres around my waist like hoola hoops and it was actually handy enough. Brought the spent tyres home the same way

I had been putting wd40 on my rear shock preload adjustor rings for a week once or twice a day and with the help of the guy who was doing the tyres and a big hammer and punch now I have the preload wound all the way out on the shock and it actually squats when I sit on it now and when I go over a bump the rear tyre stays in contact with the ground

bike feels great. fresh brake fluid few weeks ago, oil and filter the day before yesterday, rear shock softened up to a usable level and now 2 new sticky tyres.

Next thing to do is fork seals. Not sure which kit to get but the guy out the road is doing them for me for a seriously sound price if I bring him just the forks and new seals.

Still haven't booked the track training day at mondello because all this stuff is pretty expensive at the moment so not sure if I'll be able to

Hotblack Desiato

Can't believe you were effectively riding a hardtail :pac: good that you got it sorted.

frozenfrozen

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Can't believe you were effectively riding a hardtail :pac: good that you got it sorted.

Was barely at all able to compress the shock even jumping up and down with the bike on the paddock stand it was only moving a tiny bit

Jackdaw89

frozenfrozen wrote: »

yesterday got two new tyres on. michelin power RS 120/70 front and 160/60 rear

wore the tyres around my waist like hoola hoops and it was actually handy enough. Brought the spent tyres home the same way

I had been putting wd40 on my rear shock preload adjustor rings for a week once or twice a day and with the help of the guy who was doing the tyres and a big hammer and punch now I have the preload wound all the way out on the shock and it actually squats when I sit on it now and when I go over a bump the rear tyre stays in contact with the ground

bike feels great. fresh brake fluid few weeks ago, oil and filter the day before yesterday, rear shock softened up to a usable level and now 2 new sticky tyres.

Next thing to do is fork seals. Not sure which kit to get but the guy out the road is doing them for me for a seriously sound price if I bring him just the forks and new seals.

Still haven't booked the track training day at mondello because all this stuff is pretty expensive at the moment so not sure if I'll be able to

Any pictures of you talking the tires home😂

Max Headroom

frozenfrozen wrote: »

yesterday got two new tyres on. michelin power RS 120/70 front and 160/60 rear

wore the tyres around my waist like hoola hoops and it was actually handy enough. Brought the spent tyres home the same way

I had been putting wd40 on my rear shock preload adjustor rings for a week once or twice a day and with the help of the guy who was doing the tyres and a big hammer and punch now I have the preload wound all the way out on the shock and it actually squats when I sit on it now and when I go over a bump the rear tyre stays in contact with the ground

bike feels great. fresh brake fluid few weeks ago, oil and filter the day before yesterday, rear shock softened up to a usable level and now 2 new sticky tyres.

Next thing to do is fork seals. Not sure which kit to get but the guy out the road is doing them for me for a seriously sound price if I bring him just the forks and new seals.

Still haven't booked the track training day at mondello because all this stuff is pretty expensive at the moment so not sure if I'll be able to

Ya b0ll0x....couldnt get a 20" tyre around my waist.............:(:(

frozenfrozen

Have a picture on the way there I stopped for petrol



Unfortunately my skills do not extend to taking pictures of myself on the bike while hoola hooping 2 tyres

They were actually comfortable you can lean into them I'd nearly bring them for the support if I had to do a full day on a motorway

Max Headroom

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Have a picture on the way there I stopped for petrol



Unfortunately my skills do not extend to taking pictures of myself on the bike while hoola hooping 2 tyres

They were actually comfortable you can lean into them I'd nearly bring them for the support if I had to do a full day on a motorway

Theres a lot to be said for morbid obesity ......:D

frozenfrozen

Actually got out for a spin on the bike just a little while ago.

Might as well be a new bike ho Lee **** it's so easy to ride now

Hotblack Desiato

There's a reason why clued in amateur racers given 1000 euro to spend on engine, tyres or suspension, will spend it on suspension every time... your sticky tyre or mega tuned motor is no good if the back tyre is in the air!

Hotblack Desiato

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Actually got out for a spin on the bike just a little while ago.

Might as well be a new bike ho Lee **** it's so easy to ride now

Did you buy it like that or did someone put a new shock in like that?

frozenfrozen

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Did you buy it like that or did someone put a new shock in like that?

the old shock was just ****e, this 'new' one was a 20 euro or something hand me down job that I installed myself but the preload adjustor hadn't been moved in probably 5 years and it was seized with a lot of preload on the spring so it was hard as fook

feels so good now I can't imagine what a properly set up bike on good suspension feels like. Couple of parts on my usual spin where I had to roll off over a few little hills etc but I was able to stay on the power no bother now

Hotblack Desiato

The shock was previously set up for a rider of 600kg there's no need to be fattist

frozenfrozen

Had a nice spin Saturday got to properly try out the new tyres, they are indeed unreal. Limerick to killarney, through mallow, across the Vee, the big left hander coming out of dungarvan! kilmeaden, to carrick on suir. Spent probably 50 euro on petrol though, every fill up I was putting in the same number as a zzr14 ffs

Sunday set off straight into properly heavy rain and I experienced the SV325 bug again where rain goes into the spark plug hole on the front facing cylinder and you get half of an sv650, an sv325. It's like the most scary version of traction control you could ever have. Because the front cylinder cuts in and out randomly

So there I was on this bucking horse, glasses fogging up with the first rain in 40 days and I pulled in to put in contact lenses and try to sort out the wet front cylinder, and what did I see? I'd lost my fecking rear seat cowl! I mustn't have clicked it back on properly after taking the waterproofs out. I ordered a chinese replacement one 40 odd euro and it'll be here by september. Won't make that mistake twice.

I need a new spark plug lead and cap but it's a once piece unit between the ignition coil and the lead so it looks like I'll have to get a new coil. My lead for the front cylinder has been cut down multiple times so it's too short to be cut again. And the cap itself is goosed, full of green stuff and it's been cleaned a few times.

it looks like the lead and coil are one unit. So I'll have to buy a new coil and a new plug cap. Thinking of getting an NGK cap and sealing around it some way rather than getting another OEM cap which I have found even when sealed properly apparently is letting water get in.

My drain hole is 100% clear, maybe the water is actually going up the drain hole. Or the cap and lead are so fecked from getting wet over the years just the tiniest bit of water getting at them causes the issue rather than water actually flowing down the hole etc..



Also going to order fork seals and bushings kit but need to figure out exactly what I should do for the coil / ht lead/ plug cap situation

Blanchy90

You should get a fender extender and that should help prevent the sv325 haha I'v been lucky so far and not had the issue with mine

listermint

Would a lather of Silicone Spray all over it not prevent much of this ?

frozenfrozen

listermint wrote: »

Would a lather of Silicone Spray all over it not prevent much of this ?

too late for that now there's green corrosion all up in the plug cap and into the lead itself and there isn't any more length to cut it back and start again with a new cap etc. But yep silicone grease will be going all over it when I fix it

Esel

You could try splicing in a new HT lead, or have an auto electrician do it.

frozenfrozen

The lead is wound into the coil. Not sure cutting and soldering on a new HT lead would be good for it? Think it would be cheaper/easier to go for a replacement oem used unit

I'm going to buy silicone grease and do that as a temporary fix anyway and see if it lasts.. Just won't be able to cut down the ht lead more so I'll have to spend ages scraping off the green stuff and carefully screw the plug cap back on

Esel

Look into it anyway. It might be a piece of cake if you can crimp or solder it and then heatshrink the join.

Edit: To clean the end of the old lead you could try soaking it overnight in cola.

arybvtcw0eolkf

I love my big R1200GS, bloody love it. But (isn't there always a but), the buffeting from the BMW screen is unlike anything I've experienced before (even worse than my old Vstrom, and that was bad).

So I bought a deflector, arrived from China today.

The build quality is excellent, really nice.



I haven't test rode it yet, but report and pix to follow tomorrow.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Following on from my last post.

I got to ride the bike today, and tried the deflector in different positions.

As I said earlier the buffeting on the R1200GS was terrible, so I bought a winder deflector/spoiler from China (€20 delivered).

Its really excellent quality, esp for this price (from two major European makers it would have cost me over €100).

So did it work?..

It completely transformed the ride. While sitting at motorway speeds (120kph) with the original screen I was seeing double unless I had my visor closed, and then I was being deafened with wind noise.

Now with the deflector/spoiler I was sitting in complete calm air and could easily hear the engine buzzing under me.

Brilliant, well worth it.

GBX

Looks like a clip on job yeah? Will you throw up a link ? Ta

Max Headroom

Cayden Defeated Thunderstorm wrote: »

Following on from my last post.

I got to ride the bike today, and tried the deflector in different positions.

As I said earlier the buffeting on the R1200GS was terrible, so I bought a winder deflector/spoiler from China (€20 delivered).

Its really excellent quality, esp for this price (from two major European makers it would have cost me over €100).

So did it work?..

It completely transformed the ride. While sitting at motorway speeds (120kph) with the original screen I was seeing double unless I had my visor closed, and then I was being deafened with wind noise.

Now with the deflector/spoiler I was sitting in complete calm air and could easily hear the engine buzzing under me.

Brilliant, well worth it.

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

D3V!L

Max Headroom wrote: »

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

I'm snearing and looking down my nose at this cheap alternative to a perfectly good OEM branded original.

Also I'd like the link too, thanks

Sonics2k

Looks great Makikomi.

Where did you get it from? One of the lads at work was talking about this exact problem today.

blade1

Nice wind deflector Mak,do you want a sticker for it?:pac:

emo72

I wonder could I use one of those deflector thingies on my xj? I'm all about the comfort these days.

emo72

Max Headroom wrote: »

Shame on you....does it have BMW on it ..DOES IT.....People will laugh and small children will point at you....

Why am I getting a huge sense of deja vu from this post?

Max Headroom

blade1 wrote: »

Nice wind deflector Mak,do you want a sticker for it?:pac:

Doesnt need one...they come this way.....:D

arybvtcw0eolkf

GBX wrote: »

Looks like a clip on job yeah? Will you throw up a link ? Ta

Well its held in place with just four screws, the original screen is protected by rubber covers, there is no drilling holes.

LINK