Author Archives: AboutWr

Fork Oil Leak (February 28, 2013)

Posted on by

The slow oil leak that has surrounded my fork oil caps decided to expand yesterday.  Went for a ride & noticed I was having trouble braking … figured it was just old brake pads.  Went out this morning to go to the pobox & noticed oil on the ground by my front tire.  Yep, oil dripping down from the fork seals onto the rim, then onto the brake pads.  Nothing wrong with the pads, just that they have oil on them.

Found this nice tool online called SealMate (and it is not for seals) that you can insert into your fork seal, rotate around the tire (be careful not to crimp the tool), pump the handlebars about 10 times to reseat the seals & problem solved.  This works really well if your fork seal is not damaged, just if it is dirty.  What it does is pull the dirt out from under the seal so when you pump the handlebars the seal is reseated – no more leak.  Have since learned that you can use one as a template & cut more as you need them from 2-liter or 3-liter soda bottles.  1-liter bottles probably work well too.

20130228_forkoilleak_1828

Goodwill Bogner Pants (February 27, 2013)

Posted on by

Goodwill seems to be a great place to find used motorcycle gear, when they have it at the NW store.  I’ve seen a few jackets at other locations that are much higher priced than this location.

Bogner ski pants.  $15.00.  Their main line appears to be fruity-uppity high price ski pants that are made in Switzerland, or at least used be.  Seems they outsourced to China for a lot of things in recent years.  Not sure on what the retail price would actually be as all I can find are those $200+ fashionista pants.

20130227_goodwillbogner_1810

The Rack (November 11, 2012)

Posted on by

So I bought a UJM (universal japanese motorcycle) rack off ebay.  Supposedly came off of a Honda.  Doesn’t quite have the mounting holes in the right place so I made some extension bars out of an old curtain rod & secured the back end with a wood framing bracket I bought at home depot.  Also came with a sissy bar which I will add later.

20121112_rack_1022

Safety Jacket 2 (September 7, 2012)

Posted on by

Goodwill scores again.  Another armored riding jacket, removable armor.  $20.  Vented only for the warmer days, not really good for below 60 deg f though.  Frank Thomas brand (English) with the zipper on the wrong side.  Used to retail for about $150 also.

The Bad:  Can’t wear it about 80 deg F outside.  Too hot for that.

20120907_goodwilljacket_0488

Safety Jacket (August 26, 2012)

Posted on by

Dropped by my favorite Goodwill Store today & found a nice Teknic brand armored jacket for $25.00.  This retails (well used to retail) for $150.00.  No broken parts, no road rash.  Has winter liner too.

The Bad:  Can’t wear it about 80 deg F outside.  Too hot for that.

Update (January 2012):  The Good:  Everything else.  Works great in winter with the liner.  I’ve worn it when it’s been down to 28 deg F outside & been comfortably warm, at least the parts of me the jacket covers.

20120826_goodwilljacket_0409

Balancing the Carbs (May 24, 2012)

Posted on by

Somehow got it in my head that making a home made anemometer to sync my carbs was a good idea.  In principle this will work if the fluid you’re using is a) heavy enough, and b) your carbs aren’t so out of balance that when you turn the bike back on the cylinder with the most vacuum sucks the fluid right into the engine.

Ended up just buying a set of 4 gauges online for about $65.  Works fine & easy to use.  But for kicks, this was the “home made $1.50 carb sync tool” you can find on the internet.

20120524_homemademanometer_0061

Tire Cracks (March 26, 2012)

Posted on by

It’s always a little disheartening when you go to get on the bike & are looking it over to see if some motorcycle gnome has come for a part in the night & you realize, man those tires sure are cracked.  Noted this morning that both tires have more cracking in them than I feel comfortable when riding if I know they’re there.  And I know.  Had to a) put on the center stand, b) jack up the front of the bike, c) drop tires off at a place that will do motorcycle tires & then d) wait for them to be ready.

Found out the front tire’s slow leak was due to a previous owner putting an inner tube into a tubeless tire.  Fixed that.  Tire on front was manufactured back in 2006 and the tire on the back was manufactured in 2005.

20120326_jackedup_0854

20120326_tirecracks_0838

20120326_tirecracks_0846