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Brad
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« Reply #18 on: April 10, 2010, 07,56:16 AM » |
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Folks,
With two weeks to go time to service the machine. Here are some idea's to jog the memory WRT maintenance and having a great weekend.
Tips on annual Bike Servicing
With the annual AMTRA 2010 High Country Ride approaching I thought I would do those yearly maintenance items on the bike to ensure it’s safe and reliable.
Some of this includes doing the general maintenance items on the bike. I built up a list, allocated a few hours at nights and weekends went to work on doing it. This is by no means a definitive list and may vary based on type and age of the bike, personal preferences or riding style. If I keep on with the maintenance it will make sure the bike keeps going for long after the others have checked out. Here is my list and some comments.
Oil
Most modern bikes have a small engine oil capacity so you need to ensure that the oil is changed regularly. You should change the engine oil at regular intervals. Some people change it per 10 hours of operation and others use longer intervals. If on a typical day trail ride you do between 6 and 8 hours of riding so you could change the oil after each ride or at to every second or third ride. If you’re not sure how many hours you’ve been riding it’s not a bad idea to put an hour meter on you bike.
Air Filters
One of the most common problems is poor air filter maintenance. Always clean your air filter after every ride. If it’s really dusty you should give it a clean at the end of each day’s riding. Doing this enhances performance and significantly reduces fuel consumption. When you clean your filter make sure you oil it with good quality filter oil and always grease the face of the filter that seats onto the airbox. And remember it’s best not wash you air filter in petrol as it damages the finer particles of foam in the air filter. Use Mineral Turpentine and then rise it out with hot soapy water is how I clean out the old filter oil and the Turpentine residue. Let it dry before you re-oil the filter. Filter skins are also an option on multi day rides, just remember to change them.
Suspension
If you’re not racing and just doing casual rides there are a couple of things you should definitely do to keep your bike in good shape. It’ll also be safer and better to ride. Service your suspension every 12 months. This in involves changing the oil in both forks and mono shock. Forks are not too hard but the mono shock usually requires special gear to do the job.
Swing Arms
Every 12 months remove your swing arm and grease the bearings. Especially if you have been doing a bit of wet riding or have a Yamaha.
Wheel Bearings
Commonly these are overlooked. Firstly see if you have any sideways wheel movement when the wheels are on the bike, if so it’s usually worn wheel bearings. Further check the bearings every time you pull off your wheels by putting your finger in the hole and giving them a spin, if they feel notchy or tight also replace them.
Wheel Spokes
Run around the wheel with a screwdriver and check all the spokes for damage and wear. Now check they are tight by tapping them with the screwdriver like your playing a Xylophone.
They should all make a similar pitched noise, any low note ones are loose and need to be tightened with the spoke spanner.
Steering Head Bearings
Pull out the steering head and grease them every 12 months.
Valve Clearances
Check the valve clearances against the workshop manual every 12 months and adjust as required to keep the bike within the required tolerances.
How much tyre pressure should I use?
Firstly one of the best things you can buy to prevent flats are Ultra Heavy Duty tubes. They have a really thick wall and you can just about ride them flat so you can easily vary your tyre pressure to suit riding conditions without the risk of getting a flat. Under wet conditions you can drop tyre pressure down to as low as 8-12psi. This will help with traction especially on hard slippery surfaces. Under ‘normal’ riding conditions 12-16psi is a good all round pressure that will suit most riding conditions. With standard tubes a higher pressure is best to reduce flats. If you’re going to be riding in particularly rocky conditions, like in the high country you can run pressures up to 18 psi but keep in mind that when your hitting off camber logs and your running higher pressure you can expect a loss of traction.
A Few More Tips!
FORK BLEEDERS
You shouldn’t overlook these little critters, look at the list of things they help out with.
1. As forks build up pressure, they make for a harder ride that causes fatigue to the upper body/arms and also a harder ride in rocks and the like, with the simple push of 2 buttons on the top of the forks, pressure is released and life is good.
2. Air build up in the forks creates pressure that can lead to fork seals weeping, by releasing the pressure, this helps to lengthen the life of fork seals, don’t forget to clean out the fork wipers occasionally, especially after wet rides.
3. How many times have you got to your destination, only to find the seals are leaking? By releasing the pressure once bikes are tied down on the trailer, it will neutralise the pressure and not leave a puddle of oil in the back of the Ute or trailer at the end of the trip.
BARRISERS
The ergonomics of a lot of bikes seem to be suited to shorter people especially when standing, if you are over about 175cm (5’9”in old speak), try raising the bars, either by putting on genuine or after market bar risers, or fitting hi-rise bars or both. By doing this it will make you want to stand up a lot more, as your standing riding style is more natural, rather than being all hunched up and trying to ride with your head tilted back to look forward.
FOOT PEGS
A similar effect can be achieved by fitting footpegs that can be lowered below the standard footpeg height; lower pegs can also help to reduce cramping when seated as your legs are not as bent. Yamaha riders can lower there standard pegs by hack sawing off the spring spacer and relocating it to the top portion of the peg, you then swap the footpeg springs from side to side, and presto, your pegs are approx. 12mm lower and a little further back, you can use the Yamaha pegs on KTM’s as well as Honda’s, or you can buy aftermarket pieces that will do the job.
BREATHER HOSES
As a lot of people would of find out trail riding, 4 stroke bikes with Keihin pumper carbies will get in a bit of deep water and just stop. Reason is they have 4 breather pipes, 2 from each side, when these go under water, they will create a vacuum and suck a dollop of water and drop it in the bowl, right under the main jet. The fix is to take the drain bung out and go. To stop this happening, get one of the pipes from each side, it will be one of the two that are T’d together, and take from below the carby and run up high. Problem fixed.
RUTS
Some people seem to love to ride in single lane deep ruts. I had a mate say one day that the track was too rutted out, and I said, just stay off the main line, come in wide, cut across the rut in the corner and come out on the inside, or vice versa, or just stay wide or tight all the way around. By doing this you will have a better, smoother ride and you will be easier on the country by helping to keep the track spread wide instead of a deep single lane rut cut in the ground. The mate came back in and said the ride was way better, only problem now for us folks, who use the whole track, is we’ll have to look harder for a good line at the next trail ride. .
Something for you!
Here are some quick tips that may make the ride a bit more comfortable and lees fatiguing.
Replace your boot insoles with some “Sorbothane” or “Superfeet” insoles.
Get your seat repadded with more comfortable foam.
Wear some ride motorbike padded shorts or bicycle shorts to give some padding
Try wearing some longer socks to stop boot or knee guards from chafing.
Get a pair of “Underware” Kevlar glove liners to prevent hands from blistering
Rub a wax candle or Dry Ease on ALL of your clothing and bag zips to stop them sticking and breaking
Clean your boots occasionally and inspect for damage. Rub some Dubbin into the leather sections to keep out the water and to make them more supple so they bend rather than crack.
Hit the local Snow Ski shop and buy a “Ski Gee” to wipe off rain and mud from your goggles when riding in wet conditions.
Sew up the holes in the Jersey and pants keeps more crap out that way and occasionally wash them.
If you have a helmet with a removable liner, throw it in the washing machine. Smells better! Some people spray the chin strap with deodorant.
Buys goggles with replaceable lenses and change them once they are all scratched up. Also try some other colours rather than clear like blue.
Get a fender bag and put the front tube (does both wheels in an emergency), repair kit, leavers and pump in it to get some of the weight off your back.
Drink lots of Gator or Power Aid and water, before, during and after a ride to stop headaches and leg cramps.
Summary
We all know this stuff but don’t always have the time to do the work and all of us prefer not to breakdown on the trails or on multi day rides like the HCR. Find the time to do the work, it pays.
Being retrieved with a broken bike or left behind at camp and watching your mates head off is painful, especially if you travelled together and have to wait for their return to get home.
Happy Trails!
Brad
2005 article way back on the AMTRA web site by Dennis also said similar things!
Here are some tips on what to do to your bike over the summer holidays to make sure it keeps going reliably.
Summer Bike Maintenance Routine
By Dennis Dorman – February 2005
Regular maintenance of your trail bike is essential to prolong its life and to avoid the inconvenience of breaking down out on the trail. A regular maintenance routine can also maintain peak performance of you bike, to keep it performing at its best, leaving no excuses for poor riding except for you, often the weakest link in the chain of performance on a ride. So every summer, over the Christmas/New Year period, when there are usually no scheduled rides and it is too hot and dusty anyway, I take the opportunity to do some regular major servicing of my bike.
Following are the things I do each year, in no particular order:
1. Change the fork oil. This is a fairly easy job to do. The handbook I got with my WR450 provides a very clear step-by-step guide on what to do – just bypass the steps on replacing the seals, etc. Other manufacturers, like Suzuki also provide good workshop manuals. Here is a précis of what I do. There is no need to fully disassemble the forks. Just remove the forks from the bike then remove the top cap – best to loosen it before you undo the bottom triple clamp. The outer leg of the fork will then be free to slide down. Remove the top cap from the inner fork shaft and then remove the spring. Watch out for the thin shaft down the middle of the main shaft – this is for the rebound damping adjustment – treat it carefully so you do not bend it. Drain the old oil (maybe some black sludge). You will need to pump the fork up and down to get all of the old oil out. Then wash out the fork (I use Turps) and allow them to fully drain and dry. Make sure every thing is very clean. Add the new oil to the specified height. You will need to pump the fork inner shaft many times to make sure that the oil is worked through the mechanics of the fork with no air locks. Then re-install the spring and top cap. Tip: wind off the rebound fully before tightening the end cap onto the inner shaft. For measuring the oil height there is a simple tool that you can make – more another time on how to make this tool.
2. Grease the Steering Head. While you have the forks off, it is a good time to undo the steering head, inspect it and add grease. This was a particular problem with my previous bike, an XR400. It may have been due to where the oil cooler is located, but I found that after 12 months I usually found the lower steering head bearing in a sorry state. Thankfully I was early enough so that all it needed was a good wash and new grease. This is also something you should do on a new bike before you take it out. You don’t really need a special tool, just use a nail punch on the slotted nut. Do not over tighten it as the steering will bind. It always seems to get tighter when you tighten up the locking nut to the specified torque. It usually takes me 2 or 3 times to get it right – turning freely with no slack.
3. Grease the rear suspension linkages and swing arm. Again this is something I do on a new bike before I take it out. The factory is very frugal with its grease. This is not a difficult job, particularly after you have done it once. Just follow the step-by-step instruction in your handbook. If you bike did not come with a detailed workshop manual (like you get with a Yamaha WR), I suggest you go buy one – it will be a good investment and save you mega bucks that the bike shops charge for some of these tasks. Experience with an RMX proved that very regular maintenance of the linkages was critical, requiring a clean and grease at least twice a year. On the other hand my old XR400 never had a problem. My 1 year old WR450 was also in good nick this Christmas, but still worth the relatively small effort to pull the linkages down to inspect and regrease with waterproof grease.
4. Other general maintenance tasks. This is also a good time to perform some other tasks, some of which are also carried out during the year as required:
§ Change the engine oil and filter – I usually do an oil change after about 3 rides or 300km, depending on riding conditions. I change the filter every second change. Some may think this extreme, but I recon that oil is relatively cheap and it cops a beating on some rides with some of those big hills or deep mud.
§ Lubricate your cables – clutch (if not hydraulic) and throttle. A cable oiling tool (a simple little gadget you can get from your favourite accessory distributor for about $10) is required. Just use this with one of the commercial cable lube products in a pressurised can.
§ Wheel bearings. While you have the wheels off to do the other jobs above, pop out the seals and re-pack with waterproof grease. In fact every time you take a wheel off at home, add some more grease. Always lightly grease the axles, as this makes removal easier next time.
§ Air filter. Wash and re-oil. You should do this after every ride, at least in summer or dusty conditions.
§ Sprockets and Chain. Inspect for wear on the sprockets, particularly the front. Also check and adjust the chain as required, but never make it too tight. A chain that is too tight, not only shortens the life of your expensive chain and sprockets, it can damage your main shaft bearings.
§ Tightness of nuts and bolts. Check the tightness of all nuts, bolts and screws (other than those on the engine itself). Use lock tight on things you find loose. This is really something you should do at home before every ride to avoid delays on the trail.
Brad
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