Hello all and thanks

[GSJosh500f]

What's up everyone. My name is Josh and I've been stalking a long time but never posted. I bought a 2004 GS500f about 2 months ago and I've been loving every minute of it since. I passed the MSF last week and got officially liscensed  . Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks to all who regularly contribute to this site. It has been a HUGE help to me, being a motorcycle novice and generally no experience in fixing cars, motorcycles, etc. In the past week I have changed my oil, both tires (to Avon Roadriders), and did a chain clean and lube  . It may not sound like a big deal, but it's definitely new to me, and I wanted to say thanks for this great resource (along with the wiki site). You guys rock

[the mole]

 

[tt_four]

Sounds good, most people who have been riding would've even know how to change a tire. I'm about to attempt it for the first time myself after almost 10 years of riding(yikes! just realized it's been 10 years already). I've changed thousands of bicycle tires, so I figure how much worse can it be. Did you balance them yourself too?

I also have no idea about engines either, but I just got through fixing up a GS that hadn't been started in about 4 years with peoples help on here, as well as looking through the wiki, so you'll figure it all out. No rush. My biggest problem when I was new to working on bikes was stripping bolts, so my biggest recommendation is to buy a torque wrench, but get one you'll actually know how to use. The first one I bought had a round handle, and you were supposed to twist it, then tighten the nut on the end, and the measurements weren't even numbers, they were completely random. It was just as confusing as you are after reading that, so I never used it, and just kept ripping threads to peices.

[GSJosh500f]

Yeah, I balanced them myself too. I bought a 2ft threaded rod from Home depot and 2 large hex-shaped metal spacers that I found in the hardware section, then found a spot in my driveway that was level, stacked up some cinder blocks, put the threaded rod through the newly dressed wheel with the spacers on each end to keep the rod from rolling around on the blocks and just allowed gravity to do its thing. Balanced both tires without a problem that way, plenty accurate for me anyways. I sorta see my new bike as a great reason to save some money on sending it to the stealership and learn some skills at the same time. It is very gratifying so far.  

Also, is it really necessary to have a torque wrench? It seems to me that a regular socket set and some caution should do the trick. Maybe I'm wrong...

[drincruz]

welcome! 

+1 on already putting in some work on your bike. it really makes a difference to really understanding your bike. 

stay safe.

cheers,
~drin

[tt_four]

Sounds good about the wheels. I need to make sure I remember to pick up some wheel weights when I order my new tires, as well as some tire levers.


As far as the torque wrench, it depends what you're gonna be doing. You don't really need one for the axles or the oil drain plug. It doesn't hurt for engine cases and things along those lines.

The things I remember stripping on my old bike.... One of the bolts that holds the valve cover on, 3(!!!!) of the 6 bolts that held the fuel injector plate to the bottom of the gas tank, which isn't an issue with the GS. One of the engine mount bolts, although that was fixed by using a longer bolt to grab the threads that were still good. Not sure what else. They were all random stupid things, and I grew up working on bmx bikes, where in most instances, the tighter the better since everything was steel instead of aluminum.

[Porkchop]

Welcome to the light.  I too just lurked and gathered as much info as I could before stepping out in the open.  Good job on doing your own work.

I get down to Norfolk now and then.  I'll PM you the next time.

-Porkchop

[bill14224]

Congrats on changing your own tires!  I used to change them on the enduro bikes I had when I was a teenager, but recently I tried it on my GS and I had a heluva time breaking it down and took it to the shop.  I guess I'm not very strong anymore, but I don't remember the tube type tires being nearly has hard to get off and on the rim.

[JB848]

Hey josh? Post pictures of your jig that you use. You could save people a ton of money and that's what this site is for.

P.S. Instructions in leyman terms to help:) I'd like to see how you do it. The son of buliding block stealerships charge an arm and a leg and scratch the rims to boot!

[GSJosh500f]

Hey josh? Post pictures of your jig that you use. You could save people a ton of money and that's what this site is for.

P.S. Instructions in leyman terms to help:) I'd like to see how you do it. The son of buliding block stealerships charge an arm and a leg and scratch the rims to boot!

Yeah sure man, I'll try to take some pictures this weekend and post up my $10 rigged up balancing station