What have you done for your bike today????

adidasguy · March 15, 2011, 01:45:45 AM

Trey got a Sito slip on muffler this weekend. Sounds great. Still quiet but nicer sound than stock. Thanks to scottychop and centuryghost for their help.
Added R&G muffler guard. Probably would look better with 2 so I should order some more. 1200*F paint for headers coming in from Eastwood so they'll get painted black next week to cover up the slight rust.
Went to garage to find the engine bars for someone else and found the Renntec rear carrier so I took 2 minutes to put it on Trey to see how it looks. Not bad. It all depends on where Trey fits into the scheme of things: Suzi is the "SUV" for trips and going to the store, Junior is the "sportster" for having fun and Trey - well - still deciding his ultimate purpose. More mods to come as parts arrive from Europe. He will be purple for a while. I got the whole set. Then maybe red with the pink squiggles since I have a new tank and found the matching tail. Then ...... his final destiny! Into the unknown! The original factory "E" model full fairing? Keep him sexyt and naked? Gimbel or Raask rear sets? Or do them all by getting a 4th GS500

scottychop · March 15, 2011, 07:17:40 AM

If anything, that rack will be great for carrying parts back and forth to my house!

murf425 · March 15, 2011, 09:25:59 AM

I arranged for a buddy to paint her, which will be a much better end result than if I pressed on with doing it myself. It's gonna be showroom-quality by the time he's done with her...and all for a couple hundred bucks.

Cosimo_Zaretti · March 15, 2011, 09:42:13 AM

Quote from: Anaconda on March 13, 2011, 07:28:00 PM
went on a 200 mile ride through the santa cruz mountains today and learned at the end of the ride to put the petcock into Prime, so it doesnt starve itself to death when riding an incline on the freeways! My butt has been killed by the hard stock seat, so I may be looking into adding some sort of gel cushion to put some comfort to the buttocks.

On a side note, riding along liter bikes are insane b/c I never saw them after my first few turns... though it was my first ride in that route

Just don't leave it on prime while the motor's off, and if you do notice it got left on prime, pull the dipstick and check for gasoline in the oil straight away. Learn from my fail. It sounds like a bandaid solution to a fuel flow issue to me, but I guess you already know that.

madjak30 · March 16, 2011, 08:06:10 PM

Ordered a new rear tire for my bike today...should be mounted by tomorrow...I'll post some before and afters when I get the tire back on...

Later.

madjak30 · March 16, 2011, 08:58:01 PM

Wow...I just went out to the garage and removed the rear wheel to take to the shop tomorrow...could that be any easier??? The diagrams in the manual make it look a lot more complicated than it is, I think it took me 15mins...and I had my tools put away again...BIKES ARE AWESOME!!

One question...the sprocket has some play to it...there are some rubber bits shown in the exploded view of the hub assembly, is the play supposed to be there and the rubber bits just keep it from making noise...or should it be tight like the brake rotor?...I thought the whole thing would be bolted tight..

Later.

adidasguy · March 16, 2011, 09:39:35 PM

It comes right off and there is some play. The cush drive is there to provide some cushioning between the engine and rear wheel. My dealer said the rubbers rarely ever need to be changed. I had a new set when I had them put on new tires. They said no need to change them. You can change them if you want to.

ragecage23 · March 17, 2011, 10:20:36 AM

Quote from: madjak30 on March 16, 2011, 08:06:10 PM
Ordered a new rear tire for my bike today...should be mounted by tomorrow...I'll post some before and afters when I get the tire back on...

Later.

I need a rear tire too...were you going to have a shop put the new tire on? or were you going to do it?

murf425 · March 17, 2011, 10:27:39 AM

I haven't done anything yet today, but I'm spending my St. Patty's night drinking beer in the garage while I install my new centerstand and clean/lube the chain.

madjak30 · March 17, 2011, 02:46:31 PM

Quote from: ragecage23 on March 17, 2011, 10:20:36 AM
Quote from: madjak30 on March 16, 2011, 08:06:10 PM
Ordered a new rear tire for my bike today...should be mounted by tomorrow...I'll post some before and afters when I get the tire back on...

Later.

I need a rear tire too...were you going to have a shop put the new tire on? or were you going to do it?

I got the shop that I bought the tire through to put it on...since I bought the tire through them they gave me 30% off install...tire, install and recycle charge and taxes...$135...pretty cheap...makes me want to keep the GS...

Later.

tt_four · March 18, 2011, 06:52:55 AM

Got my new valve shims, stuck them in, and even with just having the carbs apart it fired right up. For the first time in a year it looks like the choke actually works properly too! That's the most exciting part of it all haha.

murf425 · March 18, 2011, 06:55:44 AM

I spent yesterday afternoon cleaning/lubing the chain, tightening it up, and figured out that by twisting the bars down a bit, I get a much more comfortable riding position.

ragecage23 · March 18, 2011, 10:23:33 AM

Quote from: madjak30 on March 17, 2011, 02:46:31 PM
Quote from: ragecage23 on March 17, 2011, 10:20:36 AM
Quote from: madjak30 on March 16, 2011, 08:06:10 PM
Ordered a new rear tire for my bike today...should be mounted by tomorrow...I'll post some before and afters when I get the tire back on...

Later.

I need a rear tire too...were you going to have a shop put the new tire on? or were you going to do it?
I got the shop that I bought the tire through to put it on...since I bought the tire through them they gave me 30% off install...tire, install and recycle charge and taxes...$135...pretty cheap...makes me want to keep the GS...

Later.

Gotcha, I was going to have a shop put mine on too, they said $25 but if I could keep that $25 and do it myself I'd rather do that haha

plewis51 · March 18, 2011, 08:20:32 PM

Got my bike naked tonight

bkrtim · March 18, 2011, 08:23:46 PM

Washed it. Well, to be honest, I went for a long ride and it started raining just before I got home so I pulled into the garage and wiped it down. As close to a bath as she's had so far this year...

madjak30 · March 18, 2011, 09:27:04 PM

Installed the new tire...looks nice...adjusted the chain tension...clean the chain tomorrow and re-check the adjustment (never done it before, so a little nervous about first attempt...

) and lube cables, then try to start it for the first time this year...could be good, could be tough...only time will tell...now it's beer time...woulda said Miller Time, but I'm having Sleeman's Honey Brown...waaay better!!

Later.

ragecage23 · March 19, 2011, 09:27:18 AM

I also just ordered my rear tire, I'm tired of slipping around on the wet tarmac.

lucifer_mr2 · March 20, 2011, 04:33:00 AM

Stopped procrastinating and finally did some of the maintenance I should of done a while ago. Nothing major, just 4 weeks since I gave it a look over. Turns out the reason my cornering might of been a bit off, 25psi front and rear. Oops.

madjak30 · March 20, 2011, 09:35:31 AM

I got the chain and rear sprocket all cleaned up and re-lubed...but I couldn't get it running (forgot to charge the battery)...put the battery on charge overnight, it's charged, but it snowed 2-3" overnight and is still coming down...

...oh well, I guess I can wait a few more days to go for a ride...

I don't think the previous owner had ever cleaned the chain or sprocket, they were disgusting...did you know the sprocket isn't painted black...it's actually natural aluminum?? who knew??

Later.

mike__R · March 20, 2011, 01:54:03 PM

I got the majority of the components from the old frame on to the new frame, and got it to start & run. Still a lot of work to do but progress is being made.

News:

What have you done for your bike today????