Adventures in Motorcycle Maintenance! (rant/vent/TLDR warning)

[Watcher]

It all starts one day with this, which I'm sure many of you have seen:



3 Dynaplugs and still leaking, time to get new tires.  That's ok, would have needed new tires in a month or so anyway, been eying the new Michelin Road 5s!  But it came at a bad time, I had about a week until payday, payday is also pay-rent day, I had to special order these tires in my size, and I was missing some critical tools (like a front stand).  So, a coworker lent me this to use for the week:



Super fun to ride, but back to the job.

I start doing SOME of the work I can do, might as well, so I get to taking the rear wheel off.  Simple enough job, split the chain with a tool, couple of bolts, axle comes out, while I'm in there I use about a dozen or so cans of various cleaners and got my sprockets spotless (or damn near)!  Also, I've never seen a cush-drive like this, thought it was interesting.  Sort of over-engineered if you ask me, but it works.




Now is when stuff starts to go sour.
Thursday is payday, Thursday is when my tires come in, Thursday I'm off, Thursday I'll have access to a car basically all day, and Thursday is a day my manager isn't in town, and noone else can ring me out (oh, I work at CycleGear, that may have been important information).  Under rare circumstances the Assistant can ring employees out, and despite my efforts I couldn't get him the permission.  So I have to do the job Friday after work, I won't have access to a car until the evening, and it's under a tighter time constraint.

So Friday I buy everything I need.  I buy the front stand, my new chain (a gold RK 520 XSO-ring chain), some other small supplies, and my tires, spend a little more than I was planning (it's worth it, and I can live on $100 for two weeks), and race home to get to work.  Lift the front of the bike up, and realize I don't have the proper socket for the front axle (need a 28mm, my biggest is like a 23mm).  My ride will be available in like an hour anyway, and I want to keep busy, so I'll work on the chain! 
The chain is 120 links, I only need 100, so I measure it, measure it again, measure it a third time, clamp the chain breaker on it, measure it again just to be sure, grab a push-pin out of the box, set the tool, measure it again for good luck, then start pressing the pin out.  About half way through I get some decent resistance, but the tool has a junky rod for leverage so I grab a 3/8 drive ratchet and a socket and start cranking again.
About 3/4 of the way through it gets hard to turn with the ratchet, so I stop for a second and try to back the tool out.  It won't back out.  The pin is stuck in the chain.  I think well, it's 3/4 of the way through, if you can't go back, keep going forward.  Grab the 1/2" drive ratchet, really start cranking on it.  Goes about a half a turn then stops tight.  Now I get really sketched out.  Happened to look back in the chain breaker box, and I notice something alarming.  I grabbed the riveting pin, not the knockout pin, and just pressed an enlarged hardened pin about 3/4 of the way through my new RK XSO chain!  In a moment of desperation I tried running the tool in reverse, putting a chain pin on the back side of the tool and press the chain onto it.  It starts to bend the tool.  Then I try to back the tool off the chain by unscrewing it to draw the push-pin out, I end up breaking the handle off the chain-tool then end up stripping the threads out.  Now I have a horrible half chain half chain-tool piece of $80 garbage ($200 if you aren't me), and I toss it in a heap in a fit of rage and storm inside to get a little cleaned up (and also a little whiskey) 
Ended up going back for this picture after I cooled off.




Well, my ride gets home, so I hop in the car and head to the local Harbor Freight to buy a 28mm socket.  It's like 20 minutes away but it's worth it to save the money compared to what I can only imagine is a $30 socket from Sears.  I look up and down the socket isle and don't see anything individual, but I see plenty of sets for dirt cheap, however none of the sets contain a 28mm socket.  They seem to skip 28 and 29 and go straight from 27 to 30.  Stepping out of the isle I see the back wall has impact grade, so I walk over there and take a look.  Partial success, I see individual sockets, but once again 27 and 30 and no 28.
I start to walk out and as I'm headed back past the sockets isle a man in a uniform walks past and greets me.  I say hello in response then ask if he has a minute to help me, to which he doesn't even react and keeps walking.  I say "excuse me!" and he just keeps walking.  I jog after him and shout "Hey!  Can I get a hand!?"  He stops and laboriously turns to face me.
I say "I'm trying to find a 28mm socket, do you know if you carry one?"
"We don't carry individual sockets"
"Yes you do, I was just at that wall {points} and saw individual sockets."
"Well those are impact grade..."
"... That doesn't matter.  All I need is a 28mm socket."
"Yeah, I'm not sure, I can get someone to meet you over there."
"Fine."

I stay put and he walks across the sales floor and pops through an open door to the back room where I watch him have a 2 minute long conversation with another employee.  She starts walking my way so I start to head towards her, but she turns down another isle before getting to me.  So I think "F&%$ this noise" and walk the hell right on out, write a 1* review on Google Maps.
On the way home I see a Lowes but think it'll be stupid expensive.  On a whim I try an AutoZone.  Night and day difference in customer service, in and out with a 28mm socket in about 45 seconds, only $8, win.  Harbor Freight, a TOOL STORE that specializes in selling TOOLS, no 28mm socket.  AutoZone, a CAR-PARTS store that just happens to sell some tools, 28mm socket with a lifetime warranty.  Go figure.

Like and hour and a half later I finally get home, take the front wheel off, load the car, head in to work again, buy a new chain tool and a new chain (this time an RK GXW high performance chain, no more XSOs, and I wasn't going to cheap out on a chain, spend like $80 but I don't even care anymore), and go to the tire machine.  It's in use, set of offroad tires, those usually take longer because of the tubes and such.  So I have to wait like a half hour, meanwhile daylight is burning.
Finally get to mount my new tires on my wheels.  This actually goes fairly well, took an ounce on the front and a half on the rear, and the Road 5 carcass is surprisingly supple which made the mount super smooth.
Head home and by now it's pitch black out so I just get cleaned up and go to bed.


Today is the day I finally finish the job.  I get up a little early, and out of curiosity open up the new chain to have a look...
There's no master link in it.  There was supposed to be.  The box was sealed, I cut it open, there's no master in it...
Why am I NOT surprised!?  Of course there's no master in it, why would there be?  I'm only out $80 for a new chain and tool and STILL can't even finish the job!

So at work today I scoured the bin of RK master links.  I find an EXW master, not a GXW.  Whats the difference?  EXW is an offroad chain, the master is not compatible with my street chain...
I call around some other local shops looking for a master, no luck.

At this point I'm fed up and just want this job done.  I figured that an RK 520 street chain is an RK 520 street chain, the only major difference between the XSO and GXW might be the type of o-ring.  The GXW says it was rated for high performance and racing use, and specified being strong enough for 1400+cc, while the XSO was just a street high performance chain but carried the same horsepower rating.  My Monster is a 750 and I probably make less power than a modern 600, so I decide that while the master is already the weakest link the XSO is more than strong enough, if it'll fit in the GXW roller I'm going to use the XSO master on my GXW chain.
First things first, I get the wheels put back on, then I shorten the chain making sure to use the CORRECT pin this time.  Then I take an extra link out of my scrap to scavenge the o-rings off the GXW, and I set the chain up with those o-rings and the XSO master.  Press it together, looks good.  Flare the pins, looks good.  Twist the chain, feels good.  Try and wiggle the chain, feels good...
Set the slack, clean off the factory grease, apply the new chain lube, double check tire pressure, it's time to ride!  Out of the parking space, around the apartment complex, nothing feels bad, nothing sounds bad.  Stop to gather up all my tools and grab a quick pic.



Finish cleaning up, get into my gear, go around the apartment a little more, this time with more speed.  Still feels good.  Head down the road and buy gas, then head around the neighborhood.  Still feels good, I think I'm confident that the XSO master isn't going to cause any problems here, so I start to pick up my speed.  Got her up to 80, no issues, now I start hitting the turns with a little more confidence, and damn, riding the DRZ made me forget how much that Monster likes to TURN!

The Road 5s felt good for all of the 10 miles I rode on them, I'll have to comment on them when I get more miles on them.


Anyway, paid my rent and now I have literally, LITERALLY, $5.89 to last me until next payday, two weeks from now.  Good thing I have a full tank, a good stock of Ramen, and about 1.5 dozen eggs in the fridge.


Thinking of a way to recoup my loss with that chain situation, I might split the chain up into small 3-5 link sections and sell them as keychains, it's a shame to just throw it all away, and it might help me survive the next couple of weeks.


Don't do what I did, kids, plan your job a little more in regards to tools you'll need vs tools you have, and don't destroy the tools and equipment you have by pure negligence.  This could have been a couple hour job that left me with $100 or so leftover, and I turned it into a 2 day job that drained my bank account...

[mr72]

I have had similar stories like that many, many times over the past 25 years but mostly mine have been lots of cars and a couple of bicycles.

Once we took a Saturday (me, my dad, and a friend) to swap the clutch in my 240Z. Whole job took like 5 hours, then when we were done, I discovered the collar that the throw-out-bearing attached to comes in three different heights for that car, and the pressure plate also comes in corresponding three heights, and I had the incompatible parts. Car wouldn't go, we had to leave it a week while I sourced a used part. My wife had to drive me to work that whole week.

I also learned that Autozone, or Advance (which is right by my house), each have single sockets as you say lifetime guarantee and even oddballs under $10. I have many of them from one or the other store. But also Home Depot and Lowes do the same. And Walmart believe it or not, those Stanley tools are identical to H-D's Husky and have a lifetime warranty exchangeable at any Walmart which are everywhere.

Once I went to put an alternator on our old BMW 530i, should have been a 2-hour job wound up taking over a week because BMW had multiple alternators fitted to those cars and each had it's own mounting bracketry so I had to go back to the used-BMW-parts yard about three times before finding the correct bracket to match the (used) alternator. And then that alternator failed after about a month. Once, right after I had swapped THE ENGINE and everything else associated with it in my Miata during what was a nearly complete restoration job, the starter went out. I had to go buy all of the 3/8" extensions and U-joints you could find and cobble up a tool to reach those bolts holding it on in this little crevasse between the transmission tunnel and the power plant frame. I swear pulling the engine would have been quicker and easier. Took 8 hours to swap that starter.

The last time we struck horror on a repair, I was helping my daughter's then boyfriend swap the clutch in his Mazda, we booked an entire weekend. Everything went great until one of the CV shafts refused to come out. We spent a couple of hours trying to get the parts separated then gave up for the Saturday. Sunday hired a mobile mechanic to come bail us out, and he couldn't do it either, but at least we got the rest of the job done sans one CV shaft and an axle. The BF had to take a bus back to College Station. Took two weeks to get new parts in that cost nearly as much as the car when adding in the MM's labor.

I could go on and on. This kind of thing happened to me at least a dozen times. I had problems doing what should have been a 2-hr spacer lift job on my Jeep just a year ago. Had to go get special tools in the middle of OIL CHANGE jobs on my Jeep and my daughter's Fiat. I refuse to change the oil on the Fiat ever again. Over and over. Now since I have a MC I can afford to keep my cool and let a job sit over night or over a week because I have backup wheels either way. My wife doesn't have to drive me everywhere or we don't have to share a car, and the days of us having one car between us are fortunately long gone. That, and I work from home 90% of the time. Sometimes you pay your dues long enough, it pays off I guess.

Glad you are back on the road!

Come to think of it, I should probably figure out if I need a new chain on my GS. And the clutch slips when the bike is hot and you upshift with more than about 1/4 throttle. And I discovered yesterday the rear brake switch is not working. I actually kind of want a whole bike.

Hey maybe the resident Cycle Gear expert can answer this one: can I get thinner cheek pads for my Sedici Strada? It's the only thing about that helmet I don't like. Specs say you can, but I can't find a way to order on the CG web site. I guess I could take it into the store.

[Watcher]

Hey maybe the resident Cycle Gear expert can answer this one: can I get thinner cheek pads for my Sedici Strada? It's the only thing about that helmet I don't like. Specs say you can, but I can't find a way to order on the CG web site. I guess I could take it into the store.

No, you can't get thinner cheek-pads on the Strada.  That being said, you may have the version of the Strada with "adjustable" pads.  Pull the pads out and look on the back-side of them, there may be an exposed section where you can actually remove some of the foam.
Worst case, take the cheek pads out and put something heavy on them overnight.  I've even heard of people making cheek-pad and cardboard sammiches and parking a vehicle on top to help flatten them out.  Might be an idea.
Of course, if you can sew or know someone who does, can always split them open, remove some foam, then stitch them back, but that is pretty high-risk high-reward.  Could go brilliantly, could ruin the pads...


I feel like every "shade tree mechanic" has some horror stories like this, glad to have some support in the way of "we've all been there".

On the bright side I've been meticulously checking my master link and so far (25 miles or so) it doesn't show any signs of failing.  I've also played a little with the tire pressure and I think I got it dialed in at 34/38, bike feels like it really likes to turn in, feels really planted in the turns, but also feels like it rolls really nice and smooth in the straights.  Haven't even "scrubbed in" the tires yet but they already feel very confidence inspiring, even over my Road 4s.  Truth be told I think I'm still getting used to the Monster's riding position compared to the DRZ, as well, so the more I ride the more I loosen up the better everything feels.  Another couple of days and I think I'll be able to give a valid "initial impression" review of the Road 5s.

[mr72]

Thanks for the tips re: Strada. I pulled the cheek pads off and they had three layers of foam, one thick and two thin, affixed together with some easy-to-separate adhesive. I removed one thin layer and the fit is much better!

I went to do a little maintenance on my own bike, wanting to determine why the rear brake doesn't turn on the brake light, which led me on a wild goose chase to fix the tank that was about to fall off due to missing and loose screws on the bracket, which led to a fuel leak, which took half the morning to fix on Saturday, and eventually after spending like 4 hours with it I wound up not finding the brake light problem. Nice.

[Watcher]

I spent the afternoon doing this.



Still need another can of degreaser, but they're like 95% clean.  I'll probably stop by ACE later today and get a pack of key-rings and make these all into key-chains (eh?  ... eh?) 



Not sure if I'll do anything with the single plates, they just needed to come off in the process of making the key-chains and I dropped them in the bucket of degreaser as I went.

Thinking of asking $5/ea for these guys ($3 for the small ones).  Including the cost of degreaser and depending on the cost of keyrings I think that'll almost perfectly recoup my losses on this job.

[mr72]

Make the side plates into earrings or pendants or something. You could even get a set of letter punches and customize them with one-word or acronym cutsie text.

Set up an etsy shop.

You'll probably pay for your entire motorcycle with this project.

[Watcher]

Well, the idea was to make a few bucks to basically survive, here.  If I could afford a set of letter punches I probably would have just thrown the whole chain out, lol.

[mr72]

OK. Tiny motorcycle-themed wind chimes from the side plate?

Still think etsy shop will be how to move your stuff. And you can probably get $10/ea for the key chains.

Man I have so much old mountain bike stuff laying around, like probably at least 5 or 6 old wheel sets and maybe 20 cassettes, 15+ chain rings, cranks, pedals, etc., I should make an etsy shop and build a bunch of bike-themed decor.

Wonder if I can make my old GS500 carbs into lamps.

[The Buddha]

Watcher - you know most "normal" people would have just tossed it in the trash right ?
Cool.
Buddha.