Tommorow im gonna be doing my first DIY maintence and im a little pumped and nervious. I gotta...
1. Change the oil
2. Lube the chain
3. Tighten the chain
4. and though some of you may dissagree in doing this, stiffen the suspension
What are you going to do with the other 23 hours and 45 minutes?
1. Easy
2. Easier
3. t'was OK
4. What's wrong with that??? I set it to the highest. Of course I'm 208lbs.
I hate you guys, but yeah im about 205 as well, tell me how does it handle with the tightened suspension
PS she is my baby and the fear of screwing her up scares me
also how many quarts are in the gs on average. I just want to know how long it'll take me to drain it into the storm drain without anyone noticing
Quote from: TadMC on June 19, 2006, 08:00:40 PM
I hate you guys, but yeah im about 205 as well, tell me how does it handle with the tightened suspension
PS she is my baby and the fear of screwing her up scares me
I weigh in at 130 and I cranked it up to the 6th position on the shock. Noticeable difference. I bumped it up to the highest position, #7, when I was at Deals Gap. Noticeable change.
better or worse?
Quote from: TadMC on June 19, 2006, 08:13:22 PM
better or worse?
Why would I have gone stiffer if it made it worse?
So yeah; better, much better than stock at least.
Yeah the stock suspension is pretty squishy. I've had to crank all the gs bikes I've had all the way up and I'm pretty lightweight being half bird and all.
one last thing
Linky to a guide to tightening the chain please :) :)
You need instruction? Come on man...loosen the axle, operate the adjusters in 1/4 turns (turning both...left one, then right) until there's only 3/4 inch of slack in the chain halfway between the sprockets, roll the bike 5ft, check slack again, adjust if necessary, tighten axle.
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 19, 2006, 08:22:41 PM
You need instruction? Come on man...loosen the axle, operate the adjusters in 1/4 turns (turning both...left one, then right) until there's only 3/4 inch of slack in the chain halfway between the sprockets, roll the bike 5ft, check slack again, adjust if necessary, tighten axle.
Our bikes have a chain tension of .8-1.2", but aside from that, he's right.
LOOK i just want to make sure I dont screw this up ok
You guys shoulld be saluting me not making fun of me
Quote from: TadMC on June 19, 2006, 08:28:37 PM
LOOK i just want to make sure I dont screw this up ok
You guys shoulld be saluting me not making fun of me
Just some friendly ribbing, that's all!
You have some sig work to tend to before either of us cares if your feelings get damaged...
:laugh:
Before I cranked it to the highest position, I didn't know any better. I decided to try it, and it made a HUGE difference. I was gonna do the front forks, but since I'm planning on a new bike, I don't wanna spend too much on the GS
damn, it didnt work. So nobodies worried about my feelings?
You know, yall could be my girlfiends then.
Most important things about changing the oil filter:
* Make sure the new O-ring doesn't come out of the groove. If it does, it will get pinched between the oil filter cover and the crankcase, leaving a gap and causing a leak. In fact, if the old O-ring is free of pits or cuts you can just leave it in till next time.
* Don't crank down on the oil filter cover nuts! The oil filter cover is spring-loaded, so push it up against the crankcase with one hand while hand-tightening the nuts with the other hand. Then add about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn with a wrench. Use a 1/4"-drive socket wrench if you have one ... it makes it easier to not apply too much torque. The pressure from the spring helps keep the nuts from vibrating loose
without tightening them so hard that you shear off the threaded stud.[/list]
^The cover should be reinstalled with a torque wrench...15lbs, tops.
I can't believe everyone but Kerry remembered to mention the filter cover bolts.
That wouldv'e been BAD
Also dont make the same mistake i made when changing oil.
When you pour new oil in dont fill it to the F mark on a dipstick, because new oil is cold, and when you ride it becomes warm, expands and goes way over the F mark. I had to get some of the oil out after the change and it wasnt so pleasant.
So just keep the oil level above L mark, you can top it after it is fully warmed up.
Also when checking oil remember that the bike has to be on centerstand and level surface. Just a little bit lean angle gives very innacurate measuring results. That made me overfill the engine the second time :nono:
Change the order of the list of things to do:
(If you were going to...) Clean the chain
Ride the bike
Check your chain slack in at least three places (pretty easy since you have three spokes).
Adjust your tension at the tightest point, as Mak stated.
.8-1.2"
Change the oil, dump in 3qts (you'd better have a fourth quart...)
Ride the bike
Lube the chain
Adjust the suspension
Check oil level, add if neccessary
Ride the bike again
Check chain slack again, as suspension changes can potentially change tension.
Now, the reason I have you do the chain adjustment first as it will affect suspension travel, I want to make sure that you get a good feel for how the suspension feels before and after the changes, without interference of the chain. And, again, as it may not even affect the chain tension, but it doesn't hurt to check to make sure.
do you have a haynes manual yet? i highly reccommend it. that way you don't have to rely on people like kerry who remember every little detail and remind you not to strip bolts. you can use it for the easy procedures to start and then move on to more complicated things as your confidence improves. DIY is not too hard, especially on the GS. it just takes patience.
WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!
Well I did it with a little something extra.......
I started witht the chain. Did my messurement on the chain.... hells yeah it was loose. Anyway got it tight and aligned... No more squealling when i hit the back brake. Holy smokes a tight chain makes a difference in suspension. Then i did the supension adjustment that was pretty easy.
Then, oh yeah, then....... I did a fenderectomy and holy shaZam! it looks good.
I figure the next thing I do is going to be the progressive spinging. cuz now the fronts really soft and the backs hard.
Oh yeah. I have the clymer book on the gs and its a ton of help.
I can think of another reason its a big day tmra :icon_mrgreen: Its my Bday! and Thursday is my full motorcycle license test day! :thumb: whew busy busy. Good look with teh wrenching!
OK, so I just went out to check my bike- preload is set at 4 (big surprise there!)
So I pulled the manual out, check it, pulled the tool out of the tool kit, put it on the center stand... and looked and tried and looked and tried...
How do you adjust it??!??! HELP! :dunno_white:
Its a hard fit for that spanner,
I did it by laying on the left side of the bike while its on its center stand. Attach the spanner to the adjuster and make sure the grip on the spanner is between the swing arm and the chain and then twist HARD toward the handle bars.
Quote from: ExYankee on June 20, 2006, 12:29:27 PM
OK, so I just went out to check my bike- preload is set at 4 (big surprise there!)
So I pulled the manual out, check it, pulled the tool out of the tool kit, put it on the center stand... and looked and tried and looked and tried...
How do you adjust it??!??! HELP! :dunno_white:
If you want some help I'm in San Antonio regularly and will give you a hand with whatever you need.
Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on June 20, 2006, 12:39:05 PM
Quote from: ExYankee on June 20, 2006, 12:29:27 PM
OK, so I just went out to check my bike- preload is set at 4 (big surprise there!)
So I pulled the manual out, check it, pulled the tool out of the tool kit, put it on the center stand... and looked and tried and looked and tried...
How do you adjust it??!??! HELP! :dunno_white:
If you want some help I'm in San Antonio regularly and will give you a hand with whatever you need.
You just want to go to his house and eat all of his snacks and drink all his soda
Quote from: TadMC on June 20, 2006, 12:40:54 PM
You just want to go to his house and eat all of his snacks and drink all his soda
Not my fault we don't have any here.
OK, went back out and looked at it again-- taking off that rear tire spash shield made all the difference ... do'h! 2min later I had it set to 7!
AlphaFire X5 -- thanks for the offer! A :cheers: to you!
Congradulations!
Quote from: TadMC on June 20, 2006, 12:06:50 PM
I figure the next thing I do is going to be the progressive spinging. cuz now the fronts really soft and the backs hard.
www.peterverdonedesigns.com/introduction.htm
Quote from: ExYankee on June 20, 2006, 12:52:27 PM
OK, went back out and looked at it again-- taking off that rear tire spash shield made all the difference ... do'h! 2min later I had it set to 7!
AlphaFire X5 -- thanks for the offer! A :cheers: to you!
Oh yeah I forgot i had to do that too
any one else have problems geting the rear spring to 7? i could only get it to 5, and i am 230 and 300 with gear (camping) this thing is a SOB and poor enginered.
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 20, 2006, 02:34:23 PM
any one else have problems geting the rear spring to 7? i could only get it to 5, and i am 230 and 300 with gear (camping) this thing is a SOB and poor enginered.
I got mine to 7. It took a little effort, but not too much.
PS my girlfriend loves the federectomy, she said that the bike look sleaker but couldnt point out why
well after a while she pointed it out though
Quote from: makenzie71 on June 19, 2006, 07:58:17 PM
What are you going to do with the other 23 hours and 45 minutes?
:laugh:
Quote from: annguyen1981 on June 19, 2006, 11:34:47 PM
I can't believe everyone but Kerry remembered to mention the filter cover bolts.
That's because Kerry is The Man :thumb:
Tad - Glad you got it all set. Rock n' Roll :icon_razz:
Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on June 20, 2006, 02:50:43 PM
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 20, 2006, 02:34:23 PM
any one else have problems geting the rear spring to 7? i could only get it to 5, and i am 230 and 300 with gear (camping) this thing is a SOB and poor enginered.
I got mine to 7. It took a little effort, but not too much.
Same here, but I didn't have to take off the chain guard
Quote from: annguyen1981 on June 20, 2006, 06:26:34 PM
Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on June 20, 2006, 02:50:43 PM
Quote from: rangerbrown on June 20, 2006, 02:34:23 PM
any one else have problems geting the rear spring to 7? i could only get it to 5, and i am 230 and 300 with gear (camping) this thing is a SOB and poor enginered.
I got mine to 7. It took a little effort, but not too much.
Same here, but I didn't have to take off the chain guard
Likewise, just a bit of muscle (what little I have) and some trickey working of the c-spanner.