Major confession time....  

Richard came over tonight so we could check his steering head bearing and various suspension parts.  We were trying to nail down the problem he described in the thread Handlebar shimmies on high speed turns.

The front end checked out OK, so we moved to the back end.  Let's see ... manual says to check for leaks at the shock.  Um, OK ... no leaks ... BUT WHAT IS THIS?



I've been wondering whatever happened to my 13mm combination wrench.    POOF - two questions answered with a single stroke!  (At least we HOPE the shimmy problem is solved.  Richard is going to report back on his post-mortem midnight ride up Provo Canyon.)

The wrench is in great shape, considering.  It was wedged in tight, and to extract it we had to run a wire through the closed end and yank HARD while one of us weighted down the back.



Other than a couple of worn areas (from 3,000 miles    of rubbing), the wrench looks proud to finally be back on display in my Craftsman set.

Now I know what the surgeon feels like when he has to "go back in" after an instrument he left behind.  

EDIT: Changed link from sisna.com to bbburma.net.

OMG!!!!!

i cant wait to hear the "details"... from richard.

I guess I should have mentioned ... we used the wrench to install a Katana 600 after Richard bought the bike from me.

Just in case you were wondering how it got there in the first place.  

While in the Air Force, we had all our toolboxes shadowed, in order to make sure nothing was left behind in an aircraft.  After having a timing chain replaced in my old LTD, I found a small crowbar under the hood.  Considering what I paid to have the work done, I kept it.  I also have a nice collection of hand tools I've found while on long bicycle rides.  In other words, you're not alone.

Is the shock fine... they react badly to sideways load and sorta kink easy... Hey that was Richard's wrench BTW.
Cool.
Srinath.

hey kerry, it happens to the best of us  :mrgreen:
i have left wrenches under hoods of many many cars and then wondered "who stole my 13mm wrench?? :x "

Oh wow    That's pretty messed up!  Glad it didn't cause anything more serious!  And glad to see the wrench is safe and healthy

Remember kids, when wrenching on your bike, all little bolts and fasteners run immediately for that rear shock assembly area to hide.  So if you're missing any of those little buggers, go fishing with a magnet and flashlight.  They especially like to hide where the engine and the frame come close to meeting.

It was as much my fault as Kerry's that it got left there, since we were both working on it (easier job w/ two people)

After careful consideration of the differences in firmness, height, etc, I think I prefer the feel of the bike without the extra shock stiffener...  :lol:

Ironically enough, that didn't fix the shimmy.  I checked tire pressures, front was WAY low, and I think now that I fixed that it's okay     The bike rides so much better now... and between the change in rear shock and the fixed tire pressure (sorry, I'm still new at riding.   ) I'm re-learning how to take corners... and life is definitely good!

Richard

I have a friend who got a free 18v cordless drill when the repairman at his apartment complex left it behind.  He was moving out, so he grabbed it, just had to buy a charger     For all the things he put up with while living there, it was good compensation.

Quote from: richardI checked tire pressures, front was WAY low, and I think now that I fixed that it's okay     The bike rides so much better now...

Just think ... if you'd been checking your tire pressure on a regular basis I would still be without my 13mm combo wrench.  

Glad your ride is back up to snuff!  

:lol: Thanks, for the chuckle

Glad to hear about a cheap solution.
When i first got my GS i noticed the rear  felt unstable in turns at higher speeds and felt like it was slipping when i pulled hard on the throttle. I thought "this sucks, i don't like the uneasy feeling i'm getting" . the bike was just about brand new so i didn't think for a second to look at the tires and when i fianlly did while lubing the chain i saw some wood screws had found their way into the treads, they were stuck a little bit but not enough to puncture, like i had probably run over them at creep speed. Then i remembered the exact day and time i saw my landlord working on the front door of my building.....

At least I'm not the only one to find the story funny  :lol:

We have all done things like that  :mrgreen:

Better to leave something in than leave something out Kerry!! When I was 17, my old man decided to do me a "favor" and put new brakes on my '79 Toyota. He forgot to tighten the lug nuts (they were "hand tight"), and about 2 miles away from the house my wheel came off doing 70 mph on the highway. Good times!