maintenance

[firedan]

Ok, I finally got my first bike (can't believe I waited until 34), a '99 w/6700 miles.  It just clicked over to 7500 mi., so I looked at the maintenance schedule on GStwin and now I have some questions.  
What exactly is carburator synchronization-is it something I can do myself or should I bite the bullet and have the dealer do it?  Same questions about the adjust brake pedal height notation.  My mechanical skills are so far limited to oil changes and tire rotations on my car, although I have done more involved things in the past w/help.  I got the Clymer manual-is that enough?

[Kerry]

I got the Clymer manual-is that enough?

Yes, it's enough - almost.  The Clymer manual will take you a lot farther than you are prepared to go right now, into jobs you don't need to do yet.  But it will walk you through all of the basic maintenance jobs as well.

The only thing you lack to synchronize your carburetors is the proper tool.  You can buy one with glass tubes and mercury from folks like MotionPro (that's the kind I have) or you can make one for a few bucks with easily obtained materials (yardstick, aquarium tubing, etc.).  Use the "Search" button above to find various threads on the topic.

If you've never done it before, the worst part of the whole job is removing the gas tank so you can get at the carburetors.  And that is only a 10-minute job that you will eventually get the hang of and be able to do in less than 5 minutes.  It's a good idea to have a large fan to blow air around the engine (to keep the poor air-cooled thing cool) while you actually do the adjustment.  It also helps to have some sort of auxiliary fuel tank - here's a picture of the one I made from an automobile radiator overflow tank, tubing and a connector:



As for the rear brake adjustment, check to see if the pedal height even needs to be modified.  If so, I think you only need an open end wrench and maybe an allen wrench.

If you've read very many threads on this site, you'll know that most of us advocate putting in the time and effort to do your own maintenance.  You will know more about your bike and you will save a TON of money in the long run.  There will be the occasional job that you will want to farm out to the "pros" (cough, cough).  But you can almost ALWAYS find someone on this board who has done each task MANY times and who is willing to serve as a great supplement to your Clymer manual.

Welcome to GStwin.com, and best of luck with your bike!

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

[Kerry]

I went ahead and looked up a few past threads about making a tool to synchronize your carburetors:

Carb Synch tool  (Don't miss JeffD's link to a VERY easy tool)

DIY Carb synch with the aquarium tubing, ruler and motoroil

My $5 carb balancer...

Hope this helps!

[The Buddha]

BTW carbs dont fall out of synch...I have not synched it in my 89 and it has 40K+, I got it with 8K over 8 yrs ago...and its the damn smoothest GS motor I have ridden...So probably dont need to do it.
Cool.
Srinath.