What did you do to your bike today?

[kevin_stevens]

(stealing a popular topic from another forum)

Post up what you've done to improve the quality of your bike's life recently!

I bought mine a new hat:



KeS

[blurr]

Tank bag and saddle bags.

[Rhetorik]

Ordered the new ECU.

[GreyWolf]

Hooked it up to a cardiac arrest monitor (battery charger) so I can go ride when the friggin' weather gets back down below 105 degrees!

[PhilB]

I got my carburetors rebuilt, which, having been essentially untouched from new, was well due. Definitely made a difference.

PhilB

[kevin_stevens]

Had you had them synced regularly before, or do you think that was some of the difference?

KeS

[Justin726]

Nothing to exciting. A couple weeks back I put in new rear wheel bearing then threw on new sprockets and a chain.

[PhilB]

Originally Posted by kevin_stevens

Had you had them synced regularly before, or do you think that was some of the difference?

KeS

I hadn't really, but I think that was minor. It was more that after 185K, the emulsion tubes were badly worn oval, and some O-rings and seals were in need of replacement. The bodies and slides and needles were apparently still all OK. The mixture screws are frozen in place, though, so we have to put up with whatever they happen to be set at, unless/until I want to get new carbs.

PhilB

[LaurenOE]

I put two new tires on my KLX250s Dual Sport. D606s. Going to Georgia this weekend!

[Süsser Tod]

This topic reminded me of the... Vortex Media Group forums...

Either way, today I only rode it, je!

But yesterday I did a bit of manteinance on the Vulcan 900, the steering head was lose, so I had to tighten it, and for that I had to get a 30mm socket on Sunday... Sears is nothing, nothing compared to what Sears is in the US, they have a very small tool section, but I lucked out and purchased the only 30mm socket they had, weeee!!!

And also tried adjusting the preload on the rear spring. According to the service manual the less preload on the spring the softer the suspension will be, as expected, but I've been reading some guy's blog and he explained that on a Unit-Trak suspension (rising rate link), the more preload on the shock, the higher the bike will sit, giving the suspension more leverage against the shock, making the suspension softer...

But the PO had it set to the 6th hardest position, out of 7, so I didn't really notice the difference. Maybe next Sunday I'll try setting it to the lowest, and according to the service manual, it will be softer, according to the guy's blog, it will be harder... I know, usually I'd trust the service manual, but I've found it to be incorrect in a couple of things, so I'm willing to try it.

I also put a bit of touch up paint over some points that were showing rust, but while I was inspecting it, I found more rust spots... Specifically on the lower triple tree, so I'll have to remove it and pait it. I'm really not liking my Kawasaki ownership experience, both, the ER-5 and Vulcan 900 have more rust than all of my other bikes combined... Not even the crappy Chinese bikes that I had before had the rust issues that the Kawasakis are having. On the ER=5 I'll have to remove the rear brake lever, both kickstand and centerstand to sand them down and paint them, as the paint has been cracking and the bare metal is rusting, as of now it's only surface rust, and I want to stop it before it gets worse.

What makes it more frustrating is that in Mexico City we don't have a high humidty, nor are we close to the sea and no salt is used on the road, so the last thing I would be expecting to have trouble with is rust.