What Did You Did To Your Motobrick Today ?

[F14CRAZY]

well yesterday...

I ordered another rear Shinko 230 Tour Master to replace my rear which has a nail in it. $85 from JT Cycle of Battle Creek, MI

[Scott_]

Today was warm enough to work in the garage so I installed my new clutch handle, pivot pin, and nipple.
Hopefully this will end my issue with breaking clutch cables....... 2 in 9 months is 2 too many.

[Scud]

They're bright, all right, Marshall. I've some on my cases, too. The bike really stands out in night traffic. That outfit that Scud mentions also sells neoprene face shield protectors. I keep my night shield in one of them and my day shield in another in my tank bag, swapping them when necessary. It's a heavy duty product.

I got a roll of black reflective tape - and used it judiciously on my Moto Guzzis (no special kit available). I like the pre-cut shapes from Moto Reflective, because they cover a lot of area and make unusual, attention-getting shapes. Plus it's nice to support independent guys who make cool stuff for bikes - such as the guy who makes the K-bike valve adjusting tools.

On visors:  I recently "splurged" by paying about $100 for a Transitions visor for my helmet. I'm really enjoying it, especially now that my morning commute is into the sun and my evening commute is in the dark. One of those would be a nice addition to the Christmas wish-list. Imagine no more visor swapping - and your tinted visor turns clear when you go into a tunnel - and several other pleasantly surprising scenarios.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Not today exactly, but very recently.  Put a mount for a Garmin Nuvi on my S bike.   Doesn't block the instrument cluster or finger access to the switches. 

Cut the ball off of a windshield mount and screwed it to a piece of 1/8" aluminum bent at 90 degrees.   A little black paint makes it look OEM.

[K1300S]

Great idea on the mount.  I may copy that.  Thanks.

Except I think I am missing that panel you mounted it to.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Buttoned up the fairing after hooking up a new horn and LED driving lights on the new S Brick.  Lights are super bright, and new RT horn is about 3 times louder than original.   Just need to paint the belly pan and get the Works Performance shock back from the shop where it's being rebuilt and recharged.

[Scud]

Which brand/model of lights did you go with? Can you give a ride-report on those?

I just drove 100 miles to Los Angeles airport last night (red-eye flight) and would have appreciated a bit more light up front.

FYI, I have the impression that the huge saddle-bag reflectors (posted earlier) have helped keep cars a few feet further back.

Free Parking is not just for Monopoly - here's the real thing at LAX:

[F14CRAZY]

Well last Saturday I had a new rear Shinko 230 Tour Master installed to replace the 230 that picked up a nail. Come to find out the nail didn't puncture the tire. Oh well.

I'm gonna check the alignment of the rear wheel. It seems like my rear tires aren't lasting like they should

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Which brand/model of lights did you go with? Can you give a ride-report on those?

Got them on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-10W-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Lamp-Driving-Fog-Light-Car-Motorcycle-Boat-ATV-/221950330172?hash=item33ad45453c:g:m6EAAOSwKIpWCPdd&vxp=mtr

I have them on all 3 of my bricks.  Excellent conspicuity lights, they are like welding arcs, and are impossible to not notice, even in daylight.  At night, they throw prodigious amounts of light.  The only problem I have with them at night is the side scatter from the beam.  It has a tendency to light up road signs so much it is difficult to see what is beyond them.  The scatter also seems to really light up the area of the low beam pattern which is good, especially when looking for deer along the side of the road.

Current draw is less than two amps for both of them, and they throw at least as much light as a 65w high beam.  They are compact and easy to mount under the chin of the fairing. 

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Which brand/model of lights did you go with? Can you give a ride-report on those?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-10W-LED-Work-Light-Spot-Lamp-Driving-Fog-Light-Car-Motorcycle-Boat-ATV-/221950330172?hash=item33ad45453c:g:m6EAAOSwKIpWCPdd&vxp=mtr

I have them on all three of my bricks.   Excellent conspicuity lights, they are impossible to not notice them even in daylight.  They are like the arc from a welder.

Less than 2 watts for two of them, and they put out as much as my 65W high beam.  Only downside I have seen with them is that the side scatter lights up road signs so much that it can be difficultt what is beyond them.

They are easy to mount under the chin of the fairing.

[Kontoboy]

Not all today, but finished it up this week...

A couple months ago on a late night drive home from work, a downshift on the off-ramp was accompanied by awful whirring grind.  A half-mile push home and pulling the tranny revealed stripped splines on the clutch disk.  I was so annoyed--I just had the tranny out 5k miles ago (bike at 22.5K miles) and the splines looked fine.  I reassembled and relubed with Honda Moly 60--the splines were dry on disassembly.

A new clutch plate went in and on reassembly I used a cocktail of Moly and Wurth 3000 ($25 for a lifetime supply).  Checking the drive shaft splines they did not look good (they received the same Moly lube 5K  earlier).  Since it is my daily driver I reluctantly put it together with my new Moly/Wurth cocktail while I developed a plan.

A new BMW drive shaft $450. Contacted Brunos and he wasn't taking any work "for a few months."  Another site no longer taking the work...

...I was running out of options.

I found Motobins.co.uk and ordered a replacement spline.  About $95 delivered.



Then searched for a shop to weld/assemble it on my driveshaft.  Not one local driveshaft or machine shops would touch it.  I heard lots of excuses about liability and not the right equipment. 

Finally I found a driveline shop in Winchester, VA about 75 miles away that agreed to take a look.  I mailed it priority mail Thursday morning.  Friday afternoon I get a call from John and its done.  I settle the bill ($170) and two days later it arrives and looks good.

I just got it in the back in the bike last weekend.  Four days of heavy rain ended last night and I took it to work today and it was smooth up to 70 MPH--as fast as I could go in rush hour traffic!

I'm happy.  I'd still like to send a shaft/final drive off to Bruno for a full workup, but what I have now should be good for 30k.

Kontoboy

[Kontoboy]

I forgot, before reassembling I "corked" the inside of the driveshaft just past the splines to keep the lube from migrating up the shaft.  I took a idea from Bruno's and the drain plugs I use on swimming pools.

It's not going anywhere.

[K1300S]

For local reference, which shop in Winchester?

Thanks.

[Kontoboy]

The shop that did the spline replacement was GL Dunns Driveshafts and Welding (http://www.gldunnswelding.com).
After speaking with John on the phone I mailed it out (and includeded return postage).  He was able to weld and balance on the equipment he had.

I was very pleased with the service and quick turnaround.

The Motobin splines are suppose to be (and appear) a harder steel than the OEM shaft.  My final drive splines still looked good.  I will need to watch the universal joint--it already has a bit of a flat spot I can feel, but so far I don't know of an option for replacing them.

Kontoboy

[Elipten]

The u joint may not have a flat spot.  The u joints are pressed in and have small metal tabs from the side walls that hold it in place rather than c clips.    This pressing and metal tabs results in too much pressure on the cups.  Bruno can machine in the recess for circle clips and install a u joint with a grease fitting.

[beemrdon]

I rode my K1100 LT about 135 mi. today. Stopped mid way to hike to the top of Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA. 

OK what did I do? Not today but recently: Installed a Michelin Pilot Road 4 (rear) 150-70-17,
bought and installed a new Odyssey PC680 battery;
bought a left-hand  switch off of ebay from an R1150 RT  for $89. and installed it  (fits and functions perfectly) pretty easy install.
bought and installed the plastic "hinges" for my side cases. Old ones broke apart - 4 of them (2 for each bag) $4.00 each and in stock at Max BMW.
Changed coolant, yes, I used BMW blue @ 50/50 using distilled H2O.  ...It had something green in there before.
I will take about a 1/2 qt of coolant out this spring and add back 1/2 qt of straight H2O for better cooling. Need the extra anti freeze content now because I leave my bike in an unheated area and I do not want a cracked block if it gets really cold this winter.
Finally, added 1/3 qt. of oil (Mobil 1  15-50), yesterday.

I'm really loving my K!         :2thumbup:

[Martin]

Mighty Gryphon I was looking at your Garmin installation, I have an out of date Go Cruise GPS that I would like to update.Garmin Zumo's are $650 + in Australia whereas Garmin Nuvi's can be had for about $167 with free lifetime maps.I am interested to know if you have modified your Garmin so that you can hear voice instructions, and if so how did you do it.
Regards Martin

[kris]

Kontoboy, when I pulled my drive line apart I thought the same thing about my u-joint. As I worked the knuckle back and forth there was a small lock at the neutral point. I thought it was done. Called Bruno to inquire about service on the shaft and asked him about this. He said that was normal for these u-joints and that I should be good to at least 75,000 miles. I was at 61,000 when I first got the bike. She runs like a top. She especially likes to run anywhere over 4,000 rpm, at least that's my impression. Enjoy your beast.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Since we still don't have our normal 3 feet of snow yet, I took the opportunity to take the RT out and run a couple gallons of corn free through the injectors with a 55 mile ride to a friend's tavern for some wings and to watch the Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Texans.

Rode home the last 30 miles in 35F darkness.  She loved it, and I must say that cold weather riding makes me really appreciate the fairing and heated grips on these bikes.  The forecast says I have a few more days of riding left this week, and I still haven't broken out the heated jacket liner.

[Elipten]

Yea the RT is a cold weather bike.  I don't even think of driving that roaster in the Texas summer.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I hear you.  Hot weather commuting was my justification for getting the 75S.  The RT is more of a cool weather and long trip bike(I do those in the Spring and Fall).

[beemrdon]

I live in the Boston, MA area and I rode my LT up into New Hampshire today. The weather was colder up there and there was black ice on the road in places where trees were overhanging and the sun didn't shine to melt it. I rode (slowly) past a pick-up trunk that had slid off of the road and up an embankment and it was almost vertical. The people there told me that they hit black ice. I was on the opposite side of the road from them...I finally made it to Brattleboro, Vt without incident and then back home. A couple hundred miles in the cold. I am glad I had heated grips and my BMW electric vest with me...gotta keep the core warm.    :riding:
All in all, a good time was had.
So, what did I do to my bike today?
I rode it
I put gas in the tank a couple of times.
Gonna put the seafoam in the tank tomorrow.

[Kontoboy]

Thanks Kris for the reassurance on my drive shaft.  If it will go to 75k then I'm in good shape.

It's 30 degrees out now and I'm heading out to work on the bike--brrrrr!

Kontoboy

[saha6818]

I'm busy doing a third complete rebuild of my bastardized brick. For some stupid reason, this build involves shiny paint. Two problems with that: First, I'm terrible at painting. Second, now I won't want to take it off road (you'd be surprised how well it did).

[Laitch]

The up-side is that if you stay terrible at painting, saha, maybe off-road is the only place you'll want to take it and you'll discover new and exciting places that you would have missed otherwise while driving around showing off and preserving a beautiful paint job. :giggles