What did you do to your motorcycle today?

[ANSAracingb]

Hi all, I've only owned two motorcycles since I've been riding these past five years and I'm still learning about these wonderful machines. I love to tinker and learn all I can. I have started this thread in hopes of seeing what everyone else does to their motorcycle. Maybe we can all learn a little bit more from each other and about how different makes are put together, idk...
Anyway, I plan on posting in here (hopefully with pictures) every time I do a repair or modification. Feel free to do the same!

To start off:
Saturday
*I replaced all four of my turn signals. The old ones were cracked, faded, and not very visible
*Added a pair of universal forward foot pegs on my engine crash bars. This will help my long legs during my commute (~50 highway mi/day)





Yesterday
*Removed the gas tank and replaced all four of my spark plugs
*Removed, cleaned, re-installed fuel strainer at the base of the tank
*Replaced missing swingarm bolt caps (had to special order from the dealer)

More to come...I have some more parts to install and hopefully I can do that tonight after work

[Paul@VWvortex]

Good thread and it is cool to see you getting acquainted with your "new" bike. It looks like a late-70's CB750ss from the side view.

I am getting ready for a Father's Day ride this weekend with a bunch of my old fart dual-sport guys. We are leaving on Friday at noon from Phoenix and riding up to an area just South of the South Rim called Strawberry; the ride is about 100 miles on the road each way and about 20 miles to get out and go camping. Saturday mid-morning we will take about a 50 mile dirt ride, return back to the campsite and then go home from there.

My bike is a 2009 Kawasaki KLR650 with some basic farkles like the cheap carb mods, modified factory exhaust system, custom seat, PD crash bars and skid plates from happy-trail.com and a new "doohickey" (timing chain tensioner and related hardware) along with some new stuff I just did listed below this weekend.

I have been just doing the simple things in the past year to my new bike so as I had a few weeks between events I took the liberty of buying a new set of tires to replace my 7,000 mile-worn knobbies. I have read good things about Shinko tires so I bought a set of Shinko 705's which are a 50/50 road/dirt tire that are pretty reasonably priced. I bought them locally along with a new Harbor Freight bike lift (one of those hydraulic dealies that is normally $399 marked-down to $279) so I took the place my wheels only for a day. The total cost for everything was about $139 with mounting and balancing so I am anxious to see how they perform compared to the stock Dunlops.

While the wheels were off I took the time to do the following things:

1) Pull off the front forks and install a pair of Ricor Shocks front fork cartridge damping emulators along with new seals and cutting the spacer to fit the emulators. I also replaced the shock oil with Amsoil 5w fork oil.

2) I pulled apart the steering head assembly and fitted the two bearings with a Zerks fitting and re-greased both and checked the tension to make sure it was properly done.

3) I re-greased the front wheel bearings and re-installed the front wheel.

4) I pulled apart the rear swing-arm and Zerked that one too and lubed up all of the bearing points.

5) While I was in there I replaced the factory rear shock with a Ricor model with their Inertia Active System( http://store.ricorshocks.com/) and adjusted the sag, etc..

6) I removed the chain while the rear wheel was off and cleaned it and put it back on the bike. I then put the back wheel on, set the chain tension and squared it off and then lubed the chain.

7) The fun part of the weekend was spent upgrading the subframe support bolts. The ones that come on the KLR are notoriously weak and if you are doing any off-roading with a load they are known to snap. This involves drilling a pilot hole with a hardened bit straight through a top-section of the frame and then widening it to fit the larger subframe bolt along with a spacer that reinforces the spot a bit more. Then you replace the lower bolts and apply red loctite to all involved.

8) Just tonight I changed my oil and filter and installed my 7/8" handlebar risers and took it out for a spin. Tomorrow I have a casual day at work and plan on riding it in just to get some miles on it before my trip.

I apologize for no pictures to share but just close your eyes and... imagine.

[Sizzla]

Missed it. I'm in Oregon and the bike is in Arizona...

[torxim]

so far today all I have done is rode it

[96GTI8v]

Finally got around, after a very long winter, to breaking out the Bandit, dewinterizing it (started up first crank ) and cleaning the biatch up.

When I got her (you cant see the 3 pounds of mud on the wheels and frame from when the kid laid it down) :


How shes lookin now:





The SV? Flushed every single fluid, very thorough chain cleaning (took off clutch cover and side plates and cleaned the front sprocket and the half a pound of crap that was caked all around it), and rode the piss outta her.

Big changes to come to the bandit this winter, i mean a frame up resto! And the SV, the GSXR front end swap is begging!

[Mike_Honcho]

Just picked up the bike, had oil and all fuids changed, new plugs and wires, new chain. She's very happy now!

[valvesprung]

Got the old girl set up with the new bags for summer trips...I love it. I got these Fiedlsheer Compact bags for $67 at BikeBandit!!!

[ANSAracingb]

Good thread and it is cool to see you getting acquainted with your "new" bike. It looks like a late-70's CB750ss from the side view.

You're on the right track Paul. A bit newer though. It's a 1991 CB750 "Nighthawk."

Today I replaced my handlebar mounts. One of them was bent; I'm guessing that a previous owner dropped it at some point. I also replaced the rubber bushings that fit around the shafts. Torqued everything to spec as per my Clymer repair manual.

You can't really see it that well in the pic below, but it is slightly bent. It was more noticeable when installed on the bike.

[TurboWraith]

And the SV, the GSXR front end swap is begging!

Woohoo! Very nice!



As for things I did to mine latley (yesterday), I ordered some mirrors (bar ends) for my SV finally...those will be here late this week I think.

Also have been getting the suspension dialed in. I have one more adjustment to make and I'll be 100% happy with the new setup. High speed compression is a little stiff yet on the rear shock, need to back it off just a tad. Next on the list is a good tank bag, never bought one before - good thing about the SV is the tank is all steel, been looking at those magnetic dealies... Anyone have any advice on those?

[KeiCar]

so far today all I have done is rode it

This

[ANSAracingb]

Drove it 100 miles...
Went to Monterey to visit with my dad and family for Father's Day. It was super nice in Monterey today!

[42green]

Washed it after doing a little dual-sporting yesterday

[blackflygti]

Clubman bars

Before & After



Side


Rear (you can really see the difference here)

[aintnowookie]

Replaced the headlight bulb on my SV.

After having had to ride home at night with no headlight and a tinted visor Tuesday night.

[kerridwen]

Last Saturday I went for a nice ride to the mountains!



On Sunday lubed the chain and fixed a fuel leak.

Today I rode it to work For me it is always ride to work day


Anyone can figure out what kind of bike it is??

[Paul@VWvortex]

I was subjected to a last-minute flat on a brand-new Shinko 700 rear tire while heading up to my motorcycle camping trip on Friday.



Needless to say I wasn't very happy about it. The place that i bought them through that did the mounting and balancing was about four miles away so i pulled off the highway and rode the shoulder up to their shop.

[TisforTurbo]

Changed the oil and filter, clean/lube the chain, and installed a 6000k HID low beam

[newbody99jetta]

New bar ends, wheel tape and new tires!

[kerridwen]

Yesterday I lubed the needle bearings on the swingarm of my ER-5.

[ambit]

Added a trunk to my pig

[U n i o n 0015]

Pulled the chrome ring from around the headlight and cleaned all the bugs out.

[96GTI8v]

Rode the piss outtta her

[96GTI8v]

And kerri, I satill cant figure out what kind of bike is in the pic. I was thinking bandit, or gs500, but the spring shocks are throwing me off. What is it?!

[AKADriver]

And kerri, I satill cant figure out what kind of bike is in the pic. I was thinking bandit, or gs500, but the spring shocks are throwing me off. What is it?!

He says what it is two posts later, I think:

Yesterday I lubed the needle bearings on the swingarm of my ER-5.

Basically a naked Ninja 500, kind of like the ER-6n/Ninja 650 twins.

[96GTI8v]

Wow completely missed that

[valvesprung]

I'd love one of those little ER-5's.

No pictures yet, but I pulle dmy carbs to clean and rejet them to find that they were spotless inside. Luckily they had been done so I didn't have to worry about drilling out stripped bowl screws (really common) or the pilot screw caps. I'm still going to jet it up from stock for better performance (they come very lean for fuel economy and bog off of the line). In pulling them I found that my carb manifolds/boots were totally fuxored, but already had a new set to install...I suspect that was my entire problem right there...at least she should ride like a new bike once I'm done



Unfortunatlely the local dealer doesn't stock non-bleeding Mikuni pilots so it'll sit torn down in the garage for a week...

I also installed a 3000k (yellow) hi-low HID kit in my GS, wicked bright...haven't been able to try it though with the carbs off...

[kerridwen]

He says what it is two posts later, I think:





Basically a naked Ninja 500, kind of like the ER-6n/Ninja 650 twins.

Correct! It's a 1998 A2 ER-5, just sligtly different than the one in the picture (that seems to be a C1 or C2). It's really hard to notice the differences between the A and C series, even being an ER-5 owner it took me a while!

While the idea is similar to the ER-6n/Ninja 650, it is a completely different bike, unlike it's newer sisters, that are the same bike with different fairings. The ER-5 shares nothing but the engine and a few bits with the Ninja 500, and the engine was detuned for 10HP less (different CDI, cams and smaller airbox... some people say that even getting the EX500 cams and CDI won't restore the power, due to the airbox).

[AKADriver]

Yeah we got that version of the engine in the Vulcan 500 cruiser.

[Knock Sensor]

Last sunday I blew the motor on my yamaha.

The past few days have seen me trying to organize how I'm going to part the bike out.

I've also been working on getting this CB360 I picked up into running condition. Currently cleaning the carbs.... then to see if it runs.

[kerridwen]

I'd love one of those little ER-5's.

As much as I like my bike, it is far from being drool worthy.

I got it to replace my wreced RXZ 135 that used to be my commuter. So I was looking for a replacement utilitarian bike, and within my budget that meant a $4000 utilitarian 250 like the Honda CBX250/CBF250 (same bike, different badge according to the market) or the Yamaha Fazer 250, or getting an older, beaten, supersport that I would end up dumping a lot more money on. But I was not thrilled about getting the utilitarian 250s, as they have as much power as my old 135cc, but weight almost 50% more. Also the older supersport wasn't really appealing, as I hate how hot they get in the traffic, the with and fixed mirrors makes them less than ideal for lane splitting and last, but not least, the running costs are high (tires, brake pads, chains, etc).

So I ran across an ad for the ER-5. A 11 year old bike with 5,000 miles on the clock. They were asking $2600 for it. Managed to get it for $2500, and I had $1500 leftover from my bugdet that I could use to get it to like new condition. So I got myself a 500cc that reminds me of the 80s UJMs (I love them) for the price of a new 250cc and due to the age of the bike, I get to save a lot on vehicle ownership taxes!

However, the ER-5 is an utilitarian bike of the 90s that is basically a carryover of mid 80s technology. Had my budget been higer, I would have gone straight for a naked SV650 without thinking it twice. The SV650 is a much better bike, 20 hp more, better brakes, somewhat better suspension, FI and drool worthy aftermarket.

Actually, I already purchased another bike this year (a Vulcan 900), have to get rid of another three bikes that for some weird reason I haven't been able to sell (must be the economy) and after I take care of some debt, I can see myself replacing the ER-5 with a SV650.

Yeah we got that version of the engine in the Vulcan 500 cruiser.

That's right! It's the same engine. I don't understand why they say "tuned for more midrange power" when it just seems that the engine lost top end power and gained nothing in the mid range.

[PlatinumGLS]

Picked up my new to me 2004 Aprilia RSVR Factory a couple weeks ago. Here is what I have done so far:

- Removed fairings and did some cleaning - got dusty from sitting (only ~1200 miles when I picked it up).
- Fender Eliminator
- Replaced fairing support bracket
- Removed warning stickers
- Replaced filler cap gasket
- New bar-ends instead of the Woodcraft plastic pieces
- Reset service light

Up next:

- Upgrade rear sets from Sato type 1 to type 2
- Apex risers
- Front brake lines to allow riser adjustability
- Adjust front forks up through the triple tree - they are almost flush now.
- AF1 Lowering links
- OEM tank decals & clear coat
- OEM tank pad
- Replace "R Factory" decal on right fairing
- New aluminized Akrapovic decals for exhaust
- Michelin Man decals to cover reflector holes on front wheel fairing
- New tires
- Dyna beads for balancing: http://dynabeads.net/index.php?pr=How_It_Works
- Re-skin left Akrapovic can - small ding

[ANSAracingb]

Changed out my license plate frame. Went from this:



To this:



I don't have much chrome on the bike...pretty much the only chrome pieces are the footpegs and both mufflers. Everything else is aluminum or painted black.

[zoomGT]

Went battery-shopping, since my battery is dead

[Hulk...]

Dropped a new motor in my EX250 yesterday to replace the one that dropped a valve about a year ago. Unfortunately it runs like ****, so I'm thinking that my laziness in not taking the carb off and cleaning it is not paying off

[ANSAracingb]

Well, I didn't do anything to my bike other than ride it, but I did purchase (with the help of a birthday gift card) some new gloves at Cycle Gear. I wore them today on the bike so I guess that counts?