Guess I will fix it up after all

[bruin]

I finally got my bike out of the back corner of the garage today. It was tucked away all winter while I debated whether or not I wanted to put in the effort it needs to get back on the road again. This evening I decided to make a list of everything I need to do to get it road ready again. Once I had it all in a list I realized it really wasnt as bas as I had let myself believe.
-Carbs need to be taken apart and really cleaned. I am going to heed the advice of the experts and actually take them apart.
-Check the valve clearances and adjust as necessary. Pretty sure this is where my ticking noise is coming from.
-New tires are a must. front one is 9 years old and has plenty of weathercracks, rear one is 10 years old and worn.
-Oil and filer change. This time I won't forget the second drain plug. Glad I read about the crush washer since I am sure that is why my bike drips a couple drops of oil each day.
-Attempt to reroute the cables, will probably have to buy some new ones since I went from buckhorn bars to daytonas.
-Brakes feel good but I want to check the pads for wear anyway.
-Old mirrors were broken off. Buy some that will thread in to same location.
-Front brake fluid reservoir is white. Replace?

Not a bad list at all compared to some of the stuff I have seen others post about. I had thought about just getting rid of it since the bike doesn't fit me as well as I would like, its to cramped. Changing out the bars helped but I still would like some more leg room. I really can't justify buying another bike right now anyway. I will be gone for work for the next three weeks but when I get back I plan on tearing into this as soon as I can, I have already lost too much of the riding season. Pics will come when I get home again. In the mean time, any thoughts, ideas or suggestions from the experts?

 

[Guest]

Well Mr Bruin, I'm not that far away in East Burke... I'd be happy to help out with any issues you may have...

Give me shout.


Mike

 

[Jedz123]

I finally got my bike out of the back corner of the garage today. It was tucked away all winter while I debated whether or not I wanted to put in the effort it needs to get back on the road again. This evening I decided to make a list of everything I need to do to get it road ready again. Once I had it all in a list I realized it really wasnt as bas as I had let myself believe.
-Carbs need to be taken apart and really cleaned. I am going to heed the advice of the experts and actually take them apart.
-Check the valve clearances and adjust as necessary. Pretty sure this is where my ticking noise is coming from.
-New tires are a must. front one is 9 years old and has plenty of weathercracks, rear one is 10 years old and worn.
-Oil and filer change. This time I won't forget the second drain plug. Glad I read about the crush washer since I am sure that is why my bike drips a couple drops of oil each day.
-Attempt to reroute the cables, will probably have to buy some new ones since I went from buckhorn bars to daytonas.
-Brakes feel good but I want to check the pads for wear anyway.
-Old mirrors were broken off. Buy some that will thread in to same location.
-Front brake fluid reservoir is white. Replace?

Not a bad list at all compared to some of the stuff I have seen others post about. I had thought about just getting rid of it since the bike doesn't fit me as well as I would like, its to cramped. Changing out the bars helped but I still would like some more leg room. I really can't justify buying another bike right now anyway. I will be gone for work for the next three weeks but when I get back I plan on tearing into this as soon as I can, I have already lost too much of the riding season. Pics will come when I get home again. In the mean time, any thoughts, ideas or suggestions from the experts?

Well first off I'm no expert but I'll trow in my 2 pennies!

I would replace Brake fluid while you changing the oil, I replace mine annually... It's a must!

I've found Dunlops work well with my GS's Decent rubber for a decent price. As long as the tires weren't flat and hold air your tubes should be good to go.

Cables are cheap! Motion Pro's run in the 12-15 buck range, if you feel the cable is compromised replace it! It sucks getting stranded in the middle of a ride because of a cable snapping... Trust me on this replace them if they look bad and always have a spare!

The White on the reservoir is fine, My 750L: was the same way, just unscrew the cap and check the levels. It's not going to ruin the fluid if you can't see through the reservoir.

As for leg room you could always buy highway pegs and install on the engine guards (if you got em'). I have a set on both of my bikes, my little 550 is very comfortable and I'm 6' even. Highway pegs go along way.

I'm an hour and 15 minutes away from you so if you ever need a hand shoot me a pm! I'm off for 2 weeks staring this Friday, Got oodles of free time coming my way!

Good luck!

 

[bruin]

Thanks for offering the help guys. I won't be getting into it too heavy until I get back home in a couple weeks. I have some other things to finish up on the honey-do list before I can get started anyway. Jedz, I just read about your trade, how's that working out for you? Lucky bastard.

 

[Guest]

Change the brake fluid, only takes a few minutes. I change mine every year. I use a DOT 4 syn.

 

[FLHGSRay]

I would replace Brake fluid while you changing the oil.

As long as the tires weren't flat and hold air your tubes should be good to go.

If you feel the cable is compromised replace it!
QUOTE]

IMHO. Some good advice and some bad. No way would I remove 10 year old tires and not replace the tubes. They're about the same price, or cheaper, than a new cable, and they're likely to cause alot more damage when they fail. Replace the tubes!

 

[tom203]

Yeah, get this critter back on the road. When you got carbs off to clean, might as well pull camchain tensioner off and confirm that it's operating- this could also cause ticking noise.
Brake pads are cheap if needed- I'd flush brake lines; probably best to replace lines but I confess to not having done this yet,BUT I did examine mine very closely-honest!
Mirrors are cheap on ebay-depends what you like. I replaced my stock mirrors with nicer honda ones- stick out further . But if you want stock ones, let me know.

 

[bruin]

Thanks for the offer on the mirrors bit I will go for something a little different, maybe rectangular. I noticed today that I will have to buy a new set of handle bars again. I am going to go with daytonas again. They got bent up during the same BS that broke the mirrors. I could try to straighten them but I would rather buy new ones vs. compromising the strength of the old ones, and they are dirt cheap anyway.