'83 850GL Maintenance and other repairs

[Rich82GS750TZ]

HAHA. Laughing with you, not at you. I’ve dropped my bike 3 times, as I recall, all standing still. One time in the garage, similar to your mishap. One time in a soft dirt/kickstand situation.

The third, and by far the most embarrassing, was at a gas pump. The surface sloped away from the pump pretty steeply. I decided to stay seated on the bike because of the slope, as the bike was roughly vertical on the side stand. I reached for the pump and my right foot came off the ground, the bike fell in slow motion to the right. I just sort of stepped off, quite gracefully actually, which made the whole scene that much more ridiculous in my mind. What gas I did have in the tank ended up on the ground. I went over and picked up the bike, a feat made more difficult because I was downslope. Somehow, I managed it. Went inside and as i started to tell the young cashier about my mishap, a young man comes out of the back carrying a bag of kitty litter. He says “yeah, we saw it, no worries.” He went out and cleaned up my mess. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even get gas. I got on the bike and rode to the next station.

[rphillips]

Congrats on what you've accomplished. Great to hear your bike is straightened out, great to hear you're enjoying it as you are. Also great to hear how little damage from the mishap. Also great to hear I'm not the only person to drop a bike while trying to put it on the center stand. The last bike I dropped was the GSX1100G I bought a few yrs ago, only had it a couple of wks., & I never figured what I did wrong. I leaned it up till both feet of the stand were on the garage floor, lifted up on the bike while pushing hard on the stand pedal, and the bike just laid over on the right side. I hadn't been drinking or any thing, still have no clue what happened that day. That bike is the easiest one I've ever had to get up on the stand. Just glad to hear I's not the only one to accomplish this feat.

[93Bandit]

HAHA. Laughing with you, not at you. I’ve dropped my bike 3 times, as I recall, all standing still. One time in the garage, similar to your mishap. One time in a soft dirt/kickstand situation.

The third, and by far the most embarrassing, was at a gas pump. The surface sloped away from the pump pretty steeply. I decided to stay seated on the bike because of the slope, as the bike was roughly vertical on the side stand. I reached for the pump and my right foot came off the ground, the bike fell in slow motion to the right. I just sort of stepped off, quite gracefully actually, which made the whole scene that much more ridiculous in my mind. What gas I did have in the tank ended up on the ground. I went over and picked up the bike, a feat made more difficult because I was downslope. Somehow, I managed it. Went inside and as i started to tell the young cashier about my mishap, a young man comes out of the back carrying a bag of kitty litter. He says “yeah, we saw it, no worries.” He went out and cleaned up my mess. I was so embarrassed I didn’t even get gas. I got on the bike and rode to the next station.

Well I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! That does sound embarrassing haha. Oh well, it happens. At least in that gas station story, you have a legitimate excuse for dropping the bike. Parking on a slope is sketchy. I had no excuse in my situation.

This is the second time I dropped my bike. The first time was in a public parking lot at a mall. I was standing by the bike, started it and just dumped the clutch thinking it was in neutral and the bike lurched forward, the peg caught my leg and ripped a hole in my jeans and scratched me good. The bike rode itself several parking spots over and flopped on the ground. Bent the bars, foot peg, broke my brake lever, mirror, and scratched the Ignition cover and fins. I was so mad and embarrassed.

[Baatfam]

We could start a thread about embarrassing bike drops....I have several I could share....And I bet I am not alone...LOL..

[93Bandit]

Congrats on what you've accomplished. Great to hear your bike is straightened out, great to hear you're enjoying it as you are. Also great to hear how little damage from the mishap. Also great to hear I'm not the only person to drop a bike while trying to put it on the center stand. The last bike I dropped was the GSX1100G I bought a few yrs ago, only had it a couple of wks., & I never figured what I did wrong. I leaned it up till both feet of the stand were on the garage floor, lifted up on the bike while pushing hard on the stand pedal, and the bike just laid over on the right side. I hadn't been drinking or any thing, still have no clue what happened that day. That bike is the easiest one I've ever had to get up on the stand. Just glad to hear I's not the only one to accomplish this feat.

Thank you for the kind words. I do feel accomplished, not that I was able to do the work but that I was able get it completed. Seems like life always gets in the way of doing things I enjoy. I love working on my bike, but I also love being able to enjoy it on the road. It's been a 6 year project and my remaining to-do list is finally shorter than the completed list. It's a great feeling! My rear tire is about worn out so I'll have to replace that soon but otherwise I should be able to put down so miles this year. Still aiming for 5k this season, wish me luck!

[93Bandit]

We could start a thread about embarrassing bike drops....I have several I could share....And I bet I am not alone...LOL..

It would seem so! I've only been riding for 6 years, so I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell as time goes on. When the day comes that I have to give up riding due to age, I hope I'll be able to say I only dropped my bike while stationary. If I can say that, I'll say I did well overall.

[bwringer]

...The bar heater market seems to be flooded with rectangular heat pads, but I wonder if they can be curled up and inserted internally.

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

[93Bandit]

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

Sounds like you're speaking from experience?

[Grimly]

That would be a nope -- if you power them on without having them firmly glued to some sort of heat sink, they'll quickly overheat, turn black, and shrivel up.

Oh well, nice to know to not waste money on them.
That gets me back to looking at core heaters.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/cartridge-heaters/heating-element-diameter~0-50/heating-element-length~4/

Only need to find a PWM controller for them.

[93Bandit]

Oh well, nice to know to not waste money on them.
That gets me back to looking at core heaters.

Now that we've come full circle back to heated grips and hand fatigue solutions, my neighbor stopped by the garage today and gave me his cramp buster to try out. I had mentioned to him the other day that I wanted to try one but there are so many options online I wasn't sure what to try. Hope to give it a test run on Friday.

[bwringer]

Sounds like you're speaking from experience?

Nah, but I've seen accounts and photos from folks who didn't read the directions, and hooked them up before mounting "just to see if they work".

I consider heated grips a mandatory safety item, and I've installed many sets. It was kinda nice that the last bike I bought, a Yamaha FJ-09, had heated grips from the factory.

[93Bandit]

Nah, but I've seen accounts and photos from folks who didn't read the directions, and hooked them up before mounting "just to see if they work".

I consider heated grips a mandatory safety item, and I've installed many sets. It was kinda nice that the last bike I bought, a Yamaha FJ-09, had heated grips from the factory.

Ah gotcha. Good to know!

[93Bandit]

First test with the cramp buster on the interstate today. Only rode ~33 miles but I can see the appeal! I'll have to order one after I give it back to my neighbor.

[93Bandit]

As I'm getting seat time, I've been pushing my rides longer and longer to prep for a road trip. My right hand is constantly falling asleep and cramping, so I'm exploring throttle locks. There's so many choices online, I don't know where to being. So I tried my own DIY version using a metal coat hanger and zip tie. So far it seems to work OK, but it slips if I hit any bumps in the road. However, if I just rest my hand on the grip, that's enough to keep the throttle steady. It can't remove my hand from the grip for extended periods of time with this throttle lock, but it does allow me to relax my grip which I think will help. I only got to for a short test around the block, so I need to get a few good rides in using it to see if it will actually help or not. Here are a few pictures.

Welp... After testing out my neighbors crampbuster I got online to order one, but then I paused. I thought about it for a moment and realized that yes, the crampbuster allowed me to relax my right grip which is great, but it doesn't let me take my right hand off the throttle to shake out numbness. I also didn't like how much of the grip the crampbuster took up, and I fear it would prevent the end of my grip heater from transferring heat to my hand as efficiently. So I started looking at throttle locks again. I clicked on one I've looked at many times and read the reviews. Much to my surprise, a large portion of the reviews mentioned that they previously had the crampbuster but wanted something that would allow them to take their hand off the throttle for a period of time. Most people seemed to like this throttle lock, so I decided to spend the extra ~$20 and get it instead. As seen in my quote above, I've already experimented a little with a DIY version of this same concept. It worked OK but needed improvement. I enjoy making things myself because I enjoy creating, even if it isn't necessarily cost effective. However, I just want to ride this season and save the tinkering for this winter. I've got a few day long road trips planned, so I needed something now. I've only gone on a short test run of this throttle lock but I must say I like it a lot! Easy to use, low profile, and won't affect the heating function of my grips. Easy to remove and install so I don't have to leave it on the bike if I fear some sticky hands will snatch it up. First impressions it's worth the few extra bucks. We'll see how I feel after my first road trip.

[rphillips]

Just something to look at. The old Vista cruise throttle locks, for me, worked well, was way smaller, inconspicuous, and out of the way, but much harder to find anymore than these bigger ones.. just a little flat plastic disc that went between the grip and switch assembly, trying to remember exactly how they were installed.