Eugene / Springfield Meet-ups

Agreed; I could be wrong but there's damage to the left side front and rear- tail is tweeked by pannier rack, tank dented, exhaust dented, headlightassy, windscreen, blahblahblah.
+
7 years old
+
Mysterious way slacked chain
+
Mysterious empty clutch fluid
+
Almost paid off
=
Write off IMHO$00.2...

It'll make a bitchin' flat tracker once it's naked though... DIBS!

The mechanic at Cycle Parts told me yesterday that besides the rashed-up expensive front end bits, the bent muffler
and destroyed Happy Trails rack and bag, bent Givi crash bar and destroyed Cee Bailey's wind screen, that the bike pointing front wheel down in the ditch and running for @ a minute before stalling means no oil to the cylinders while running.

this interests me as the owner is a Ducati knowledgista
http://eugene.craigslist.org/mcy/3991991736.html

That's a nice price if it has been taken care of. Lots of thrill in the st line. You'd be down the rabbit hole a bit compared to Japanese maintenance, but they can be barrels of fun.

Need some input. Here's a shot of the fork that was leaking





as you can see, there is a spot that has been rubbed into the fork tube. There doesn't seem to be any roughness to the fork and it slides well. I tried Peter's suggestion and worked some 400 grit paper under the seal to clean and rough it up and there doesn't seem to be any more leakage. I pumped the fork multiple times and it looked ok....

So what now? Can I fill the fork oil without removing it from the triple? I'm sure it needs to be topped off. Should I change the fluid on both tubes? (got the maint. dvd so I could figure it out).

Also, now that I have the tire off, how best to fix the dented rim? I wacked on a it a few times with a rubber mallet, but I think I'll need to remove the tire and place it on a work bench. Taking suggestions here.



Lastly, the brakes have been nothing but sponge. On closer inspection, one side is completely worn and the other is like new. Could it be the fork fluid was on the pad? Maybe a bubble in the line?

Thanks for letting me pick ya'lls brains.

Ask Peter if he can heat up the rim with a welding torch and bang it back into shape. Assuming it's an alloy rim, that may or may not work...

Just from this lowly bicycle mechanic's perspective, the rim is better off being replaced.

Aluminum alloy doesn't become malleable with application of heat, and because aluminum is very conductive of heat any localized area application will soon just heat the entire rim.

You can always try to 'bang' it back into shape but that part of the rim will be work-hardened and subject to stress cracks if it doesn't fracture when being reformed. I'd use a hydraulic press to gently press the dent back in, but it will always have a hop in that spot that will be impossible to true out with spoke tension.


The brake issue sounds like a stuck piston which may or may not require the caliper to be replaced.

You wanted a winter project, yes?

Tear down the front end, rebuild the fork with new seals and stuff- can they be tuned to you?
Rebuild the calipers- no need to replace them.
New rim and re-used spokes/hub etc- fab a fixture for truing and balancing (I have some ideas there)


Throw some rain tires on the Honda for the commute though...

http://www.harborfreight.com/motorcycle-wheel-balancing-stand-98488.html

And, you can always get at least 25% off.

Been using that one (thanks kevin) but its, uh, ..tolerance... for runout is iffy, and the cones are sloppy and the original shaft was bent, and blahbibbityblah...

I'm thinking of a precision machined shaft with acme threaded cones and some kind of single point spindle, but it's idea phase now.

Yeah, I just use mine for balancing, and put the wheel back on the bike to measure for trueness.

The cones and shaft on mine seem to be fine.

I hadn't thought of the possibility of the caliper having a stuck piston, but nothing surprises me on the bike anymore. I've rebuilt calipers before and it's not difficult.

I was thinking the same thing about the forks. Just go ahead and pull them both and add new seals, and probably heavier oil. I might look at a Bitubo kit, but my funds aren't what they used to be. No concern about the discolored spot?

From all of your suggestions, trying to fix the rim is not such a good idea. I'll get to pricing a replacement, sans hub and spokes. I was really hoping I could press or hammer it back to shape, but the general consensus of weakened metal makes sense.

Thanks fellas.

The Honda is for sunny days and track craft. She's my soon to be classic that I put through years of abuse riding year round. She only comes out now to play. I'll just have to jones for a ride and drive the truck.

that rim can likely be saved,,but I would not attempt it!
Get it to a professional, no fooling, you'll only make things worse by beating onnit. Oh, and then do you want to trust a front wheel at high speed after you've whacked on it with a club? I have lead hammers if you want to smack at it.
Check the cost of repairing that one versus a new "upgraded" rim.
I'll betcha fixing that one is a fourth the cost of a new one. Woody's wheel works, maybe?
I had a snowflake Beemer wheel that was bent nearly like yours,,it was repaired fairly cheaply, but that was 30 yrs ago.

I had Woody's fix a Vstrom wheel that wasn't quite that bad. With the cost of shipping it was 1/3 - 1/2 of buying new.

That said, it was an entire wheel. Not just the rim like that one. I'd say check with them. I'd definitely recommend them if you decide to go that route. Good luck!

Hey all! New to the area and wondering if there are regular meetups? Not sure since there are 650+ pages. Need to make some new bike friends.

Quackers last stop out by harbor freight, @5 on Wednesdays.

You owe me a

Usually the meatups turn into vulgarity and lies.













If we're lucky.....

Wow, I owe you a drink just for letting me know where I can buy you a beer? Jeez...haha!

Sounds good though! I'm great at telling lies and swearing like sailor. I hope I don't "forget my wallet" though.

Dammit! You already know that one!?






I'm screwed...

Very sorry to hear this news, Linky...
Glad you are basically OK !!

My suggestion is just ride it.
I've been riding much worse bent rims F&R, in multiple spots, for years.
Tubes still hold the air fine.
No biggie usually, unless it bobbles.

The one-sided worn brake pad issue might be as easy as cleaning/greasing the caliper sliders. Happens regulary to my dirty rear if I don't watch it. Piston pushes from one side and the other side sits frozen. Easy to get a bit of rust on that spindle slider.