The weather today was reasonably warm (for late January) and sunny so having a spare Sunday, I took full advantage and played around with my bikes. Not the head out and ride kind of advantage, but the tinker and try and fix things kind. On the recent visit to see Mike and Artur, a very slack chain was highlighted to me, so I went about tightening it up. In typical fashion I didn't have the 30mm socket I required, so a quick visit to Halfords saw me leave with not just the socket, but some latex and workman gloves too.
What should have been a five minute job lasted about half an hour. I had a bit of trouble getting the right about of slack on the chain, whilst ensuring that the rear wheel stayed straight. It probably didn't help that the chain appears a bit knackered and is very tight in one place in particular. Once I was happy that it was all lined up and about as good as I was going to get it, I tightened up the rear axle to the right torque settings and set the spacers.
What should have been a five minute job lasted about half an hour. I had a bit of trouble getting the right about of slack on the chain, whilst ensuring that the rear wheel stayed straight. It probably didn't help that the chain appears a bit knackered and is very tight in one place in particular. Once I was happy that it was all lined up and about as good as I was going to get it, I tightened up the rear axle to the right torque settings and set the spacers.
The next job that I had to do wasn't needed to fix a problem, it was more a case of limiting some annoyance. Riding in The City, the rear brake is essential. Well at least I think it is anyway. The rear brake on the Monster has been squeaking like you would not believe, so I stripped down the rear calliper and cleaned it up a bit. This included removing the pads and wearing down the surface of the pads with a wire brush. I made sure there was nothing on the brush to contaminate the pads, but as this was just the rear, I'm sure I'll be fine. A bit more cleaning, some copper slip and the pads were back in and the calliper was back on.
The next job was to try and rotate the handlebars backwards a fraction in order to move my handguards higher up. I had to be careful as doing this would limit the steering lock as the switchgears on both sides would now be closer to the tank.
The next job was to try and rotate the handlebars backwards a fraction in order to move my handguards higher up. I had to be careful as doing this would limit the steering lock as the switchgears on both sides would now be closer to the tank.
As you can see, it was hardly worth it. The amount I could move the bars hasn't raised the hand guards enough. Oh well, at least I tried.
The final jobs of the day was to give the bike a good old wash and check the tyre pressures in preparation for another week in the City.
The final jobs of the day was to give the bike a good old wash and check the tyre pressures in preparation for another week in the City.
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