Beautiful sunset ride yesterday along Route 66.
The bike is behaving very well. Everything seems to be functioning as it should.
A long term adventure on a beautiful Honda 1981 CM400 motorcycle. Learning, riding, repairing, adventuring!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Sunset
Quickie post: Some days, I think I could just ride forever...
Beautiful sunset ride yesterday along Route 66.
The bike is behaving very well. Everything seems to be functioning as it should.
Beautiful sunset ride yesterday along Route 66.
The bike is behaving very well. Everything seems to be functioning as it should.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Horn Change & Glove Upgrade
Found my horn (probably the original from 1981) was out of commission the other day. That simply will not do, so I dropped by my local motorcycle shop and snagged a generic $14 replacement until I can do proper research on a really badass horn.
Really quick replacement procedure.
1) take off the two electric leads (pliers helps)
2) take off single bolt
Had to drill out the hole on the new horn, which was originally too small. Bolt on the bike is 5/16 or something like that.
I'm really hoping for a big F**n airhorn. I've found some killer ones in the ~100db area for about $50. Should be fun once I get around to it.
Also upgraded my gloves recently. The pair I originally bought for $20 when I picked up the bike are not holding up well. New ones are leather with padding for the knuckles and carbon fiber accents, since I'm such a sucker for carbon fiber (really though, I am).
Chain and sprockets are still on the list, though I think I may have overestimated the damage in previous assessments. With a thorough cleaning and light lubrication last week, the chain seems to be performing much better. I think it just wants attention...
Really quick replacement procedure.
1) take off the two electric leads (pliers helps)
2) take off single bolt
Had to drill out the hole on the new horn, which was originally too small. Bolt on the bike is 5/16 or something like that.
I'm really hoping for a big F**n airhorn. I've found some killer ones in the ~100db area for about $50. Should be fun once I get around to it.
Also upgraded my gloves recently. The pair I originally bought for $20 when I picked up the bike are not holding up well. New ones are leather with padding for the knuckles and carbon fiber accents, since I'm such a sucker for carbon fiber (really though, I am).
Chain and sprockets are still on the list, though I think I may have overestimated the damage in previous assessments. With a thorough cleaning and light lubrication last week, the chain seems to be performing much better. I think it just wants attention...
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Front brakes and oil change
So I did the brakes a while back - just never got around to posting the process.
Overall, it was pretty easy. Took a little longer than I thought because the new brake pads were SO much thicker than the old ones that some additional adjustments were necessary.
First, stripped out all the old parts and gave them a once over with a rag to clean off the excess gunk.
Tried to drop in the new pads after we cranked out the caliper, but that was a no go. Too tight. Had to put the brake assembly back on the bike (for leverage) and crank loose the floating thingamajig (can you tell I'm not a mechanic?) to push it wide enough for the new pads to fit.
Reassembled fairly well. The right pad seemed it was touching the disc - though after a quick ride it loosened up just fine.
They're a little squeaky right now - the whole bike needs a bath and to get all the gunk cleaned out and off the pads.
Today, I finally got around to an oil change, which it turns out was desperately needed. ALL kinds of crap was stuck in the filter and the oil that I drained was *nasty*.
I flushed it with a couple quarts of good oil to make sure nothing else was hanging out in there. I will probably do more frequent oil changes for a while to make double extra sure everything is running well. Every 2,000 or 3,000 miles for now.
I'm putting 10W-40 in it for now - that's what the people at hondatwins forums seem to like.
Naturally, nobody in Flagstaff carries the FRAM CH6008 filter that I need for this 1986 'Hawk 450. I've got it on order from O'Reilly with the promise that it will be in Tuesday morning.
Overall, it was pretty easy. Took a little longer than I thought because the new brake pads were SO much thicker than the old ones that some additional adjustments were necessary.
old vs new
First, stripped out all the old parts and gave them a once over with a rag to clean off the excess gunk.
Tried to drop in the new pads after we cranked out the caliper, but that was a no go. Too tight. Had to put the brake assembly back on the bike (for leverage) and crank loose the floating thingamajig (can you tell I'm not a mechanic?) to push it wide enough for the new pads to fit.
leverage!
freshly installed gap...
They're a little squeaky right now - the whole bike needs a bath and to get all the gunk cleaned out and off the pads.
Today, I finally got around to an oil change, which it turns out was desperately needed. ALL kinds of crap was stuck in the filter and the oil that I drained was *nasty*.
I flushed it with a couple quarts of good oil to make sure nothing else was hanging out in there. I will probably do more frequent oil changes for a while to make double extra sure everything is running well. Every 2,000 or 3,000 miles for now.
I'm putting 10W-40 in it for now - that's what the people at hondatwins forums seem to like.
Naturally, nobody in Flagstaff carries the FRAM CH6008 filter that I need for this 1986 'Hawk 450. I've got it on order from O'Reilly with the promise that it will be in Tuesday morning.
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