Quick public Shout out for CycleRob..
Story goes I asked for some help in learning both the art of valve adjustments and throttle body synchronization . Met Rob at 11am and finished up around 6:30pm..Why you ask does it take so long to do those simple tasks..Because attention to detail is the key. With Rob's help we not only accomplished the two items above but..
He spent extra time to show me the nuances of both proper feeler gauge tensioning and the precision of a homemade Manometer (BTW blows away the 100 dollar carb sync tool I purchased)..I have homework to practice ..
Rob bored out a seized bolt holding the alternator cover. Apparently the last guy maintaining didn't bother to ensure the threading was correct when they drove in the bolt. 1 hour of time burned but now have a clean thread hole and rid of the now defective bolt.
Adjusted the throttle sync to almost a perfect match...
He also noticed my dampening spring was low on oil and replaced and set the tension so it fits a 250lb guy like myself..
Adjusted the air in the tires to proper pressure
adjusted idle down - again the last tech had set it way high >1300 rpm...
adjusted my fast idle switch for cold starts.
Intake tubing alignment adjusted from the chain tensioner spring I replaced
Check rear tire lug torque ( over-torqued of course by mechanic/airgun maybe)
set my clock to proper time (Never set after last daylight savings)
1 pot of coffee (columbian , high-test)
1 very friendly puppy (from the minute I got to the house..Great dog , but god help the Bad Guys)
All this for a nominal cost for service an enjoyable lunch at Pizza Hut with him and his wife and the chance to continue both learning and joint rides in the near future. Couldn't of asked for a better guy to meet. And even more appreciative of the folks on this forum for all their advice..
Thanks again for all your service today sir and for those that read this know CycleRob does some great work at reasonable rates ..Look him up if you are in the neighborhood...Bring him a six pack of Pepsi and a willingness to get dirty and you just may learn something great ...Ron C...This one is for you...
Raymond
Brand New Bike
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captaincable
- Basic User
- Posts: 202
- Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:01 pm
- Location: N.E. Georgia
Re: Brand New Bike
Am glad you got to meet and work with the "Man".I have had the pleasure to work on my bike with Rob a few times and I always come away with a profound respect for his knowledge and willingness to help a fellow biker.
And as you say you also get to meet his lovely wife and the new addition to the family "Buddy" the dog.
I too would like thank Rob again for his help keeping my old ride going and my chain saws have not run this good since they were new.
Thanks Rob
Mike
And as you say you also get to meet his lovely wife and the new addition to the family "Buddy" the dog.
I too would like thank Rob again for his help keeping my old ride going and my chain saws have not run this good since they were new.
Thanks Rob
Mike
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CycleRob
- Honorary Lifer
- Posts: 2857
- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 12:29 am
- Location: Enjoying retirement in Gainesville GA. USA
- Contact:
Re: Brand New Bike
Thanks, right back at you both . . . Raymond and Mike.
About Raymond's R1150R, the belt cover top-right bolt was jammed hard enough that Raymond said the Allen head stripped out trying to loosen it. I drilled off the head so we could remove the plastic belt cover and get full access to the 1/2" threaded portion protruding with a big pair of ViseGrips. Wow was it tight. After about a half turn in that very crowded space I decided to Dremel disc cut a slot in the small screw to speed up the heavy binding "tools only" removal with a screwdriver. It worked great. After a 5mm x .8 tap cleaning/truing of the existing threads the other good cover bolt just spun in like nothing. What caused the screw to be cross threaded was the forced misalignment by the oil cooler's solid oil return line retainer bracket, also causing the same bad bolt misalignment to the lower-right cover bolt. The big fat fitting at the line's lower end forces that stiff line's misalignment on every OilHead that I've worked on, so it's not just your bike with the same problem. Check how the line's bracket hole lines up with the belt cover bolt hole BEFORE you put the cover on so you know how to move it. On my 50R I enlarged the hole with a small diameter rotary grinding bit for no interference. Be extra sure you have perfect alignment when you start those 2 screws, free hand forcing the return line into alignment as you do it.
Another item. We also removed the dead license plate light bulb, that, after a quick search on his smart phone revealed the BMW dealer near his home wanted about $8 for it!!! Back in the house for a break, I offered Raymond, who admitted being an I.T. professional, a chance to search the net for a better price on the full sized screen of my spare computer.
The suspension: Just before he was about to leave I noticed the rear preload knob was ALL-the-way-out!! For his rider weight with system cases and a trunk, that is so very wrong and would make the bike reluctant to corner and stay in the corner with neutral input. That's not only annoying, it's not safe. When I turned the knob in from the full CCW stop there was zero resistance for 3.5 turns, a typically normal 12 year loss of preload adjuster oil that happens with absolutely zero external traces of a leak. The wall clock hinted we forget fixing it until the next time, but Raymond said he had time. Removed the hydraulic adjuster assembly from the frame, removed the banjo bolt, pushed hard down the submerged piston with a small screwdriver, added oil from a small bottle and put it back together. Bingo! It now has less than a 1/2 turn of freeplay . . . after about 10 minutes work. I then cranked it 1/2 turn CCW out from the full CW stop, getting it closer to the ideal setting for a 250lb rider with ME-880 tires.
Raymond, after trying to enter my 15 digit WiFi password on your smart phone's tiny QWERTY keyboard where the n is next to the b, I am guessing you typed your post on that phone? Ron C indeed.
Last item - - The valve adjust. Using the more expensive BMW feeler gauges with the white and yellow plastic handles is not as easy as using 1 long feeler gauge removed from a high quality $7 set like this:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... =1927_0_0_
Notice the threaded knob? Remove the two .006" and .012" feelers you need for the intake and exhaust valves, spanning both valve stems. The reason that is better is because the single feeler is held in place even if the clearances are loose, whereas the 2 individual feelers will not stay in place. Most important is the fact that when you pull on the feeler mid-way between the valves you get immediate and very accurate feedback that both clearances are exactly the same - - - or NOT! That plus it is much faster to not have to pick up the single fallen out feelers when/as you change the clearance. Here's how:
.
About Raymond's R1150R, the belt cover top-right bolt was jammed hard enough that Raymond said the Allen head stripped out trying to loosen it. I drilled off the head so we could remove the plastic belt cover and get full access to the 1/2" threaded portion protruding with a big pair of ViseGrips. Wow was it tight. After about a half turn in that very crowded space I decided to Dremel disc cut a slot in the small screw to speed up the heavy binding "tools only" removal with a screwdriver. It worked great. After a 5mm x .8 tap cleaning/truing of the existing threads the other good cover bolt just spun in like nothing. What caused the screw to be cross threaded was the forced misalignment by the oil cooler's solid oil return line retainer bracket, also causing the same bad bolt misalignment to the lower-right cover bolt. The big fat fitting at the line's lower end forces that stiff line's misalignment on every OilHead that I've worked on, so it's not just your bike with the same problem. Check how the line's bracket hole lines up with the belt cover bolt hole BEFORE you put the cover on so you know how to move it. On my 50R I enlarged the hole with a small diameter rotary grinding bit for no interference. Be extra sure you have perfect alignment when you start those 2 screws, free hand forcing the return line into alignment as you do it.
Another item. We also removed the dead license plate light bulb, that, after a quick search on his smart phone revealed the BMW dealer near his home wanted about $8 for it!!! Back in the house for a break, I offered Raymond, who admitted being an I.T. professional, a chance to search the net for a better price on the full sized screen of my spare computer.
The suspension: Just before he was about to leave I noticed the rear preload knob was ALL-the-way-out!! For his rider weight with system cases and a trunk, that is so very wrong and would make the bike reluctant to corner and stay in the corner with neutral input. That's not only annoying, it's not safe. When I turned the knob in from the full CCW stop there was zero resistance for 3.5 turns, a typically normal 12 year loss of preload adjuster oil that happens with absolutely zero external traces of a leak. The wall clock hinted we forget fixing it until the next time, but Raymond said he had time. Removed the hydraulic adjuster assembly from the frame, removed the banjo bolt, pushed hard down the submerged piston with a small screwdriver, added oil from a small bottle and put it back together. Bingo! It now has less than a 1/2 turn of freeplay . . . after about 10 minutes work. I then cranked it 1/2 turn CCW out from the full CW stop, getting it closer to the ideal setting for a 250lb rider with ME-880 tires.
Raymond, after trying to enter my 15 digit WiFi password on your smart phone's tiny QWERTY keyboard where the n is next to the b, I am guessing you typed your post on that phone? Ron C indeed.
Last item - - The valve adjust. Using the more expensive BMW feeler gauges with the white and yellow plastic handles is not as easy as using 1 long feeler gauge removed from a high quality $7 set like this:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... =1927_0_0_
Notice the threaded knob? Remove the two .006" and .012" feelers you need for the intake and exhaust valves, spanning both valve stems. The reason that is better is because the single feeler is held in place even if the clearances are loose, whereas the 2 individual feelers will not stay in place. Most important is the fact that when you pull on the feeler mid-way between the valves you get immediate and very accurate feedback that both clearances are exactly the same - - - or NOT! That plus it is much faster to not have to pick up the single fallen out feelers when/as you change the clearance. Here's how:
.
Last edited by CycleRob on Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
`09 F800ST
Member since Sept 10, 2001
"Talent, On Loan, From God" --Rush Limbaugh--
Member since Sept 10, 2001
"Talent, On Loan, From God" --Rush Limbaugh--
Re: Brand New Bike
Thanks again Rob for taking the time (pretty much your whole saturday) to work on my girl.....For the record I intended Ron C as there is another rider on the forum who may also be interested in utilizing your expertise outside of the posts..We still need to plan for that group ride to blood mountain and beyond too..
BTW..Im loving the handling now that the suspension is not so soft . Really corners and stays down during twisties..
Also changed the bulb (auto zone 4.99, Replaced the cover bolt (Home Depot 1.29) and replaced the tail light (wanted something a little brighter went with a 2047) all before arriving home from your place..Slowly building a confidence with this bike in maintenance ..Cant wait till we tackle splines in another 20-30k..That is if you haven't gotten sick of my company..
Raymond
BTW..Im loving the handling now that the suspension is not so soft . Really corners and stays down during twisties..
Also changed the bulb (auto zone 4.99, Replaced the cover bolt (Home Depot 1.29) and replaced the tail light (wanted something a little brighter went with a 2047) all before arriving home from your place..Slowly building a confidence with this bike in maintenance ..Cant wait till we tackle splines in another 20-30k..That is if you haven't gotten sick of my company..
Raymond