Fully Loaded And No Where To Go

Pablos and I had a trial run with our full luggage load today. For me this meant filling my expandable tank bag to the brim, my new panniers with dirty washing and putting 2 sleeping bags, a couple of towels & a pair of my wife’s jeans in a roll bag on the sports rack.

I keep my bike in the house as I don’t have a garage; it saves me at least £150 on my insurance and has helped her to keep her good looks over the passed 2 winters. However, it does mean that I have to fit my luggage on once outside otherwise she wouldn’t fit through the door. It was raining first thing this morning, so that enhanced the experience no end.

The panniers went on first using various straps and some webbing to protect the paintwork. Refitting the seat was a little troublesome, but it wasn’t too bad. Then it was the turn of the large roll bag onto the rack. This involves the use of two bungee cords and a strap. It was a piece of cake yesterday, but today I struggled to get one of the bungies on. The end of it slipped out of my grasp and hit me in the mouth with some force. I was quite lucky to get away with nothing worse than a cut lip, as it had also hit one of my teeth. It was at this point that Pablos pointed to the warning label on the bungie that reads,

“IMPORTANT – Do not tension bungie near your head as it may slip from your hand and cause injury”

It wasn’t a very welcome reminder as I bled all over the front path. I’ll have to remember that next time.

We only had a short run up the motorway and back to see if everything stayed where we wanted it and how the bikes handling was effected by all the luggage. Much to my surprise everything went without any drama, except Pablos’s finger wiper came lose on the motorway and he had to shove it in a pocket as he went. Not an easy task with gloves on at 60MPH, but he managed it.

My bike felt a little down at the back and her turning was very slightly slower, but nothing to worry about. What I don’t like though is having the top of the tank bag right under my chin. I suppose it could be useful if I need a quick snooze on our journey 8-)

On my way home from Pablos’s house I felt like an intrepid explorer setting out on a great adventure. After negotiating the mountainous terrain of the by-pass I was at home all too quickly.

At least I’m now physically, if not mentally prepared for our mini adventure. The part I’m dreading the most is the 350 miles of motorways between us and our caravan. But I’m sure we can make that exciting too.

Bring on Saturday fortnight I say.

---

Vital Statistics

Miles Covered = 50 Approx.
Lips Cut = 1
Teeth Broken = 0
Blood Lost = Less than 1 pint

Hush Noisy Cam Chain. I Can't Stand The Rattling!

I’ve final managed to replace the cam chain tensioner lifter on my bike (Honda CBR600-FX) today. The process went something likes this.

1. Remove two small panels connecting the side fairings and tank together.


2. Remove fuel tank, remembering to turn fuel tap off before removing pipes.


3. Put together various pieces of sockets set and adapters.


4. Remove tensioner retaining bolts.


5. Using a large screwdriver, apply pressure to tensioner to break seal with engine block.


6. Wiggle tensioner to remove it from engine block.


7. Clean off old gasket from mounting engine face, skinning and bruising hands in process. This process took nearly four hours, but was worth the effort.
   
   


8. Put new tensioner in hole, using new gasket smeared in oil.
   
   


9. Fit bolts using ramshackle arrangement of sockets etc.


10. Remove tensioner retaining pin.


11. Fit the new bolt in end of tensioner. This is the replacement for the one I wreaked last weekend.
    
    


12. Refit fuel tank & panel.


13. Start bike and enjoy the rattle free sound.


14. Smile widely in the knowledge of a job well done.

Even the Cat helped.

Well almost.

Basically it was a total success and I’m very please with the resultant rattle free engine note I now have. I just need to get the valve clearances checked and adjusted and I’m ready for our adventure.

Or so I thought. I get through so many rear tyres with punctures, three so far this year, that I’m not very well tuned to spotting a worn-out one. I happened to glance at the front tyre, which was fine at the MOT in June, and noticed that the surface has started to crack. I suppose I can’t grumble as I’ve got 10,000 miles out of it. The previous one was good for 15,000 miles. All the magazines I’ve read say that they should last only 5,000 miles. Having it replaced is now next Saturday’s task.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

In readiness for next month’s tour of the Lake District, I need to perform various maintenance tasks on my bike.

Friday 11th August 2006

It all started so well on Friday evening, when I successfully changed my engine oil. This is an operation which requires the removal of vast amounts of plastic panels. This consisted of two side fairings, several smaller panels from under the radiator & above the tank and a large pot of screws, clips & bolts of various sizes. It’s fairly easy operation for someone who has done this a hundred times before.

Once all these bits & bobs are on the lose, the main problem becomes one of where to safely store them. Most were carefully placed in the store room, but there was no space left for the left hand fairing panel, which is always the dirtiest. It has a small rear section which is directly under the drive chain. This was fairly easy to wash off before the days of the hose-pipe ban, now it’s a right royal pain.

I left all the panels off the bike so I could continue with my maintenance adventures on Saturday.

Saturday 12th August 2006

Today’s task was to replace a long since worn out cam chain tensioner lifter (Item 4 below). Basically it’s job is to maintain the tension on the cam chain, but they do tend to wear out rather quickly on the CBR600-FX. Mine has been rattling for over a year now and I can no longer stand the noise. So last Sunday I order a new one and a gasket (item 5) at the local bike shop, which collected on Friday.

At breakfast I was greeted with the arrival of rain. Fantastic, just what I needed to help me along with my maintenance.

This is how my day panned out,

1. Remove fuel tank, remembering to turn the fuel valve to the ‘off’ position.
   
2. Cover bike to stop rain getting into the electrics and make some tea while waiting for rain to stop.
   
3. The little bolt on the end of the tensioner, which covers the spring mechanism will be reused on the new item. Using 8mm ring spanner, round off the corners of the bolt making it impossible to remove.
   
4. Phone bike shop to confirm that they do not have a replacement bolt in stock and can’t get one until Wednesday.
   
5. Make more tea and jump around the kitchen shouting “Why didn’t I order a new bolt when I ordered all the other parts?”
   
6. Mop up large amounts of water from the electrics that are now saturated in rain water.
   
7. Try to attack bolt with different 8mm spanners and discover mole grips wont fit between the frame and air-box.
   
8. Call on ex-bike racing neighbour who has a big tool kit.
   
9. Put head in hands as neighbour says “You’ve buggered that good and proper. That won’t come out now!”
   
10. Stop for lunch and another downpour of rain.
    
11. Dry bike and lower fuel tank back into place.
    
12. Remove tank as I’ve got all the pipes in to wrong places.
    
13. Dry bike and lower fuel tank back into place AGAIN!
    
14. Give up and sulk in front of the TV.
    

Sunday 13th August

Today was dryer that Saturday so I managed the top up the coolant, which was alarmingly low, oil the cables & various pivot points and replace the front brake shoes. I then cleaned the chain and removed as much gunge from the engine and plastic fairings as possible.

Just as I was about to refit all the panels to the bike, it was time for more rain. In fact we had thunder, lighten and gallons of rain. I continued to work in the rain as time was now running out and I needed to get everything back together for my Monday commute to Croydon. When the lightening got very close to my left ear I decided it would be wiser to wait until later.

After dinner the rain had given way to brighter skies. I was now able to safely finish the reassembly and enter the cleaning phase. After much scrubbing she looked like new and I lovingly dried her off with a chamois leather, just in time for another well timed downpour. In the end I dried her once more, after I’d got her inside.

Job done? Sort of. I’ll have to go through all the plastic and fuel tank removal again next week once I have my £2 bolt. Deep joy.

Preparing My Bike

I'm this weekend embarking on a major bike service. Well I suppose it's major for me anyway.

My first task was to do a mundane oil change, which I successfully achieved in double quick time after work this evening. It was during this process that I found a crack in my headlight fairing. It goes right through the lower front mounting for the side panel.

It was fine when I last washed her. It must have happened when I recently had new steerhead bearing fitted by a local bike shop as I'm always very careful not to over tighten the bolts. I was very un-impressed. Goodness knows how much that will cost to fix.

Tomorrow I will attempt to replace my cam chain tensioner, fit some new front brake pads, degrease the chain, lube the cables and check all the bolts are secure. All of this will be done without the use of a safety net 8-)

I will report back on my progress tomorrow.

Regards.

Chris.

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The Plan is.....

.....to visit and tour the Lake District by motorbike for a week in September this year.

Paul and I have been planning our epic trip since late last year. We have hired a mobile home for the week at a site (the name escapes me, please help me here Paul) near Kendal in Cumbria.

During our week there we will embark on various rides to various places. We have a coulple of ideas of where to visit, but we are open to further suggestions. If you have any ideas for us you can either post a comment or email us direct at trance.elbow@googlemail.com