new rubber fitted :-)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
NEW BOOTS FITTED!
Had a new set of Pirelli Demon Sports tyres fitted last Friday. The tyres that were on the VF were past half worn, the front BT45 was 'cupped' as well and made the steering feel very strange. It was also very old as evidenced by the tiny cracks in the tread area. The rear BT45 wasn't as old, I don't think but was worn flat in the centre from commuting.
The Pirelli's are a crossply design carcass to suit older sports bikes like my VF, and although I am yet to give them a thorough workout they feel soooo much better than the Bridgestones.
I've read where the Pirelli's don't last as long as the BT's but as I'm using the bike 'for fun' I'm more interested in grip than longevity. Also the fact the last bike I put new tyres on, the VT250, I crashed within 40km of them being fitted. They were IRC tyres and were touted as 'long lasting' for commuter bikes. They were cheap too....
The front Pirelli has a 'wavy' centre groove that is claimed to reduce tracking over lines, road grooves etc and that's good as the BT45's I had on my last big bike, a 2007 Yamaha TDM900 was badly affected by road surface irregularities that got progressively worse as the tyre wore down.
I'll post an update after next Saturday's rally ride with the Mac Towns Motorcycle Preservation Club.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
cleaned tacho before installation
And installed.
http://imageshack.us/scaled/medium/59/g65n.jpg
Tacho Fitted part two..
The most difficult part of the whole excersize for me was refitting the fairing assembly.
The rear section is held on each side by a metal tab on the fuel tank, and there are slots on both sides of the fairing at the front on the inside. The trick is that the front slots engage at the same time as the tank tabs, so one really needs four hands. After much cursing it finally went together. I did note there was a broken mount on the fairing's internal section where the left side joins with the front. There is no weight of stress on this part so I doubt it will be an issue. One has to remember with any removal or replacement of plastics that it is thirty years old and needs to be handled with due care!
The rear section is held on each side by a metal tab on the fuel tank, and there are slots on both sides of the fairing at the front on the inside. The trick is that the front slots engage at the same time as the tank tabs, so one really needs four hands. After much cursing it finally went together. I did note there was a broken mount on the fairing's internal section where the left side joins with the front. There is no weight of stress on this part so I doubt it will be an issue. One has to remember with any removal or replacement of plastics that it is thirty years old and needs to be handled with due care!
New Boots
Well, I wheeled the VF out of the shed the other day to finish fitting the Oxford tank bag and thought, is it just me or is this bike very hard to push around? I thought it was me, as I have lost a lot of physical strength in the last 18 months.
But no, the front tyre was nearly flat and the rear had 8 psi in it! The front air loss was due to a faulty valve extender, since removed. The rear was caused by a piece of staple penetrating the carcass, I have no idea how long its been in there for but since the rear tyre is 'squared off' and well past half worn, and the front is past half worn and is also showing cracking due to age I'm replacing them with a set of Pirelli Demons in the correct sizes of 120/80-16 and 140/80-17.
http://www.google.com.au/search?lr=lang_en&client=ms-optus-au&hl=en&site=imghp&tbs=lr%3Alang_1en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=980&bih=496&q=pirelli+demon+sport&oq=pirelli+demon&gs_l=img.1.1.0l2j0i24l3.897.5634.0.11275.13.6.0.1.1.0.271.271.2-1.1.0....0...1ac.1.19.img.KF5LRTS54ao
The bike is fitted with Bridgestone BT45's, that are a radial tyre though the bike was designed for cross ply rubber originally. I ran the BT45's on my last big bike, a 2007 TDM 900 and the front tyre on that bike wore badly just like this one has. The pressure was always correct, though I did make them work in the corners! I've read where radial tyres put a lot of extra stresses through the bike's chassis, which is fine for the newer machines designed for them, but not so much for the older ones, like my VF.
I've read many good things about the Pirelli's and many riders mention the high level of grip they posess which is important to me rather than outright longevity. Nobody wants to ride in straight lines eh!
But no, the front tyre was nearly flat and the rear had 8 psi in it! The front air loss was due to a faulty valve extender, since removed. The rear was caused by a piece of staple penetrating the carcass, I have no idea how long its been in there for but since the rear tyre is 'squared off' and well past half worn, and the front is past half worn and is also showing cracking due to age I'm replacing them with a set of Pirelli Demons in the correct sizes of 120/80-16 and 140/80-17.
http://www.google.com.au/search?lr=lang_en&client=ms-optus-au&hl=en&site=imghp&tbs=lr%3Alang_1en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=980&bih=496&q=pirelli+demon+sport&oq=pirelli+demon&gs_l=img.1.1.0l2j0i24l3.897.5634.0.11275.13.6.0.1.1.0.271.271.2-1.1.0....0...1ac.1.19.img.KF5LRTS54ao
The bike is fitted with Bridgestone BT45's, that are a radial tyre though the bike was designed for cross ply rubber originally. I ran the BT45's on my last big bike, a 2007 TDM 900 and the front tyre on that bike wore badly just like this one has. The pressure was always correct, though I did make them work in the corners! I've read where radial tyres put a lot of extra stresses through the bike's chassis, which is fine for the newer machines designed for them, but not so much for the older ones, like my VF.
I've read many good things about the Pirelli's and many riders mention the high level of grip they posess which is important to me rather than outright longevity. Nobody wants to ride in straight lines eh!
Tacho Fitted....
Well, I finally got my act together and fitted the '85 model tacho unit. I'm lucky that when I bought the used one the seller sent the whole assembly, and not just the tacho unit itself as there was some damage to the instrument housing that wasn't obvious until the fairing section was removed.
It looked as though a minor front end impact had forced a headlight mount bracket through the rear of the instrument housing, right where the tacho sits. I daresay that impact broke the indicator needle and the metal to metal contact finished off the electronic part of the tach.
While the front end was disassembled, I noticed why the trip meter and odometer wasn't working properly....both the mounting screws were missing! Luckily the used part I bought had some fitted.I cleaned up the replacement tacho face with some mild detergent and cotton buds, then gave it a coat of petroleum jelly and a final wipe down.
It looked as though a minor front end impact had forced a headlight mount bracket through the rear of the instrument housing, right where the tacho sits. I daresay that impact broke the indicator needle and the metal to metal contact finished off the electronic part of the tach.
While the front end was disassembled, I noticed why the trip meter and odometer wasn't working properly....both the mounting screws were missing! Luckily the used part I bought had some fitted.I cleaned up the replacement tacho face with some mild detergent and cotton buds, then gave it a coat of petroleum jelly and a final wipe down.
Monday, June 17, 2013
A little history....
My first ever motorcycle experience was a Honda C70 stepthrough. I was 13 at the time and living with my Mum and Stepfather, my Sisters and Brothers in a farm house in Scone NSW. Up until then I had only ever ridden bicycles.. Once I got the hang of the semi auto Honda three speed gearbox I was hooked. I fell of, a lot! but my skills slowly improved no doubt helped along by the young boy on the property next to us, he the same age but growing up on the farm he was already an accomplished bike rider. His Dad bought him a new Honda XL100, and the first thing he did was cut the exhaust off at the footpeg, leaving only the header pipe basically. He used to ride over to our place by public roads, the local coppers never came out our way. He set off one night to come get me to go shooting and I set off from our place at the same time. He had a habit of riding at night with no lights on, so he could see any oncoming cars[or cops]and get off the road and hide until they went past. My bike wasn't registered either, and the lights were not working due to a shagged battery. We passed one another, in the pitch blackmissing one another by inches[no metric then!]avoiding what could easily haveended both our young lives. We agreed to keep it a secret, after finally meeting up at our agreed spot. He said he thought he passed something on the road, and I asked how fast he was going and he said he was flat out, lying on the tank in fourth gear. He was only a little guy so I reckon he was doing at least a 100 km/h. Scary stuff indeed!
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