Things I learned yesterday

[cc123]

Taking a broke bike apart is the easy bit, putting it all back together is the hard part.

Even though your bike looks clean from the outside, underneath it's usually minging.

The right tool for the job is never where you left it or in the correct drawer in your tool kit.

What seems broken or bent is easily fixed with a large hammer and some brute force!

Fixing parts with a large hammer and brute force often means something else falls off or breaks!

Even though you think you know which parts are broken, you end up finding other parts that at first seemed ok which are now fcuk'd!

Screws and bolts actually walk away when your not looking. Just when you think you know where the bolts are, they are never in the same place you left them!

Wires are the most frustrating thing ever invented by man!!

As you maybe can guess I started re-building my bike yesterday. Over 9 hours and it's still not finished off yet.

Never fall off your bike, fixing a broke one just ain't funny...
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Old bikes >>> https://www.bikepics.com/members/cc123/

[Method]

[cc123]

Well all of the above and a complete novice/idiot trying to fix is own bike......

It was always going to end in tears
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Old bikes >>> https://www.bikepics.com/members/cc123/

[Method]

Yea but its great fun afterwards looking back and laughing
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CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[stinkwheel]

I snuck into your garage and stole your 10mm spanner and 13mm socket last night. Just in case you were wondering where they were.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[ProXimaCore]

Just wait till you're putting it back together and you're wondering why you've got half a dozen spare nuts and bolts left over.
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Ric]

[cc123]

And don't forget the 12mm, had to remove my full exhaust too
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Old bikes >>> https://www.bikepics.com/members/cc123/

[stinkwheel]

Nature abhorrs a 10mm spanner. They blink out of existance completley in accordance with special relativity and reappear only when you are looking for an 11mm spanner to reattach the kickstart. It is all to do with micro-wormholes.

13mm sockets on the other hand are just shy, they mimic a 12mm socket or hide on the end of an extension bar you never use if they sense you are looking for them. They can be brought out of hiding by walking across the garage floor without paying any attention to where you are putting your feet. Another tip is to just use the less highly evolved 1/2" socket instead, these do not have such well developed camoflage skills.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Gazdaman]

You don't even know frustration until you try to take the barends off a yamaha XJ600.

Yamaha in their infinite wisdom, put an allen key shaped hole in the end. But alas! it was all a trick, and the faux allen key shaped hole is between a 4mm allen key, and a 5mm one! 4.5mm allen key anyone? They're threaded into the bar, and you need to grab them with a giant grabbing machine.

And Stinkwheel, funniest thing I've read in a long while!

Gaz

[cc123]

[Mantzy]

My toolkit consists of a few things that I always take with me to the bike

1 ratchet screwdriver handle with 1/4" hex drive
1 ratchet handle with 1/4" square shaft
1 magnetic extension bit
1 1/4" hex shaft 10mm bit
1 1/4" hex shaft 12mm bit
1 1/4" hex shaft Philips bit
1 1/4" hex shaft slotted bit
1 1/4" hex shaft 5mm hex
1 1/4" hex shaft 6mm hex
1 1/4" drive 10mm socket
1 1/4" drive 12mm socket
1 1/4" drive 1/4" hex socket
1 10mm ring/C spanner
1 12mm ring/C spanner
1 stubby philips screwdriver
1 stubby slotted screwdriver
1 pair of pliers
1 cleaned bottle of Dorito sauce (or similar) to hold screws.

Don't go anywhere near my bike without those things. It may sound a lot but if I don't get everything there then I know I'll just have to get it soon. Most of it is just sockets or bits anyway. And as I'm bored I've included a photo!

What are you doing to it anyway? I might be able to help as I know EXACTLY what you're going through having just done it myself on the same bike.
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Current Bikes: 2010 Triumph Sprint ST 1050
Previous Bikes: 2002 Sachs XTC, 1999 Kawasaki ZX6R, 2004 GSX-R 600 K4, 2006 Yamaha XT660X

[stinkwheel]

Pish, what use is a bike toolkit you can't take a wheel out with?

Tyre sealant can only do so-much you know. It is relativley simple to scrounge a lift with your wheel to a trye repair spot, much more difficult to get a lift in a van.

I would suggest one other essential bit of kit which is a cable repair kit from hein gericke. Size of an airgun pellet tin with all the bits to make up an emergency cable repair.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[cc123]

[Grubby]

A few tips for you.
Use bags for the screws/bolts & attach them to the parts you remove.
Store everything in racking, preferably in rack boxes & keep the components for each system together.
Put your tools on a shadow board, or in an organised toolbox.
Put your tools back as soon as you've finished with them for the task you've just carried out.
Always clean up evrything when you've finished your maintenance. Your garage should be as clean as your kitchen if you're stripping an engine. So if you've just hacksawed or drilled something on your workbench, clean up the swarf immediately.
Never spray anything unless you've covered up your bike....overspray looks really shite when you wheel your bike out into the sunlight only to find that your red/blue bike has loads of black spots all over it.
Always use a genuine workshop manual. I know that they cost 3 times the price of a Haynes book of lies....but at the end of it you won't break anything & you always have all the information that the factory can give you at your fingertips.
Last but no means least, buy a torque wrench or two. There's a reason why they've been invented, it's to stop you breaking your bike.
Follow these simple tips & life will be much much easier & less stressfull. Who knows, one day you'll be like me & really enjoy rebuilding bikes for fun.
Happy spannering

[kwaka]

Things i learned since yesterday...... That you must have a good job where you can post 594 times since joining in January this year! Hope you got the footpedal/rear brake sorted - It should have arrived today. Good luck at the weekend (Just dont drop the f**ker again).

[Zoffo]

More like almost 2000 posts since january.
Hey CC have you seen the BMF meet post I replied to?
Glad to see you are getting there with fixing the bike...even if it's a bumpy ride
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