twhitaker

This sweeper is where a highway merges with an interstate. Got left hand sweepers both directions. We call this area "Malfunction Junction." Come to think of it there are 2 more left handers at the other end of my interstate race course. For those of you from the midwest it's I-75 in downtown Dayton OH.

Here is the main reason I'm getting a new tire. This Michelin Macadam 100x has 13,000 miles on it. I found out the Michelin Pilot Road is the replacement for it. Hope to get somewhere near as many miles from the new tire. The tread wear is odd until I thought about. On my route home from work there is a long sweeping left hand turn that goes over a bridge. This overpass is laid with very rough concrete. Kind of acts like a rough file on the side of my eraser.

180/55 ZR 17 Michelin Pilot Road $132.24 plus all the other stuff. 120/70 ZR 17 Pilot $102.19 plus. Thankfully I bought the paddock stand so I can save $25 twice. Mybe I sieze this opportunity to replace my clutch bleeder.

I'm kind of torn between the green tire and the silver tire.

That's not the answer I was looking for, but I like the way you're thinking. If I had your address I could send you an addition to your swingset.

That is not the question. I need to put a new shoe on the back of my '02 LeMans. I currently have a Michelin Macadam 180/55R17 and am happy with the 13,000 miles I gotten out of it. I've read most of the tire posts and have seen some where they've changed to a 170/60 profile and saw some performance improvement. I'm pretty sure my bike has a wider rim than the '00, '01 Sports. Would I be shooting myself in the foot by getting the smaller tire?

Here is a tool I use to drop the pan and pop the valve covers. I bought a 3/8 drive 5mm allen wrench to use with this. www.torq-it.com

I would like to suggest adding a karma bell to the bike after replacing the tire. My tire longevity went way up after I added one. Two bikes, two bells, no flats since. I've worn out 3 sets of tires on one bike since purchasing that little bell. Call me crazy or superstitious but it seems to work for me.

I should add. Gordon at MG Cycles is good people. After all the dealer bashing going on I think someone who's doing a good job should be heard about.

I bought a paddock stand from MG Cycles which came in yesterday and I was anxious to try it out. After reading the subject on this forum I was a little intimidated. Since my bike has saddlebags that interfere with pushing the lever backwards I approached from the opposite direction. I did not have enough leverage to do the lifting. Here's how I did it. I rolled the back tire onto a 2 x 4. Then I put several boards under the side stand to where the bike is almost level. I then positioned the stand on the hex nuts at the bottom of the pork chops making sure the stand was centered on both. I pushed on the lever and the bike popped right up.

Get a pillion with smaller heels. No, my bike has pads on the mufflers just in front of the pegs. I'll bet you don't have stock mufflers. Oops. I've thought about making custom pegs to get around the issue but my wife says it doesn't bother her. There are a multitude of aftermarket pegs out there but most will not fit your application.

Ian Johnson has a very good article about his Two Brothers bars on his web site. You can find him on the last page in the How To section. A picture shows a very clever way of locating the tee for the front brake line.

I have not heard from SB since I e-mailed them on the 29th. Still waiting for them to advise me about the exchange. I have one SB and two stock bleeders in the brakes. I don't see how the rear bleeder could not be the same as the front. I think I'll wait until I replace the rear tire to address the clutch bleeder. It is about due for some new tread. I got almost 12,000 miles on a Michelin Macadam.

I got a set of fat foam grips from McMaster-Carr that are very squishy and comfortable. These replaced the Grandraids I had. www.mcmaster.com part number 9754k53 $6.43 for a 5 pack. The left one is loose enough it needs to be held on with hair spray.

You get a much better effect from lead. Steel weight is .283 pounds per cubic inch while lead is close to .400 pounds per cubic inch. We use lead for counterweights in machine tools because it's quite a bit denser.

After I wrote last night I went out to the bike to recalibrate the eyeball. Had all 3 size bleeders. With a bit of tenacity I could almost reach the bleeder. I held each one next to the existing clutch bleeder. Repeatedly, the fitting would get almost close to the part I was comparing when it would fall out of my hands. Makes a nice ring when it hits the crossover. I could determine it's definitely not an M6. The M8 looks like it may be too small. The M10 looks like it may be the right size. There is only a millimeter or so of the thread shank exposed so it's hard to tell. When I change out I'll be sure to have one of each size. I do not expect to be able to do it for several weeks anyway.

I received the Speed Bleeder today and can confirm the SB8125L is a good fit for the brakes on an '02 LeMans. They sent me one to try out and to let them know the verdict which I did.

I'm sure the part number is listed here but relayshas the Bosh number. Check out the site. There is a plethora of information there.

I got an answer. He is sending me a SB8125L to try out. Will advise.

But Professor, Gilligan and I just want to get to the rally. Couldn't we mix it with some latex and pour it in?

Uh..Roger..Willco..Over..Under.. Wrote them yesterday. If I don't get a reply tomorrow, I'll call them. Patience is a virtue.

It was the front brake. I'm sure the rear is the same. Haven't gotten to the clutch yet. I could tell the clutch bleeder is bigger than the brake bleeder so I'm kind of confident the SB1010S will work. Wanna go first?

I went to change the bleeders on my '02 LeMans this morning. Lo and behold, the SB6100 bleeder did not fit. This is the one they recommended. It looks more like it is an M8 thread. I'll e-mail Speed Bleeders and find out what I can do as far as exchanging them.

But are the titaniums titanium?

Seems high considering a pair of Mistrals are under $500