Ground truthing '02 Lemans purchase

[FreyZI]

Many forums and blogs usually devolve into name-calling and dribble by about the third user post.

v11lemans.com:  51 pages -- just on re-engineering the shift spring -- of collective knowledge, experience, engineering, and comaraderie.  Bravo! 

My "talisman spring" is not the re-engineered variety.  Small chance, I thought, that PO had replaced the OEM spring with the re-engineered spring and thought to put the old, but unbroken, spring in the tail as a reserve.  But, it seems that my talisman is unused, so likely that I have the under-wound, over-bent OEM spring inside.  Looks like @Scud had a couple new ones left as of last year, so I'll PM him (better pick one up for the Tenni, too).

Replacement of my spring seems like a good project for the 18th South'n Spine Raid...  @docc ???

Cheers,

Frey

Edit: Guess I won't PM @Scud, as "it" tells me he can't be messaged...  My just be that I don't know my way around this corner of the interweb.

Edited January 31, 2022 by FreyZI
update

[docc]

Hmm, I’m seeing @Scud’s messaging as available (?)

[edit: @FreyZI,  click on Scud's username to open his profile. In the banner at the top click on "Message" and see if it opens a messaging window for you . . . ]

A spring swap at a SpineRaid…. 
    ……best avert your eyes!   

[Scud]

2 hours ago, FreyZI said:

Edit: Guess I won't PM @Scud, as "it" tells me he can't be messaged...  My just be that I don't know my way around this corner of the interweb.

I just sent you a PM. Hopefully, you will get that and be able to reply.

[FreyZI]

Thanks for all the spring info.

Onto the next thing: clip-ons.

Took the weights off the left and right clip-ons; the third weight and clip-on were in the box.  You can imagine how this bike looked with the protuberant appendage growing off (only) the left clip-on .  The hollow bolt ("ring nut") with (L) seems to be a #3/4-16 (SAE???).  The weight (R) seems to be an M18-1.0 which fits into the ~5-1/2" recess of the clip-on, which had been buggered up and new threads tapped.  (X) is also apparently M18-1.0, matching the original threads of the clip-on (though that recess is only ~7/8") (sorry I'm not using metric).  Doesn't look like any of this stuff is original equipment.  I know there are one or more threads on handlebar weights I'll review.

 

[FreyZI]

Digging a little deeper into the champagne .  With some Malbec.

First, needed to find a little space to work.  The garage is well above freezing, but not a lovely place to be, and not a lot of space in there with 4 motorcycles and my son's old dirt bike, and a snowblower.  Thought to myself ... the laundry room.  There's a space that gets used maybe a few minutes a week.  It's small, but it's brighter and warmer.  No bike lift and nothing to tie down to, so I put some eye hooks in the ceiling and ran a few cam straps for protection against a tip over.  Raised and blocked, and the digging began.

At first, I thought maybe I had some frame damage because of 1) gashes in the hugger, 2) considerable wear on the side cover from the tank and the rear subframe surround, and 3) that rear bolt for the passenger peg bracket was inaccessible because it was slightly overlapped by that surround.

However, I wasn't able to find any frame damage, the damage to the hugger was probably caused by some of the tolerance being taken up by the Hepco & Becker rack mounting, looking at the Tenni, that rear passenger peg bracket couldn't come out, either, without removing the surround (seems a bit daft), and the side panels are not a great fit over the air chambers and some overlap and rubbing are probably to be expected.  What is your experience the fit of the side panels?

 

[FreyZI]

This thing is filthy (but well-lubed).

(R) pork chop off -- will be replaced with (dark-ish) silver, at least for the time being.

 

 

 

[FreyZI]

Meanwhile, one thing that bothered me was that the tank grip was put on askew.  Not so noticeable in this pic, but fairly obvious from some angles.

Pad came off, but discoloration appears permanent.

Guess I'll be looking for a slightly larger pad.

Will start a new thread on pork chops.

 

 

[Lucky Phil]

45 minutes ago, FreyZI said:

Meanwhile, one thing that bothered me was that the tank grip was put on askew.  Not so noticeable in this pic, but fairly obvious from some angles.

Pad came off, but discoloration appears permanent.

Guess I'll be looking for a slightly larger pad.

Will start a new thread on pork chops.

 

 

I've been pointing this out for years to people. A fancy solid colour/carbon look tank scratch pad saves the scratches but then you have an issue with paint fade. So you need to buy a spare to replace it in time AND replace it perfectly aligned with the old one. Good luck with that. The best option? A clear scratch pad like I've always used. May look less sexy/trendy but a much smarter option.

Make yourself a new solid pad thats slightly larger than the removed one that compensates for the off centre issue. Then you can have a centred pad that covers the fading paint.

Ciao  

[Scud]

So first. I LOVE that this is happening in the laundry room. 

Answers and observations:

• Side panels usually fit well, but some can be a bit fiddly. They do tuck under the tank, so even if all the screws rattle out, they will not blow away while riding.
• The back of the tranny and subframe are quite a mess... have fun with that. And while you're at it, check that lower shock mount carefully. It looks like the original Sachs, which is prone to crack the lower mount.
• That hugger damage is common. My Nero Corsa came with a rear rack that used extra-long bolts and mangled the rear wheel hugger. 
• This would be a good time to install one of those remote clutch bleeder hoses if you feel like spending $70. Otherwise, this is a good time to flush the clutch fluid while you can easily reach the bleeder.

[PJPR01]

Any thread that includes a reference to Malbec and motorcycles is worthy of a gold star!  Quite creative way to setup an indoor workshop!

[Lucky Phil]

10 minutes ago, Scud said:

So first. I LOVE that this is happening in the laundry room. 

Answers and observations:

• Side panels usually fit well, but some can be a bit fiddly. They do tuck under the tank, so even if all the screws rattle out, they will not blow away while riding.
• The back of the tranny and subframe are quite a mess... have fun with that. And while you're at it, check that lower shock mount carefully. It looks like the original Sachs, which is prone to crack the lower mount.
• That hugger damage is common. My Nero Corsa came with a rear rack that used extra-long bolts and mangled the rear wheel hugger. 
• This would be a good time to install one of those remote clutch bleeder hoses if you feel like spending $70. Otherwise, this is a good time to flush the clutch fluid while you can easily reach the bleeder.

I think it's a good idea to spacer up the rear tank mount to stop the tank rubbing the paint off the side covers. The covers are very prone to cracking around the mount holes and it's a material thats very hard to repair even with plastic welding. The solution is to elongate the holes nicely esp the top one which allows the cover to fit without stressing the thing. I can supply an image if you want to do it.

Ciao

[FreyZI]

7 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

I think it's a good idea to spacer up the rear tank mount to stop the tank rubbing the paint off the side covers. The covers are very prone to cracking around the mount holes and it's a material thats very hard to repair even with plastic welding. The solution is to elongate the holes nicely esp the top one which allows the cover to fit without stressing the thing. I can supply an image if you want to do it.

That would be helpful.  Thanks.

[FreyZI]

24 minutes ago, Scud said:

This would be a good time to install one of those remote clutch bleeder hoses if you feel like spending $70. Otherwise, this is a good time to flush the clutch fluid while you can easily reach the bleeder.

What's the interval for bleeding the clutch fluid?  How big a pain is the job ordinarily?

[Lucky Phil]

15 hours ago, FreyZI said:

That would be helpful.  Thanks.

The top mount in the image has been elongated quite a lot to relieve the cover of stress when affixed. Hard to understand how they got the placement so wrong. My bike has my own design and manufactured mount screws as well so the elongation isn't quite as obvious. You can but button head allow 5mm screws and do something similar. It's not noticeable when fitted if done accurately.

Ciao

[Scud]

8 hours ago, FreyZI said:

What's the interval for bleeding the clutch fluid?  How big a pain is the job ordinarily?

I try to flush all the hydraulics (brakes and clutch) annually, which means sometimes they go up to two years between flushes. This is often overlooked, so it's one of the first things I do when I get a pre-owned vehicle. With the wheel on, flushing the fluid is a time-sucking annoyance and very difficult for one person unless you have long arms. You can also install a speed-bleeder there. But it will still be a PITA to get the hose on the bleeder and another PITA to get a tool on it. FWIW, I like the Motul 5.1 fluid for its high boiling point - not that I always need it, but I can use the brakes all I want on long descents without worrying about fade.