Bob_Beard
Total Newb
Hi, guys. I'm Bob. Month-long reader, first-time poster. I've been meaning to do an intro post for a while now, so here it is:
I picked up this beauty about a month ago. I started looking at these forums before I bought the bike to familiarize myself with some of the common issues and figure out some of the things I should be looking for before buying. I honestly didn't get very far with that, and after a friend looked it over for me, I decided to buy the bike. I'm no mechanic, and I have no motorcycle experience prior to this bike, so it has been a learning experience and will continue to be a learning experience for me. So far, this is all I've done from a maintenance/repair standpoint:
Guess I'm not riding anymore until I replace the petcock and change the oil. The hard part is getting the rear drain plug loose.
Anyway, I plan on keeping this one as close to stock as possible. Doesn't need much restoration that I'm aware of. I'm just fixing things as they pop up. Soon enough I'll start searching for problems more aggressively. I've just been trying to familiarize myself with all the components for now.
If any of my terminology or cause/effect logic seems flawed, allow me to state once more that I am new to motorcycling, especially the repair side, and am simply trying to learn by doing. Also, I'm poor and this bike is my only mode of transportation. I'm posting from my phone, so hopefully this all makes sense.
I'm glad to be joining a new community, and look forward to learning all I can and perhaps getting to know some of you. I'm definitely interested in meeting whoever's near me and perhaps further along on their path to XS enlightenment. I'm happy to receive advice and answer any questions. Definitely looking forward to writing some shorter posts.
I picked up this beauty about a month ago. I started looking at these forums before I bought the bike to familiarize myself with some of the common issues and figure out some of the things I should be looking for before buying. I honestly didn't get very far with that, and after a friend looked it over for me, I decided to buy the bike. I'm no mechanic, and I have no motorcycle experience prior to this bike, so it has been a learning experience and will continue to be a learning experience for me. So far, this is all I've done from a maintenance/repair standpoint:
- Noticed my vacuum petcock spitting gas out of the vent hole. I took it apart and plugged the vent hole with a small piece of rubber band (a temporary fix). I will be replacing the original with a simple on/off valve from Mike's very soon.
- Shortly after purchasing the bike, I realized my swingarm pivot bolt was broken at the threads. After riding around with the bolt jury rigged into place with a bent piece of steel replacing the washer behind one of my footpeg nuts, I finally replaced the bolt with one from Mike's. I also found that the previous owner had already installed the bronze swingarm bushings and a third grease gun fitting under the swingarm.
- Most recently, decided that the cause of My sporadic oil leaks is "overfilling" the gas tank. This seems to create excessive pressure on the faulty petcock which leads to a chain reaction: flooded carbs; gas in oil; overfull gearbox.
Guess I'm not riding anymore until I replace the petcock and change the oil. The hard part is getting the rear drain plug loose.
Anyway, I plan on keeping this one as close to stock as possible. Doesn't need much restoration that I'm aware of. I'm just fixing things as they pop up. Soon enough I'll start searching for problems more aggressively. I've just been trying to familiarize myself with all the components for now.
If any of my terminology or cause/effect logic seems flawed, allow me to state once more that I am new to motorcycling, especially the repair side, and am simply trying to learn by doing. Also, I'm poor and this bike is my only mode of transportation. I'm posting from my phone, so hopefully this all makes sense.
I'm glad to be joining a new community, and look forward to learning all I can and perhaps getting to know some of you. I'm definitely interested in meeting whoever's near me and perhaps further along on their path to XS enlightenment. I'm happy to receive advice and answer any questions. Definitely looking forward to writing some shorter posts.