Today was bike cleanup day at the Disaster Central Workshop:
- I washed Sylvia (2007 Honda ST1300) and boy, did she need a bath after a nearly 4000 km run in six days (only 4 days of actual riding) some of which was in the rain. That thing is amazing though - not a single burp out of it and nearly 50 MPIG average.
- I washed Lucille (1976 XS650C) and did a bunch of things in preparation for the big VYR expedition with Lakeview which starts with loading the bikes into his Chevy Express van on Tuesday evening and an early departure on Wednesday morning.
Lucille’s tasks included: checking the lights and horn; replacing the instrument lights with LED bulbs (brighter and should last forever in contrast to the incandescent bulbs which only last me about 2 hours it seems); removing and cleaning the alternator brushes (still within spec for length and charging at 13.15 volts); removing the shift pedal and grinding open the “pinch gap” to avoid stripping the shifter shaft spline; checking and adjusting the brakes; re-torquing the cylinder head and all of the chassis bolts; adjusting the timing chain tension and valves; changing the plugs and re-coating the insides of the HT lead ends with dielectric grease; and cleaning and lubricating all of the locks and the key switch.
The last task is to change the oil and filters and check and clean the air filters, but it started to rain before my test ride so I couldn’t warm up the engine. Thus, those little tasks will wait until tomorrow, along with packing.
I also did a few things on the ‘78E including checking over the tank that Gordon in NC generously sent me. It’s a good thing he did because my suspicions were confirmed this week that the original tank that Robin had for this bike is almost totally rotted out in the entire tunnel area. Every time the welder tried to braze it - more holes would open up - so that one is a loss.
The business of opening up the “pinch gap” on your shift pedal is important folks, as was pointed out a week or two ago by, I think Gary, 5Twins or TwoMany (apologies if I got that wrong - I just don’t recall).
Basically, you should give your shift pedal a little wiggle to see if it can move relative to the shifter shaft on which is mounted. If it is loose, you are at-risk of stripping the splines on either the pedal or the shifter shaft. If you strip the pedal, it’s a PITA but you’ll live. However, if you strip the shaft, you will have to remove and dismantle the entire engine - including splitting the crankcase - to install a new shifter shaft. That would be a heck of a lot of expense and work - and it is totally unnecessary.
The shift pedals on
ALL THREE of my XS650s were loose when I checked them today - and so this is likely a very common defect on our XS650s. I’ve already fixed the one on my VYR bike and I will do the other two tomorrow now that I have located the proper equipment.
All you do is remove your loose shift pedal and run a thin Dremel or die-grinder cut-off wheel through the gap where the pinch bolt clamps the pedal to secure it to the shifter shaft (remove the bolt first ...
duhhhhh) to create a
wider pinch gap. Then just reinstall the pedal and pinch bolt and ensure that the pedal fits tightly on the shifter shaft - and you are done. Truly, a five minute fix of a potentially serious problem.
Cheers,
Pete