What have you tinkered with today?

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by svenrico

I went to a suspension specialist for advice on suspension for a previous bike and it was basically rebound damping that was the problem. (they required around £1000 to sort out the rear and front suspension so I sold the bike ) Companies like Hagon can supply suspension units with spring to suit your weight but rebound damping is non adjustable on the cheaper shocks.
I am currently waiting for Suzuki to replace my rear shock which is shot after 12000 miles.

Originally Posted by EssEllTwo

Checking my rear shock the other day, I found the top bushing is shot. 5860 miles on the clock.

11 years and 36k with a few service my nitron sport is still gong strong lets call it £700 over 11 years is call it £65 a year, 17p a day and worth every penny.

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by EssEllTwo

Checking my rear shock the other day, I found the top bushing is shot. 5860 miles on the clock.

How can they make something that won't last 6,000 miles ?!

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by svenrico

How can they make something that won't last 6,000 miles ?!

not everything is made equal. more than likely a duff unit from the factory. also jet washing shocks too often can kill them.

[EssEllTwo]

Not sure what the previous two owners have been doing with the bike. The first one was a new rider as he had a restricter kit fitted from new (lots of paperwork came with it). The last MOT (200 miles ago...) not loose swing arm bearing. Whether they misdiagnosed this or not or just plain missed it, I don't know!
Luckily I have a new shock on order anyhow.

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by EssEllTwo

Not sure what the previous two owners have been doing with the bike. The first one was a new rider as he had a restricter kit fitted from new (lots of paperwork came with it). The last MOT (200 miles ago...) not loose swing arm bearing. Whether they misdiagnosed this or not or just plain missed it, I don't know!
Luckily I have a new shock on order anyhow.

Ah well, if it has had 2 previous owners who knows what they might have done !
ps having said that, at that mileage it will still be under warranty won't it ,how old is the bike ?

[admin]

I've used white spirit for years to remove grease, grime and glue residue from bikes, cycles etc. But for some reason it wasn't really doing a great job on my cycle. I've heard others talk about paraffin and kerosene for cleaning chains so I bought some paraffin yesterday. What a difference the cycle chain is now gleaming again. It'll probably work wonders on that gunk that builds up behind the sprocket cover.

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[Craig380]

I cleaned behind the sprocket cover yesterday. It always amazes me how much sticky black gunge builds up there.

[Grant66]

Originally Posted by admin

It'll probably work wonders on that gunk that builds up behind the sprocket cover.

It does, scottoiler tends to make this an annual treat.

I use watered down paraffin in a spray bottle for initial cleaning, then neat with a toothbrush, finishing off with another spray before drying off and WD-40 to get rid of any remaining moisture.



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[admin]

Originally Posted by Grant66

It does, scottoiler tends to make this an annual treat.

I use watered down paraffin in a spray bottle for initial cleaning, then neat with a toothbrush, finishing off with another spray before drying off and WD-40 to get rid of any remaining moisture.



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I didn't realise paraffin was water soluble. I was expecting it to leave an oily residue but if seems to wash off quite easily with soapy water.

My usual cleaning routine on the motorcycle was to clean with white spirit to get rid of the worse of the mess in the chain area and then use a degreaser to remove any remaining dirt. Looks like I'll be using your approach in future

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[CheGuevara]

I did behind the sprocket cover today as well -also with kerosene, and an old tooth brush. Was pretty grim behind there - don't think it'd been done before. Not sure how much of it is "mine" - I've only out 1300 of it's 5k miles on it, and I use gear oil on the chain (light application with a paint brush) and I wouldn't have expected it to get that gummy, but we'll see what's there next time.