Archive for the ‘Motorcycles’ category

Motorcycle chain maintenance.

May 27th, 2009

Do you know how to maintain your motorcycle chain?

Chain maintenance should be done every 1000 miles or after the chain has been exposed to excessive amounts of water (i.e. rain).

Before you get started, you will need to have the following things:

  1. Kerosene.
  2. Maxima Gold Chain Wax.
  3. Chain brush. I personally like the Grunge Brush over a toothbrush because it was designed specifically for cleaning chains.
  4. Spray bottle (or old coffee mug).
  5. Old rag.
  6. Rear bike stand (optional).

Cleaning Directions

  1. Get the bike on the rear stand. You will be cleaning one area of the chain and spinning the rear wheels to bring more dirty chain into the same area. Some guys have tried running the engine in gear and letting the chain+wheel spin while cleaning. This is a guaranteed technique to lose your fingers, so DO NOT attempt this stunt. If you don't have a rear stand, you will clean an area of the chain and then move the bike to bring the dirty area of the chain into position.
  2. Dowse with kerosene a 5-inch long area of chain at the top of the sprocket and brush with a toothbrush. When clean, I wipe the remaining kerosene off with a rag. Spin the wheels and clean a new section of chain.
  3. Before finishing off, pour some kerosene on the rag and grab a section of chain with the rag. Spin the rear wheels while holding onto the chain so that you get any remaining grime off the chain.
  4. Let the bike and chain sit for 10 minutes for all the kerosene to evaporate.
  5. Before applying the chain wax, take the bike out for a 10 minute ride to get the chain warm.
  6. Get the bike back on the rear stand and while spinning the rear wheels, liberally spray the chain with the chain wax.
  7. Wipe off any over-spray and let the bike sit for 20 minutes otherwise the chain wax will fling off. After 20 minutes, the bike is good for another 1000 miles.

The more religious you are with the chain maintenance, the less work you will have to do each time. It should take you 10 minutes to clean the chain and another 10 minutes to ride the bike and apply the chain wax. It will take longer if you do not have a bike stand though, so invest in one. Good, sturdy bike stands can be had for under $50.

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Engine Break-In.

May 26th, 2009

The Grandma Break-In Procedure

Yes, I know what the manual says. I've read all of them over and over again and they pretty much tell you to feather the bike during the break-in period. Only the manual for my Dad's 2000 Dodge Intrepid said to bag the engine from low RPM to redline and then let engine breaking bring it back down to reasonable speeds. At the time, I thought that this was severe, but the my Dad still owns that car and it has never been in a shop for engine problems and does not burn oil (*knock-on-wood*).

Proper (Undocumented) Break-In Procedure

If you follow the break-in instructions for your bike, you are going to hurt the bike more than help it. Anybody that knows anything about bikes recommends taking the engine up to 10,000 RPMS (under load) for the first 20 miles to achieve a good seal. Change your oil in the 25 to 100 mile range as there can be a significant amount of metal shavings shred off from the break-in procedure.

Few of us who have worked at dealerships and had a chance to talk with factory representatives tell you to "...break it in like you are going to ride it". The best place to break-in a bike is at a race track because that's where you will push the bike hardest.

Street Break-In Procedure

Motoman's website (http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm) has great information on proper break-in and the engineering reasons behind it. You should spend a few minutes reading it, but here is a summary of how to break-in a bike on the street as provided by Motoman:

  1. Warm up the engine completely.
  2. Open the throttle hard in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears.
  3. Alternate between short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration.
  4. Do this for 200 miles or so.

Is The Manual Wrong?

So why does the manual ask to take it slow? Liability. They don't want to be responsible for your injury or death in case you are a noob and have no experience riding taking the bike to 10,000 RPMS with equally high speeds trying to break-in the engine as guided "by the owner's manual".

Cheers, Melvin

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My first streetfighter drool.

May 11th, 2009
2009 Ducati Streetfigher S

2009 Ducati Streetfigher S

I have never been a fan of streetfighter style bikes, except for the few that were custom built from existing bikes. But my eyes caught on the 2009 Ducati Streetfighter S bike yesterday while browsing the forums and I fell in love for the first time with a different race. You know how you grow up only liking Asian or Caucasian girls, and then for the first time you see a hot, beautiful, sexy East Indian girl and then you're in love? Well, the Ducati does just that.

The features of this bike I like is a nice torquey 1099cc L-Twin and to control all that power is Ducati's traction control (DTC). It doesn't have ABS, but that's not a big deal for the seasoned riders. Everything looks perfect on the bike, but I feel like the side mirrors look a little bit like Shrek's ears. Oh well, that can be remedied with aftermarket mirrors if needed.

Go ahead and fetch more info from the Ducati Streetfighter website.

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