Replacing Chain on Jill

< Replacing Chain Sounds Easy But Not As Easy As It Sounds >

When I changed the tires on Jill I didn't give the current chain much thought, I just let it hang loose off the sprocket collecting water and sand and dust - because I would change it once the new tire fits into its place.

Oh well, this is a typical How-Not-To-DIY episode.

I didn't have a chain cutter nor a grinder so I thought I could just remove the chain from both sprockets and put in the new chain.

So I set out to open the crankcase cover.

 

And here it was exposed. See the green stubs here and there?
















I used brake cleaner to soak them and then scrap it off with a plastic kitchen-scrapper.

This was the result of the scrapping.

In goes a new non-genuine-part gasket. It felt a bit thinner than the green one.

Here is how it looks on the engine block.

The gasket went in without drama and all was good. But the catch is this: I wasn't able to replace the chain. Why? because even by removing the chain from the sprockets, it wouldn't come off the bike for there is no clearance between the frame and chain.

Oh..... stupid me. Should have checked first before I set out to do all the work.
So there was the lesson #1. Know what you are doing before actually set out to do it.

I still have another lesson learned. Lesson #2, wear protection!!!

Cheers,
CK

DIY wheel balancing

Rather than a blog entry it is more like a note to myself.

And so I have managed to raise the bead on the rear tire of Jill (finally!).
(my last blog entry tells the tale of how defeated I was after the first try on the rear tire)

With that out of the way, I went on to perform the wheel balancing.
It is a DIY setup and I wouldn't even try to hide the fact that this balancing might only be good just for self satisfaction rather than bringing any actual benefit.

And this was my setup.

I recorded a 40 seconds clip on the actual procedure of balancing itself.
I later learned that this is what people describe as "static balancing", meaning the balance achieved in this setting is not good enough for actual riding.
I am quite OK with it anyhow because I don't have the equipment for dynamic balancing anyway.
Beggars can't be choosers I guess. :-)

This is the link to the video on youtube.
DIY Wheel Balancing on Honda Ape100

There are some lessons learned out of this tire change.
First, know the parts before taking apart the wheel assembly. I thought I knew, but it turned out that I lost the rear wheel collar. I am positive that I lost it (not something to brag about obviously) because the whole rear drum brake assembly just thumped out onto the ground when I removed the wheel from the axle. I didn't pay attention to what came out, and the price to pay is the losing of the part.

Second, do all relevant maintenance at one time.
I thought I wouldn't put in a fresh chain in this time but I was wrong. Turned out that the chain was so stiff and rusted I would want to change it.

Lastly, always budget more time and money than anticipated.
Yes, tools are always not enough, for a sunday mechanic like me.

Cheers,
CK

Between Planning and Execution

< So many plans but only so few pan out >

Took a photo of my riding plans drawn up in the last January as a new year solution for motorbiking.

It's not the time for a half-year review just yet but I figure at the rate things are going, I might as well call today the final day of June already.

I drew up plans for the first 8 months. Taking stock for plans planned for the first half of the year, I realized that I only managed to hit one target out of so many.

It's a terrible result. yes. sigh.

I wanted to ride to downtown for the new year illumination but I didn't.
I wanted to visit various water dams in February but I didn't.
I wanted to camp in March but I didn't.
I wanted to camp again in April as well as revisiting a beach I liked very much but I didn't.

However, I wanted to tour the Shikoku island on Jill and that, I did.

That's my one hit out of all targets.

This is frustrating. Really. Traveling own the memory lane to check why I failed to materialize these goals, I realized that I have had issues at work and family during this first half year. And I felt tired on my down time and that's why I didn't just go and ride.

Looking at this sheet it really makes me fuming at myself. However, the idea of making this list was a correct and a good one. It helped me to see what I wanted to do, helped me keeping track of my own progress and helped me to focus on my goals.

In the past six months I did ride, and I have to say that those rides were downright fun as well. I just didn't ride as much as I would like to and I didn't ride to the places I listed down.

So now is a good time to reflect upon those choices. Should I keep to the list, or should I just go with the flow?

I think the best would be striking a balance between the two. How? That's the million dollar question.

Cheers,
CK

Thinking About Motorcycling Wear Again - Jacket

I make no attempt to hide my enthusiast for riding jacket and pants. Maybe it is because I have no interest in day to day fashion and this riding gear has become my obsession. Or maybe it is because I think I ought to take care of myself when I am on the bike so I pay lots of attention to riding gear. Whatever it is, I am always talking about wear and looking at wear.

I haven't bought any riding jacket since year 2005 actually. I still wear that good old harley leather jacket. It is tough and cuts off the wind very well but it does not come with any protection at all. If it had the pads on.... that's what I always have on my mind. But we know thinking about it won't make any changes, if i want something with pads I will have to make it happen.

So I went ahead and bought separate elbow pads and back pad. They are good when worn in combination with the leather jacket. The downside is that they aren't convenient. Putting them on and off is an effort in itself although it doesn't take that much time at all. 

Wait a minute, I have bought myself a full racing suit as well. OK so my harley leather was the only riding jacket I bought, but I also have a full suit. :-)

Since getting myself the BMW I have ridden more miles than when I had my harley. I ride more often and for longer hours in a single ride and for much farther. As a result, I have faced a bigger variety of elements compared to the days when I was on the Harley.

It prompted me to rethink about gear. I need something that will give rain, abrasion, weather and crash protection. All functions in one piece of gear. That's why I want another piece of jacket but not the harley leather anymore.

I am looking at the so called Adventure Jacket. Naturally I am looking at the BMW line up because they are famous for it. I must say the price is very steep. A similar set up offered by Komine is almost half the price. But then I don't know how well the Komine stack up to long term abuse on the road.

The retail price for a BMW Dry Suit Jacket is about 650usd now. I know, not unrealistically expensive but nevertheless that's a lot of money. Perhaps if i saved up 100USD a month by year end I could get myself that long yearn jacket. :-)

Photo Shooting And Riding

< Is Riding Compatible with Photographing? >

As a rider who is inspired to be riding an overland adventure in the not so distant future, I myself think the question is sort of nonsense. I believe the idea of taking photographs on a trip like that is a given, is un-negotiable and non-questionable. Yet I am asking this question, but in the sense of can or can not, but more in the sense of how to do it the better way.

 We all know cameras are expensive be it action camera or traditional camera. There are always issues with handling and storing of the gadget and most of the time there is this theft issue as well. When we look up everything nice then it would be real hard to take it out for a shot. But let's say we put the camera in the tank bag to allow quick access, then in case of an unwanted mishap the camera could just go south. Perhaps, we are just talking about chances. Or maybe chances are the only thing that we can actively consider.

 And I wonder how to store that large amount of data when on an overland ride. Is it even possible? I was thinking maybe cloud storage. But then not all destinations have connection stable enough for cloud storage. If not then what? Multiple external hard drives? And while at it might as well keep the hard drives at different locations on the bike to prevent all from going kaput in case something happens?

 The list just goes on and on for me. Perhaps, I should stop thinking about it and go out there and do it and find the answers myself. :-)

Cheers,
CK

Changing Tire

Being able to change tires on my own is very vital to my long term survival on the road, I think. So I set out to try and change the tires on Jill. ( could not bring myself to do it on Lara, could hurt her. )

I started with acquiring the necessary tools. Tire levers, rim cream and air pump. Yes it is a manual pump. Read it on the internet that the electric air pump won't do good in raising the bead so I got myself this one.

 Tires are 50USD a piece made in Taiwan. Looks like racing spec tires but I really don't care. Any tires is better than the stock block tires.

It looks easy on the blog but in actual it was very hard. Very very hard indeed for a newbie like me. I wrestled the tire for a good 90 minutes before I knew just how exactly to work the tire levers to get the tire out. So yes I finally got the tire out.

And I ended up laying Jill on her front end without tire. sigh.... why?
because I couldn't put on a fresh tire back in. I just couldn't figure out why the tire wouldn't get back in. This is a very valuable lesson learned.

On top of that, I have photos to show that I was not thoughtful enough in preparation. Notice that I do not have any front end stand or car jack to stand the bike up. I just used a block on the right peg. I though it was OK as shown in the second photo but no, the bike eventually just toppled. I hope I didnt fxxxed up the front forks....

So all in all, Jill is still in critical condition. I am looking for help now.

Pray for me that Jill will get well soon. :-)

Cheers,
CK

A Quarter Review Of My Biking Life

The First Three Months of 2017

Hi everybody! I haven't been updating the blog often enough, but I have not forgotten about my very own blog. Like you, I have been busy with life and riding. :-)

It's not really there yet but I guess it wont hurt to make an entry summarizing my rides so far in the 1st quarter of the year.

<The Biggest Changes In My Bike Life>
Jill joins the family. Jill is made by Honda, she has a 100cc 4-stroke air cooled, carburetor and a 5 speed gear box. She has only kicker but no starter. Hell she doesn't even have a battery. I got her because I had to have her. Since the joining of Jill I have been spending quite some time with her because she is very small and easy going places.

<Going Places>
I said I wanted to visit nuclear power plants and I managed to visit one in the 1st quarter. I don't have any dislike for nuclear power - in fact I am awed by it. Don't have to tell me about the danger of nuclear power though, I live close enough to a nuclear power plant so I will be the one who dies first if anything happens, so i know what's at stake.

I have also developed a routine of going to an island nearby having picnic and also go see the japanese navy on my way home. This gives me peace of mind.

Of course the infamous Kawasaki museum as well. A must-go place.

Going to a war monument.

Ride a ferry.

There are also many other places that I have been to in the 1st quarter but I figure these are the ones worth mentioning.

<Getting My Hands Dirty>
I promised myself I will be doing more bike maintenance to gain experience and knowledge. So I did oil change and cable lubing last year, and in the first 3 months of this year I learned on how to perform chain adjustment on Jill, how to change jets on a carb and how to adjust air screw on a carb. Not much technical knowledge per se but I am glad that I did it nonetheless. No knowledge will go to waste so I am going to build more upon this.

I guess this is it. Okay so what lies in the future? I don't know. But for the next quarter this is what I have in mind.
1. Ride more than 1000km to go see a friend, then ride another 1000km with him.
2. Do bike camping will Jill.
3. Adjust chain on Lara.
4. Perhaps cleaning the air filter and change oil for Jill.

Cheers,

CK

First DIY oil & oil filter change with minimum tools

<Beggars Can't Be Choosers>

Disclaimer: This is a record of my first DIY oil & oil filter change. It is by no means professional work and strictly for the purpose of record keeping only. Lengthy post and photos intensive.

And so it goes, one of my objectives in riding is to be able to do as much maintenance on my bike as I could. The reason is obvious: I will be on my own during my trip and there's only me whom I can depend on. (of course, it would help me to cut down the running cost of owning the bike as well)

The very first step would be the very basic oil change. And so I got myself these tools and replacement parts.

 An oil change pack. Basically just a carton box filled with waste paper, could have made one by myself but since this is the first time I figure I would just buy one. In Japan waste motorcycle oil could be discarded as combustible waste. (it does burn don't they)

 An oil filter for the BMW F-serires. This is labelled as for F650GS but there are a countless of number of users in Japan who replaced this on their F700GS so it should not be an issue.

 This is how it looks inside the package.

 Oil filter removal wrench. Hope this will remove the original filter fitted on the bike.

 The drain nut seal. I have no idea if this is the right one but based on the knowledge shared on the internet among the Japanese users this little ring does the job well. So here it is.

The back of the package tells the measurement of the seal.

I know I should have a socket wrench with an adaptor socket that fits the drain nut on the bike. Well beggars can't be choosers. This is all I have so it will have to make do. I will use the 10mm hexagon wrench. I tried to fit it into the drain nut, it does give some slack when turning the wrench. Does a proper socket wrench have the same issue? (if someone can point that out that would be helpful, thanks)

And I should have a torque wrench as well. But then again, I don't have that so will have to improvise. What I did was to put a line across the nut surface and the engine block, so that I can later use it as a guideline to know how much I should turn the nut when tightening it. Not accurate I would say, but well it will have to do.





And the job begins. Lifted the bike on center stand and warmed it up. Unscrewed the dipstick to let air in, then unscrewed the drain nut with the L-shape hexagon wrench. And the oil came pouring out. While waiting for the oil to drain, I tried to open the oil filter with the oil filter wrench. Guess what? I failed to do that..... The filter wrench wouldn't fit into the filter. So I need another solution. Anyhow, I guess Lara can't wait for another 3000 km before the next filter comes along.

 And now filling her up with new oil. Replaced the dipstick screwed tight and warmed up the engine. Checked dipstick to see if the reading is correct. Yes it is! Total oil filled in is about 2.9L.

And now the dreaded part of maintenance. Oiling the clutch label.
I don't know how to do this really. I searched on internet and went fishing for the relevant youtube clips showing the how-to on the topic.

First, I loosened the clutch cable adjuster. Then, I removed the side mirror and the clutch lever assembly as per photo.

I do not plan to clean the cable as I did not know how to do it properly, so I just took the short cut by spraying the chain oil inside the clutch cable hose. The oil worked its way down out at the other end, and once I confirmed that I stopped injecting chain oil.

And then I fix everything back the same way, just the opposite of I took them apart.

The clutch pull feels much smoother now, although not necessary lighter.

Here is my first oil change and cable oiling! I am glad that I did it. The next step would be chain adjustment and air filter cleaning.
















Wish me luck!

Cheers,

CK