father and son

My Off-Roading Tools

2011-12-12T02:49:00.046+09:00

I hate bringing tools when I ride off-road (Trials or off-road). Tools are heavy and since I always have my truck loaded with real tools (hand tools, bearing pullers, drill, bike stand, air compressor, etc.) I often ride without my toolpack before but I have learned my lesson from my experiences and can't leave without them now...

I believe that complicated bike repairs should be done on my truck or at my garage but there are times that to get my bike on the truck, I have to do some minor repairs or I'll be pushing... Pushing a bike on a cemented road is hard but imagine pushing a bike when you are mountains away where you have to cross river beds, logs, steep slopes and cliffs... This happened to me several times where I have to walk back to my truck just to get some tools and there was a time that I had to tie my bike and drag it up a cliff using a hand winch and this was not fun.

Since my riding sucks... most damages my bike had were minimal. Brake or clutch lever bends from falling, front fork gets twisted and misaligned from crashing or hitting a boulder, a small tree branch got stuck on my rear sprocket... but these are the major ones. Often times the problem are very simple like the bike only needed was a spark plug change or my rear fender flew off when I crashed and all it needed was a few plastic tie-wraps.

Getting a flat tire doesn't really bother me. Riding a dirtbike with a flat tire is a lot better than pushing so I make it sure that my dirtbike's engine will always run. It doesn't bother me if I had to ride at turtle speed as long as I get home but for road bikes it is different. Doing minor repairs on road bikes like spark plug replacement, light bulb replacement, lever adjustments, etc. are easy and safe to do even on the side of a road. Doing tire emergency tire puncture repairs on a road bike is near impossible without using propers tools unless you are prepared to lie it down on the asphalt and get it scratched. Whenever I get a busted tire on a road bike, my first option is to leave it and get my truck. My second option is to find a garage or a gasoline stand and get the repairs done by someone else. Though I can't do full repairs on my road bike, I still bring basic tools because it makes me feel a bit safer even though they are only good for minor repairs.

Kawasaki Estrella 250 Lever Repair, etc...

2010-12-31T07:07:00.000+09:00

This bike was a goner when it first came to me. The engine wont start and had several missing and damaged parts. Most of the parts are good and all it needed was a bit of work and some TLC.

I think that this is one of the most easiest bikes to do a frame swap. No special skills and special tools needed. I also did a frame swap on the ZZR on the background (have done 20+ ZZR frame swaps...) but I'd rather do Estrellas than ZZRs any day :)

Because I am too cheap to to buy a lever, I heated it and slowly bashed it using a plastic hammer to make it straight again. I learned this technique riding Trials bikes because my levers often get bent when I fall off a boulder or hit a tree. The problem with non-racing bikes are that the materials used are crap compared to "for competition use only", and hammering the lever on a normal bike can cause it to break. The technique here is to use heat and slowly bash it with a plastic hammer. Unlike Trials race levers that you can bash them without using heat and they still wont break.

Here is the photo of the lever after bashing it several times. I still could straighten it a bit more but I didn't want it to break it so best for me to stop here. The funny thing is after straightening the lever, I found two new levers in my desk that I forgot about. I didn't use the new ones and still have them somewhere...

The sad thing about working on gravel is searching for parts that accidentally fell down. Here I lost three steering head bearing and had to steal the bearings from my other Estrella just to get this done.

The tail pipe was covered with rust and I'm too cheap to buy a new one so I just painted it with heat resistant paint and it looked sexy again.

My son stole the headlight from my dead Honda Steed to replace it's damaged headlight and also overhauled the carburetor himself because he was very eager to test the bike that afternoon, and waiting for me to overhaul the carb will take ages... He got the engine to run, then he bled the brakes, changed the engine oil and took it for a spin. Notice how happy he is with his work :)

retro Suzuki Colleda rear pipe repair

2010-11-26T03:19:00.001+09:00

There are mainly two types of two stroke mufflers found on motorbikes, one type is welded shut and cannot be cleaned easily without cutting open the muffler with a disc grinder or by using a cutting torch. cleaning this type of two stroke muffler can also be done by tossing it in a furnace or by blow torching to melt the oil sludge inside the pipe.

Another type of two stoke muffler is the like a cartridge and can be opened for cleaning. Most racer or for competition two stroke motorbikes have cartridge type mufflers and can be easily cleaned and the muffler wool easily replaced. These photos below shows a retro Suzuki Colleda 50cc two stroke motorbike that have a clogged tail muffler. It was so clogged-up with oil sludge that the engine wouldn't start. Before I disassembled the muffler, first I inserted a long screw driver inside the tail pipe to free some crap and to make way for a small hole so that the engine could breath. After doing this, the engine fired up but there was lots of white smoke coming out from the muffler which is good for eliminating mosquitos but never good for the rider nor the pedestrians. Engine lacks power because it cannot breath but after cleaning the tail pipe, I was able to easily pop a wheelie. So easy that I enjoyed doing it too much that I dented the rear fender (lol). To make things short, there was lots of power after cleaning the muffler. I will not say much about how I did the repairs, just look at the photos and see how straight forward the repair is... The tools I used for cleaning are very basic hand tools like a socket for removing the tail pipe from the muffler, screw driver, wire brush, parts cleaner and a piece of rag. Some tail pipes needs a drill, a rivet tool and some muffler wool but it was not needed on this project. The electric drill and the other tools on the photos was for another project that I was also doing at that time...

seat shoe shine

2010-11-01T02:36:00.002+09:00

The back seat has been polished with shoe wax. Notice and compare the front and back seat.

My bike's seat turned pale and white from the sun and rain. I've tried many ways to get some shine back and based on my experience, the best and easiest way to do this is to shine it with shoe wax/polish. I know this sounds crazy but I have tried more stupid stuffs like leather wax spray and WD-40 but the shine is only very temporary and it is like sitting on a slide. Using shoe wax holds the longest shine but this too is very slippery and can be very dangerous and only a looney (like me) will prefer to sit on a slippery seat. I don't advice shining your bike's seat like a shoe but if you are putting your bike for display or in a museum, your seat will look very nice.

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UPDATE: I changed the seat because I really hated those tiny holes which make my bike less sexy (see pic.) Also gave it a good shoe shine :)

temporary quick oil leak fix

2010-10-27T15:59:00.001+09:00

This is a Suzuki Djebel 250 that a good riding buddy gave me. My friend rides like a looney and couldn't control himself riding on boulders pretending that this off-roader is a Trials bike. He rode over a boulder and hit the engine hard and cracked the engine. I was looking for a donor engine but I wanted to take it for a spin before the repairs. The oil leak was bad but it didn't stop me from riding it.

To stop the oil from leaking, first I drained the engine oil, drained the fuel, flipped the bike on it's back, cleaned the engine with a wire brush and parts cleaner spray and applied liquid engine gasket and waited for a week. After a week I rode the bike off-road and had a good time.

This is just a quick fix and I recommend to do proper repairs. For crazy off-road riders, I suggest you to bring a tube of engine gasket sealant in your tool pouch. Based on my experience, twice I did this quick fix up in the mountain creek when my riding buddy crashed his Trials bike on a boulder cracking his bike's clutch case cover. Pushing the bike was not an option because we were about 7 kilometers away from our vans and there were no roads because we were on top of a creek. We still have to cover lots of grounds, ride very steep climbs and jump lots of boulders and that will be impossible without the engine working. I flipped the bike on it's side and got some leaves to clean the dripping oil from the clutch case cover, applied engine gasket sealer and waited for about an hour, started the bike and my friend rode his bike back to safety. The next week my friend came to ride again but still didn't replace the clutch cover. It took him about 3 months to replace his clutch cover and kept riding his patched-up bike. He always told us that "if it ain't leaking, I ain't fixing"... crazy guy, hahaha!

ZZR headlight repair

2010-10-23T06:02:00.001+09:00

This repair is very simple and straight forward. The bike crashed and one of the headlight bracket broke. I was able to salvage the main piece of the broken bracket but a piece of the puzzle was missing. To rebuild the missing piece my tool for the job was a normal soldering iron. Before I glued the broken piece I inserted two small metal rods for strength and support inside the bracket and melt plastic that I got from my pile of parts rubbish using my soldering iron. I filed and sand papered the excess plastic and touched painted the repaired area and it's good as new :)

water damaged engines

2010-10-22T04:51:00.003+09:00

The green van is a swimmer and the blue van is a smacker. I combined both cars to make one. Notice the parts scattered all over the ground...

The first thing to do if your engine was submerged in water is to:

First you want to remove the water inside the piston cylinder and you can do this by removing the spark plugs (all) and suck the water by using a small hose and by attaching it to a sucker then force the remaining water out by blowing in air using an air gun. If you dont have the gadget, I have used normal drinking straw to suck out the water and believe me that you must do it after eating lunch or else... yucks! I did that when my dirtbike went for a swim. I also did this to a water damaged car that I bought years ago...

When you got the water off the piston cylinders. Hand crank the the engine (DO NOT USE THE STARTER AND DO NOT INSTALL THE SPARK PLUGS). If you start the engine without checking if the cylinder has water inside, you'll fck up the engine. This is called "WATER HAMMER". You might bend the connecting rod on the pistons, etc.

You can spray deep penetrating oil in the spark plug holes and slowly try to hand crank the engine and try to get the piston loose from the cylinder. If you cannot hand crank the engine because the pistons are stuck, you have to open up the engine. If the engine can be hand cranked, check the plug holes again for water. Be sure that all the parts are dry.

Most Japanese and German made electronic parts will work once they dry up. You may need to dismantle. clean and lubricare these parts to get the rust off especially for electric motors (power window motor, door lock motor, automatic seat, sun roof motor, etc.)

Change the engine oil, and gearbox oil or ATF (automatic transmission fluid). Check the fuel line for water. Check and clean carburetor or EFI and air filter. Check the distributor cap for water, install plugs, check the battery... START!

You may need to do several oil changing especially for ATF. Change the differential oil also.

It is also good to check the condition of the wiring connectors. If there is soil, mud, and water inside, you must clean it with water and spray it with deep penetrating oil (WD-40 or CRC). If rust is present, you may need to scratch the connectors.

These are the basics for repairing water damaged engines.

car jacks for lifting bikes

2010-10-16T03:30:00.003+09:00

Unless you are a pro mechanic or a racer, I don't really think that you need to buy expensive motorcycle lifts especially if you are only doing small repairs or Sunday maintenance on your bikes. I had several hundreds of bikes but I never bought a proper bike lift. I do have a portable bike lift for off-road bikes but it can't be used on road bikes. I sometime use car jacks to lift bikes but I personally prefer hanging bikes on a chain block, makes lifting easier and safer. You can always get car jacks cheap or for free at scrap yards near you. Just work slowly and best if you have somebody to hold your bike for you while you do your repairs.

I don't have anybody to hold bikes for me so I use bike tie-downs. Bike tie-downs are very handy and can be used in many ways. Try to keep at least two bike tie-downs in your garage because you never know when you will be needing one.

fork oil replacement and overhaul tips

2010-10-15T12:24:00.004+09:00

It is best to dismantle the forks if you are planning to do a fork oil change on your bike. There are forks with drain plugs found at the bottom and some people will just drain the oil over night and measure the amount of oil that came out and add the same amount of new fork oil to the fork. Some people will not even dismantle the forks from their bikes when they do this kind of oil change.

Normal and inverted forks are basically the same. To do a full and proper fork oil change is to: dismantle the forks but it will help if you loosen up the uppermost bolts that holds the fork from the top bridge and loosen up the the big nut found at the end of the inner tube. There are some inverted forks that have holders and you have to clamp it on a vise to open the nut at the end. The nut found at the end of the inner tube is where you pour in the oil. Remember that there are some forks fitted with adjusters found on the center. Most are dial types and some even have the air pump valve. You must first know what type of forks your bike has. Most forks have the spring and the damper found in one unit and there are times that a small valve is fitted between the end cap (nut found at the end of the inner tube) and the damping rod inside the fork. There is a double nut that locks the damping rod from the end cap and be VERY careful not to loose the small valve found in between the two. 2nd pull out the spring and dump the oil. Pump the inner tube until all the oil comes out. Take off the dust seal, oil seal spring lock, oil seal and pull the inner tube out from the outer tube. You have to pull it out several times until the two has been disconnected. Loosen the the big bolt found at the end of the endpipe so that you can pull out the damping unit. Pump the damping until there is no oil left. Some damping must be pumped many times to get all the oil out. Clean all the parts. Replace all the damping unit's rubber. Assemble the fork and put in new oil seal. Clamp the fork and level it 90 deg. Fully extend the inner tube and pour in the fork fluid. Connect the damping rod to the end cap. FINISH!
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EASY way to do a full oil change: Do everything that I wrote but do not dismantle the dust cap, oil seal and the inner tube from the outer tube. Just dump the oil out from the tube. Invert the tube and retract the inner tube to full. hold the damping rod and pump it until all the oil has come out. There are some models that will take you several minutes of pumping to get all the oil out from the damping unit. (my bike take at least 10 mins until I can get all the oil out from the damping unit) TAKE YOUR TIME. You will know that all the oil has been dumpted out by standing the fork upright and releasing the damping rod and if it falls straight to the bottom, then all the oil has been dumpted and if not... just keep on pumping again. Put new fork fluid, close the end cap... FINISH!

REMEMBER: You must know the proper fork fluid and the proper amount of oil for your fork. Always measure the amount of oil from a graduated mess cylinder. Always pour in the oil with the inner tube in extended position. Always pump the damping rod to let oil inside the damping unit and get the air out. Put oil or silicone grease on the oring at the end cap before installation. You can also use a measuring stick if you dont have a graduated cylinder or you have not fully dumpted all the old oil inside the damping unit.

USEFUL HOME MADE MEASURING TOOL FOR FORK OIL MEASUREMENT. You need syringe but you dont need the needle, a small hose that fits the end of the syringe, a measuring stick or a pre measured rod (anything will do just put a marking) this will be your scale. Pour the oil inside the tube and suck the excess oil out using the syringe.

*** Techies wont like this... I use specified fork fluid but if I ran out of stock, I use Toyota Dextron 2 ATF (automatic transmission fluid) but I find it too hard but works well for some bikes. I change my fork fluid every 3 months and sometimes I ran out of stock (oil) so I use ATF (I have cans of ATF at stock everytime...) Many MX, trials, and some road racers also use ATF. It's up to you... Many trials use no.5 or no.10 fork fluid but I prefer a more softer oil. The best is to follow what your manual says and you will never be wrong.

how to check swing arm's linkage (easy way)

2010-10-11T02:23:00.003+09:00

Street bikes do not usually have problems with the swing arm's linkage but dirt bikes/ off roaders, duals, enduro, and especially MX and trials racers are prone to have problems with the linkage. Dirt is the no.1 enemy and it will enter the seals and damage the linkage bearings. A direct hit on the linkage (rocks, logs, etc can cause much damage to the bearings and the arms also. Street legal bikes have better seals than racer models because it is a must to regularly service/repair full racer models and everybody knows that... Using pressurized steam jets to wash the linkage is really not a very good idea because water will cause the linkage bearings to rust. Driving in deep water is also not a very good thing to do if you will not dismantle and do a full grease up on the linkage bearings. That is the reason why I do not like riding in deep waters.

How to check: Lift up the rear tire (use a jack and best if the rear tire is removed), hold the swingarm and move it upwards, downwards, and sideways. It should not shake. If you have doubts, dismantle the shock absorber/spring and test the swing arm again. A small bit of shake is OK and it wont kill you but if the shaking is too much, you must replace the bearings.

*** to replace the swingarms linkage bearings (needle bearings), remove the linkage, pry the oil/dust deals, push the bearing out by using a press OR you can use a stationary vise and use wood. Look for a socket that has the nearest size to the needle bearings and pump it out by compressing the vise (just be imaginative and this will work). Fit new bearings and seals.

*** so you don't have the parts... remove the linkage, BUT do not pry the seals. Check for damages. If there is too much rust check if the needle bearings will move and if not, dip the linkange in a pan of kerosene and go for lunch... Now check the needle bearings again and try to move the needles GRADUALLY and ONE AT A TIME. WD40, CRC or any deep penetrating oil will help. Be very careful not to damage the seals. If the bearing is now moving and you've got most of the rust, dirt, oil, crap out from the bearing, dry it and put grease (the more the merrier). Assemble the parts together and check/shake the swingarm again. There will be a bit of shake but who can complain... change the bearings if you have the parts at hand but this will do for now.

*** Some swingarms will not shake and may look OK because there is just to much rust build-up in the linkage and the movement will be hard. Some bikers will only change the shocks/springs but will not check the swingarm's condition, naturally the performance of the "new" aftermarket spring/shock will not be used 100% because of the rusty linkage bearings that fcks up the swingarm's movement. It is like wearing brand new shoes but without washing the feet...

cheap two stroke muffler (rear end) overhaul

2010-10-11T01:51:00.002+09:00

If you have an end pipe that can be dismantled and opened (MX racers, trials racers, and some aftermarket performance pipes for 2 strokers) you can salvage or use asbestos insulators but best to stay away with asbestos. Some use fiberglass sheets also. I change my end end pipe's glass wool 3 times/year and the price of glass wool is not really cheap, I have used the real stuff (muffler's glass wool), fiber glass sheets (used for repairing fiberglass bumpers, spoilers, bike's fairings, etc.) but since I scrap lots of cars... I also use these materials... If you look under a car's bonnet, you may find an insulator neatly fitted on it or behind the car's engine w/c is called firewall insulator. I use these materials also. Some house walls especially ceilings have similar insulators also that you may salvage for your bike's muffs.

Always make sure that the material that you'll be using is fire proof. HOW TO CHECK simple... get a small peice and light it. If the material burns it is no good.

As warned... ASBESTOS is bad for your health!
next time: how to clean the center pipe.

how to change fork oil seals the cheap way

2010-10-09T03:57:00.002+09:00

To do a proper fork oil seal change you must have special gadgets like clamps, oil seal strikers, etc.

Since I have been changing lots of fork oil seals for my "for sale bikes" and especially with my trials and off-road bikes, maybe this will be of help to you.

Remember that there are many different kinds of forks but we will only talk about the fork with fork fluid and not the forks with only springs and rubber dampers. Inverted or not, forks are basically all the same. The basic parts are the outer tube, inner tube, oil seal holder (detachable or in one peice with the outer tube. dust seal, oil seal, oil seal retainer spring, fork bolt (located on the end of the inner tube where you put in fork fluid) and lots more but we wont talk about those things here. Most forks have the spring and the damper unit in one unit but my bike has one fork for spring and another for damping but they are basically the same.

So you don't have the tools... it will really help if you have a vise but use rag, aluminium plates, or soft wood if you are planning to clamp the outer fork. Try to avoid clamping the inner tube but if you have to, use soft wood and cut it to form a "V" shape and if you can put soft rubber bike tire tube or flexi styro will be ok. Always remember not to scratch the inner tube.

Check the inner tube for damages. It must be smooth but if the inner tube has scratches, get the scrathces off with fine sand paper and always do strokes accross and not along the inner tube. Keep the fork upright and pry the dust seal. Take off the oil seal retainer spring. You must have a long thin but very strong and very sharp ice pick like tool, aim at the outer side of the oil seal and punch it in by using a hammer BUT BE VERY CAREFUL not to scratch the inner tube with your sharp tool or your hammer or the inner tube is fcked. GENTLY and slowly screw a tapered metal screw to the small hole that you have made. Now GENTLY pull the oil seal off using a needle nose plier. Get your new oil seal and apply silicone grease on the oil seal lips (the more the better because you can always wipe the excess oil after. Apply a thin layer of fork oil or silicone grease on the outer side of the oil seal also. Slide the new oil seal in and try to push it in the oil seal seat with your fingers but make it seat straight until it wont go in anymore. Get the old oil seal and hammer the old oil seal over the new oil seal GENTLY to force the new oil seal to seat inside the the holder. Use the metal screw to pull out the old oil seal and put the oil seal retainer spring back to lock the oil seal to it's position. Clean the dust seal and if you want you can apply a thin coating of fork fluid or silicone grease to the inner lips of the dust cover.

If you have a detachable oil seal holder, you can use a hose clamp to clamp the holder in place because it will fall if you hammer in the oil seal. Check fork fluid level, install the fork, remove bike from bike lift or bike jack and let it stand on it's suspension, loosen and retighten the end nut to get the excess air off the fork and you are ready to roll.

small tips on engine cooling system

2010-10-09T03:36:00.004+09:00

You can use a normal water hose if your radiator hose blows up. Your bike/car will take you home but please get a new hose asap.

If you have a stucked thermostat, you might engounter engine over heating. Remove the thermostat and add water. Pump the lower hose to get unwanted air out of the water line. It will get you home again but please get a new thermostat asap.

If your temp meter is not functioning check meter then check thermo sensor, check wiring especially the connectors for looseness or carbon and dirt build up. If there is too much carbon on the connector use an icepick or anything thin and scrape the carbon out and spray CRC/WD-40.

Some over heating is caused by faulty rad fans.

For 4 strokers. If your engine oil turns white, there is water in the oil. Head gasket might be the trouble. And if your gear box oil turns white, check the water pump/impeller. The water and oil seals are damaged.

funky tools

2010-10-07T01:17:00.002+09:00

These are some tools that I made or crafted/bent/ground... nothing fancy but they did the job well.
from the top: is for popping lock doors, extra hard crank pulley holder, Honda Integra engine pulley holder, chain pulley holder, bent spanners, scrapers and mini knives, tubeless tire puncture repair needle, lock picks, extended screw driver, hose remover, etc. I still have more and will try to add photos if I can still find where I tossed them :)

portable vise

my homemade pulley holder in action

my homemade hose remover tool in action

I couldn't have done removing pulleys without my homemade tools. Now all I a had to do was to assemble all these parts to be home in time to cook my vegetable for dinner :)

how to use carburator cleaner and engine conditioner for cars and bikes

2010-10-05T17:06:00.004+09:00

my 10 yr. old son doing a scooter's carburetor overhaul

Using the carb cleaner has pros and cons. The good thing about carb cleaner spray is that it will clean the unwanted deposits (carbon build up and sludges). Doing a full carburator overhaul is the best thing to do but if you want to clean the valves a bit, engine conditioner and carb cleaner is for you. Remember that these chemicals will damage palstic and rubber parts so be very carefull when you use them. If you are working on a carburator or EFI, it is best to put a rag under the carb/EFI and be carefull not to drip these chemicals especially on electronic parts. Dont get too paranoid because they wont give damage to plastic and rubber parts that easily.

1st get your engine to warm up. Remove the airduct from the air filter. Get a rag and spray the chemical on the rag. Open the flap and stick your finger in and clean the area especially on the edges of the flap.
If you want to go further to clean the valves a bit, spray the carburetor / EFI with cleaner/engine conditioner inside the throtle body but make sure that you try to minimize (best if none will enter) the hole just in front of the flap on EFIs because some holes are mostly for electrical units. Do this while the engine is running to get best results but for EFIs with air flow meters, it is best to do it while the engine is not running because if you take the air duct the engine will stall. You can still do it but you have to stick in a long hose in the air duct just after the air flow meter and redo the clamps. Spray around the throtle body and control the engine's throtle by pulling the cam or cable. DO NOT OVER DO THIS AND DO NOT OVER REV. If you do this for a long time there may be oil shortage on the valves and you'll fck the engine. There will be lots of white smoke from the exhaust and try not to inhale the smoke. I quarantee that a normal person without asthma will have asthma if he sucks too much of this white smoke. While doing this, the engine will run funny or will stall but after the routine, your engine should run OK and if not do a full carb overhaul.

It is not advisable to do this on 2 strokers especially for racer models because most racers oil mixture is low and 2 stroke engine's design is different from 4 strokers. In 4 stroke engine the crank have oil inside the crank case unlike 2 stokers which oil is only pumped inside or oil is premixed with fuel. If you over do this on a 2 stroker, the crank bearing's grease may be washed away causing the bearings premature break down. I do it sometimes on my race bike but I change the crank bearings every year and this may not be a good idea if you don't know what you are doing.

After doing this, spray a bit of CRC/WD-40 on the pivot point on the flap and put the parts back together. Now remove the spark plugs and clean it with a wire brush because there will be soot build-up in the plugs. Start the engine and give it some quick revs until the white smoke is not visible anymore.

NOTE: There are time that people will think that the carb needs an overhaul but the true problem is damaged vaccume hoses. Carburetor hoses sometimes crack-up from age, vibration and heat from the engine causing unsatisfactory engine performance. The cure is to find the cracked hose, cut the damaged part and re-install it. Hoses are cheap so best to buy a new one to save you from future headaches. Older Nissan Sunny, old Toyota Starlet, etc. is famous for this problem.

Again be very carefull using carb cleaners and engine conditioners. If you spill some amount below the unit, wash it out with water but be careful not to let water enter the spark plug holes or the distributor. And since these chemicals are flammable, best not to smoke your cigarettes and just enjoy the sweet white smoke coming out the exhaust :) ... cough-cough-cough... hahaha!

How to make plastic shine again

2010-10-05T01:27:00.003+09:00

My son bringing back some sexiness to this old scoot.

Notice the shiny rear fender and compare it to the step.

This is very good for scooter's plastics. I'm talking about the step, side cowl etc. but not the painted plastic like in your front fairing (please see picture). Scooters plastics turns white as it ages and if you want them to glow back to life, this is for you. Use a torch and rapidly pass the flame on the plastic. The plastic will turn black again BUT DO NOT OVER DO it because it will melt the plastic. At first ALWAYS try to heat areas that are less visible so that if you ever had a mistake, your mistake wont be visible.

I also use this technique for bringing back some shine on cheap car's bumpers. Bumpers that are plastic, black and not painted. Works well for the same cheap plastic car side mirrors, black plastic mudguards, etc... Do this at your own risk.

After heating up the plastic, you can wax it using car wax to give it an extra shine. Because I'm too lazy, I just spay WD-40 or leather wax on everything. It'll look good but just don't touch it :)

How to reuse a used brass/copper washers for pipe fittings

2010-10-01T02:30:00.006+09:00

My son is annealing a copper washer while heating the tip of a spark plug... trying to hit two birds with one stone???
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DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK... I will not be responsible for your safety!

On brake fittings, powersteering pipes, etc. brass/copper or aluminium washer are being used at the connection points. I wont be talking about the aluminium washer for fitting but only the brass/copper ones. It is BEST to replace these washers everytime you disconect the fitting but there are times that you have to reuse the washers. Brand new washers are soft but as they age, these washers will become stiff/hard and may cause fluid leaks if reused. The trick is to heat the washer until it turns red and quickly dip it in water (This process is called "annealing"). Let the washer cool down and check it. It should be soft and can be easily bent with your fingers. Now you can reuse the washer.

Use a gas welding torch to heat the washer or any portable burner. If the washer is not soft then you have to heat it again and dip it in water AGAIN. If you over do the heating, the washer will melt. It's basically trial and error at first but any monkey can easily master the technique.

If this is your 1st try, please be sure to have spares. If you are not sure if it's safe to use PLEASE don't use it.

Easy tire change for tubeless tires

2010-10-01T02:28:00.003+09:00

Some rims have deeper beads to stop the air from leaking and to prevent the tire from rolling over and getting thrown out of the rim's bead. My rear tire is tubeless (for competition use only) and we only inflate it up to 0.3kgs and that is like running on a flat tire. Imagine how deep the beads are and how tough the tire is which makes it very tough to install. Most brand new tubeless off-road competition tires are difficult to install.

What I do is cut about 10 cms wide cardboard paper and roll them up. I bound the cardboard with tape and stick about 5 to 6 rolled cardboard inside the tire and do the replacement another day. I use a mixture of water and soap and apply it evenly around the lips of the rubber.
Another technique is to use a water hose. 1st install the tire to the rim, spray water/soap mixture, insert the hose between the tire and the rim then over lap the water hose. Use compressed air and as the tire fits in gently pull the water hose out from the tire, keep on pumping in air until the tire seats on the rim's bead.

Spongy feel brake/clutch

2010-10-01T02:21:00.003+09:00

Giving my bike's clutch lever some karate chops...

This is based on my experience again... My bike is fitted with very powerful brakes and a very soft clutch. We use only one finger on the levers BUT before I have experienced that my brakes was not working properly and it wont do a full lock and I have to pump the lever with 2 fingers to make the brakes lock. The master, hose, calipper/ clutch master, hose, clutch slave cylinder has no air inside and was bled well but my brakes and clutch levers are still stiff. I tried every technical thing that I can think of and even bought all the brakes and clutches inner rubbers and was about to do a full replacement(o/h) but an International A rider stopped me and told me that he'll try to repair the problem. All the kid did was to do quick karate chops ( about 80 to 100 times per lever) and after that my bike was ready to rock. His style was akward but it worked. He told me that since we dont use our bikes everyday, the master cylinder's rubber often gets stucked and cannot do full strokes. It is like pumping tire air pump doing small strokes. If you do a full pump stoke on a tire air pump, more air will be delivered...

I still do karate chops (50 to 100) on my levers everytime I feel that the masters are sticking and it always works for me. I regularly change the oil on my brake and clutch unit every 3 months and do a full o/h every year and I still experience problems... what more if your unit is not regularly being serviced??? I dont know if this will work for your bike but for me I do karate chops even on my street bikes and it works.

Tips on clutch disc replacement

2010-10-01T02:18:00.003+09:00

Every time I replace my clutch discs (paper and cork discs) I put the new discs inside a pan and cover them with gear box oil and do the replacement the following day. I have experienced that since we use a lot of hanging clutch technique and do high revs then slam the clutch to jump, if the disc is new and dry the disc will soon get worn out easily. Cars gear box disc are dry but bikes gearbox disc are bathed in oil. I don't know if this is proper but most racers do this technique and it works well for us. I think it will work also so everyone.

fork mis-alignment

2010-10-01T02:12:00.003+09:00

This old Yamaha WR first came to me with a misaligned fork. The Old owner had a nose dive from a double jump and thought that the fork was totally damaged but all it needed was some adjustments. After some TLC, I had tons of fun riding it.

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I got this question years ago from one of the bike forums. I think I should share this here too...

HIS QUESTION: Hi, can I ask a question? I dropped my Pulsar once and one of the MRC instructors told me after the drop it mis-aligned something. I'm not quite sure which part is not aligned, what could it possibly be??? The riding is ok though ...

MY ANSWER: The best way to know what part got mis-aligned is to ask the person who told you that your bike part is mis-aligned. Some people can detect the slightest mis-alignment by just looking or by just sitting on your bike. I'm lucky that I'm one of them. I often look at my mates bikes and tell them what part needs alignment and I just tell them what to do to correct the alignment. BUT some people can tell or feel the problem but cannot pin point the exact location of the part that needs alignment. It is really up to you to find the problem because you know your bike more than anybody.

I'm sorry to say that I never got a chance to see in person a Pulsar. Here are some pointers that may help you... Most scooters like Jogs, Dios, etc... have a different type of fork clamps. Most larger bike's fork are clamped in 6 different position (3 points/ fork). #1 is the top bridge, #2 is the lower bridge, #3 is the at the axle. My bike has 8 points (4/fork) because of the stabilizer plate where the fender is mounted. Most scooters have only 4 points (2/fork),#1 is the axle, #2 is on the the lower brigde (most scooters does not have the upper bridge (steering stem). T check your scooter's fork alignment first let us go to basics... lock your front brake and push/pull your bike, if you feel a funny knock check the head set for tightness. If you plan to dismantle your scooters fork pls. be careful not to loose the ball bearing because many scooters use ball bearings than tapered bearings...
Strip all the fron plastics and get your bike to stand 90 deg. Now go around AND pls take your time and TRUST YOUR EYES. If you have doubts use a scale but as I have said YOUR EYES WONT CHEAT ON YOU. If you have a bent handle you can follow my advice by using a long pipe but be very gentle because scooter handles will easily bend. For the fork's alignment, lossen up the axle nut a bit and pump the fork like crazy. Most misaligned scooter fork will automatically re adjust when you pump it several times. You will know if the lower bridge is damaged if your fork wont go parallel... USE YOUR EYES. If you have doubts, Use a bob (string with a metal weight pointer). You can use this for you handle's alignment and agle check. You have mentioned that you bike runs OK. Do you know that some forks will automatically re audjust to it's original position once you ride it for huge distance especially with scooters becasue the clamps are fewer and some manufactures don't tighten the bolts too much But better check it if you have doubts. Brake and clutch levers gets easily bent during a fall also. Most levers cannot be stretched or hammered back to it's original form once bent because they break. Most levers are die casted metals and will break if you try to straigten it back. My trials bike levers dont break and they can be re bent or hammered back. My lever is made up of aircraft aluminium. If you have the same lever, by all means slowly hammer it back to it's orig. state.

If you cannot feel or see anything wrong with your bike... then there is nothing wrong with it. Just do a regular look/check on the parts and do some basic maintainance for your bike.

Thank you very much and enjoy your ride.

HIS FOLLOW-UP: A very detailed info there, you really must know a lot about these things, thanks =

ME AGAIN: Get it checked if you have doubts... you'll sleep better I'm just like you, if my bike has some problems I will not stop until I correct the problem even to the point where I will cancel work and all business appointments just to fix my bike..........

Steering stem and Fork alignment

2010-09-27T17:33:00.003+09:00

1. STEERING STEM: To detect if the steering stem is bent, the easiest way to find out is to loosen/remove "ONE" fork (doesn't matter w/c fork), then install it again. If the fork doesn't slide in easily to the steering stem (fork holder) then you may have a bent steering stem. The problem may not be severe so do not panic. Remove the handle bar and loosen the stem nut found at the center of the upper bridge (upper steering bridge) and try if the fork will slide in. If the fork doesn't slide in then the steering stem is bent. The lower bridge usually gets bent first before the upper bridge. It is advisable to replace the steering stem if the unit is bent. When tightening the center nut on the steering stem always remember that most stem bearings must not be over tightened. Most head bearings are tapered so always remember not to over tighten them. If you dont have a tool, just use your hand and turn it (without tools) as hard as you can then put the retainer back.

2. FORK: Use a ruler/scale if you don't trust your eyes... Loosen the center bolts and loosen also the fork stabilizer plate (most bikes does not have fork stabilizer plates), tie and lock the front brake lever, use tie downs and compress the fork and tighten the all the bolts. If you don't have a tie down strap you can pump the fork several times and let someone heavy to push down the fork for you while you are tightening the bolts. Remember that there may be times that you may need to loosen up the steering stem's nut to get the fork's proper alignment. Most of the times, pumping the fork will automatically readjust the steering stem's alignment.

Cheap Off-Road Handlebar Repair

2010-05-15T04:33:00.005+09:00

If you have a handlebar like my bike in the photo (Trials, Motocross, Dirtbike), repair is possible. Most sport bikes like CBRs, ZZRs, FZRs, etc cannot be repaired easily because the holders are brittle. For bars that are similar to my bikes, 1st measure the center, take of the rubber grips off or cover them with leather or thick cloth, use a long pipe and fit it on one end of the bar. Get someone to hold your bike for you and start pumping. You can also detach the bar and clamp it on a vise so that things will be easier for you. Do it slowly because some cheap handle bars may break. You may not get the proper alignment at first but keep on trying. Do it slow and never over-do it. Remember to measure your handlebar as you proceed.

I always bring a two meter long steel pipe, a portable vise, and a big wooden hammer inside my van when I'm riding. I always bring a spare handlebar but these tools often comes handy. Sometime I use my big wooden mallet (10 kgs.) to hammer my bent handlebar when my long metal pipe can't do the work properly. I find a boulder and hammer it there. You can also find a tree with a big branch that is stronger than your handlebar but I prefer bending my handlebar using the big animal guard bumper on SUV's.

This is only a quick fix to get you back in the race but it is always best to change the handlebar if you have a spare.

Handlebar Sure Grip

2010-05-15T03:43:00.004+09:00

If you jump and do tricks a lot this may be for you... I apply rubber cement on the grips and taped them with transparent tape to keep constant pressure on the rubber. I also use plastic straps for additional pressure. Let it stay there for 6 to 8 hrs before you use your bike. You can also use very thin wires for your grip but if you do the glueing properly, you won't be needing wires... Remove the tape and the plastic straps before you use your bike. If the grips are sticky because of the tape, use detergent and wash off the glue. Now you are ready to FLY!!!