Random safety wire drilling stuff....

I decided to clean up and drill a few more holes for the safety wire clips in the front caliper mounting bolts. The bolt laying on the vise to the right is the slightly corroded bolt and the left one has been polished.
This cut off wheel for the Dremel tool shows the quick release style hole for the new style arbor. I found this setup makes changing out the wheels a heck of a lot quicker.
Once I polished the heads of the bolts I hit them with a little clear laquer in an effort to keep them from corroding again.
If you're going to attempt bolt drilling for safety wire, stock up on 1/16" hardened drill bits.
I drilled the heads out on every flat of the socket head making it easier to position the clips where they would line up properly. That neat Park Tool makes it easy to hold different diameter bolts in the vise. Handy.
A small adjustable angled vise makes it easy to hold bolts firmly on the drill press. Don't forget the oil for cooling the drill bit.
Gotta have a drill press.
The Dremel (Sears actually) tool with the polishing quick-release wheel.

Homemade parts washer

I must admit that I'm a bit of a "dumpster diver"- have been from way-back, runs in the family! Plus, I'm cheap (to a degree).....so having no shame about routing around through the thrash helps. I must also say that I tend to use everything I bring home, it may be years before I need it but I always seem to make use of the item or piece of "scrap".
Take the nice piece of perforated stainless steel sheets that were used in my "free" parts washer. After a couple of cuts, folds, and rivets attaching it to a discarded bin zip-tied to procured milk crates (yeah, I know about the legal warnings on the things....but what can I say, I guess I live dangerously!) I had a nice unit.

Using a combination of parts washing fluid (pressurized bottle), and spray cans of Brakleen (high solvent and low solvent) I can clean my parts and the excess fluid drains into the bin where most of it evaporates. I've got a brush and blow gun there also.
I designed it to be at working level right outside the workspace, behind the doors separating the heated shop from the stairs and bulkhead. Notice the white box to the lower right- this is the fan setup that I use when I paint in the room, I've just turned the opening 90 degrees (from the covered opening to the shop-red door) to suck out the fumes when I turn on the fan--it works great--no more filling the house with strong brake cleaner fumes. When I'm done washing parts I just shut the door, let the fan run for awhile to evacuate the remaining nastiness and that's it.
It's out of the way, accessible, easy to use.......and, best of all FREE!!

A great day to bring her down.....

Ready for the beast....

The basement stand is ready for this winter's work on the 999R.
Just need a couple bodies to get it down the ramp. Stay tuned.......

Tribute to Marco Simoncelli #58

That's Kevin Schwantz holding his bike with all the MotoGp bikes in the background. He lead the parade lap in memory of Marco Simoncelli.

Did Marco Simoncelli have on a chest protector?

I'm sure if you are here than you know about the tragic crash and resulting death of Marco Simoncelli during the last round of the MotoGp race. I have no desire to start a controversy, but I've been wondering if he was wearing a chest protector during the race.

I've watched most of the races, practices and qualifying on MotoGp.com and I've never seen him put one on. I know that Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards, and others use them. Nicky and Colin use the same protector as I do during my track days/Impact Amour brand.

http://www.impactarmor.com/ NOTE: I've found the statements on the site about Carlos Checa and Troy Bayliss interesting.

During the last week I've read and seen many reports about the crash and understand that his death was a result of chest trauma. I can't help but wonder if a properly worn chest protector would have helped. I'm also curious as to why these are not mandated in such a high level of competition as MotoGP, even some track days require their use.

If anyone has anything to add or can confirm that he was or was not wearing a chest protector please add a comment below.

Thanks

R.I.P. Simo

LAMINATED MAPS

I love to tour unknown locations with Mary and the BMW---BUT, I have to admit, I suck at directions- just ask anyone who's followed me during a ride. I can't tell my North from South, I don't remember where I've been in the past, can't remember any points of interest (I just claim that I never saw them when Mary screams at me "Steve, remember this place from last year?") "Yes dear" nodding--all the while I have no clue if we were there or not. I claim that I'm busy doing my job keeping a "spirited" pace and watching for deer and LEO's!!
YES, I have a GPS that works great, put I still have trouble. On top of this Mary is a "map person" before we leave she has to confirm that we have all the proper paper maps in the tankbag. Thing is, paper maps are difficult to use while riding- if she uses them in the back while enroute and relays the directions through our intercom it's fine but more often then not they are hard to read while riding (or stopped if your eyesight sucks like ours) and they either fall out of her jacket when we stop or when we're done they are ripped to shreds from constant folding/unfolding.
So on the last tour of CT. Mary got tired of me stopping to check the GPS, etc and at a lunch stop annouced that she was buying a map at the gas staion. What she returned with was the largest map of one state that I have ever seen!! We laid that sucker out on the grass and it was bigger than some blankets. She had bought ($5.99) a Rand MacNally Easy to Read map--and it was surely easy to read, but folding and storing it was another thing!!
So after a couple of days of thoughts of "There's gotta be a better way to use a paper map while motorcycling." I came up with the following project.
Let me know what you think.



Some of the equipment used for the project.

Here's all the sections of NY State.

This shows the marks I've added with a Sharpie making it easier to arrange the sections. When correctly positioned it will make an "X".

I used a Brother P-Touch label maker to label each map section.
Here's 6 states. Some are two sided.

The size of the printing on the "Easy to Read" maps means less of the state fits on the 9x11" laminate pouch, resulting in many sections making up each state and some are two sided. But I feel the fact that these maps are so much easier to read by us old-timers while on the road.

NY State.

The laminator does a great job of sealing the maps, but your have to really plan the sections and leave at least 1/8' around the edges so they seal.

I also print maps and directions of specific rides from Google Maps, add notes right on the map (you can also add arrows, text, etc from the site) before printing.

Here's a route from Waitsfield VT. to Tracy Rd. in NY. The notes on the left help with specfic roads that are too small to print when Zoomed Out to cover a larger area. As I noted eariler, you can also write right on the laminated sheet with a Sharpie and clean it later with alcohol.

It gets added to the folder.

The ole' laminator. I used the largest pouches that fit the machine. These sections only fit my large tankbag's map case, so that's what we'll be using on tours where we need a map. The sections also fit in the compartment under the tankbags cover for storage.
Markings showing the correct arrangements. We'll probably only need to put the maps together at night while discussing the route and planning another.
Some of the equipment for the project. I think the Laminator going to come in handy around the house. It was under $30 new from Amazon.

You'll need some room to lay the puppies out!!

Tire Balancing 101

Sorry the tire balancing posts are in the wrong order---but this blog has been giving me trouble lately.
Please start with the posts below titled "Tire Balancing 101" then finish with "Steps to Balance" Thanks,
Steve

Steps to Balance.

Here's the naked wheel on the balancer to find the true heaviest spot.

The two red dots on the tire represents the lightest point- mount the tire with these at the "true" heaviest point on the rim (or the valve stem if you didn't check the rim first).

The first thing to do is set the wheel (from now on "wheel" will refer to the rim/tire) on the balancer, making sure the rod or axle is level, and give it a good spin. Position yourself so that your can "eyeball" the top of the tire as it spins and use a reference point in the distance to check for any up and down movement, also check for any side "runout". If the wheel has a wobble it could be a slightly bent rim or tire that is not seated properly on the rim. If everything is true, continue on.
Slow the spinning tire until it settles to a stop. Note: As you become better at the process you'll get a feel for how much weight to start with to get close. The heaviest spot is now at the bottom (6 o'clock). Add a strip of weights (as shown below) opposite this spot (12 o'clock), then move it to the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock (below) position and let it go. If it begins to drop to the bottom, cut a little bit of the strip off, you'll get the hang of how much to remove by the speed that it drops. Keep playing with the length of the strip until it stays there or moves very little. I like to position the wheel at different spots and check for movement. When your sure that the weight added compensates for the heavy point on the wheel, give it a few small spins and make sure that it stops at random spots. If it stops and then changes direction or speeds up it's still off a little and you'll have to make adjustments.

Once you're positive that you have a nice balanced wheel, carefully remove the weight strip, clean the rim and apply it to the rim. If it's a wide rear wheel try to get it directly in the middle of the rim or if it's a narrow rim and you have a lot of weight, divide the strip in half and put an equal amount on both sides.

Before removing the wheel from the balancer double check your work.

There it is.....a pretty straight forward technique for checking your wheels for trueness and getting a perfect balance, just like the professionals.

Tire Balancing 101

Here's where I got the static tire balancer I've been using for years. Marc makes excellent stuff for mostly BMW's, and this balancer is very well made and reliable.

Here's some of the tools and attachments I use for balancing different wheels. The top rod and cones are for the single sided swingarms for Ducatis. The middle is a universal style I had machined that fits many different sized wheel bearings. The lower one and the round aluminum adapter (below to the right of it) is a Marc Parnes item and is for single sided BMW wheels.

Note: This balancer is designed to use the stock axles also.

Then you'll need stick on wheel weights (shown are car type), a small level (I'll explain that later), cutting pliers and brake cleaner for removing the old weights.

Here's the unit with the rod and cones I used to balance the Ducati wheels and tires. Note the vertical adjustment of the left bearing support, it's used to compensate for axles that are large on one end (usually front). Also notice that the right bearing support is adjustable for width of the wheel/tire combo, this is handy when setting the positions of the bearings on the axles so there is no interferance when spinning the wheel. Marc also sells a rod setup that attaches to his balancer that is used to check runout of the wheel.

Rain tires mounted and ready for balancing.

Tip 1. To balance a tire using the minimum amout of weight first check the balance of just the rim. Tires are checked for balance at the factory and marked for the lightest spot, this spot should be positioned opposite the heaviest point of the rim (which many, mistakenly, think is the valve stem). Note the yellow dot on the rim above, this is the "true" heaviest point of the rim.

Now notice the yellow dot on the rear wheel in relationship to the valve stem (preceived heaviest spot). As seen, there can be quite a difference between these two, in this case almost 180 degrees. The yellow dot is the point I use as the heaviest to balance the wheel/tire. You'll use less weight with this method, although I realize it takes a little more time, but seeing as I've mounted and balanced all my own tires for years, I feel it's worth it. Trust me, most shops will never make the effort to do this and you'll end up with a 4 inch strip of weights on the wheels, AND, they would probably not even bother to seperate them for both sides of the rim. That's tip 2. If you need quite a bit of weight it should be divided in two strips and applied to both sides of the rim.