I Need some help with my Bike

[yesterdayze]

I can post some pics tomorrow afternoon when i get out of work. plus i'm riding to freaks house so you can all have a nice look at my baby

How bad is the leak? Just curious cause if it's radiator fluid then you could probably get away with it in this weather. If it's oil on the other hand....eh screw it...oil is over rated anyways...

[Degsy]

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WTF is radiator fluid? LOL you mean coolant?

[catamount]

WTF is radiator fluid? LOL you mean coolant?

Radiator fluid is a common term for coolant. The joke is on you.

http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/radiator-fluid

[Degsy]

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Well fuck if its on a website it must be true. Chillax and go drink a glass of faucet fluid. I'm gonna go change my engine fluid.

[markbvt]

Chillax and go drink a glass of faucet fluid.

If it's oil on the other hand....eh screw it...oil is over rated anyways...

Oil's cheap. Just top up as necessary.

--mark

[catamount]

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Well fuck if its on a website it must be true. Chillax and go drink a glass of faucet fluid. I'm gonna go change my engine fluid.

I'm just surprised that you've never heard of "radiator fluid".

It's not like we're talking about headlight fluid here...

Some people also refer to it as, brace yourself, antifreeze!

[Degsy]

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Heh heh. Its a long standing joke between dbkromz and I. He called it rad fluid once and I haven't stopped ragging on him about it since. I have heard people call brake fluid 'brake oil' too and that's not even oil.

[Baggey22]

I'm gonna take a look at his bike this afternoon to see if the leak is radiator fluid, engine liquid, squid juice, or headlight solution.

[Degsy]

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I'm gonna take a look at his bike this afternoon to see if the leak is radiator fluid, engine liquid, squid juice, or headlight solution.

Nice. Check to see if its leaking out of the blinker cap. That's a known problem on those bikes.

[yesterdayze]

I'm just surprised that you've never heard of "radiator fluid".

It's not like we're talking about headlight fluid here...

Some people also refer to it as, brace yourself, antifreeze!

lol, nice

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Heh heh. Its a long standing joke between dbkromz and I. He called it rad fluid once and I haven't stopped ragging on him about it since. I have heard people call brake fluid 'brake oil' too and that's not even oil.

hmm, brake oil I can see being a wee bit confusing unless it is LHM, but no one uses that in motorcycles, and I doubt it is really used in anything in the US other then maybe a few mercedes or something *shrug*

Speaking of, that reminds me, anyone know where I can get a new muffler bearing for an 05 grand prix? Apparently mine's worn out....

Check out this site for those who haven't seen it, pretty amusing.

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

[markbvt]

Check out this site for those who haven't seen it, pretty amusing.

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

They have some nice stuff, but I can't believe they don't carry the Lucas replacement wiring harness smoke kit.
http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

--mark

[Baggey22]

So I looked at Parker's bike. It looks like his head gasket is leaking.

[Degsy]

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Head gasket? Best to clean it all off with degreaser and hot water and run it to confirm.

[Dichotomous]

leaky head gasket eh?

best to run the NOS through the tank, it'll solve that right up!

[Baggey22]

We cleaned it off and he's gonna run it to work and back today and I'm gonna see if it's still leaking to be sure

[AHAMAYs2]

The leak i do believe was from my oil filter cap being loose, i cleaned it up and tightened it but i'll have to let it sit overnight and see what happens. My big problem now is my chain being loose. i have approx. 1.5" of slack (which i know is too much) but when i went to adjust my chain by sliding the axil back on the swing arm, i couldn't pull the tire back anymore. I'm not sure what the deal is but by the looks of everything i can't pull my tire any farther back on my swing arm and my chain is still loose. What should i do? Let me know if you guys want pictures and what you want pictures of. Thanks.

[OreoGaborio]

1.5 inches doesn't sound bad to me.

Even if it's technically out of spec, I'm of the opinion that you're better off having a chain that's too lose than a chain that's too tight.
A chain that doesn't have enough slack puts a lot of pressure on the counter shaft bearings and actually binds up your rear suspension.

As long as the bike isn't jerky at on/off throttle, it's not slapping the swing arm and it's not skipping teeth, you should be alright.

[Sheppo]

IF you have no more adjustment, your chain is stretched and needs replacing. Usually you replace the sprockets at the same time.

[OreoGaborio]

Good point, Sheppo... Unless someone cut the chain a link too long, that's usually a good indicator that the chain needs to be replaced.

Another good way to check chain wear is to grab the chain at the 3'oclock position on the rear sprocket and pull it towards the back of the bike... A new chain shouldn't pull away from the sprocket much at all. If you can pull it away from the sprocket a good amount, then keep an eye on how things are wearing, cuz it might be time to replace it.

[yesterdayze]

I just responded to your PM, Sheppo and Oreo are exactly right and I seem to recall your chain and sprocket being fairly worn. I'll show you how to check it and all that and we can throw a new one on if we need.

I intentionally run my chain a hair looser then spec.

Pictures...yeah...no.... I think that last picture I saw of you is going to haunt me for the rest of my life....

[AHAMAYs2]

IF you have no more adjustment, your chain is stretched and needs replacing. Usually you replace the sprockets at the same time.

How can a chain "strech"?

[MotoFreak]

Heat, friction, and variables that deal with acceleration and deceleration all contribute to your chain stretching over time. The links and o-rings will break in on a new chain, and then after a certain number of miles, will wear past their useable allowance.
How do you know what that is? If you lube your chain every 3-600 miles, and tighten it ever now and again, you'll be set for the rest of the time you own the bike considering your riding habits and the motorcycle. That chain on there is most likely the org. that came with the bike!
Someone who actually knows can give you more specifics, but there's the basics.

[yesterdayze]

Like Freak mentioned every time you accelerate and decelerate you put stress on the chain. Each link has a little roller on it. You have to keep it greased because as it goes around it has to pivot on that roller hundreds of times per minute. Each time it does so it wears on that roller. Keeping the chain greased helps, but no matter what there is pressure pulling that roller agains the pin going through it and connecting it to the next link. Like anything it will wear down. You would think "yeah, but even a very badly worn down roller can't wear down enough to make the chain stretch". Actually it can.

Assume each roller wears down 1/32 of an inch. That is barely anything. Now assume you have about 100 links. Each link has a roller that is worn 1/32 of an inch. That's 3 and 1/80 inches. That in itself is a lot. Now, remember too that as that chain goes around the sprockets it wears down into those as well. Granted it doesn't wear down far, but it does wear down. The teeth are especially prone to thinning out. I'll show you an old one from when I bought my bike.... some teeth were worn down almost an 1/8th of an inch...

ALWAYS replace sprockets with chains. Yes, they may not have worn down must at all. What they have done though is worn to match the old chain, so when you put a new chain in the sprocket will quickly wear down the chain rollers more in certain spots until the wear patterns match. It's just not worth not replacing both. Usually if you look around you can get a kit with a chain and a sprocket cheaper then or for about the same amount as just a chain or sprocket.

[Trouble]

Funny timing on the chain/sprocket discussion. I was rooting around in a storage box today and found the chain and sprockets from my old Monster. It's missing at least 3 teeth on the front sprocket. I'm pretty sure that isn't a good thing... Ah, those were the days. One more item for the wall of shame.

[yesterdayze]

Funny timing on the chain/sprocket discussion. I was rooting around in a storage box today and found the chain and sprockets from my old Monster. It's missing at least 3 teeth on the front sprocket. I'm pretty sure that isn't a good thing... Ah, those were the days. One more item for the wall of shame.

Yeah, I'll have to show you that sprocket I was refering to at some point.... Freak has seen it... 14 teeth in a row missing and a few singles here and there missing... the ones not missing look like minature eiffel towers....

It was like having an auto wheelie setting