Winter is coming
Just a quick note today about putting your bike up for the winter.
The gas tank is the source of many spring time bike problems. Everybody has heard about gas going stale in the tank and carbs. So add a fuel stabilizer such as sta-bil or sea foam. Next you will want to drain your carburetor float bowls. If your bike has a manual petcock just start the engine and shut the gas off at the petcock and let it run dry. If you have a vacuum operated petcock disconnect and plug the vacuum line, this will keep the petcock from opening.
If your bike is fuel injected sitting over the winter will not be a problem. (By this I mean there is nothing to drain.)
Don't forget to fill your tank up before you store the bike for the winter, empty space in the gas tank allows condensation and promotes rust in the tank.
One other thing. I shoot a quick spurt of WD 40 into the exhaust pipe to help displace any condensation that occures in there and then plug the exhaust pipe with a rag or place a piece of tape to prevent mice from using the muffler as their winter home.
later
Motoman
Deciphering the Motorcycle Tire Code
A few days ago I was standing in the tire section of a large motorcycle retailer and over heard a couple of prospective tire buyers trying to make sense of the tire size code. They got some of it right, but didn't have a clue about some important parts. So I thought a quick recap may be in order.
This code is the series of numbers and letters molded into the side of every motorcycle tire made. The tire code tells you all you need to know about the tire size, tire type , load rating and max speed the tire is intended to be operated at.
The metric indication is the most common.
160/80 R 16 73 H
The first number is the tread width in millimeters. This tire is 160 milemeters wide
The second number is the aspect ratio. This tells you the height of the tire from the ground to the rim. It is a percent of the tire tread width. In this case 80% of 160 millimemters = 128.
The R indicates that this is a radial tire.
16 is the rim size
73 indicates the max load for the tire. This number doesn't do you much good unless you have a load chart that tells you that a 73 rated tire can support a load of 805 lbs. Many tires will omit the load rating in the code but put it in plain English at some other point on the sidewall.
The H is the speed rating.
S = 112 mph
T = 118 mph
U = 124 mph
H = 130 mph
V = 149 mph
Z or ZR = above 149
You should not put a tire on your bike with a speed rating lower than what the factory shipped it with.
Hope this helps next time your tire shopping .
Oh and for the two guys buying tires the other day S does not mean speedway.
Motoman
Restoring your motorcycle’s windshield
Replacing an old scratched and yellowed motorcycle windshield is a expensive proposition. I had heard of people saving their windshields by polishing them and since I had nothing to lose(the windshield on my project bike was headed for the trash) I decided to give it a try.
When I was finished I was really surprised.
This is what I had to start with.
After pealing off the stickers, I cleaned the surface with soap and water. Next I applied fine rubbing compound with a foam polishing ball on a power drill.
Once that was buffed down I switched to Meguiars PlastX (this stuff is intended to clean plastic headlights) I also applied this with the polishing ball and drill.
The last step was more plastX but applied by hand with a soft cloth.
I also repainted the black trim at the bottom.
Yes this is the same windshield.
Wow that plastX is pretty good stuff might have to try it on my cars headlights.
That's all for now
Motoman
Ohio Cafe Racer
It's starting to cool down here in Ohio. So I start looking around for a winter project. I kinda got the bug to build a cafe bike.
I guess that means I'll be spending alot of time on the BIG E and craig's list looking for a likely subject. I think something like a Honda CB360 would be nice, or maybe a Yamaha xs400 - 600. What ever it ends up being I will document the build here.
Later
Motoman
p.s.
I'm trying to move all of the post from the old blog over to this new one.