What Did You Do to Your RX3 Today?

[RC]

I had arguably the best maintenance day I've ever had, largely due to atmosphere, partly to mechanical success (knock on wood). I'm parked in front of a guest house in the tiny village of Shenako, Georgia, perched at about 7000ft with amazing mountain views. Staying here a couple days while one of my riding buddies recovers from a stomach virus, so decided to do some maintenance. The valves needed checking soon, the air filter needed checking, and I've had a tail light not working for nearly 2000 miles (luckily nobody cares about motorcycles or traffic laws in East Europe).

There also happened to be a wedding at the small church I'm parked in front of, which I got invited to watch. Interesting for a few minutes, but then I went back to work. I'm not big on faith, but after the ceremony when I had the tank off and parts everywhere, someone came up to it and said a short prayer for it to work well (maybe not that uncommon in East orthodox, as I've witnessed a priest perform a blessing of a car, even sprinkling it with holy water). Maybe it helped because the valve gaps were still within tolerance (first time!), the air filter was a little dry but amazingly clean considering I've crossed 2 different deserts and 60km of powdery dry mountain roads in the last 10 days. And I fixed the culprit of the tail light. The bike cranked up with only a little hesitation, hopefully too much dust didn't fall into the valve coverings cause the whole bike is caked pretty well.

I declined the invite to the reception party because I'm an outsider and I wasn't in the mood for heavy chacha drinking, but a little sad I did because I missed out on a sheep sacrifice. But probably better off for not because my guest house mother would have been quite upset if I showed up for dinner with a small appetite.

Hopefully the bike is top shape because there is only one way out of this area and it's 9800ft with very steep climbs and powdery loose switchback turns. But this far the rx3 has performed admirably, keeping up with African twins, teneres, and others, although the shinko knobbies are a considerable advantage.

[BlackBike]

>pyoung

This is most excellent mod for your gps...impressive..

So you made the black part in your hand and the silver part that attaches to the top of it?

I did a quick and nontechechnical mod for my arm ends today and got out on the road today. Heat not so bad mid to low 90's. (Pay no attention to the funky double nut deal, just what I had on hand...never throw anything away)

Great job guys pyoung, and spectacular pics RC !

[pyoungbl]

yes, made all the metal parts. I'm going to fab up the Mark III today so I can adjust the screen angle a bit better and also add a sun screen. Glare on the GPS screen makes it difficult to read in some situations. This is a common problem, no matter where/how you mount the unit so I am only trying to minimize the glare.

[fjmartin]

I made a sun screen for my setup. Put sticky Velcro on the side and back of the RAM mount and then got a sheet of black hobby plastic and cut it to size and used a heat gun to bend the edges.

By my setup I mean I purchased the angled base RAM ball and add arched to one of the wind screen bolts and added a zip tie to prevent it from rotating. Put on a medium RAM arm and a RAM mount for the Garmin Nuvi 57LM.

I water proofed the Nuvi using silicon in the corners of the screen and 3M tape over all the rear and side holes. Dielectric grease in the USB port.

I use open street maps to get world wide and tops maps on it and use basecamp to create routes and generate transparent map overlays on the GPS using free tools.

Works great since I don’t have the means to fab and the GPS was only $79.

[Working_ZS]

Just got down doing a little maintenance on the RX3 and TT250.

For the RX3, it was time for the 3rd valve inspection. It's at 8500 miles, 4000 miles since the last one. At that time, the intakes were in spec but the exhaust valves were solid, with the bike stalling when the clutch was pulled in and the engine dropped to idle. This time, I was happy to see that both the intake and exhaust valves were in spec and no adjustment was needed. For those who are interested, I do use Lucas 10003 Upper Cylinder Lubrication & Injector Cleaner, per CSC's recommendation. I add it at about twice the recommended ratio of 3 oz per 10 gallons of fuel, with that being 3 oz per 5 gallons for me. It appears to do the business, cushioning the valves the way lead used to in leaded gasoline. Also, very cost effective. I bought a gallon of it at Walmart for $30 and have only used 3/4 of it. Those of you having problems with valve wear might want to give it a try.

In addition to the valve inspection, I also changed out the air filter. Didn't feel like washing the old one, so I just oiled up the new spare and installed it. Other than that, not much to report. The bike is running great with no issues.

[Juanro]

At 30K kilometers, changed de return spring of the gearshift lever (http://www.cscmotorcycles.com/RETURN...-p/z21-102.htm)
3 hrs total.

[Juanro]

(more)

[mckayprod]

I did some pre-ride prep. Just turned over 11500 miles and I'll be riding from my NorCal location up to Ashland, Oregon for the annual family get-together at the end of the Shakespeare Festival. I lubed and adjusted the chain, aired up the tires, wiped off the weeks' accumulation of bugs and crud, and polished up the windshield (Mirror Glaze rocks!). I also got a spare master link for the chain, since I had one break a couple of weeks ago and will want to fix that on the road if needed. A spare quart of oil and a tank of gas and I'm outta here in the morning! I'll send a pic from Lassen.

[rjmorel]

Originally Posted by mckayprod

I did some pre-ride prep. Just turned over 11500 miles and I'll be riding from my NorCal location up to Ashland, Oregon for the annual family get-together at the end of the Shakespeare Festival. I lubed and adjusted the chain, aired up the tires, wiped off the weeks' accumulation of bugs and crud, and polished up the windshield (Mirror Glaze rocks!). I also got a spare master link for the chain, since I had one break a couple of weeks ago and will want to fix that on the road if needed. A spare quart of oil and a tank of gas and I'm outta here in the morning! I'll send a pic from Lassen.

Have a good ride and be safe McK, Do you know why the chain M link broke? Too tight? I've only had one chain break on me and it was because I had just adjusted it to tight and just going off the curb was enough to pop it, rj

[vttrailboss]

I finally got around to mounting these. I made minor modifications, and added a short stand-off on each side. I like how they are supported on both sides, and I could keep the weights in place. Hoping these will throw chilly winds over my hands, too!

[mckayprod]

Originally Posted by rjmorel

Have a good ride and be safe McK, Do you know why the chain M link broke? Too tight? I've only had one chain break on me and it was because I had just adjusted it to tight and just going off the curb was enough to pop it, rj

I seem to have a loose chain all the time, so I don't think that's it. Funny how the chain tension seems to change depending on where you measure it, how much load is on the suspension, etc. I don't understand that stuff at all, and it could have been on a tight spot when it broke. Or, it was loose and rode up the sprocket tooth and..?

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by mckayprod

I seem to have a loose chain all the time, so I don't think that's it. Funny how the chain tension seems to change depending on where you measure it, how much load is on the suspension, etc. I don't understand that stuff at all, and it could have been on a tight spot when it broke. Or, it was loose and rode up the sprocket tooth and..?

Geometry. At certain points through the travel of the swing arm, the chain gets tight. If that isn't compensated for through the proper chain slack, usually around 1.5 inches, it will pull the chain tight and break it.

[pyoungbl]

I'll expand on the chain geometry comment: The swingarm rotates through an arc that is centered on the swingarm axle. The chain, on the other hand, rotates on an arc that is centered on the countershaft sprocket. This means that the chain will have slack when the swingarm is above or below a line drawn through the sprocket, the swingarm axle, and the rear wheel axle. The chain will be at its tightest when those same three points are in line. At rest the bike sits with the rear axle below said line so you have slack. As you put weight on the bike the slack lessens. Due to the geometry differences from model to model the recommended slack differs. For many bikes you measure with the bike upright and with about 1 1/2" of slack. It's better to have too much slack than not enough. A tight chain will wear much more quickly and also wear the sprockets more quickly. Too tight and you risk damage to the output shaft. It's a good idea to check the master link (if it is the clip on type) from time to time. That's why I prefer a pressed on master link.

[mckayprod]

A couple of questions about chain slack, then: first, if the bike has a constant load on the suspension and I push the bike forward or back, why does the chain have a tight spot? Are the sprockets not truly round? And second, what am I checking for when I check the master link? The clip is in the grooves on the link pins, but is there more?

I think this is turning into a new thread...anybody know how to lift this discussion and create one?

[Juanro]

Originally Posted by mckayprod

... I push the bike forward or back, why does the chain have a tight spot? Are the sprockets not truly round?

That's usually caused by a chain that's not evenly stretched; some sections of it have more link-to-link play tan others, not by out of round sprockets.

Juanro