My bike's list for the winter...

Well, I've figured out the "short list" of things that I'll be trying to get done on my bike over the winter. Some of it's obvious and just time to be done, some of it's not so obvious and some are just some low priority "nice to have's" that won't actually affect the operation of the bike.

• General:
  • Deep clean bike
  • Find cable wraps/tie downs to keep cables/wiring in place
  • Lubricate clutch and throttle cables
  Brakes:
  • Rear Brake: new pads and adjustment
  • Front Brakes:Check pads and rotor, flush and refill MC and brake lines
  Suspension:
  • Front Forks: fork oil change and possible new springs to stiffen the response
  • Rear Shocks: Adjust pre-load for 200+lb rider, replace if necessary
  Engine/Transmission/Drive Train:
  • General: perform compression test, change oil and replace oil filter bolt, adjust clutch, replace plugs, check plug wires and coil
  • Carbs: clean, sych using YICS tool and check/replace jets as needed
  • Valves: adjust as needed and replace currently leaking valve cover seals
  • Drive Train: Clean and lube chain, check front and rear sprockets
  Electricals:
  • Replace headlight with brighter/more focused headlamp
  • Replace tail light lamp that seems to have a loose connection
  • Fix intermittent starter circuit issue
  Nice To Have's:
  • Possibly repaint tank/side covers/tail
  • Replace mirrors with wider/taller stems
  • Replace grips with thicker, more comfortable grips
  • Add saddlebags and supports
  • Replace cracked front turn signal stem
  • Repair damage to sides of seat

Does anyone have anything else that I should add to that list? My main concern is maintaining proper functionality for the bike, not so much restoring or customizing it. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this is my first motorcycle that I'll have worked on to this extent and would like to make sure I don't unintentionally skip something important due to my lack of familiarity.

 

I notice that your list has many of the items that mine does.

Have you updated the fuse block? Do you have an inline fuel filter? How's your air filter?

These things, and many more, are all on my list for this winter.

mikeg

 

More focused headlight? When I'm in the middle of nowhere (which means 5minutes from town) I love having a headlight that lights up both ditches. I would like it to be a little brighter. I'm thinking of adding some driving lights.

 

You might want to go ahead and pull the rubber caps off your forks and put a little penetrating oil in there NOW to try to get the spring seats/caps loosened up. I've had my '81 since April and ONE of 'em is finally loose...

 

It may seem like a small thing, but my 2c -- double-sided velcro. Get it in a big roll - telecom techs use it for wire wrapping large bundles of cables. Works great to replace the original zip ties & wire ties. I've been replacing them all over my bike with it.
Should be able to get the big rolls of it at any telecom or wiring supply house.

 

The headlight I have seems so weak/unfocused that if I get a car any closer than 1/2 a block behind, my own shadow obscures the road in front of me. I've tried adjusting the headlight angle, but it doesn't help much. Even though I live in town where there's plenty of streetlights everywhere, I'm still inclined to avoid riding after dark until I can get that taken care of.

Fitz, thanks for the tip. I'll probably be getting started on some of the items on the list this weekend. Mostly the stuff that wouldn't take very long or could be considered prep work for other stuff (like the spring seats you mentioned). My goal would be to have as much of that done as I can before it gets too cold to be out in the unheated garage.

Altus, thanks for the reminder. I use exactly what you're describing for cable management both in my data center and at home... (Yes, I'm THAT much of a Geek...)
I'm leaning towards using those re-usable, thick black plastic zip-ties since I can snug those down a lot tighter than I can the velcro. I'll go the velcro route if I can't find any of those though.

 

Be careful snugging down too much using zip ties; the bikes vibration can cause the square edges to saw thru wires. Those irritating but effective soft metal "belts" that Yamaha used originally are still available too.

 

I hadn't thought about the vibration effect cutting into the wires. Thanks for the reminder.

I'll see what I can scam up for the velcro in the mean time and see if I can snag a couple more of those stock wrap/ties that Yamaha used.