Motorcycle Maintenance: What Not To Do

Matt Gormley is the copywriting intern here at AltRider, and in his spare time rides his '82 Ironhead Sportster, '74 Kawasaki S3 400 triple, and '76 Yamaha XS 360. Some recent motorcycle maintenance became a learning experience that he shares below.

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I had a killer list of tasks to tackle on Friday.  So I drank my coffee, walked the dog and headed to the shed.

First on the list was changing the fork oil in my trusty Yamaha XS 360.  I had never changed it before, but thought it would be a quick and dirty task, easy enough on a day with lots of chores.

I started by draining all the old fork oil.  It looked watery, blown out and clumpy.  If I had to wager a guess, I’d say it was probably the original fork oil from the seventies.  As I began to work, I realized that popping the fork caps was pretty challenging without an extra set of hands.  I also didn't have the center stand installed, which made it tough. 

I hunted for my PB Blaster and laid out my tools in the order I would need to grab them.  Then I almost took out my eye when the fork cap and spring sprang loose. Oops. I measured out the appropriate amount of fork oil and poured it down the funnel.  Getting the fork cap back in place was a bit easier than taking it out.  Now I was working smarter, not harder.

I finally got the first fork done in about two hours.  Luckily, I planned to tell all my friends it only took about 30 minutes. 

The first fork was tough, but this second fork should go lickety split.  I wrestled loose the other fork cap after the PB Blaster had a chance to work its magic.  I measured out the oil from the BelRay plastic container into the Ratio Rite.  My mind was somewhere else, doing who knows what, but I wasn't paying attention at all when I poured the blue oil into the second fork.  I finished pouring and my mind did a short double take...

That fork oil is stringy like foam filter oil.  F*&%!  Oh no!

I noticed the fork oil container next to the foam filter oil container on the bench.  Umm...  I just filled my fork with foam filter oil.

Suffice to say I had some additional work cut out for me.  The second fork took a little longer than the first. And while I did manage to fix my mistake, changing my fork oil ended up being a little more involved than I had planned.

Have you ever made some sort of obvious, oblivious error spinning wrenches?  If so, will you share your story so I don’t feel like such a dunce?

Matt

Goons in the Dunes Weekend

Well, Jim Thompson is back at it again…Goons in the Dunes.  I (Jeremy) certainly am lucky to get introduced to great people who share a passion for riding.  This summer, Jim put on an epic 10 day ride in the Cascades called “Ride While You Can: the Dual Sport Adventure.”  This time he put a spin on Eric Cleveland’s legendary contests with the Goons in the Dunes weekend.  It was planned initially to be a bunch of Dakar-style challenges, but it simmered into an enduro style event with special tests that included a “Top Rated Goon’n Contest.”

Lead Product Engineer Jacob Ellul-Blake and I loaded up and headed out at 4 a.m. on Saturday.  We stopped in North Bend, Washington and found a bakery with the lights on called George’s Bakery.  Cool old guy running it and a great place for breakfast.  We continued the rest of the 4 hour ride, and came across fellow competitors stranded on the side of the pass (Bill Woods and Scott Weber).  Somehow, their tailgate on the trailer fell open spraying sparks 4 feet high.  They fixed it and got back on the road.

We finally arrived in the middle of nowhere.  There was quite a presence when we rolled up:  about 4 RVs, 5 trucks and 2 vans.  There were lots of familiar faces, as well as many I hadn’t met before.  We started the process of hellos and getting gear out.  We also had to configure our 8 ft flags; they’re required for dune riding so others can see you coming up steep dunes and avoid crashes.

As usual, the adrenaline got going as all the bikes were fired up. It was about a 5 mile liaison ride to the first competition.  The goon was coming out in all of us as wheelies were being attempted all the way down the dirt road.

1st test: “Best 1 Minute Goon Ride.”  All I can say is watch the video, which may not be as funny but it was hilarious in person.

Then we had a liaison through the dunes for a “Time Trial” consisting of 4 laps in varying terrain. The goal was to maintain consistent speed.  I don’t think I did very well, as I began to settle in the sand-riding and got faster.

The next test was a full-on race out in the dunes.   This was awesome. Every lap, the two slowest guys were pulled before the remaining riders went on to the next lap with a full on hot restart. 

Next test, Jim came up with a great idea.  We all drew cards with a number on one of the other bikes in the groups.  This meant the next race was going to start on someone else’s bike.  After the 1st lap you had to wait till your bike completed the first lap and then you grabbed it to finish your final lap.  It was hilarious! Some of the bikes were clapped out old shitters while others were world class racing machines.  Some people panicked.  I found myself on an 8 year old YZ 250 with a Recluse clutch… while not ideal, I was all smiles. 

The 2 stroke power got me the hole shot, but almost blew through the first corner -- as I headed hot into the first corner I couldn’t find the brakes (the challenge of jumping on someone else’s machine).


Somehow, I led the entire first lap.  I got a quick handoff from Ken but couldn’t get the bike to relight right away, and found myself one wheel length behind Colin the entire final lap.  An awesome race, and Colin won.  Once the points were added up, Ken took home the overall trophy.

We spent the rest of the weekend racing in the dunes, fire jumping, and telling lies.

Jacob and I had a great time, and everyone else did, too.  If you missed out on 2010’s Goons in the Dunes, don’t make that mistake again. Come next year.