My TW maintenance,

[CDONA]

Back From the Fringe of Flagstaff,
Tuesdays Holiday traffic, thru Sedona, freight trucks, contractors with trailers, & tourists, , Oh My.
Packed both lanes thru town, Pure Panic when confronted with a roundie, stop dead and contemplate, consult your navel for guidance, , , Your Gut.
but,
Flagstaff, was easy, no traffic, breezed thru town, only a couple of tourist blocking/clogging intersections as extra traffic.
I get to ride her today, but first a propane refill, still 7 gallons below a $20. here.
Morro Bay was floating between $22/26.
I need to dive into my parts list, some I had bought and installed starting in April,
Asked for my old parts, should have useable spares, Possible "hospital billing" issues.

Muddly IS back.

 

[CDONA]

A few pestering problems, with the air/fuel, and front tire.

My TW maintenance,

Poor girl has been subject to field maintenance, for too many years. I have two bike dealers in town, for a BIG change. Almost instant new parts gratification, whoopee. New plastics, tone down the bright white, add another 3/4 gallon, bigger tank. I overhauled the steering bearings, before @ 6 K...

bayarearidersforum.com

I bought a Shinko 244, 510 size for sand float. What I've found, the tire has stiff sidewalls, I can't run over 25 lbs of air, too stiff to roll smoothly over to turn. Too much of a rear tire, to use on a light weight bike.
The deal killer, it has a cam built in, not perfectly round, it hops @ 45 and up, just like out of balance.
But it looks SO gnarly

So I'm thinking a softer tire, a trials universal, maybe a 450,
Black Friday Deals on Moto Tires ? ?

 

[CDONA]

New 400 x 18, trials tire on the front, this one doesn't hop, looking like a desert sled.
I now have 20 weight in the front tubes, 5 was too light, and the 20, I had was a 5/20 blend, to make proper volume.
Now the forks don't top out and clank anymore.

 

[GPzPop]

Hi Cdona,
I gotta r/r steering head bearings on one of the school's TW200s
any tips or tricks?

 

[CDONA]

Every thing I did upgrading my stock bearings to tapered is documented,
forks swing effortless, not one little hitch, never been this smooth.
No issues on loosening, hammered over washboard, for testing.
I didn't know the proper torque settings, it may be too low.
I did see a torque figure on a front tapered wheel bearing, of a car needing 50 lbs,
this got me wondering.
All Balls doesn't have it posted.

One point here, my preload fork spacers only add maybe close to 1/4 inch of preload,
my clanking was due to oil weight, only

 

[GPzPop]

Every thing I did upgrading my stock bearings to tapered is documented,
forks swing effortless, not one little hitch, never been this smooth.
No issues on loosening, hammered over washboard, for testing.
I didn't know the proper torque settings, it may be too low.
I did see a torque figure on a front tapered wheel bearing, of a car needing 50 lbs,
this got me wondering.
All Balls doesn't have it posted.

One point here, my preload fork spacers only add maybe close to 1/4 inch of preload,
my clanking was due to oil weight, only

thank you sir
bike is a school bike, no off road, I bought oem bearings

 

[CDONA]

Washboard is getting deeper, my viscosity has thinned, topping out is painful again.
I haven't found any fork oil heavier than 30w.
This is what I have now, needs more viscosity, I bought a quart of straight weight 50 motor oil.
My progression started with a blend of 5w and 20w, old partial pints, too thin.
I dumped all of that into the 1/2 gal jug, spent fluids, and filled with 30w fork oil, still too thin.
I drained some of both legs into the peanut butter jar, to make room for a dose of 50w
50w went into the glass jar up to the tape, both legs, almost taking the topping pain away,
Up Mingus to try the washboard, not quite fixed, added more 50w, half way to the tape again.
Mad scientist mixing fluids, for simple fork valving, by feels.

 

[dtrides]

.....all I can say is TW maintenance seems harder and more complicated than TWT maintenance...
DT

 

[CDONA]

That can't be true,
All the posts on care and feeding, or what new moto is needed/lusted,
That extra "T" has more estrogen issues than I care to deal with, and live happy.
and,
has more bikes too.

 

[CDONA]

The flat, rear tire spoiled my day, picked up a nail, & a bit of adventure, to get it home.
I pushed it, idling, for a block or so, until I could get a clear run up the street riding it, standing, weight forward, until a 5 lane x 3 lane intersection, walked it. Pushed/idled for a short bit, then another guy stopped to lend a hand.
First guy had a roll back flatbed, but he only does repos, truck cameras would spoil the secret help, but willing to fill the tire (inner tube). Second guy had a pickup with a little room, with two blocks to go.
We tossed it in, rode in the back, holding it.
One side bead was loose, I had to break the other side to do this myself, boot heels & a couple of blocks for support, done.
Tried to patch the tube, heavy duty, thicker and slicker than normal, one big patch, it didn't glue solid, blew off when I added air.
Dug out my spare, normal tube, installed, tire installed correct direction, rode it with low tires, checking the drag, filled up to specs, way less drag, but more than the mini. Fat tires are a drag, under inflated, 20 pumps with a tire pump gives me 7#, pressure gauge works.
Found my tail light flickering, it finally failed, one of those led conversion bulbs, Tango Uniform
Tits Up, replaced with a humble 1157.
I also swapped out a brake pad, factory, for a used EBC HH, sanded flat, ready to support it's brother.
Recycled from before, I was testing how the brake worked with two different pads in place. love the HH,
factory, phifffft.

Pix of my labors,
The parts,
Tightening dead spokes, after riding it, flat tire, first time I did this for this bike, been years since I've tightened spokes with my 4" crescent, way back to High School.
Runout tight, still round, a good two turns to tighten them, each.
I still could use a vice, a work bench, and SHADE

Easy day, only had to stop twice for rain.