thats_a_five

I think you would get better answers if you posted in the "Honda" forum on this site. I am not sure what you are exactly explaining but it sounds like the one (or a combination) of three problems: 1) The internal spline on the aluminum lever is stripped. 2) the external spline on the pivot shaft is stripped 3) the brake pads and or drum are worn and the pivot shaft is turning too far when spreading the brake shoes. You are using a clamp bolt in the lever, right?

Interesting thread. I don't run a lanyard switch but considering it. If I do I would probably wire it up this way. 1) Keep the original kill switch and wire the new one in parallel so either one can be used. 2) Wire the lanyard switch so I can unplug it if I forget or lose the magnet. Then I can simply unplug it and still use the original kill switch. 3) Mount near the center of the bars with the lanyard clipped to my pants near the center of my body. Anyone who has had a tree limb snag and pull their throttle cable wide open knows why. Also, my wrist could easily get 2 feet from my bars and I could still ride but if my belly gets more than 2 feet from the bike, I am probably going a different direction then the bike - in an uncontrolled way. Weeeee!

Most bearing shops and bicycle shops sell individual balls. You know it is 6 mm so just call around and you should find one.

Haha, agreed. I bought a HondaTLR200a while ago from a guy who had put massive springs on. He said he had used it to drag firewood and had some sort of hitch on it. No surprise it needed a clutch. I weigh about 17stone (I think) and riding it was like a hard tail Harley. I swapped out the springs and shocks and it now rides much better. .

You can remove the shock and spring as a complete assembly by removing the bolts that go through to the frame. These sometimes corrode making removal difficult. Some people use a spring compressor but that is not always needed. Clamp the lower eyelet (just the eyelet, not the shock body) into a vice in the normal upright position. Turn the adjuster to minimum to lower the spring pressure. Then grasp the spring and pull it down from the top of the shock. At the top of the spring is a "c" shaper keeper that needs to be removed. If the spring is very stiff it may take two people - one to pull down on the spring, the other to remove the keeper. Once the keeper is out, left the pressure off the spring and lift it off the shock. Assembly is the reverse.

It sounds like you are on the right track. Keep us posted.

Yes, apply some anti-seize on the threads. Not grease.

Update. Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since I started this thread. I finally got to add the extensions to my swing arm. Actually, I picked up a second swing arm so I now have both the standard and longer one. I cut off the old ends and added the extension pieces I bought from Shedworks. Also cut off and rewelded the mount for the brake plate rod. I think this added 1.5" to the length. Installed longer chain. Rode for a couple miles last weekend and it seemed to work much better. More compliant, less twitchy. Also better for starting from a stop going uphill. It definitely made the front end feel heavier as expected. Overall, I am happy with the change.

The condenser does not change the voltage. When the points open and close, the voltage spikes and burns the points. The condenser is a capacitor and acts to absorb that spike. Capacitors have different values that absorb the spike at different rates. Manufacturers try to match the condenser to the design of the ignition system and when they match well, the points will last a long time. If not matched, the points will burn on one contact more than the other. Fortunately there is a fairly wide range of values that will work acceptably. The condenser is usually mounted very close to the points so the spike is absorbed faster. Some people move the condenser up to the frame which slows the timing of absorbing the spike. Capacitors do go bad. One factor is heat. Keep it away from exhaust components. Another is internal deterioration of the capacitor from time and electrical stress. Of course like most parts, they are not enhanced by impact with rocks. I remember when cars had points and usually replacement points came with a new condenser to be replaced as a set. Good luck with the bike.

Jimmie, The PNTA events are always set harder than local club trials. Intermediate is usually a pretty good step up from Novice class. Better to be safe and be able to go to work or tide tomorrow than to try some superman stunt. I have heard the riding at Lolo Pass is awesome. Hopefully I will be able to ride there some day. I will be riding with some buddies in our "playground" on Monday. I think Barry will be riding with his daughter at a different place. He is getting pretty good on his Sherco. I am going to have to get him to move up so I have half a chance to win any events. I think he and I will be heading over to Leavenworth this weekend for the PST event. Glad to see that you got the bike back together. Time for fun! Bill

Hi Jimmie, Glad to hear you are back up on the pegs! I actually think the bike looks cool without all the stickers. I don't know about you but I can not see the rear fender on my bike when I am riding. Function over flash is always better. Keep your feet up! Bill

Yum. Fresh whole cider is the best. Nothing like that purified, reconstituted apple juice they sell in the stores. If you have a mind to, you can add some things, and ferment it into hard cider.

Don't blame the plug. The problem is too rich a mixture. Not fuel/oil mixture but fuel/air mixture. Make sure your air filter is clean. Best is to find someone local who can help you jet it for your elevation and riding. One simple thing you can do without changing jets is to move the clip on the needle up one groove, dropping the needle deeper into the jet. Just be careful to not lose the clip when it comes off. They are tiny and very hard to find.

Jimmie, How's the repairs coming? I hope it is complete and you are out riding this weekend! Bill

Make sure to install the rubber pad between the engine and the bash plate.

You have gotten good input above from Dadof2 and ProSport. I strongly suggest that you put the bike on a stand with the rear wheel off the ground when you try to start it. When bikes sit for long time, clutches stick, cables bind or rust to the point where they break when used and kill switches and wiring can fail. The last thing you want is to have the bike fire up and take off across the yard into the street with either no rider or no way to get it to stop. Have fun with your project. Nice looking Escort.

I had the same problem with my 94 JT25 when I had it. Those are the friction materials that should be bonded to the steel plates. It is time for a new set of friction plates. While you are in there, check the condition of the other plates and the fingers of the clutch basket. Look for any grooves worn in the fingers and the smooth movement of the plates in and out of the basket.

I don't know the rules where you are, but here in the states, if the bike rider was injured and the car driver left, he could be in for a huge fine for "leaving the scene of an accident." I hope the kid was OK and that somebody jotted down or photo'd the license plate of the driver and reported him to the police.

Can you get some old railroad ties (aka sleepers)? Put them the same distance apart as the rails and you can practice in a different location away from oncoming trains. Nothing like a couple million pounds of train coming at 30 or 40 miles per hour to make all the muscles pucker up! I ride over RR tracks frequently. The real key is to let your knees bend and let the bike come up to you. Picture your body moving across without moving up or down. Just allow your legs to bend easily, like doing a squat, except the bike comes up to you then falls back away. Essentially you are unweighting both ends of the bike just when it hits the rails. If your legs are stiff it will buck you off. If you unweight, all the movement is below your hips. This is also a great technique to ride of jumbled rocks. Let the bike work.

Yes, that looks like it.

I do not think the joint in the older head pipe will have any effect on power. Notice how one pipe is expanded so the other can slip inside. Then the weld is on the outside so it should not decrease the ID. I have an aftermarket DB buster on my 2005 and it helps. I recently saw that Lewisport in California, USA has a bolt on DBKiller but I can't find it on their site right now.

A good photograph tells a story. So the question you need to ask is: what story am I trying to tell. Speed? Danger? Concentration? They are all good. Shutter speed and f-stop can make a huge difference in the photo. Fast speed with stop action, slow speed allows some blurring to convey speed or motion. High number f-stop will give a lot of depth of focus, small f-stop gives shallow depth of focus. Shallow depth will make the subject clear and the background fuzzy. This can really bring the eye to the subject. Play around with different settings on your cam and see the results. Nice thing is you can see what speed and f-stop was used, in the meta data for the pic. Probably the single thing I would suggest at this point is to look more at the background BEFORE you take the pic. Sometimes a little different angle will remove clutter or make a more dramatic pic. Most importantly, have fun!

Are you doing this on your FLH or the Sherco? Older bikes with less travel and shorter wheelbase can be challenging. The modern bike should be able to simple roll over the tracks. Keep your weight back and your knees loose so the bike can come up to you when crossing the rails. Best to ride straight across, not at an angle.

Sounds like floats are set wrong. I assume you are on the rear brake when descending. Make sure you are pulling in the clutch so the brake is not stopping the engine from running.

I do not have specific temperature information, but I can say that the fan should be shutting off when the engine cools. Modern engines are designed to run within a certain temperature range. Outside that range, there will be a drop in performance as well as an increase in rate of wear of parts. The temperature switches used in motorcycles relies on differential expansion of dissimilar metals to turn the switch on and off. after repeated heating and cooling cycles, the metals can deform and stop working correctly. Engine temp is best done in the water, rather than externally. Using the infrared temp gun, it would be best to check on the outside of the cylinder in an area where the fan would not be blowing the heat away. Check that the radiator is full. Low fluid can cause air pockets resulting in hot and cold spots which are definitely not good for the motor. To test the switch, remove it from the bike and put it on a pan of cold water. Check across the terminals with an ohm meter. Cold, there should be not connection. Heat the water until the switch turns on. I suspect it should be close to boiling. Turn off the heat and let the water cool. When the water cools enough, the switch should open and the ohm meter should read no continuity. I would expect the switch to turn off in the 150 to 170 degrees F range.