Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

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desertrefugee
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Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#1

Post by desertrefugee »

All these snow reports and stories of record cold in Central North America make me glad to be living in Southern Arizona. (In the winter anyway).

But, Winter riding does impart wear and tear on machinery. To wit: All three of my motorcycles need some love.

1) The Valkyrie needs tires. It also has a nagging issue with the left hand Show Chrome running light that requires a strong slap on the casing to get it to fire off. The bike also seems to have fork seal weepage - after just having done them last Spring... Dang. How do you suppose I messed that up?

2) The CBX needs a clutch. The bits are arriving tomorrow and will be installed this weekend. Also have an oil pressure gauge coming with the shipment.

3) The '78 GL1000 just needs more operation. Still, I do think I may have a charging issue brewing. While there's a one year old Odyssey in there, it doesn't seem to be holding as well as it should. Again, I think it's just not getting enough charge time. This one also needs fork seals again - as the left side is starting to get a little slick. I also have front brake pads for this bike that are going on soon. Although I never intended this motorcycle to perform yeoman duty, I may just commute to work on it a couple of times a week. I'll have to backpack it since there's barely room for a toothbrush on the danged thing.

Hmph. Winter maintenance.
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#2

Post by JamesPal »

1) bummer about the Valkyrie. Sometimes there can be nicks or rock chips in the fork tube that can damage the seal as you put it on. It doesn't take much. An American pattern single cut mill file can dress any high spots.

2) CBX, poor guy- enjoy it because I'm jealous.

3) I keep a Harbour Freight battery tender on my 450. It is always ready to go. You might consider one. You can't go wrong for $5. A voltmeter can tell the state of charge on the battery. After the bike has set for a day or so, it should measure around 12.7 volts. A one year old battery should hold that for a couple of weeks.

Keep us posted.
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#3

Post by rcmatt007 »

the voltage gauge on my '78 seems to have a mind of its own and has for years. It will be at 14+ and then after while hang out at 11. A couple of years back I changed out the rectifier/regulator with a new one, but before to long back to the same old same old. Right before I started my restoration project I did the yellow to yellow thing and the stator is just fine.

I think it simply has a gremlin
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all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#4

Post by delling3 »

Sorry, can't generate much sympathy for you. Air temps here have been below zero for 36 hours, supposed to stay that way for another 18 hours or more. Windchills approaching 40 below. I only wish I could work in the garage right now.
delling3

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Previous:
1978 GL1000 - JUNE 2017 BOTM: Sold
2006 Kawasaki Concours: Sold
1995 Kawasaki Concours: Crashed/totalled.
1976 GL1000: LAST RESTORATION, sold
1981 Honda CB900F Supersport: 3rd restoration, sold.
1979 Yamaha XS-750F: 2nd restoration, sold.
1982 Honda FT-500 Ascot: First (only) new bike. Family forces sale.
1973 CB500 Four: First restoration, long gone.
1972 Suzuki TS-100: First bike, sold.

Only dead fish go with the flow . . .
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#5

Post by Dirty Dave »

Been lucky with my 97 Valkyrie. Only one fork seal changed so far and wasn't charging last year. Turned out to be oxidation on the little send wire from the alternator to some godforsaken electrical place.

I monitor all bike batteries and keep them around 12.8 volts while stored. Each ride has battery in with itty bitty connectors for monitoring & charging when needed.

79 has new stator, rotor, send to speedo at wheel hub and instrument cluster. The old speedo was eating cables for some reason.
I believe I have replaced about 4 or 5 fork seals over 10 years on the 79. I have a great seal removal tool inspired by this group. Those suckers sure are in there solid. Valk was so easy by comparison.

Kawasaki is new so other than battery... Dying to try out the reflashed ECU though. Winter sucks.
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#6

Post by 82_GL1100 »

desertrefugee wrote:All these snow reports and stories of record cold in Central North America make me glad to be living in Southern Arizona. (In the winter anyway).

<SNIP>The bike also seems to have fork seal weepage - after just having done them last Spring... Dang. How do you suppose I messed that up?
<SNIP>
You might try cleaning the fork seals with a SealMate. Over the years, I've had about a 50% success rate with just cleaning the seals. The longer they sit, the less likely a SealMate will fix the seepage. SealMates are cheap, or you can make your own out of a 2-liter pop bottle.

It almost makes me feel guilty enjoying weather in the high 60's and low 70's when so much of the country is suffering from the bitter cold. I admire the hardiness of our northern brothers. I'd much rather have 115F summers than sub-freezing winters.
82 GL1100 Standard 44k miles 83 wheels & forks
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#7

Post by SnoBrdr »

rcmatt007 wrote:the voltage gauge on my '78 seems to have a mind of its own and has for years. It will be at 14+ and then after while hang out at 11. A couple of years back I changed out the rectifier/regulator with a new one, but before to long back to the same old same old. Right before I started my restoration project I did the yellow to yellow thing and the stator is just fine.

I think it simply has a gremlin
I don't even bother with the gauge on my 78.

Did the yellow thing many years ago.

I just leave it on a tender whenever the bike is off.

Have had the same AGM battery in it for the last six years this way.

The old acid battery would last 2-3 years tops, no matter what was done with it.

I had planned to pull the radiator this year, have it rodded/checked and then install the new hose kit I got from Wingovations but I left it on the bike and now it's too cold.

That will be done as soon as the weather warms to 50s, which actually could be this week.
78 GL1000 Original Owner 131k
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#8

Post by Sidecar Bob »

It sounds like the problem might be the gauge itself or the wiring between the gauge and the battery.

If you can figure a way to keep it from falling off, try connecting a voltmeter directly across the battery and go for a ride and see what you actually have when the bike's meter reads low. If the voltage at the battery stays good connect the second meter across the bike's meter and try again. If the second meter reads OK when the bike's meter reads low the bike's meter is bad but if the second meter reads low when the bike's meter does the problem is in the wiring.

As for winter wear & tear, you don't know what that is like until you drive a bike to work & back on salted roads all winter :shock:
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#9

Post by Dirty Dave »

I wired an LED volt meter directly to the battery as I was tired of the 1 volt low reading to the stock gauge going thru
all that 40 old wiring. Also have a mini toggle on it so I can monitor the battery during the winter. I tend to run the Wing
with the meter off as I find it annoying, yunno any 10th volt fluctuation worries me. I know, I know....... :IDTS:
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Re: Motorcycle Wear and Tear During Winter Months

#10

Post by rcmatt007 »

I have one as well to put on my 78 when I get it back together... It most likely is that old connections are the real issue with my wandering guage
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
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