SoCal Tech Daze and Days and Days

[daryll]

TechDaze was hosted by the kind and generous Laney last Saturday. I've attended the Mecca Tech Daze at Marin BMW, and the SoCal TechDaze at Seans. Right after the first Tech Daze I did my 12k service. I wrote up that experience. It was very slow, but went well and I learned a lot. During the SoCal TechDaze I did my 18k service. This went very smoothly with the expert advice right there at hand. This TechDaze matched up with my 24k service. My timing seems to be pretty good.

 

I needed the full 24k service, plus I wanted to install my new Ohlin shocks. Since I had enough experience at this point I went ahead and did the basic fluids, valves, and TB sync at home on Friday. I cranked up the radio on my boom box in the garage. I've gotten VERY good at taking my tupperware on and off. As I was doing my valves I was really enjoying the experience, and I was thinking to myself that I almost look like a real mechanic doing this stuff. I figured other bikes would need that at Laney's and we could concentrate on showing the newer members. Little did I know I'd be guiding one of those projects myself.

 

TechDaze at Laney's we a treat. As always it's great to see the SoCal crew. I'm always surprised how quickly this group rejoins even after long abscences and how easily new member are assimillated. After Dick gave the basic talk we dove into the basic service on several bikes. I ended up guiding Barry through his work. Jim commented that I was in lecture mode, which happens when I give presentations. Although I do this work myself, explaining to someone else is always a harder task, but it is great to share the information I learned. Afterward several of us were talking and we noticed this was probably one of the technically deepest TechDaze we've ever done. Not only did we have the basic service, but we had Adam rebuild his front forks, someone installed lights, Cory installed a new throttle cable on his 1150 which was a remarkable pain, I did a fuel filter and installed new shocks. All together our technical skills are increasing in leaps and bounds, there seems to be no project we don't dare tackle.

 

We did have one disaster at TechDaze. As Sean and I were standing in front of the house, we hear a loud "Oh *&^%" and crash. The details of who did what isn't really relevant, but someone managed to knock over one of the bikes that was parked in a row, which toppled the next two. The damage to those bikes was pretty bad. Even under such adverse conditions, everyone handled it fairly well. Insurance information was exchanged and hopefully it'll all get handled without too much hassle for everyone. We tried to come to a lesson, but the only thing we could conclude was that you should be extremely careful handling your bike when you're parked in a row.

 

My projects didn't start until after lunch. I wanted to replace the fuel filter, add fluid to the battery, and install the Ohlins. Sean and Russell helped with the fuel filter. First we had to drain the half full tank. Russell had a little siphon pump but it is fairly tough to get the tube positioned and have a good flow. Taking the tank off is relaitvely easy, but getting at the gear inside the tank and replacing the filter was a fairly awkward process. We had to removed several crimp type clamps and replaced them with screws to make it easier in the future. You've got to line those up carefully or you can't fit the assembly back in the tank. I had never imagined there was so much stuff inside the fuel tank.

 

Doing the shocks was also an advanced topic. Since the tank was off, removing the front shock was very easy. All the mounting points for the front shocks are easily accessable. The top of the rear shock is under the seat risers, so that's very easy to get at as well. The tricky one was the lower mount for the rear shock. There really isn't much clearance for the tools to reach that bolt. Luckily I caught Jim just before he left as he was the only one with a fairly long wrench to break that screw loose. It took a lot of time and struggle to get that one out. As was mentioned in another thread the mount for the 1100 and the 1150 are different. I don't think we determined which one is really better. Reversing this process to get the Ohlins' on was about the same.

 

Finally I had to get the tank back on and the bike reassembled. I roped Russell in to give me a hand. That sped up the process quite a bit. He put the tank back on as I finished up the shocks. We gave the engine a little test to make sure the tank was working and everything looked good. So we put all the tupperware back on and finished up just as dinner arrived. All told it was probably about 4 hours.

 

Pizza was on the main menu for dinner. It's not on my diet, but Lisa was really kind to get me a special dinner. We all hung out and chatted as we chowed down. Since Dick had a question about the Gene Autry Museum (where my Mom works) I even called her and then passed the phone along so Dick could talk to her. Eventually I decided it was time to head home, so I said my goodbyes and jumped on my bike. Then I noticed the one thing we didn't check. My fuel gauge was reading empty when I should have half a tank. It seems that although I connected the hoses inside the tank, I neglected to connect up a wire that drives the fuel gauge. Not a serious problem but really annoying.

 

That meant I had one more project to do at home. I got to go through the whole tank removal and disassembly by myself this time. On Sunday I had a very important task. I had to empty my tank. So I went for a bit of a ride. My time and fuel was limited but I got to get my first feel of the new shocks. For now, my report is just "Oh my, this is what a suspension is supposed to feel like." even without doing any tuning.

 

Finally Today, I tore the bike down one more time. Again, I'm back in my scooter chair, and I'm getting the tupperware on and off very quickly. Pulling the tank this time was very easy. No need to siphon since I had very little fuel left. I fished around in the tank and found the wire I missed and with a quick snap it was back in. The tank goes back on relatively easily and I plug back in all the tubes. The bike starts up and and runs for a bit, the gas gauge reads empty (since it is), but I'm sure it should work, so I put the tupperware back on. Then I manage to ride the bike to the end of the driveway when it stops getting fuel again. Oops. It's got to the fuel feed cables. I really didn't do anything else. Now I'm back in the garage pulling the right tupperware off to get at the feeds. Good thing I'm getting fast at this tupperware work. I push on the quick disconnects and push a little harder and it goes snap. Ah, that's it. Do the same on the second one. She fires right up now. Ah good. The tupperware goes on again, and I head to gas station to see that gas gauge actually work. Mission accomplished.

 

I just continue to be amazed by this bike. It is running so smooth. The new shocks are amazing. I did all this work myself. What a great ride. What a great journey to share with all my friends.

[Les is more]

So... There were two monkeys in Laney's garage that day! Sock Monkey and Grease Monkey.

While Socko was pretty much just hanging around demanding bananas in exchange for allowing the removed tupperware to live, you, Daryll, were an exemplar of what we can accomplish at a Tech Daze gathering.

 

I loved witnessing both your competence and your amazement at same.

I quote, "I'm actually lying here on the garage floor under my bike. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing!"

 

Indeed it did and you do friend.

 

Great write up and awesome accomplishments Daryll. Congratulations!

[russell_bynum]

"I'm actually lying here on the garage floor under my bike. It almost looks like I know what I'm doing!"

 

Before DVD, I did a 48K service, changed all three throttle cables, the clutch cable, throttle cable junction box, replaced the clutch switch, and reran some other misc wiring.

 

At one point, the RT was in shambles with both side fairings off, the tank off, and the nose off. With the K75 in a similar condition, it looked like a BMW dealership exploded in my garage.

 

I just kept thinking about "What About Bob?". Baby steps....baby steps...baby steps. Eventually it was all reassembled and except for the fact that the gearshift now controlls the windhield motor and the throttle controls the left turn signals everything is in full working order.

 

It really DOES almost look like I know what I'm doing.

[KMG_365]

Proof of Darryl's wrenching prowess . . .

 

Darryl shows Master Yoda a thing or two: (notice how small he looks next to Norman and Dick! )

 

[leikam]

Since you mentioned the disaster, I'll complete the picture.

 

I was trying to put my bike up on the centerstand, it got away from me during a mental stall (what was I thinking?), fell to the right, and knocked over a couple other bikes. It was a classic domino complete with Russell diving to save his bike at the end of the line. Luckily his did not go over; I felt bad enough about the two that did (although maybe if it had, he could have had it totalled and bought the KRS he needs). The physical damage did not look bad: scratched tupperware and cases, a broken windshield. I hear insurance will pay for it all. The mental anguish, however, was worse since the bike with the most damage was new. It's bad enough to dump one's own bike, but it's just awful to damage others'. At the end of the day, I still wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear. Thanks again to those who helped pick up the bikes afterwards.

 

The main damage to my own bike was the ignition/kill switch which managed to fly off somehow. Somewhere in the mess, I apparently lost a small piece (a ball?) that ensures the kill switch has a good connection. Since that connection was bad, I couldn't start the bike. In the end, I cut the wires and reconnected them bypassing the switch. A little impromptu lesson in handlebar wiring.

 

Like you said, Daryll, I don't think there's much to be learned from all this except that parking bikes in a line creates the risk of a multi-bike tipover. Guess I get the right end-spot next time around.