a little write up on why routine maitenance shouldnt be put off...

Humsuckler · #1 09-17-2009, 09:18 AM

Well, for starters i built a bike that i was extremely proud to mount, goose and be gone. And when i would get there, my coworkers and friends would stare at it like it was the coolest little rig. (ive even caught the truck drivers and contractors picking up loads eye-bang it while they wait to be loaded) I have been asked countless times how fast is it, how much is it worth and so on, and i happily answer.

Now, perhaps its "your a trained, schooled small engine mechanic karma" but this morning i sit in my room while i should be at work and the reason i left was because i played nintendo 64 all night. I was feeling young again.... whatever it was, when i went to work this morning it ran like absolute crap from teh time i hit the 10KM main drag all the way to the gas station at the end of it, and by ran like crap i mean i think its a cumulation of things that has probley taken a good bit of life from my internal parts. Since i rode it home lean, so lean that it would not make power from 3/4 throttle on.... and it took at least 1/4 km to get it up to a maintained speed at 3/4 so there you have it. Karma strikes.

Ill be tearing it apart for what you could call alot of ****ing work for a brand new bike.... but im stressed out and know i need to do it or risk loosing the investment. The back wheel bearings are so loose I can feel the tail drift on a leaned corner. I never hooked up the brake coaster arm to the frame either from day one.... too excited to ride it again.

My dynamo light kit is half installed to an unsatisfactory state. (at first this morning i thought it was possibbly loading the ignition system and had fouled the plug... an aggravated plug chop as soon as i arrived told me what i already knew and abused the whole way to work. Lean from yesterdays adjustment without check, but i dont think its entirley my fault.... im pretty sure it wasnt sealed very good to begin with.

Im really hoping the inside looks alright.....
anyway. thats my .02 for the boards today, i hope some of you can read this and go out and do those things you put off before they add up to an all day possibly ruination affair.

Bikeguy Joe · #2 09-17-2009, 09:23 AM

Heed the above warning kids!

Do it right the first time and you'll be happier and have more money in the long run.

Sydneysider · #3 09-17-2009, 09:44 AM

major bummer.. I used to have many things go wrong when I first started on these bikes few years ago, now I always take my time and make sure the job is done right, it really does pay off..

Humsuckler · #4 09-17-2009, 11:00 AM

ah it was all done right, i just didnt bother to do a single thing besides torque the head bolts.... anyway. naptime ill work on it this evening

**BarelyAWake** · #5 09-17-2009, 11:49 AM

Good to hear you had such an awesome build you could ignore it for that long... maybe one day mine will be "finished" enough for that, but I doubt it.

Ultralight flying made me wicked paranoid about such things o.o

Not to say my bike is 100% (I'm not sure that's even possible lol), but I guess I'm still new enough in this game that I like to spend some time every mornin' tinkering on it and checking things out. I commute on it, so I guess this makes sense. Every weekend I go on a "long" trip (distance is as variable as my attention span), and with that in mind she gets a good preflight before I head out. I'm gonna wear out the threads for the plug, I've had it out so many times checkin' on mix lol

Fact is, I don't trust my bike enough to neglect it - it is after all a highly modified Walmart POS, and a first build to compound the problems o_O

Actually, come to think on it my rear rim may be plotting my overthrow... I need to true that thing meh

Humsuckler · #6 09-17-2009, 09:30 PM

ill be pedalling myself to work this morning i think on the norco.... you spoke the o word that i dont wish to find out about in plain english... lol

**BarelyAWake** · #7 09-18-2009, 03:11 AM

O.O

now I've spooked myself

xlite · #8 09-18-2009, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humsuckler

The back wheel bearings are so loose I can feel the tail drift on a leaned corner.

If you don't tend those hub bearings you'll be sooorrrrrrrry. It's about the only thing that'll leave you stranded. And those races are non-replaceable. New wheel... not fun.... not cheap.....