Our Tips

Here you will find some Tips and Tricks to help you better understand your bike!

April: Cables and Chains!

What about those Cables: Keep your cable free play set to the factory recommendations. That way you will notice when something feels abnormal. If you never adjust it to where it belongs, it just gets gradually looser and looser until one day, it doesn't work!

Rather than wait until your cable gets sticky or grabby, make it a habit to lube it on a regular basis. It will last a lot longer than you thought possible

The best way to lube you cables are to purchase the special tools and get Cable Lube. Yes there are other ways to do this but for the investment it is much cheaper to buy this than to replace the cables!

What about those Chains: Keep it clean-A clean chain is a happy chain. Dirt and grit act like sandpaper on your chain, grinding away precious steel on both your chain and sprockets with every rotation. Not cleaning your chain often can cost you big bucks over the life of your bike, since a new chain with sprockets will set you back around $150 to $200 each time, and that's if YOU do the labor! It's easy to do. Get a rag, then wipe off as much as you can with the rag. Next, brush off the grit and grime using a cleaning brush sprayed with WD-40. Then, wipe again with a clean rag. That's it. By the way, keep a drip pan under the chain to catch all the mess, or your "significant other" will probably make a stink about the mess. Even worse, you'll probably screw up your bike and your back when you slip in it!

Keep it lubed-Just having a clean chain is not enough. You must keep it lubed. In the old days, you just took out some 90 weight gear oil and smeared it around, but now it's easier. Chain lubes are available in aerosol cans, which greatly simplifies the job. You just rotate your chain to an identifiable starting point (there's usually one link with paint on it, or a master link with a clip on it), spray the inner portion which contacts the sprockets, then rotate the wheel a bit, repeat, etc., until you get back where you started.

Keep it adjusted properly- Even a properly cleaned and lubed chain will stretch over time. You must check it periodically and adjust it to the recommended free play. If you're going to err, err on the side of being a little too loose. The chain slack is necessary because your bike's rear wheel is on a swing-arm, which means it's going to move up and down. Your motor and transmission are solidly connected to the chassis, and do not move. Without sufficient free play in the chain, it could even snap. If you set it too tight, you may not snap it, but you're sure as hell going to stretch it and wear it out a lot sooner! Of course, WAY too loose is bad also. Once you get over 2" in free play, your chain is really flapping around. It may cause damage to your chassis components, or even sustain structural damage to itself. You DO NOT want your chain to sustain structural damage while you are riding

How often should I clean and lube my chain?-The many chain manufacturers recommends every 600 miles under normal riding condition. Hey, spray on chain lube ain't THAT expensive -- do it more often. It will definitely extend your chain life.

March: Brakes!

Brake Fluid:

HOW OFTEN TO CHANGE: D.O.T. 3 and D.O.T. 4 fluids absorb water, which deteriorates their performance by lowering the fluid's boiling point substantially. Water can also cause corrosion of brake cylinders or pistons, which can cause functional problems and lead to a gritty deposit in the system. Expert recommendations for replacement intervals range from every six months to every two years. You should also change the fluid when it becomes dark or cloudy, indicating contamination. Change it any time you notice a braking abnormality, such as mushiness when the brakes start to get hot. Change it any time you suspect moisture might be in the system (such as when you find a loose reservoir-cap screw). Change fluid and bleed the system any time you remove a hydraulic component or if air gets in the system-perhaps the fluid was low or the lever was operated while the bike was on its side. You may be tempted to postpone a brake-fluid change. After all, there are many motorcycles riding around with fluid that has never been changed. Most of them have brakes that work okay-until they get hot or corrosion develops. This is such a simple task that avoiding it just isn't worth the risk. Nothing quite matches the experience of rushing toward an immovable object and having the lever come to the grip with no effect.

Brake Pads::

WHEN TO CHANGE PADS: Replace pads before they approach the minimum thickness specified by the manufacturer or if they get covered with oil, as pads frequently do when your fork seals leak. There is no way to reverse the contamination.

HOW TO BRAKE IN NEW PADS: Use them gently at first until about 75 percent of the pads' surfaces shows some wear. If you don't want to take the pads out and look at them, figure that this takes a couple hundred miles. This much wear presents even contact with the disc for the second step, which involves getting the pads hot to cure the resins. During this step, you want to get the pad as hot as you will ever get it, so a fast ride down your favorite switchback-riddled downhill run is just the ticket. If you frequently use your brakes hard-which only happens under racing conditions-and don't get the pads as hot as you do later, they will fade the first time they reach a higher temperature. Let them cool off (best done by riding for 20 minutes or so without using your brakes) and they are ready for regular service