Why am I so bad a bikes whyyyyyyyy

[msb06c]

And here I thought I’d be coming up in here sharing my regaling story of my just-completed 1400 miles NYC to Miami ride but noooooo, I’m a goddamn idiot.

 

i slept most of yesterday (third 400 mile day in the heat in a row) and couldn’t have moved even if I wanted to. So this evening I go and just give the bike it’s first post-ride look and I figure I’ll soften the suspension back up since I hardened it for the ride since I added about 60 lbs of crap on the back of the bike. 
 

but when I went to soften the spring it wasn’t really clicking down cleanly which had me a little sketched out. So I figured I’ll just back it alllll the way down to 1, and then I’ll click back up to 3. 
 

im 99% sure my dumb ass softened the spring PAST the first setting. It kinda made a “snap” sound and now I can’t tighten the spring back up .... how screwed am I? Lol I really am an idiot with wrenching...

[D.A.]

Hmm... That is odd! I assume you’re talking about the stock OEM rear shock, correct? Have any photos of it?

On my stock shock, once you get to the softest setting the dial won’t rotate any further. And if you were somehow able to get past the tightest setting, the worst that would happen is the dial would instantly plunge down to the softest setting. 
 

Other than the fact you can’t change the setting, does the shock still appear to be working like normal?

[msb06c]

This is good news. Yes it’s an OEM rear shock. Like I said it wasn’t really rotating normally (bc I had just stiffened the suspension a few days prior) so perhaps it just got very very dirty on my trip. I’ll have to take a closer look tomorrow (will take some pics and vids as well) and probably give the bike a thorough clean before I panic any more. Thanks for the insight. 

[DewMan]

silly question.. did you offload all the weight off the bike before attempting to adjust the preload?

[scat2me]

The bigger question here is why on earth would you come to Miami now? We are the hotspot for COVIDE19. Most everything is closed, there are curfews in place for Broward County, Miami Beach, Dade County and the Keys are going to stop visitors again. Coupled with its been raining hard everyday for the past 10 days. Other than that its a lovely place...

[peteinpa]

I think your shock is fine. Going back up in preload is way harder than down.  Add road dirt and it might not move. 

Good cleaning and some light spray lube will do it.

Get the rear tire off the ground.  I still love my centerstand.

[msb06c]

This is so embarrassing. Shock was fine. It helps to follow the manual. I (wrongly) thought the illustration was showing the bike from the left-hand side, but apparently it was actually a diagram of the right-hand side. Ultimately I'm very glad to be 145, maybe 155 with gear, because this stock suspension is... goofy. Not sure if I'll spring for something better or ultimately either swap or add another bike into the mix. As it currently stands I have no business tinkering with my MT xD

 

I don't know where I'd be without you guys. I have some... don't laugh... "bigger" maintenance things coming up (8000K service = bleed brakes,  maybe new pads or even lines, **do we think replacing spark plugs is necessary here [ seems excessive, no?] ??**, coolant flush ... the rest is business as usual, inspect and tighten/grease/clean/lube. I have the "luxury" of car access when needed, so considering I can barely adjust the spring, I think I'll have my brakes bled and coolant flushed by a mechanic to make my life easier. I'll probably throw up some pictures of my sprocket for some opinions on that. Cheers 

 

On  "To Do list" - LED headlight.

On the "back burner/someday list" - crg levers, arrow barends, skid/belly bash plate, maybe even a cage and aux lights. 

[rfmueller]

A note on doing brake bleeds:   It's a 2 person job.  Follow the procedure except for one variation:

Procedure says to suck/remove the fluid from the reservoir.  Don't.  Just bleed the reservoir contents through the lines until the volume is low in the reservoir, then begin adding new fluid (slowly).  Keep flushing, one side at a time beginning on the left, til both side appear a brighter color.  Tighten down the spigots, top up the reservoir to correct marking, cap, and make sure brakes aren't spongy.  Done.  If you get air in the lines, you're in for a treat getting it back out.  Not a hard job as long as you don't do that.  Then do the rear.  USE FRESH PURCHASED, SEALED, fluid.  There's good chance your pads will be fine.  Check before changing.

Anti-freeze flush is the same:  Try to keep the air out of the system.  Start off with a cool bike.  Use the flush procedure, but keep the system full of distilled water until you're ready to add the new mix, and flush with that, so there's no air.  If you get air in, you gotta get it out.   Burping a bike is easy, but sucks when you over-temp and don't know why.

 

[peteinpa]

Another pointer on front brake bleed. Honda provides a guard over the hole at the bottom of the reservoir. Yamaha does not. You must squeeze the lever VERY slowly or a geyser of fluid will shoot straight up and get on everything.

It's a one person job, I've never had any problems.