Chain Maintenance

Chain Maintenance, Why?

There are 3 ways to transfer energy from the engine to the rear wheel on a motorcycle. There are chains, belts and shaft drives.

Chains are the most common on motorcycles. Dirt bikes, Dual sports, Sport bikes, Race bikes, Touring bikes, some cruisers.

Most bikes with a chain drive - wallpapers4me

Chains tend to stretch as forces are applied to them. They are also prone to kinking, jamming and wear the fastest of the 3 drives. They are also the easiest to maintain, the cheapest, and can last a long time if taken care of properly. Expect 20,000km (or close to 14,000 miles) from a well taken care of, quality chain+sprocket)

You can also move up in chain lengths and sprocket sizes to chain to change the gearing ratios.

BMW F800GT Belt Drive - topspeed.com

Belt Drives are the next most common. Almost on all cruisers, some touring/Sport-touring bikes.

Of all the drives, they are the most fragile, but middle of the road for longevity and price for replacement. These last an average of 40,000-50,000km (28,000-33,000miles) between replacements.

They can fail, just like chains, but unlike chains, it will -NOT- end in catastrophic failure.
They are also whisper quiet, and don't have drivetrain lash like chains do. (making for a very smooth ride)

Shaft Drive - motorcycle-usa

Lastly, shaft drives. They are the least common on bikes. They have a shaft drive, similar to a car. They are the heaviest of the drives, but last the longest.

Expect nearly 100,000km between replacements, although the fluid and grease inside the shaft must be serviced once or twice within that span.

They are the most quiet of the 3 drives, but requires careful clutch control.

So again, why chain maintenance?

The chain on your motorcycle is what transfers energy from your engine to your rear wheel. Maintenance must be done to ensure that the chain lasts as long as it should, and that catastrophic failure does not occur.

What can happen? The chain can slip off the sprocket if it stretches too much, locking the rear wheel.

It can also snap, cracking your crankcase open, damaging your swingarm, or even taking a chunk out of your left (or right if you've got a right sided chain) leg that's resting oh so close to it.

The chain is designed to be the component that fails first within the drivetrain and engine of your motorcycle. Because it is the easiest to perform maintenance on and replace.

How do you take care of a chain?

Chain maintenance should be done every 500 (350miles). Don't panic! This doesn't mean you have to go about going crazy on the chain every 500km. 

Every 500km, the chain needs to be lubed. Just grab your can of chain lube and give the chain a good spray. I recommend spraying it from behind the sprocket or at the bottom of the sprocket where the chain meets it. You can spray the midlength (where the picture indicates with that tool) if you prop a piece of cardboard between the chain the wheel. You DO NOT want lube on your tire. That's a pretty fast way to have a bad day.

Next, every 1,000km, or if you ride excessively in rain, (or 1,500 depending on how dirty it is) the chain should be cleaned, wiped and relubed. You can start by spraying WD-40 or simple green works too, and then with an old tooth brush - wipe that chain. All 4 sides of it, cleaning the brush every so often with clean water.

One of these small brushes can help save you from a lot of elbow grease. Once the chain has been brushed with a degreasing agent, grab a clean cloth and wipe the chain. You should keep wiping the chain until no black stuff appears anymore.

This can take a while, have a few clothes nearby. Once that is done, clean your sprocket teeth and face too, and repeat with the wiping.

After that, feel free to spray on some new lube, and you're good to go.

Clean chain and sprocket, is a happy chain and sprocket

Having a clean chain also reduces the amount of times you need to adjust the chain to account for the stretching that happens over time to it. Adjusting for stretch is a painful procedure that I'll mention in the future.

The Little Tankbag That Could

A short story of a tankbag that decided to have an adventure

What is a tank bag? A tankbag is a bag that afixes to the gas tank of your motorcycle. It can be secured by magnets, straps or a hardware mount. They are all different characteristics depending on the type or combination of mounting system.

Magnets are easy and quick. They can fall off the bike or scratch the paint.

Straps are slow and tedious, but they are reliable. Can still scratch the paint

Hardware options make sure the bag doesn't make contact at all with the gastank, to avoid chipping paint, and it very quick and easy - as well as adding more security. Expensive though.

My bag is 3 liters in capacity 

So, I went off to Canmore on my motorcycle. Windy day, 30kmph winds, 40kmph winds (20-25mph wind gusts).

Placed my magnetic tankbag on my gastank to secure it so it'll stay put.

 In the midst of tucking behind my small sport bike windscreen and leaning off the bike, not to mention getting blown around, I made it to Canmore! Only to place my gloves on my gastank. Wait, what? I shouldn't be able to do that, because I HAVE HAD A TANK BAG

So I headed back home to go find it. Scoured up and down the highway for it. No suck luck

I felt pitted. Like jeez, I lost my tank bag. It just so happened I was using my Ram Mount as a place to secure my Sony Action Camera for filming. So my tankbag was holding my GPS mount/GPS/Cell phone tripod+mount. So yea, I felt pretty down and not very happy with myself. 

But, all was not lost! A good Samaritan headed to my home and returned my bag. They found it by the highway, scratched off and such. They figured it came from a motorcycle since it was a magnetic tank bag. Good thing I had my GPS inside, they hit 'go home' and were able to return it.

Damage to the tankbag, the two pins on the strap. There's scratches on the paw, and a light scratch along the emblem

 Scratching again. 

 So for future use, I made a tether that will attach to my RAM mount, a insurance policy of sorts to make sure I don't lose it again. I'm thankful I got it back, and man - What a journey my tankbag had

Installing R&G Radiator guard

R&G Radiator Guard

I received this a couple of days ago. I wasn't sure what it looked like from the photos, I wasn't even sure how it was going to mount onto the radiator. 

I was even shocked to hear that it weighed less than a lb. At least, until I saw what it looked like. It fits onto the radiator mount with the single top bracket, and 2 brackets on the bottom. The two bottom were empty, the radiator uses them, not sure how though.

 These are heat resistant pads to separate the radiator from the guard and provide some kind of support from being pressed in. Even if slight.

This is the current radiator before the guard is put on. There's little to no damage on it, but, let's compare that to the CBR250r

 Yea, it's not as scar free as the CBR500r. The CBR250r currently sitting over 5,000km. There's a singe mark from where a cicada got stuck in the guard and burned a little spot in the center bottom. There's rocks that have dinged and bent numerous fins. 

The new guard should protect it from large bugs and rocks from damaging my radiator. If the 4,000 so kilometers I added to my CBR250r was any indication, damage will happen. Little or not, hopefully it'll protect the guard in the long run.

Cold Riding Days

Wind and Gusts

Cows and Big Horn Rams

I really did try to take a picture. The Big Horn Rams were not pleased and tried to charge. The cows kept trying to get near my motorcycle.

I had to make a stop in Canmore. I had left Calgary with 2 (it showed as 3 when I left and instantly dropped to 2) bars of fuel (out of 6). In the mountains I got a  bit worried as I dropped down to 1 bar. And whilst pulling up to the pump I was on my reserve for about 20km. Supposedly I can go about 70km on my reserve, but...I didn't have a auxillary fuel container to test that out.

Leaving Calgary, it was reported to be 11*C (50*F) and 7*C (45*F) in Canmore. I was also wondering if I could make it out to Banff but some snow clouds in Canmore convinced me to turn back before the storm caught me. There's a storm hitting Calgary tomorrow, those very clouds over Banff/Canmore will be over Calgary in about 12 hours.

On the way back to Calgary, I was able to stop by Gap Lake again to test out some new Cellphone Camera Gear. 

More Spring Rides into Canmore

More Riding

Shame to be wasting good riding time otherwise. The suns out, ice gone and gravel non existent. Lots of wind though.

  Despite the harsh winds, there were still quite a few other motorcycles out there. Lots of East wind, so getting to Canmore is a big struggle. Coming back home is a joy though, no wind at all, though you're pretty much battered and tired at that point.

Need to bring earplugs the next time I ride, the wind noise is deafening. Can't even hear the exhaust or the motorcycle or other vehicles because of the wind.

Not a problem when there's no wind, the Shoei RF 1100 is pretty good with blocking out wind noise. But not when you're riding into 30-35km winds whilst going at 100km 

First proper ride of 2015

It's Spring!

Hopefully it stays spring

Gap Lake, picnic side. Click for full resolution

Got to take out the bike for a proper ride through Highway 1A, a smaller highway that runs parallel to the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1), and although I took it slow to Canmore, I had a blast coming back.

Why take it slow? I havn't been on this stretch of road since early November of last year (Yay for short Winter), so not only am I not wholly accustomed to
the twists and turns as I once was, I have no idea about the road conditions. 

Salt eats away at the metal and other finishing of the motorcycle (plastic), and especially engine parts since they are exposed to the tire splash.

 

Gravel can cause an accident as the front wheel or rear wheel suddenly loses traction while midturn or lean. It's sudden and violent. The best way to avoid it is to know where there is gravel and to slow down.

But how was my ride on the way back? Amazing. 

I am very glad I decided to head out early in the season while the Casual Harley/Cruiser (There are hard core cruiser riders), and weekend sport bike riders (There are hard core sport bike riders), are waiting for the streets to be officially cleaned of gravel. While they wait, I'm out there enjoying some pristine roads, little to no gravel, pot holes on the far right side of the road, 

(There are no dual sports/Super motos on the list of lazy riders, because they are always hard core riders)

The CBR500r feels like a proper big bike. Bigger overall dimensions, more weight and wider tires - all make the motorcycle feel ... more. More power than then CBR250r but not crazy amounts.

Overall, a fun day out.

After Market parts on the CBR500R

This bike came with a lot of aftermarket accessories. 

Yoshimura R77 Slipon Exhaust - my gosh, I was planning on upgrading to an aftermarket exhaust at some point, it was a bonus it came with it - but my GOSH! That sound! The motorcycle doesn't sound like a sewing machine like most Parallel Twin engines do. It sounds like a V-twin, and while it's not super loud, it makes the bike sound much bigger than it really is. Love it.

Honda Race Cowl - Eh, switched back to the regular pillion grab bars

R&G Exhaust Hangers - Not something I was going to do myself, but it'll stay there.

R&G Tail Tidy - No, no no. I know it looks good, but it's gotta go. I may be committing sacrilege, but I have a GIVI top case on my motorcycles. This tail tidy is NOT compatible with the GIVI rack. Some sport bike guys hate it, but hey, my motorcycle ain't a true sport bike. It's a sporty commuter. Haha! Anyways, to install this, you had to cut into the sub-frame. Big no no, my gosh, did he hack saw that? So yea, I spent some time reinstalling the original tail kit. Now at least the bike is ready to have the GIVI rack get installed right in.

It was an excuse to take apart the motorcycle at least. Let me just say this now, the CBR500r is FAR easier to take apart than the CBR250r

The 250r had little to no space in the tail section, and the clips holding the front fairings threatened to snap/crack the upper fairing pieces right out with those darned triple clips that held them in place.

The 500r has 1 clip near the bottom, and 10 slot/tabs that meld into other plastic bits - a godsend since they are much easier to work with than clips that are nigh impossible to get undone without a solid yank.

T-rex frame sliders - Stuff that protects my plastic and motorcycle! I'd prefer SATO racing, though these sliders are tough and look just as attractive as the SATO ones. The previous owner had them, but didn't install them since he wasn't comfortable in doing the installation himself. 

That rectifier!

 Installation was interesting. The fairing on the CBR500r, unlike the 250r, has the entire front fairing come off, rather than a portion of it. This makes it harder, and easier at the same time.

Harder - More clips, tabs, and even velcro to undo.

Need to wiggle stuff around more

Nerve wracking doing it for the first time.

Pretty solid if you ask me. Made of aircraft grade aluminum brackets,
and the puck is soft plastic made to sheer off in a more
energetic crash than a slow one or parking lot tip over

Easier - No worry about cracking fragile upper plastic portion

Less clips

New design shows off the engine

Man, those sliders are solid once you get them installed.

SW motech GPS mount - This is coming from my previous motorcycle. This thing is handy, it interacts with a RAM mount that's secured onto my left clip-on, and it's mostly waterproof. No leakage of water has gotten inside of it whilst raining, even on a pretty heavy downpour; both at high speed and parked outside. It doesn't hold up too well if a garden hose hits it at the right angle.

Gorilla 8017 alarm - Nice compact alarm. Not a lot of places to put it on the CBR500r. Wiring was trouble, since there's so many wires. But some cable tidy's solved that.

When and where did I start motorcycling?

My First Ride

My first ride with 2 wheeled motor vehicle wasn't a motorcycle actually, it was a little 50cc scooter called a Honda Ruckus. Industrial design, light - you could pick it up as a single person - and super efficient on fuel. It had napoeleon syndrome on any road faster than 60kmph (35mph for you Americans) though, seeing as that was it's top speed.

It was cute and it sounded like a hornet buzzing away trying to keep up with traffic. What a fun, cheap little city bike. Perfect for Vancouver/Richmond or any urban sprawl - as long as you plan on staying within that urban sprawl.

I first learned by going round and round in a parking lot from my father's instruction. I wasn't doing bad, but I was far from being confident and skilled with turning the little scooter.

Before my first real Motorcycle

I had a Yamaha BWS 125cc when I moved to Calgary. I never got to ride it though, but, it was quite a deal. Nothing to really say since I never ever got any experience with it.

When I was a little Kid, I did my best to stay away from motorcycles

Yea, I was terrified of anything on 2 wheels. Even bicycles, to a certain extent. My father was a big motorcycle enthusiast. From what I remember, he rode a Harley Davidson, then switched to a Vespa when we moved back to the Philippines. We had a 125 or 250cc little motorcycle that stayed in the garage too. Before this though, my father was on the race track with large displacement sport bikes, hit the province with different sized scooters, and a dual sport motorcycle too. To which, I think he tried to take me on the beach once, and I responded by running away and crying. My, oh my, how my fear of motorcycles was so wrong.

Honda CBR250r

A lightweight, fun, flickable, efficient, and small 250cc motorcycle that looks like it's sportier big brothers. My first bike with a clutch and gears too.

My first taste of this motorcycle was at the school I learned at. Too Cool Motorcycle School here in Calgary, with the instructors: Trevor, Jorden, Renee. I was supposed to take this course, then ride the BWS; however, after learning how to use a clutch and sequential gearbox, there was no going back. I not just wanted, I needed a motorcycle, not a scooter.

355lbs - fully fueled | 23.7 BHP, 21 at the wheel | 14.65 ft/lbs of torque | 75mpg

It wasn't the fastest motorcycle, but it was zippy enough. I got pretty good with low speed maneuvering, I put about 5,600km in just under 2 years. It wasn't much, but I was going out more and more often as time went by.

Practice makes perfect, I had a chance to see how well I practiced emergency braking. On the entry ramp onto the highway, 4 cars and a truck ahead. I see the truck start to slow down, so I let go of the gas, slowly squeezing the brakes from 80kmph. Suddenly the truck starts shuddering as its ABS kicks in. The cars ahead all do the same, and I go from a light squeeze to stomping on my rear brake and squeezing my front brake too. Unlike the cars ahead of me, I only had 2 wheels, not 4. I also had no ABS. I felt my rear brake lock and the rear start to fish tail lightly, when I realize I'm not going to stop in time, I let go of the rear brake. I feel the bike surge, trying to kick me off as traction suddenly comes back to the wheel. I look where I want to go, get onto the shoulder and continue braking. I ended up at the rear bumper of the 2nd car ahead of me. Glad I practiced braking. 

While ABS would have been nice, I'm happy I got the chance to learn what it feels like to lock up a tire in an emergency situation. I do believe joining Trever in Taste the Dirt, a dirt class from Too Cool Motorcycle School helped a lot since that dirt experience was directly applicable to this situation.

Honda CBR500r

A new, to me, bike that arrived recently. Nearly brand new, less than a year old, and still pristine and asking to get taken out to some nice twisting mountain backroads. 

A bigger brother to the 250r, and another Honda? Got to be said, Honda makes some darn nice motorcycles. While on paper, they aren't that hot, they are better motorcycles in person and finish.

Honda CBR 500 r - (Not my picture)

425 lbs - fuelly fueled | 47 BHP, 44 at the wheel | 32 ft/lbs of torque | 70mpg

So nearly double the horsepower and torque, weighs 50 or so lbs more, and still gets nearly the same fuel mileage? (According to fuelly figures). That's pretty darn good. Not to mention it feels like a big bike. Similarly proportioned to the CBR600rr and CBR1000rr street legal racing bikes, although the slim fuel tank on the 500 makes it feel rather smaller and lighter. 

This bike came with a lot of aftermarket accessories. 

Yoshimura R77 Slipon Exhaust - my gosh, I was planning on upgrading to an aftermarket exhaust at some point, it was a bonus it came with it - but my GOSH! That sound! The motorcycle doesn't sound like a sewing machine like most Parallel Twin engines do. It sounds like a V-twin, and while it's not super loud, it makes the bike sound much bigger than it really is. Love it.

Hope to learn more on this motorcycle, and this will be, for the foreseeable future, my sole ride for quite some time. It's heavy enough not to get pushed around in the wind, especially with bigger tires. Front/rear: 120/70 & 160/60 for the 500r and 110/70 & 140/70 for the 250r. My only complaint with the 250r was that it felt sluggish once at highway speeds, but other than that, I was completely fine with it. I loved how it turned, how light and maneuverable it was at slow speeds; so with all that answered by the 500r, I think I found a bike I'll keep for much -much- longer.

New Blog

Motorcycle Diaries

Yay, another blog after I havn't posted anything new on my other ones!

This blog will be different. I shouldn't run out of content to post, and I as long as I don't become lazy about posting pictures and things I've done, everything should be alright! right?

So why Blogger? I have a wordpress I tried starting, though decided, maybe not. As most of my photos are being backed up by Google+ photos and having access to my blog, photos, videos, and other things under one roof is just a lot more convenient. I'm also used to Blogger, from my previous blogs.