PIA bikes to work on

Wingboy

Wingboy

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Last fall my license plate bulb in my couchrocket burnt out.Two screws to remove the bulb cover and pull the bad bulb out,push the new bulb into the socket and oops...the socket fell in behind the plastic box that holds it under the trunk.Any attempt to retrieve it failed.Today i got at it by removing 22 fasteners to gain access to the back of the box which is riveted to the rear subframe.Two screws would have enabled easy access.Thanks Honda......more brilliant engineering!

What brilliant engineering have you found?
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The underside of a VFR airbox has more inconvenient hookups than tinder while mall shopping with your kids ...

Also, ensuring that a ZZR250 airbox seats onto the carbs is rather tricky.
 
I dropped a spacer for a seat bolt into the space between an inner fender and the bottom of the battery / electronics box. I bought a new spacer rather than trying to find that sucker.
 
1984 FLH-TC. It takes five tools to remove the air filter. You know, that big chrome thing by your right knee. A 10mm socket, a 7/16 wrench (Japanese carb on a American bike), an allen key and a couple of screw drivers. The older ones had one wing nut that held it together like on a car.
Removing the rear wheel from an older Gold Wing was a bit of a challenge... till you learned the trick.
I have a GS1000 with a Yosh 1085 kit. Custom pistons with modern 1mm thick compression rings in a 40 year old block. It took hours and hours to get the pistons into the bore.
I am working on a Guzzi T3. Never been into a Moto Guzzi before, but I am quite familiar with old euro junk, so why not?
I have not seen a manual with so much information... none of really relevant to working on a motorcycle. Tons of specs and descriptions, but no procedures. The descriptions will call on diagrams, all the diagrams are at the back of the manual. There are no exploded views of anything. It's weird... but then these are the people that put the cartridge oil filter INSIDE THE OIL PAN. 24 bolts, a new gasket ($16) and a ROYAL mess to replace the "can" oil filter.
It takes an "Italian Unified Oil Filter #3". Fram don't make those.
The whole bike is just weird.
 
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$2000 o ring and shim deal on BMW airhead filter is no picnic Boo-Boo.
 
Had to take the front and side cowlings off, to replace the air filter under the gas tank on the DL550 VStrom. Too much Tupperware.

My old '84 V65 Magna was pretty good, once the oil filter mod was done, except for one pia spark plug, that sometimes never got changed on them.
I replace the one of the meters on it in about 15 minutes.

Concours was a Tupperware nightmare.
 
BMW F650... Header ran right infront of upper oil drain plug. While there was enough room to fit a 1/4" drive ratchet in, it drained oil right onto the exhaust. It's the reason why I have a roll of aluminum foil in my tool chest.

Sent from my XT1064 using Tapatalk
 
While no where near as bad as what you guys have seen, getting to the battery on a DRZ is way more involved than it should be. I wanted to leave the battery on a trickle charger all winter, but by the time I spent the 5 minutes and removed the rear rack, all the side panels, and the seat, I know I would have lost some of the hardware when it came time to put it all back together in the spring. Plus is was like -15degC when I tried to do it, and when I looked it over and saw what had to be done, I said f*ck it, I'll just buy a new battery in the spring. Battery is still mint though, bike started last weekend no issue. I figure I'll put a battery quick connect on it and wire it outside the battery box so it's just plug and play. spent the 5 minutes and
 
Ford Windstar transverse V6 engine. Back 3 spark plugs are located about underneath dashboard. Either have to take out windshield wiper assembly or go from underneath car with u-joints and extensions.
 
48Connor said:
While no where near as bad as what you guys have seen, getting to the battery on a DRZ is way more involved than it should be. I wanted to leave the battery on a trickle charger all winter, but by the time I spent the 5 minutes and removed the rear rack, all the side panels, and the seat, I know I would have lost some of the hardware when it came time to put it all back together in the spring. Plus is was like -15degC when I tried to do it, and when I looked it over and saw what had to be done, I said f*ck it, I'll just buy a new battery in the spring. Battery is still mint though, bike started last weekend no issue. I figure I'll put a battery quick connect on it and wire it outside the battery box so it's just plug and play. spent the 5 minutes and
Click to expand...
On a drz the only thing you remove to get to the battery is the air box cover (left side plate) and the battery cover. Nothing else should need to come off, actually really easy.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
empty said:
Ford Windstar transverse V6 engine. Back 3 spark plugs are located about underneath dashboard. Either have to take out windshield wiper assembly or go from underneath car with u-joints and extensions.
Click to expand...


The unit was designed like that, so the engine would 'dive' to the ground during a fr end collision.
Plugs were meant to last 160,000kms before replacing. Therefore, using Ford's wisdom, the engine is supposed to be dropped, in order to swap the 3 in the back row. (things may have changed - my info is from inception)
 
Iceman said:
On a drz the only thing you remove to get to the battery is the air box cover (left side plate) and the battery cover. Nothing else should need to come off, actually really easy.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Really eh! If someone finds this difficult then they should give up mechanicing. Lol
 
Iceman said:
On a drz the only thing you remove to get to the battery is the air box cover (left side plate) and the battery cover. Nothing else should need to come off, actually really easy.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yeah but I have the oem rear rack on my bike, which has to come off before you access the battery cover/seat bolt. And once the rack is off, the seat and all the plastics are held in by nothing anymore. It's like a 4 minute job, I just wasn't going to do it in the middle of the winter.
 
48Connor said:
Yeah but I have the oem rear rack on my bike, which has to come off before you access the battery cover/seat bolt. And once the rack is off, the seat and all the plastics are held in by nothing anymore. It's like a 4 minute job, I just wasn't going to do it in the middle of the winter.
Click to expand...
My bad I never had a rack on mine.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
My track bike!

Cobbled together before and after I had it. Lovely combo of metric and imperial bolts, and no logic between it all. Before I sell it I either have to fix it or it comes with an affidavit "wrenching on this motorcycle WILL piss you off".

As I fix my mobile oopsies I am trying to bring it back to stock (ish)
 
48Connor said:
While no where near as bad as what you guys have seen, getting to the battery on a DRZ is way more involved than it should be. I wanted to leave the battery on a trickle charger all winter, but by the time I spent the 5 minutes and removed the rear rack, all the side panels, and the seat, I know I would have lost some of the hardware when it came time to put it all back together in the spring. Plus is was like -15degC when I tried to do it, and when I looked it over and saw what had to be done, I said f*ck it, I'll just buy a new battery in the spring. Battery is still mint though, bike started last weekend no issue. I figure I'll put a battery quick connect on it and wire it outside the battery box so it's just plug and play. spent the 5 minutes and
Click to expand...

Man you can't be serious, it's literally a two minute job. It couldn't be any easier really.
 
-Futuristic pressurized air box on a ZX-11D attaches to like three hundred hoses, outputs and fixtures. I'm pretty sure I can perfectly visualize all of them (Oh, and you won't get it back on if you don't snake the throttle cables/ignition wires just right)
-Adjusting rear preload on the same bike requires you strip the back half down to the subframe (owner's manual tells you to bring it to the dealer!!!). This is where my intense, feverish lust for remote preload adjusters comes from
-Pretty much anything more complicated than an oil change on a VF500F. I've always assumed this extended to VFRs, but I've never owned one

Bonus car:
-Mazda MX-3 alternator replacement begins by removing the front right wheel. Not joking
 
bitzz said:
I am working on a Guzzi T3. Never been into a Moto Guzzi before, but I am quite familiar with old euro junk, so why not?
I have not seen a manual with so much information... none of really relevant to working on a motorcycle. Tons of specs and descriptions, but no procedures. The descriptions will call on diagrams, all the diagrams are at the back of the manual. There are no exploded views of anything. It's weird... but then these are the people that put the cartridge oil filter INSIDE THE OIL PAN. 24 bolts, a new gasket ($16) and a ROYAL mess to replace the "can" oil filter.
It takes an "Italian Unified Oil Filter #3". Fram don't make those.
The whole bike is just weird.
Click to expand...

That makes the CBR125 not having an oil filter at all seem marginally less crazy
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