September 8, 2012

The last thing I wrote about was using some JB Weld on one of the little points that hold the side panel on. It took a bit of shaping, but it did work, surprisingly. The bike then sat that way until this last week after my Labor Day trip. I did a little work on the neutral switch, but it looks like it just isn't working. It's possible it might come on when I run the bike again, but I doubted it. So I worked on getting the headlight assembly workable and did that last night. So today, was the big day. I drained the oil out to put fresh oil in for two reasons: 1) I didn't know how much had leaked out previously and I wanted to make sure it was correct, and 2) I wanted to put clean oil in after running the bike a bit with new parts in it. after that, I fired it up, got it warmed up and idling, put my helmet on and ran it up and down the block. It works!!! Not perfectly, but everything functions. I have discovered a small oil leak around the rear rocker arm shaft. So I'm going to take the bike over to Allen's when I get the plate for it on Monday. While there, I want them to look at the leak and then give it a good once over. I think they'll need to tweak the carb a bit so it's correct and also look at my forks to make sure the air pressure is right. I'll also have them check the clutch adjustment. If they do all these things it'll give me a peace of mind before taking the bike to the CMA Fastlane camp in Kamiah, ID next weekend. Otherwise I don't think I want to take it.

This has been a great learning experience. It has made me more confident to work on my newer bike because some things just aren't that different.