ReconRat

I still like CB350s. I had 3 of them. Mostly CL scrambler though.

Aircraft gaskets are pried out with a set of brass picks, that are softer than aluminum. So they won't scratch the sealing surfaces. I hate to say that most people (including me sometimes) go right ahead and chisel it out with a small steel screwdriver. It's easy to damage the flat part of the head where the seal mates, and there might be a small exhaust leak from that. I used to have a chisel made from walnut or hard plastic that I used on stuff like that. Sometimes hitting the gasket with a punch, drift, or chisel, will loosen it, bend it, or pop it up where you can get it out. Since no damage would likely result from gently tapping on it, I would start with that. Tap around on the gasket all over, and see if it breaks the bond or seal it has going with the cylinder head below it. Hopefully it wasn't glued in with some sort of high temp gasket sealer. That would be a pain to get out. edit: don't tap on it to the extent that it expands and becomes harder to remove. You might wind up cutting it out.

on a gs850 they will be the o-ring shape, but will be either copper or non-asbestos fiber edit: ok, now I see you're working on a GS450... those o-ring shape but are copper, fiber, or a combo of fiber and metal.

LOL, this isn't a Ford... they look like this, only squished flat: yeah, I know... I'm living in the past...

I thought they were all copper crush sealing rings. They come out with effort. Some chemicals will break up the carbon, that helps.

That event was Rolling Freedom 2010, and I do not find one for 2011 when searching...

I think between 2004 and 2008, that all the engine mount designs changed. Enough so that vibrations were greatly reduced. edit: the changes also added some weight.

That was a Memorial day weekend. There was a ride from Iron Pony to Quaker State for a breakfast deal. Short ride, but a great one. Will there be one this year? All Veteran's should ride this one. Last year's ride: http://www.ohioriders.net/showthread.php?t=59585&highlight=flags

Well, you know... have to have an accident report. What with the 40,000$ damage when it tipped over...

I would get an external battery charger and a spare battery. A pain to swap batteries, but it would get by till new upgrade time. And sell off the charger and battery later.

In the video, they try to say that the wobble is directly related to the engine mount system. I'm thinking that would be the vibration isolation (rubberglide). Mostly 1993 through 2008. Oops. From what I'm reading, the engine is rubber mounted to the frame in the front, but rubber mounted to the swing arm in the rear. This doesn't sound like a winning solution to me. At least not when going hard around corners, or hard acceleration. There's a nice little kit to fix it: http://www.parts4powertoys.com/en/products/details/17--12 The old Nortons had a mount system sort of like that. If it started shaking left and right, instead of just front and rear, the vibration could and would get really bad. Re-torquing or shimming, or better yet, buying new rubber shock mounts, would fix it.

I heard Rice Paddy bought that up, whatever that means to us. Nothing if it isn't open and accessible. I miss Doc's, it was fun.

Something like this tool works better, since there is no guarantee that either the axle or the swing arm pivot points are equal distance left and right of the motorcycle's center line. But the difference using a string would be very little. http://www.muzzys.com/WheelAlignment/WheelAlignmentTool_sm.jpg Also can use string and jack stands to line up along the rear tire, going forward past the front tire, and see where the front tire is actually located. A lot of careful adjusting to get the strings straight, and then some careful measuring to see where the front tire is. Note: A few bikes, like some BMW, have an offset front tire. This is good for bikes that have really out of alignment front vs rear tires. Hopefully the sprockets and chain go along with aligning tires instead of chain/sprocket/axle. In general, it's probably better to just align chain and sprocket, or square the rear axle.

I'm pretty sure it's the crappy DNS server settings we're all using...

I'd take some measurements, point to point, comparing both sides. Find where it is. Sounds like it's up top, around the triples or bars. And yes, you need some giant calipers to measure with.

Loosen all the torqued front end, and see if it will eyeball twist straight. Then re torque in sequence, per the shop manual. Just compressing the front forks when everything is loosened, will do a lot for straightening. Bent handle bars are the most common "off center" steering cause, but the front forks can twist a bit off over time.

One storm center topping at 28,000 ft is centered on Columbus. Crossing from SW to NE. 90% chance hail, 20% chance severe hail. Max hail .50 inch. Speed 66 knots. Generally the hail will be in very few places. If at all.

Article in Lexington KY paper said 1993 Ford Ranger. Comments say the 17yo will be ok. http://www.kentucky.com/2011/05/22/1749623/motorcyclist-dies-in-bath-co-wreck.html

I only align a chain with eyeball. I look at the rear of the rear sprocket while turning the wheel in an upright vertical position. I'll adjust the rear axle alignment till the sprocket is running straight in the middle of the chain. Check chain tension. Repeat. Tighten axle. Check chain tension. Repeat. Old school. If it comes out weird, somethings broken. This will not work well with a bent swing arm. Not even a little bit bent.

I've seen it. Don't care.

This storm appeared out of nowhere over Missouri this morning. And now it's here. It's not the storm that caused the damage in Joplin Missouri, that one passed this morning with little effect here. Expect hail and moderate winds. Storms are topping at 40,000 feet at max, so hail, updrafts, and down drafts should be expected. edit: as of 8:00pm, the worst parts of the storm line are headed toward the North part of Columbus, between Columbus and Marion. The areas with the most hail are in the South part of the storm, now approaching Lexington, KY.

With my freeway flat, I saw the crap come off the back of a flatbed truck. I thought I dodged everything, but a large nail stuck in the tire. I only made it a few miles before feeling a wobble, and a few seconds till it was totally flat and barely able to move, let alone ride. Since I had a clue what it was, I pointed at the berm of the freeway and hammered the front brake to lift the rear tire. At a slow speed, I tried to let off the brake, and the back end wobbled hard, enough to make me think I'd fall. I just hit the front brake again, even harder. There was a highway patrol behind me, he saw it happen and he took me home. This was old tube tires. They go flat somewhat differently. edit: my Dad was standing in a parking lot when a cruiser blew out a front tire with a bang, out on the road. Yes, the bike went down quickly, with the rider injured. No clue why the tire would blow out that way. edit part deux: if a punctured tire throws the nail out, the tire blows out in a few seconds. But no bang exploding tire.

No kidding... The red 919 came with gutted stock cans. I think it's slower with the changes. I'm putting stock back on. Found stock cheap. And I don't care for the extra noise. Gutted to the extent that it can pop loud on deceleration.

Me too. Seeing an increased number of helmets strapped to the back. It's like it's a "style" that has to be done to be part of the cool crowd. And yes, the T-shirt and shorts and type of bike all speak for that life style chosen. Combined with the other life style that doesn't use helmets, that's quite a few lately. I'm guessing that more than 50% of the riders I've seen don't have helmets on. I realize that it's all on local roads that have speed limits of 35mph or lower, but I'm pretty sure that is where most of the collisions and falling down would be.

dunno, sacrificing one group of people in favor of another isn't very popular. Ask Adolph Hitler...