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A couple of maintenance questions (Read 266 times)
ALittlebird
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A couple of maintenance questions
07/23/08 at 09:17:58
OK guys I'm getting brave enough to start doing some of my own maintenance. Oh I can hear it already from the peanut gallery.
1. Do you all have stands to keep the bike upright? Or do you just use the kick stand? And if you have stands what would you recommend?
2. The owners manual states you need to clean the air cleaner element with an air hose. So do I really need to put one on my wish list or is there another way aside from buying a new one?
An incredibly beautiful day out today and I'm off work! How lucky is that? This afternoon I'm doing an oil/oil filter change. Start with the easy stuff.
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SimonTuffGuy
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #1 -
07/23/08 at 09:20:58
You can probably get away with using a bottle of that canned air stuff from Walmart to do the air filter. It's not going to give the pressure that an air compressor with a blower on would... But it should work.
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Simon
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bill67
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #2 -
07/23/08 at 09:21:48
You can use the kick stand You can clean it with a vacuum cleaner
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william h krumpen
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ALittlebird
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #3 -
07/23/08 at 09:32:33
Thanks guys! Should have thought of the vacuum cleaner.
My landlord is probably going to freak when I turn the garage into a shop.
He doesn't even like anyone storing anything in them.
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07S40rider
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #4 -
07/23/08 at 10:28:29
One thought on the air compressor - now that I have one, I find myself using it quite often. I especially like being able to check/correct my motorcycle tires air pressure without having to locate a public air source and paying .75 cents etc... I have this exact model
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/griprite/GR153CHD/
and it is super handy for car tires, lawn mower tires, bicycle tires, blowing 'stuff' out of engine compartments, harrassing the dog etc...
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"One mans McGoofy is another mans McCuff - its like pure magic in a yellow rubber gadget!"
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Gort
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #5 -
07/23/08 at 10:37:31
I must disagree with cleaning the air filter using compressed air. Articles I've read over the years state that testing has found that an air filter may block organic dust and it may be blown off with compressed air, but it also absorbs petroleum based exhaust fumes, and petroleum based air pollutants. These do not collect on the surface of the element and therefore cannot be blown off with compressed air or removed by vacuum. These petroleum based contaminants are absorbed into the filter element and clog it. Removing them would require the correct solvents and subsequent cleaning processes, which a paper filter would never survive.
K&N insists that their filters be treated with their water soluble oil because this oil stops petroleum base contaminants as well as organic dust from fouling the filter. The contaminants lay on top of the oil surface, thus allowing them to be washed away with the oil, leaving a un-contaminated filter. They warn you that not using the oil will ruin the filter.
Suzuki recommends that their filter be cleaned every 2000 miles and replaced every 7500. This has to be an approximation because they can't know every locale and its environmental conditions. For example, in the So. CA. deserts, I have had to replace air filters weekly in some cases, due to organic dust. In Los Angeles city, my air filters needed replacement much more frequently than manufacturer's recommendations due to petroleum based air pollution. I ended up spending so much $ on air filters for my vehicles that I changed to K&N, simply because they were washable after being oiled. K&N does allow more particulate matter into the engine than does factory filters, but at least I didn't have to keep replacing them.
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sjaskow - FSO
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #6 -
07/23/08 at 11:02:14
ALittlebird wrote
on 07/23/08 at 09:17:58:
1. Do you all have stands to keep the bike upright? Or do you just use the kick stand? And if you have stands what would you recommend?
If you haven't read it, read
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1099572561
I changed my oil in the driveway with the bike on the kick stand.
A couple of notes:
1) You'll probably want a funnel to get the oil into the filler hole. You could do it with the just the oil bottle but the funnel was easier.
2) Take the three screws of the filter out at approximately the same time. Be prepared, there will be oil that will run down the case since there will be some left in it.
Also, this link
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1167152229
in the tech section shows you how to build a cheap stand if you desire to do so.
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2012 Victory Vision -
http://www.jaskowiak.cc/vision
2006 Suzuki S40 -
http://www.jaskowiak.cc/S40
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Yonuh Adisi FSO
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #7 -
07/23/08 at 11:07:53
Every time I have to do something to the FireLizard that requires it to be upright, I pull out one of my car ramps and while I lift I have my daughter shove it under the bike.
It is very stable.
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Check out Flight of Destiny
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H9130XC
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ALittlebird
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #8 -
07/23/08 at 12:13:28
Thanks for the replies guys. So perhaps just buying a K&N filter might be a better solution that trying to clean or buy the paper filters. Seems reasonable.
I do have a funnel - You are right it is much easier! Found that out the first time I had to top it up on the trip.
Hit a snag this afternoon - the drain plug is in too tight for me to unscrew it! And I am strong! Not happy. The muscle men at the mechanic's must have used King King the last time they changed the oil. Guess I'll have to pop over there get them to unscrew and then sit there and change the oil in their parking lot. That way I can bug them about the throttle tube they supposedly ordered over a month ago to replace the one they snapped.
Thanks for the links. I'd looked at the oil change that Greg put up. Helped with trying to find the plug since you can't see it from the left side very well.
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T Mack 1 - FSO
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #9 -
07/23/08 at 12:24:33
When I change the oil, I take some aluminum foil and cover the exhaust pipe. Makes clean up a little easier. I form a lip/bend to help direct the drops of oil into the pan.
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Engineers design things, Technicians make them work.
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30% of being mechanical is confidence/30% is knowing to go slow when needed/30% is looking repeatedly at what you have/10% is dumb luck
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ALittlebird
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #10 -
07/23/08 at 14:10:07
Thanks T Mack. I got it done. Made the mechanic loosen the plug for me but I'd taken everything over with me and sat in the lot and changed it. Nice because I could leave the oil there instead of toting it to Valvoline.
Found bits of the old o ring in the folds of the filter. The emergency O ring was really too big (they said it was when they saved my butt on the trip) so I'd bought a correct one and changed it out as well. It really was too big - it wasn't seated properly at all. Surprised it didn't still leak.
Now that I have done it once I'm good to go. Easy I know but I had to start somewhere.
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Toymaker
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #11 -
07/23/08 at 14:44:05
hey.we're proud of you.........pretty soon you;ll be wrenching with the best of them.....
Can see it now....
"...Nah..ya gotta make sure ya torque that sucker good...or it'll leak bad........"
Gee, Thanks LittleBird...I didn't know that...
"No big deal...just something I picked up....."
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Because I can!
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FreeSpirit
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #12 -
07/23/08 at 15:15:53
I always use the air compressor at the service station to clean the air filter....but have wanted one of my own.Since its nice to be able to keep tires at correct air pressure....at home,before a ride.
but....$150.00....wow,cant afford that one.
Anybody know of a cheaper one?
Also there is a DIY bikestand here somewhere,I'm sure in the tech section! If interested.
May come in handy at some point and time.
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2002 Suzuki Savage-Stock.Windshield,Saddle bags,Hwy Bars,Tank Bib.Custom Paint.
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ALittlebird
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #13 -
07/23/08 at 15:33:04
Thanks Toymaker but it will be a while before I get to that stage. I do at least want to understand what might be wrong even if it's something I don't want to do myself.
I think the mechanics were laying bets I have the oil filter in backwards. They'd lose - I had the Clymers hidden in my saddle bag.
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Paladin.
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Re: A couple of maintenance questions
Reply #14 -
07/23/08 at 16:31:04
FreeSpirit wrote
on 07/23/08 at 15:15:53:
...air compressor ...$150.00....wow,cant afford that one. Anybody know of a cheaper one?....
You want "less expensive", not "cheap." In the long run "cheap" is more expensive.
Harbor Freight has a 1 gal / 100 psi pancake compressor for $50; $65 for the same with a 3 gal tank. Another 3 gal model for $60. While they will not handle sustained use of air tools, they will give you brief use then wait to recharge the tank. A light duty air impact wrench is just $20 and will make short work of stubborn nuts and screws.
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