Off we go!

Trent got up early Monday morning (02JUL2014) and headed for Melbourne. The plan was for him to arrive earlyish to allow some time for last minute packing and panicking. All was going well until Trent's car needed fuel. Filled up, went into pay, card doesn't work... After much swearing and many phone calls it was sorted, but not a god start to the day.

Trent arrived at lunch time. My bike was still in bits so I got stuck into the final prep and Trent sorted out his packing and loaded his bags on. A quick visit to the bank to sort out Trent's card issue, more packing, gearing change, bikes on the ute, a few drinks, final dinner and into bed for an early start.

Nice Rack 2

Trent's racks are finally finished.

I like the white. What do you think?

If you look closely at the first photos you can see another completed item, the front screen.

Spooning leads to forking.

Preventative maintenance time. Fork seals and new oil.

Look at that, it all went back together with nothing left over.

A quick tidy up and pose for the cameras.

Nice rack...

Trent had a light bulb moment and realised he would have to carry luggage and set about crafting some racks.

Time is running out...

Tic, tic, tic, tic, tic,...

So I changed the fork seals last weekend but I didn't have my manual with me and was unsure of the fork oil volume required. I packed them up and took them home. Cruising through the manual looking for oil volumes I found the exploded view of the forks. Handy as I didn't take too much notice of which way the compression needles came out... Then I noticed the springs that go with the needles. I didn't notice them when I pulled the forks down. A quick search and I can assure you they were not there when stripped down... Bugger... Who ever did these forks last, you are an idiot.

There they are...

Oops. Forgot something.

New shorties.

I had the seat widened at the rear. About an inch and a half wider over all. Hopefully a bit more comfortable.

All back together.

Tarting up the PrincesS

Trent set about wearing out his Mastercard. At least he's getting his exercise by pushing his luck...

Time for the little bits and pieces

Placed my order for tyres, wheel bearings, chain and sprockets, and fork seals. These will come in ready for Saturday. Cool. Now to strip the bike down ready for fitment.

I made sure to only use the tools that I was taking on the trip.

And a quick valve gap check while I was on a roll.

The boingy bits

With the new spring in I thought I'd take a look at how the suspension was setup. To start with I wanted to see If I could get a decent ride out of the nearly stock setup by playing with the clickers.

Rear Shock;

The rear was incredibly soft with the old spring which explains why the High Speed Compression was wound up to it's hardest setting. Low speed compression was set at the standard rate as was the rebound.

To fix this I put the High Speed Compression to 11 clicks out with the Low Speed Compression and Rebound staying at the same settings.

Front Forks;

Front forks were all at factory settings which surprised me. The front always felt a bit hard but was a bit tough to gauge as the rear was so soft.

I softened the front Compression by 2 clicks and left the rebound where it was.

I'm of for a ride soon to see how this setup feels. Wish me luck.