There's a thread with this title in the Girly section but a lot of it carries over. My latest comment over there was jogged by a Steamer ign lock thread. Feel free to add anything you think is easy to overlook but will help keep your Steamer steamin' :wheel
Yes, as you said in the Key Barrel thread:
Mostly, we do all the usual stuff like engine oil, filters, plugs valve gaps etc but then forget the little things like a few drops of lubricant in the locks, oiling the cables, clean and grease caliper slide pins etc All equally essential if we're to avoid a sudden problem miles from anywhere.
Don't forget to give the suspension grease points a squirt now and again, too. And maybe check the tyre pressure more than twice a riding season. :icon_wink:
Particularly for those that ride through the winter on roads treated with salt.
It's a good idea to whip the calipers off to check the condition of the exposed portion of the piston, if you catch it in good time you can usually save them by cleaning off the surface corrosion.
Just as important, it lets you check the pad condition, what might look OK with sufficient meat while in position reveals quite a different story when it's taken out of the caliper.
Quote from: Sin_Tiger on January 25, 2015, 12:49:55 AM
Particularly for those that ride through the winter on roads treated with salt.
In many ways we are lucky hereabouts. Because it is impractical to even think about riding through the winter our bikes do not have to suffer the torment of road salt and gravel.
The biggest issues we see are those to do with bikes not being put away properly for the down time: non-drained fuel systems, particularly, resulting in gummed up carbs.
Quote from: nickjtc on January 25, 2015, 04:51:32 AM
In many ways we are lucky hereabouts. Because it is impractical to even think about riding through the winter our bikes do not have to suffer the torment of road salt and gravel.
The biggest issues we see are those to do with bikes not being put away properly for the down time: non-drained fuel systems, particularly, resulting in gummed up carbs.
:nono not all of us park it in the winter............... :icon_lol:
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/sidecar/DSC_1219.jpg)
:thumbsup
Quote from: Mustang on January 25, 2015, 02:52:57 PM
not all of us park it in the winter............... :icon_lol:
Ah yes, but you are a lucky b#@@&r who has three wheels to play on! :notworthy
Being the anal retent I am I'm not sure I would take even an outfit like that out in the winter..... too much time involved in making sure it would not suffer the ravages of road salt and magnesium fluoride after each ride.
Lucky you, anyway.
Check rims for water ingress and rot when doing tyre changes. Seal as neccessary. When laying up over winter watch for condensation pooling on the rims.
(http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t236/brucekennedy/iTookThisOnMyPhone%20Private/IMG00386-20100314-2016.jpg)
What is it about steamers and their rims that they rot so easily?
aluminum and road salt doesn't play good together ,
they are treating our roads here in NH now with saline solution sprayed on the road surface .
That shit gets into far more places on your vehicle than the old method of salt and sand .
It was salt getting in via the valve hole that corroded my rear wheel rim. It split either side of the valve hole, corroded through from the inside. According to the wheelbuilder who rebuilt mine the DID rims are well known for this. He uses Spanish rims which he reckons will give no problem.
Quote from: Mustang on October 19, 2015, 07:35:38 PM
aluminum and road salt doesn't play good together ,
they are treating our roads here in NH now with saline solution sprayed on the road surface .
That shit gets into far more places on your vehicle than the old method of salt and sand .
I wonder what the fate of the new mostly aluminum F-150 is going to be here in the Northeast? Could get real ugly I think!
boy, it sure is nice living in arizona
Quote from: ned37 on October 22, 2015, 03:03:13 AM
boy, it sure is nice living in arizona
You can go off some people very quickly :icon_razz:
So how do aluminium yachts work then? By this logic they'd be at the bottom of the sea. Different alloy?
And land rovers. The only bit that seems to persist is the aluminium body. :icon_scratch:
Aluminium forms a layer of oxide which then protects it, but if that layer is damaged, the process repeats and so it ends up as white powder. At least that's my understanding.....
Boats made of aluminium have a protective layer such as anodising or etch primer and paint.
Quote from: Nick Calne on April 28, 2016, 10:32:02 AM
And land rovers. The only bit that seems to persist is the aluminium body. :icon_scratch:
I reckon Sin can fill us in on that one... I know the use of aluminium decks was re-thought after the Navy frigate went up in flames during the falklands war... helped by a missile of course, but still, they weren't expecting aluminium to burn.
It's been said before, but I will throw this in.... A thing that I see all the time that is neglected, but possibly one of the easiest maintenance tasks, is changing that treacle coloured stuff in the brake fluid reservoirs (aka old scungy brake fluid).
I feel master cylinders are a particularly neglected asset. You rarely hear people talk about cleaning them out and replacing the internals, my theory is that the kits seem quite expensive compared to a set of caliper seals. If you think about it, the number and length of strokes of the piston is a lot higher than a caliper piston and yet the cylinder is normally just aluminium. Most I have opened have looked OK initially but have released gunge when given a really good clean.
I've learned to treat master cylinders with the same care as I would a carb.
Quote from: Sin_Tiger on April 28, 2016, 06:23:52 PM
I feel master cylinders are a particularly neglected asset.
:iagree Having just had to clean out the accumulated mung of 30+ years from the master cylinders on the '77 Suzuki, I think a 'spring clean' every couple of years is a good idea.
Triumph Maintenance schedule for the Girly states both Caliper & Master Cyl seals to be replaced every 2 years along with the fluid, wonder how many stick to that, even dealers.
Quote from: Timbox2 on April 28, 2016, 08:23:02 PM
Triumph Maintenance schedule for the Girly states both Caliper & Master Cyl seals to be replaced every 2 years along with the fluid, wonder how many stick to that, even dealers.
:mut Candidates regularly show up for their motorcycle parking lot or road tests with reservoirs that look like they are full of liquid poo. And when quizzed most of them admit that they did not know it was a regular maintenance item..."because that's what it looks like in my car."
Recently, I had cause to remove the sump. Whilst down there, I decided to give the old girl a thorough cleaning before putting back together....
Now, I am fairly sure I didn't contribute to this crud, so this was done in the first 35k miles. From what I can tell, this black gunk is formed of gasket bits and possibly silicon.