hello visitors of the muddy pigsty,
XTreme asked
here about the reason of the long life of my "dicke". i did not want to hijack the "mileage-thread", so i'll write it up here in my playground.
today's episode. the secret of the long life of the pigs "dicke":i did nothing special to ensure the functionality and reliability of my MKII.
my first and most important concern is warming up the engine. i ride very careful for the first 20 to 30km, depending on outside tempreature. when the temp gauge is in the normal position, the oil in not warm yet. i wait for the temp gauge to drop a little, when the thermostat opens the big circuit and then wait a little more, to make sure oil and the engine case itself are thoroughly warm.
after the warmup i sometimes redline the engine and have encountered the limiter as well, loving the bike does not keep me from riding the sh*** out of it
next item is clutch life: i only accellerate hard, when the cluch is fully out, minimizing slip and friction wear.
it gets its oil changes at prescribed intervals and i check oil level after each ride. (this does not mean i have to fill up every time, i use about 1 to 1,5 liters on 6000km) oil used: castrol 10W40 semi-synth motorcycle oil. expensive, but it seems to work)
after each ride i clean the chain and lube it, takes only a couple of minutes. i use ballistol weapons oil, it does not stick to the chain and thus does not attract dirt. the downside is, sometimes i have to lube in between on longer rides, ok for me.
(note: some tech-experts consider this oil inappropriate for chainlubing, they are right of course. i can live with the flak i get from them and can live with a chain lifespan of about 50,000km as well
)
i clean the bike, when it is dirty, no pressure cleaner, so i can give it a visual inspection between service intervals.
storing the bike in a self made garage/shed helps as well.
i ride all year, just not on snow or salted roads any more. i had enough of that with my old xtz660...
change brake fluid every two years, clean the calipers about every 8 to 10,000km, depending on dirt conditions.
all servicing i do not have the tools or the competence for, is done by my dealer, he and one of his mechs both had MKI and TRX, so they know the engine. ok, i have to pay, but they work good and fair, and i'm happy to pay a good craftsman for good work.
from memory the incomplete service log and list of modifications:
service: oil change as prescribed, valves adjusted at 42,000 and 84,000km, next interval, intake valves have to be replaced, the shims are the thinnest available now. camchain will be replaced as well.
emulsion tubes at 80,000km, had to be replaced earlier, but was not possible due to other circumstances, i just lived with the smoke and the fuel consumption for a while
(the pig smokes as well, so the dicke is entitled a little bit of smoke, ok
)
disk rotors front were replaced at 72,00km with original disks.
calipers replaced with renovated original calipers at about 80,000km
rear disk and caliper were replaced under warranty after about 9,000km, stuck, perhaps because i never used it. no more probs since then.
fork oil was changed several times, when i felt the fork became too soft.
carb intake rubbers replaced because of age, at about 60,00km or so...
cush-drive? (the rubber thingies in the rear wheel) replaced about three times now.
at 64,000km one wheel bearing in the front had to be replaced.
fouled one set of sparkplugs during a soundcheck when mounting the marvings after the crash in october 2006.
several lightbulbs replaced.
replaced the footpeg-rubbers 3 times. (i've lost count of the times i had to replace the footpeg scratching bolt thingies...cured now by wilbers shock)
horn replaced in 2006.
mods:replaced the handlebars with an extremely wide and flat magura bar right after the first 1000km/weekend. (destroyed in the crash) magura discontinued this bar, so i use spiegler/ABM 0229 now.
fork springs and rear shock replaced with wilbers at about 80,000km
MKI bash plate mounted, forgot when.
small indicator lights fitted together with the horn, hein gericke, type "arrow"
fitted handguards of the BMW 1100 GS, or was it 1150??? hmmmmm
seat fitted with new foam, for the third time now, the last was in july 2007
the crash destroyed the fairing, the upper fork tubes and one lower fork tube, one mirror, headlight, exhaust, all replaced partly with used parts.
exhaust: now road legal marving 2 in 1 in 2.
k&n air filter and dynojet stage 1.
disabled the white cable (restriction in 2nd and 3rd gear)
tyres tested:
macadam, pilot road 1, bt 020, ME Z6 (currently), in doubt what to mount next.
that sums it up a bit, i hope. but the real key to the long life of my dicke is just my devotion to this piece of machinery.
as my signature says: "people come and go, the "dicke" will stay.
glückauf
ralf
the pig says: ride safe and take care. (you must not treat people like motorcycles. - motorcycles need love)
(reason for mutiple editing: remembering some bits...)
Edited by erdferkel, 05 November 2007 - 06:24 pm.
