Wednesday How to Tip - After race maintanence 
by Mike Fraser
03 June 2004

Well, I am a little late today getting around to the Wednesday How to Tip. It is 11:30pm so I am almost making this a Thursday How to Tip.

This week is going to be straight to the point. Not a lot of fluff and long drawn out typing. Let’s get to it.

There a million things to do before a race day. There is the packing of gear, getting your mind ready, getting plenty of rest the night before, making sure you have food and drink. The list can go on and on. One thing that is really important is making sure your bike is ready. Now this is going to sound strange, but the best time to make sure your bike is ready for the next race is right after the last race.

After a long day of racing you pack up your gear and bike and head home. Usually, reflecting on your performance, how much fun you had, and how nice that shower is going to feel when you get home. The next day you should book some time to do maintenance work on your bike.

During a race a lot of things can happen to your bike. Your bike can take a good beating during an event. After the race, usually the next day, is the best time to give your bike a good overall inspection, cleaning, and lube.

Why the next day you ask? Simple. Because if anything was acting up with your machine it is still fresh in your head, and it is the beginning of the time period from your next event. This will prevent you from last minute maintenance, which is usually always done half hearted and things get overlooked. As well, you want to make sure that your bike is in good working order before you go out for your next practice.

So how to do make sure your bike is maintained to the best it can be? Here is a checklist of what guys like Boo Green and other pros do.

First step is disassembly. Put your bike on a center stand so that both tires are not touching the ground.

Remove the following parts:
· Throttle housing and tube
· Front fender, tank, shrouds, seat side panels
· Remove sub frame with air box and rear fender still attached
· Chain
· Air Filter

Your bike should now be sitting on the stand with only the frame, wheels, motor, and cables in front of you.

Next step is inspection and cleaning.

· Check your spokes for tension. This is often overlooked so do this first. Grab two parallel spokes at a time and squeeze. If they have a lot of play tighten them up according to your owners manual.

· Take your bike off the stand and bounce the forks by grabbing the front brake and pushing down on the front end. Check your forks to make sure there is not oil on them. If there is you may have a leaky fork seal. This would be a good time to catch something like this. You don’t want to realize it the next time you are out riding.

· Check the pull on your clutch. If there is any dirt in it clean the cable. Get a cable cleaning device and first spray contact cleaner down the cable until the dirt stops coming out, this may take up to ½ a can. Next spray WD-40 down the cable to remove moisture, then finally spray some cable lube down the cable. This will ensure that your clutch is always working properly and is easy to pull in. We all know what happens when your clutch gets hard to pull. ARM PUMP!!

While you are doing this you might want to give your throttle cables a quick check, clean, and lube.

· Take your throttle tube and clean off the dirt and grit from the inside and on your handle bar.

· Loosen and remove your front brake and clutch clamps and clean the bars off where they sit and put a light touch of grease on the inside of the clamps. This helps in making them easy to adjust. Your levers should not be jammed on so tight that they cannot be moved at all.

· Next take your chain and clean it off. Take small container and pour some kerosene in it and submerge your chain. Take a wire brush and clean the dirt off the chain. When this is done go clean your sprockets with a small wire brush. Remove the grit and dirt off your sprockets before you put your chain back on. When this is done put your chain back on.

NOTE: If you have an O-RING chain you should NOT brush it with a wire brush as it may damage the o-rings in the chain and the kerosene may degrade the o-rings as well. For o-ring chains remove the chain wipe it down the a rag and hit it with the hose. Then WD-40 it and then lube it.

· Check and clean your air filter. Take some more kerosene and submerge your filter in it. Squeeze it out so the oil and dirt come off the filter. Wring out the filter and then wash it with warm water and soap, TWICE. Wring it out. Oil it back up and put in a bag or somewhere out of the way for now.
NOTE: DO NOT wring out the filter too hard, don't over twist it. This may tear the foam, just squeeze the water out of it throughly. When re-oiling the filter make sure that it is dry. You do not want to oil a wet filter.

· Check your plastics for cracks. If they are full of mud and dirt do this inspection after your clean them and before you put them back on your bike. A quick way to fix cracks is to take a soldering gun and melt the plastic at the crack. This will make a “Plastic Weld”. Let it sit and strengthen. Good as new.

· Next start cleaning your bike. The best thing for this is some degreaser. I use a product that you can pick up at Canadian Tire called “Simple Green”. It is a biodegradable degreaser and it works amazingly well. I usually mix it 50/50 with water. Spray a light coating of Simple Green on your plastics, motor, frame, swing arm, rims, tires, forks, and anywhere else there is visible dirt. Let is sit for a few minutes. Grab a hose or pressure washer and give your bike a blast. Don’t forget to PLUG YOUR EXHAUST. I use a plastic shopping bag. You don’t want water going down your pipe. While you are spraying the bike down have a rag handy to scrub off any stubborn grease or dirt that is not coming off. Make sure you do a complete job. Remember to wash out the inside of your airbox.
When you are done your bike should be looking pretty sweet.

Next step reassemble and lube.

· Put your plastics back on the bike in the reverse order they came off.

· Put your throttle back on and together.

· Put your front brake and clutch clamps back on the bars. Remember do not over tighten these. They should move a bit if you bang them with your hand.

· Check your bolts for tightness, including bolts you didn’t touch yet like your handlebars and triple clamps.

· Put your air filter back in.

· Spray your chain with WD-40 to remove moisture. Then come back to in about an hour or so and spray with some chain lube and let it sit.

OK. You’re done!! This whole process should take about 2 - 3 hours. This will keep your bike in top shape. You’ll always know what kind of condition your bike is in and you can go riding knowing you are on a bike that is ready and safe to ride.

So much for not a lot of typing. LOL

Til next week, Happy riding and happy cleaning.

Mike Fraser