A 1000cc V-twin that points toward MotoGP? In a way, it was ahead of its time. The handling—like riding a stick—is astounding! Whatever you do to it, it gets better.
Bikes from this era are lavish and ornate. There are so many fiddly gimmicks everywhere.
The handlebars adjust up and down, and the front fork has some kind of anti-dive mechanism. Swapping the calipers looks like a pain—but it already has a quick-release wheel mechanism. Convenient or necessary? Hard to say.
We’ll disassemble it completely. At first glance, it doesn’t look as bad as I expected.
Lower side. Not much oil, and the contact is tight.
Upper side. It’s hard to see in the photo, but there were scratches as if something had scraped across it.
A thin steering tube. Let’s clean it thoroughly all the way to the back.
After pressing in the race, we’ll check the entire circumference with a mirror.
After installing the race, let’s check how well the seal works.
Smooth. Some manufacturers have a tighter feel. During assembly, you can’t tell if it’s the tightness of the fit or the seal doing its job. We check beforehand.
We use Neutech NC100 grease: deterioration is easy to spot with its white color; it’s soft enough that it doesn’t affect operation; it resists heat, so it won’t flow even on a hot frame and is gentle on bearings.
You only learn what’s good or bad about chemicals after years of use, hundreds of customers, and millions of kilometers of accumulated data.
Whether it was stored poorly or is just showing its age, it’s very dirty.
Clean it up and your mood lifts. No matter how well it works, if it looks beat up, nobody can love it.
VERY FINE
The pad is worn thin—but before that, the slide pins won’t move.
Let’s clean it up and reuse it this time. We recommend replacing it at the next disassembly.
Lubricating the side stand doesn’t always get everywhere. And even though it’s an essential part, it somehow falls outside the usual maintenance scope. I wonder why.
A little attention reduces the trivial burden of getting on and off.
Clean it up and make sure everything moves smoothly. That alone is more than enough.
