The temperature swings are so extreme that I find myself thinking, “Ugh… it’s so cold,” even though it should be pretty warm.
Human perception is really unreliable.
This time we did the sixth consecutive inspection.
Before I know it, I’ve been running this shop for quite a while… I really need to decide when to close it down.
It’s scary when riding with a passenger. The rear definitely sags quite a bit.
I check the angle roughly. It’s pretty rough work. With 1G of movement, it might shift 1 to 2 degrees.
A digital angle meter is really handy to have.
For sidestand modifications and such,
being able to see actual oil levels and other measurements with numbers gives you tremendous peace of mind.
Since we’re not doing precision measurements, even an inexpensive one works fine.
We remove it and take off the sole and the stand extension rod.
I use two different blades on the contour machine.
• For straight cuts, I use the wide blade
• For wavy curves, I use the narrow blade
The wide blade won’t curve no matter what, so it cuts pretty straight and is easy to work with.
*But if you mess up at the start, it’s hard to fix.
Next, without the sole, I cut along the scribe line while considering various factors.
I scribe and cut, scribe and cut, over and over.
I cut out the sole and radius the edges.
I made a solid bevel on the stand side and welded it all the way around.
After cooling it down, I position the stand extension rod.
There are various considerations:
• If I attach it at the root (bolt side), it’s easy but heavy to deploy
• If I attach it to the sole side, I need to account for possible leg contact and clearance, but it’s lighter.
I position it so the boot doesn’t hit, with some clearance to spare.
And suddenly it’s done.
I painted it with matte black Guncoat. Matte black is definitely the most reliable choice.
The angle meter is sitting in a different spot than … well, never mind that.
I tilted it about -2.6 degrees or so.
After installation, I set it at a compromise angle so I can fudge it a bit if needed.
I replaced the pads. They’re about half worn, I’d say. That’s a reasonable amount of remaining material.
I cleaned the rear caliper and brake disk, and that’s done.
I bent a plate so the preload adjuster can be turned.
The tail light flickering issue—when I touch the wiring a bit, it goes out, so it looks like a contact problem.
I polished the contacts and that’s done.
I rode it around to check for vibration noise but couldn’t tell. That’s all for this time.
