Time flies—we’re already into the new year.
The wheel paint is finished and the tire mounting is complete.
It’s nice when the wheels look good. After all this time, they’d turned into a dull white finish.
We’re using aluminum air valves from Ariel.
To remove the bearings, we heat everything around them with a soldering iron.
Know what this super cheap tool is?
With impact tools, OEM SST doesn’t make financial sense—you know, the kind you don’t mind breaking. But I bought this one anyway and I’ve been using it for years now.
Basically it’s an impact puller.
Instead of using it as a puller, you open the jaws and tap from the back. It’s really effective around the swingarm area.
We’re welcoming the new year with a brand-new Mitutoyo. The precision of the slide really is completely different.
Even among domestic brands, some other company’s tools are worlds apart. You know it, but it really drives home the lesson that there’s no such thing as cheap and good.
Checking the wheel oil seal. Honda is great—you can use it as-is.
Suzuki and others, though, often have seals so stiff you can’t turn them by hand. The iron collar wears down with the step, creating incredible friction.
The RC30 really doesn’t have parts available. The front sprocket is so obscure that Sunstar doesn’t make it. Zam has a lead time of several months.
A master helped us find a compatible sprocket, and we got it installed successfully. Since it doesn’t work as-is, I’m deliberately not going into details.
The chain is DID and the sprocket is Sunstar—our usual reliable package.
