What should I do first

[Blakers]

First post here. Greetings from Ontario, Canada.

I have been lurking for a while, and thanks to all. Information that I gathered on this site, helped me choose the bike I wanted. (2000 Anniversary edition in the frosty, light green colour, with 80,000 km or 50,000 miles)

I bought the bike, knowing that I would be garaging it soon, prepping it for the big tour next summer.

So here is my question. I will be going over it, front to back.. timing belts clutch and brake fluid, coolant, oils, forks. ... I will need to check and service it all.

Where do you start? What do you do first, so you don’t have to backtrack and do something twice? For example, Is there a list of when to change the spark.plugs, while they are all exposed and easily accessible?


My first touring bike. Boy is it heavy.. it’s like I have to learn how to ride all over again. At least at slow speeds

Thank you for having a forum like this available.

Blakers

[bluthundr31]

If you have NO MAINTENANCE records, , I would lean toward resolving the issues that are likely to cause catastrophic failure if not repaired/resolved, , , ,THE TIMING BELTS FIRST!! Once that's resolved, the rest will merely be a matter of "fitting" it to your style/liking.

There are likely other ideas that are better than mine, , , but this is what I would do. For what its worth.

[JohnUSA]

I've had mine since Father's Day. Since then, these are the maintenance items I've done, and the order:

Installed shift shaft support bracket
Oil filter and oil change
Replace filters: air, sub, cruise and fuel
Rebuild petcock
Took a guitar wire and poked out the return hole in clutch master cylinder
New clutch lever bushing
Remove front forks/shocks (I have a trike, so I don't have rear shocks)
Replace cam belts
New coolant
Spark plugs
Rebuild front forks
New front shock oil
Reinstall front forks
New front tire
Installed new front brakes
Flushed front brake calipers
Inspected rear brakes




To build on bluthunder31, here is a list and the order I would do it in if starting today:

It's a one or the other starting point--Forks, or belts. Either way, belts need to get done PDQ.

What I mean is, if you need to get into the forks/shocks, might as well bite the bullet and clear them out of the way to do the belts. That's how it went for me, and I really appreciated the wide open access to do the belts. That being said, if you don't need to get into the forks, then skip straight to the belt change....and, if the forks are coming off, so is the front tire. Good time to get it replaced if it's approaching 5 year mark. 6-7 years is conventional wisdom to get tires replaced. I'd replace it if 5+ years, cause I'm lazy and wouldn't want to tear into it next year.

Check distance between top of front fender and bottom of fairing. This will help you decide whether or not to get into the front shocks. I have two Wings. 1993 is at 6". 1995 was at 2". The springs were shot. After new springs, it's at 5.5" gap. If you need new springs, might as well go for the bushings and stuff inside. Mine showed extensive wear at 45k. Don't forget fork oil.
If you take off your fork tubes, you'll take off the tire. If you do that, access for timing belts is wide open.
Before reassembling everything, check front brakes, R&R as necessary.

Or, if you don't need to get into front forks...
Start with timing belts, which will automatically include new coolant. You will need to pull the plugs to do the belts. It was recommended to me to do the idlers, but I didn't get the message until after I had put it all back together. I spun them, and they were smooth as silk.
Spark plugs, check, R&R as necessary. I bought six new plugs first, assuming the worst. When I pulled the old ones, they were in very fine condition.
Oil change and filter
Filters: air, sub, cruise and fuel
Rebuild petcock--do this when replacing fuel filter
Check date codes on tires, determine if they need replacing
Inspect brakes, R&R as necessary, flush as necessary.
Poke out the return hole in clutch master cylinder
New clutch lever bushing-might as well buy a new one...they are cheap.
Shift shaft support bracket.

Sorry if I seem like I'm all over the map.
Good luck, hope this helps!

John

[Blakers]

Thanx I do love forums and I hope to stick around long enough so I too can contribute

I’m like this idea about the clutch master service. I though I detected some clutch slippage and I’m reading this could be the culprit

Blakers

[Blakers]

I have been reading that the best choice for timing belts is Gates T275

Great, I have a supplier for those. I am reading that some Gates belts are being made in China.

Does the fact that they are Gates brand supercede the no China recommendations?

Blakers

[WingAdmin]

I have been reading that the best choice for timing belts is Gates T275

Great, I have a supplier for those. I am reading that some Gates belts are being made in China.

Does the fact that they are Gates brand supercede the no China recommendations?

Blakers

That's news to me - every Gates belt I've used has always been made in USA. Unless it's much more recent?

Personally I'd still go with Gates.

[bluthundr31]

+1 on sticking with Gates, , , ,(only until I find "Made in China" stamped on one of their timing belts)

They've been a solid belt for long enough to be the "go to" replacement.

[Blakers]

I agree with the gates choice

I will order tomorrow and report when they arrive

[Blakers]

You folks are batting 1000 for me

The return port on the clutch master cylinder was plugged excessively

I didn’t have torch tip cleaners but a copper wire strand and lots of brake cleaner did the job

Thanks

Now, how about my windshield? This is my first touring bike. Where is the top edge of the windshield suppose to be? Just below eye level? It is very inconvenient looking through the glass sometimes and over it at others, but mostly looking at the edge

Thanx in advance

[minimac]

While I don't mind looking through the windshield, I've always followed the rule of thumb that the top of the windscreen should be about level with the tip of your nose. That makes it low enough to look over but high enough to duck behind if it's raining or extremely buggy. I try to purchase one that is that height at it's lowest adjustment and raise it when necessary. An added bonus is the vent in the windshield-well worth the extra cost.

[JohnUSA]

You folks are batting 1000 for me

The return port on the clutch master cylinder was plugged excessively

I didn’t have torch tip cleaners but a copper wire strand and lots of brake cleaner did the job

Thanks

Now, how about my windshield? This is my first touring bike. Where is the top edge of the windshield suppose to be? Just below eye level? It is very inconvenient looking through the glass sometimes and over it at others, but mostly looking at the edge

Thanx in advance

There are a couple of "How to measure for windshield height" instructions around. Here is just one of them:
https://www.nationalcycle.com/bible-height-windshield

What I did...I bought a tall touring windshield from ebay for cheap. Then, using the method above, I put a piece of tape on the windshield where the sight line is, and then cut the windshield down. Rode it like that for awhile, and cut another inch off. I think I have it wear I want it. It is in the lowest position, so I can raise it up if need be.

One more piece of information. Some windshields come with a sort of inverted flip on the upper edge. I had read many good things about those reducing buffeting. When I got my most recent bike, it had one of those on it. Hated it. It creates a distortion right where the windshield bends. Plus, it was tinted (which I thought would be nice) but I didn't like that either.

Also, mine has a vent in it. Helps reduce the vacuum behind the windshield.

Good luck!

[Rednaxs60]

Welcome from the west coast rock of Canada. Grew up just south of Barrie at Alcona Beach. Still travel home as sister is in Barrie and rest of family up north.

Have a 1995 1500 SE 20th Anniversary Edition. Agree with the timing belts, and at the same time change coolant.

A short list to baseline would be:

plugs
all filters - gas/air/oil
clutch/brake fluid change - you mention the clutch MC was full of crud, time to do a clutch slave rebuild as well
Brake caliper rebuild - dust and oil seals - new pads, not expensive as such
fork oil change and fork parts renewal - consider a new set of progressive springs as well - suspension will be soft after all these years
shifter brace - may want to do shifter seal as well
Tires - check date stamp

If there are electrical add-ons, check wiring, may need an upgrade. There are a lot of threads on this and other forums regarding wire fixes.

Good luck

Cheers

[Blakers]

I have been reading that the best choice for timing belts is Gates T275

Great, I have a supplier for those. I am reading that some Gates belts are being made in China.

Does the fact that they are Gates brand supercede the no China recommendations?

Blakers

That's news to me - every Gates belt I've used has always been made in USA. Unless it's much more recent?

Personally I'd still go with Gates.

New belts,arrived. Belts marked ‘Made in UK’. Guess us Canadians will always be part of the Commomwealth, at least as far as Amazon.ca is concerned

[Greenwinger]

Just a thought your bike is almost 20 yrs old, when working on the brakes look closely at the brake lines. Any signs of cracks or stiffness or overly soft might want to consider replacing them. If they get soft the lines spend some energy expanding the lines and then start to brake. I would recommend stainless steel if you do. I am changing mine to SS this winter. The big boss here says it was one of the best upgrades he has done on his bike, makes it almost like power brakes I hear.

Another thing you may want to do sooner then later is remove the rear wheel make sure you have lots of moly on the drive spline and change the rear drive fluid, its best to change it when it's hot.

Good luck