If the word Allen key usually brings forth images of utter boredom for you, you might skip this post. As Nina lined out, I will go into a little bit more depth about the maintenance that kept me busy all of yesterday and today.
So this is what the official service manual tells me to do for the 36k (we are 9k overdue).
| Item | RECOMMENDED | result |
|---|---|---|
| FUEL LINE | inspect | all good |
| THROTTLE OPERATION | inspect | lubed |
| AIR CLEANER | replace | replaced |
| CRANKCASE BREATHER | clean | cleaned |
| SPARK PLUG | replace | replaced |
| VALVE CLEARANCE | inspect | not done |
| ENGINE OIL | replace | replaced |
| ENGINE OIL FILTER | replace | replaced |
| RADIATOR COOLANT | replace | not done |
| COOLING SYSTEM | inspect | all good |
| SECONDARY AIR SUPPLY SYSTEM | inspect | all good |
| DRIVE CHAIN | inspect | 2/3 worn, adjusted |
| DRIVE CHAIN SLIDER | inspect | 1/2 worn |
| BRAKE FLUID | replace | not done |
| BRAKE PADS WEAR | inspect | replaced rear, front 1/2 done |
| BRAKE SYSTEM | inspect | all good |
| BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH | inspect | all good |
| HEADLIGHT AIM | inspect | adjusted for weight |
| CLUTCH SYSTEM | inspect | all good |
| SIDESTAND | inspect | all good |
| SUSPENSION | inspect | all good (finally) |
| NUTS, BOLTS, FASTENERS | inspect | front sprocket cover bolts replaced |
| WHEELS/TIRES | inspect | replaced |
| STEERING HEAD BEARINGS | inspect | all good |
So in the end I did not dare attempt the valve clearance inspection. It is a major operation to get the cylinder head cover off and I was also not sure about time. I am thinking to pay a trustworthy looking mechanic in Indonesia to do it for me and have a look over her shoulder. I used the time to de-rust and re-paint the crash bars and luggage racks instead.
The other two missed items: Break fluid is all fine, so was the coolant. I found no reason to chance the break fluid other than “the manual says so”. As for the coolant, it was again more a matter of time and confidence. But the reservoir is full and there are no leaks in the system, so I decided to skip that as well. If anyone has a convincing argument for doing it, let me know and I might do it in Indonesia 😉
Ah, and the story with the impromptu jack and the rear wheel: I thought I would take the rear wheel with me to the shop that had stocked a set of Heidenau K60 scouts for me to get it fitted and balanced. But then this morning it turned out that I had no way of getting me and the wheel to the shop, so the wheel came back on as it was.
I could probably have gotten another 2-3k out of the set that was on. The K60 rear from Melbourne has only done 7000k and had 2 mm center thread left, but carrying two would have been impractical. In the end the shop got a bit over zealous and changed both, and rather than putting my old Shinko back on for 3k and carrying a spare front through Timor, I decided to keep it as it was and got a spare heavy duty rear inner tube as comp.
When all was painted and put back together again, I though I had enough time left to get my carnet stamped. Turned out, showing up 3 min before closing was a bit too optimistic, but at least I got to test ride after my maintenance.
Cheers
So as the last chore of the day we sat down and re-arranged our gear. To get a GST refund in Australia, the goods bought need to be presented at the airport. Since we did not want to waiver the $250 GST on the new panniers, we had to re-pack into three piles: Bike, plane and mail to home (I am still mentally struggling with the fourth “discard” pile).
Finally all was done and we got upstairs for another beautiful meal with all our hosts. Hmm, fish / veggie pie and a nice salad. And a home made stout, compliments of Tig 🙂
