After having a chat with zombie im gonna try doing a weekly tech tip! . Mainly for new bikers but hopefully i can help alot of the fellow members..   i not gonna say i know it all and if i get anything wrong just say!



Tech tip Number One

Routine checks

so how many of you actually check your bike before going out for a ride? im sure we are all guilty of just jumping on the bike, but there are some basic checks you should get in the habit of doing. in following weeks i shall be going into these in abit more detail but for now i'm just keeping it brief

tyres and wheels -  are the tyres inflated properly and at the right pressure... Are the tyres/wheels damaged. Are there any nails/screws/bits of glass etc in the tyre. Are they worn out and need replacing?

electrics - do all the lights work? does the brake light come on when u pull the lever or press the pedal?  do the indicators work?  ( its a good idea to keep a stock of spare bulbs and some spare fuses at home)

brakes - are they working ok?  is the brake fluid level ok ( if the level has dropped, more than likely the pads are wearing out or there is a leak)  Do they stick at all? ( brakes calipers can seize up very quickly.. especially rear ones!  if they do they may need stripping down and cleaning / seals replacing )

Rear chain -  check the play in the chain  roughly halfway along the bottom,  there should be about  2-3 cm movement on average. It should not be tight like a guitar string or too loose, as either will cause things to wear out very quicly or in a worse case lock up the back wheel... Make sure you also clean and lubricate the chain often, i find castrol chain wax to be about the best.... I will be going into how to adjust the chain in next weeks posting.

clutch/brake throttle cables - not applicable to all people but if you have any cable operated control make sure they are adjusted correctly and any cables lubricated

Steering - turn the handlesbars from lock to lock and make sure nothing catches or stops the movement. the sterring should be smooth and there should be no "notches" as you turn the handbles. If there are you could need to replace the steering head bearings.. this canbe dangerous if left unrepaired , ive seen bikes that "notch" and lock the steering in the straight ahead position! not very nice

fluid levels - as well as the brake fluid levels, remember to check the coolant level ( for water cooled bikes ) and the engine oil level and top up if required.

And finally... go round the bike checking fasteners, screws, bolts etc. It amazing how quickly some bolts can work loose

ideally you should do these checks every day but not everyone is going to want to check all these everytime they use there bike, but they should be checked on a regular basis... once a week if you use your bike every day  as a minmum. Try combining the checks with when you clean the bike.  



Next week

Rear Chains ... how to clean / lubricate / adjust / replace

Do you realise how many questions your tips are going to generate.......so here is the first :p
What is the easyist way to lubricate cables?
Top tips keep it up EB

Good stuff EB.

This is going back a few years but when we wanted to lub cables. we would make a funnel out of the corner of a plastic bag. Then you made a hole in the bottom and inserted the cable through. You had to make sure that the bag was taped on so that oil could not leak out. Then fill the bag with oil then hang it up somewhere out of the road. Gravity would do the rest and the oil would drain through the cable and lub at at the same time.

Whether or not that is the best way to do it, I don't know but it worked a treat.

Excellent stuff EB. I shall print it off and stick it up by the bike.

Thanks

:buttrock:

Cos we were posher than BD
we used a funnel made from plasticene-instesd of the placcy bag corner-these days cable oilers are readily available-but I haven't used one myself-still use the tried & tested method above.
TC,We use the pneumonic
CBOLTS
C chain
B brakes
O oils & fluids
L lights/indicators
T tyres/wheels(spokes)
S steering/suspension

You guys were still playing with plasticene by the time you were old enough to have bikes.  :Oo:  :laughcont:

And your point is?  :D  :D

Nowadays its blue-tack-plasticene wif sticky stuff added!
always have a bit some where.

Nothing!!!  :angel:  :devil:  :D

Unless you are suddenly talking about something pertaining to the lungs I think you actually want "mnemonic" (an aid to memory as in Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain to remember the order of the colours in a rainbow).  I think you will also find CBOLTS is actually an acronym ie a word made up of the initial letters of other words

blimey i leave you guys for one day!!


right lubricating cable..   yep u can use a funnel or.. plastacine?  

but were talking daily/weekly checks.. the words to remember are "preventative maintenance"..

The simple thing to do is to ensure any exposed parts of the inner (metal) cable are clean from crap.Then put on a smear of grease and  pull the lever or twist the throttle back and forth to work the grease in. Modern cables have a nylon lining and require very little maintenance..  Its not really convienient to remove the cable, and oil it up with some tubing and a funnel... or maybe you should add the couple of hours it takes to do it on your journey!

Oiling a cable only really need to be done once a year or so, and only then if it feels abit stiff. If the cable is really stiff or seized solid, check the routing is ok and the cable isnt kinked or squashed somewhere. If thats all ok then its best to replace the cable with a new one.

I just oiled my cable and now the tv doesnt work.  Dya think NTL will bill me for the damage?

Was that how you managed to get your connection up to 1Mb.  :O

I use a little cable oiling gadget which costs about 4 quid, it just clamps around the end of the cable and you squirt WD40 through its nozzle and it flushes cables clean then I do a follow through (being very careful to nip me arris cheeks together) with silico lubricant spray.  :idea:

Takes about 4 minutes to do, that is unless some ham fisted twonk has overtighten the cable adjusters

Ya all do know that the nylon liner on a cable absorbes water don't ya, this can cause it to swell and become stiff (the cable I'm talking about). Thats why I put WD down first then a dry lubricant following.  :idea:  :idea:

Nope, I didn't know that.  :bowdown: Nice one..

ermmm im affraid your wrong there mate. without wanting to start a argument, nylon most definatly does NOT absorb water. I've spoken to two guys at work who have about 70 combined years working with engineering materials and they agree with me.   Nylon is usually prefered over plastics because it is very resistant to water.

however some nylons can become brittle under sunlight.. or ultraviolet light in particular. and also some nylons can become britle when exposed to heat.

Perhaps absorbing is slightly misleading, what a guy I used to do some work for told me, and this guy is an industrial chemist and plastics engineer (MSC, Phd), is the the cable rubs the nylon sleeve and due to the grit particles and the braid of the cable rubbing, causes the nylon to fur or feather where the cable abrades it, this furring then holds in moisture and accelerates the oxidizing of the steel in the cable, the combind effect of this is the whole shebang swells slightly and causes the cable to become stiff which is why I use wd first when lubricating cables.

 :nod:

ah!!  ::  i see where your going now!

water can always get down the cable  and cause the metal to rust, thats why it best to put a smear of grease on exposed parts. Being thicker than oil it helps stop water going down the cable. Ive got classic bikes that had cables fitted nearly 20years ago, all ive ever done is grease them on a regular basis and about once a year run some wd40 or 3-in-1 oil down them. Ive know wd40 can react with  rubber and some plastics but im not sure if it reacts with nylon or not.. i will try and find out!

Feck me guys this is getting a bit scientific for me  :sus:
So its 3 in 1 then a dollop af grease to seal the cable from water
right got it cheers

Yep seal the end with grease, remember though that to a certain extent the brade in the cable does act a bit like a pump when pulled or out so every couple of months its cleanou time.  :talktohand:

Re-reading this thread raises a question for me - how the heck do I know whether my cable is nylon lined or not?

I once asked about this in a bike shop cos it mentions it in my Haynes manual, and they denied any knowledge of nylon lined cables!

 :rolleyes:

All good stuff  

My way of lubing cables, because I'm too mean to buy a proper cable oiler type thingy..........

Disconn cable at bar end and get it as straight as you practically can - easier when the tank's off for plugs and filter changes.

Spray a little water dispersant down the inner with the thin plastic extension tube. Then hold the inner cable via the nipple and errrrrrr 'wank'  (sorry ladies) the outer cable up and down the inner. when it's nice and free dribble 3 in 1 or similar thin oil down the inner and repeat 'wanking'. When oil starts coming out the bottom, re-fit the cable and slawm (sp?) grease around the lever pivot.

Marvel at your smooth, featherlight controls.  

... its all in the wrist action.... so ive been told  :blush: