Chain Reaction

I mentioned that the MoT tester had advisoried me that the drive chain was well buggered on the XT. He was not wrong. Here is one end of the old chain next to the new:



It's a full inch shorter, which translates to about 1.5% of the total length. The manual says the chain is dead when it becomes longer then the original by ... 1.5%. It is sloppy and full of tight spots, so it definitely needed doing.

The gearbox sprocket was badly worn too:



New one on the left, old one on the right. The teeth were getting badly hooked. I'm glad he told me about it when he did, as I don't think I would have given it a proper inspection for a while. After all, it's only 4500 miles since the old one was new.

I have been wondering why the set has only lasted as long as this. Many people get 20-30,000 miles out of a chain, and even with a big thudding single I don't see why it shouldn't have lasted for 15,000 or so. It was lubed every week until I fitted the Scottoiler, although I admit that otherwise it was neglected. As the sprocket is as badly worn as the chain, I don't think I can blame a poor quality chain. (The rear sprocket showed no signs of wear, but then it has three times the number of teeth as the front, so it lives an easier life.)

There's a new set on there now. Let's hope this one lasts a bit better. Some family turned up just as I was finishing off, so I didn't get the chance to give it a test ride. I am looking forward to that, though. The last time I replaced the chain, it was like having a new bike.

2nd International XT Meet

I didn't manage to get the first one last year (Anna's health not being too good at the time), but I am going to the second one this weekend. It's an international meeting/rally for owners of the Yamaha XT. Most will be the original (and best?) XT500s,



but they are being kind and allowing newer models like my XT600E along to make up numbers.



There will be some hardcore treffers from Germany and Belgium, along with a lot of Brit owners. Camping for the weekend, lots of pop and crisps and party games, and a mass ride-out on Saturday. The organiser is a friend of mine called Alun, and if it's a good as last year's it should be an excellent weekend.

It's at Baskerville Hall, near Hay-on-Wye, which is a fantastic location. I have already done a dummy-run on loading up the XT with all my gear, and it seemed to cope. I am really looking forward to it. The run up to Hay is only 100 miles or so, but it will be a chance to get away with the XT in the same way as I did with the Pan last year. I was on the point of going off on the XT last Autumn, but decided on the Pan - wisely, as the XT had a few reliability issues that I only discovered later. I have done a lot of work on it since then, and (touch wood) I don't think it will let me down.

Should be fun. If I can update the blog from there (i.e. if the hotel has wi-fi), I will.

Strumble Head

A sunny, dry afternoon, although still very cold. But it was too good an opportunity to pass up, and besides I had been doing householdy stuff for the last three days (clearing paths and general dogsbody things), so off I went.

I didn't go far - just up to Strumble Head lighthouse. It's 20 miles or so, but North Pembrokeshire has very few direct A-to-B type roads, so the journey was all minor roads and lanes, most with a nice strip of grass up the middle, and a side-helping of dried mud. It's ideal XT country.



I should have wrapped up warm, but I chanced it in jeans and a leather jacket, and I was frozen before I was half-way there. But it was well worth it: quiet roads, sunshine and a day with some stunning views.



Strumble Head lighthouse, with the Atlantic beyond and the XT before.

Got the horn

Wa-hey!

The XT's horn was getting more and more feeble, like an asthmatic wasp having a panic attack. I don't use the horn much, but when you need to use it, you really need it, so I decided to treat it to a new one.



It's a Stebel, about ten times the size of the crappy Yamaha one, and weighs a ton. But bloody hell, is it loud! The package says 112dB at 2m, and I can well believe it. That's like being under 300m from a jet taking off, and close to the threshold of pain. It's also got a nice 'honk' sound, rather than the feeble 'beep' of the original.

Halford's. Fifteen quid. Bargain.

On the road again

It's still cold here, but not as bitingly cold as recently. The last week or so has been consumed with a family funeral (Anna's mother died a month ago and the funeral and memorial service were on Monday). This has meant a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in the car, which is never good for my equanimity. I have also been suffering with a head-cold, which has left me tired and with my nose streaming like a tap.

Today, however, I had an errand to run into town and thereabouts, and took the XT. With its newly-overhauled front brake and the tyres at the correct pressure (I hadn't checked them for ages and they were down by about 20%), the bike was a pleasure to ride.

Cobwebs blown away, cabin fever cooled a little.

Sparkly, no?

Today has been glorious. After quite a bit or rain overnight, today has been clear, sunny and (once you get out and start working) quite warm. An ideal day to clean two grubby bikes.

I've pressure-washed them both, then sprayed with special bike cleaner, then hosed again, and then - shock, horror - gave them both a coat of wax polish. Yes, even the XT. With the Honda I went one stage further and tarted up the black bits with some Simoniz black wax. Then I lubed all the bits than need lubing, and sprayed the vulnerable bits of them both with the wonderfully-named Muc-Off Motorcycle Protectant.

I've taken a photo, as I don't think I've had both bikes as clean as this - together - for a long time, and I doubt it will happen again this millennium.



An adolescent male of the species Trailbikius yamahorensis and an adult male Ceratotherium simum, grazing peacefully together in their natural habitat.

It stops!

I got my 'new' brake bits for the XT last weekend, and found the time yesterday to fit them. It was dark and cold by the time I had finished, so I waited until today to test them. Whoopee! The front brake is now as good as it ever was. The caliper is a much newer one (with uncorroded pistons), and I have fitted an overhaul kit so it more-or-less as good as new. I can make the front tyre squeal on a dry road now. This is good.

Freezing my knackers off last weekend was worth it.

(Note to fellow bikers: I have now fitted 'proper' EBC brake pads to replace the ones I got off eBay last year. The cheap GoldFren pads were much less good than even the worn-out ones they replaced, and the braking was marginal. On a light and relatively slow bike like the XT, this is perhaps bearable, but I would not risk GoldFren pads on anything heavier or faster. If you Google it, reports are very variable - from excellent to rubbish. There's a feeling that a lot of the pads bought from eBay may be conterfeit, and that genuine GoldFren pads are good. In that case, I must have bought the knock-offs, but I wouldn't risk buying them again.)

New bits

No, not those, although after riding to Swansea and back today I almost needed some.

I went on the XT in the end, as the temperature didn't seem too bad. I was wrong - it was bloody cold. RiDE magazine say that with heated grips and hand protectors you can ride through winter in summer gloves. No you bloody well can't. I was wearing my old Frank Thomas Aqua gloves (heavy and allegedly waterproof) and even with the grips on max for the whole trip, my hands were freezing. Even with thermals on, the ride was a pretty chilly experience.

It was worth going, though. I avoided the motorway by going to Llanelli by B-roads and into Swansea from a different direction. I passed through some nice countryside, and Llanelli was like a ghost town [1] because of the Wales-Scotland match. Cold aside, it was a very pleasant run. And the bike clearly enjoyed the run - it didn't miss a beat and now is running better than ever.

The bits I went to pick up (a new front brake caliper from a guy who is breaking a very similar bike to mine) were exactly what I wanted, and in excellent condition. And I got a couple of things I wanted from M&P Accessories as well. All in all, a good day's work.

[1] Why is it that, whenever I decide to do something else during a major Rugby match, something exciting happens, whereas when I settle in for a proper sesh with the beers and crisps the match is full of handling errors and no tries? Apparently, Wales came from way behind to draw level in the final ten minutes of the match, and win in the last few seconds. I shall have to watch the highlights later. Damn.

Interwebful goodness

Every so often, I exclaim to myself, "Now, ain't the internet grand?" There has never been a piece of technology that has been just so damn' useful. The last time, it was getting in touch with someone who had been through a very bad patch, and with whom I had lost touch. I made a stab at finding her on Facebook (normally I avoid it like the plague), and there she was. Within a few minutes, we were chatting again.

I am on the lookout for a second-hand brake caliper for my trail bike. These bikes tend not to be scrapped (when it becomes too much of a drag/expense to keep them roadworthy, they become 'field-bikes' and go on for another 20 years haring round someone's paddock before they die of old age). And so parts for them rarely come onto the market.

I mentioned this on a forum I frequent, and within a couple of hours someone had replied that he might have a spare one lying around. I posted a photo of mine on the forum, just to confirm it was the right one. It is, and to cap it all he lives up the road in Swansea (about 60 miles away, but that is 'up the road' for round here). We have only to agree a price and a manner of delivery or collection, and I will have my new bits.

The pre-internet equivalent would have been a week of phoning round scrap dealers, speaking to monosyllabic men with the social skills of a Rottweiler, and feeling 'done', whatever the final price for the item. And then two times in three it would be either the wrong bit, or damaged, and would have to be returned.

This way, it's all very friendly and civilised, and I may even make a new mate.

Yay for the webs!

Mechanical therapy

As a nice, restful activity to take my mind of my other troubles (see recent posts, passim), I decided to overhaul the front brake of the Yamahaha. Don't ask me why. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

The Yam's front brake was always very good. The front suspension is obviously long-travel and very boingy, but the front stopper was always able to bottom the forks, pin the front tyre to the tarmac, and haul the XT up in very short order. Until one day I decided to inspect it.

Bad move.

The pads were worn into a wedge shape, and it was hard to believe that they were doing anything at all. The brake has two pistons, and one was very sticky, so the non-sticky piston was doing all the work and wearing the pads at one end only. One end was down to a razor edge. The other was almost new. It looked horrendous, but it worked really well.

So I bought some new pads off eBay, and took the caliper off to clean and free up the sticky piston and put in the new pads. Once I had assured myself that the pistons were moving freely and the new pads were in place, I took it for a test ride. The front brake was no more than moderately good, even with both pistons working in harmony. I reasoned that this was because they needed time to bed in, so I left it for a while.

Commuting over several weeks taught me that they weren't going to get any better, and in fact the pistons were getting sticky again, so I bought an overhaul kit. Last weekend, I planned to strip the whole caliper down, and put in new seals and rubbers along with fresh fluid. The caliper came off OK, but I couldn't get one of the little pins that keep the pads in place out of its thread. The hexagon socket in the head of the pin had rounded out, and (in order of desperation) a big screwdriver, a bigger Allen key and hammer, and a stud extractor all failed to budge it a millimetre. This means that I could not dismantle the caliper, or fit any of the new seals.

I now need a new caliper (or rather, a decent second-hand one that I can use the overhaul kit on), which is going to be a little more expensive that I had hoped. I cleaned it all up and put it back together today. I had a good look at the pistons, and they are getting rather corroded, which explains the sticky operation. A short test ride confirmed that they were indeed better than before (always a plus, I find), so the time wasn't completely wasted.

One conclusion: GoldFren HH brake pads are rubbish, and original Yamaha ones are good. I need new pads for the Honda, and this will guide my purchasing decision.

A light bike like the XT, that weighs about 160Kg and does a maximum of 70 mph (and has such good engine braking that the front and rear brakes are almost optional extras) is one thing.

A 300Kg behemoth that may* need to be brought down from 140 mph is a different kettle of piscatorial entities, and will be treated to Honda pads, however much they cost.

*I said may. Not under my stewardship, obviously.