Maintenance and Commuting - September 4

The ride in today was another beautiful one with the fog melting away as the sun came up. It was hard to continue into work with the weather so nice and the traffic so light because of the holiday weekend.

After work, I decided to spend some time doing some maintenance on the bikes. I started by checking out the GZ250. It was low on oil, so I added some. I guess the little engine burns some oil while flying down the highway. I also lubed and tightened up the chain. The tires were already set, so no adjustment there.

On the WR250R, I replaced the broken front brake lever with a new one. I will save the shortened one for my on-bike toolkit. It makes a great spare because of the small size. The chain and tires were set, so I just added a bit of lube to the chain.

The SV650 needed more attention. It wasn't starting right, so I tore it down. I charged the battery on the tender for 24 hours, removed and re-gapped the plugs, checked the air filter, checked the oil, lubed the chain, and adjusted the tire pressure. While the plugs were out, I turned the engine over manually by removing the cover on the left side and using a 17mm socket. I still need to change the radiator fluid, but now the bike is running great again. I'm not sure what the problem with the bike was, but it wouldn't start. It seems to be resolved now.

Looking over my maintenance book for the SV650, it looks like I need to check the valves and probably adjust them. The carbs also need to be synced and cleaned. Both jobs are a bit beyond my skill at the moment, so I'll have to find some help.

I also found a bonus while I was inspecting the hoses under the tank. I am embarrassed to say, I never noticed this battery tender cable before and I've been under the tank a number of times. I removed the other battery tender cable and the heated vest cable as I will be making my own cable soon to plug into the tender cable.