Tomintoul
Tuned and Synch'ed
Hi all,
Bit of a waffle and a vent needed, I'm afraid.
I'm currently in the middle of doing my first service on the bike at 23000km. The last 2 services were done at the dealer, because the bike was under warranty, but that's drawing to a close, so I figured I'd do it myself from now on.
Now this is not my first time turning a spanner, but as the bike was bought new, it was the first time in years that I let a dealer near one of my bikes. So I figured this was going to be a nice easy service - a stroll in the park. I very quickly realised how wrong I was when I tried to remove the sump guard. The bolts holding it on had been gorilla-ed on. A pain in the bum, but nothing that couldn't eventually be solved with a Dremel and some swearing, with the added bonus of giving me an excuse to get the Stucchi guard instead.
Right, now that was out of the way, it was time to crack right on with the service. Shouldn't take too long. Except the oil filter seems to be a bit stiff on there and a different size to the replacement. Not a problem, I'll just drive 50km to get the right size tool and it'll be off in a jiffy.
Right size tool in hand and the bugger's still not shifting. OK, that's a tad annoying, but no worries, let's just punch the fella and twist it off that way. Nope, it's still not going anywhere, but it is ripping the crap out of the filter. Hmm. This is turning into a bit of a head-scratcher and a wall-kicker. On the bright side, my vocabulary's expanding rapidly.
A quick bit of Google-fu brings me to the Bogert Aviation film - now there's an idea. Some bright spark on a Ducati forum had fabbed something similar, using a hole saw, some wood and a couple of bolts. Ingenious, and just what I need. Off I pop to the local DIY store.
So when I return, I cut my bit of wood, drill the necessary holes, attach some M5 bolts and I cut off the bottom of the filter housing and remove the filter. Here we go - this should be off in no time. Bugger, it's just bent the bolts. Not a problem, I'll just use M6 bolts instead. Bugger, it's split the wood. That's fine, I'll just make it out of much thicker wood. Oh, so now the wood's split and the bolts have bent. OK, so that's the way you want to play, is it? Fine.
There's really only one option left. That sump's got to come off. At least that bit was an easy job. Right, so now at least I can see the remains of the filter and cut it right back so that I can see the offending bit. So, it's on so tight that it's splitting 2" wood. What next? Hang on - how far apart are those 2 holes at the back of the hole saw? 36mm? That's perfect - the metal won't split! Out with the Dremel and cut the hole saw down to size, fit new M6 bolts through the holes and marry them up to what's left of the filter. Bolts bend, filter remains completely unshiftable, like Russell Crowe giving an acceptance speech.
Right, let's get as much of that hole saw off as possible (Dremel to the rescue). Bugger, I'm out of M6 bolts. How did that happen? I had loads. Oh well, back to the DIY store. This time, you bastard, this time, I'm not shifting until you have. If I have to stay on this garage floor all day and leave my kids to walk home from school, I don't care.
Hallelujah! With the application of a subtle blend of psychology and extreme violence, the bugger gave the most unhealthy sounding squeak, but that was it - it started to go.
So anyway, the new sump gasket should be here tomorrow and I can get on with the service, safe in the knowledge that it shouldn't take me long At least I managed to get the swingarm bearings, shock linkage and CARC greased in the meantime.
Bit of a waffle and a vent needed, I'm afraid.
I'm currently in the middle of doing my first service on the bike at 23000km. The last 2 services were done at the dealer, because the bike was under warranty, but that's drawing to a close, so I figured I'd do it myself from now on.
Now this is not my first time turning a spanner, but as the bike was bought new, it was the first time in years that I let a dealer near one of my bikes. So I figured this was going to be a nice easy service - a stroll in the park. I very quickly realised how wrong I was when I tried to remove the sump guard. The bolts holding it on had been gorilla-ed on. A pain in the bum, but nothing that couldn't eventually be solved with a Dremel and some swearing, with the added bonus of giving me an excuse to get the Stucchi guard instead.
Right, now that was out of the way, it was time to crack right on with the service. Shouldn't take too long. Except the oil filter seems to be a bit stiff on there and a different size to the replacement. Not a problem, I'll just drive 50km to get the right size tool and it'll be off in a jiffy.
Right size tool in hand and the bugger's still not shifting. OK, that's a tad annoying, but no worries, let's just punch the fella and twist it off that way. Nope, it's still not going anywhere, but it is ripping the crap out of the filter. Hmm. This is turning into a bit of a head-scratcher and a wall-kicker. On the bright side, my vocabulary's expanding rapidly.
A quick bit of Google-fu brings me to the Bogert Aviation film - now there's an idea. Some bright spark on a Ducati forum had fabbed something similar, using a hole saw, some wood and a couple of bolts. Ingenious, and just what I need. Off I pop to the local DIY store.
So when I return, I cut my bit of wood, drill the necessary holes, attach some M5 bolts and I cut off the bottom of the filter housing and remove the filter. Here we go - this should be off in no time. Bugger, it's just bent the bolts. Not a problem, I'll just use M6 bolts instead. Bugger, it's split the wood. That's fine, I'll just make it out of much thicker wood. Oh, so now the wood's split and the bolts have bent. OK, so that's the way you want to play, is it? Fine.
There's really only one option left. That sump's got to come off. At least that bit was an easy job. Right, so now at least I can see the remains of the filter and cut it right back so that I can see the offending bit. So, it's on so tight that it's splitting 2" wood. What next? Hang on - how far apart are those 2 holes at the back of the hole saw? 36mm? That's perfect - the metal won't split! Out with the Dremel and cut the hole saw down to size, fit new M6 bolts through the holes and marry them up to what's left of the filter. Bolts bend, filter remains completely unshiftable, like Russell Crowe giving an acceptance speech.
Right, let's get as much of that hole saw off as possible (Dremel to the rescue). Bugger, I'm out of M6 bolts. How did that happen? I had loads. Oh well, back to the DIY store. This time, you bastard, this time, I'm not shifting until you have. If I have to stay on this garage floor all day and leave my kids to walk home from school, I don't care.
Hallelujah! With the application of a subtle blend of psychology and extreme violence, the bugger gave the most unhealthy sounding squeak, but that was it - it started to go.
So anyway, the new sump gasket should be here tomorrow and I can get on with the service, safe in the knowledge that it shouldn't take me long At least I managed to get the swingarm bearings, shock linkage and CARC greased in the meantime.