Superhawk: 3
Bar end weights: 0
Forunately, the most recent shedding of bar end weight happened mere blocks from my house. I just walked around the neighborhood until I found the little bastard.
On went another liberal application of red Loctite. The bar end weight stayed on during this morning’s commute, but I’m not convinced that this isn’t the pride before the fall.
In other Superhawk wrenching news, Peter and I went to Fisherman’s Warehouse this weekend[*] for some lead weight. We found some pencil-thin lead line, which we then brought home, cut into ~7.5″ strips, and shoved into the Helibars. The extra weight does seem to help the bar vibrations. With the SVS bar end weights (well, before they’re puked off, I mean), I can cruise at 7000 or 7500 RPMs now. Yay. If anyone out there in WebLand has hollow HeliBars, get the 3/16″ diameter lead line. I think we fit six or seven strips into each handlebar. I also put the gel grips on, which don’t help that much with vibration, but they’re sure more comfy.
[*] We’ve been just dying for an excuse to go to this store ever since we moved in down the street.
While the handlebars were off for the lead line insertion, I took off the triple clamp and tightened down the steering stem nuts. Here’s the breakdown:
- There’s the nut that fits on top of the steering stem, above the triple clamp.
- Underneath the triple clamp are two castle nuts and a lockwasher between them. Two tabs on the lockwasher bend up into the top castle nut; two tabs bend down into the bottom one.
- There’s a dust seal under the castle nuts, and then the upper bearing race.
The top nut seemed tight enough (i.e. I needed the impact wrench to get it off), as did the lower castle nut. The upper one, however, was turning slightly on the lockwasher. I think that the click I felt was the castle nut turning and hitting the tabs on the lockwasher. I tightened it down as much as I could, and during my test ride later, I didn’t notice the clicking in the front end at all. So, hooray.
In SVS news, the battery is still All Messed Up. I kept it on the charger all night, and it only registered 12.5V this morning. Needless to say, the bike didn’t start. Guess who’s going to Kragen and returning the battery tonight or tomorrow? I should have done it this weekend, but had this delusion that being on the charger might actually solve the problem. Sigh. Me and electrical systems just don’t mix.
Waaah. I want to ride my bike. I like riding the Superhawk, but it’s just not my bike. I’m doing a lot to make it comfortable for me (which I’m sure Peter will, um, appreciate, once he can ride again), but still. The most annoying thing is The Lurch. I’ve been reading up on it, and though it may be due to my retardation, at least there are other retards on the internet (who’d have thought?). It seems as though 50% of the time, whenever I start up from a stop, the clutch grabs and bucks. It’s very nerveracking. It’s all lurch, all the time. It’s like an Addams Family marathon, there’s so much Lurch.
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