Posted by WD on April 19, 2003 at 05:06:37:
1. Don't trust the Clymer manual. The only sections I've found useful are valve adjustment and wiring diagrams. The book swears the bike is tubeless. I say the writers must not have bothered to tear down a stock bike.
2. Sidestand switch- Cut the wires off right at the switch. Twist together with a wire nut. Tape to the lower frame rail. I looked up the switch schematics to see if they are why my neutral light dosen't work. Lo and behold, the neutral light is wired through the sidestand relay system (there are two sections, four if you include the handlebar switch). Can kill the clutch switch the same way, just tape to the handlebars.
3. Leaky speedo cable- a cork spacer ring on both sides of the lower seal will stop it. Gasket paper (non-coated) works well too. Neither is permanent.
4. Belt squeak- Kiwi heel and sole dressing on the sides of the belt. Don't know why, but it works and doesn't seem to harm the belt.
5. Noisy/grabby front brake- sand the pads with 100 grit TAN sand paper, not wet-dry. Removes most of the built up grime and gives some bite to the pads. Scuffing the rotor with a coarse Scotch-brite pad helps too. Lube the retainer pin (goldish allen head bolt) with Vaseline or white grease- red is too sticky to work well.
6. Harsh ride- remove the shocks one at a time. Sand the shock mounts clean and lube with white grease or other lithium soap compound (cam lube or similar). Put on inner washer, grease where the shock touches it. Do the same with outer washer. My shocks set on 5 now ride how they did on 3 without throwing me out of the saddle. Shocks will last longer as well.
7. Tire life- go by the listing on the tire sidewall. Peel off the recommended tire loading sticker found on the belt cover. Tires will last much longer at full pressure, as they run cooler and don't flex as many times during the trip.
Hope this helps with some of our repeat issues. Lots of new owners here since I took a break from the forum. Welcome to our world.
-WD
Watch Tower Customs
98 Savage chopper