A couple of noob maintenance questions...

[magicmonkey]

I decided to give the bike a bit of a birthday today, I've done about 2500 K's on it and have no idea when the previous owner did any work. So I changed the oil and filter, completely forgot to buy a new spark plug (but that can be done tomorrow) adjusted, cleaned and lubed the chain and generally spent more time cleaning and polishing than I usually would, got into all the nooks and crannies I usually go past.

So, now I have a whole load of oil, filthy stuff, and no idea where to put it; what do you kiwi's do with your old oil?

Also, the chain, after being left for 2 days, had a huge and unattractive rust patch on it, I was really pissed off on seeing that. Got the kerosene and tooth brush out and cleaned it right back then lubed and adjusted the chain, only to find a tight spot, I was even more pissed off! I've made sure it's tensioned properly and just taken it out for a ride to, hopefully, loosen it up a little and get all the oil to where it needs to be but should I be worried about that at all or is it just part of general maint? Is there anything I can do to avoid it in the first place?

and the other thing, when I put the bike on the centre stand, I used the kill switch and left the keys in the 'on' position, leaving my lights on and draining the battery, doh! I bump started it and it's managing fine at the moment but I'd like to get the battery out and give it a proper charge. Does anyone know if I can just top up the water and use a normal car battery charger on a GN battery? I'm assuming it's 12v but the writing on the battery is all in ideogram and there are no numbers at all to let me know what I'm charging!

As I'm sure you are all aware by now, I'm a complete noob, sorry for the deluge of silly questions

[RT527]

I decided to give the bike a bit of a birthday today, I've done about 2500 K's on it and have no idea when the previous owner did any work. So I changed the oil and filter, completely forgot to buy a new spark plug (but that can be done tomorrow) adjusted, cleaned and lubed the chain and generally spent more time cleaning and polishing than I usually would, got into all the nooks and crannies I usually go past.

So, now I have a whole load of oil, filthy stuff, and no idea where to put it; what do you kiwi's do with your old oil?

Also, the chain, after being left for 2 days, had a huge and unattractive rust patch on it, I was really pissed off on seeing that. Got the kerosene and tooth brush out and cleaned it right back then lubed and adjusted the chain, only to find a tight spot, I was even more pissed off! I've made sure it's tensioned properly and just taken it out for a ride to, hopefully, loosen it up a little and get all the oil to where it needs to be but should I be worried about that at all or is it just part of general maint? Is there anything I can do to avoid it in the first place?

and the other thing, when I put the bike on the centre stand, I used the kill switch and left the keys in the 'on' position, leaving my lights on and draining the battery, doh! I bump started it and it's managing fine at the moment but I'd like to get the battery out and give it a proper charge. Does anyone know if I can just top up the water and use a normal car battery charger on a GN battery? I'm assuming it's 12v but the writing on the battery is all in ideogram and there are no numbers at all to let me know what I'm charging!

As I'm sure you are all aware by now, I'm a complete noob, sorry for the deluge of silly questions

Cant help you too much Im not hugely mechanically minded, You could try buying a battery conditioner which plugs in and trickle charges it, most small factor m/cycle battery`s cannot be serviced , not a good Idea to top up a m/cycle battery with water , But most of all No question is a dumb question....You need to know something someone else knows , the only way to find that out is by asking

[Slyer]

For the oil, find a big container to start collecting it in. Keep adding your fluids as you go through them, brake fluid, suspension fluid etc etc.
I'm not sure about Wellington, but in Auckland and other places you can just take your container to the Haz Mobile when it's in town.
http://www.hazmobile.govt.nz/index.htm
They also take your old batteries and anything else.

Most chains would never rust like that, if you are still running on the stock chain and it's giving you problems, replace it! Any chain you replace it with will be of better quality and last longer!

For the battery, yes it's fine to top up the water if it is running low, just make sure you ONLY add distilled water and not tap water. Trickle chargers are best to use on motorcycle batteries, the slower you charge the battery the better. You can use a volt meter to make sure you don't overcharge it.
More: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/maintenance/battery.htm

Also, if you are looking for parts, here is a good place:
http://www.bits4bikes.co.nz/parts/suzuki/1200.aspx

[Howie]

Good on you for getting stuck into maintaining your own bike.

1. A tight spot in a chain isn't the end of life for the chain as long as it's not really badly different to the rest of the chain. Make sure you adjust the chain for the amount of slack specified at the tight spot though, otherwise your chain well be to tight, and well put undue stress on your engine sprocket, and the seals (counter shaft seals)where the shaft for it come out of your engine.

2. A car battery charger is fine for a 12 volt bike battery. If you have already had the bike running since draining the battery, it well be fine with a good run as the bike charges it while it is running. As long as the battery isn't a Gel battery(which I doubt on a GN) adding water to the fill mark on the side of the battery is fine. I would recommend using distilled water which you can get from various retail (I think repco and supercheap have it)outlets if you don't have another source. Others well probably reccomend de-Mineralised, but even tap water is better than none.


3. Disposal of waste oil can be a problem, but most landfills, and transfer stations now have oil recycling drop off points (may be a charge though), or ask your local mechanics business what they do with theirs is about all I can suggest.

[CookMySock]

If the chain is going slack-loose-slack-loose when you turn it, then its stuffed. Replace it before it freaks out completely, damaging things in its' path.

Smaller car charger should be safe on a bike battery - 5Amp max would be my guess.. Even one or two amp would be fine.

Steve

[magicmonkey]

If the chain is going slack-loose-slack-loose when you turn it, then its stuffed. Replace it before it freaks out completely, damaging things in its' path.

Smaller car charger should be safe on a bike battery - 5Amp max would be my guess.. Even one or two amp would be fine.

Steve

The charger I have is 12v 1600ma, I'm assuming that translates to 1.6a and is therefore safe, if you could confirm that though I'd be indebted!

[magicmonkey]

For the oil, find a big container to start collecting it in. Keep adding your fluids as you go through them, brake fluid, suspension fluid etc etc.
I'm not sure about Wellington, but in Auckland and other places you can just take your container to the Haz Mobile when it's in town.
http://www.hazmobile.govt.nz/index.htm
They also take your old batteries and anything else.

Most chains would never rust like that, if you are still running on the stock chain and it's giving you problems, replace it! Any chain you replace it with will be of better quality and last longer!

For the battery, yes it's fine to top up the water if it is running low, just make sure you ONLY add distilled water and not tap water. Trickle chargers are best to use on motorcycle batteries, the slower you charge the battery the better. You can use a volt meter to make sure you don't overcharge it.
More: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/maintenance/battery.htm

Also, if you are looking for parts, here is a good place:
http://www.bits4bikes.co.nz/parts/suzuki/1200.aspx

Sweet, thanks for those links

as for the chain, I was pretty surprised that 2 days and one night could leave it like that. It gets cleaned with kerosene and the lubed with proper chain oil once a week and I do a bloody thorough job, for it to start rusting to that degree really worried me! Still, I suppose the best thing to do is move house and find somewhere with a garage!

[YellowDog]

Yep, the winter can do lots of damage.

On my old bike the exhaust plate mountings had rusted to powder.

[Slyer]

Sweet, thanks for those links

as for the chain, I was pretty surprised that 2 days and one night could leave it like that. It gets cleaned with kerosene and the lubed with proper chain oil once a week and I do a bloody thorough job, for it to start rusting to that degree really worried me! Still, I suppose the best thing to do is move house and find somewhere with a garage!

I've lubed my chain like 4 times since I bought the bike a year ago, no rust on mine.

[Flip]

1600ma is a perfect size for a bike battery.

If the chain is slack and tight it might be a bit stuffed. Keep an eye on it. If you are a bit clever, find out the make of the chain and check the max pitch wear limit. Just measure say 10 links with a ruler and times the max pitch by 10.

There is quite a lot of sea spray in wellington and if the chain was dry it will rust pretty quickly. Its kind of normal to oil your chain weekly. Lack of oil wears chains pretty quickly. My last bike a Triumph Trophy, the first chain lasted 24k km (oiled weekly) the second after I firred a scott oiler lasted 60k km and was still going strong when I sold the bike.

Your local garage probably has a used oil container give it to them. It gets recycled into fuel oil for boilers. Happy valley landfill also has a used oil tank.

[CookMySock]

1600ma is a perfect size for a bike battery.

I agree, particularly so if its a modern one that can swap between boost and float modes. If it does, it will generally have some lights indicating charging status. If you have one of these, then you may charge the battery at your whim, and leave it connected as long as you choose without care or consequence.

Steve

[Pete.Viking]

The charger I have is 12v 1600ma, I'm assuming that translates to 1.6a and is therefore safe, if you could confirm that though I'd be indebted!

The prefix m stands for mili i.e. 10^-3, hence there are 1000mA in one Amp. So yes this translates to 1.6A. I think I used a 2Amp car charger on my bike battery, worked well.

[RDjase]

Sweet, thanks for those links

as for the chain, I was pretty surprised that 2 days and one night could leave it like that. It gets cleaned with kerosene and the lubed with proper chain oil once a week and I do a bloody thorough job, for it to start rusting to that degree really worried me! Still, I suppose the best thing to do is move house and find somewhere with a garage!

Maybe the battery overflow pipe had driped acid on the chain causeing the rust?

[magicmonkey]

1600ma is a perfect size for a bike battery.

If the chain is slack and tight it might be a bit stuffed. Keep an eye on it. If you are a bit clever, find out the make of the chain and check the max pitch wear limit. Just measure say 10 links with a ruler and times the max pitch by 10.

There is quite a lot of sea spray in wellington and if the chain was dry it will rust pretty quickly. Its kind of normal to oil your chain weekly. Lack of oil wears chains pretty quickly. My last bike a Triumph Trophy, the first chain lasted 24k km (oiled weekly) the second after I firred a scott oiler lasted 60k km and was still going strong when I sold the bike.

Your local garage probably has a used oil container give it to them. It gets recycled into fuel oil for boilers. Happy valley landfill also has a used oil tank.

I wonder if my idea of what a tight spot is could be wrong. When I was turning the wheel to clean the chain I noticed it was the wheel wasn't moving as easily at some points on the chain, is that a tight spot or something completely different?

[magicmonkey]

Maybe the battery overflow pipe had driped acid on the chain causeing the rust?

That's over the other side of the bike and quite a bit forward of the rust spot. The only bit that had rusted was where the chain was exposed to the elements, at the bottom before the rear sprocket so I can be reasonably sure it wasn't that...