It turns out it wasn't all my fault...

**Lazy7** · 22nd June 2006, 17:41

so...

it turns out it wasn't all me - maybe still some me... but not all.

the bike was in dire need of some TLC.

took it into Bungy at Cycle Treads today and it woah - what a difference.

He Raised the ride height at the rear and added more preload. The ass was apparently way too soft and way too low removing a lot of the turn in ability.

At the front end he reckons it was in dire straights. Rebound and compression completely up the shitter. It was too hard on the way down and he needed to add a bunch of rebound to get it responding properly on the way back up. Said to me - "You probably had a shit of a time on uneven corners - would have been bouncing all over the place." - THATS WHAT I THOUGHT!

Also asked him to look at the brakes. cause it doesn't stop all that well. i just thought - hey, must be a really heavy bike. But he found that the calipers were so gunked up internally that one of them was only working on one side. The pistons weren't sliding in and out properly

so he stripped them down, cleaned them up put them back on.

finally and as a bit of a kick in the guts for me - he found the front tyres pressure was almost non-existent. i am kicking myself for not checking that personally. but he reset the pressures.

so - the result?

its a new bike.

i haven't even taken it for a decent ride yet. just up and back from takapuna with a quick de-tour through a couple of domain roads... but wow. first thought was -

"Weird - why is everything so smooth?"

then

"WOW - why does everything feel so light?"

I think i now know why i hated riding it for more than 45mins at a time. Compared the bike i have now - my old - badly setup bike felt like sitting on a piece of vibrating concrete.

also - the brakes. excellent. the suspension actually moves now under braking. and its nice and progressive. They bite way harder now with less effort. but combined with the softer and more properly sorted suspension the nose of the bike actually dives into a stop rather than feeling somebody replaced my front tyre with a water ski!!!

I am really happy and a bit relieved. Its a weird feeling. I am not feeling every single little bump and bad patch now. BUT i can feel exactly what the front and rear tyres are doing. Its soo much better.

no excuses now. bike is sorted. time to sort myself out.

**Lazy7** · 22nd June 2006, 17:42

oh and just for the record. it was the best $85 dollars I have ever spent on anything i have ever owned with wheels.

thanks Bungy and thanks to Cycle Treads - always a pleassure.

**bladez** · 22nd June 2006, 17:44

congrats on the new bike feel lol at least you can hold ya chin up and say hey it wasnt me it was the bike

happy riding now see what ya can do with a bike that handles

**imdying** · 22nd June 2006, 17:48

GO TO BUNNINGS AND GET A CHEAP COMPRESSOR AND A TYRE FILLER THINGY. THEN GO TO CYCLETREADS AND GET A GOOD GAUGE. GO. GO NOW!! Best damn thing you'll ever do to the handling of all your bikes now and to come. Check em every tank of gas, at home, or take the gauge and go to a garage close by. Worth every one of the $150~200 you'll spend on the gears. Every damn one of them

**Lazy7** · 22nd June 2006, 17:51

just noticed something else :-p

with the bike sitting on its stand - it now leans over properly! haha. On a flat piece of tarmac it use to stand almost vertical and i use to be worried that sometimes a strong gust of wind would blow it over.

now its got a nice lean. He must of upped the back quite a bit!

**gav** · 22nd June 2006, 21:25

And he put air in the tyres!!

**avgas** · 22nd June 2006, 21:38

Lazy, dont tell me this is your first bike?

**Lazy7** · 22nd June 2006, 22:12

Originally Posted by avgas

Lazy, dont tell me this is your first bike?

2nd

the air in the tyre thing isn't entirely my fault... it was a brand new tyre in april... i guess i just assumed that when they fitted it - the pressure was right and it would hold it longer than two months.

**onearmedbandit** · 23rd June 2006, 00:20

Maybe you don't need to convince yourself of your bikes greatness in your sig any longer!!

P/T

**Gremlin** · 23rd June 2006, 01:26

Originally Posted by Lazy7

i guess i just assumed that when they fitted it - the pressure was right and it would hold it longer than two months.

huh?? Pleeeeaaaase tell me you are joking??

I try to check my pressures every 2 weeks at the outside, if going on country rides, they get checked beforehand (cold) for the peace of mind.

Also, don't you have your own taste in pressures? I find the recommended pressures much to hard for my liking, and have dropped it a few psi both front and back. How do you know your tyre fitter guessed your pressures correctly?

Tyres and brakes, you never ever skimp, or assume anything about them... They are your life

**beyond** · 23rd June 2006, 08:34

I never assume the work shops set the tyre pressures correctly.
They can't remember every make and model and take into account the weight of the rider or pillion and secondly don't have the time to check either.

I use my bike for fun, but before every longish ride, I check the tyre pressure when cold. That is at least once a week. Every tyre loses air and on a motorbike a few points of pressure can make a hell of a difference, especially in the front.

If you ride a second hand bike, you also can't assume that the suspension wasn't fiddled with by the previous owner and chances are they didn't know what they were doing. Very few people do. Best find a forum online on your bike model and find what others are using who are the same weight and height.

I improved the handling on my 1400 100% by dialling in new settings from full in and backing out the recommnded number of turns. This is normally a starting point but mine ended up pretty much bang on. Standard it was like a marshmallow in corners but now it's pretty darn good.

**WINJA** · 24th June 2006, 18:59

Originally Posted by WINJA

get someone who is good to take your bike for a spin to make sure the bike inspires confidence in the first place , some people cant ride bikes that arent set up well , have you got matching rubber?is your suspension set up? are your bearings good?

YEAH GOOD THINKING POOFTER