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So on Saturday I worked in the garage.
The V-Strom has been sitting on the sidelines since last fall, ever since I tried to replace the seal in the clutch slave cylinder. I was replacing it because the clutch fluid was getting blackened instantly by chain spooge that was getting carried in past the seal. Grit gets carried in there with it, and eventually tears things up enough to make the slave cylinder leak. Apparently this is a common problem with Suzukis, and there is an updated seal. I decided to proactively replace this seal. Unfortunately it made the problem worse; the slave cylinder started leaking and so did the clutch pushrod seal. Grrr.
So I ordered up a whole new slave cylinder ($60). I already had the clutch pushrod seal I needed because I got it by mistake when I ordered the slave cylinder seal. I've had the parts sitting on the workbench since November. But I have been putting this job off for months now because it's been cold, I've been busy, and I was really intimidated. My only prior experience of clutch pushrod seals is the fact that when this seal goes bad on a V45 Magna, the proper fix involves dropping the engine and splitting the cases.
Turns out it's not nearly that awful a job on the V-Strom. I had to pull off the front sprocket, and clean out that compartment, and once it was cleaned out I could easily see the cover that holds the clutch pushrod seal in place. It's held by two screws and one tab that is behind the stator cover. So I pulled off the stator cover, pulled off the plate, and the seal came out easily. I pressed the new one into place and buttoned it back up. Installed the new clutch slave cylinder and bled the clutch until it was good and firm. Put new oil in the bike (since I'd drained it before removing the stator cover, so it wouldn't end up in a puddle on the floor). Started the bike up and it ran well, and nothing leaked. Yay!
Unfortunately, ever since then the bike won't start. I don't know what's going on. I thought maybe the battery was too tired, but even after being on the tender overnight it wouldn't start. I guess the next step will be to check the spark plugs, but to do that I have to take the bodywork off and that's a pain, so it will have to wait. Grrr.
On Sunday, I loaded the baby Sabre and four big boxes of Sabre parts into my truck, and drove down to Ray's house. Ray had the carbs and was going to fix them so they wouldn't leak. We put it back together. Unfortunately the carbs still leak. I have another set of carbs that I got from Marcus. I left those with Ray and he's going to see what he can do with them. In the meantime I have not yet unloaded the bike; it's sitting outside in the back of my truck still. At least it's all in one piece; I can roll it away to the side, and the inside of my garage doesn't have to look like a baby Sabre explosion anymore.
The V-Strom has been sitting on the sidelines since last fall, ever since I tried to replace the seal in the clutch slave cylinder. I was replacing it because the clutch fluid was getting blackened instantly by chain spooge that was getting carried in past the seal. Grit gets carried in there with it, and eventually tears things up enough to make the slave cylinder leak. Apparently this is a common problem with Suzukis, and there is an updated seal. I decided to proactively replace this seal. Unfortunately it made the problem worse; the slave cylinder started leaking and so did the clutch pushrod seal. Grrr.
So I ordered up a whole new slave cylinder ($60). I already had the clutch pushrod seal I needed because I got it by mistake when I ordered the slave cylinder seal. I've had the parts sitting on the workbench since November. But I have been putting this job off for months now because it's been cold, I've been busy, and I was really intimidated. My only prior experience of clutch pushrod seals is the fact that when this seal goes bad on a V45 Magna, the proper fix involves dropping the engine and splitting the cases.
Turns out it's not nearly that awful a job on the V-Strom. I had to pull off the front sprocket, and clean out that compartment, and once it was cleaned out I could easily see the cover that holds the clutch pushrod seal in place. It's held by two screws and one tab that is behind the stator cover. So I pulled off the stator cover, pulled off the plate, and the seal came out easily. I pressed the new one into place and buttoned it back up. Installed the new clutch slave cylinder and bled the clutch until it was good and firm. Put new oil in the bike (since I'd drained it before removing the stator cover, so it wouldn't end up in a puddle on the floor). Started the bike up and it ran well, and nothing leaked. Yay!
Unfortunately, ever since then the bike won't start. I don't know what's going on. I thought maybe the battery was too tired, but even after being on the tender overnight it wouldn't start. I guess the next step will be to check the spark plugs, but to do that I have to take the bodywork off and that's a pain, so it will have to wait. Grrr.
On Sunday, I loaded the baby Sabre and four big boxes of Sabre parts into my truck, and drove down to Ray's house. Ray had the carbs and was going to fix them so they wouldn't leak. We put it back together. Unfortunately the carbs still leak. I have another set of carbs that I got from Marcus. I left those with Ray and he's going to see what he can do with them. In the meantime I have not yet unloaded the bike; it's sitting outside in the back of my truck still. At least it's all in one piece; I can roll it away to the side, and the inside of my garage doesn't have to look like a baby Sabre explosion anymore.
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