[ST] Of bags, centerstands, and dealer maint.

[Michael Young <myoung@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It took two weeks to get it done, but now it's done. I ordered the three
case set when I bought the bike, and now they're on. Finally got the shop
time to get the 600 mile check done also, more than a thousand miles late. I
changed out the break-in oil right on schedule, but they couldn't get me on
their calendar for another ten days.

I take back all the enthusiasm and optimism I spouted about centerstands.
With the bags on, and the lifting handle relocated, it really was a chore to
haul it up. (Yes, the bags were empty.) I had to rock it so the momentum
helped swing it over the top.

I love the top-case. It swallows two full-face helmets without scrunching.

The panniers look to be a bit of a liability. I haven't decided if I'll keep
them on for day-to-day riding around town. It wouldn't take much more than a
simple knock-over to do serious harm. (That was me bouncing off the pavement
in that gas station u-turn thread.) Some things work out for the best. The
bags were supposed to go on with the checkup the Thursday before, but
somebody forgot to put it on the work order. Just a thought for those just
now considering the purchase. Soft bags wouldn't have this problem, the hard
bags aren't a problem if you never dump it. I'd still buy the panniers,
knowing what I know now. Remember to order the back rest pad while you're
doing ordering it, too.

Junior is now fourteen, and weighs in at a gut busting 150#. He rode back
with me from the shop tonight. His backseat time had been somewhat curtailed
since I bought the Sprint. It lacked, until that moment, the backrest that
makes me more secure about whacking into the throttle with him in back.
Problem solved; new respect for the 955 triple found. Junior was leaning
back against the backrest when I whacked it open. He asked me later, when we
got home, what those funny jolts were. :-) One of them, my friends, was a
surprised father unceremoniously slamming the front wheel back to earth.

The other one was not so fun. While going about the work involved in a 600
mile checkup, they unadjusted my carefully adjusted chain, and left the lock
down carelessly untorqued. The front end washed out in a mild right hander
about a mile from home. Checking things over, I found the chain was taut as
a violin string with just the bike's weight, sitting on the sidestand. Even
with the rear in the air, I could barely get any movement out of the the
chain. Out of curiousity, I retorqued the lock down (55 N-m) without doing
anything else. It took one and a half turns to reach spec. My best guess is
the eccentric worked itself to full tight at the end, taking all the give
out of the rear, and washing out the front. The eccentric could have been
simply maladjusted to start with. I'm more inclined to believe that the
adjustment shifted on the 25 mile ride home.

Ciao.
Mike.
(I think I'll name myself Ho Dawg. Is there a list of taken names?)



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