My '99 Copper/Silver has almost 80.000 k's. Had time on my hands so decided to do as much as I can to it. I will comment on some of the things I did so it may help any others doing the same to their bikes.
Oil & Filter change;
Last oil was the fully synthetic Motul 7100. With price increase I went back to Motul semi syn. 5100 (I think its number). Used a new HiFlo filter. Conclusions; Great improvement, gear change like butter, engine seemed less noisy. Very happy with results.
Choke Lever & Cable: This over the years has been getting sticky and less functional. I opened the housing at the handlebar end and greased up the moving parts. I tried the adjustment nuts at the bar end but they were locked up real tight. So made some adjustments at the throttle body end. Conclusions: The lever works much better and smoother and raised the level of revs at fully open.
Throttle Cable: It was pretty much spot on so just picked up a bit of slack in the cable at TB end. Conclusions: Crisp and fast throttle response.
Air Box & BMC Filter (Race Red): Cleaned filter with detergent and re-oiled with spray. From a K&N filter cleaning kit that I bought a few years back. Cleaned out airbox.
Balancing and Cleaning Throttle Bodies: Removing airbox exposes TB. The TB openings can get pretty dirty and oily especially from the air filters oil. So time to clean them out. I used Wurth Carburettor Cleaner ($15) Throttle body safe fuel residue cleaner. Sprayed in TB's whilst on high rev. It did a fantastic job, fingering the bodies afterward proved how clean they were. Excellent product.
I have a Carbtune for balancing. I never seem to remember the right nipples to connect to between services. So its always a 'brain-fart' connecting as there are 8 nipples to 4 hoses requiring attachment. Eventually I get it right after a few smokos away from the bike. Didnt have any nylons to cover TB opening but careful that nothing falls in. Balanced right and left screw adjusters and almost forgot theres a centre screw to balance both right and left sets. Lotsa 'brain-farts' here. But eventually it comes together. Must have got it all right as test drive when all done proved fantastic and crisp responses.
Throttle Position Sensor & Annual Dump: Didnt need adjusting the -C was centred. Check fuel lines all ok. Opened the sphincter of the arse-hole hose from where the bike gets to do its annual dump. The usual gooey yellowy shit oozes out (oil and water). Gently insert screwdriver into hose to encourage a full dump. Amazing how much shit there. Many people forget to clean them out and I tell you it can sure 'back-up'.
Replace Brake Fluid & Clutch Oil: As per 'Speed Bleeder Review' Thread that I previously posted. I used the new Motul 5.1 for the brakes and had some Dot 4 for the clutch. Bleeding was an absolute breeze using the speed bleeders. Replaced rear pads. Conclusions: My brakes havent felt this tight and good in a long time.
Refurbishing Black Panel Plastics: The 4 pieces under handlebar and dash surround. These get very ugly after a while. Sun bleached and colourless. I have painted them in the past but whatever spray paint I used really wasnt up to the job. Namely a question of adhering to plastic. I bought from Bunnings a new spray on the market from the USA which promised to have a good result on plastic. Its called 'Rust-Oleum' advanced formula all surface paint. Its a Gold/Black spray can. I chose gloss black, a hard toss up between gloss and matt. After cleaning and sanding panels I applied a few coats. 2 of them I overdid it, applied to much and it lost its grain look. Not happy so used old brake fluid to strip the paint and spent a considerable amount of time cleaning them up. Re-sprayed more carefully with 3 very light coats and all was good. So far happy with the results. A major improvement in the look of the bike.
Refurbished Black Plastic Radiator/Oil Cooler surround: This gets pretty dirty and baked on grime especially down the bottom. Good clean and re-paint. Bought 4 new nuts that attach to it for fairing attachment and 4 new fairing screws, some old screw threads were fubared making it hard to come off.
Went for a sunday spin test ride, frakk what an overall improvement. Crisp, highly responsive and improved looks. Hard to imagine this is actually a 10 year old bike that has been trouble free and still goes like a rocket. Any wonder why I still have no desire in replacing it.
Oil & Filter change;
Last oil was the fully synthetic Motul 7100. With price increase I went back to Motul semi syn. 5100 (I think its number). Used a new HiFlo filter. Conclusions; Great improvement, gear change like butter, engine seemed less noisy. Very happy with results.
Choke Lever & Cable: This over the years has been getting sticky and less functional. I opened the housing at the handlebar end and greased up the moving parts. I tried the adjustment nuts at the bar end but they were locked up real tight. So made some adjustments at the throttle body end. Conclusions: The lever works much better and smoother and raised the level of revs at fully open.
Throttle Cable: It was pretty much spot on so just picked up a bit of slack in the cable at TB end. Conclusions: Crisp and fast throttle response.
Air Box & BMC Filter (Race Red): Cleaned filter with detergent and re-oiled with spray. From a K&N filter cleaning kit that I bought a few years back. Cleaned out airbox.
Balancing and Cleaning Throttle Bodies: Removing airbox exposes TB. The TB openings can get pretty dirty and oily especially from the air filters oil. So time to clean them out. I used Wurth Carburettor Cleaner ($15) Throttle body safe fuel residue cleaner. Sprayed in TB's whilst on high rev. It did a fantastic job, fingering the bodies afterward proved how clean they were. Excellent product.
I have a Carbtune for balancing. I never seem to remember the right nipples to connect to between services. So its always a 'brain-fart' connecting as there are 8 nipples to 4 hoses requiring attachment. Eventually I get it right after a few smokos away from the bike. Didnt have any nylons to cover TB opening but careful that nothing falls in. Balanced right and left screw adjusters and almost forgot theres a centre screw to balance both right and left sets. Lotsa 'brain-farts' here. But eventually it comes together. Must have got it all right as test drive when all done proved fantastic and crisp responses.
Throttle Position Sensor & Annual Dump: Didnt need adjusting the -C was centred. Check fuel lines all ok. Opened the sphincter of the arse-hole hose from where the bike gets to do its annual dump. The usual gooey yellowy shit oozes out (oil and water). Gently insert screwdriver into hose to encourage a full dump. Amazing how much shit there. Many people forget to clean them out and I tell you it can sure 'back-up'.
Replace Brake Fluid & Clutch Oil: As per 'Speed Bleeder Review' Thread that I previously posted. I used the new Motul 5.1 for the brakes and had some Dot 4 for the clutch. Bleeding was an absolute breeze using the speed bleeders. Replaced rear pads. Conclusions: My brakes havent felt this tight and good in a long time.
Refurbishing Black Panel Plastics: The 4 pieces under handlebar and dash surround. These get very ugly after a while. Sun bleached and colourless. I have painted them in the past but whatever spray paint I used really wasnt up to the job. Namely a question of adhering to plastic. I bought from Bunnings a new spray on the market from the USA which promised to have a good result on plastic. Its called 'Rust-Oleum' advanced formula all surface paint. Its a Gold/Black spray can. I chose gloss black, a hard toss up between gloss and matt. After cleaning and sanding panels I applied a few coats. 2 of them I overdid it, applied to much and it lost its grain look. Not happy so used old brake fluid to strip the paint and spent a considerable amount of time cleaning them up. Re-sprayed more carefully with 3 very light coats and all was good. So far happy with the results. A major improvement in the look of the bike.
Refurbished Black Plastic Radiator/Oil Cooler surround: This gets pretty dirty and baked on grime especially down the bottom. Good clean and re-paint. Bought 4 new nuts that attach to it for fairing attachment and 4 new fairing screws, some old screw threads were fubared making it hard to come off.
Went for a sunday spin test ride, frakk what an overall improvement. Crisp, highly responsive and improved looks. Hard to imagine this is actually a 10 year old bike that has been trouble free and still goes like a rocket. Any wonder why I still have no desire in replacing it.
Copper/Silver - The original, the rest are just copies.