So, about a month ago I managed to throw my bike down the road. It really sucked, mainly because my GF was on the back at the time (and if you have crashed with a significant other on the back I think you know the same feeling!)
As people will inevitably be curious, I was rolling at about 30kph in 3rd, up hill, turning right at a roundabout, and the bike just let go. I wasn't leaned into it by any means, was familiar with the road and it's layout, no sudden changes to direction or speed, she just let go. I strongly suspect diesel on the road, as the City's bus fleet if notorious for leaking shit all over the road. It has just rained (and then stopped) and it hadn't rained for quite a while before the brief shower, which as we all know makes the road surface more slippery than without. Still, to say I was surprised is quite the understatement. Rider error is obviously the main reason for most sole-vehicle crashes - if I had been in the outer as opposed to inner lane, and been taking it even easier, I would probably have avoided any potential for crashing in the first place. Lesson learnt!
Thankfully, no major damage to body parts, or gear, we somehow slid through 3 lanes of busy traffic without hitting anything.
The sliver lining is that it didn't dent my girls enthusiasm for riding, which was my biggest worry!
The bike however was a bit worse for wear...
1986 K75s
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Unbeknownst to me, the previous owner (or previous, previous owner) had crashed at some point and the right handlebar had been welded. This broke when it hit the ground.
The Front wheel nut (RHS) has been ground down.
Faring seems mostly intact, although a little chipped / loose.
Windshield has snapped off.
Slight scratching to the outer engine case (RHS)
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So, advice time!
I have a spares bike, 1988 K75s. Decent condition. Only fault I can find is 2nd gear. It *feels* like the clutch is slipping, but it only happens in 2nd, all other gears rev hard through to (almost) redline. Apart from that it's fine.
I'm going to whip out the handlebar from the Spares to the Damaged bike.
I'm also looking at swapping out certain other components depending on what Advice I get from you guys!
The Spares bike has a k100 rear shock on it, which is MUCH stiffer and more pleasent for a big boy like me (and even nicer with the GF on the back)
The front shocks on the Spares bike are stiffer / newer than the ones on the Damaged bike, so I'd like to swap them over too.
Question time -
Front handlebars (from what I've read here) are easy to swap from same models. Throttle, and levers etc can be swapped without disconnecting. Are there any tricks for this, or is it quite an easy straight-swap? Any special tools required?
If I swap over the rear shock, can I do this at home, on the centre stand? Does the rear shock need to be compressed with a special tool before during or after swapping? Or is it a case of removing bolts and just taking it off / on?
Front shocks. So, as the front shocks on the spare are better, the Tyre on the spares is better, and the axle bolt isn't ground down, what is the easiest way to swap these components over? The front brakes on the Spares are probably about the same as the Damaged bike, so I was thinking something like - Remove the entire front fork assembly from the spares frame, including at this point the front brake lever and cylinder etc and swap it over onto the Damaged bike? Would it be that 'easy'? The Speedo cable hooks into the back wheel, and apart from the front brake lines etc (which I wouldn't have to disconnect as I would be swapping the whole system over) wouldn't need to be bled or anything?
Phew, if you made it this far thanks for reading, and any advice, or tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Thomas
:mbird
