When you drill a hole and put threads into it, you use a tap. When you put threads on a rod, or round stock, you use a die( or lathe on big enough stuff). If you have a bolt that has buggered up threads, you use a die, or a hardened nut, to "chase" the threads. He basically just means he fixed the threads that were on the axle.
Thanks, I see. I knew about Tapping, but didn't know Chasing was the opposite. Would it make to sense to replace the axle or to chase the threads? I don't have the tools to make that happen obviously, so it's a matter of investing in tools vs. trashing the old axle. Sux, because the new bolt might now be buggered due to the axle.
Sorry, I should have said filed the threads. I put the axle in a vise and used some small knife-shaped files to reshape the ruined threads. It looked like the nut internal threads were slightly softer than the axle and took the brunt of the damage, so I took the risk that a new nut would do it, it worked. I put some anti-sieze on it and worked the nut forward and back until it ran nice. I had the same symptoms, the nut turning force was hard all along the axle threads, and the raised bar on the left block was bent by the flat of the axle turning into it.
Simon, how's the WR as a "city" bike. I realize that's not what it was designed for but my dual sports serve double duty for me. They are ridden on forest service roads as well as in and out of Seattle traffic. I currently use my XT250 as my commuter, visit friends and places in the city, and nearby easy FS road machine but the WR looks like a possible future upgrade.
It's a awesome city bike, unfortunately the thieves think its awesome too. Its nimble, narrow for lane splitting, tall to see over cars and if you stand on the pegs, Small SUVs as well. The engine is smooth like a streetbike, little to no vibration in the bars, the exhaust is quiet, but sounds good. Its has enough power to be fun and allows for hooliganism, but not enough that you'll need to spend a night in jail. I'm biased here obviously, but I can be objective too. I use to commute on it almost daily.
Thanks for the quick reply Simon! Your location probably tests the limits of how a motorcycle handles a big city environment.
Yeah, man. I used to commute on a KTM 990 ADV as well as a recently sold and hot-rodded HPN Style R80g/s. I've dropped those beast and looked a fool at times trying to wrestle them over bumps while parking.
BERKSHIRES BIG ADVENTURE 5/18-19, 2013 Here's what went down: Friday night, My friend his lady and his dog packed up in the later hours from his Garage in NYC and didn't make to Prospect Mountain until 2:30. Exhausted and tired, we made camp and crashed. FRIDAY The next morning we woke up, unloaded the bikes, and scrambled to get food, gas, and sign up. It was a bit of clusterf•ck and ended up being one of the last to leave — around 11:15. Got a spot next to the lake. Ran into BrooklynOffRoader on his sweet KTM 950 The starting field, which was also the site of the primitive free camping area. The highlights of this ride were the sweet hero sections. The 1st of the day was a level 4 and comprised mostly of single track with mild elevation and off camber hills. The other level 3 and 2 heros consist of fast and rough rocky jeeps trails which were fun. WRR in the woods. Crashed plane in the woods. Crashed once due to the forks deflecting off a big rock, so I dialed the fork rebound from 5 clicks to 4 clicks in (stiffer) and that made a noticeable difference. The front end felt less active. Our day ended after 40 miles as we lost a lot of time getting lost. Made it back to camp around 4:45, made a fire and grilled up some hotdogs and marshmellows. SATURDAY Woke up to a greyer and cooler weather. The 1st hero was the same as yesterdays hero so we did that again - easier the second time since I was a lot looser today. Navigation became eaiser as well as I began to get use to the roll chart system. Rode most all of today except the last Level 4 Hero at the end of the day. It was a mostly rainy and cold day and the only drama happened on a big water hole at one of the heros where my rear tire slid out and the bike went under. Being worried that I drowned the bike, we lifted the front wheel but not much water came out. I fire it up and it came back to life. This is one of those instances where I think a restrictive pipe (with all the chambers and baffles) negates a direct path to the exhaust port, which is advantageous for not drowning ones bike when briefly submerged. Stopped along the way to get some coffee with the sweep riders 5 minutes behind us. Got back to camp around 5:30 - cold, wet and exhausted. Took a fantastic long hot shower, broke down and hit the road back to NYC. Woke up next morning and gave the dirty girl a wash. WRR Observations: I need new taller handlebars. Couldn't stand comfortably and when I did, It felt like I had too much weight forward, hunched over, and couldn't get back far enough. Also manage to bend my shift lever and will be replacing it with a MSR aluminum one. Overall, really like the 12/47 gearing for single track.
A brief video I cut together of the GoPro for the 1st level 4 hero. It's all I got really as I forgot to turn off the WiFi Backpack unit overnight and wasn't able to have access to the camera easily. Also, once things get strenuous, I tend to start to focus more on not crashing or just getting out of stuck situations rather than filming. Still, I'd like to make it a habit of filming these. Here it is. Nothing exciting, but nevertheless.
Nice area to ride... you must have got to it early before the hordes turned it into a quad width trail.
So after this weekends ride, I'm really missing the Go Race Suspension on the old bike. I've got 2 options which is either send this set of suspension in and have Travis at Go Race Set me up again. Or I could order a the Racetech Gold Valves for the forks and shock and do the work myself. A friend of mine has a nitrogen setup for the shock. I have a hookup for a 20% discount on the Racetech Parts. If I go that route, I could at least get intimate with the suspension and maybe learn something new, and I'm alway down for learning something new. Anyone have experience or thoughts on this. I've searched the interweb, but haven't seen any writeups. Any knowledge or advice appreciated.
There is a motovlogger that just had his drz400 completely redone by two guys and they show step by step everything they did over like 20 vids. The bike owners you tube is EVERRIDE the mechanics channel is MR DUHFACTOR. Check out their vids.
Yeah just checked 3 of mrDuhfactors vids are on shock revalve and 3 are on fork revalve they are pretty extensive.
Thanks. Those were really great. Still a mystery in terms of shim stacks, but I'm assuming Racetech probably has some base settings to begin with. Seems involved though and maybe a January-February type project. Don't want to have my bike in pieces during the prime of riding season. I might just ride out this season on stock suspension and decide end of year.
That's one of the reasons I went with GoRace. I opted to pay for his knowledge regarding shim stack setups and such. Plus I like the idea of the KYB seal head upgrade. I'm not sure if you could do that yourself without machine tools.
Completely agree. Just ideas I'm batting around. Most likely I will go back to Travis. He seems to be the most famous WRR suspension guru and has done some testing (to what extent, I don't know) for this particular bike and that is invaluable. At the least, he has worked on more than a handful of these bikes and has made improvements to the setup along the way. In my limited feeble suspension experience, I feel like any pro suspension person can revalve the suspension, but to the have regular experience and feedback from riders and testing is the most important factor.
Off to the garage to install some stuff in preparation for the ride to Loch Haven PA tomorrow for Durty Dabbers. • Renthal 809-01 7/8 RC High Bars • Axle Blocks • New Axle • Axle Nut • MSR Shifter - 34-2174 • Sidestand spring and spring puller - realized my sidestand was flopping around when I was riding and thought the bolt was loose, but later realized the spring was buggered. Don't understand how that could happen really, but things need to be made right. What went down: Handlebar install and shifter install went without a hitch, but… had to cut the nut off off the axle. It was straight up welded to the axle. The thread was really messed up on the axle. The buttery axle block. The buggered spring. The new spring. New Shifter.