LOST RIDER: That is some snotty sticky crap you're riding in.Nancy should be complemented in handling it well!
Thanks! While if we lived in a place where 90% of the time there's no mud I'd choose different tires probably, but actually these hard terrain tires did OK.
You know, it was Nancy's first time in mud on a little bike, last time we rode in mud was in Wyoming on the CDR and she was on her heavy GS with 80/20 DS tires... Much different this time, especially with meaty tires. It was great to watch her climb up things in the snot, when she conquered that hill she was all smiles - I did it I did it I did it!! That's what it's all about for me, empowering her to overcome challenges with the right tools.
Naw, I don't want to waist time with that stuff, just didn't agree with some of your statements. I think we might be in agreement, just didn't get communicated well. Like I said, most of us with the LRP shouldn't need to worry about warranty stuff anyways.
She'll be happy to see the compliments, her ADV name is izzyblue if she ever decided to poke on in here. The weight on the tail didn't help either with her dropping the bike, but that's OK, I told here it's soft landing in the mud. One thing I've pounded in her head from the beginning was to STAY ON THE THROTTLE, and she's real good at that. Sometimes when on tight stuff ( on her GS) with a big drop off though she'll stay on the throttle even after the's no saving it.... scary stuff to watch.
Great pics as always Finn. I shudder when I see that mud just because the last time I was in the thick of it was with the GS with the low fender. That really rocked my world. NIce choice of tires too, I just put a set of 606's on the LRP for a Baja ride over New Year's
Thanks! Yeah, I think of going through that kind of slop on my GS and don't miss it one bit. Fun on these bike though. How long you going to be in Baja, we're going down right after new years for a couple weeks...
We're leaving on the 27th and will probably return around the 2nd or so, so not a very long excursion this time. Maybe we'll catch you two on the way down?
65 lbf-ft 88N-m Page 89 owners manual Happen to have it in our living room checking the valves and manual open.
DIY Valve adjustment for the LRP. I'm not a professional mechanic, I'm a Roadie, I do however hate paying $100 an hour for work that I think most people can do themselves. This is just a guide for entertainment or inspiration, by no means should anyone duplicate this without a service manual to follow as it's NOT a comprehensive guide, close though. I'm not giving you all the info that's in the manual just so you'll get your own before diving in. First, either have a garage or a living room suited to give the LRP some love. I don't have a garage and it's currently one of the few days a year it's actually raining and cold in Southern California plus it's night time, so into the living room the LRP goes.... we're all family here. Make sure you have plenty of beer, or in this case some decent California red wine to go along with your service manual, tools and a get er' done attitude. It's not rocket science, just basic motorcycle maintenance and the Honda manual is pretty darn good. And for you new or young guys, no beer or wine but go read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance, to get your head in the right place. “Is it hard?' Not if you have the right attitudes. Its having the right attitudes thats hard." “The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of the mountain, or in the petals of a flower.” "The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself." ― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Now that I have all that out of the way, lets get to work! Remove all body panels with allen keys in the tool kit. OK, who am I joking, the tool kit in the America IS two allen keys. Remove gas tank two bolts on sides, one 8mm bolt hidden under the lower back part. Unplug fuel pump, slide male side of connector off frame rail holder. Remove vent line, remove fuel quick release line. Put a cap of some sorts on the tube coming out of the tank that connects to the quick release and the vent tube, I used vacuum hose caps I had. Remove fuel tank. Push the quick release clip holding the the crank breather hose on. Pull out spark plug cap, push wire out of strain relief tabs on fan unit, tuck up in between radiator hose and radiator to keep it out of the way. The service manual (SM) calls for removal of the PAIR check valve and 3 ground terminals, I skipped these steps, proceed at own risk. 10mm socket driver to remove the two bolt holding the valve cover is next. After the valve cover is loose, I lifted it up and separated the gasket from the cover so as not to damage it while moving the cover around figuring how to get it out. You should now have an unobstructed view like this. Refill glass of wine or crack another beer, or for those that live in green states like me, pack a bowl. Take a piss. Remove spark plug with 16mm socket, to make rotating the engine easier, this is my own addition to the procedure. Now, on the timing chain sprockets there's some stamped marks, you want the "IN" and EX" marks facing outward. Put the bike in 6th gear and only move the bike forward, never rotate the engine backwards, until you see the IN and EX marks flush and square facing out. Easier to do from the right side of bike once you have the gear set, I would not recommend trying to bend over and look over the bike trying to read the marks while you head is upside down. You can end up on top of your bike that's now laying on it's side in your living room, spilling some perfectly good wine. OK, now you've done everything needed to actually check the valve clearance, get out you feeler gauges. Because of the angle to get to them, I bent mine a little with pliers to get a flat shot in there Insert feeler gauge between rocker arm and shim, the specs call for .16mm - plus or minus .03mm variable. My exhaust valve turned out to be @ .30mm, my intake was @ .15mm The intake is still in spec and won't need to be adjusted, but the exhaust would. Now I need to take the exhaust shims out so I can measure them. Remove this bolt and sealing washer on left side of engine insert a proper size bolt you happen to have laying around to grab the threads conveniently in rocker arm shaft to remove it Slide rocker arm out of the way using a very small, long screwdriver, then use a magnet tool to grab the shims. Measure shims OK, now that I have some number it's time to figure out what size shim I need from the dealer tomorrow. Calculate the new shim thickness using this equation: A = (B - C) + D A: new shim thickness B: recorded valve thickness C: specified valve clearance D: old shim thickness .30 -.27 .03 +1.90 =1.93 OK, it's time to go for now, Nancy's home form work, I'll get the new shims and do the same in reverse after checking my work tomorrow. Undoubtably I will sleep better knowing that by doing this work myself I not only gained more intimate knowledge of the LRP but saved the about same amount of money I've spent on the HDB hand guards, new handlebars, ROX risers, and some meaty knobby tires. Cheers! Finn
The exhaust valves were both @ .30, the intake valves were both @.15 I thought by just referring to them how I did it would be obvious to everyone they were the same, I guess not. I would also assume that a photo for each valve was not needed in this case since if you see one getting felt up, you've seen it all, being all the same process. I didn't show the left and right tank bolts getting removed, or the left and right side covers being removed either. Don't you have some more stuff bolted to your CRFL to add to your website, ramz? instead of nitpicking my post which is primarily just to help people see this DIY process isn't all that difficult. And yes .30 is just on the outside of "in" spec, but leaves no room for further movement until the next inspection, and the shims come in .025 intervals so I'll do the right thing and bring them closer to "center" spec while I'm in here. __________________