Cruiser Maintenance Page Four

Earlier, we had changed the chain at 21,600 miles, and now at 36,000 miles, the 2nd chain had stretched nearly to the extent of the adjuster screws. We got 14,500 miles out of this set. We got 21,600 miles out of the first set, but our riding style has changed (more long runs and wet miles). A few links had become "stiff" (not wanting to pivot freely), causing vibration. It was time for a new chain. The teeth on the sprockets were beginning to show significant wear.

Photos show: Jacking the bike up, one of the "stiff" links, the front sprocket close, the front sprocket area dirt & grease.

After a trip to the carwash to clean off some of the gunk, the wear on the front sprocket teeth can be seen more clearly. Sprocket tooth wear is the "hook" appearance on the sides of the teeth. These are not terribly bad, but will continue to wear quickly with this chain. We use Tucker Rocky sprockets and O-ring chains. Besides having the front end held with tie-downs, we raise the bike and place a block of wood under the frame to stabilize the bike firmly.

Photos show: Front sprocket close, the front sprocket area, jacking the bike up and placing the block, removing the jack.

We used a chain breaker to remove the old chain. The rear sprocket doesn't show as much wear as the front one, but we're going to replace it anyway. Replacing all three components (chain and both sprockets) at the same time is always the best way to go in our opinion.

At this point, we replaced the rear tire before installing the new drive chain components.

Photos show: Chain removed,rear sprocket close, rear wheel removal, worn rear tire.

Although there are no photos of it, we replaced the front and rear sprockets and mounted the wheel back on the bike. See our first sprocket replacement photos for details.

With the new sprockets in place, we prepared to install the new chain. It's simply a matter of threading the new chain around the two sprockets.

Photos show: Master link preparation, threading the new chain into place (three photos).

A handy trick that we picked up for installing the Master Link, is to use a heavy string or shoe lace to pull the two ends of the chain together while you install the link. To check the position of the back-side O-rings, we used an old dental mirror and flashlight. The outer half of the link was pressed on with a MotionPro Mini Chain Press Tool, then the outer clip was installed. To complete the project, we set the chain adjusters, tightened the axle bolt, and replaced all of the covers and guards.

Photos show: Tying string to chain, checking O-rings, pressing outer half of link, installing clip.

FRONT: Although our front tire still had some tread on it, we were wanting to put a matched set of Avon Venom-X tires on for the coming season. You can see that the old front tire did not wear evenly, leaving the center rib less worn than the surfaces on either side of it. It's probably a sign of too much air pressure.

Photos show: Rear wheel in the tire vise, close-up of front tire wear, jacking the bike up, bike elevated on block.

After removing the front wheel from the forks, removing the brake rotor, and deflating the tire, the next step was to break the tire sidewall beads away from the wheel. On narrow tires, I prefer the bench vise to squeeze the tire while I use the wheel for leverage to apply additional force. I make sure that the wheel doesn't come into contact with the jaws of the vise, causing damage to the wheel. I reset the tire in the vise as needed.

Photos show: Front wheel removed and deflated, placing wheel in bench vise, applying additional force to the sidewall.

After breaking both beads loose, the next step was to remove the old tire using tire irons (sorry, no photos). Using plenty of soapy water, I installed the new tire onto the wheel using the same tire irons. I took small bites at a time to avoid damage to the tire or wheel. Once the tire is mounted onto the wheel, I use a ratchet tie-down strap to assist with inflation. See our first rear tire replacement for details. The assembly is ready for balancing, which will be covered in the rear tire replacement below.

Photos show: Three photos of working the second bead onto the wheel, completed installation.

REAR: After repositioning the bike on the table to be able to elevate the rear tire, we removed the rear wheel from the bike. This was a good time to clean all of the old chain lubricant off of the wheel to keep from getting it all over everything while working with the wheel. To break the beads loose for the larger tire, a motorcycle Tire Bead Breaker #4000 from a company called White Horse Press was used.

Photos show: Photo of tire wear, close-up of tire, cleaning chain lube from wheel, Tire Bead Breaker applied to tire.

After breaking both tire beads loose, the old tire was removed with tire irons and/or large screwdrivers.

Photos show: Two shots of the Tire Bead Breaker, two shots of working the old tire off of the wheel.

We installed the new tire with the same tire irons and screwdrivers. We used plenty of soapy water to make the rubber slick, and made sure to mount the new tire for the correct rotation. Most tires have a direction of rotation marked clearly on the sidewalls. A ratchet tie-down strap is handy to aid with inflation. See our first rear tire replacement for details.

Photos show: Installing the first bead, two shots of installing the second bead of the new tire, tire inflation.

Balancing the tires should probably be done at a motorcycle tire shop, but since we don't have one available nearby, a "rough balance" was done by mounting the wheels on the axle without the brake assemblies, and spinning the tire repeatedly until an obvious "heavy side" was determined. Adhesive-type weights were added evenly on both sides of the wheel.

Photos show: Rear wheel during rough balance, adhesive wheel weights applied to rear wheel.

DISCLAIMER: ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE ONLY SHOWING HOW THE PROCEDURE WAS DONE BY US, AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE BEST, PROPER, SAFEST, OR ONLY WAY TO DO SO. NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS, DAMAGE OR INJURY IS ASSUMED BY US IN ANY WAY. FOLLOW THESE EXAMPLES AT YOUR OWN RISK.

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