Riding the Gangly Giraffe in the snow yesterday, I came up with the following list of things that I would like to fix/repair on the bike before I undertake any major rides. These are rank ordered by priority. The top four or five are high priority while the rest are of decreasing importance. I need to bring the Gangly Giraffe into my apartment soon so that I can disassemble it and start figuring out exactly what parts I will need to buy. UPDATE: I have fixed all high priority items. Pretty much everything else is cosmetic or for my curiosity only.
- Replace right shock upper bolt and washer that were lost on the snow ride. Check to make sure all the rubber pieces are there. I found a rubber collar on the ground by the bike that is now sitting next to my desk. – FIXED
- Fix rear tire shimmy. Probably something to do with the axle/bearing. Could also be the chain catching. Need to drop out the rear wheel and inspect everything. – FIXED
- Replace tail light bulb. The running light is out. – FIXED
- Lube the decompression cable and check the whole decompression system. – FIXED
- Replace all top-end seals. Looks like several seals are leaking oil. – UPDATE: a very small seep is coming from the head cover and head gaskets. There is also a small seep from the decompression valve shaft. Nothing is bad enough to warrant repairs. As long as I keep an eye on the oil level, it shouldn’t matter.
- Repair exhaust leak on muffler.
- Hunt down electrical problems that sometimes cause the fuse to blow out. – FIXED
- Lube all control cables. – FIXED
- Check all bolts to make sure that they are tightened properly. – FIXED
- Clean oil screen in crank case.
- Rebuild front shocks.
- Take care of rust issues on fuel tank.
- Take care of rust issues on wheels and spokes.
- Recover seat and replace foam.
- Procure extra tire tubes, tire patches, tire spoons, small air pump, slime, etc… to patch tires as needed on the road.
- Get extra fuses to keep on the bike.
- Build up a toolkit for the bike.