Mikeyboy's Saturday Bike Workshop

Tommy Gunn

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Okay not a RR so feel free to move it if you like.......

Mikeyboy of this parish has organised a couple of Workshop days & I was lucky enough to get to the 1st one last Saturday along with a few other bods from the UKGSer club.
I really can't recommend it highly enough if you want to see how easy it is to service your bike, or (like me) would just like to have a better working knowledge of your bike & where all those oft spoken of mysterious bits & bobs sit.

A few introductions & some bollix spoken



"Tesco's I've visted. Tesco's I plan to visit."




Something to admire




And then we started.

An absolute myriad of things were covered.
Despite Mike offering us all pens & paper I didn't make notes as I was only there for a good look at the inner workings of my bike so this is from memory. I'll rely on Mike & t'other attendees to correct & add to my bits below........
 
Tank & side panel removal. How to find & replace/by-pass that pesky FPC.





Ring antenna. Where it is, what it does & how to by-pass it when it goes 'pop'.



Tank off, where to find the Canbus & what it it does. (I'll let you make up your own joke regarding the on-lookers........)

 
And then the real reason I came..........Mike's wonderful wife Claire had prepared us all bacon butties. and delicious they were particularly the butties made in cheese topped baps.
Thumbs up also to to Mikey's friend who was there & provided copious amounts of excellent tea & coffee throughout the day. :thumb2



Questions were welcomed & clearly & excellently answered.



Things to be aware of when replacing the tank




Air filter. Where it is, how to change it & the difference between getting to a GS air filter v getting to a GSA air filter.




 
Spark plugs. Where to find them, why a twin needs 4 & what to look for when you're changing/checking them. Things to beware of when removing spark plugs.









 
Even though she was pretty much stripped naked some people still couldn't help trying to get an 'Upskirt' peek.

 
And then the Rocker covers were removed.....






More questions were asked & experiences exchanged. More tea/coffee was drunk.






Mike was very keen for it to be a 'hands-on' experience & was keen for those who wanted to get stuck in to do exactly that.






Questions were answered in as much/little depth as was required, depending on the knowledge of the person who asked.


 
Valves. What they are, how they work & how to check & adjust the clearances.



Slip gauges in use.




When it's appropriate to use an Irish Screwdriver.



What TDC is, why you need to know and 2 simple methods to find it.


 
Okay not a RR so feel free to move it if you like.......

Mikeyboy of this parish has organised a couple of Workshop days & I was lucky enough to get to the 1st one last Saturday along with a few other bods from the UKGSer club.

:eek:
 
Mike was also very clear about why you should keep your bike as clean as possible, why servicing is a great time to do this & the importance of correct torques on the nuts/bolts/screws & other fastening type thingies on the bike. What was a surprise to most of was how untight(?) many things should be. There was also great advice about what to add to any fasteners you remove when you put them back, what should have Loctite & what absolutely shouldn't.

Another thing to add to my Christmas list.






What this is & how it works




There was a discussion about brake fluid replacement, though Mike was understandably reluctant to go into too much detail here lest we give it a go ourselves & feck it/ourselves/someone else up.

Suffice to say you need to know what these are.




It's not just a case of sticking a straw into this, sucking out as much liquid as you can & then topping it up.


 
Mike then went on to balance something ( I can't for the life of me remember what though, sorry).
He did however need this tool to do it



The GS911 was explained to us. What it does, how useful it is & how it can be used to help balance whatever it was he was balancing with that tool above.








He also showed us how to balance whatever it was he was balancing with that tool, without using the GS911. How many fingers can you get in?




Sorry, my memory fails me here but these were also highly relevant in the balancing of whatever was being balanced.


 
We then moved on to rear wheel removal.



Bearings. Where they are and what to look for.




Brake pads/calipers. Removal/checking/replacing.




Speed sensor. Where it is, what to look for.



 
And then Mikey's speciality. The FDS. Once more, how to get to it, what to look for, how to get it out, how to get it back.



















 
More about the brakes.





.....and then on to front wheel removal.




 
I'm absolutely certain there's a shed load of stuff that I've missed/forgotten, but once again a massive thank you to Mike & Claire & the assorted gathering for a fantastic, interesting & highly educational day out. I don't think I've ever known less about any bike I've ever owned but that has certainly changed now. If you get the chance to go on one of Mikey's days I would say 'do it.'
 
Balancing...throttle bodies :D

Nice pics there mate, and I thoroughly recommend attending one of Mikey's workshop days.....
 
Not looking at the pictures....it'll spoil the surprise in September :augie

Its like someone posting the moto gp result when I've recorded it :D
 


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