B-King - An Odd bike's Journey

[RhadamYgg]

Actually, removing the rear axle shouldn't be too hard. You already loosen it to adjust your chain, and if it's like the bikes I've owned, you just pull out a safety pin, undo a gigantic nut on one side and pull the axle out. The tire/wheel/sprocket assembly drops down but stays in place between the sides of the swingarm. You'd then put your sliders on the swingarm, thread the axle through the slider, swingarm, wheel, swingarm and other slider, put the gigantic nut back on (adjust the chain tension while you're there) and replace the safety pin.

I'd have to do this to change the rear tire, right? The odd thing about this rear - is that it looks like it has two nuts on either side of the axle. Damn, I need to get the service manual to enlighten me on this whole thing. My concern though is that it changes the alignment (front to rear) of the rear wheel. I'd need some way to mark where my center of tire should be after I'm all done.

[MZ33]

Well, if it were me, I would figure which was cheaper: taking it to the mechanic or flying Wrider out to help!

[HYPERR]

The odd thing about this rear - is that it looks like it has two nuts on either side of the axle.

That's not really that odd. The "nut" on the left is actually the "nut-head" of the axle (or spindle as you call it) and it won't come off. The one on the right is the removable nut.

[Wrider]

Well, if it were me, I would figure which was cheaper: taking it to the mechanic or flying Wrider out to help!

I love you! But I think FireGuzzi is closer.

I still say it'd be impossible to do the proper chain tension because you're gonna have all your weight on your sliders, which are directly in connection with the axle.

As for installation, you want a walk through? Honestly you can do it with an extra cotter pin, a pair of needlenose pliers, a crescent wrench (a big one), and possibly a long screwdriver and a hammer. It's pretty simple.

Put bike up on center stand.

Take out the cotter pin. You might be able to reuse it, but should only use it the once.

Take your big crescent and loosen the big nut that the cotter pin was stuck through.

Take that nut all the way off.

Support the rear wheel and lightly tap your axle out. Tap the threaded side.

Remove the axle completely and let the tire/wheel down onto the ground.

The blocks that the axle went through can be set aside.

Put on the new blocks that came with your kit. They'll only fit one way, so put them on that way... haha

Push them up against the screws that stick out of the swingarm.

Slightly lube up the axle with grease. Basically anything that will lube it is fine. Bearing grease is the best.

Hold the axle in one hand, and lift the wheel with your other hand and/or toe (Might be easier to have the missus holding the wheel or pushing the axle through.)

Slide the axle through in the SAME WAY it came out.

Push it through the wheel (dang things are heavy when held in one hand aren't they?)

Then through the other side of the swingarm and through the other block.

You can let go of the wheel now (or thank the missus)

Screw the axle nut back on.

Make sure the blocks are pushed up against the adjusters.

Make sure chain adjustment is right.

Tighten the nut to spec. (Just make sure it's pretty darn tight on there but the wheel still spins freely.)

Insert new cotter pin and bend out.

IMPORTANT STEP: WASH HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING ELSE

Take bike off of centerstand.

Go show people how awesome your new sliders are!

That work for you?

[RhadamYgg]

hehe - I'll have to think about it. Those are really good instructions and what I think I'm missing is something you mentioned - there are original blocks that I would be removing that these would replace. I kept thinking to myself if I add these sliders there wouldn't be enough threading on the axle to put the nut back on!

[RhadamYgg]

Well, I have finished up this late night - and I'm sick and have taken two days off - with adding a mod to the FZ6 so both my headlights are on. It involved lifting up the gas tank, removing the air cleaner, and removing the battery and the battery housing. I slid the battery up and opened up the wiring harness/connector. Attach a wire to the correct point, send the wire to the headlight and re-assemble everything with no extra parts.

It works, everything went well, but I"ve plugged in the end of the wire in to the headlight wiring bracket before threading my wire through and out of the way. Right now I've used a wire tie to keep everything out of the way, but I'd like to fix it up sometime so it is neatly and professionally done, but the connector that I put in to the head light clicked in to place and I don't know how to remove it. Any hints would be great. I can provide pix if necessary.

But anyway, I've got dual headlights! Yay! Too bad it isn't dual brights as well.

[Wrider]

It should be a simple squeeze or lift connector.



If it looks like ^^^ then you just need to slide a small flat bladed screwdriver underneath that bridge looking part, push down, and slide it apart. Usually takes a bit of prying, but it'll go.

[RhadamYgg]

Wrider, thanks! I thought so, but I had two problems, no three:
1) I have no confidence
2) For once I was working with a screwdriver bigger than necessary for the job (!)
3) I was beat. (from working with my screwdriver)

And there was nothing dirty about any of the above unless you have a dirty mind, and if you do I hope you got a chuckle out of it at least.

I'll give it a shot, but not tonight. I took the tank off again tonight and checked some of my work. Late last night just before going to bed I felt refreshed - because I remembered that I'd forgotten to reconnect one of the electrical connectors that I had to remove in order to get to the pipe style tighteners at the top of my air intake manifold and the air filter box-thingie. I was actually able to connect it by sending my fingers under the tank but it made me wonder what else I'd missed.

So, offsky with the tank again. Everything looked wonderful to my untrained eye. I'd like to get one of the rubber tubes on better to the air cleaner housing, but it seems ok.

I did a quick test ride and took a few movies back for Netflix. I don't have any of my bags set up and no backpack so I used my belly fat to hold them in place under the front of my pants and under my jacket.

I didn't want to take the time to put my riding pants on, so there I was on my first non ATGATT ride. It was both good and bad. I was a bad boy for not wearing all my gear. I did have boots, riding jacket, gloves and helmet - just dress pants on the bottom. Good in that this is the first time I had the confidence not to ride down the road in a full suit of armor. It was a bit chilly - especially on the boys, but I got used to it. As I left my wife told me about an Amber Alert, so I was ostensibly serving the state searching for a red Nissan Rogue with a missing child 1.5 years old with a plate starting in FT or something. It was dark so I couldn't really tell all that much, but I didn't see any diminuitive Nissan SUVs and I most certainly couldn't tell what color they were.

I remember when I bought the Ninja 250 from Brackstone and I was amazed that he road it around a very small block with no helmet on. I don't think I'm to that point yet. One of my buddies that rode briefly said that riding without a helmet was like something else without a raincoat. Still I get enough with a raincoat on that I don't need that, and I really get pissed off when I get stuff in my eyes - which still has an irritating way of happening when I'm wearing my full face helmet.

[Wrider]

Haha no problem bud. I'll admit I've never owned a set of riding pants. I always wear steel-toed leather boots, almost always wear a jacket (takes too long when you're on flat-rate), always wear gloves, and always wear a helmet. (Except when I was trying to hear a faint ticking sound coming from the rear end of a bike that the owner swore was there and no one else could hear.) And you're right, you feel raw and exposed, and the wind noise is unbelievable without a helmet.

[fireguzzi]

Wrider, thanks! I thought so, but I had two problems, no three:
1) I have no confidence
2) For once I was working with a screwdriver bigger than necessary for the job (!)
3) I was beat. (from working with my screwdriver)

And there was nothing dirty about any of the above unless you have a dirty mind, and if you do I hope you got a chuckle out of it at least.

Chuckle chuckle