YZF Winter Spruce Up 2012

FZ1riderNY

FZ1riderNY

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i180.photobucket.com
With another riding season over for me, I decided to get down to the garage this morning and get the bike prepped for winter tear-down. I started with treating the gas with some Star-Tron and let her run for a while, shaking the tank side to side to work it into the system. After about 15 minutes, I propped the tank, flipped the petcock, and ran her until the floats were empty. Once she shut down, I hit the choke and ran her again until the carbs were bone dry.

After that was done I got her up on the stands and to my disgust, I saw firsthand what my last ride with Ray had done to my baby. All I can say is that it's going to be a long winter!

So here are the "before" photos............. Look at them and weep!

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And so that's how she sits as of today. I guess the next 10 to 12 weekends will be spent tearing into her, cleaning every nook and cranny, and getting her back together in time for Spring. If you want to live the journey with me, feel free to check in on the progress each week. If anything, it will help some of us North Easterners to keep our cabin fever at bay. Part 1 starts next weekend!!!
 
Oh boy! Not Good Billy. After that ride, which was a wet one? She should have been washed and lubed up to get the grime and salts off. That'll take some buffing but we already know how meticulous you are with your rides. At least you will not be bored!

Merry Christmas!
 
Ewww! My bikes are often filthy but that's dirty even by my standards. I guess the benefit of living in a rainy climate is that our road salt and grime is constantly washed away

I look forward to the after photos :)
 
LoneStar said:
WOW! I feel much better about mine now! :cowboy: Is that from salted roads?
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Yep! Unfortunately it was from road salt. It was the one and ONLY time I had ever took the bike out on a wet day. It was actually dry when I left the house, but up north, the fog was still laying low up on the mountain. Sucks for me!

Cobalt said:
Oh boy! Not Good Billy. After that ride, which was a wet one? She should have been washed and lubed up to get the grime and salts off. That'll take some buffing but we already know how meticulous you are with your rides. At least you will not be bored!

Merry Christmas!
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Yeah Eric, it was the day I shot the last video. The forecast was for fog early, and lower 60's for the mid part of the day. The problem was that since we rode north, the fog was still low up on Bear Mountain. It never actually "rained" that day but the roads just held onto all the moisture. As you know I have no running water available to me at the house which is why I always make sure NOT to ride on days like that. Luckily I still have two gallons of kerosene left from the rebuild which will clean things up again nicely.

Dustin said:
Ewww! My bikes are often filthy but that's dirty even by my standards. I guess the benefit of living in a rainy climate is that our road salt and grime is constantly washed away

I look forward to the after photos :)
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It is pretty bad Dustin. I hadn't been in the garage since that last ride. Between work, getting ready for the holidays, and being sick with the flu for two weeks, I was nothing short of "shocked" when I opened the garage this morning and saw what she looked like. I didn't think that there was that much salt down since we haven't had but one day of snow, and that was gone the next day. I think the problem was that we also didn't have any rain after the snow day to wash the roads clean.
 
This was the ride in question. At the very start of the video when we are standing near the bikes, you can see that the fog is way down at the base of the trees. I figured that it was only that moisture we were riding in because I doubt very much that they use any salts on those roads to melt snow because of wildlife and the enviroment. Looking at the bike today though, it clearly shows signs of some kind of road salt. Who knows???

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-YQBEiDJQQ&list=UUtIiPrXXOnkIUMfJ6mRxgkQ&index=2]FZ1 YZF Vid 2 Wet Ride - YouTube[/ame]
 
Hail said:
Well, 45 minutes anyway. ;)
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Best I can do is a stretch we call "racer's road" - it's about 30 minutes from the house. Nice high speed sweepers, but nothing that would even remotely constitute an elevation change...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkxYp3j5oYM]SMR - Just another Sunday Morning Ride! - YouTube[/ame]
 
That sucks with the salt and all. As fun as that last ride looked, I was cringing the whole time as I saw the wet road. I hate the clean up after a wet ride, but with the salt, it just makes it worse. I know you will have her spic and span in plenty of time for spring. I know you will get every nook and cranny. I couldn't ever go that far.

Time for a meet up at the Dragon next year? I'm game :) :poke:
 
If I didnt read the post first I would have thought it was the same picture from when you brought her home the first time.:nono:

Nothing beats a good winter project. In fact I think its time I got out the feather duster and get mine up to par.lol
I know what you meen about not wanting to ride in the rain. I dont do it unless like you I get caught in it. Then I just change my riding style a bit and bob and weave to avoid the raindrops. Hasnt worked yet but I try.:dontknow:

As said She is in good hands.

Looks like the next ride is a spring ride. If things go right I'll be seeing you.
 
Good luck getting that all cleaned up! I made that mistake once with my first bike. Got warm (around 50 degrees) on New Year's Day and I decided to take the bike out. Well the melting snow mixed with the salt that was on the road and made quite a mess of the bike from what I remember. Spent days cleaning it, but back then I had the time for those projects. I don't envy you...
 
NJFZ1 said:
Good luck getting that all cleaned up! I made that mistake once with my first bike. Got warm (around 50 degrees) on New Year's Day and I decided to take the bike out. Well the melting snow mixed with the salt that was on the road and made quite a mess of the bike from what I remember. Spent days cleaning it, but back then I had the time for those projects. I don't envy you...
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Well, I won't ever make this mistake again, I don't care who's riding! This is going to be a real chore now, for the two hours of enjoyment. Sometimes it just isn't worth the headache later on. I have the kerosene and scrub brushes ready to go. I'll be removing the forks and doing the head bearings as well. I need to find an All Ballz set of tapered bearings for the bike first. All the fork parts are here already so thats all set. Next Saturday I'll be pulling all the bodywork and wheels for a start.
 
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