BikerThomas.com

I found an excellent guide on how to prepare your motorcycle for winter storage. Thanks to TotalMotorcycle.com for writing this guide!

Click here to read all about winter storage:
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/maintenance/motorcyclewinterstorage.htm

Happy new year everybody! Even though it’s –10 to –40 degrees Celcius here in Norway and colder than it has been in many years motorcycle season is getting closer by the day – Amen!

I just stumbled upon some a great little video collection by Michael Levin from EverythingMotorcycles.com. They’re more like tiny little video clips really, but they all introduce you to motorcycle maintenance and are great for beginners like me!

Click here for all the 5 videos:
http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_10623_motorcycle-maintenance-tips.html

…or click the individual links below for a specific video:

1. Troubleshoot Motorcycle Starting Systems Issues
2. How to Make Motorcycle Mufflers Louder
3. Reviewing Motorcycle Engine Oil Filters
4. How to Clean Plexiglass Windshields on Motorcycles
5. Motorcycle Repair Tips

I found this great instruction video on YouTube on how to change the oil and oil filtre on a Kawasaki Vulcan 900. Enjoy!

I checked the accuracy of the trip meter on my VN900 recently. I hooked up my Garmin Zumo 500 GPS to my bike and rode 100KM, at least that’s what the trip meter read. The GPS, on the other hand, said that I had only travelled 96KM. I decided to check this further and sure enough, when the trip meter read 200KM the GPS told me that I had only travelled 192KM.

I’m not an expert on this but I chose to trust my GPS more than my trip meter. Therefore my conclusion is that you can deduct approximately 4% from your trip meter or odometer to get a more accurate view of actual mileage.

Any thoughts on this? Please do add your comment! :)

Links:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/odometer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odometer

I just found an excellent video on how to assemble an inexpensive $5 do-it-yourself motorcycle handlebar mount for video and still cameras!

So now you can go out and record your best rides in high def.
Let me know if you make one for yourself, send me pictures! :)

Tools:
flat head screwdriver, drill and 1/4" drill bit, dremel or other cutting tool

Parts:
1" diameter PVC T connector threaded and threaded cap, 1/4" bolt with washer and wingnut, 2 hose clamps, pieces of rubber hose

I called my mechanic today about the problem with my engine not starting up despite my battery being fully charged. He told me that there are almost never anything wrong with the starter on Kawasaki motorcycles so it had to be something wrong with the battery. I changed to a new YUASA YTX12-BS battery and the engine fired up just fine! You should have seen the smile on my face hearing the engine starting :)

 
The new battery, YUASA YTX12-BS, same type as the old one.

 
There’s a set of tools under the seat, you’ll need a standard screwdriver.

Remove the old battery (negative/minus side removed first) then insert the new battery (positive/plus side connected first).

I cleaned my bike yesterday, long overdue…  I decided to try to remove the warning stickers that has been stuck to the fuel tank since I bought the bike. One of them simply says “Unleaded Petrol Only” and the other one is a list of English words translated into French in case you ever need a French mechanic, what gives? Oh well, I’ll save the sticker just in case. I looked up the problem on Google and found out that it’s actually quite easy to remove these stickers. Just use a hair dryer! You need to apply heat to the sticker to loosen the adhesive, be careful though you don’t want to heat the paint too much as it might start to bubble. After applying heat for a couple of minutes it was easy to remove the stickers.

Many people recommend using heat guns and paint thinner, I haven’t tried that myself so I can’t really recommend that. Some also recommend using WD-40 oil to loosen the adhesive before you use a hair dryer, that’s probably a very good idea but since I haven’t seen WD-40 anywhere in Norway I haven’t tried this either. Just using the hair dryer without anything else went just fine on my tank, but if you do have access to WD-40 it might help removing the glue residue that will be left on your paint after removing the sticker.

Oh, and one more thing; don’t use open flame! Not a good idea…

Links:
Motorcycle Cruiser: How to remove stickers from a motorcycle’s paint
Same article as above, but with great photos!