Fritzer

Over bright headlights can blind oncoming traffic. Be careful not to go too far with the extra lighting.

I can't remember the exact procedure on my front pad replacement effort a while back. I do recall that I ended up using some small wood shop ratchet clamps to get the pistons compressed. It worked and I should have taken some pictures for future reference. Any body have a technique that works?

Does anybody have a easy and efficient way to compress the calipers to fit an new set of pads? I got it done the last time but it was kind of a struggle.

I replaced with stock spec bulbs. They work fine for me.

I went through my switch assembly two years ago and lubed it all up with silicone grease. Has worked flawlessly since.

Regarding the steering stem bearings, when I replaced mine at 50k miles, I discovered they were ball bearings instead of tapered. I couldn't believe how smashed out the bearing races were. I guess I never thought much about how much pressure the bearings took from front end forces. Tapered bearings make a lot more sense since they can spread out the force more contact area. What product did you use in lieu of the stock bearings?

What was the mileage on the pump?

Has anybody experienced a water pump failure?

Thanks for the rear axle bearing maintenance procedure. I have been wondering about how to repack them.

I noticed when I pulled the rear wheel bearing out soon after purchase, that there was another set of bearings in addition to the needle bearings you talk about here. What kind of maintenance would you do for those?

After following 8200rpm’s post on his fifth gen thermostat/hose replacement, it got me to thinking about the other items on my 1999, with 60K miles, that will begin failing on my way to 100K+. Fork seals, chains, are normal wear items, but what about these. Water pumps. Do they ever wear out? Brake calipers, master and slave cylinders. Any ideas when they generally need rebuilds? Rubber OE hydraulic lines. Rear suspension. How long do the swingarm bearings go before they need attention, if ever. Rear wheel bearing. That is a engineering masterpiece that looks pretty complicated. Any noted failures there? Front wheel bearings. Those are regular sealed ball bearings. Any longevity info there? Fuel pumps. Steering Stem. I can say from the experience of replacing mine at 50k, that this is a easily overlooked maintenance item. Mine were shot and I didn’t notice it. Every 40-50K on these would be my recommendation. Siborg just did a thread about his caliper rebuilds before they fail. There are those out there that have the firm belief of not fixing things that aren’t broke, and I get that perspective. However, I am a little like Siborg. If the probable failure time is near, I would rather do the work in the off season than while I am on the road somewhere far away from my shop. Any information on what to expect in the future for my beloved 5 gen would be very welcome.

Adjusting the valves in a engine that is not sorely out of spec will not make any noticeable difference in performance. You can have major valve damage if they are too tight so it is worthwhile to make sure they are within spec. My bike just got it 1st looksee at 50K and all of the intakes were very tight. Luckily there was no damage to the valves yet, but not far away. Easier to adjust valves then have to remove the head and replace a valve or two.

So 8200rpm, where did you finally get all your hoses from and at what cost?

I guess I am getting old and dyslexic😊 Thought I read that he had a 8th gen. Sorry

I would recommend downloading the 2014 shop manual available in the recent top download section in the right column on the home page. Then I would follow the procedure for synchronizing the starter valves outlined on page 7-20. I purchased a motion pro vacuum gauge a few years back for this job and it works well, however if you don't use it very much, the medium can evaporate out. If that happens, the next time you want to use it you have to purchase new medium from motion pro. Now when I use it, I load the medium, use it, then remove the medium and return it to the bottle for future use. After you get your starter valves setup, go to page 3-12 for instructions on how to manually set your idle speed. I have a 5th gen and the procedures are pretty much the same. I did this after a valve adjust last year and it now runs like a top. Good luck.