Heres a bit of an update on the bike. I replaced the rear tire with the2.75-17 shinko 241 trials tire, it does say Golden Boy on it, but is no longer advertised as such and the ride is much better than before, not so good in the snow
, but I will soon be replacing the front tire once the title is sorted out. The zip tire method worked very well and I would suggest trying it. 6 to 8 zip ties should do the trick, Just put the tube in the tire with a little air, tie the beads togather, I put the valve stem end of the tire in the drop center of the rim first and easily spooned on the rest of the tire, once on it is easy to locate the valve stem, but I would suggest marking exactly where it is located in relation to the sidewall to make things easier, but it is really no big deal. Once the valve stem is lined up, put the outer nut on, cut or release the zip ties and the tire is on the bead. This method is A LOT easier than the traditional way and seems to minimize the chance of pinching or slicing a tube.
I used an STI 70/100-17 heavy duty tube and it appears to be thicker than the other heavy duty tubes of other brands, and only 5 dollars to boot, we'll see how they hold up. One thing I should mention is the valve stem gasket was partially sticking to the threads when i first took the stem out, and leaked air with the slightest touch after I aired it up but after I cleaned it up it seems to be working well, just a word of caution to make sure your stem are tightened with something other than the cheap plastic tool in the dust cap it came with.
In regard to the outer lock nut, I've read that not tightening it to the rim, but snugging it against the dust cap instead allows you to see if your tube is out of place and allows you to correct the tire by deflating and resetting the tube. Also, if nut is not tight against the rim but the dust cap instead it allows you to easily see if your tire is flat or losing air while riding. A quick look back to see if your stem is starting to disappear or the nut is touching the rim lets you know you have problems possibly before it is too late. Again, I will likely be carrying the tools to change a tube and at least 8 large zip ties with me from now on, it makes the job so much easier and less risky. Most of you know these things, but I've read on many other forums people discussing this and it not making much sense to some of the readers, maybe this will help.
As far as the front fork oil, thanks for the detailed information Pep! After looking,the front suspension seems to work correctly and does not bounce around, so I'm asking, is there anything in there that is going to break that isnt already at this point (assuming very old or perhaps no oil, likely dried for seals). I'm not going to do any serious off roading with this, maybe a ride around the woods or some gravel here and there and I feel safe with the amount of suspension it provides right now, so I will probably hold off on this until later if it is safe. Any suggestions or advice? Will adding oil help some even if the seals are dried out?
Other things
-How many grease points are on this bike, I see handlebars and shifter, how much grease in the shifter? A pump or two or does it come out somewhere?
-What PSI do you run your tires at for road riding Pep? It sounds like you have the same tires
-Wiring the bike for for turn signals seems expensive and almost unecessary for the nature of the project, but has anyone used a bicycle turn signal kit on their hodaka or other bike? It seems reasonable enough and I'm sure there are magnetic and easily removable kits out there
-Does using a bigger sized bulb than suggested stress the electrical system, or does the bulb just not burn as bright? the stock bulb is 6v 15/15w, which I've heard is the same as a 12v 30/30w bulb. These are hard to find in a standard version but led and similar "new" super bright bulbs are easily available, so, are these safe to use or am I missing something. I will probably follow Pep's suggestion, which is double the calculated amperage and seems to work well, but I can likely make this work immediately and perhaps have a pretty bright headlight, as I plan on riding this bike at night.
-What are the baseline screw settings on the carburator? I'm assuming 1 1/4 turns out from lightly seated, I have universal paper canister small engine air filter rigged up until I can get a foam one. I do also have some foam lying around, I would make one out of that but I heard they can be tough to glue, probably will get a uni from this site, but for now this is what I have. Anyway, it is right around freezing lately, so I'm thinking slightly in from the base setting(3/4-1 turn out) is a safe setting to account for the colder air?
-my tail light lens was broke when I got the bike, so for now until I can get a reproduction I'm using a round boat trailer style light. They use the same wiring and have a simple ground, use the same bulb, are waterproof and provide illumination for a license plate. But a reproduction lens is likely in the future, just for now this was a quick and practical fix to get street legal
- there is one wire sticking out of my wiring harness with a male fitting near the battery which seems to have nothing to plug into, anybody know what this is for, turn signals? nevermind I'm gonna dig up those wiring diagrams...
Thanks for bearing with this long winded post, I know that sometimes details do matter, especially once a thread is inactive, its also 2 am and I may be a little sleep deprived, but happy hodakaing
