My New Ride: Massimo YG-200-9

[DannyPizdetz]

money is really tight or I'd replace the battery without trying to charge it. I think I'm going to haul the tool chests down to Lowes, borrow a key off a store model and get the suckers open. I'm not going to worry about the corrosion today, would just like to get it running a little bit.

Thanks for the advice on the housing, I'll probably start shopping for one and once I know what they're going for I'll buy the next bargain that comes along.

[FastDoc]

If it was me, given it's a harmless crack, I'd remove the cover, stop-drill the crack, clean it and reinforce it from the inside with some JB Weld and a piece of scrap metal. :wink:

[driller]

Danny regardless of what it says you have a gy-2 hondoid. The recomendation for the rotella was right on as these engine/tranny combos love this oil and both mine and the 2 others I know of like the rotella t6 synthetic $6 qt at wally world. They seem to run smoother and cooler and shift much better with the synthetic.

here is a link for a gel battery cheap:http://www.ebay.com/itm/GEL-GTX7A-BS...ht_3367wt_1037

[SpudRider]

As usual, I agree with my fellow moderators. You might also try testing your current battery, and possibly replacing the battery at a local BatteriesPlus store.

http://www.batteriesplus.com/

BatteriesPlus has a wide selection of good batteries, and the warranties are better than at WalMart.

Spud

[DannyPizdetz]

I'll consider Rotella for the next oil change.

As always, I come bearing news of progress and more trouble. But it's minor trouble this time.

So, yanked the body panel off to get to the battery and promptly cracked one of the panel pieces. This is a learning curve sort of thing. I didn't realize the spacer holding the the panel on could screw out. I though the panel would slide down the post via the rubber grommet/washer.



Trickled the battery at 2a all night and now it's starting. Here's the battery box and it doesn't seem as flimsy as some I've read about. It's actually held in with a metal bracket, not a strap.



Battery acid I need to clean off and repaint





The Cheech and Chong Smuggler Deluxe option







My dog laughing at my feeble attempts to get on 2 wheels.



Okay, despite it looking like rain I'm going to get geared up and take it out to the gas station. See y'all in a bit.

[DannyPizdetz]

Test rides went well and I can kickstart it some times now. Seems to me like the kick stand is a little too short as the bike is leaning really far over when I park the bike but I'll probably just learn to overcome that.

Now I'm off to pick up a steel braid cable to make sure it stays parked when I go grocery shopping.

[SpudRider]

If you ride the bike off road, the rear end of the bike will take a pounding, and the harsh vibrations will cause the battery box to fail. :( I suggest you reinforce the battery box as soon as possible.

If you search the internet you will find a variety of methods to repair your rear fender. However, I bet you can buy a new fender rather inexpensively.

Spud

[DannyPizdetz]

Spud, thanks for letting me know I'll still need to reinforce the battery box. I may be taking this bike offroad more than I initially thought. Talked to my neighbor the other day and it turns out I have some offroad trails near me that go for miles along the Missouri River.

So here's the first pick of the bike out of the van. I already strapped on a milk crate. It will do until I get some money for a better solution(probably 20mm ammo cans on each side).



Took the bike down to Lowes to buy some braided cable so I can lock the bike up to prevent theft. Got there and noticed a few rubber grommets lying on the ground. Poked around and noticed that a few bolts had worked their way loose. Notice anything missing?



Yup, the front mudguard was almost all the way off. Lost 2 of the 3 bolts. Removed the last one that was already loose and threw it in the milk crate. Guess loctite is the next thing to work on.

And while I was down there working I noticed that perhaps my shock is leaking?



I'll clean it off and see if the oil returns. Also I see a nipple on the front side of the swingarm. Is this the grease point for the swingarm?

After I spent around 20 miles on the bike it began to stop dying while at idle. Speedometer is way off. I need to find a local radar sign(the ones that tell you if you're speeding) to see if I can figure out how much it's off by. I may want to fix the speedo just so I can more easily figure out fuel economy rather than having to do math every time I fill up.

[david3921]

Nice looking bike Danny. I like how the vunerable bits, like the rear brake line, are up and tucked out of harms way.

A couple of items to note; when you do your oil change (I also recommend the Rotella 15w40), you have to clean the oil screen. There is no filter on this type of bike. The screen is located behind the bolt/cap shown in the third picture you posted. Be careful re-installing it, though. From what I understand it is thin and can break easily.

Also, I can't see the acid level in your battery. Maybe it's just the way the picture is taken but I can't see any. If you have to fill make sure it's distilled water.

As for the speedo. some of us have intalled bicycle speedometers to our bikes. They have a lot of features at a cheap price (less than $20), and one can be installed on your bike, since it has conventional forks, very easily.

Lastly, and most important, go over all of the bolts and nuts you can and Loctite and tighten them. As you have found out, CB fasteners are not the best and (like you stated) the dealers just assemble what they need to and send them on their way.

[Weldangrind]

Yes, the zerk on the swingarm is the grease point for the bolt.

[FastDoc]

+1 on what Spud said. The battery will likely fall out. :roll:

I used Gorilla Tape to reinforce mine. Crude but effective, and not visible.

The plastics on this model are brittle. They are made of fortune cookie dough. :roll:

[FastDoc]

Good pics, BTW. Also I don't know what's on the spring. I've never seen a shock leak like that. Could be though. Maybe the seal was damaged by battery acid?

An interesting upgrade, believe it or not, is a used cheap R6 shock, IIRC. Stock shocks can be had for the price of a dish of good Lo-mein. :wink:

[Wild_Alaskan]

MY gy-5 had the same cover, i replaced it twice, but eveytime a rock or something would go through the front sprocket it would shatter it. i gave up running it after that and had no problems. this will leave the magneto cover and gear indicator wiring more exposed and damageable by the chain however.

[DannyPizdetz]

David: Thanks for the advice on the bicycle speedometer. I've installed a few of those so could follow that route pretty easily. I've also heard of people using GPSes as speedometers but that's not in the budget unless my old GPS has that feature. It's a piece of junk these days with no battery life left so I'd have to direct wire it but I don't think that would be a problem.

Thanks for reminding me about the battery acid level. It didn't look right to me either but I'd stopped noticing it already. Turns out the level is too high. So I guess I'll pick up a dog medicine measuring plunger type thingy today and fix that when I get back.

Weld: Thanks, I'll slap some grease in there shortly. I tried this morning but my grease fitting can't get into the small space there. I think if I buy a 90 degree coupler like this, http://www.amazon.com/Lumax-LX-1404-...608970-1491913 I should be able to do it though.

So should I bother reinstalling the front fender or should I just start looking for a replacement fender now if this one is so fragile? It does already have a hairline crack from one of the bolt holes....

[DannyPizdetz]

I'm a bit confused. The FAQ on new bikes recommends that you check brake bolts on new bikes but when I read Spud's entry on caliper mounting bolts it sounds like it is a bear to get the suckers off of there. I was planning on basically loosening and blue loctiting everything that is on the list:

Pay particular attention to the exhaust pipe and shields, battery box, brake calipers, starter, , rear sprocket, etc... Engine fasteners are typically not a problem. Loctite and/or lock washers are suggested for nuts and bolts that frequently loosen.

Should I instead just check all of these fasteners frequently and blue loctite them as they become a problem?