Another engineering masterstroke from Soichiro's little men in white coats.

Rear brake caliper has become a bit draggy on the Blackbird.

So, I thought: ten minutes with a can of brake cleaner and an old
toothbrush - good as new.

No.

Couldn't get the pad slider pin out without rotating the rhs silencer.

Not too much angst there, then. Pin out, cleaned greased, etc.

Now: caliper off. One 14mm bolt later , it's loose. Will it come off?
Will it arseholes.

Not with the rear wheel on place it won't.

Wheel out, lift caliper and back plate out, then slide caliper of
plate.

The rest of it was quite normal, except for all the palaver involved
putting it back together again.

So, another week passes without changing the Wing's clutch line to a
braided hose.

Ho hum.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..92295../..24851.../..31928.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 49 Pts:0960 Miles:2695

 

That does sound oh so familiar. My VFR was the same, thus turning a five
minute job into something rather longer.

 

Dear God, what a palaver.

Take one 1997 Gold Wing, and one Goodridge clutch hose.

How difficult can it be, ffs?

I haven't finished yet (Moto GP's on soon) but so far, I've removed:
the seat (!); SEVEN bodywork panels, the radio cover, and the reverse
lever.

The clutch line disappears into darkness as it leaves the handlebar,
then runs inside and under the lhs frame spar, before disappearing
down the back of the motor to the clutch.

It's the brake line all over again.

I may be some time.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..92295../..24851.../..31928.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 49 Pts:0960 Miles:2695

 

Ok, someone had to ask....

So why are you changing it?

Was the original line damaged or is it just a cosmetic thing?

There's no way a clutch line runs at enough pressure to benefit from braided
hose rather than OEM.

 

.... and I was, too.

All that fucking effort, and it's worse than ever. I suspect I've
over-filled the reservoir. If that doesn't cure it, it's going in a
nearby dock.

Still, it is fitted, and it's bled, and the clutch is slippier than a
very slippy thing indeed. I might summon up the enthusiasm to look at
it after work tomorrow; then again ...

It's a long story. In summary, it's the only piece of the clutch
mechanism that is original. It slips under load. So far, it has had
new plates, lifter rod, lifter plate, spring, master cylinder, and
slave cylinder. Usually it slips under extreme provocation, such as
accelerating from 70 to 75 and encountering a surface irregularity,
such as a discarded matchstick. Other days, it won't slip at all, even
when I try to. Tonight it was, frankly, rubbish.

Ah. It's damaged now, that's for sure. It's in three pieces, for
starters. One piece is still buried in the Wing's innards, never to
see sunlight.

It was suggested elsewhere that the OEM pipe may have corroded
internally, causing a blockage, keeping an artificially high pressure
at the clutch end. I was sceptical, but thought "it's only £20, how
difficult can it be?". Now I know.

You know that, I guessed at it, but it's a FS cheaper than OEM, and,
having seen the OEM, a bloody sight easier to fit.

On the upside, I did plug the rear tyre on the Blackbird. At least
that appears to have worked.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..92295../..24851.../..31928.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 49 Pts:0960 Miles:2695