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Tales from the crib - What is the worst maintenance items you've encountered with your bike?

Climber

Climber

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2004
Location
Clovis/Fresno
Moto(s)
01 Goldwing GL1800
Name
Brett
I recently got a Honda Goldwing gl1800 and found out that changing the air filter is a 2 hour (1-1/2 hours billing in a shop) process.

On the Goldwing gl1200 it was about a 15 minute process.
 
Is that the 5th gen or the 2018+ 6th gen GL?

On my Transalp the nightmare was trying to adjust the valve clearance on the front cylinder. The cover was hard up against the frame. You had to have a special Honda wrench, or you had to mill down a regular wrench, to get that thing off.

Carb sync on my CBR600F4 was also a total nightmare.
 
Tuning carbs on my F3. Bitch to get to,remove, fiddle, balance, test, reinstall, re fucking move again, fiddle, repeat. Fuck more than two carbs!
 
Reinstalling the valve cover on my Gen III FJR1300. MM clearance and the gasket keeps getting in the way. Ended up gluing the gasket to the cover and knowing next time Ill need a new gasket.
 
GPZ900 starter clutch. A part that will fail eventually, and requires pulling the engine out of the bike and splitting the cases to replace.
 
295566 said:
GPZ900 starter clutch. A part that will fail eventually, and requires pulling the engine out of the bike and splitting the cases to replace.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, anything that require splitting the case can go fuck itself right into next Tuesday.
 
Climber said:
I recently got a Honda Goldwing gl1800 and found out that changing the air filter is a 2 hour (1-1/2 hours billing in a shop) process.

On the Goldwing gl1200 it was about a 15 minute process.
Click to expand...

MV Agusta sprag clutch. Until they figured out the issue it was dying every 4k miles and it's a 4 hours job to replace.
 
295566 said:
GPZ900 starter clutch. A part that will fail eventually, and requires pulling the engine out of the bike and splitting the cases to replace.
Click to expand...

My problem is nit noi compared to this.
 
jwb said:
Is that the 5th gen or the 2018+ 6th gen GL?

On my Transalp the nightmare was trying to adjust the valve clearance on the front cylinder. The cover was hard up against the frame. You had to have a special Honda wrench, or you had to mill down a regular wrench, to get that thing off.

Carb sync on my CBR600F4 was also a total nightmare.
Click to expand...
1st gen 1800. I have seen that the way to remove the dash pieces is different across the different generations.
 
I haven't had the displeasure of doing it yet, but just to ADJUST the valves on a D16RR Desmosedici you have to REMOVE the heads. And that means lifting the frame off the engine.
 
Maddevill said:
I haven't had the displeasure of doing it yet, but just to ADJUST the valves on a D16RR Desmosedici you have to REMOVE the heads. And that means lifting the frame off the engine.
Click to expand...

Doesn't the Aprillia SXV require an engine drop just to check the valves?
 
On the KTM 990 Adventure you need to spend about an hour taking off bodywork before you can even get to the valves, or even the stuff you need to access for an oil change. I let the dealer do that stuff, even though it was rather expensive. I have no idea how difficult the 1090 R is, but oil change intervals are like 9000 miles.

Ducati ST2 also had difficult bodywork to remove but fortunately you could do an oil change on it without removing much. Most owners that did their own work modified the bodywork with Dzus fasteners and a few special brackets that made it much easier. Why don't the designers seem to think of how easy or difficult it will be to get to things inside a motorcycle???
 
ScottRNelson said:
On the KTM 990 Adventure you need to spend about an hour taking off bodywork before you can even get to the valves, or even the stuff you need to access for an oil change. I let the dealer do that stuff, even though it was rather expensive. I have no idea how difficult the 1090 R is, but oil change intervals are like 9000 miles.

Ducati ST2 also had difficult bodywork to remove but fortunately you could do an oil change on it without removing much. Most owners that did their own work modified the bodywork with Dzus fasteners and a few special brackets that made it much easier. Why don't the designers seem to think of how easy or difficult it will be to get to things inside a motorcycle???
Click to expand...

Or perhaps they did, and designed it that way to encourage people to service at your friendly neighborhood Ducati dealership! :thumbup

it worked for you, on your KTM.
 
295566 said:
Or perhaps they did, and designed it that way to encourage people to service at your friendly neighborhood Ducati dealership! :thumbup
Click to expand...

My theory is that the engineers got picked on my mechanics in their youth and have a long standing grudge against mechanics.
 
new to me 1980 xl250s
rear axle corrosion welded itself to wheel bearings, had to cut it off get it pressed out. and get new- old-stock replacement
 
Not really maintenance but I had a PIA ground wire that kept blowing main fuses on a first gen sv. Every other time I rode, the fuse would blow and all the electrics would go out including the engine dying. Had to carry around a box of fuses. Took off all fairings 4-5x trying to diagnose the issue. Finally, I see a small amount of smoke coming from the rear tail and see where a ground wire had worn down to the exposed wire. In the slightest cornering, the wire would touch bare metal and then blow. Put some electrical tape around it and issue finally gone but it was a very frustrating 3 weeks for me. That's when I knew it made sense to get a backup bike.
 
ScottRNelson said:
On the KTM 990 Adventure you need to spend about an hour taking off bodywork before you can even get to the valves, or even the stuff you need to access for an oil change. I let the dealer do that stuff, even though it was rather expensive. I have no idea how difficult the 1090 R is, but oil change intervals are like 9000 miles.

Ducati ST2 also had difficult bodywork to remove but fortunately you could do an oil change on it without removing much. Most owners that did their own work modified the bodywork with Dzus fasteners and a few special brackets that made it much easier. Why don't the designers seem to think of how easy or difficult it will be to get to things inside a motorcycle???
Click to expand...

I once had a bike where I would just lean it on its side and let the oil run out the filling hole. Didn't even have to remove the drain plug. That wasn't a bike I cared a lot about.
 
Finding a phantom draw in the wiring harness of my buddies old GSXR-750. Also finding a stock pair of forks for a KTM Duke 2
 
Bent shift fork? Broken tooth off second gear? Broken crank? I dunno.
 
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