Routine Maintenance. Discoveries and minor venting.

[Toecutter]

So, Got the V7 on the table this past Saturday, to give it new shoes and a clutch cable (along with some other minor stuff).

-Discovered that my Universal Joint boot had a couple of tears in it (right on the outside edge of the circlip)... allowing water and sand inside the swingarm. Looks as though sand worked it's way between the rubber and the swingarm and just sort "ground away" at the rubber. Some surface rust on the drive shaft, sand in the swingarm itself, but nothing else of note. Checked everything for evidence of wear... but saw nothing. Everything was already greased well from front to back... factory or dealer, I'm not sure.

-The insulator on the clutch cable has pretty much melted away entirely... that's some piss-poor cable routing from the factory, I gotta say. Was hoping to replace it, opened up the envelope with my spanky new clutch cable... and it's the wrong part. Must be from a later model. My dealer part supply is so hit or miss, It's incredibly aggravating.

- and a break in the wire insulation to/from my rear brake caliper, with no damage to wires. Easy fix.

So, had to put the brakes on my work, and order parts. And now I wait. And of course... this weekend was beautiful. Riding season would have started TODAY for me had things worked out. Now it looks like a couple weeks. Glad I decided to take your advice and remove the swingarm, never would have discovered the torn boot, otherwise... and I think that had the potential to cause some damage if left unchecked. So... thanks!

Here's hoping parts show up quickly. But I'm not optimistic.

[Zoom Zoom]

Bummer. But, better to have discovered it at home than out on the road.

John Henry

[Toecutter]

I never would have noticed the tear in the boot if I hadn't removed it.

Kind of shocking how much crap found it's way inside the swingarm.

[malik]

The clutch cable - is it the same length? The early clutch cables had no rubber blocks over the sheath, and the cable would catch in the fins & the plastic cover would melt/wear. Then they introduced one rubber block to keep it out of between the fins, and the latest versions now have two rubber blocks. Some V7 models also have a hook hanging near the inside of the left cylinder to keep the cable up higher. The cable for the Racer is a tad shorter, but otherwise the same. I don't know whether the V7II & III cables are any different - the clutch operating arm at the back of the gearbox is sited a little differently than earlier models. Do take the opportunity to route the cable efficiently - try to site the 90 degree steel bend at the lever end such that it points down & as much towards the rear as possible - having two 90 degree bends seems to be a point of weakness - I've had cables break at the second bend.

In my travels on the internet I have, in the past, come across a replacement uni boot that can be attached without removing the swingarm -  cut lengthwise & uses nuts & bolts to close the cylinder. If I find it again, I may well get one to try out - the original is not all that efficient in keeping the water out. How yours got tears in it is a mystery - I don't suppose you've done a lot of bush bashing with it.

Given the opportunity, crap gets in everywhere, especially at the rear. My Special has a defective dust seal on one of the rear brake caliper float pins - even with no easy way in, all sorts of stuff gets in there to gum up the works.

[Toecutter]

The tear is perfectly inline with the circlip. If I had to bet a beer on it... I'd say the abrasive action of the sand jammed between the boot and the swingarm, with the circlip inside, just ground it down til it tore. Probably didn't help that  the end of the circlip is a little "sharp" too... I sanded that down nice and smooth already.

The clutch cable? It's a hair longer... but the sheath is a good 2" longer... the end result it not enough cable to attach at both ends. If it's attached the actuator arm, there's literally NO cable left at the lever end.

When the new one arrives, I'll be hanging it from the hook under the tank. After noticing this, I checked my wife's bike... sure enough... insulator on her cable is jammed under the right cylinder an is melting away, too.

[Roebling3]

I've a 3 series racer. If the clutch cable were an inch or so longer I'm certain a better path could be found at the tank /steering stem area. Kinks in control cables are stupid!  R3~

[sign216]

In my travels on the internet I have, in the past, come across a replacement uni boot that can be attached without removing the swingarm -  cut lengthwise & uses nuts & bolts to close the cylinder.
.

Malik, this is interesting, an easy solution.  Do you have a photo of how you secured the replacement boot?
Any ideas on the Uni part no?

[malik]

Malik, this is interesting, an easy solution.  Do you have a photo of how you secured the replacement boot?
Any ideas on the Uni part no?

I didn't actually get one, Joe. Just saw it advertised. Haven't yet found a photo in my archives or on the net, but this boot was made with a slit down through the bellows with a lip on each side of the cut through which 3 (?) screws bolted the sllit closed. I shall search some more & post when I find it. A photo is much more useful.

[pete mcgee]

Note to self.
Do pre season maintenance and checks 1 month before season and good weather starts............

[Toecutter]

Pete, normally I would have. But this year's been "interesting" weather wise. It was still -18C a couple weeks ago, and it turned into spring *really* fast... we've had a brutally cold winter this year. Normally, I can suck up cold weather wrenching... not so much this year. We had a couple straight months of -30 or worse, and -20-25 was the norm for the rest of it.

One of this summer's projects around the homestead is insulating the garage.