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I recently did my first set of steering stem bearings this last weekend. IT WAS HARD, especially to get the races out. Here is a mock up of a cut away steering stem if you were looking at it fron the front of the bike: I researched every old thread on TT and most said to do the brass punch way: (you hammer at the punch on the lip of the race, all of the way around, til it gives way) But after about 3-4hrs of trying this I was sick of the punch slipping off the race, I tried cutting the race off with a dremil but that just caused frustration and it was highly likely that i would score the inside of the head tube. The other way i found on here that would most likely work, but i did not get the oppertunity to try was running a ARC, MIG or TIG bead along the face of the old race and it will supposedly drop out when the weld cools because of the contraction when the weld cools down. NONE OF THESE WORKED FOR ME! So i set out to develop my own method which i have not seen on TT yet: You will need: >Steel pipe (1-1.5ft in length) (needs to fit inside of your head tube with about an 1/8" play on either side, does not need to be exact at all) >Metal punch, chisel or tapered piece of metal (i prefer a chisel) >Hammer >Penetrating fluid (optional, helps though) THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU HAVE AT LEAST A SMALL LIP!! DONT TRY UNLESS YOU CAN FEEL AT LEASET A TINY BIT OF A LIP!! 90% of bikes do have a lip. Spray Penetrating Fluid around the part of the race that contacts the stem. Insert the pipe so that about the same amount is sticking out on either side of the end of the head tube. Move pipe over to one side of head tube. Jam chisel or tapered metal next to pipe and hammer in so it is VERY snug. Hammer oposite side of pipe and it should drive right out!! Heres a pic to demonstrate: This took me less than 5 minutes to do both, just repeat the other way for the top race, a very easy process.

A lot of people loosen the brackets that attach your clutch or brake assembly to the handle bar, so in case of an accident the assembly will spin rather than break. But its difficult to get the right tension and the friction factor changes with water, mud, etc. which can cause the assembly to work its way loose and move while riding. I find the best idea is to wrap Teflon tape (plumbers tape) around the handle bar where the the clutch and brake assembly will be mounted. The Teflon is frictionless, so you can still tighten your clamps firm but it allows the assembly to spin with force in the event of a crash, but not rattle loose while riding.

I am the King of Dirt...Cheap, so here's some tips that are fresh on my mind tonight: #1---To prevent levers from breaking, unmount your perches, wrap plumbing teflon tape around the bar, then remount. Works unbelieveably well. #2---Many bearings/seals/etc are interchangeable among all the Japanese bikes; however, for some unknown reason, Suzuki will sell them considerably cheaper. Even better, most American machine shops now carry NTI bearings now, which are Japanese and often the same maker as your bike's bearing/seal. In this case, carry the old one with you and buy the parts guy a Coke, and he will look up a cross-reference/match for you. If he finds one--likely--it will be either cheaper or MUCH cheaper. He will have different grades/strengths, and if he is savvy, all you will have to do is hand him the old one and explain the bearings particluar use/job application. #3---The auto world has considerable stuff that we can use, from hard parts to soft parts to very trick tool ideas (that you can subsequently make yourself.) I regulary make my own non-critical paper gaskets from Felpro gasket stock; once you mike the thickness/es that you need, then go buy this stuff by the sheet at a FRACTION of the bike price. There are several methods to "drawing" the gasket shape, but the easiest for me is to smear a film of grease on the part's edge, lay it face down on the gasket-sheet, and voila---you know can take your scribe and cut it out. es, Herman, you do want the gasket to have grease rubbed inot it on both sides to allow you to remove it w/o tearing it next time. No, it will not leak, unless you have irregular surfaces. I do use yamabond/three-bond for magneto covers... Yes, posterboard makes pretty darn good gasket too, or your kids' construction paper, but Felpro is def best. #4---Pipe-to-head junctions: Auto parts stores will have sheets of "high temp gasket material". This is not dirt cheap, but much cheaper than buying it in liquid form, and a heck of a lot easier to work with, and reusable to boot! Cut out a doughnut of it and sandwich it inbetween the pipe and jug. (You may spray it liberally with silicon spray to help ease the pipe in, but you already knew the value of that stuff for air boots/etc anyway, I am sure.) #5---Shimming an old bike with bronze shims can add many hours of life to it, not to mention tightening up the old bird. The se can also be had at an auto machine shop; you may buy them by the handful or by the set/kit (even cheaper.) Buy a metric kit if thay offer it, and it will be loaded with different ID/OD?thicknesses of bronze shims. #6--If you are loop-out prone, remove the two lowest rear-fender bolts' washers. I am from the old school that still belives that a slow, controlled wheelie is a danged nice trick, so...This allows the fender to get ripped off w/o ripping it up, as these two will just pull thru. I even go so far as to cut out the upper mounting holes on their 7 o'clock thru 5 o'clock positions. A nickel-sized automobile fender-washer ensures proper grab, yet the fender will pull off once the tire grabs ahold of it... #7--That Plastic-renue product does indeed work pretty darn well; tho I prefer to jsut work some overtime and then just go buy a fender instead, usually, as I am not fond of sanding. #8--Radiators/Pump seals!!: do not use antifreeze containing silica, ie, SAND! The sand does indeed keep everythign scrubbed clean, but also scrubs your seals, too! Japanese auto makers do not put this stuff in their cars, as they understand that if a person uses ONLY distilled water in their system, and then annually changes the fluid, there will BE no "buildup". Once again, you can buy this silica-free coolant at auto stores and it is MUCH cheaper than a japanese dealer, auto or otherwise. #9--The biggest tip I know: Go to your local AMA Qualifier race, and you will find perfectly good plastic/tires/etc being thrown in the trash barrels. Most of these guys have heavy sponsors and so change their tires after two motos, bars after one crash/tweak, etc, etc. They will even throw away 75% good brake pads if it is a mud race, b/c they dont want to get stuck with overheating/thin pads in the next moto. They are also a wealth of inside info about your particular bike, when you pick a "with it" rider/team. Even if it is a few years old, they usually remember what the did to set it up. Their knowledge can save you a bunch of heartache. #10--Tire changes: Did you know that there was once an American ISDE team that could change rear tires using NO tools but their hands?? And inside of 9 minutes at that. They said their main key is to keep the tire's 12 o'clock beads in the CENTER (ie, the deepest) part of the rim. (Since the trough's circumference is much smaller than the tire's, you have instant slack created.) This allows you to pull it toward you further, creating a much larger gap for the 6 o'clock beads, so you can get it over the rim's edge. I go so far as to put 2 small C-clamps on the tire at 10 and 2 o'clock, enabling me to keep the tire in the rim's deep trough. I def use dishwashing soap on the tier, and even leave it out in our nice 100-degree sun for an hour to soften up, too. Also, use rim protectors to keep from marring up your rims. They are plastic, clip-on covers aobut 3 inches long,Auto tire shops use them for nice aluminum wheels as well (cheaper to get from them.) #11---Acrylic home floor wax makes a fine bike-shine, as does plain old silicon spray to a lesser degree. The floor wax must be applied with a sponge, and in one direction, else you will see lines in it once it dries. Once you wash your bike it comes off, but will def take Simple Green/etc to get off. #12---If you will spend $60 for a Karcher electric power washer, and then NEVER run it longer than 1~2 secs w/o spraying, it will last forever as a fantastic bike washer. (If you do not keep water running thru the pump, ie, keep spraying, the little pump gets too hot, causing it to fail prematurely. This is about its only flaw.) Oh yeah, most home hot water heaters have a readily accessible drain valve, already threaded to accept a water hose! Imagine that... And we all know that hot water evaporates much much faster than cold, thereby preventing a lot of potential problems associated with water retention in various places...see also #18 below. #13---If you do not have the cash, buy an old-fashined, QUALITY, broom. This and a 5gal bucket of hot soapy Dawn will do literally almost as well. Hang the broom when done of course, or it will dry in a bent form. #14---Auto Wrecking yards and scrap metal yards frequently have dirt bikes/skeletons in them. I have gotten some fantastic winter projects for peanuts this way. Sadly people get divorces a lot nowadays, and when they move, many times the bike that they inteded to fix up for umpteen years suddenly is a problem: do they store it or just get rid of it? Those free want-ad papers are ripe with deals as well, for this very same reason... #15---Take your electrical connections apart while they are still clean and apply some dielectric grease to them. Years down the road you will be very very glad; Japanese electrics still basically stink after all these years, so dont weaken an already marginal flow with corrosion/poor contact. #16-- Needle bearings/bushings: I know we should all grease our linkages every time we wahs our bikes, etc. But since we barley have time to ride, I assemble mine with automotive engine assembly lube, which is very high in moly and graphite. This means that after many abusive rides and washings, there is usually still some forme of lubrication in there, though thick and pasty it may be. No, you will not feel any difference in your shock linkage's action; if you think that you do, then you need to just go a tad faster, Mr. Spode. #17---...here's another that I forgot, especially if the bike is new/been 100% cleaned up: I also remove the throttle assembly, remove all liquid lube from the inside of tube and bar w/contact cleaner, and lube w/locksmith's powdered graphite; ESPECIALLY if running handguards where the throttle-end grip has been cut out (to avoid retaining grit). #18---And one more: Never will a bike be as clean as it is new, so I take this chance to go ahead now and mark crucial-but-seldom-removed bolts/nuts w/a paint pen to facilitate confirming them visually, and remove the tank and spray the elec parts/connections w/aerosol di-electric protectant. (And spraying the rest of the bike under the tank/area w/aerosol silicon or WD40 will go a long way in making it easy to clean with just a spray hose and no scrubbing once its coated w/dried mud.) #19---...and one more, for all you tall guys (and gals): TO raise your bars w/o having to spend a lot of ca$h, proceed to your local friendly bike salvage yard, find a couple bar clamp "caps" that match/align with the ones currently on your bike already. First, as with all clamps and caps, take a rat tail file and grind off any sharp edges, to prevent them from cutting into/weakening your aluminum handlebars over time. Now take off your bars, place this 2nd set of clamp-caps upside down beneath your handlebars, but on top of your existing bar-clamp. Now put your existing clamp-caps on top of that. Buy some new, longer clamp bolts to make up for the added thickness of the added clamp-caps, and "voila", your bars are now the same familiar bend but ~1/2" higher, and wa-a-ay more comfortable while standing! If they are too high, grind them thinner and retry. I do this to all my bikes that don't have aftermarket clamps/high bars, as I am 6'2" and also suffer from bone spurs in my neck, so bending over while looking up is darn painful, not to mention slower...ttfn. #20---And yet another: there is no comparison to using S2000 / aka Honda's bike wash, but a pleasantly suprising 2nd place is Mr.Clean. This is what Carmichael's Kawasaki mech showed me at a Dallas SX in '98, and he is right, as long as you rinse it well as with all effective cleaners...I am a big fan of Simple Green, but Mr.Clean seems a tad stronger. Once the bike is clean, buy a QUALITY spray bottle from your local friendly janitorial/auto detailing supply store for about $3, fill it from a gallon jug of WD40, and proceed to spray the bike all over, sans bars y seat. Spray even under the tank and belly. (You must use a quality spray bottle, as no other spray bottle will spray a fine enough mist, ruining the whole trick.) Now, towel dry the plastic if u so desire, and you will be amazed at this stuff's effectiveness at both protecting everything and repelling stains (we have red clay here). Your bike will be stain-free after years of this practice. A gallon of WD40 will last years. There you go, have a factory-clean scoot for pennies on the dollar. Honda's silicon spray bike-detailer is great stuff for detailing/shining, but I rarely use it when I have already wiped the plastic down w/WD40, unless the plastic is white, in which case I have found no equal cleaner for getting dirt out of scratches w/o damaging the plastic.

Last year I had some bad luck as I was working on my bike and found a broken throttle cable. Yamaha wanted like $40 for a new set, (and didn't have them in stock anyway) and I wanted to save the ride that day, sooooo, here goes. NOTE: I own a MIG welder, so this was easy. I went to the hardware store and found some round steel rod of approximately the same size as the end that came off my cable. The I took a 4" angle grinder with cutoff wheel and cut a slot for the cable to slide into. Taking the MIG, I grounded the rod, and set the heat and feed down slightly from a thin metal setting. I tacked the end of the cable first, check the position and then hit it again in the slot. Then I smoothed off the weld with the cut off wheel and cut the rod off at the appropriate length to fit the throttle wheel on the carb. All I had to do then was adjust the slack to install the cable and I was done. That was last year and the cable is still working fine. Since then, I've also been able to repair clutch cables in the same manner. AND... I've found a source for new inner cables: http://www.jagwireusa.com/index.php/products/mountain/499 My local mountain bikes store carries these and for less than $5.00 I can get a new inner cable and simply weld on a new end once cut to length. It's a great way to save money in these tight times!! Ride hard, reduce your cholesterol 30 points !!!

I've had a few throttle cables break over the years. With the exception of being in a really technical area it's easy to get back to camp with a broken cable. Just idle up the motor to a desired rpm and use the kill button for corners.