scaley

My rule of thumb - front sprocket travels 4 times the chain distance of the rear sprocket. If rear sprocket is showing signs of wear then in all likelihood the front sprocket is shot. Easy enough to drop the front cover off to check. I always check the chain after a service as there are still some monkeys out there setting to 15mm of slack.

try and pull the chain off the rear sprocket. The amount of movement is relative to wear. I changed my chain set after 18000 miles. The chain was starting to wear , the front sprocket was hooked. Should have changed this at 10K intervals. It wears 4 times faster than the rear sprocket.

@Betoney : Thanks for the reply. I agree about the linkages. The dealership never serviced them on the FJR, always had to do them myself. I'm really wanting a quick and dirty way of being able to set up the shock preload as the ring nuts are concealed by the frame. I can't even get to the grub screw. Once I have it set , I can review it on a yearly swingarm service as you suggest.

I recently fitted the YSS MZ456-330TRL-40X ( no remote preload). It was a quick fit so I'm not sure I used the easiest/best method of fitting it. Basically I jacked up the swinging arm to reveal the lower mount and fitted the shock, then relieved the swinging arm to fit the top mount. The reverse to removing the OEM shock. The trouble is I had to reduce the preload on the shock in order to fit the lower mount. Due to the preload rings being at the top of the shock they are not adjustable without removing the shock. Luckily its not far off what I need, but am I better removing the dog bone links to make an easier shock extraction and refit ?

a coarse sanding disk is best for shaping the foam. Creates a right mess though so use all the safety gear and cover anything you don't want knee deep in foam dust. I narrowed my FJR seat. After getting the shape right I covered the whole seat with a sheet of thin foam stuck down with spray on contact adhesive.

For all those stomping around North Derbyshire try The Yonderman at Wardlow Mires on the A623 Stony Middleton to Tideswell section.

The area behind the bike is part of the car park! A lot of water in there at the moment!

The lake at Bala

I still use a foot pump and bar of chocolate. I need a chair sometimes too!

had the bike serviced and a set of trailriders fitted ready for my tour of Scotland next week.

Fitted a loobman oiler. Its working well.

Be sensible about it. A plug where this particular screw head is will wear, one in the tread won't suffer as much. If the tyre stays up after the 'get you home' period it should be ok, but I'd also want to do a ride that kept the tyre at temperature for while. Don't forget you have a plug in it. I've personally run tyres for 4k using the sticky string plugs. Regular pressure checks for sure.