I'm Koen from Belgium.
I used to ride a lot (15K/year) as a daily commuter, but now I ride more for pleasure than for work. SO I traded my 2004 BMW R1150RT for a 2008 (or 2007, I can't find what the actual model year of the bike is) DL650A.
The idea is to use the Wee for weekend getaways together with my wife as a pillion and for the occasional work traffic during the week. Next to the Wee, I also ride a Honda CB400 Four, which I just finished restoring.
First impressions of the Wee:
- light handling
- comfortable ride
- certainly not underpowered
- soft, spongy brakes
The bike I got was not maintained well: rusty oil filter, oil below minimum mark, winter salt not washed off - hence corrosion on the frame and engine, cables not lubed or adjusted, etc. So once I'm done with her, she will be in pristine condition and I'm sure the brakes will be great as well. If I have to, I'll switch to stainless steel braided brake lines!
I had a '73 500/4 Honda. With a set of Kerker pipes on the bike it looked similar to your 400 exhaust.
Always thought the 400/4 was a great looking bike. A couple work mates had the 350/4 at the same time I had the 500. One of them was a 300 pounder that looked more like he had something up his a-- rather than it did like he was riding a motorcycle. Poor thing disappeared under him. :surprise:
Haha, the cb400f indeed looks tiny next to the Wee. I tried to save the original exhaust, but it was just too rotten to weld up. But I’m very happy with the exhaust I got from Webike in Japan. It’s a “M-TEC Chukyo Short Tube Exhaust System”.
Welcome aboard. My bike came w/ spongy brakes. Along with the mandatory all fluid change for any bike I buy, I installed speed bleeders and ran several reservoirs of new brake fluid thru the hoses. The speed bleeders are great, and my brakes firmed up. No more spongy feeling. You no doubt have air bubbles in the system.
I always used to bleed the brakes manually, but now I ordered a Vacuum bleeder that can work in 2 directions: either suck the fluid out through vacuum, or push the fluid in from below under pressure.
For the V-Strom I also plan to make an ABS sensor simulator to force the ABS to engage whilst I’m bleeding the brakes. The idea is to make sure that alle the fluid in the ABS circuit is replaced with fresh fluid as well.
Yup, the Honda pipes did like to rust out. It was far too expensive to get the four individual pipes for my bike and the Kerker set only cost $180 at the time. I sprayed hi temp white paint down the pipes and the chrome didn't blue up like usual.
My Mity Vac bleeder proved to be a disappointment from the time I got it. The Speed bleeders are an inexpensive solution to an irksome task.
Not sure one needs to activate the ABS pump. I don't think there is an extra chamber that is accessed when the system is activated.
A friend and I did that on our BMW's a few years ago and it didn't seem to make a difference.
I'd like someone to explain how cycling the pump changes things and prove me wrong.
My Mity Vac bleeder proved to be a disappointment from the time I got it. The Speed bleeders are an inexpensive solution to an irksome task.
Not sure one needs to activate the ABS pump. I don't think there is an extra chamber that is accessed when the system is activated.
A friend and I did that on our BMW's a few years ago and it didn't seem to make a difference.
I'd like someone to explain how cycling the pump changes things and prove me wrong.
My Mity Vac worked fine for a few years until the o-rings inside gave up. I have to pull it apart and replace them.
It is my understanding that ABS systems employ a valve that opens when the sensor detects a slowing wheel (compared to the other wheel). This can be a parallel loop of brake hose that allows the pressure in the caliper to drop, easing the brake pads on the disks. If the ABS valve is closed, you will retain the old fluid in those lines. Open said ABS valve and fresh fluid will replace the old juice.
Motor7,
I was thinking that maybe the MityVac could be used backwards and pump the fluid as you suggest. I always wondered if the failure of the pump was due to the threads being loosened on the nipple and air leaking that way. i read numerous posts that prefer from the caliper to the reservoir rather than the other way.
I $1.00 syringe at any farm/fleet store and a $0.50 section of 5/16 poly tubing will outshine the mity vac any day of the week. The mity vac is good for sucking about $35 out of you wallet but not so good at bleeding brakes.
If you are pushing fluid up from the caliper it will go thru the abs with no issue. Push up to resevoir, suck out old fluid with a dental syringe, repeat until all fluid is changed.
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