Winter Wrenching
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:42 pm
I've had my XJ for about a year now, and sadly it has been out of commission for most of that time. I'm finally getting to the point where I have some time to work on it. I'll be replacing fork seals, cleaning the carbs, replacing a seized throttle cable, and replacing the rear shock with a v-star shock I picked up. Here's some questions I have. Any advice would be appreciated.
1. Everything else on the bike seems pretty good, but is there any other preventative maint. type repairs that I should do while the bike is taken taken apart?
2. Can I insert a steel rod through the holes in the lower front engine mounts, and support the rod on jack stands to elevate the front of the bike? Any other ideas on cheap lifts? Oh how I miss a center stand.
3. I'm a big guy (240#), so I was wondering if it would be worth it to add stiffer fork springs? My wife is also going to be riding this bike from time to time, so I'm wondering if springs set for my weight would be way to stiff for her. Should I maybe compromise on the spring rate, or just leave the stock springs?
1. Everything else on the bike seems pretty good, but is there any other preventative maint. type repairs that I should do while the bike is taken taken apart?
2. Can I insert a steel rod through the holes in the lower front engine mounts, and support the rod on jack stands to elevate the front of the bike? Any other ideas on cheap lifts? Oh how I miss a center stand.
3. I'm a big guy (240#), so I was wondering if it would be worth it to add stiffer fork springs? My wife is also going to be riding this bike from time to time, so I'm wondering if springs set for my weight would be way to stiff for her. Should I maybe compromise on the spring rate, or just leave the stock springs?