Thursday, September 11, 2008

T-Minus 15 Days and Counting!

Just 15 more days and I am on the road. Two weeks and a day. 360 hours. That's it!

And unfortunately she isn't ready. I would actually rather have it this way than have all these troubles after I am three or four days out.

As luck would have it, I ordered the wrong socket wrench for the clutch lock nut (pic on left). It took two days of calling and checking to discover that no, the bike hadn't changed; the factory repair manual was not terribly clear on the needed wrench so Cycle Gear ordered what they thought was necessary. Well, this tool is needed to remove the oil filter so it isn't a complete loss.

So, that was Monday. Took a day to find someone who has those types of tools. Surprisingly, it is the company who made the other socket; Motion Pro (www.motionpro.com). My neighbor who is a tool dealer found the correct part number for the correct socket. (pic on right) He ordered it and hopefully that piece of black gold will be here with enough time so I can do the clutch this weekend and be back on the bike Monday.

Ah, but my little personal clutch repair project is not being simple. The folks at Cycle Gear ordered the wrong springs. I had no idea until someone on the www.rebel250.com website replied to my posting and said to NOT use them. These are the ECB CSK11 spring kits. Do NOT use them on the Rebel 250. So, now I am faced with waiting until next weekend or using the springs I took out.

Well, as luck would have it, the original clutch springs are still within factory tolerances, so I think those will need to work. To be on the safe side though, I think I will order the proper set this time.

I would like to think that if I were not a patient man, I would be running around outside, mumbling nonsense, with two handfulls of my own hair. Between you and I, I like my long hair too much to pull it out over this.

Ride safe, all.

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