I bought this bike from a fellow in Payson, AZ on Friday the 13th, May 2020. It had 35k miles on the odomotor and was in need not only of a big service, but also several mechanical repairs. No problem, I thought, I have a killer set of tools (Just like Spicolli's T.V. Repairman father) and just enough knowledge of motorcycle mechanics to get me into trouble. I also have an understanding and long suffering wife who knew that although this bike was a potential money pit, it would keep me busy for a long time. After paying Clay, the previous owner, 4200 dollars, dinner out and two six packs of good beer for the bike, I tagged and licensed it the next day and took it for a couple hour ride. I did a mixture of paved twisty mountain roads and dirt/mud roads to assess the bike. Tons of power were evident, but a troubling rattle whenever the clutch was pulled in at lower rpm's, especially when technical riding and slipping the clutch. Under power, the noise went away and the bike went like hell. Clay had suspected it was dirty fuel injector's, but another buddy, Dave said he would take a hard look at the clutch area of the engine, including balancer's etc...Personally, I think they are both right and will be replacing the injectors no matter what else I find. The first step of the process would be cleaning and disassembly. There was 13 years of accumulated filth to remove from the bike so I could get a good look at everything. Most people really dislike cleaning a filthy bike, but as long as it is my bike, I enjoy it. You never know what you are going to discover....(foreshadowing)
That's a lot of dirt!
The first layer of dirt gone, I can finally start to see what I bought
Layer number 2 and 3 scrubbed off and the first surprise discovered...
The shifter fell off during the third round of cleaning. I was totally not expecting that! A closer look revealed that the bolt head had broken off at some point and the remainder of the bolt was now recessed in the shift shaft. Crud. That won't be a quick fix! Or so I thought, turns out that you can access and replace the shift shaft one the right engine side cover is removed. That's something I will be doing anyways when I check the state of the clutch and balancer assembly for play and wear. The new shaft is reasonably priced as well. Unfortunately, I went right out and bought a set of left hand drill bits, EZ Outs and a high temp torch to remove the broken shaft. Oh well, new tools are never a bad thing in the long run and I don't mind waiting to get the shaft.
You can see the shift shaft here with the broken bolt inside it. This area was completely covered in old chain lube and dirt.
I turned my attention to the bodywork next and cleaned it up as best as possible before we were hit with another snowstorm and I was driven out of the unheated garage workshop I use. So I turned my attention to watching videos of things like checking the valves and other exciting tune up oriented things to do with the 990. I also got to be excited every time my doorbell rang, as it was another delivery of the first batch of parts I ordered for my bike. Last night, it was tires! MotoZ Tractionator Rally's
