*facepalm* Thanks mom...

Well, after 3 weeks of riding, it finally happened, my bike went down... in the driveway... cause my mom wasn't careful and knocked it over... joy

Damage Report

The throttle tube,I guess thats what its called, the plastic bit under the grip that is the actual throttle has had 2 of the nubbies broken off of it and the end of the grip is chewed to shit

AND

the brake lever is now SUPER loose and slightly more curved outward

Now, I have a couple of questions

1. What can I do to straighten out the lever? Tube, vice and some luck? Or should I replace it? (Chacal)

2. Will the missing nubbies be a problem? Should I replace the tube? (Chacal)

Guys? Whats the verdict?

 

Brake and clutch levers bend only once. That is when the lever hits the ground, Most times the lever snaps off when trying to staighten it out. Replace the lever.

 

sometimes you can straighten them with the pipe and vice and a propane tourch
heat it good and hot, bend it back just a bit, heat again, bend, heat
little at a time and it might not break
i'am not quite sure what a nubbie is
leave your controls loose enough to move with both hands

 

Nubbie is a very Canadian technical term for any jutting object that you dont know the proper name of.

In this case its the square ends of the plastic throttle tube

 

using a cutting torch blacken the aluminum with the acetaline then heat with proper flame until black soot is burnt off. Let cool (but not too cool) and bend carefully the aluminum will harden back to its original temper over time. I tried bending mine back with out heating and broke it off last season, had to weld it back together, that reminds me I should check that.

 

And what did we learn from this?

Don't leave your bike in the driveway!

 

And keep an eye out for the Wrath of Mom!!!

 

My buddie bought a new gsxr in '06 and a month later his mom didn't pay attention pulling into the garage and damn near destroyed it. And she made him pay for the damage to her car!!! He moved out the next week. The lesson: don't let your mom near your bike.

 

LOL heard that ALL the time when I was growing up regarding my bicycle.

 

And come to think of it, thats true!! I lost two BMX bikes that way.
Moms and their minivans

 

See!

I can't say much I was backing out of my garage one day with a minivan full of screaming kids and hit my bike. Damage to the bike was minimal, bit scratch down the van.

BUT it wasn't in the driveway!

 

Back to the original questions:

Lever (blades) cost less than $10 for good aftermarket replacements (I have Motion Pro levers on both my XJs.) Replace the lever.

If the throttle drum is fine other than the missing nubbies; it's fine. Now's your opportunity to get some nice fancy new grips.

 

Sadly... I had just gotten new grips... two days before. So now I need new new grips.

And there was no car involved. She had gotten me to move the bike from the garage so she could get the lawn mower out (I had JUST gotten home from work) and she bumped into it herself. I dont know how she did it considering the bike was parked in the MIDDLE of the driveway.

Regardless, tomorrow before work I'm going to go out and get new levers and grips... *sigh* and today is beautiful riding weather

 

If my mom bumped into my bike she'd probably be the one to fall over, haha.

 

UPDATE

I went down to my local bike parts place this afternoon

New throttle tube - Check!
New grips - Check!
New Brake Lever - On order

Get home, remove old throttle tube and replace with old one. Great! No issues what-so-ever

Go to remove the brake lever and accidentally turn the bolt the wrong way... SNAP!!! Broke the top part of the mount off :evil: Looks like the fall did more damage there that I couldn't see.

Back to the bike shop. Manage to find a very haggard master cylinder that was slightly seized up and covered in old brake fluid gunk.

Now I get to learn how to rebuild a master cylinder... joy

I'm definitely having a bad week :cry:

 

Rebuilding the MC is a sinch. Oh, Chacal...

 

Ok, doner MC is apart, its not as bad as I thought it was. A little steel wool and a lot of brake cleaner brought the insides right back to a shine.

Now how in the hell do I get the sight glass out?

 

I heard that's a witch... with a B. lol.

I think I remember hearing there is a c clip under the 'glue' but I could be way off.

 

The site glass was not hard, mine was in such horrible condition, I just cracked it and pulled it out in pieces. Replaced with one from Chacal. Wouldn't pull it unless I was replacing. Make sure you really clean the seat and sides of the well really... well, well (the places where the new glass will go). Maybe even a little light sanding. I cracked a glass when installing it because I had a little burr I didn't see that chipped it when I forced it to go in. Second one went in no problem...

Good luck man.

 

I just PM'd him lest see if that works...

 

UPDATE

Rebuilt the donor MC using the plunger, spring, rubbers and lever from my old MC

Hooked up the lines and bled the brakes. Hooked up the stoplight switch.

Turned the bike on... brake light comes on.

WTF!!!! I dont get it. I tried it without the switch hooked up. Same problem. I tried the old MC switch and pushed it in before turning it on... nothing. Still stayes on.

 

*bump*

Anyone. I still cant figure this one out

 

Dont' have a brake warning light so...

Edit: or is that Brake light as in actual rear brake light?

 

did you check the rear brake light plunger, it may be stuck or misadjusted. if not you probably have a short in the wiring

 

Is the light always on?

Try this. Check where the wires come out for the light (end of brake lever), under the rubber boot. Make sure that the connector is seated fully (pull the lever and see if you can push it in some). Has to be flush againts end of lever or will stay on. (sometimes the little wings that grab the inside of the whole break off and then it slides out).

 

I've come to the conclusion that the switch is not the problem. I pulled the wires and the rear brake light still stays on. I also tried shorting the two ends together with a wire and 2 bullet connectors... still nothing.

I guess I have a ground problem somewhere.

That being said, I can hear and feel the relay behind the airbox clicking when I turn the bike on. I tried pulling it and nothing happens. Light stays on, blinkers work, headlight works, bike starts.

Whats this relay for?

 

What are the colors of the wires running to this relay?

 

Colours are

Blue/Yellow Red/White
Black Black/White

The relay has a blue dot on it as well

 

The blue "dot" on the relay indicates that it is the sidestand safety switch relay.

The wire colors leading to it are also the correct mix to indicate those are the leads for the sidestand safety switch.

So all is okay in that regard.

 

UPDATE!!

So after nearly a week of fighting with this electrical gremlin, I finally got the bike sorted out today. My buddy Chris came over and had a 30 second look at everything I had done when suddenly he piped up...

"Have you checked the rear brake light switch? The spring looks under tension"

D'OH! *FACEPALM*

Turns out the rear brake pedal had bent slightly and wasn't fully returning because it would catch on the crankcase. A quick re-adjustment of the pedal (read: bend back into shape) and a little playing with the adjustment screws, I was back in business.

It's funny how I was so focused on the handlebars that I totally forgot about the rest of the bike.

Took her for a spin, no problems! New MC is nice and stiff and I've got fantastic braking power.

Only problem now, the bike is bogging down under hard throttle and at idle. I spit the end of the vacuum line on the petcock and just patched it in place while I test rode it. I figure I'm sucking air through the split and not getting the proper fuel flow through the petcock. The fuel filter only looked about 1/4 full after my ride, usually sits near full.

 

redfire said that 2 days ago :roll: it seems sometimes we are all pawns in the XJ world. Just read a 9 PAGE THREAD and in the end there was still not resolution :x . damn good learning here though :!:

 

Yup -- I broke my master cylinder clamp that way. #1 the bolts tighten in a certain order, #2 the torq is really low. BTW Chacal here on the site sells most every part at a great price, and gives excellent advice, too.

The MC rebuild kit is cheap, and you will want the special pliers he has for the clips. I popped for the MityVac, too and am glad I did!