Slim Chants

Just when you think things are going well … I ordered a replacement windscreen for my FZ750. The one it came with is cracked. This is the last thing I need to do before taking it in for a safety check. So I got excited when I called the bike shop and they told me it had just arrived. When I picked it up however, I found it was the wrong one. They ordered me one to fit a FZR750. Now I sure wish I had a FZR750. Those bikes are fast! With an aluminum frame they weigh almost a hundred pounds less than my FZ750. Though the race position is a less comfortable ride. Anyway, I called the dealer and he says they’ll get the new one ordered on Monday and send the old one back.

Weather like this and my mount still isn’t ready. Damn, I’m itching to ride.

It’s spring, the nice weather has arrived a tad early, and I’ve got the itch to ride. Readers will know that I’ve been having troubles with the clutch. Last fall I replaced the plates with brand new EBC plates with new Barnett springs in place of the stock units. That helped but I still had a spongy feel. I messed around with bleeding and that didn’t help. I set things aside for the winter. With spring here I ordered kits to rebuild the master and slave cylinders. The slave kit went in easy but I had trouble with the circlip in the master so I decided to try it all out before figuring out how to tackle that job. Once everything was back together I still had a spongy feel. But I’d done some research on bleeding the clutch. It seems that air can get trapped at the top of the system. Its only natural because air is lighter and rises. The trick, it seems is to bleed first at the banjo bolts (master then slave) followed by the nipple. This turned out to be valuable advice. When I pumped some pressure and cracked the bolt bubbles spurted from the joint. I couldn’t believe the amount of air I was able to bleed from the banjo bolt. After I was finished bleeding the master banjo there was next to no air at all in the slave banjo and nipple. Once I had cleaned up the mess and put the tools aside I fired up the bike and she shifted flawlessly!
I thought I was going to get away without replacing the cracked windscreen but research into the safety inspection legislation wording reveals that it must be replaced. I had a heck of a time sourcing this part. The catalog for Zero Gravity in Canada does not list anything as old as an ’87. But their website indicates that they are still available. I didn’t want to wait weeks for a shipment. I finally found a local performance shop, Cycle Improvements in Waterloo, who tracked down a light smoked screen direct from Zero Gravity and they tell me it will be here in 7 days. These folks went out of their way to help me. I can’t say enough about Cathy and crew at Cycle Improvements. If you live in the Waterloo Region and you want performance work done on your bike give them a call.

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