Final Prep

It's Wednesday 8/6/08 and I leave in 2 days. I need to do some maintenance on my bike like changing the oil and filter, verifying tire pressure, and ensuring the drive case lube is up to the proper levels. I also have decided to replace the rear brake pads before the trip as the pads seem worn and don't stop as well as I would like them to.

I begin by getting the bike up onto the center stand and beginning the oil drain. On the Nighthawk 700 there are three bolts total to be removed to do the complete oil drain - the oil pan bolt and two frame bolts. I got that started and then began on the rear wheel. With the bike on the center stand, the rear wheel was off the ground, so I just needed to get the wheel off and do the brakes.

I began by disconnecting the brake rod and actuating arm, and also the brake rod that holds the hub in place. Once that was done I removed the nut on the rear axle and loosened the pinch nut on the right side and I could drive out the axle. That came out easily and then I worked the wheel free from the drive unit and it came right off.

I removed the brake hub and inspected the current brake shoes. They looked to be in OK condition, but I decided to replace them anyway as I had a new set which had cost me about $15 on Ebay, so what the heck. I removed the hardware holding the shoes on and also removed the springs and discarded all of those items. The new set of shoes came with replacement springs so I didn't need to keep the old ones. I then cleaned up the hub using brake cleaner and I also did a thorough cleaning of the wheel which contains the surface the shoes contact to do braking.

With that done I installed the new pads and put all the parts back in place, and installed the hub into the wheel. I ran into some problems here as the new pads where thick enough that they rubbed on the wheel, so it would not go on. When I had taken it apart initially they came apart easily, but now would not go back together. I resorted to the rubber mallet and with a few good whacks the hub was nicely seated in the wheel. It also turned freely, so I am not sure what was going on.

I then remounted the wheel and reconnected the brake controls to the hub. I then finished installing the rear wheel by torquing the pinch nut on the right side of the axle, and also the nut that holds on the axle on the left side.

I then checked the level of fluid in the final drive, and that was fine. I had completely replaced it in the summer of 2007 when I got the bike going, so it was still in great shape and at full.

Lastly I completed the oil change. I removed the Fram filter I had on the bike and replaced it with a KN202 filter. I did this because the KN filter has a 17mm nut on it that makes it easy to remove and install without a filter wrench. I was going to be bringing along tools with a 17mm socket, so it would make it easy to do an oil change myself on the road. I then replaced the drain bolts and filled up with Valvoline 10w40 4-stroke motorcycle oil. I would need to change the oil in a few days on the road, so no sense using synthetic.

Once all this was done I gave the bike a good cleaning and then took her for a test ride to ensure all was well. The rear brakes were very tight on the test ride, so I decided to let out some slack in the brake pedal, but otherwise all seemed great. Tomorrow I will pack up and mount the bag and other stuff, and then on the road I'll go.

More tomorrow...