high milers club

[black14]

Well it's taken 2 years, what with Covid lock downs, shoulder reconstruction, elbow surgery and 4 other bikes to ride, but another milestone for the 14 reached.

During this time I had the only serious issue with the bike since I bought it new in 2008 - the stator wires finally let go during a high country run and I was stranded between Bombala and Jindabyne. A friendly local farmer looked after my immediate needs - i.e. cold beer - and he and his lovely wife Nicole shared their lamb roast dinner with me too! There are still some great people out there... Bike was put on a flatbed tow truck to Cooma and then back to Mount Evelyn in the back of a ute. $700 odd later for a new stator and reg/rec (for peace of mind) she was up and running and hasn't missed a beat since. Oh, and a new set of handlebars to replace the originals bent by the overzealous towies... 

Whilst the kms aren't adding up like they did when on commuting duty days (which ceased abruptly due to Covid in March 2020 and are now never to return  ) they are far more enjoyable being kms for pleasure, usually on some of the best motorcycle roads in the country. E.g. a recent trip to Omeo and back - Mitta Mitta to Omeo is 108kms of glorious road and was done both ways. I do have to admit that tyre wear is suffering accordingly - a price I'm happy to pay!

Although I do have (and probably always will) a fondness for all of my bikes, the GSX is probably the best all round road bike I've owned and I look forward to sharing the next milestone shared with the old black lady!

[Yetiman]

Wow mines got a massive 47k lol so a way to go to catch up to you fellas.

[grog]

Big ks Black👍Much other stuff replaced?

[black14]

@grog
Other than what I'd call "consumables" (e.g. wheel/sprocket carrier bearings - keep an eye on the latter, pads, fork rebuild couple of times, discs - think 2 sets of fronts and one rear but due another rear, clutch master/slave kit and busa seal - thanks to the org for that tip, front brake master kit, plugs - I use iridium so not very often, chains, sprockets and of course oil, filter and tyres) only other things have been couple of broken gear linkage rose joints, footpegs got a bit droopy and worn down so replaced with aftermarket cheapies, brake/clutch levers replaced with shorties, 6 pots replaced with 4 pots for easier and cheaper maintenance, chrome on fork legs wore through so new fork legs on rebuild, seat cover replaced, spring in seat latch rusted away and replaced with one out of a biro very early in the piece and still there working perfectly, chain guard bracket broke - fixed with a bit of aluminium angle, rear shocks rebuilt including one shaft re-chromed is about it.

I did need to lubricate the STVA mechanism as that got a little sticky and was getting the dreaded C28 code until freed up, and also had the main power feed in the headlight corrode and require re-joining.

I replaced the cam chain tensioner spring as a precaution - it was a bit shorter than a new one and cost $6 odd! I discussed replacing the cam chain in the near future as a precaution with Mick Hone (who should probably have a fair idea!) and the advice was not necessary. He did mention that the tensioner itself can wear on the ratchet pawl teeth and result in the chain slacking off at high revs so replacing that at some point might be worthwhile, although from a manual inspection mine seems to be fine, so I'll just keep an eye on that.

I am pretty religious regarding oil/filters - every 5k kms for me. I have used various oils but settled on Gulf Western semi-synth probably for the last 140k kms or so. Filters have been either Suzuki, K&N or Hi-Flo. The engine uses no oil at all and there's never any sludge or metal on the sump plug magnet.

Also, regular (say every 40k or so) cleaning of high pressure fuel filter is on my list of good things to do as is a dose of injector cleaner every now and again.

Given the service the bike has had - i.e. commuting 100 kms/day in all weathers and sitting outside in the weather all day at work, I'm amazed how well the finish has held up. We don't have the salt on the roads problem like the UK and elsewhere so that probably helps, but a regular wash down with CT18 and a pressure washer (avoiding bearing seals etc. obviously) seems to have helped there.

The bike has been a pleasure to own and ride and, as an all rounder, is probably one of the best - not that I would be in any way biased of course!

[Globalrider]

Good photoshop!!!

[Eric GSX1400K3]

 

Wow mines got a massive 47k lol so a way to go to catch up to you fellas.

Same, my K3 is just about to hit 48000km. That's 2400km per year on average since its build date.

[Tony Nitrous]

When I registered my 2008 bike in 2012 they asked for the mileage. I said it was 000001 kilometres. They said "Is it new then?"    I said no it's very 2nd hand, but the clocks had been smashed to f#ck and replaced. For some reason they had a bit of head scratching before they accepted it.

[grog]

Thanks Black, great write up. Nothing thats not wear n tear or unexpected. Well done.

[Hooli]

Thought I'd bump this thread for yesterday's little milestone, pretty sure I'm on the descent to the moon now so it should get easier from here on...




And because it's rude not too, I took her for a pint to celebrate.

[hard road]

thats impressive hooli    has the engine had any work ?


Tony

[Hooli]

Basically bugger all.

Valves are still in spec & not changed since I first looked at 15k. But it's had...
2 stators, 3 TPS, 1 SPS, 3 high pressure fuel filters and a hole in the sump welded from a misaligned exhaust before I got it.

Oh & an oil cooler once, along with cooler hoses twice as they rotted out. Still on the original seals in the clutch slave, it's been stripped a few times but I've always reused them.

Runs as well as ever, uses no oil & so on. You wouldn't think she'd gone any further than a mate's 31k example to ride.

[hard road]

Basically bugger all.

Valves are still in spec & not changed since I first looked at 15k. But it's had...
2 stators, 3 TPS, 1 SPS, 3 high pressure fuel filters and a hole in the sump welded from a misaligned exhaust before I got it.

Oh & an oil cooler once, along with cooler hoses twice as they rotted out. Still on the original seals in the clutch slave, it's been stripped a few times but I've always reused them.

Runs as well as ever, uses no oil & so on. You wouldn't think she'd gone any further than a mate's 31k example to ride.

nice, so still on the original rings and shells     

[Hooli]

Original everything inside, she's never been apart for any reason.

[hard road]

Original everything inside, she's never been apart for any reason.

so theirs plenty of life in my engine at 36,000 miles 

[grog]

Hooli, getting near the top i reckon. Most ive heard of here 312ks, 194 miles. Pretty sure was a female owner.