So it's MOT time and I decided that my miss matched Metzler and Pirelli tyres were not helping the bike on the road and it was time for a change (see other threads on the replacement Road 5's).
Since the bike was on the abba stand so that I could whip off the wheels I decided to have a crack at changing the final drive oil... Back wheel off and I'm so glad I did, the stuff in there was like treacle. Swapped in some new syntrax after flushing the drive through a few times, all good.
Then round to the front to whip off the front wheel... firstly the previous owner seems to have superglued the mudguard bolts on the left... No chance of getting them off... but with the right pair off I managed enough flex to remove the wheel... Only to spot a big ding in the rim. No idea if I've done it or if it was on there when I bought the bike. I'm usually reasonably observant but completely missed this.
Got the old tyre off and my tyre guy thought the wheel was scrap, told him I knew of a wheelwright in Stockton who specialises in motorcycle wheels and could sort cast wheels as well as lace-up rims... He was sceptical but I let Thersby have a look and after checking for micro fractures etc. the verdict was that the damage wasn't terminal and it was salvageable. They sorted it in a day and my tyre guy was amazed the result was excellent, the wheel is true and needed minimal balance.
So everything is fettled and refitted and it's like a new bike, the road 5's are grippy, neutral and super supple, the rear drive is less noisy, I did the gear lever fix at the same time and that's now less sloppy and more precise and I hadn't realised how rough that out of balance front wheel made the bars feel.
All in all some great improvements with just some simple, sensible maintenance, such a great bike.
