[JoeSchmofo]

Have you ever done anything and thought..... I wish I hadn't done that? Me too, a number of times, sometimes even twice.

So I was thinking share them and learn from other people's screw ups.

so here's one to kick it off. I wanted to replace the "objects in mirrors are not as blurred as they appear" OE mirrors with some of those lovely bar end mirrors, but as I commute daily in London, England,  involving lots of lane splitting through traffic and parking in ridicously over crowded bike parking bays, I didn't want the extra width. Looking through ebay I thought I found the nirvana of bar end mirrors - ones which fold flat and I hit the buy it now button. Even before they arrived, I started worrying about the hinge mechanism and the vibrations from that fantastic big single, and i was right. I put one on and thumbed the red button. The vibrations in my snazzy new mirror made the OE ones look like a mill pond.

[dginfw]

Thanks for sharing. I'd had those mirrors on my eBay watch list...guess I'll save the money

[ROVERMAN]

Same here Joe, mine were dirt cheap and an experiment really. If you tighten the nut/bolt enough to dampen the vibes they won't fold when smacked.
 But, no regrets because they make the look of my B5. The stock mirrors were pretty worthless anyway.
Roverman.

[mattsz]

Joe - how many miles on your bike?  If it's still doing its break-in vibrating, then give it some time.

I put Napoleon bar-end mirrors on mine - maybe not your aesthetic cup of tea, but really good quality, clear view... can't smack 'em under way, but they pivot inward with solid detent clicks when you want to stow them out of the way...

[Sectorsteve]

That's a bummer mate. We all do it online shopping sometimes. There's real good bar end mirrors. I've got some. I'd say they make the bike only about an inch wider and there fold in. British made smart looking.

[wildbill]

well i once purchased a set of nice style black saddle bags at a good price with intentions of colouring the brown leather to black. had a lot of trouble with the dye drying.
anyway to cut it short i advertided the bikwe with bags and got the sale. meeting up with the buying in the nsw blue mountains -he asked about the saddle bags.
back to the van and handed them over. he went to inspect the insides and within seconds his hands were covered in black dye.
"whats this crap." he said. i replied."a saddle bag dye which didn't work out!" anyway he took them regardless but i followed all instruction but it just didn't do the job. pity too because they look a lot better in brown as compared to wa washy blackish brown

[barenekd]

Tapping the barends while splitting lanes won't push them in, anyway. I like ot set my up just a bit soft on the bolt that goes into the handlebar. My Napoleans would just roll back when I tagged someone. Don't get them too loose, or they won't stay in the position you want them to. As for vibration, the Napoleans never had any.
I have some a set those little CRCs on my Goose. I rig them the same way. again, no vibration problem
Frankly, I wanted Napoleans, but the CRCs use a smaller bolt in the barends. I know, I could've drilled and retapped the holes, but being inherently lazy...
Bare

[heloego]

I use these:

http://www.cyclegear.com/SPEEDMETAL-Billet-Bar-End-Mirrors

Mounted inboard of the bar end weights and no vibration problems. Got 'em on sale, and for the price a good investment.

[JoeSchmofo]

Ok, another mistake from yours truely. The other day I was using my bike to get to a work appointment, I unlocked it, put the disc lock in the tool box as always and rode off, the bike seemed to be losing power a bit so I pulled into a garage, filled it to the brim and set off.... or tried to... the bike would not fire on the button, kick start or do anything which would get it to get me to my meeting.

So i sent my apologies, I phoned the AA, I informed them that I didn't think that she was going to start by the side of the road and that I'd need a truck, but they still sent the chap in the van, who told me that it would need a truck and that there would be a three hour wait... in the constant London autumnal drizzle. I was blaming the overspray in the tank, or the recent rain, or the fact it was a Tuesday. Finally the truck arrived and towed me to back to the dealers. Where I left it and dropped the keys through the door with a note of my (incorrect) thoughts of what it might be. I then headed for home. I had left work for my meeting at 3.50pm, I arrived home at 11.30pm.

What was wrong with the Bullet? Well apparently when I had shut the tool box after unlocking the bike, I had trapped a wire in the lid which was shorting out on the frame.

FML!

[AussieDave]

I've got one..... I recently replaced my crankshaft with the stock assembly(300ish aust from the importer and much cheAper thAn the hitchcocks improved conrod) -and it came in a box packed in cheap poly-styrene, the kind that breaks up into its component balls very easily.... Before I installed the part I thought I'd run some compressed air through it just to make sure it was clear.....as I do with all oil passages. Sadly , although I pulled a couple of said balls from the mouth of the oil passage , there must have been one further in- when I applied air I heard a faint " foomp" and suddenly - no more air blowing through !! First I  tried my domestic vacuums cleaner taped up to the crank to try and suck it out , but having no luck with that I clamped a piece of hose to it and dribbled petrol in to dissolve it . It took About thirty seconds , and I poured about a litre through to remove any residue over the next half hour... alternating with more air ...I hope I got it all out , but there's really no way to tell, however it seemed as clear as the old one . Lesson learned. I guess if the residue trashes the needle bearing at least I know how to fix it .

[mattsz]

AussieDave - that was smart thinking... I don't think I would have thought of trying to dissolve it.

Just wondering: Hitchcocks shows the crankshaft as the whole conrod/flywheel/"axle" assembly - and they don't list one for the UCE model.  They do list a UCE conrod fitted with a roller big end.  Did you replace just the conrod, or the whole crank?

[JVS]

Just an old and uncommon one that got me, I was quite stupid (Still am though). When taking the bike off the centrestand, always try to sit on the bike and push the bike forward with your feet. This is a very safe way to get it off the centrestand lol. Otherwise, if you're standing and taking it off the stand, do not push the bike too abruptly with the front wheel turned just a bit towards the right.

I did this and the bike rolled forward and dropped to the right in slow motion. Dented a few things 

[rocksinpockets]

Ha Ha!  All of the bad stuff happens in slow motion doesn't it?  Years ago, I was loading my brand new bike onto a trailer for a trip to the beach.  All I had was a 2 x 8 for a ramp.  Needless to say, the bike slipped off of the board and I got a nice ding in the gas tank!

[AussieDave]

 Matt- I replaced the whole crank assembly with the genuine Enfield part, much less hassle than messing around with the pressed crank ( although that's what I was planning originally ) , I got it for a very reasonable price from the importer who's warehouse is 50 k down the road . And as a bonus my girl bought me a book of all the Enfield models promotional drawings and posters while we were there! That don't happen on the interweb!

[Vince]

     You shouldn't push the bike while straddling it. Whether you are pushing it off the stand or forward or back, sooner or later your foot will slip. With your other foot on the other side of the bike you can't catch your slip. The bike will fall on you.
     The mistake people make when pushing it off the center stand is to push on the handlebars. You wind up turning the bars and the bike gets away from you. Try this instead: Guide the handlebar with your left hand. Put your right foot in front of the center stand to act as a stop. Grasp the grab loop on the bike and lift with a gentle forward motion. It will easily come off the stand and your motion will naturally pull the bike into you where you are firmly planted on both feet.
     To push the bike forward or back grab the handlebar with both hands. Face forward. Lean the bike into your hip. Push the bike by walking. You are not using your upper body to push, so you are unlikely to over balance yourself and fall or push the bike over.
     As for learning from your mistakes... I should have listened to my father. He told me to not have children.
"Raise pigs instead. That way in your old age you will at least have sausage."

[Craig McClure]

I use these:

http://www.cyclegear.com/SPEEDMETAL-Billet-Bar-End-Mirrors

Mounted inboard of the bar end weights and no vibration problems. Got 'em on sale, and for the price a good investment.

I use a pair of these in silver with my Hella Bar End Direction Signals. They are great. IF YOU SHOP AROUND ON EBAY YOU CAN BUY THEM DIRECT FROM CHINA (where they are all made) FOR UNDER $20.

[barenekd]

. Whether you are pushing it off the stand or forward or back, sooner or later your foot will slip. With your other foot on the other side of the bike you can't catch your slip.

I've been rocking bikes off center stands for 50 years and never have I dropped one. My feet don't slip because I'm not using them to push the bike off the stand. Usually I can't even reach the ground when the bike is on the center stand anyway.
Bare
Bare