RSTD Maintenance Question

[spyderhead]

Just put my 2005 RSTD in the shop for major maintenance (valve adjustment, plugs, etc, etc). I have a question: the maintenance schedule says to replace brake lines every two years. WHY??? I have had bikes most of my life, and I do not recall ever seeing anything in routine maintenance about replacing brake lines/hoses. As always, any help is appreciated.

Edited January 17, 2012 by spyderhead

[V7Goose]

It is a safety item. All rubber breaks down over time. For brake lines, this causes two serious problems - the lines begin expanding with pressure, giving the brakes a less positive feel and requiring more pressure for full lock. Secondly, the brake fluid absorbs more moisture through the old rubber, making the whole poor brake thing much much worse if the fluid is not changed regularly.

Goose

[spyderhead]

Thanks. That is sorta what I was thinking - rubber breaks down. I had just not remembered ever seeing it in print before . . . but . . . I will bet you are right in that it SHOULD be done but almost NEVER is actually done.

[allwx]

You're right, though. Nobody ever does this. I believe this is a perfect example of the manufacturer covering itself from product liability.

 

Not that it would be a dumb thing to do from a purely safety point-of-view to actually replace the brake lines at such a close interval. It certainly couldn't hurt anything unless one of the new lines was defective. But it is unnecessary, so early. If the bike was over 10 years old, maybe.

 

You'll notice other odd things in the maint schedule. Such as, IMO, the requirement to partially repack the steering head bearings at something like very 16k miles. Maybe not a bad idea to do this upon the first 16k, since the factory guys are chinsey on grease. I pulled mine apart at 22k miles. They were not heavily greased, but they were fine and would've been fine for a long time without any maint at all. Less grease is often more. But if the work wasn't done and documented, and there were a crash related to a steering failure, Yam could wonder if the maint had been done, and if not, it would be a lot harder to get money out of them in a lawsuit.

[spyderhead]

Another quick question: I have maybe twice in the past seven years put air into my shocks (either front or rear). I read a lot about the rear shock failure. Considering I never add air in the first place, will I even know if/when it fails? I would personally be happy without air shocks but they are there; I just find no use for them. As always, thanks for your opinions/advice.

[V7Goose]

The failure part of these shocks is the OIL seal, and yes, you will know if it fails.

 

The air part of the shock increases the spring strength, and it is very important to many of us. The easy adjustability of spring rate for different loads is very nice. I personally do not think this bike with stock suspension would ride acceptably at all for anything more than a solo rider weighing less than 200 lbs.

 

The oil part of the shock provides the damping, keeping it from bottoming out too soon from fast bumps and stopping the rebound without a pogo effect. When the shock goes bad, it will bounce all over the road.

Goose

[spyderhead]

Thanks! Guess that answers my question. As I weigh well over 200# and my bike never bottoms out or anything else, I guess my shock has not failed or even lost its air. That's some good news.Thanks again.

[Globewalker]

....I have a question: the maintenance schedule says to replace brake lines every two years. WHY???...

 

My 07 RSTD manual says replace them every 4 years, not 2 .. 2 would seem excessive..

I have replaced the front ones .. mainly because I changed handlebars.. not done the rear yet.

 

I have a 99 Honda w/ original lines and still functioning ok..

But I am sure it would still be wise to replace them..routinely

 

Question.. If you replace them with the woven stainless lines.. should they not need to be replaced as often??