Gordon's Shop Tip #1
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    Gordon
    Posts: 25
    Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2004 3:10 pm

    Gordon's Shop Tip #1

    by Gordon » Sat Nov 13, 2004 4:46 am

    "When dismantling the bike for work, how do you keep track of where all the nuts and bolts go?"

    I have a garage full of bikes, and it's hard to remember where every piece of hardware goes, especially when you frequently work on totally different bikes.

    I made up a Hardware Location Chart for each bike, made of carboard cut from a manilla file folder. On each sheet I drew a lot of squares, usually about 3" square, but some are larger or smaller. I select the proper chart for the bike I'm working on, and lay it on a shelf or desk, somewhere it won't be bumped around or get in my way. Then each time I remove something from the bike, the nuts and bolts go in the appropriate squares. The first square, for example, is marked SEAT, since that's usually the first item to be removed. The two seat bolts go in that square. Two other squares are marked SHROUDS, UPPER, and SHROUDS, LOWER since the upper and lower shroud bolts are often different. In the box marked MUFFLER I added a note that says "Long bolt on top", since the upper muffler bolt is longer than the lower muffler bolt.

    If you make up the chart as you work on the bike, you even form a sequence reminder to help prevent things like putting the seat back on before the side plates, etc.

    If you think it's hard to keep track of the nuts and bolts for a dirt bike, try taking a GL1800 Gold Wing apart! There's a lot of hardware when you're dealing with features like horns, turn signals, electrically adjustable headlights and rear suspension, Cruise Control, stereo, CD player, CB radio, trailer hitch and wiring, rider/passenger communications, back rest, arm rests, and much, much more.
    Gordon Banks, Huntsville, AL
    2005 Honda Pilot Tow Car
    2005 Honda CRF450X w/Rekluse
    2005 Honda CRF250X w/Rekluse
    2001 Honda Gold Wing GL1800
    1997 Honda 300 4x4 w/Powroll Big Bore Kit
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    crfsonly
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    Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:45 pm

    by crfsonly » Sat Nov 13, 2004 8:28 am

    great tip...let me add my .02 worth on this topic as well.

    sometimes the bolts are different lengths for the same object. good example is a clutch cover. sometimes it's easy to figure out which one gets the long one and which get the short one...sometimes it's not easy to figure out...and it's even harder to remember. so, when this is a good possibility i'll layout clean shop towels and as i'm pulling off the part i layout the bolts, screws, or nuts in the order i take them off. when the part comes off i'll layout the bolts, screws, nuts, etc around the part where each goes.

    also, don't forget to use that digital camera you got for christmas. you can take before and during pictures. if you get to something and look at it and think, 'man i hope i remember how that goes back together' don't just stare at it...take a picture it lasts longer!

    lastly, get the shop manual! honda does a great job with these manuals and they are absolutely worth ever dollar.

    ken
  • ev
    Posts: 346
    Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2004 7:54 am

    by ev » Sat Nov 13, 2004 9:40 am

    :lol: get a second bike for reference
    works great

    when things stay disassembled longer, because I wait on parts, I loosely put units back together, e.g. all the bolts, barrings and washers of the linkage,
    the axle, the spacers, ... back onto the wheel
    sometimes I use a piece of cardboard, put holes in it and put the screws in, in their original pattern
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    crfsonly
    Owner
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    Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 3:45 pm

    by crfsonly » Sat Nov 13, 2004 12:51 pm

    for long projects...zip lock bags with permanant marker description on the bag helps too!

    i like the cardboard idea ev!
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    Monkeywrench
    Posts: 867
    Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 9:01 pm

    by Monkeywrench » Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:47 pm

    Ev, that's sweet. :D

    I spin wrenches for a living, and I gotta admit... since there are 40 machines (all exactly alike) where I work, I have done that in the past.

    matt
    :roll:
    2006 450R
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    mustang
    Posts: 255
    Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 4:12 pm

    by mustang » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:35 pm

    monkeywrench I spin wrenches too for a living and also electronics on th emachines , CNC lathes and CNC milling machines and CNC Grinders.
    In my shop there are about 10 of us who take care of about 350-400 machines . What kind of machinery are you working on ? My bikes are my favorite machines to work on .
    The cnc mchines are usually electronic or computer related problems but probably is more like a 50/50 mix of electronic and mechanical failures . I just seem to get more of the control problems which can be very hard to nail down sometimes , can you say hair pulling frustrating !
    c-ya****mustang
    ps yes it is nice when there are twins you can move parts from one to another to see if problem goes or stays (works real good for machines you don't have any circuit diagrams for !

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