installed rally pro guards and russel stainless brake line

[Weaver, Mark]

thanks to all listers, past and present, who contributed to these works through the archives as well as contemporary messages. for the benefit of those who follow in my footsteps, i provide the following notes: Russell stainless brake line: I went with the russell because it was bare stainless, which i thought looked cooler. I didn't really have a problem with the stock braking, but i'm light and don't really go all that fast. it's only in the occasional panic stop that i coulda used a little more grab. as it turned out, i needed an $11 part from fred, and i felt silly gettting just that, so i went ahead and ordered the brake line too. I removed the old line without much trouble (after emptying its contents into a plastic bottle), though i had to look closely at the two guides on the fork to get them off. one of them is quite bendy, so i held it with some needlenose visegrips while i unscrewed it. then i cut the rubber protectors off with a sharp knife, hacking a chunk out of my thumb in the process (ouch). i removed the old guides on the bars and just let the line stick up above the crossbar. once i got the new line attached, i retrieved my most useful tool, an english friend, who happened to be coming over for dinner with his wife. he was conveniently just walking up the driveway as i was figuring out how to fill and bleed the new line. i positioned him on the right side of the bike, while i knelt by the bleed valve, and we got into a squeeze-close-release-open rhythm. just as the last bubbles were coming out, i heard a suck sound from above. doh! the silly limey had let the brake fluid empty out. so we filled it back up and did it again. with two people it only takes a minute or two. then i tightened everything up and pushed on the forks once or twice to make sure nothing was binding. voila. easy. the only weird thing i had to get is some clear tubing. i couldn't find any at the mc shop or autoparts store, but they had a little handpump started siphon for 3.99 that had about 6' of clear tubing in just the right size, so i bought that and used a foot of it to run from the bleed valve into a bottle so as not to make a mess. and now if i need it, i have a siphon for gas without getting any in my mouth. later, i realized i could probably have gotten clear tubing (so as to see the bubbles) at an aquarium store, but then i wouldn't have a siphon. Acerbis Rally Pro handguards: I tapped on the left side of the bars with a hammer, to cut through the grip. there's some kinda plastic gizmo in mine to make that harder to do (probably to prevent it from automatically happening when the bike falls over in the dirt), but it worked anyway. No problems with fit on the left side. on the right side, i cut a little circle in the end of the grip to expose the plastic throttle end, then drilled a bunch of 1/4" holes in it (that's my biggest drillbit. i'm not exactly mr fixit), then used a round file to file down the edges flush with the bar. then i put the guard on the right side. this one was touching my brake lever, so i stared at it and pushed on it and thought about it for a second, then i just loosened the brake lever mount (2 10mm bolts facing the rider) and moved it inwards on the bar about 1/8". presto, no more interference. then i gradually tightened it all up. voila. easier. i didn't bother moving the throttle inward at all. i think i pushed the handguard as far into the bar as it would go, but it doesn't seem to interfere with throttle movement in the slightest. I also had no problems at all with clearance at the brake line, but i put on the ss line first, which may have a less bulky fitting. it seems like i have a ton of clearance there. hopefully this info will be useful for someone, sometime. -mark weaver