Also, this was work that you can't really mess up. Along with tube I decided to swap out the existing brakes for the new EBC grooved ones.
Decided to actually put blocks under the engine for the first time (like Clymer always says to do), and that worked a treat.
Disconnected the speedo, simple but the first time. Was worried the bolts for the front fender would be very tight (and it's impossible to get a breaker bar/socket into that space), but it was fine. Actually put the Craftsman ratcheting open-end wrench to good use for one of the first times.
I couldn't get the front fender out with the wheel in the way and I was a bit worried it would mean I'd then have trouble getting the wheel out. But with the fender pushed all the way up, the wheel pretty much slid right out.
Whew. Step one done.
Read that the brake pads should be replaced when they're less than 2mm and these were just at that point. So I knew they had to go. The new EBC brakes were 3.5mm.
Forgot to check the condition of the bearings. Oops #1. At least I verified they were Nachi 6301 sealed bearings. Also verified the front axle is 12mm, in case I ever need to get a rod to make a DIY wheel balancer.
Marked the current position of the tire with tape to make sure I didn't mess up the balance too much.
Got the bead off the wheel pretty easily, given this was only the second time doing it. But almost got stymied trying to remove the valve core. The valve was so cocked that I couldn't fit the tool between the spokes to unscrew it (certainly a failing of that "4-way" tool). Luckily I was able to unscrew it just using half turns. And with that, I deflated the tube and pulled it out.
I inflated the tube to check for leaks. Looked good. Though I could see the stem was slightly cocked, even once it was out of the tire. Supposed to be that way, or due to the slippage?
Deflated it slightly and got it back in straight. Also replaced the valve core with a new one.
Step two done.
Greased up the cam and pivot post on the brakes and installed the new EBC ones. Put everything back together. Actually got the wheel back on with the axle in when I realized I forgot to put the speedo gear back in. Oops #2.
Wheel back off and speedo drive in. Getting the axle into the wheel was a bit finicky, but it'll be easier from now on. Realized that I would forget to pull up on the shock and it would catch on the thick part of the axle and I'd think the axle was stuck.
Step three done! Job done!
Getting the brake cable adjusted was actually the toughest part of the day (quite unexpectedly). First off, just getting the cable to seat into the groove on the hub was unusually difficult, and I'm not quite sure why.
With the thicker brake pads, the arm was sitting much too far out now. I was worried it would be hard to get the arm off. To make matters worse, the bolt was facing the wrong direction with the nut on the outside. Once you got the nut off, there'd be no space to get the bolt out - you'd have to take the wheel off again!!
Luckily, the PO must have used an undersized bolt and it wasn't at all threaded into the brake arm. With the nut out it fell right out. Lucky break of the day.
Second lucky break was that the arm popped right off like it had just been installed that morning.
It took some back and forth getting the arm in the right place and the nut tightened to the right spot. But finally ended up with a great feeling at the lever: some light slack and then it really kicks in about halfway.
I used a brand new brake arm nut and a new adjusting nut (the old one was flared out at the bottom for some reason, making it very hard to turn). The rubber also fell off (very degraded). Might be good to consider replacing the cable altogether.
Oops #3 is that I forgot to thread the brake and speedo cable back through their holders. Oh well. If that's the only thing that went wrong, I'll be in good shape.
The brakes felt great just rolling around the garage. But will need to do some very slow and careful testing the next time out.
Odometer: 18,206
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