I am old and have a lot of mechanical experience with Motorcycles, automobiles, race cars , farm equipment, etc. I see a lot of things on on this forum that may not be accurate. Some mechanical ability is required of course.
You do not have to get a laser alignment, usually. Use a square(yes the thing carpenters use) and make a mark on a hard floor, driveway, etc. at the front and back of the wheels at the OUTSIDE on both left and right wheels. Use a tape measure to determine the distance between the wheel marks at the front vs the back. About one eighth (1/8) inch narrower in front will be OK.
The 2 cylinder engine does not always need to be revving really high, even though it does not have much power until 5000 RPM. It will run comfortably at 3000 in any gear as long as you shift down for higher acceleration.
You can bleed the brakes yourself if you UNDERSTAND the principle. You do not need the Budds system unless you get involved in he ABS bleeding. They say you should not turn on the ignition while bleeding the brakes. OK, that seems reasonable, since there is no reason to do that anyway.
The belt tension that they specify seems a bit high to me and I do not intend to buy a tension gauge. My 2008 RS howled and whined that way. It is seems much better with less tension. It has given NO trouble tensioned so that the belt can be twisted 90 degrees (with effort) while sitting at rest. It is very loose when elevated off the ground. getting the belt to run in the right position is tricky and I will not try to explain that.
I do believe that the Manufacturer made a special effort to make sure they frightened people away from performing their own maintenance. They also seem to make some things very difficult, such as removing the rear bolt of the rear valve cover, which must come out to check valve clearance.
If you do not agree let me know. Harold Knobel
[email protected] 229 269 7731.
