Friday, June 08, 2007

Customize your Airfilter

Daniel Dobinson also sent some information about his Gomoto Air Filter

Since my run in with the bad service from the Gomoto shop in Mowbray I've decided to service my bike myself from now on. So this weekend, the time came for its 2nd service and everything was going swimmingly until I opened up the airbox and noticed that there was nowhere for the air to go into! The nice thing about this is that my airfilter was obviously spotless because no dirt could get into it either.

Now I don't know about you or other Gomoto users, but I've never been able to just open up the throttle any old time without the bike boggin down and losing power (especially with 2 people on it), so I immediatly drilled 5/6 8mm holes into the airbox cover and my Gomoto is now going like a dream (like it was meant to from the 1st day!) and the modification has even has added little throaty growl to tis personality.

Just thought I'd let you know-if you want to see what I'm talking about without actually making the modification just remove the airbox cover for a short trip and see if it makes a difference to your bike.


Happy rides Daniel

Brady Kelley's Perspective on the Spokes Issue of his Gomoto

Brady writes:

I thought I'd tell you about my, somewhat postponed, inevitable spokes issue on my Gomoto. Some time ago I noticed one or two broken, only through inspection, as I didn't hit a big bump or anything. I tightened them now and again, but while I casually shopped around for spokes, I had time. Then, after a long trip, along a fair mixture of roads, I noticed a slight wheel wobble going home on the Friday. The weekend was a bit blurry, as beginning of month weekends can be, but on Monday I knew I had to at least check and tighten the spokes. Many were loose, and many were broken, fifteen in fact, but Dylan (fellow Gomoto rider) had told me he had done some km with fifteen missing, so I tightened up the rest and went to work. I also started looking more urgently for more spokes.

I was phoning and asking around, waiting for responses etc. until the following Friday, when the remaining spokes had enough. On the way to work my back wheel felt like a marshmallow. This was quite close to work, so I rode (almost just pushed) along at the side of the road to work, and got the local Gomoto agents on the phone. I told them to just order a full set, and I borrowed money from work to cover whatever cost. Come Monday, there was no word from the distributor, in fact only by the next Friday there was there word: they had sent the agent a fully laced new rim. I asked the agent if I was obliged to buy the whole new rim, and he grudgingly conceded that he could de-lace it and sell me spokes at R10 a spoke, but I would have to do my own lacing, or pay his three hours of labour for lacing. He wanted R550 for the whole rim, which I jumped at.

Today I fetched it on the way to work with my lift. When I got to work it took me less than five minutes to remove the back wheel and ready it for swapping the tyre. I planned on taking it in to a nearby bike shop to have them swap it, but they couldn't do "while-I-wait", and I couldn't get two lifts there, to drop off and fetch, and still be sure I finished today, so I phone my dad and asked him to bring some tyre leavers. He only had one, so he brought a crowbar as well, and it took the two of use about ten minutes to swap the tyre to the new rim. Then it took about the same for me to replace the back wheel and have the bike functioning again. In fact I'll probably never consider using a shop again for a job like this.

Regards
Brady Kelly