IcePrick

Any unusual wear on the drive belt?

I'm guessing the worn pad is the piston side, but want to confirm.

I'd say the caliper is not centered and/or isn't floating. Incorrect caliper mount, caliper play obstruction, rotor location incorrect, rotor thickness incorrect, wheel not where it should be (spacers swapped?)... even though it was only working that pad, still seems a little premature unless it was under constant friction. I'd want to know if it was front or rear, and if the wheel has ever been off the bike or if it's still a factory install. I'm going with the wheel not being where it's supposed to be, spacers swapped as the first thing I'd check.

Good answer for use in UV-exposed settings. Added to my Amazon cart, thanks.

That too. My weekends were premium time, and the dealership was almost always closed before and after I got off work during the week. So, drop it off Saturday morning, pick it up NEXT Saturday ("You want it today? HAHAHAHAHA").

Last time a shop did one for me, it was $45. Then they stopped doing them unless it was their tire (@MSRP). Then they started charging for the mounting on top of premium prices for the tire. Then they stopped doing cash & carry, they wanted the labor for taking the wheel off the bike as well. That's when I started looking at machines, and my buddy found the No-Mar on a government auction site. I used to go through tires very regularly - it was worth it (to me) pretty quickly whether in terms of money saved or to avoid wrestling on the ground with tire spoons in Knoxville humidity. Make that a $2500 brand-new machine, and I agree it would be tough for the average income/average use scenario to amortize.

I still use spoons on the dirt bikes most of the time, partly because that's what I'll have to do if I get a bad one when out in the weeds somewhere. A 5-gallon bucket with hose split and laid over the rim is a help at home. The No-Mar is still way better than even spooning it on a dedicated waist-high stand. I did one for a friend a few months ago, he said, "holy shit, that tire just LEAPED onto that rim!" The higher-end models ARE big bucks, and I think the lower-end ones are at a new price point. IIRC I paid around $140 for my No-Mar a little over a decade ago, it was in an online auction from a local tech school and it went for minimum bid. The $1000 they want for the same model (updated), I think I'd still be wrestling on my knees with spoons. If the $319 model works nearly as well, I'd spend that in a minute - but I haven't used one. In principle, it works the same as the bigger units. Add a couple accessories and shipping, I bet you're at $400 or more.

$320 is expensive? And no, the No-Mar uses leverage, not much muscle involved. Compared to getting on your hands and knees and levering them off (I've done probably 100 that way), the No-Mar is like the difference between an army using horses and an army using tanks.

I've been happy with my No-Mar changer, it is an old top-end commercial one. I can't vouch for their entry-level model, though it appears to work the same way. They're also having a Black Friday event right now that has some respectable discounts across the line. Beware of all the stuff you're going to want to add on to it, they're proud of their gadgets though it works great when you use all of their tools together. The Yellow Thing and Xtra Hand are really helpful, the latter can be had as a knock-off on Amazon for less than half price - they work best in pairs. Unless Harbor Freight has made major updates to their offering, I'd pass. Then again, there may be some improvements you can make to make it easier/more functional. YouTube might be a good place to look for that data. I use a Marc Parnes balancer, I can usually get very good with it but last year I had some difficulty on one. It takes a long time to balance with a gravity balancer, but for the price I never explored other options. I have more time than money these days.

Darwin.

I didn't mean to direct that at anybody in particular, though on second glance I see how it came across as harsh. Just by the very nature of the site here, we tend to be machine-oriented people - probably waaaay out of the norm in the knowledge of our vehicles (and waaaay out of the norm in other areas as well).

I'm sure most people don't know about the hidden key in their fob and the hidden keyhole on their car. There are all sorts of little nuggets of wisdom in that 350+ page book in the glovebox. Since nobody ever reads it, they'll probably soon resort to putting a QR code sticker inside the glovebox and tell you to look it up online so they don't have to spend the money publishing it. How many average folks know how to get their modern auto-transmission car into neutral without battery power? Can they find the towing eye for their car? How do you pour gas from a portable tank without a nozzle into those tricky new gas fillers? Just a wild-assed guess, but information of that sort might be in that manual, and reading it by flashlight (you DO have two of them charged and handy, right?) beside a busy highway while the sketchy-looking tow truck driver roots around in your car trying to figure it out himself probably isn't the best time.

No key in the fob? I didn't think anyone made a car without a hard key.

Nice work!

Errr... good point. I hadn't even thought about drilling things other than steel. Mistic makes a different product for aluminum, but I've never used it. I've rarely had issues drilling through wood, if the bit is dull it just starts a fire and burns through. No, I don't like working with wood.

Seriously, try the cutting fluid I posted and some affordable bits first. I have some cheapie Black and Decker bits that a neighbor gave me when her son passed away, they cut much better with the correct lubrication and have lasted way longer than I thought they would. The guy at the welding store said "that stuff will change your life" when I brought the can to the counter, and after using it for a while, I think it is a major improvement in cutting. The Vortex bits are a big investment if you don't make lots of holes. Sharpening is part art, part science - and difficult to master in my experience. There is no fool-proof tool that I'm aware of. I bought these bits to avoid having to go through the expense and frustration of the newest/latest/greatest sharpener and the learning curve, only to be disappointed again. I have a friend who is a master at it, but he's also a machinist so he has that gene.

Yeah, they're good. They self-pilot, and don't wander. My buddy just hand-drilled over 10,000 holes in roofing sheetmetal with the 3/16 from my set. He was reluctant to use them at first, said they were "gimmicky". After the first 3000 holes, I had to head home... he said he'd mail it back to me. They also do a weird thing that most bits won't: enlarge a tapered hole in a steering knuckle for a top-mount tie-rod. Instead of catching and breaking the bit (or your wrist), the tapered point engages the taper of the existing hole without drama. The price was hard to swallow, for sure. But like buying good sunglasses, you'll be more careful with them. I used to use whatever oil was hanging around for drill lubricant, but I bought some Mistic Metal Mover - and it is indeed an improvement.

Plasma works on aluminum, it leaves an edge that looks like it was sandblasted with heavy grit. I'll be interested in hearing what your table saw does with it, I think metal saws run at much lower RPM and have blades designed for the task. But we work with the tools we have (unless a new project is just an excuse for a new tool, it's not even a secret of mine anymore).

Huh. I had Pertronix in boats, cars, trucks... never a single problem with them. They used to be much cheaper, too, I see they're around $100 now, I think they were around $40 back then.

Unless one wants to experience the full charm of 1950's automotive technology and all of the bad that goes along with it, points are just an ugly memory. I can't imagine owning a points distributor that hasn't had a Pertronix Ignitor installed. https://pertronixbrands.com/collections/ignitor

Hmmm. I've always liked them, but they've always been done in very strong/spicy broths. Maybe some convenience store peanuts would suck, but there used to be a guy in Townsend, TN that sold home-made walking sticks out of his shack - he always had a crock pot of peanuts going, a dollar for a quart of them, and they were always amazing. I've actually had really good ones at convenience stores in northeastern TN, also.

Quick, someone come up with a virus that a shot** of that stuff will cure*. *edit* *cure, as in, won't protect you from it or prevent transmission of it. **edit2** **"a shot", as in, a series of 3 or more, possibly extending to annually or semi-annually as required.

Good point on the plastic, I never considered that. I sometimes buy celery (convenience, and it seems to last longer) precut/packaged and usually buy bags of broccoli florets. The broccoli gets way more actual product than whole broccoli that generally yields half the weight in stalks. Even the product labeled "broccoli crowns" is cut long to profit from the weight of the stalk. Yes, there are uses for the stalks, but not in my "application".