Shakedown--coming up on 2500--results

[Barbosa]

Hi everyone,

Today I should roll over 1000 km. I thought I'd give y'all a report...and it'll be short...and that's a good thing.

First, I have an 07 Patrol I picked up in mid September (built in Feburary), drove for two weeks and then spent 2 months in the shop awaiting parts due to an accident. So actual drive time has been about 8 weeks.

The most I've ridden it at one time was 2 forty-five mile runs. The rest have been small commutes every day to work, stores and restaurants (each less than 8 miles).

Maintenance was done as required.

Around 200 Km, the turn signals went out.
At 300 KM, the strap that holds the right passenger foot peg and muffler came loose.
At 900 KM, I raised the shocks and it's a much better ride. Also at this time, I noticed extremely minor seepage around the engine and final drive, to which I tightened the bolts. The seepage is so minor that there are no drips on the garage floor.

And that's it. I am extremely pleased with this machine. I got a chance to ride another persons 06 GU. There's a world of difference here. My rig is much more quiet and doesn't sound like the entire drive system is grinding itself away. It sounds like an old truck.
Shifting mine compared to the GU is as easy, but there's no flutter. You can actually feel the gears trying to slip into each other on the GU. On mine they just slip right in. There's no "Ka-Chunk" on mine...just "Clunk".

I'm nearing the total break-in period and if this is the way the rig runs on break-in, I couldn't ask for any better.

[JohnBG]

Give it time, don't fret, it'll sound like a cement mixer soon..

Maybe not as much with them fancy Kraut Herzog gears.

Get out and ride that puppy!

[Barbosa]

I have to admit that I was skeptical at first, before I decided to order one. I went through all those posts in the different message boards that listed all the idiosyncrasies of the rig even after I ordered one. I'm glad I read them, of course...but...

I'm glad I got the rig.

[S 854]

Barbosa (can we call you Barb? We're all friends here... )

I too read the posts about the quirks of these machines, wondering if I wanted to take on the responsibilities of ownership...

It's the other posts, such as yours, that convinced me to jump... I haven't looked back...

I'm compiling a mental troubleshooting guide, where you said your turn indicators went out... was that just the "flasher"? or something else?

Enjoy the ride...

[AceRph]

My flasher went out within a month of getting it home. uh, You know, the turn signal cycling unit gizmo.

[JohnBG]

My flasher went out within a month of getting it home. uh, You know, the turn signal cycling unit gizmo.

I think everybody's did. It's not a RPOC though. It's a Tridon unit made in the US, so technically it's a APOC.

[Barbosa]

Barbosa (can we call you Barb? We're all friends here... )

Gotta get me drunk first.

I too read the posts about the quirks of these machines, wondering if I wanted to take on the responsibilities of ownership...

It's the other posts, such as yours, that convinced me to jump... I haven't looked back...

This is exactly how I went. I read all these horror stories. I kept reading cause I wanted one. The new models kept getting better and better. I took a drive in the hack, never drove it and ordered one anyway. I haven't looked back either.

I'm compiling a mental troubleshooting guide, where you said your turn indicators went out... was that just the "flasher"? or something else?

It's the turn signal/flasher unit. I reckon they go out rather quickly. I think just about anything else goes out when it wants to.

Enjoy the ride...

I am. You do the same.

[S 854]

...and the flasher is replaced with? Anything except Tridon?

[JohnBG]

...and the flasher is replaced with? Anything except Tridon?

I just bought another Tridon (it's all they had at the auto parts hut) and it's worked fine ever since.

[QBall]

I replaced my blinker with several untill I found the one that blinked and rested at the right speed. Ithink the final one was a NAPA TF?550

[Barbosa]

Well, I'm at 2300k and very little has happened.
Just a couple days ago the bars that the trunk hooks latch onto came apart. Seems the retaining clips aren't good enough? I replaced them with #6 (metric) bolts and a nylock nut. Don't lose the nylon spacers. You'll need them.

Checked out the petcock screens for the first time. They were nice and clean. Was a bit of crud near the base. Checked out the crossover hose as well, a tiny bit of something blew out when I blew into it.

[George Butz]

Well, I'm at 2300k and very little has happened.
Just a couple days ago the bars that the trunk hooks latch onto came apart. Seems the retaining clips aren't good enough? I replaced them with #6 (metric) bolts and a nylock nut. Don't lose the nylon spacers. You'll need them.

Checked out the petcock screens for the first time. They were nice and clean. Was a bit of crud near the base. Checked out the crossover hose as well, a tiny bit of something blew out when I blew into it.

Did the same with my trunk latch.
Other than a new mechanical flasher, a metal shaving in the right carb, and one pinched headlight wire and that was it other than tightening some bolts here and there. That was all before the 500 km service. At 7700km and it runs better than ever and have had no problems.
Very dependable machine

[Barbosa]

Did the same with my trunk latch.
Other than a new mechanical flasher, a metal shaving in the right carb, and one pinched headlight wire and that was it other than tightening some bolts here and there. That was all before the 500 km service. At 7700km and it runs better than ever and have had no problems.
Very dependable machine

I gotta admit, for something as heavy as these are, it's a rugged little sh*t. Mechanically (engine) speaking, I've had no problems other than a bit of coughing. Took 'er out two-wheelin' with my son (180 lb./81.6 kilos monkey) a couple nights ago and hit a few foot deep puddles. Went right through 'em and never sputtered. Actually, it's the terrain I was in that makes me wonder if that's where those latch pins failed. And if that's all I have to worry about off-road, I'm stylin' and profilin'.

Have a 100 mile rally coming up this weekend. This will be 30 miles more than I've ever gone. The 2500 k service will be done a couple days prior so should be good to go.


I love this rig.

[JohnBG]

...and the flasher is replaced with? Anything except Tridon?

I replaced mine with another Tridon and it's been fine for the past 7500+ km's...

[Ragman]

I bought my rig, because I am impulsive. I saw it at the '05 Seattle Motorcycle show, and bought one the next week, but had to wait till all the parts to convert it to 2wd arrived from Russia, before it was what I wanted.

After doing all this, and sorting out bugs that arrived because of the conversion, I found Russian Iron Forums. What was written there made me wonder if I had done the right thing - I still wonder sometimes, because I haven't had anything bad happen, in two years, 'cept the speedo doesn't work right. (For 7 months it didn't work at all.)

These forums both help the prospective buyer, and hinder them somewhat - I don't know how many people come, read, think a while, then run away, never to buy the machine they thought they wanted. All the information I have needed, since finding the forums, has helped me a lot to avoid the things others have suffered, but worried me, because my mechanical aptitude is way below the necessary level, to own and run one of these machines.