FIU Magazine issue 1

Workshop Tip
Fire It Up Tribe
For the Fun Of It
When you buy a motorcycle from Fire It Up, you are doing so much more than purchasing a
mode of transport; you become part of a family and, like all families, we like to get together to
have some fun.
The Fire It Up Tribe was conceived to bring all motorcyclists together, no matter what they
ride or how experienced they are. Motorcycling, by its very definition, is a solo pursuit but,
having said that, we love doing nothing more than getting together to share the passion we
all feel for it.
Every month we organise events to which all Tribe members are invited. These range
from Sunday morning breakfast rides, to MotoGP Sundays hosted at Fire It Up, with all
three races being shown on big screens and themed meals being available from the
Fire It Up Diner. We have new member evenings where you can meet Donovan Fourie
and Harry Fisher, who organise the club events, and some of the team from Fire It
Up, where we explain what the Tribe is all about and what you can expect.
We’ll have technical evenings, movie nights and mid-week night rides.
Once or twice a year, we’ll organise a weekend run to get us properly out of
the city, with an overnight on Saturday where we can all let our hair down.
The important thing to remember is that this is your club, so if you have any
suggestions, we would love to hear them and will happily include them in
the itineraries.
Being a member of the club also brings benefits at Fire It Up, from
free coffee at the Diner to discounts on some of the many services
offered at Fire It Up. Talk to any of the lovely people at Fire It Up for
more details. Or you can follow us on Facebook. Look up Fire It
Up Tribe Group and you can ask to become a member and get
all the notifications. Ask anyone at Fire It Up to be added to
the WhatsApp group as well.
Welcome to the Tribe.
Oiling
Your
Chain
If there’s one thing that you have do yourself,
regularly, it is to lubricate your chain. The advent of
the ‘O-ring’ chain has made this less essential than
previously, or maybe it would be more accurate to
say that intervals between lubrications has been
extended, even if the need to has not.
Lubrication will not only extend the life of the
chain but also the gearbox and rear sprockets
and help with quieter running. So often I hear
the argument that, because it doesn’t rain at all
in Gauteng during winter, then there is no need
lubricate because water spray won’t wash away the
film of oil on the chain.
What these people fail to realise is that the lack
of rain only serves to increase the amount of dust,
which is fantastically abrasive. With no filter, such
as you find cleaning air before it enters the engine
or oil in the engine, a chain is extremely exposed
and therefore needs all the help it can get to give
long life.
If your bike has a centre stand, then cleaning and
oiling a chain is simplicity itself. Take a soft brush
and scrub away any congealed oil and gunk (Bike
Kings sell specialised chain brushes). Then, with
the bike on its centre stand, spin the back wheel and
aim the jet of lube from the can onto the inside of the
chain, the part that actually touches the sprockets.
Easy as that. Give it a few minutes to set and you’re
good to go. Modern lubes have anti-fling properties
so you shouldn’t find your back wheel rim covered in
gunk after the first ride.
If the chain is really dirty, as it can get on
adventure or off-road bikes, you can buy spray chain
cleaner which will loosen caked on muck making
it easier to brush off. Never be tempted to use a
pressure washer; water will penetrate the rollers
and stuff them up and there is the danger that you
could get a blast of water into the wheel or swing
arm bearings, rinsing out any grease.
But what happens when you don’t have a centre
stand, only a side stand? Well, you can clean and
lube the bit of chain you can see, then wheel the bike
forward to expose the next bit of chain. That’s a bit of
a faff, so try this;
Put the bike on its side stand. Take your car’s jack
and place it under the rear tip of the swing arm on
the opposite side to the side stand. Slowly raise the
jack until the rear wheel has just left the ground so it
will spin freely as if the bike is on a centre stand. Hey
presto, you can now clean and lube the chain. Make
sure to do it on level ground and place a chock in
front of the front wheel so the bike can’t roll forward
and off the side stand.
It may sound simple, lubricating your chain, but
often it is the small things that will keep your bike
running properly.