Not the best week for my riding, folks. No, nobody got hurt, but I've been off the bike since Saturday and it looks like that's going to continue at least through this weekend.

Saturday, it was time to replace my aging (and ailing) chain and sprockets, as the chain could be easily pulled aft to expose most of a tooth on the rear sprocket. That's generally the sign that the chain has stretched too much for healthy use, and I've heard enough horror stories about what happens when a chain fails that I wasn't going to take any chances. Stopped by a dealer in Seattle who sold me a pair of shiny sprockets, a nice new X-ring chain, and a Motion Pro riveting/chain breaking tool, and I was off home to wrench.

First thing I noticed was that my rear tire was a lot further along in the wear department than I'd thought. Surprised I hadn't noticed it before, I resolved not to ride on it until it was replaced. I immediately got an order out for a new set of tires: Metzler Z6s which are pretty well thought of among Bandit riders. I won't be able to mount these myself, but the mounting cost at my local dealers isn't bad.

First, breaking the front sprocket loose. The service manuals suggest putting the bike in gear, having an assistant stand on the rear brake, and going to work with a breaker bar, as the torque on the countershaft sprocket nut is huge. I learned on assorted Bandit forums that a better way to do it is to leave the transmission in neutral and slip a 2x4 through the rear wheel above the swingarm; this way there's no stress on the gears, and the 2x4 holds the wheel and chain very securely. I popped the countershaft sprocket off, removed the rear wheel to change the rear sprocket, then broke the chain and removed it. Breaking the chain was very simple: using a heavyduty cut-off wheel and my handy Dremel, I ground the head off one of the rivets, and then pushed it out using the Motion Pro tool. Easy.

Installing the new sprockets was likewise simple. Installing the chain went smoothly until it was time to rivet the master link into place; I assembled everything, set up the tool, and went to work. It took a surprising amount of torque on the tool to get the rivets properly set; I twisted, and suddenly, with a muted "whump" sound, the tool split in two right along the center. That disturbed me; it was a hundred-dollar tool, and I wasn't particularly cranking on it. It's going back to the dealer as soon as I have time, assuming I still have the reciept, which I'm pretty sure I don't... As it is, though, the tool is useless, and I'm not even certain the chain is fully seated.

Then it was time to tighten everything down and go for a ride to warm the new chain. Chain tensioners adjusted, everything in place, I bolted the rear caliper to its mounting bracket and went to attach the torque arm to it. For some reason, the torque arm was offset from the caliper by about a quarter inch. Uh-oh.

I removed the rear wheel again, verified that every part was there, in order, and in place, and reassembled. Still offset. I was able to get it into place with a bit of tension, but I don't believe there's supposed to be any tension. Now I was getting very worried, so I posted my problem to a couple of message boards in the hopes of getting some hints.

At this point, my only working hypotheses are that the torque arm is somehow bent, or that the problem is the deeply-worn status of my rear brake pad. Pad is going to get replaced anyway, and when that happens and the tires go on, we'll see if the problem's resolved. If not, I guess I'll have to take it to a shop and see what they make of it.

In other (unrelated) news, I've got a replacement rear shock on the way as well, parted out from an '05 Hayabusa. It's generally understood that the Bandit shocks are weak, and that replacing them is a quick and cheap way to improve your ride. Busa shocks are pretty much a drop-in replacement on second-generation Bandits, so this ought to be an easy mod. I haven't yet figured out what if anything I can do about the front suspension, but I'd like to get Zoë in the best order I can before my West Coast ride and the track day shortly thereafter.

Right now, though, I just want to ride. I've been driving all this week, and it looks like I won't get the tires on until early next week at the earliest. Very sad - it's been absolutely perfect, beautiful riding weather around here.