Igofar Reviews

[kscssmith]

I met Larry last year on a RTE when he took my bike hostage and bled my breaks and clutch. I very pleased with Larry's knowledge and level of care for bike and me.
So a few weeks ago I called Larry and asked his advice on how to change the fork seals. Larry told me what parts to order and invited me come to his house and he would repair them for a really good price. I live near Yosemite, so its a 3 hour drive for me to get to Larry's place. Due to my lack of confidence in local shops I decided to take the drive.

I showed up a Larry's place at 9am on a Sunday and Larry informed me "Now that I have your bike..." and preceded to list off many more projects he wanted to do . I said, well I didn't plan on extra charges. Larry told me that this was already in the original estimate.
So I not only got my fork seals done, but I got my throttles timed, my coolant flushed, thermostat changed, hose clamps changed, mystery plug sealed, oil changed, gear oil changed, axles greased, clutch and breaks bled, windshield tracks cleaned and greased, throttle cables lubed, and washed and waxed every inch. (Please forgive me Larry if I forgot anything) no my bike handles better, responds instantly, stops on a dime, (and gives change) and now I don't have as much heat coming up from under tank and seat.

So all in all, if anyone is in the market for a fantastic mechanic that has does above and beyond level of workmanship please look up Igofar.
Thank you Larry for all you did for me and my bike. I am very happy with all of it. It was worth the drive both times.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

 

[Igofar]

I met Larry last year on a RTE when he took my bike hostage and bled my breaks and clutch. I very pleased with Larry's knowledge and level of care for bike and me.
So a few weeks ago I called Larry and asked his advice on how to change the fork seals. Larry told me what parts to order and invited me come to his house and he would repair them for a really good price. I live near Yosemite, so its a 3 hour drive for me to get to Larry's place. Due to my lack of confidence in local shops I decided to take the drive.

I showed up a Larry's place at 9am on a Sunday and Larry informed me "Now that I have your bike..." and preceded to list off many more projects he wanted to do . I said, well I didn't plan on extra charges. Larry told me that this was already in the original estimate.
So I not only got my fork seals done, but I got my throttles timed, my coolant flushed, thermostat changed, hose clamps changed, mystery plug sealed, oil changed, gear oil changed, axles greased, clutch and breaks bled, windshield tracks cleaned and greased, throttle cables lubed, and washed and waxed every inch. (Please forgive me Larry if I forgot anything) no my bike handles better, responds instantly, stops on a dime, (and gives change) and now I don't have as much heat coming up from under tank and seat.

So all in all, if anyone is in the market for a fantastic mechanic that has does above and beyond level of workmanship please look up Igofar.
Thank you Larry for all you did for me and my bike. I am very happy with all of it. It was worth the drive both times.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

You forgot that I removed and detail stripped all your brake calipers, removed the rear wheel and tore your rear hub apart and cleaned out the dampeners, checked all your wheel & driven bearings, checked your splines and put moly paste on them, cleaned the boot scuffs off your mufflers, lubricated your shifter linkage, serviced your preload adjuster and set your damping, lubricated all your locks and latches, tightened the hinges in your saddlebags, replaced lost or damaged grommets and clips/pins, Replaced your air filter, did your timing chain adjustment, polished the fork tubes, greased your SMC pivot bearings, trimmed your engine head covers, replaced your sparkplugs, lubed and cleaned your clutch and brake lever pivot points, cleaned your coolant overflow tank, removed yellow road paint off the bodywork, then took it for a test ride and blew through that photo radar trap! But who's keeping track
Thanks for having enough faith in me to come all this way and allow me to help you dial your bike in for you.
It was my pleasure.
Oh, and the wife loved the cookies!
Larry

 

[5720]

Yikes . before reading this threat I'd just left word for Larry with a ... queSTion. .. didn't know about any dental work on today's To-Doing list .. I will however give a big .. '+!' on the happy campers evaluation of his willingness to assist .. any and all of us along the way. Happy for his friendship.

 

[1dragon]

I sure hope to meet him someday. I missed the gathering he had earlier this past summer, and definitely wanted to see if I would be welcome. My schedule however prevented me from even asking. I think I'm the only ST owner by Sacramento(I know I'm not just seems like it). Anyway, awesome person you must be Larry! Hope all went well with the surgery!

 

[Scooter]

Jean-Michel, please follow-up with that shop that misdiagnosed the problem. A good shop will welcome the info so the techs can learn something to better serve their customers. JMO of course.

+1

Bad driven flange bearings are a fairly common problem on this bike but because shops rarely see this bike, they are probably unaware of the issue. I'm glad you didn't have the clutch changed out, and yet, I'm wondering how they would have handled the situation of going through the work only to find out that it didn't resolve the problem???

 

[Tankereng]

I sure hope to meet him someday. I missed the gathering he had earlier this past summer, and definitely wanted to see if I would be welcome. My schedule however prevented me from even asking. I think I'm the only ST owner by Sacramento(I know I'm not just seems like it). Anyway, awesome person you must be Larry! Hope all went well with the surgery!

I'm in Fairfield


Way to go Larry! Hopefully the bank that holds your Karma account is well guarded... That account is getting pretty large

 

[vinny]

As stated, Larry is by far, the most giving, knowledgeable, and caring maintenance guru I know of. I've seen his skills in action and only wish I could be as competent as he is...
A true gentleman whose dedication to helping others is worth emulating! The east coast has no clue what they are missing.

 

[ST Gui]

I'm another who can attest first hand to Larry's willingness to help and go the extra mile. That doesn't end with the maintenance of the bike, though he's literally gone extra miles to help a rider out and this wouldn't be the first time.

At least he'll get/got some rest in the dentist's chair.

 

[Scooter]

A true gentleman whose dedication to helping others is worth emulating! The east coast has no clue what they are missing.

I certainly applaud the help that Larry has given our West coast members and don't mean to belittle it at all but I know of one East coast member that helps as much or more but simply prefers to stay in the background.

Thanks to all of the many who go out of their way to help their fellow riders...

 

[Mellow]

I certainly applaud the help that Larry has given our West coast members and don't mean to belittle it at all but I know of one East coast member that helps as much or more but simply prefers to stay in the background.

Thanks to all of the many who go out of their way to help their fellow riders...

+1, there are many on the site that are very helpful which is just another great part of this community.

 

[flyfisher]

+1

Bad driven flange bearings are a fairly common problem on this bike but because shops rarely see this bike, they are probably unaware of the issue. I'm glad you didn't have the clutch changed out, and yet, I'm wondering how they would have handled the situation of going through the work only to find out that it didn't resolve the problem???

Fairly common issue on VTXs....you'd think they would have some experience with those.......and WTG Larry!

 

[Paul Drobny]

As you'll remember, I've been working my way through my 1300 doing a 50000 mile discovery/service, since I bought the bike with that many miles on it (for a steal, IMHO, though your mileage may vary). I've got about 60,000 on it now, and Larry Igofar has been helping me
1) Learn the bike, its structure and features
2) Guiding me, training me and enlightening me on a range of obvious to subtle conditions the bike has (had)
3) Making my 2005 long distance road worthy so I can kick around some of the backroads in this land of ours with confidence
You can look at the old posts by searching on my user name Paul Drobny to see the truth and look at Larry's wall of shame to get an idea of what shape the bike was in. In a nutshell as of the last service, Larry had the engine running and idling nicely, breathing properly and getting good fuel mileage. He also had cleaned and bled the brake, clutch and suspension hydraulics. I've got brand new front pads, determined the rear pads have plenty of play left in them. We've got the suspension adjusted to my body and preferences, fixed the detent on the preload adjustor, replaced the many missing pieces, including a sack full of push rivets, screws, gaskets, bushings, etc. Along the way we straightened out bad bulbs, cleaned up a pesky oil leak (that was the original reason I sought Larry's assistance, actually), made the bags harware work correctly for ease of use and smooth transition, changed crankcase oil, and differential fluids, and cleaned up everything within the tupperware we had open.

Remaining Item: Replace the stuck open thermostat, flush & replace the coolant. I had the thermostat when I went over there in early January, along with a gasket. This was also to be my lesson in removing the tupperware completely from the bike. While we were in there, we examined, cleaned, and dried everything and I had a good look at where the engine placement of everything is. We flushed the radiator, and replaced all of the missing clips and bolts which over the course of the previous owner's work were many. He noticed that the
mirrors were put on improperly, and showed me how to tuck away all the rubber stuff. Both crash bars were bent, and we replaced those and the bar covers while it was all apart. It took all of about 3 hours. In his thorough and I might say comical manner, he walked me through it and generously offered the parts he had that I needed. In return I either brought with me what we knew needed replacement or I drop shipped him anything he "fronted" me. Not only did I have have fun through this whole process, I enjoyed his mechanical insight, his dry sense of humor and cycle design insights. Igofar has so much experience to fall back on, its truly phenomenal what he grasps and senses could be associated with the path we followed.

I don't know how much experience you've had with finding mechanics and fixing issues, but in my too many to even characterize, I've never found anyone like Larry. He not only lets you past the "insurance line" that nearly all commercial shops have, he actually revels in teaching you about your machine and shares his insights so you can be an integral part of your motorcycle owner/operator's experience. I'm really not a bad mechanic myself .. I've been doing it since I was a boy, but I'm humbled by Larry's skills, patience and attitude. I actually look forward to going over there! For those of you in California, we are lucky to have this guy within riding distance of us. SoCa guys, I recommend ignoring the trip-ometer readings, just get on and head out. NorCal guys like me, no issue. I quit looking around Sacramento and the Bay Area .. Larry's in my "backyard".

:bow1: Thanks a million Larry, you've restored my faith in mechanics everywhere, and even my fellow man. There are definitely good people out there that are great with a 'cycle, and you're in the front of that group! Even more generally, the fact that this forum draws people like Larry and all those of you that have helped me get my ST1300 firmly under my skin, is a gratifying experience. Thank you all!

 

[Reginald]

Very well said. Yes, Larry is most helpful and I'm very grateful for his phone assistance with my brakes, which the shop got all wrong. I am now confident in dealing with my brakes. He is a great guy!

 

[SFAlan]

Also can't say enough great things about Igofar.. been taking my two bikes to him for over 3 years now.. went today for an oil and tire change.. he showed me how to inspect wheel bearings, axels and brake assembly.. he went the extra mile using the air compressor to blow out all the old dust in the calipers.. he treats your bike even better than he treats his own.. every nut, bolt, clamp are carefully removed and re-assembled.. mufflers are placed onto pads to keep the scratches away.. I'm careful with my bike, Igofar is insanely careful.

 

[Al Gully]

I also had a great experience over the phone with him when I was bleeding my brakes for the first time. He sure is a encyclopedia of knowledge.
Also, I have my motion pro bleeder in plain sight in my garage as a reminder that, It's really nice to see how easy it is to do when you have the correct tools. The only thing bad about the motion pro bleeder is, I miss my wife now when I'm bleeding my brakes.:roll:

 

[drrod]

I had a chance recently to acquire another 04. Identical to mine but more "gently" used, so to speak. It has only 72k kms compared to my 185k. And...it has been ridden somewhat more conservatively than mine. Just what I need. Another bike. NOT. Oh well, why not.

I picked up the bike from the owner and it was all clean and shiny. I vaguely remember mine looking like that. I had about 10 miles to go to get it home. The first 8 went very smoothly as I tested out things. About 2 miles from home, a BDC decided that turning into a driveway suddenly, with no signal light, was a good idea. I hit the brakes hard and slowed to a walking pace, went around the car and....Oh Oh....the back brake would not release.

I managed to make it home but only just. The bike would not pull in 4th or 5th gear. That is how hard the brake was on. Needless to say, the disc was very hot when I got off. I let it cool down for a couple of hours and then investigated. The rear brake was on hard and the SMC had no movement in it whatsoever.

I took things apart and this is what I found:

- outboard rear pad worn wedge shaped.

I contacted Larry (Igofar) and he was only too willing and able to offer help and advice. I really don't know how he manages to keep so many balls in the air and help so many people. He truly is a wealth of knowledge and a godsend. Thankyou,Thankyou, Thankyou!!!!!

He advised that rather than just get the SMC piston rebuild kit (#20 on the parts fiche), I should get the whole subassembly (#2 on the parts fiche). Only about $60 more and you don't have the hassle of taking the old one apart (not easy) or the issue of the bore being out of round.

http://www.hondapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/hon/5053f118f870021c54be633e/left-front-brake-caliper


I installed the new subassembly and new pads. Cleaned up the caliper pistons and slides and did a complete fluid flush. A little test ride today and things seem to be back as they should.

Things to note:
1. the brakes on this bike were fine up until I did an emergency stop. It appears that a larger movement of the SMC piston put it into a corroded area and it jammed.
2. taking out the SMC piston assembly is not easy. Highly recommend replacing the whole subassembly
3. Not sure what caused the rear pad to wear like it did. All 3 pistons were freely movable.
4. Not sure if you can see, but the piston is jammed down about 0.5 cm and it will not budge. Not sure how you would get it out, short of drilling a hole in it.

Pictures:


Thanks again to Larry.(Igofar) He epitomizes what this forum is all about!!!!


Rod

 

[SupraSabre]

Yeah, having that rear brake lock up is no fun. Glad to see you were able to solve the problem!

Mine on my 2010 did it, but I think it was the rear master cylinder, but I rebuilt the SMC, Rear MC & the rear brake caliper! Brakes are great now!

 

[SteveST1300]

I just got an 04 added to my stable and the rear brake pads don't release completely the SMC has been replaced and the caliper has been rebuilt next I will be changing the rear master cylinder.

 

[Reginald]

Outstanding fix. Be sure to pack the SMC boot with break grease. It's in the manual, but dealers aren't packing it as part of their prep or maintenance. I think as part of buying a used ST1300 it would be a good idea to check under the SMC boot for corrosion. Glad your happy with your "new" purchase, enjoy.

 

[Igofar]

I just got an 04 added to my stable and the rear brake pads don't release completely the SMC has been replaced and the caliper has been rebuilt next I will be changing the rear master cylinder.

Before you keep throwing $ at your bike I would remove all three calipers and clean and grease the caliper sliding dowels.
These being dirty or corroded would cause the issues your having.
Igofar