Tag Archives: replacement

Triumph Tiger 1050 Suspension – WP Rear Shock

My Tiger has just passed 30k miles and to be frank, the rear suspension is shagged. It bounces over bumps and if/when you hit the second bump whilst cranked over in a bend, you’d better have some spare trousers in your pack!

One of the guys on www.tiger1050.com had moved on (up?) to a Ducati and was offering his 10k mile WP rear shock absorber for £350. He worked in London so we met at Euston and I brought home my new rear shock and looked forward to the next 10k miles (before, presumably, a rebuild would be in order…)

Tiger 1050 WP Shock

Tiger 1050 WP Shock Here’s the removed OEM shock compared to the WP part. The Triumph shock looks much heavier (I didn’t weigh them) with a much thicker spring.

Tiger 1050 WP Rear Shock vs OEMSomeone told me once that new bikes have to be designed to cope with two 20 stone people so no wonder they are oversprung. Not sure about 40 stone (that’s 254 Kg or 560 lbs depending upon where you are), but it sure looks over-engineered.

Road test to follow.

 

How to replace the door mirror indicator on a Mercedes SLK 230 (R170)

I have written before about DIY fixes for the SLK – mainly because there are people out there (and YouTube videos) that say its really difficult.

A few years ago (actually, it was 2010), my wife broke the nearside (passenger) indicator on the SLK. I have put off repairing it as I thought it was expensive and difficult.

This week it failed the MOT because the broken indicator was filling with algae and the LEDs were no longer orange. It appears that the orange colouring has worn off. As long as the indicators were orange, it didn’t matter that the lens was broken.SLK R170 Passenger Door Mirror Indicator Repair

I bought the part from PFS Parts Ltd www.partsformercedes-benz.com. It was about £25.

Firstly, use the electric adjuster to move the mirror glass as far down and to the left as you can. This will expose a small gap between the top of the glass and the plastic surround. In the gap you will see a small wire clip. Remove it with a small flat-bladed screwdriver.

Next, lever the mirror glass out. It’s only clipped in. Scarey though…

SLK R170 Passenger Door Mirror Indicator RepairAlso, put something soft (softer than concrete anyway) on the ground just in case you drop any of the expensive plastic and glass bits.

SLK R170 Passenger Door Mirror Indicator RepairUsing a Torx 10 screwdriver, remove the six screws that hold everything together and remove the motor and the covers.

SLK R170 Door Mirror Glass Removal

Mirror glass removed

… and the motor

SLK R170 Passenger Door Mirror Indicator Repair

Motor removed

… and the front and rear plastic covers (no photo…sorry, got carried away and forgot – damned if I’m going to take it all apart again!)

Ten seconds to take out the old and put in the new indicator unit. It is clamped by the screws already noted and there are only two wires to connect.

Screw it all back together.

Job done.

£25 + 30 minutes.