BratmanXj

My guess... Research the spring rates between the RSV & RSTD; the fairing handing on the front end may require heavier springs for the RSV. IF you were going to rebuild the forks anyways it might be as easy as swapping in some aftermarket heavier springs to freshen up the handling.

At the southern tip of Lake Michigan right on the IL/IN boarder and we've gone through a solid 3 seasons in 48 hrs. Saturday in the yard all day in a T-shirt and Jeans spreading dirt, fertilizer and grass seed. Spend Sunday cleaning ice and snow off the house, cars and driveway. It was sleeting with so much wind that the front door and windows of the house iced over. And now its 40deg and rising with bright blue skies and sunny.

You found a set of leads for your DVOM that fit into a fuse socket? Any idea where you picked those up from Yup, I have the service manuals and wiring diagrams, I've been chasing this draw on and off for the last year. It drains the battery in about 4 days if I don't put it on a tender. I thought I found it on the "Back Up" fuse as shows in the 1st post photos, but it comes and goes intermittently. SO FRUSTRATING!

Somewhere I found 50mv for memory functions on the Radio, CB & dash clock/odo, so I'm almost 3x the power draw.

I agree, it doesn't make sense to only work with the key on. After I cleaned the contacts and such I got so worried that I some how created another problem, however odd it would be but I guess the RSV is wired differently.

Slowly chugging away on this issue but still haven't resolved it. I've cleaned every connection in the fairing and down the back-bone of the bike with no resolution to the power draw. I've heard that the rectifier can go bad and draw current and I believe there is an "upgrade" for our bikes to the later model bikes rectifier but I'm not finding anything on this forums search. I did find an article on V4 Muscle about the V-Max and Shindingen SH650A-12 or SH640E-11 rectifiers. I'm going to do some more checking this week and see if the draw goes away with the rectifier unplugged. I did fix the hazard issue. Can someone please verify that they only work with the ignition ON? Also, fixed the no-start issues, that was a greasy/dirty kickstand switch.

IL/IN boarder and Launching Pad isn't far from Abraham Lincoln Cemetery in Elwood where I have family buried. If I'm around that weekend I'd definitely be interested in meeting some of you guys on this forum

As a rider I'm sure everyone here make the extra effort to be aware of other vehicles on the road. With that, I've almost done the same thing and pulled out in front of a motorcycle who was stunting at night on a public street. Luck for him I had just opened the window of the car and heard something and stopped before I pulled out of the driveway onto the street. Between the street lights and his headlight aiming up you couldn't tell there was a vehicle coming down the street.

I'm just over the Indiana boarder from Chicago and my mother still lives on the Illinois side. The Pontoon boat and Jet Skis are titled in Illinois since we had clear titles and the registration & renewal fees are MUCH less. Years back I was about to purchase a jet-ski that was part of a boat setup, but didn't have a title for the boat "shell" that had an Hull Identification Number. Put a deposit down with the owner while I worked through the title issues with the state of IL. I would have to bond the original purchase value of the boat and jetski, that were 10yrs old, as they considered it "one boat" in that respect but 2 boats when applying for title. The bond had to be for 3 years and I would have to post legal advertisements to "possibly" clear the missing title, but even that wasn't guaranteed to work with the state. Went back to the seller and said it wouldn't be worth the hassle. My mother purchased a Honda scooter for her cottage that hadn't been on the road for 10+ years and the title was in a different family members name. State of Indiana deemed the title wasn't valid since it was different name on owner vs signer and I would have to apply with a "lost title". The local police did a VIN check and affidavit for $5 and I was back at the BMV that afternoon registering the scooter in my name and was issued a title no problem.

130/90-16 or a 19" wheel? I'd like to know where you got a 19" wheel because I'm running an 18" wheel of a Stratoliner.

The power draw issue started after I pulled the whole front end off the bike to do steering head bearings. I believe I've licked the power draw, now just a matter of fixing the damage I did along the way. The battery has been replaced since this issue started, so I don't believe that's the problem. Hmm, that's a new one on me. I know the memory will continue to draw power but I thought the "hot" for the radio was on the ignition switch.

Kinda what I was doing last night. I cleaned the kickstand switch and connectors, fuse box, cruise, etc in the lower fairings. Pulled the right hand controls and started to clean it, but I'll take OUT the hazard switch tonight and see if there's an issue. The hazards were working when it wouldn't start, so it's a problem I probably created.

Cleaned the kill switch and now she runs.... But I lost the hazard flashers!

So I go out last night and futz with the bike. Ignition switch has been replaced at some point in the past because the tamper-proof screws were replaced with regular screws. Open it up and everything is clean, give it a quick wipe with contact cleaner & dielectric grease and put it back on. I did see some green corrosion in the connectors so gave them a scrub and grease. Now the bike will turn on, but starter wont engage. Dash lights all light up, radio comes on, etc. Oil/coolant light come on when you hit the starter button (in neutral, clutch pulled, kickstand up...) so I think it's a bad contact somewhere in the kill switchs Next steps: 1. Check battery cables 2. Clean Kick Stand Switch 3. Clean Kill Switch 4. Clean Starter button Anything else?

Through a riding buddy who's the Vulcan Owners Group national secretary I've been hanging out with those Jap V-Twin guys. They expect 100k out of the bikes and compare that to HD. I've thrown Puc's multiple 200k adventures at them, then rip mine up to red-line with them full well knowing I'm down 400cc on a bigger bike and they just don't know how these engines have the power and life-span that they do.

I'm a Civil Engineer but originally looked to be a Mechanical Engineer but didn't want to be behind a desk all the time. Also, I'm Dutch so I was to cheap to pay to fix something I could figure out. No one else at my office wants to get their hands dirty where as I spend at least 2 days a week in the garage working on something with an engine in it. I'd rather throw $500 a year in maintenance at my older cars that I can fix myself with basic tools than $500 a month car payment on a depreciating asset.

I've always kept my bikes clean, but full well knowing they are "road" bikes and not show bikes. The last HD I sold was clearly listed as a Good, Clean Daily Rider and I had guys showing up talking me down left and right about they have half the miles & twice the chrome and the bike is a hunk of junk that they couldn't trust with 30k miles on it. I let him ramble, then introduced him to my neighbor who is one of the best known independent HD engine builders in the area who vouched for the condition of my bike. If you can't trust a motorcycle with 30k miles because it's used up, why even come look at it? I started working at a new job 2yrs ago and we're booming and paying good bonuses. Everyone else has bought new vehicles and everyone keeps asking why I still drive my '06 Mercury... "Its only got 155k on it, why do I need a new vehicle?" and I just get strange looks.

That's the one I couldn't find! I was looking at a different tutorial that was not a good. Thank you

Finally getting around to pulling the bike out for spring and about to tackle the ignition switch. I remember reading somewhere about how to remove the switch and service. So I dremel a groove in the two tamper-proof screws holding the barrel down and remove them? Anyone have pictures of the switch opened? I want to get in there with some contact cleaner and wire brush to make sure nothing is "arcing" causing my intermittent power draw, then grease the hell out of it.

All 3.0L have the alternator at the bottom-rear of the engine. I replaced the Alternator about 2 yrs ago on my '06 Mariner 3.0L AWD and its something like 11hrs book time (buddy was a service writer at the time). It was a spare car at the time so I fixed it over the course of a week, get frustrated and walk away for the night and come back the next day. This car also had some pretty wicked ground-strap issues a few years back. Chased it for a long time as I kept moving "down the line" as I'd fix a system. Battery cables were replaced on both this car and my mother's old '08 Mariner due to corrosion.

The frame is pretty much gone on that Jeep, the rear control arm mount has torn away and most likely the rest is not structurally sound. That thing looks like it was given a full salt bath multiple times. I've fixed a few early TJs in the Chicago area and usually don't see them that bad from just typical road salt. Either it was driven HARD with no general maintenance or came from out of state with a sand blasted underside and the rust was able to take hold real quick. That truck is probably worth less than half the asking price for the donor drivetrain and scrap metal. Also, around here it hasn't so much been the snow but the regular freezing rain that we don't typically get.

Be careful you don't find something that is sand-blasted from a dry area. Buddy picked up a clean '80s Chevy K20 in Texas and brought it back up here to have it rust-out in 2yrs flat. The whole underside was sand-blasted and rust took hold from the day he got it up here. I remember my Uncle talking about how IHC scouts were pretty much delivered as rust-buckets new since they stored the steel outside before it was stamped. Sadly, that's just going rates for Full Size Jeeps now...the Wagoneer & Grand Wagoneer have become the "Retro Rancher Cool" vehicle to have. I've even seen clean, low mileage 90's XJ Cherokees hitting $15-$20k.

With the CT 2-up the bike was fine, when solo is when I would get the wobble. The Hagon H.D. rear shock raised the back end around 1/2" when I'm solo, so I'm not against loosing the height with a different tire. I also have a Stratoliner 18" front wheel with a 130 tire. I ran a 777 Shinko on the rear both before and after the CT with no ill handling and recently put the new Dunlop E4 out there but have NO miles on it since. I'm not against running the CT, and like oil threads there are so many options and opinions out there. I have every intention of trying it again with a different tire. I believe someone else on here went to a CT and had a high-speed incident. I wanted to put the information out there so you wouldn't be caught off guard when you do get out on the interstate.

I ran a 165/80-16 CT for a few months. I put the tire on in the fall and had a few miles of local roads before a very snowy Toys For Tots motorcycle parade in Chicago. In snow I had more traction that most MC tires do in the dry, it was crazy how stable that tire was. You had to "hold" the bike in a turn or else it would try to straighten up but that was really the only downfall.... until I tried to commute on the interstate. The bike would get a high speed oscillation at anything above 75mph, almost feeling like it was going into a tank-slapper but never did. I have a Hagon HD rear shock and Sonic front springs so I believe it was something specific to my bike's setup. I was able to pick up a 2nd rear rim and I may try the 155/80-16 BFG Radial TA in the near future. With a slightly lower profile and different tread pattern I'm hopeful it may smooth out the wonky high speed handling.

The Chicagoland area is going from a low of -27 overnight with a -50+ real feel with wind chill to 52 deg high on Monday.... Who pissed off Mother Nature?