BratmanXj

I've done a lot of other upgrades to the bike and the Darkside rear tire was no longer compatible with the suspension setup. I did throw it on a buddies Tour Deluxe and it rides true, but he has no interest in keeping the tire. So I have a spare rear rim with a mounted Nenkang CX668 165/80-15 mounted and balances if anyone is interested in giving it a try. Located in greater Chicagoland area at the IL/IN state line. Message me or email Carvia @ sbcglobal . net for more info.

FYI...a bike you can go "Double Dark Side" with the 18" front wheel. Michelin Pilot Activ 130/70-18 mounted reverse rotation.

Last year I split the fairing to install spot lamps, after that I had a parasitic power draw that would drain my battery in about 5-7 days. So I went out and did a bit of diagnosing tonight and put the ammeter and its pulling 135 ma with the key out. Pull the 10a "BACK UP" fuse and the drain goes away. I haven't had a chance to look through the Service Manual and I figured I'd throw this up to the people much smarter than I am with these motorcycles... Any help on where to start looking for a chaffed or pinched wire?

Here's a photo of the calipers (that were painted Hurst Old's gold by the previous owner and I liked the look) and the Stratoliner front wheel and rotors. The biggest downside to the 18" front wheel is tire-life on a heavy bike. I did my research and decided to use an 18" tire designed for rear fitment on older UJM (CB750, KZ, etc) bikes. I get 10k miles out of a tire and they handle good...

I did my swap from an '02 RoadStar Warrior. The 1st Gen Warrior ('02-06) and 2nd Gen Roadstar ('08? and up) have silver/chrome 4-piston calipers that are a direct swap AND have the matching 14mm Master. I've ridden a Roadstar that kept the 5/8" master and installed the later 4-piston and the lever did not have as much travel & "feel" as my RSV with the 4-piston and 14mm. I agree, I went from Fist Full of Brakes to Two-Finger braking. Probably the best single upgrade I've done to the bike. I also happened to come across a Stratoliner front wheel with floating rotors and did the HH brake pads when I did the caliper swap.

I've been in the same boat the last 2 years. Pulled the whole front end off last winter to replace head bearings (damaged before I bought it) and had a small draw ever since. It's fine during the summer with regular use but even on a tender these below freezing days do my battery in.

Before you go tearing into a tall project like that take a look at the tires... The stock Bridgestones are probably old & hard by now and they weren't that good of a tire to begin with.

When the wife and I were house shopping I liked the house we now live in, then I walked out back to the oversize 2-1/2 car garage with the 1-1/2 car heated and insulated workshop and fell in love. I spent Saturday putting the thrower on the front of the John Deere, moved the MC to the back of the workshop for the winter next to mom's jet ski and project Honda Trail70. Snow thrower is now right by the door for easy out when it starts to snow and the "free" Deere project is right behind it...

There use to be kits for 90's and early '00 VW diesels that added an auxiliary 5gal tank in the trunk for Veggie Oil while maintaining the standard tank and pumps. Start & warm up on Diesel, switch over to Veggie oil for the bulk of your drive, then purge the system by driving the last 10 miles on diesel again. This keeps the veggie oil from gelling in the fuel lines. You could also supplement this with a heating element in the auxiliary tank.

Oh you post that right after I purchased parts for 3 OTHER projects!

As well as swing arm bearings... I purchased my '99 with 46k miles and had to grease and re-torque both front (steering head) and rear (swing arm) before it felt stable. Edit: You don't mention what tires are on the bike nor the age of the rubber. I know many here do not like the OEM Bridgestones and tend to have similar complaints of vague feeling to the bike.

Years back we were on Foothills Parkway just out side of Gatlinburg TN and we slow down to let a group out of the lookout parking area, last bike is an HD Full Dresser and topples over in the parking lot. We pull over and help the guy up and he gets back on and takes off rather shaky. We hand out at the lookout for 10 min then take off. 5 Miles down the road we're right back behind the guy going 15 mph under. As we get to the stop sign by the lake at the "bottom" of the Tail of The Dragon he drops the bike in the middle of the road. We help him back up and I'm fearing the worst that we're gonna watch him slide down an gully on the Dragon! He pulled off at the rest rooms and we kept going. Later in the week I asked at the Eagle Rider if a Blue Ultra got returned dinged up and banged up...I got the "oh, these people come down here having only ridden a 600cc Honda Shadow and rent a bike way to big" story.

My '97 C10 was uncomfortable in stock trim. I lowered the footpegs 1" and raise the bars 1.5" and it was much better. Someone who likes the 1st Gen or Goldwing "feet under" position would be fine. BTW, anything with 7.5 gallons of fuel on the backbone of the bike is going to be top heavy, but it sure made for a great long-range commuter bike. 45+ mpg made for 300+ miles between fill ups and now they can be had for pennies (currently watching an '02 for $1,200). The FJR I rode only had 1" bar risers and it was comfortable enough, I'm sure other options are available for bars up and pegs down.

Previous Concours owner and have always had my eye on the "F-ing Japanese Rockets" as a 2nd bike. They are still a big, top-heavy machine but us guys going from an RSV its nothing new. I've spent a few hours on an early model an my notes: Will comfortably cruise at 100mph all day and so smooth you don't even realize you're going that fast. Engine heat is a minor issue up until the newer models, not bad having spent time on multiple air-cooled cruisers. Push the knees out into the wind and it's negligible, Baker Air Wings are also available. Wind protection is much different than an a full tourer like the RSV, but enough aftermarket windshields exist to tailor the bike to suite you (i'm also 6'2").

I've got a Chinese Jin Chen replical Honda Ct70 Trail sitting on my lift right now, debating making an attempt at one of those parts bikes to swap over and make a register-able bike. Indiana with a bill of sale and police vin check you can title a scooter.

So are we... Where the hell is the Hoosier flag emoji! Spoke with cousin in Ft. Myers and the went about 30 hrs without power, a little bit of damage but overall mostly cleanup. Spoke with my Great Aunt & Uncle in Bradenton and they had power 1st thin Monday morning. Uncle isn't the handiest with tools and Aunt is getting frustrated with cleanup & fix-up.

I went Hagon and it's sitting in the "spare parts" bucket, so it was really just and FYI question. Was not leaking when I purchased the bike but definitely worn out and pogo-stick ride. Bike is a '99 and I purchases with 40k+miles, otherwise very well maintained bike. I had 20w on hand from my previous Harley shock rebuilds and only had the bike for 2 mo. with the "repaired" shock before I went to the Hagon. It was still loose and pogo'd even with 20w.

I'd assume once the Pogo has begun the internals have been damaged beyond "external" repair? I purchased my bike with a damaged rear shock and did a 20w recharge to finish out the riding season. While it helped the bike was still a bit tail-happy until I put her up for winter repairs with a Haggon shock.

Born and raised at the southern end of Chicago so "it's all in a day's ride" for me. I've done the lake loop, Wisconsin lake front, Michigan lake front each multiple times. Take your time through the UP, absolutely beautiful up there.

It has been mentioned elsewhere about doing EITHER the 130 front or leveling links, but not both. I did not have an issue in the 4-5k miles with the 130-R18 before the shock was installed. With the H.D. Hagon rear shock pre-load set for 2up riding I didn't have the wobble when the wife was on, only solo. I think my steering geometry is right at the cusp that rear tire size being a 1/2" difference between brands could cause the problem.

You don't mention your height / inseam but there are a few ways to help with getting your feet on the ground if that is the issue. There are a few places to have your factory seat modified for less than the cost of a new Corbin. They slim out the nose of the seat for better "reach" to the ground. They can do any number of additional services to sculpt the seat to you as well as add comfort like gel pads. Lowering the forks in the triple-trees is a matter of an afternoon in the garage turning wrenches with no further cost. I believe you can get about 3/4" before the air-valves interfere with the fairing. This will both lessen the reach to the ground as well as change the steering geometry (decrease rake) for "lighter" low speed steering. Personal experience, DO NOT do to many of the modifications of the tires/geometry. I have a Hagon HD rear shock that raised the back 1/2" from stock as well as a Stratoliner 130-r18" front wheel and I have to be very careful on my selection of rear tires, certain tires are larger diameter with a taller V-shape to the tread. Those tires will make the bike unstable above 65 mph with a constant weave. If I switch back to the stock 150 front wheel the weave goes away. When modifying the handling characteristics of these bikes there is a line in which you can go to far.

Didn't to the Eclipse, but buddy and I are planning the Lake Michigan SS1000 Loop later this month.

HD's highest selling bike is the Street Glide...a lowered "custom" looking touring bike with less touring amenities than a comparably priced FLHT Classic. Why? Because it looks cool, and its not like the younger people are buying them to actually tour on. Like you stated they have become bar hoppers and you get weird looks from those people if you want to ride more than 100 miles in a day. You in MI see the same "local" affect I do with our proximity to the Milwaukee home-base of HD. Most cruiser/heavy tourer riders around here don't even realize there are very qualified touring bikes outside of HD or Goldwings. When I go out riding with my buddies (who are all HD guys) most people we run into have never seen/heard of a Venture.

Well, HD has killed off the mid-priced Dyna line and moved the "popular" models up to the Softail line that is going water for '18; I believe all touring models for '18 are water; The 500/750 line is water...that only leaves the Sportster line of Evo based engines as air cooled. HD is to rooted in the single crank-pin offset firing order V-Twin to go 4cyl...but it looks like the future is ALL water for them.

SpedoHealer shows the same part number from '96 - '13...so bit the bullet and buy the SpedoDRD Y1 for my '99.