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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    Maybe this is old news, but I just picked up an E3 for the front of the ol' Venture from SW Moto Tire in Tucson. That size was a long time in coming! Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    George, were your old lights also H3 55W? Are these new ones way better that the old? I've wondered how much of the light gets wasted in cheap lights, which is what I have. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    Yeah, thought so. Bummer. Actually it's not that big of a deal 'cause I have the whole fairing off anyway, repairing damage from when the bike blew over in a t-storm last summer. It's just that I have driving lights mounted by the brakes and have the wires to those, the brake lines, and the EANDS cables so neatly zip-tied that I don't want to cut them and ruin a thing of beauty! :-) But cut them I shall. I have new steering head bearings that I figured would be easier to install now, with the fairing out of the way. And while I'm at it, I'm picking up a new front tire from SW moto tire tomorrow to put on it. Speaking of front tire, the Dunlop E3 is supposed to be available now...that's what they're SUPPOSED to have for me tomorrow...I say "supposed to" because it's been so long that I won't see it until I believe it! Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    Hi Y'all, I think I know the answer, but is there any way to disconnect the EANDS cables at the fork end, or do I have to disconnect it up under the headlight and leave the cables with the forks? Thanks, Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    So Greg, you're aware that there's been some measure of success with leaning out the needles, right? On my 87 I lowered them a total of .050" for a gain of close to 10%. I also curtailed my throttle hand for another gain of 5%+. Of course, you don't want to end up too lean as engine damage can occur. Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    In short, IMHO, it is worth the extra dough for an AGM battery. They cost close to double the price of a wet cell, but should last close to twice as long and you can never kill them by forgetting to check the water. In 20 years of biking and ATVing, I've found the average life of a wet cell MC batt to be 3 years. It's not that you have to replace them every 3 years per se, and they usually don't just crap out suddenly. You'll notice it gradually getting more sluggish to start, etc. You'll check the water, put it on the charger, maybe it will be better for a few days then deteriorate again, that kind of thing. Oddysey seems to be hands-down the quality winner for AGM batteries, but I've never sprung for one. Honda quads come stock with a Yuasa AGM battery. I have two friends that bought their quads new and their orig. batteries lasted ~6+ years, trouble free up until they finally died. I bought a 98 Honda in around 05 and it has a stock battery. That one must have been replaced once, I don't know when, but I've not had a lick of trouble with the batt. I've started buying bargain AGM batteries from sources like motorcyclebatteriesusa.com and others. Use a Google search. One brand was West Power or something like that. Bought one for another quad, oh, maybe 3 or 4 years ago. It's been trouble-free, we'll see how long it lasts. My Virago takes the same battery as the Venture, and about 1.5 years ago I bought an AGM for around 70-80 bucks. It's not old enough to really judge it, but here's what I can say at this point: - It's factory sized (not undersized like some). - It has 300- 350 CCA, more than the wet cells. - It cranks that engine like a banshee. - When winter came I stopped riding the Virago in favor of the faired Venture. It sat untouched and uncharged from November to early Feb, and when I started it, it again cranked like a banshee. No big deal, it should do that, but they don't always... Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    I forgot to give a big "thanks" to 5bikes Chuck for his advice and e-conversation. I just filled up again to the tune of 43 mpg. Remember, this time I was not babying it as much as last tank, but took it somewhat easier than "my old self". I did 65-80 on the Interstate, and accelerated a bit more briskly in general. Skydoc, first do the usual tuneup items. Plugs, maybe valve adjustment, pilot screw adjustment, check float levels, make sure boost sensor (vacuum advance) is functioning. Other than valve adjustment, these are pretty easy. Then, after you do the needle adjustment, pay attention to how it runs. Does it have "lean hesitation"? After a few tanks, pull at least one plug (all of them would be better, and it's best if you start with new ones) and make sure it's not bone white. That being said, the needles are not adjustable per se. They have white plastic spacer washers holding them up in the slides. The thickness of the washers is .100", but they sit up on a nib and counting the nib they are more like .120" (I think, don't have the numbers in front of me). I removed these washers and found a variety of washers with similar ID and similar or smaller OD to stack and obtain various thicknesses. I had to raid a couple hardware stores with calipers in hand, and also snagged a few from some open stock where I work, to get a sufficient variety of thicknesses. First I lowered them .030, so I stacked washers about .090 thick. I then went down another .020, so the washer stacks in there now are .070 thick. I verified the height change by measuring the needle protrusion thru from the slides before and after modification. When I started, I had holes in the airbox lid. With the needles down .030 I might have noticed slight lean symptoms and a small increase in mileage. With them down .050 the mileage was about the same but the lean symptoms were undeniable at that point. I taped over the holes and, viola, the mileage went up 2 or 3 points and the lean symptoms went away! So the airbox is now stock except for two things which didn't affect the way the bike runs: K&N element installed, and I noticed that the top "ceiling" of this element sits a little lower than stock, so I cut about 1/4" off the top of the square "stack" in the center of the element. There was no discernable effect. Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    Hi, Over the 3 years I've owned my 87 VR 1300, I've averaged 36-37 mpg. While this is right in the mid-range of what a bunch of y'all get, I was always perplexed by the 45 or even 50 mpg-ers. FWIW, I've checked all the usual suspects (fuel levels, new diaphragms, pressure sensor working, new plugs & tuneup, etc). I've experimented with up to four 9/16" holes in the airbox lid which did little to nothing. Then I came across 5bikes (Chuck) and his recommendation to lower the carb metering needles, that it runs rich from the factory in the needle range. Hmmm... Well, after some foolin' around, I arrived at the following: - Needles lowered .050". - All extra holes in airbox taped over (didn't run well with needles lowered AND holes open). It's running well and for several tanks now I've averaged 40 mpg with the same driving cycle and style I always do. I pulled one spark plug after these few tanks and found that it's very light gray on the ground electrode, light tan on one side of the insulator, the rest of the insulator is white, and just a bit of black on the end of the threaded portion. Seems about right with the detergents in today's gas. A 10% increase with this adjustment is good, but only half the story. 5bikes gets high 40's on his 1200 but rides almost exclusively country roads and in no hurry either - steady 55-65. I commute to work which is about 1/3 Interstate, the rest mostly suburban / rural roads with a little city. On the Interstate I'm doing 75-90, and other roads I like to accelerate briskly to somewhat over the speed limit (shame, shame). Chuck asked me if I'd run a tank or two slower to see what happens. Thru a supreme effort on my part, I rode the Interstate at 65-70, kept the rural and city roads at or below speed limit and accelerated very gently - for one tank - I couldn't do it any longer :-) The results for that tank? 43 mpg - best I've ever done. So now I'm trying to find a happy medium - a little more spirited so it's more fun, but not as fast as before which will also be better on my driving record. (My current tank, judging by the behavior of the gas gage, will probably end up at 41 or 42.) If I truly ran a tank on just country roads doing 55-65 I'd probably get 45. (It also seems that the 1200's get a little better mpg than 1300's.) I've always heard, and it makes total sense, that driving slower produces better mpg. On one hand I knew my wrist is a wee bit "leaden", but pretty much denied to meself that I was aggresive enough to cause poor mileage. Then I'd read posts here, one says it's all in the wrist, another says their bike gets "40 no matter how they ride". Well, I took numbers, did my best to control the variables, and this is the result. Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    I've used a Tekonsha Voyager and and Envoy in my trucks. I thought both worked fine. Never used one for a bike trailer, but I think it would work fine. I'd set the brakes on the light side so they're just supplying, say, 20% of the braking. You may need a resistor in the line to allow the controller to be in the middle of it's range and adjust properly. Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    It could also be bad connections between the pickup coils and the TCI. This can have a similar effect. There is a connector under the LH side panel behind the hot vent, and another on the TCI itself underneath the battery. The first is very easy to access, the second not so much easy. Jeremy
  11. Gearhead
    The RLU / CMS system senses the electrical load of the headlight. When it burns out, the load disappears and trips the system. When they installed the bypass wire, it handles the bulk of the load for the headlight. So, even thought your light is on, the system thinks it's off so the warning comes on. It may also be turning on hi beam (which is what it does when lo burns out), in which case both of your beams would be on at the same time. Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    Old o-rings. The seals on the t-stat cover, both ends of the plastic elbow, and the bypass-valve are all o-rings. At least two of the four were seeping on mine. New o-rings, no more leakey! Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    The H3's I am familiar with are like you described in the first sentence above. They have a short hot wire attached as well. The Lowes bulb you describe does not sound like an H3. You can get 35W H3 replacements at the Hella website. A few months ago I only paid maybe 3 bucks a bulb, but now I can't find them for less than 5. Here's a good pic of an H3, although it's a 100W model: http://www.bulbs.com/Category-/results.aspx?AffID=6&cm_mmc=google-_-light+bulbs-_-halogen+bulbs-_-halogen+bulbs&Ntk=all&Ntt=h3+bulb&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1 Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    George, I wanted to do just that with the LEDs. I was only gonna change one tail light bulb and leave the other incandescent so the CMS wouldn't trip, and both front running lights. But the drop-in LED bulb replacements suck! I ordered some and tried them, sent them back, they were SOOO dim and directional. If I ditched the sockets and bought larger LED assemblies that I custom-fit into the housings, that might work. Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Wow, George, thanks for the great info. Driving light question: how do y'all have yours aimed? Mine are aimed pretty much straight down the road, kinda hi-beam height for extending my lighting range, but I find that they are drowned out by the hi-beam and do not put out near the light that the headlight does. I'm not sure how much value they really add to the hi-beam lighting. Here's my experience. I always ride with the radio on and hi beam in the daytime for visibility. I mounted heated grips - rated at 3 amps total - no problem. I mounted a pair of 55W driving lights and left them on all the time, too. Now according to George's figures, I should be around 15 + 4(55W bulbs) + 3(grips) = 22 amps, up to close to 26 with brakes applied. So I should be OK, but borderline. Well, if I'm riding on the freeway it is OK. But around town, stop and go, more idling, brakes on more, more frequent starts - I found myself push-starting it a couple times (it's a BIG bike!). Ironically, I want the driving lights on for visibility more around town. Also, my experience has been that the driving lights are OK if the grips are off, even in town. So, I intend to install the 35W bulbs to save 4 amps, but haven't got 'round to it yet. Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    Nice lookin' little tank. Will it be higher than the fuel pump in that location? Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    TCI - under the frame cross bar that supports the battery - a pain to get to. However, on mine I was able to remove the batt and batt box and then reach down and unplug the TCI to clean the contacts. Pickup coils - inside LH case cover. Pickup coil connector (along with stator and other connectors) - behind bike LH side cover, near where your left calf is when riding. Ignition coils - below and forward of batt. Front two are marginally accessible from the front of the bike, over the radiator. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    Wow, how did you attach the zerk to the cable? And did you do this greasing with the speedo disassembled? Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    I was gonna drill a bleed hole, but I noticed that there is already a bleed. There is an indentation in the brass seat where the plunger seals, allowing a small "leak". Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    I concur - bought one maybe 6 months ago. My new t-stat runs slightly warmer than my old one, between 1/3 and 1/2 in cool conditions. If the weather is warm and I am in traffic or on the Interstate it will warm up more. In the Tucson summer pushing 80 mph on the hiway, it runs at or near the fan level which is about 3/4 or so. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    Makes sense to me! Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    Yup, I bet it was ignorance. Here's what I read some time about accel pumps. I used to think that an engine needed an extra shot of fuel upon application of throttle, but that's not actually true. It needs the same air/fuel mix that it always needs. What happens in the design of most automotive carbs is that there is a brief moment where extra air is admitted into the engine without enough fuel. The accel pump is a band-aid to cover the hole. CV carbs are sensitive enough to throttle opening that they do not have this "hole". At least that's how I understand it. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    Yup, me too, but it doesn't. I think that's where lubing the upper end of the bushing (inside the speedo) comes in - the lube doesn't make it up that far evidently. Pics, thanks to GeorgeS: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8296 The square hole is a blind hole, no lube will go thru there. That hole is in the rotating part, of course, which rides in a bronze bushing. Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    Squeeze, what do you mean, a 1 out of 50 ratio? Ivan, do you know the material of the orings you used (type of rubber)? Thanks, Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    Do the carb bowl gaskets go bad often? Are they o-rings? If so, can they be replaced with bearing-and-seal-store o-rings? Is Buna rubber OK for this use - will it stand up to fuel exposure? Or do I need to get factory ones from Yammy? Suggestions please! Thanks, Jeremy
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