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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    I would add that on my 87 I checked / maintained / replaced all these things (except for the bent frame, but I have no other strange symptoms of a bent frame). I still have just a bit of the mid-speed wobble (only with BOTH hands off the bars) and tiny high-speed weave after a sudden lane-change (it self damps in less than a second). I've read the the weave is helped with solid engine mounts which effectively increases frame stiffness. However, research seems to show that these symptoms are fairly typical for bikes of this size and geometry. Steeper rake (compared to a cruiser, anyway), lots of weight, especially in the trunk area. So even with a fork brace, etc, and all the maintenance in the world, there may still be vestiges of a wobble or weave. Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    If the speedo works then it's not the cable or how it's seated. The problem must be inside the speedo unit. Once you have it open as recommended above, you should be able to spot a stripped gear or something. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    Well that's weird, since the idle is controlled by the pilot circuit. I wonder why it killed your idle? Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    I don't know that an aftermarket antenna will help your radio reception much...maybe...but it will help your CB performance. Firesticks and such are CB antennas specifically, but will also work for a radio because radio reception is much less finicky about the antenna. I didn't like how fat the Firesticks are, even the Firefly model, so I got a Wilson Flex, 3'. It's the same construction as a Firestick, but thinner. Works well, and I was able to tune it for CB performance. Not that I've really used the CB since...just listened. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    What is the HF part number for your trailer? Thanks, Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    On mine there were two protrusions. There is one that is taller and fits into a hole as you say. Opposite that one (180 degrees around) is a larger but shorter one that actually sits on the slide and holds the spacer up by another .020". I took measurements of the actual needle prutrusion from the slide to confirm this. Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    My spacers also measured right at about .100". However, there is also a little protrusion that sticks off the bottom of them which holds them up another .020, making the actual effective thickness .120". I wonder if yours are the same? If so, that would mean you dropped them from .120 to .052, a change of .068". I dropped mine from .120 to about .070. I did it in a couple steps; I didn't notice much difference at .090, but from .090 to .070 was 3 mpg average increase. I wonder if another .015 or .020 would do mine like it did yours?? Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    No, gas does change formulation seasonally in two ways I am aware of. Some places, here included, offer oxygenated fuel for supposed emissions benefits, but it vapor locks too easily to do it in the summer here. And even barring that, they modify the volitility of the fuel based on the average temperature for the same reason. Denser air would make mileage better if carbs are on the rich side. I think. Maybe. At least that's what makes sense to me. So I wondered if the needle leaning thing would bring summer mileage up more since the lower-density air would work better with the leaner mixture. Well, that theory failed to materialize. Interestingly, I've read from at least two others here that their summer mileage is BETTER than winter mileage. I've never noticed this kind of seasonal difference before on my cars or bikes. So the wind resistance thing, which is somewhat unique to this bike with its full-fairing, makes sense to me. I could be all wrong though! Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    Try Ronayers.com for tire prices, or SWmototire Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    I've mentioned before that I lowered my needles .050" for a gain of 8% or so. Here's some new info. I had always noticed that my 87 VR averaged almost 2 mpg less in the summer than the winter. Keep in mind that I am in Tucson, so winter riding is 30-70 deg F and Summer riding is 70-110 deg F. It used to be something like 35 summer, 37 winter. I can now report that with the needle mod I still have the same disparity between seasons, except that now it's 38 summer and 40 winter. On tanks when I've purposely taken it REALLY easy I've topped out at 40 summer and 43 winter. Why this disparity, I always wondered? I recently came up with what I think is a likely cause - wind resistance. In the winter I'm tucked behind the fairing, rarely using my highway bars and the Baker Air Wings are closed. In the summer I want all the air I can get, feet stickin' way out there a lot of the time, air wings wide open scooping the breeze. Jeremy
  11. Gearhead
    I've used that MT66 front. Check on the rear, they have a LOT of sizes in that model. It's a cheaper tire that handles well and wears halfway decent. Not a bad choice! Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    Way too general a statement. Dunlop makes all kinds of tires! E2's and E3's wear like iron! I too was an E2 fan and was skeptical of the E3's, but I've used them now and they wear just as well and handle better. That said, my VR had E2's on when I bought it and I found a similar problem with my rear tire before too long. I figured they were probably pretty old and the bike just hadn't see many miles in the last few years so they didn't wear out. Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    Were there visible deposits on the plugs? That would be the normal mechanism of Seafoam "ruining" plugs - loosening deposits that end up on the plugs. I've experienced plugs (not brand new ones) that looked just fine but in fact misfired. Only one time, on a friend's 240Z. TWO out of six were misfiring! Boy did that car fly with new plugs installed! Glad your scoot is back in tip-top shape. Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    Interesting theory, I always assumed the 5-minute shutdown allows heat from the headers to warm up the starter motor itself. Same thing happens on a small block Chevy with headers. Does anybody know why heat soak affects the performance of a starter motor? Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Why did you have to remove your dash? If I disconnect the housing at the front wheel the whole inner cable can be removed, greased and reinstalled. With long pliers I can even disconnect the top of the housing from the dash with just the headlight removed. I just re-read the "prologue" so I see why you had to remove the housing, but I still think you can put it back together and just put in the new inner cable later. If you buy a cable from Yammy I think it comes as an assy with the housing and inner cable. Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    Firestik makes a suitable replacement for under 20 bucks that is supposed to be better anyway. I put one on mine and it seems to work fine. Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    FWIW, usually a bad ball or roller bearing makes more of a rumble. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    E3's are great. They ride well, handle well, and you'll get over 20K miles front AND rear. Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    Suspect bad connection, possibly at fuse or relay. Also check schematic for any other connectors in the circuit. Clean an grease all connectors - highly recommended. Ask GeorgeS! Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    I've been hearing most of that for 15 years, that plug reading really doesn't work anymore 'cause the fuels are cleaner. Dynojet for years has not recommended plug reading but rather riding behavior - pinging, surging, etc, and does it get better or worse if you tape off a bunch of the air filter surface? Long time engine builder David Vizard says plug reading has always been really difficult to do accurately. You're actually supposed to look down in the annular gap where the ceramic meets the metal. Or so I've read. As for the rim of plug body, it's pretty much always dark or black, so I don't see that as a viable option. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    To me, Boost Sensor and MAP sensor are both fancy names for vacuum sensor, since the common terminology is "manifold vacuum". However, MAP is probably technically most correct George, you recommend carrying a spare of everything! When you go on the road, where do you put your wife or your luggage??? What sort of tires to you run to carry all that weight?? Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    They're out there, and you can get a lot better deal than that. Keep lookin'. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    I found the problem. Well, that's not quite true. I fixed the problem. First, thanks you guys, esp. Mike Brood who sent me a PM with helpful info. The pot shunts the signal to ground, so the lower the resistance the lower the volume because more gets shunted. There are 3 wires in the attenuator circuit - left, right, and the common ground. Then I consulted the manual and there is actually some pretty detailed info on checking the resistance on the two channels of the pot at different knob settings. I didn't find any problem with the pot as measured at the first connector behind the headlight. Cleaned that up, greased and reconnected. Then I made measurements at the next connection where it ties into the headset cable to the left of the battery. Didn't find anything difinitive there either. A couple readings were a little wonky, but I wasn't sure I had the meter probes making good contact. In the end, all I did was clean and grease both of those connectors and tug on the cables and now the level knob works great! Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    Examine the races really carefully. Do they have any lines in them that line up with the rollers? If so, they need replacement. If not, they may be OK. But as someone else wrote here recently, that's a lot of work to do, you might want to just do the new bearings at this point. I got the lower bearing off using a die grinder to get it thin and then a cold chisel and hammer to crack the thin spot. Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    Good point. Mine looked pretty good but the plastic was held on by imagination as most of the mounting tabs were broken. I've spent MANY an hour over the last 3 years reparing broken plastic. Jeremy
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