BlueSky

This is such sad news. I'm so sorry for Bongo and his family.

So sorry to hear this Freebird. Don't sell the bike yet. You are still a young man and this problem will be resolved I'm sure. Has the doctor mentioned a MRI of the brain? I heard a squeaking or whistling noise every time my heart beat back in 2008. An MRI was ordered and a peculiar mass was found in the lower left of my brain. Another MRI was performed with dye. The MRI provided very detailed photos of my brain. It turned out to be (they think) a mass of tiny arteries and veins connected together, sort of a bypass. I don't remember the medical term for this condition. Anyhow, the noise stopped mostly and I continued trucking. The doctors were amazed. They initially thought it was a tumor. There is more to the story but nobody would believe it if I told it.

So sorry he has to endure this. I'll be hoping he pulls through and you will be riding with him again in no time.

I have both of the original keys to my RSV. The one I was using appears to be the one the original owner always used. It is a little worn looking. It's attached to the dealer key chain. The other key looks like it was never used. So, I tried it and it took only 2 tries to get the key to turn. So, the worn key idea was a good suggestion.

The first issue is that when the key is inserted into the ignition switch it won't turn. After fiddling with it for a while it turns. I first sprayed some WD40 down the key hole and that didn't seem to help. Next I sprayed some Liquid Wrench penetration oil down the key hole and that didn't help. The key is the OE key ?? The second issue is that when the key does turn to ON, I depress the start button and I hear only one click. Repeated button depressions followed by one click and the starter finally engages and spins with the engine starting. The battery is new and fully charged. ??? Are these typical issues with the RSV? Any helpful hints on what to do to fix them would be appreciated.

The "blond" bike is my favorite color.

Download for free from this site in the tech section

Thanks for the review. Excellent job! Any waterproof boot is going to cause your feet to sweat. So, if the goal is to keep your feet dry, it's imposssible. They either get wet from rain when it rains or sweat from the waterproof boot. In colder weather they may do great.

cracks in the side of the carb holders don't necessarily mean they are leaking. I replaced the carb holders on my Kawasaki because they were cracked on the outside but the insides were smooth with no cracking.

How long did it sit before running it this time? What "carb cleaner" did you use? Some of that stuff might damage the rubber parts. I use Gumout with PEA and put a whole bottle in a tank when my carbs get plugged bad. After running it a while over several days, it usually clears up.

Maybe it just needed to be changed. Dot 4 fluid adsorbs water quicker than Dot 3 and needs to be replaced more often.

This owner who is or was a member made this video about what he did to modify his bike including the radio replacement. You may be interested in viewing it.

A vacuum operated petcock is a good idea I think but your bike probably didn't come with one or has the need for one. The purpose is to shut off the fuel every time the engine shuts off. This helps prevent the possibility of hydrolocking the engine and it also might help prevent you from becoming a crispy critter in the event of an accident.

You young whippersnapper!

50 years ago, I was in the US Army stationed at a Nike Hercules missile site in South Korea repairing the radars and computer that computed the kill point for the missile. I didn't get to watch TV to see the moon landing. I was 25 yrs old and I could standing press 200lbs. Those days are gone!!!

Wow! Sounds like he was quite a character and a driven man! Would have been an honor to know him! RIP!

Sorry for your loss, FF. I remember how tough it was when I lost my parents, my Dad in 1989 at the age of 79 and my Mom in 2005 at the age of 93. I'd love to be able to spend one more day with them.

Some folks are going to sintered brake pads for more grip.

Surely would like to see some photos of this bike! Hint! Hint!

This may be irrelevant but we used a couple of boat covers from Walmart on our 18' boat. The boat mildewed really bad over the winter under the cover. The last one my wife bought through Amazon and it was slightly less expensive than Walmart and it allows moisture to evaporate leaving the boat mildew free like it is advertised to do. The Walmart cover was supposed to allow moisture to evaporate but it obviously didn't.

Today I rode the Kawasaki about 40 miles each way to the monthly retiree luncheon. On the way there, a truck stopped suddenly in front of me and I hit the brakes hard. The new BT45 rear tire broke loose, seems to me way quicker than with the replaced Metzler Lasertec. I was able to modulate the rear brake without going down. I smelled the burning rubber. The Bridgestone V rated BT45 is a dual compound rear tire with the harder compound in the center. I shoulda bought a sport bike tire. Then on the way back a rain cloud dropped it's bottom on me and I found out it doesn't grip very well in the rain either...... Oh well! Famous last words!

Maybe organic pads would be the best choice. But, I have my doubts about the knowledge of the author of this article. For example the statement that organic pads don't generate as much heat as others is not true. Brakes work by converting kinetic energy into heat. For the same stop on the same car all pads will generate the same amount of heat. It also talks about ceramic not "holding" as much heat as metallic. I think what happens is the ceramic pads do not conduct heat as well so for the same stop ceramic pads will not get as hot as metallic pads but since the heat has to go somewhere, it goes into the rotor. So, the rotor will get hotter with hard braking compared to metallic pads. This may be good if there is a problem with brake fluid getting too hot because if the heat goes into the rotor and not the pads, the caliper and fluid will not absorb as much heat. Brakes with ceramic pads will not fade as quickly with repeated stops as metallic pads. And I think there is a difference in semi-metallic pads and metallic pads. I think that sintered pads are metallic pads and are different from semi-metallic. I may have just exceeded my knowledge of braking systems! Ha!

I don't think it's that unusual for oil to be blow up into the air intake since that is where the engine base is vented in most cases. Some owners are putting catch cans on the vent line on autos to catch the oil that would have been blown into the air intake. The harder you run the engine, the more likely this can happen. I wouldn't worry about it unless it's excessive. I have noticed my Kawasaki blows some oil into the air intake. I mostly ride it around town and I love winding it up in the gears!:banana:

I'm thinking I will replace my rear pads with ceramic pads since they don't grip as much as semi-metallic and metallic pads. The rear brake is to grippy anyway.

If you never have an accident due to worn tires, it may have paid off. If you had one accident that worn tires contributed to, it would have been worth several sets of tires to prevent it. I bought my stepson a really nice Miata with only 12k miles on it. His previous driving experience was in a FWD Ford Focus. Now with rear wheel drive and worn tires on the rear and not much experience he spun it out in the rain and caused a wreck. The Miata was totaled. No one was hurt but the driver of the car he hit had back problems so he contacted an injury attorney and sued. We sweated that one out for over a year before his lawyer and my insurance company settled the case after my ins co's PI filmed the guy working when he said he couldn't work any more. Anyhow, I sweated for over a year and brought the case to a close after I hired one of the best attorneys in the state of FL in that field to help. My ins co even paid my attorney's fees in addition to their attorney's fees! So yeah, I would have bought several sets of tires if I could have avoided that fiasco.