BlueSky

I would use loctite on the bolts that hold the calipers on before I would use anti-seize. I think the manual recommends it. I wouldn't want the calipers to become loose. When I was working in FL a coworker was riding his Ducati home and the front brake felt like it was dragging. He applied a little pressure to the brake lever and the front wheel locked up and he somersaulted over the handlebars and woke up in the hospital. I don't know what happened but I guessed that a caliper became loose and locked up the front wheel when he pulled the lever.

I was riding my Yamaha Virago one day and saw a Harley rider on the side of the road working on his bike. I stopped and asked if I could help. He responded with a loud "NO" as if he couldn't accept help from a Yamaha rider. So, I rode on. Maybe I should have told him to swap that thing on a Yamaha!

I plead partially guilty for hijacking the thread because I don't want anyone else to lock up the rear wheel and break an ankle like I did. Delinking the brakes sets you up for that possibility. If I could I would link my Gen 2 brakes. ABS would be great! I suspect that if Yamaha had added fuel injection and ABS to the Gen 2 bikes it would have gone a long way in making it sell better and keep the resale higher. You can buy a Gen 2 for half what you can a Goldwing. In my case it was a 3rd.

I towed an open trailer with my Kawasaki from Wilmington NC to Homestead, FL where I was working in the month of February. I ran into many rain showers on the way. There were LOTS of cars from the frozen north going to FL on I95 and the salt scum on the side of their cars washed off onto the road. Then it got splashed all over the left side of my bike. I was negligent about washing the bike and I got corrosion because of the salt. So, there are many advantages to having a covered trailer. Keeping the bike cleaner is one of them.

I'm not worried that much about locking up the rear brake in dry conditions. But, when there is a low traction situation when the road is slippery due to rain, leaves, dirt, etc. it would be really easy to lock up the rear and go down. The only motorcyle crash I've experienced was locking up the rear of my 83 Yamaha Virago after it started raining and there was clay on the road in front of someone's driveway. I broke my ankle! Wasn't that a factor in Yammer Dan's crash going to MD a few years ago. Didn't he lock up the rear wheel?

Mine are in good shape but someone else will probably want that sticker!

I wish I wasn't too stiff to ride them! Too late for me!

You got my curiosity up so I went to the garage and looked at my 89. The only 1300 stickers I saw were on the plate that Charharly polished and the one on the other side of the engine. but they are a little bigger than you described.

The 2007 Gen 2 I just bought has a very powerful rear brake, much more so than the front. Seems to me this situation is one panic stop from going down.

There is still time to change your mind about selling!

Quite a while ago, Motorcycle Superstore sent me a "new" 5 year old tire. It was a Metzler Lasertec that fit the rear of my Kawasaki and I suppose there isn't much demand for that size. I used it and it worked okay but when you order tires there is no way that I know of to request a newly manufactured tire. They should refund your money with no drama on that tire.

Wow! That's a lot of riding. Maybe at 74, I'm not too old!

I worked as a temporary engineering contractor at nuclear power plants for the last 20 years of my employment. When the work was finished, I was terminated in all kinds of ways. Sometimes we got emails telling us our end dates. At least one job, we were escorted out by security immediately after being terminated. I didn't care. The jobs were temporary. The pay was high. I liked not having any ties to the companies other than trying to do a good job. I was always happy to leave and take a break. I almost never looked for another job until the current job ended. I'm just an independent cuss. It worked out well for me. But, if you are the type who worries a lot, that type of job may not be for you.

You may be interested in watching these old Yamaha training videos. There are 12 of them on the internet.

My favorite was a Sugar Daddy. it was hard caramel candy on a stick, like a small popsicle. When I went to the movies in the mid to late 50's, one of those would last about half way through the movie.

If it has no issues that is a reasonable price in my opinion. Typical issues are dirty carbs that might can be cleaned up without removing them from the bike with seafoam or Gumout, noisy speedometer that needs lubing, spark plug wires that are corroded at the cap. Typical fix is to cut off a half inch or so of wire and screw it back into the cap. Make sure it is running on all four cylinders. These V4 engines run like they are missing at idle. If you can check the exhaust temps with an infrared thermometer, you will find out if a cylinder isn't running right. Carbs don't usually cause problems unless you let it sit and the gas dries up in the carbs. Another typical problem is the clutch slave cylinder leaking. These bikes have been known to run over 200k miles with reasonable care. Bottom line is that they are darn good bikes.

For anybody who has a Harbor Freight lift table that has a failed jack, this guy came up with a great solution.

Or you could go with the laboratory tests of oils if you can find them. There is some difference between oils that meet the same specifications. Subjective opinions meet little.

In today's market, it's amazing how much bike you can buy for little money! According to cowpuc you should be able to get another 150k miles out of that one!

I feel for you. I installed a new light/fan a while back and I was amazed at how much time it took. I had to drill some new holes in the circuit box for the new screws. And then it didn't work. So, I wired it up directly bypassing the remote circuitry and it worked. So, I went back to Home Depot with the remote gadget receiver that was inside the housing and they gave me another one out of another fan's box. Came back home and that one worked. It was a lot more work than I ever imagined.

Looks like a great deal! Congratulations! How many miles on the bike?

That's awesome news! I'm so happy for you!

The sight glass is in the same location but the Gen 2 has an exhaust pipe in the way of using a mirror to check the oil level.

I'm sure that you don't have to use Yamalube to maintain the warranty. On an air/oil cooled bagger, I suggest you use an oil with a good noack test. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noack_volatility_test The next link is a 2009 document of tested motorcycle oils. http://www.oil-tech.com/amsoil-pdf-files/motorcycle-oil-comparison.pdf

Something occurred to me about balancing beads. Most gas stations today have these tankless air compressors and by not having a tank when they compress air, if the humidity is high that day, condensation may occur. So, it's probably not a good idea to use tankless air compressors to pump up bike tires that have beads in them. The moisture may contribute to the beads sticking together. This also includes those small compressors that plug into a 12 volt outlet on the bike or auto. Those of us who have an air compressor with a tank know that we should drain the water out of the tank periodically.