Richie C

Yes, I installed the full Barnett Kit 2 years ago. Love it. The purple Plate/springs and the friction kit had to be ordered separately, and the gasket was separate as well. Great YouTube DIY video out there. It's as simple as it gets.

We had initially suffered from bad mileage and heavy buffering, but when we cut 4" off the original windshield it immediately want away. I now have the Clearview Medium and it is perfect. The 5" extra width makes a huge difference. Light grey with no vent. My wife and I run 65 on the highway and get between 38-42 MPG. It's only if we sustain the speed past 75 that we see a decline in mileage, and even then it's about 36 at worst. BTW, we are not stick people and are running the bike past it's payload limit. Your poor mileage may be a combination of windshield and tuning.

Bring a multimeter and run a full electronic diagnostic on the system.

BTW, The bike is a 1999 RSV with 59K miles.

Hello all. I have been a very silent member for years, as I have always been able to find the information I need very quickly in the discussions. This group has always been polite, friendly, and spot on with opinions and advice. This one has me a bit stumped, as I can't find anyone who has had the same problem. Please bear with my as I describe the diagnosis. Note: when I first got the bike it had a bad R/R so at that time I upgraded to a Shindingen MOSFET which has run like a champ. Over the years, I have had a few electrical gremlins that would pop up out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. I would get the usual stator/rectifier plug melting issue, but that would happen once or twice a year at random times. When it did happen, everything would test out properly with no clues. Eventually my suspicion pointed to maybe a bad stator, even though the PO claimed he had just installed a new one right before I bought the bike. I know, red flag right there... I finally decided to dive in and solve this issue once and for all. This week I picked up a new HO Stator from Rick's (he is right near me here in NH) and popped the case off to make the swap. Here is where the trouble starts. The "new" stator was installed with a small bolt jammed between two windings (See the pics). I have put 35K miles on the bike myself, so I am surprised that this issue didn't show up sooner, or manifest itself worse than it has so far. The stator appears to maybe have a third of the windings still working. This has been enough to keep the bike running very well most of the time, but it still succumbs tot he occasional 'surprise' dead battery. Close inspection of the trigger shows a discernible groove and what appears to be a crack along the side, so a new one is on the way. The inside edge of the flywheel is a thin layer of metal that is undoubtedly covering the magnets. There is not much in the way of scratching, defects or carbon buildup on the face, but my finger does feel something of a 'ripple' in the metal as I run my finger round the inside. It doesn't flex very much, and the 'steel screw' test indicate that the magnets remain very strong throughout the armature. The face has no creases or deep bumps. The shiny edge of the screw head does suggest that the imbedded screw spent some time wearing down, and it dragging along the cover caused it to crinkle just a bit. There is every indication that I still have a gap between the winding ends and the magnet face. I have scoured the boards and fora, but have seen very little discussion about flywheel/rotor/magnet issues. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you all and have a great day. Richie

Long time getting back to this one. Even when I unplugged the speedo it kept happening. It's also happening on my 99 that I've had for about a year. I have used rotella, Mobil 1 4T, and yamalube, all for about 5000 miles each and nothing ever changed.

If you are still following this thread, please tell me which oil you are running. The whine in my 99 RSV is actually more of a screech, same as my old 83 had. Thank you!

Thanks for the tips! Once I get her running, I'll be able to assess if I have a 2nd gear issue. There are hints all over the bike that it has had considerable maintenance over the years. I'm hoping its all the good kind, but careful diagnosis will tell. Maybe I'll find that someone already beat me to the rough stuff. It already has stainless front lines, so I'm hopeful. At this point, I still don't even know the mileage. Once I wake up the electrical system I'll know much more. That should be coming soon. I'm on the lookout for parts for the possible brake upgrade, it's not my top priority, but I'll get there soon enough. If I don't get the rear end apart before the end of the riding season, it will be a good winter project. My next item is replacing the mangled fuel petcock and moving the fuel filter just a tad so that replacing it does not require experience with performing arthroscopic surgery. Hopefully, I will have good news very soon. Thanks to all for your input. Peace, Rich

Thank you! I just picked up an 83 VR, and I'm working my way through the requisite issues that come with a cheap purchase. As you are likely familiar with us new guys having all kinds of questions, I will try to save mine until I can peruse some of the existing threads. So far, I've changed the oil, draining 7 quarts from the case. This doesn't include pulling the plug at the clutch basket. Right off, I think I'm getting closer to why this bike wouldn't run so well ... I've been told that one carb was recently cleaned, but it was done by someone with no understanding of the electrical system, who decided to fiddle with it anyway. I've got some broken wiring that I hope to correct without too much trouble. Trying to be preemptive, I picked up a wiring harness - before finding out that the seller was wrong when he told me it was an '84 instead of an '83. Just found out that the harnesses are not compatible, so the old one gets fixed. I'll be replacing the fuse block with blades, and hopefully testing my relays to ensure they are still ok. Some of the fairing parts were removed by that quasi-mechanic, and he made sure to break some of the fasteners in the process. More unnecessary repairs, fun, fun, fun! Some of my plans include brakes upgrades. I'm finding out that some of the F1/F6 setups are compatible, so I'll be checking out the fora for those. Also, I'm looking at the possibility of upgrading the TCI. Acts it was this particular research that brought my attention to this group. Anyway as I begin to prove my long-windedness, I will stop here. I'm already much impressed with the knowledge, encouragement and politeness among this group, and I'm happy to be here. As soon as I figure out how to sign on for a full membership, I'll be doing just that. Thanks again; Rich