luvmy40

Can you run youtube and other internet based services on the Fire Stick? The reason I ask is that my newest smart tv(Samsung,about 6 years old) wont run Youtube any more and the app can't be updated for some reason. I just watch through my PS3 but it is kind of disappointing that the apps on the smart tv expire.

I clean out the garage once a year, whether it needs it or not. Today was day 1. We moved the completely disassembled 1981 Yamaha XJ750RH Seca out to the shed, got rid of a truck load of cardboard and filled a very large garbage can with all manner of detritus. There remains a whole lot of reorganization and further cleaning but we made room for the Beast so I can start the removal of the carbs for rebuild and the replacement of some cheapazz chicom head cover gaskets that cost me 2 gallons of oil last season. This is the most space I've had in this garage since this time last year! I have all the necessary carb parts and head cover gaskets on order from Partzilla and a Needle Shim Kit coming from skydoc_17 to, hopefully cure my fuel economy issue.

Since that's not your first XJ you probably already know about xjbikes.com and xjforever for parts. If you don't, check it out. A member(forum owner?) there, chacal, has a the largest warehouse of new old stock xj parts that exists. His prices are reasonable and he has everything that is available, including coil mod instal kits and spin on oil filter adapters for all models. At least two of us here are or were members there, I still go there occasionally.

I found a link to a classifieds for the shim kit from skydoc but it's a dead link. Is that kit still available? If so how how I get one?

BTW, The reason I am going to "Rebuild" the carbs is simply my fuel economy sucks right now. She's running great but I'm only getting 28-29 mpg with a good tail wind. I quick cleaned the carbs(can of carb cleaner and partial disassembly) and replaced the pilot mixture screws when I first got the Beast and that seemed to be all that was needed until I started tracking my mileage.

cimmer, Thanks! Parts Shark appears to be just a bit cheaper than Partzilla though I didn't dig in far enough to see what shipping costs are there. Yamahasportsplaza.com does have the main needle assy. and main nozzle available. They're pricey, though cheaper than the local dealership. ETA: The needle set I found is for the '89 V-Max 1200 not the MK1 Venture, sorry! I may order one just to compare them.

I went ahead and ordered the parts that I absolutely know need to be replaced, including the head cover gaskets from HELL(well, from china actually) from Partzilla. Hopefully the main nozzles, needles and coast diaphragms don't need replaced. I have already inspected the main slide diaphragms and they are fine so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. For the carbs, I ordered the rubber blocks for the jet blocks, the jet block gaskets and the choke block/enricher block gaskets. I have half a dozen different o-ring kits so the o-rings should be covered.

OK, I gotta admit, I don't have a clue what a vacuum actuator cable is.

Partzilla is a few dollars cheaper across the board and free shipping on orders over $149.00. Only problem is they don't have the main nozzle or needle assy. in stock, so that kind blows the free shipping if I have to order them from YSP.

Well, the deal fell through. No trade for me! He either found a bike that better suits his needs or decided he needs cash.

I'm planning to rebuild my carbs this winter. YamahaSportsPlaza.com has the best price I found for the head cover gaskets and, so far the best prices on the carb parts that I can find. Does anyone have a better/cheaper source? Here's a screen shot of the carb parts in a shopping cart: The diaphragm, set 5 is the coast circuit diaphragm, not the main piston diaphragm.

Yep, and about 2/3 the weight. Never having owned a shadow, I am hoping it has more low end torque than the XJs do. I just want a fun little hopper to commute to my part time gig and blow the dust from between my ears after a long day in the shop.

I've entered into a trade deal with a fellow I found on craig's list. He's got an '86 Honda VT500c Shadow that he's bobbed and a spare engine that needs a starter clutch up for sale or trade. I have a basket case '81 Seca 750 in pieces and an '82 Maxim 750 in very good condition. The maxim has been my short hop bike for about 5 years and I'm just plain bored with it after getting my Venture. I offered both XJs in trade and he accepted pending personal inspection or last minute cold feet so the trade is done deal, just getting the logistics together and transporting both bikes and spare parts about 100 miles may take a little time and planning. Here's a pic of the Honda Bobber What do y'all think?

I'm going to have to take a look at those Knipex pliers. I have a couple different sizes of the RoboGrip pliers from Sears and like the concept. The work fairly well but do not allow the torqued that a couple of you ascribe to the Knipex tools. I picked up a set of these in SAE and one in metric. I keep the metric set in the fairing console of my Venture along with a folding set of hex keys and a 6 way combination screw driver. https://www.autozone.com/wrenches-pliers-and-cutters/wrench/duralast-2-pcs-sae-ratcheting-wrench-set/951643_0_0 https://www.autozone.com/wrenches-pliers-and-cutters/wrench/duralast-2-pcs-metric-ratcheting-wrench-set/951644_0_0 I'm sure the wrenches are available from other sources but I get the employee's discount at AZ so...

Just to throw another non professional mechanic's $0.02 in here; The fact that spraying carb cleaner into one side's carbs had no effect at all tells me those cylinders are not firing at all. As already mentioned, check your wires, caps and coils with an ohm meter. I like to use an in line spark tester as well. Yamaha has a pretty cool spark tester but I haven't been able to find one for sale at a reasonable price yet.

Here's one for the shot shell loaders out there. I found this at a local gun show last year for $10.00. A Lee Precision, progressive 12ga shot shell loader. I didn't know Lee ever made a progressive shot press! It turns out, they didn't make it for long. I spent about $15.00 on parts and powder/shot bushings and rebuilt it. I loaded enough to know it's reliable and sold it at another gun show for $50.00 And here's a jig I made for cutting .223 brass down to neck down to .300 blk

I load nearly everything I shoot. 12ga trap loads, .223, .308, 30-40 Krag, .243, 30-30, .30-06, .303 British and 5 or 6 pistol calibers. I do it all on 3 presses. A Lee Precision Load Master, a Lee Precision Breach Lock Challenger, Anniversary edition single stage press, and a MEC 762 Grabber. There are kits available that get you everything you need to get started. You'll want to upgrade your powder scale and add a couple items eventually. Lee equipment is far from the best available, but it is the best bang for the buck out there, bar none. I have less invested in my two presses and all the tool heads and dies for the dozen or so calibers I load than I would have into one Dillon 650 for one caliber. The Load Master can be run as a single stage/turret style press, a manually indexed progressive or an auto indexing progressive. Changing calibers is quick and easy. It does require a little TLC out of the box to tweak a couple things but nothing major and once it's up and running, if you follow some very easy rules on set up, it runs very well. I'd say, if you are going to load a couple hundred rounds/week or less, go Lee. If you are going to load into the thousands/week go Dillon. BTW, you'll just shoot more so the savings is kind of mythical. You do get a much higher quality ammo with your best QC for your money, and you can tune each load for any particular shootin' iron. I also cast most of my own bullets. There is a significant savings there but it is also a rabbit hole that you may want to avoid, depending on how obsessive compulsive you are!

If I limited my "Guns, Knives and Beer" purchases I'd be driving a Rolls Royce and riding a fleet of exotic antique bikes.

I'd like to see the sales breakdown by CC and class(touring, sport, commuter, etc.) as well as numbers on the used bike market. The economy has been in a slump, wages are not keeping pace with the COL and taxes have been getting higher across the board. This definitely impacts new MC sales but probably has an inverse affect on the secondary market. I definitely see as many or more bikes on the road today as compared to the last 20 years or so. The high rate of IBTW(idiot behind the wheel) incidences may cause some of the older, more health conscious riders from hitting the road as frequently as they used to but I doubt it has much to do with the new sales market slump. Personally, I've never bought a new vehicle of any kind and am not likely to ever do so. The initial cost and loss to depreciation far out weighs the cost of maintenance on a used bike or car. Besides, I like wrenching almost as much as I do riding.

I feel for you brother. It sickens me that good people get put through the ringer and have to spend years and thousands of dollars to get U.S. citizenship and the lawless illegals from across the southern border seem to be given the world and clemency from any crimes they commit.

Just a tiny thread drift that I think all would find interesting. Related to the advance of machining and measuring processes; I read a book many years ago about the Wright Brothers and their road to designing the Wright Flyer. In the process they corrected many erroneous data points that had been taken as gospel for years. Data like the coefficient of lift and the drag coefficient when designing a wing surface. They also pioneered the wind tunnel testing and invented new measuring devices and methods still used today. Anyway, sometime in the recent past a group of college students(MIT, I believe) embarked on a trip to reproduce the Wright Flyer from the original plans of the Wright Brothers. Everything went well except for the engine. They could not get it to run at all. It was determined the problem was one of precision. When they built the engine to the Wright Bros. specifications with modern tooling and measuring devices, it would not work at all. When they used period correct machining tools and measuring devices it worked perfectly. I believe the book was "Visions of a Flying Machine (The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention)" by Peter L. Jakab

I would have to assume that the compression ratio is going to effect the max piston speed as well. At least from a long term stress view. A dragster engine that gets rebuilt between runs is going to be able to have a higher compression ratio and max piston speed than an engine designed to go 100k miles before needing a rebuild.

Will do! I just started playing with this so I'm a complete newb with digital hi def recording.

I did a little research and found my problem is probably due to trying to run the raw file on an older computer with windows Vista. It plays fairly good on a newer machine with Win 8.1. No time lag but it's a little choppy. Evidently the raw video file(.MOV or .MVI) needs to be rendered to a better format for computer playback and uploading to youtube or the like. I down loaded the free version of Lightworks to play with.

You really shouldn't waste that ham bone on split peas. Go with Black eyed peas and add a ham hock for gusto. Chicken stock, a little celery, salt, pepper and cayenne. Served over buttered corn bread with a dash of your favorite pepper sauce. MMMM, goood. I guarantee it!