Jump to content

bamico

Expired Membership
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    119

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by bamico

  1. bamico
    Puckman, I used CarbonOne's bracket and wiring harness and both worked amazingly well. Simple bolt on / plug and play. I'd highly recommend buying both from him. Good Luck. Ride safe. Bob
  2. bamico
    Sleeperhawk is quite right. I'm using the jack to tie into the Aux function. Works pretty well. What I meant to say was that there wasn't an integrated mp3 hookup so that the ipod controls could be managed through the audio system.. next song, skip, ff, rew, change playlists, etc. Ride safe all.
  3. bamico
    Personally, I'm more of a motel person, but you may have trouble finding someplace this late... most places have very high min night stays (5 min...). Plus, as other's have mentioned, it isn't cheap. Last year I ended staying in Saratoga Springs in order to get a single night. However, if you choose to camp, you may find this rally much more low key than others you may have attended. There is much less of a rowdy aspect as it is much more of a touring rally. You'll be amazed at the number of Wings and bikes pulling trailers. Very different atmosphere than Daytona or Laconia. My wife has lost interest in Laconia at this point (~1.5 hrs from where we live) and prefers going to Americade (~4-5 hr ride) instead. If you've never been, definately go, its a great rally. Note that it starts on a Monday and ends on a Sat. If you're up for a ride, you could start in Americade and head over to Laconia, NH which starts on the weekend Americade ends. Great ride from NY to NH. Good luck with your decision. Bob
  4. bamico
    lucky_1_chris, Welcome to the forum. As others have stated, you'll find it a very helpful resource. I can't imagine there's an issue out there that hasn't been adressed on this forum. Everyone out here has been fantastic. I too was a Honda person. I've had 3... V65 Sabre, Shadow 1100 and a Shadow Ace Tourer. Thought I was a Honda purist until I came across the Yamaha RSTD in 2005. Bought it, loved it, never looked back. Traded up to a RSV last spring due to the wife wanting to ride more. Again, never looked back, loved the RSTD, love the RSV. I did the same thing you did when going from the RSTD to the RSV. Tried the Ultra, Wing, Vulcan. Even rented an Ultra for a week. Tried to convince myself the Ultra was the bike (most of my friends ride HD), but could not convince myself to spend more money for less bike. Also, at 6', 195lbs, the RSV just had more room to stretch out. My wife can climb on, we ride for hours and I don't even know she's back there. On the Ultra, we were touching. The issues I have with the bike, and you'll see them mentioned on the site: Clutch basket whine (RSV does not have it, RSTD did), carbs vs EFI, although, never have had an issue, a cassette deck vs mp3 port, although, I've got the ipod running through the aux jack. You'll see all sorts of mods you can do to increase handling, comfort, etc. Still, absolutely love the bike. I look each year at the new RSVs to see if its worth getting a new one. The 2011 is Blue/Blue, which is very close to my Blue/Black. Still w/carbs, so I guess we'll see what 2012 brings. Good luck in your decision. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Ride safe. Bob
  5. bamico
    Triple that... 1"
  6. bamico
    Condor, If for whatever reason, Wal-Mart doesn't have what you need, I got my cable at Radio Shack. Options came in 1ft, 3ft and 5ft lenghts. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will work for you. Bob
  7. bamico
    Any idea if this applies to the 2007 RSV as well? I ask only because, as I understand it, the engine is pretty much the same...? Thanks in advance. Bob
  8. bamico
    David, This is a known issue with Yamaha and covered under warentee. I've had it replaced on my 07 RSV and my 05 RSTD. I've tried ABS adhesive as well. It worked ok, but eventually gave out at the weld from taking the cowling on/off. I'd have the dealer order the replacement, and ABS weld/glue the old one as a backup. Hope this helps. Bob
  9. bamico
    Had a similar experience myself. I'm 6' and 200 lbs at the time. Passenger friend was a "larger" gal... only 5'4" tall, but fairly close to rounder in stature... guessing 210-240lbs. As others have stated, the bike will be ok, but wouldn't go cross country with her. Slow speeds are tougher, as stated by others, you will be top heavy. But here's my Real point... one thing that took me by surprise was when she went to get on ! All that weight on 1 side floorboard/peg until she shimmied onto the rear seat... lets just say... make sure your feet are well planted for her on/offs. Have fun. Bob
  10. bamico
    Bert, If you want to light up under the tank, you can do it with some low profile, military grade LED lights. I believe the Electropods are too thick to fit in the space under the tank (at least that was my experience). I got mine from Hog City Lights (based in NY) while at Laconia Bike Week (you can find them on the web to get an idea of the lights they use). They are very low profile... barely the width of the LED bulb itself. They're in a strip of 18 bulbs (3 sets of 6 on each side). Also lit a couple of spots in the engine cavity so the whole things glows at night. Wired in a controller with a remote control as well. They have the usual spot grouping of lights as well. Word of advice... install the quick release connectors on the wires, because if not, when you go to take the tank off for service, you'll have to strip off the lights. The light strips are thin, removing them and attempting re-taping will certainly damage some of the lights... (go ahead... ask me how I know... I completely forgot about them until I got a call from the mechanic... ouch!) Anyway, once installed, I haven't had any issues, its been ~ 5 years. They're kinda fun at night during rally weeks or at the beach at night. The controller allows you to set intesity, have them blink, or look like they're breathing (fade in/out). I get mixed reviews from my riding friends. Some like them, some harass me pretty hard if I light them up. All personal preference. Good Luck! Ride Safe. Bob
  11. bamico
    I'd give it a try. The lowers cracking due to the ABS joint/screw holder giving out is a known issue with Yamaha. I cracked the ABS plastic protrusion that holds the screw/grommit on th Left lower of my 2005 RSTD. I was able to repair it with ABS cement. I then later had the same cover crack on my 2007 Venture as the Yamaha mechanic overtighted the fastening screw. I got the Veture piece replaced under warrenty. Its 5 year, tire to tire. No dealer hesitstion whatsover. Maybe you could help the protrusion "break"... New part was 200 or 300 hundred... I was told the RSTD piece could be covered as well, but had already sold it at that point. Hope this helps. Bob
  12. bamico
    Was wondering if any of you have bought the coffee mug/holder? Had a couple of questions: 1) Does it mount on either side of the bars. In thier photos it is only shown mounted on the right side off the brake fluid resevior, was wondering if it would mount on the left off the clutch resevior? 2) Does it block access to any of the controls? Looks a little big with the handle taking up a good amount of space. I've got a friend that has the Kuryakyn version mounted on his HD, and its handy for water/coffee at stoplights or in traffic. Really good on hot days to keep hydrated. Works for him, but of course the mounts are different. As always appreciate any throughts. Ride Safe. Bob
  13. bamico
    Rich, Yes, certainly lots of parts. If you're getting rattles it may be worth giving the bike a once over and tightening everything you can. There are lots of posts on the site about parts loostening including, side bag covers, heel toe shifters, trunk lids, passing lamps, etc. Personally, I had the trunk lid on mine loosten so far, it wouldn't latch closed, also had one of the passing lamps loosten to the point that it was lighting up my front tire. Apparently Yamaha doesn't believe in aircraft nuts or locktite. Don't get too discouraged, it really is a great bike once you figure it out. Like you said, lots of parts there... Ride safe. Bob
  14. bamico
    Rich, They're not perfectly even. I've noticed 2 things that may impact this... 1) As Bummer pointed out, the crash guards move... I have the CarbonOne supports and highly suggest them. Not really sure how to "move" them back. Before the supports, they certainly bounced around quite a bit. 2) The wind deflectors are bolted on from a single mounting point off the crash bars. As a result, they're not super-sturdy... I move them open and closed depending on weather/rain and find that they sometimes rotate on the crash bar. Its not much... maybe a 1/4" or so, but that's enough to have them bump into the lower cowling as you describe. So, I keep an eye on them. Have tried tightening, but they still move. Here's another thought... not sure if you've ever taken the cowlings off your bike, for service, fuse replacement, cleaning etc, however, if you did you'd notice that the bolt that enters from the back of the bike and screws in toward the front screws into a rubber grommet that sits in an ABS plastic protrusion of the cowling. They're Very weak (lots of posts on the site regarding this). If somehow, yours broke, it may allow the cowling to move back to your let enough to impact your wind deflector clearance. I had the dealer break one of mine during a full service. I noticed it because the clearances between the right and left wind deflector were different. Not sure I would have even noticed if it wasn't for the fact that I was installing the wind deflectors. Once I got that fixed, I now keep the wind deflectors on and pointing into the engine cavity all summer. Highway pegs help a lot too. Just my experiences... hope it helps. Ride safe. Bob
  15. bamico
    RichG, I made 2 bolt-on mods at the suggestion of other members on the site. First, I added the Yamaha wind deflectors. They allow you to direct the air onto your legs. They also help with getting air through the dead spot behind the lower cowling which blows out some of the heat. You can also swivel them closed to extend the cold riding season. Second, I added Kuryakin Longhorn highway pegs/brackets. This allows you to stretch out beyond the cowlings and again, get more air. If you add the highway pegs, you may also want to consider the CarbonOne bracket stiffener mod, as the front crash bars tend to flex under strain. (Lots of posts on the site regarding this issue). The bike is still hot when stopped, but these mods made a huge difference for me. It was in the mid-high 90s all week in NH (that's very hot for us) and I rode all week. Hope this helps. Bob
  16. bamico
    Sylvester, Wow, you must use it constantly. On day long rides I've never come close to running out the battery. Sounds like you're getting your $ worth ! Not sure on the hardwire, but for a quick workaround, I'm guessing you know that they sell cigarette lighter adaptors for the nano? Takes mine under 30 min to fully charge. I also take an AC adaptor with me on multi trip days, plug it in after several days riding and I'm good to go. Let us know how you end up going with the hard wire. Bob
  17. bamico
    TD, I installed mine without removing the floorboards. Little snug, but it worked. When installing, keep things loose as you'll need to wiggle things around to get them in place. An offset drill would be most helpful if you happen to have one, as well as the shortest drill bits you can find/fabricate. Drilling is easy, the metal is pretty soft. Good Luck, you'll love them once installed. Bob
  18. bamico
    +1 Colorrite. Touched up my 2007 Blue venture, the match was spot on. Note, at least in my color case, you want to use very sparingly... the color blended best when I barely had any paint on the brush, too much paint and the color came out too dark. Still an amazing match in both cases, but going light on the paint made the touch up undetectable even under a spot light. When you go to the site, they'll talk about needing the clearcoat. I bought it and used it, but it didn't really impact the color match one way or the other. The web site will tell you that the best color match comes after the clear coat application. One more point... the paint seems to last (have had mine over a year) but the clearcoat went to glue over the winter. Good luck with the touchup. Bob
  19. bamico
    Condor, I have the Progressive pump and it works very well. Good for low PSI, and no air leakage on connect/disconnect. It was a little pricey through at ~$35 or $40 several years back. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I did the same thing you did, tried a more economical option. Got the same result. Ended up having to buy the $ pump anyway... Have a great day. Bob
  20. bamico
    Thanks to all for the suggestions and responses. As always, this site is a wealth of information! Best site out there IMO. Little cold snap here in NH today... saw low 30's overnight. Got snow showers in No. NH this past Sat pm... thats just wrong, wrong, wrong... Ride safe. Bob
  21. bamico
    Skid, Yes, I've got CarbonOne's adapter. Fits perfectly! Pretty much worked like a template on getting the horn into the 1 spot it would fit. Have the CarbonOne wiring harness too, but haven't hooked it up yet, was waiting to hear back on the positioning/heat on the pipes question. From what I've read, it should be plug and play. Sounds like I'm in good shape! Bob
  22. bamico
    Globewalker, Yes, the Stebel sticks out beyond the pipes. The pix that you showed from CarbonOne's instructions are straight on to how my horn fits. It's not in the way at all, but I was surprised at first how far it sticks out. It is a pretty tight fit. Its wedged in with very slight spacing tolerances, but it does fit. I am using the CarbonOne bracket and it fits perfectly. Even has a notch for one of the housings it goes around. I could see from a later post that a link was sent on shimming out the Wolo to get it to work. Seems like you're on the right track. Plus, how can you beat the Wolo for the price? Couple of washers and you're good to go! Good luck with the new horn. Bob
  23. bamico
    Question for those of you out there that have installed the Stebel Air Horn. Got mine installed today, and its a pretty tight fit. The upper left edge of the plastic "chrome" is practically touching the exhaust pipe. I realize this is the shiny cover and not the actual pipe, but it does get hot. Was wondering if any of you have had trouble with the plastic chrome melting? Also, in case you were wondering... the "SuperChrome" version of the Stebel is actually just shinier chromed plastic. Looks nice, but still not really chrome. Not exactly what I'd expect for $140. Thought I'd throw that out there for the benefit of others... Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the pipes/horn cover. Bob
  24. bamico
    +1 for Plexus
  25. bamico
    I never had a lot of luck with the cable using the provided helmet lock. It would cause the helmet to lean against the side bag. Very prone to being bounced against and scratching the bag. Plus, when the co-pilot was with me, I'd then have 2 helmets to lock and only 1 lock. Proposed solution: I used to thread a ski cable lock around the backrest/luggage rack, then through both helmets and let the helmets rest on the seat (we both run 1/2 helmets, so they sit flat pretty well). The ski lock worked well as it was retractable for easy storage. Also, if the bags weren't too full, we could fit one 1/2 helmet in each side bag. Hope this helps. Good Luck. Bob
×
×
  • Create New...