WRoger

Hi Tucker .. I just finished a big discovery on my 2000 RSV. I had several stalls (or no starts) for no apparent reason during the past 2 years with no solution. Even with booster cables attached, the bike would not come to life... however after moving it (as in loading, transporting, etc.) it fired up as if nothing was ever amiss. Recently, after working on the bike in the shop for another reason, I turned the key - dead again. The problem turned out to be at the end of the positive battery cable. Just ahead of the rear tire on the left side, it joins a box with two functions: starter relay and a junction of two heavy gauge red wires in a connector that power the bike, via a 30 amp fuse. The left pass step and kick plate must be removed to get at it. The 30 amp fuse could not be extracted to be checked; it pulled apart as the bottom was seized in place. The relay assembly fell in two parts upon removal, and the molded connector was badly corroded, probably because it is unprotected from splashing water. A new relay was installed $30+ , but I really had to spend a lot of time cleaning up the opaque connector before I could get it to pass 12 volts to the bike. I am certain that the corroded connector on the start relay was my intermittent gremlin. The bike runs well now. Hope this is of some assistance. WRoger

Gregg, I had the same problem. My 2000MM had an intermittent problem of stopping, which I couldn't diagnose. I finally pulled the left passenger step and kick plate to follow the battery cable, and found the main fuse and block so badly corroded that I'm surprised that the bike ran at all. The battery box drains into it, and the wires are exposed to the elements. What were these Japs thinking with that design? Seems like a good thing for everyone to keep an eye on.

Wally World??? Does that mean Wal-Mart?

I didn't see an answer posted for this (could have missed it), but the second horn is buried behind the left fairing. It's black plastic. My horns are pathetic; they sound like the last gasp of a dying calf in a hailstorm. The fairing one won't sound unless the engine is running (14 volts). I'm looking at air horns.

I just want to convey my appreciation of the information submitted by Cougar on carburetor removal. This BBS system would not allow me to post a 'thank-you' directly. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7830

Todd .. I do not have a lot of riding miles, but I do have 45 years of tire experience. Here is my take on products such as Ride-On. The goop in a tire will not 'balance' as the hype on the Ride-On site claims. I bought a car with two problems: it had a tire with a slow leak and it had a wheel balance problem at highway speed. When we took the tire off to replace it, we found it contained mucky stuff, a product perhaps like Ride-On. Centrifugal force would send the substance to one spot at higher speeds, which set up the vibration. Here's why. A tire does not STAY round when travelling. The first appreciable bump will deform the tire, and any liquid within will gather to the furthermost point from the axle, and set up an imbalance, like a stone on a string. Back to nails. A nail in a tire is a serious thing, ESPECIALLY on a two-wheeled vehicle. Like the Ride-On site says, the nail can wiggle with tire usage and enlarge the hole. Thus it can be flung out without warning, inviting disaster. One of the biggest tire killers is heat, usually generated by flexing. Excessive sidewall flexing occurs when air pressure in a tire decreases. So, to continue to ride a tire that has been punctured by an object is dangerous, and even more so at higher speeds. A friend (acquaintance) of mine is a huckster. He will write anything in an ad to sell an article. Talk is cheap, and when I read the claims on the Ride-On site, my mind immediately goes back to my huckster friend and the list of wonderful products like teflon engine oil treatments that have proven to be useless. None of us have money to burn, so I empathize with your economic concerns, but a bike is not a car. Unless a person has a death wish, my advice is this: If a nail is discovered, stop riding the bike and replace the tire. If in a remote area where continued riding is mandatory, turn on the 4-way flashers and take it slow, so as not to heat the tire, and to give yourself the best chance of controlling a blowout should it happen. A biker friend of mine relates the story of witnessing a blowout of the rear tire of the bike ahead of him. The bike suddenly began a wild shimmy. The passenger fell and struck the pavement - twice. The first time, her helmet split, and the second time her head split. Don't mess with punctured tires. Chuck them ASAP. WRoger

I love it. Wish I'd written it myself. W Roger