cwtart

I would like to be able to start the RSV once in a while during the winter months but the RSV will be locked in a heated garage in northern Wisconsin while I spend the winter in Florida.

TIme to put the RSV to sleep for the winter. I remove the battery, put Stabil in the gas tank, turn off the gas petcock, and run the carbs dry. I think this is the bare minimum - what do the rest of you do?

Yes, the bulb I received had 3 prongs - fit the headlight socket exactly as the OEM bulb.

Yes, I am no longer a spring chicken - just turned 70 last week. But I have gotten used to the top-heaviness of my 2008 RSV, especially with a passenger. I just use different riding techniques when going slow and stopping-starting - no front brake when the fork is turned. I figure the Stratoliner can be no way more top heavy than the RSV. And thanks for the kudows - I spent 3 tours in Viet Nam but I was in the Navy on a guided missle cruiser shooting down migs and picking up downed pilots - did not have to pound any ground. My admiration goes out to the guys who spent their time in-county dodging bullets.

Anyone have any experience or comments about the 2008 Yamaha Stratoliner S? I am looking to buy a good used motorcycle for my Florida only bike. Getting real tired of trailering my motorcycle back and forth between Florida and Wisconsin so I want a bike I can leave in Florida. I have found several of these bikes on cycletrader.com for anywhere from $4500 to $6500. I am used to riding my 2008 RSV with my wife on the back and riding my Triumph when by myself so would like to know how the Stratoliner compares 2-up with the RSV.

The leaves here in northern Wisconsin are changing early this year - right now probably about 60-75% peak, about 7-10 days early. Just went for a ride on the back roads with my wife. Perfect day today, perfectly clear blue sky and 78 degrees, no wind.The colors are so intense its like riding through a fairyland. Hope some of you can get out in the fall colors.

Any particular mile marker or range of mile markers that are "do not miss"?

Being a snowbird, I flock to Florida from Wisconsin in November of each year. I pull a trailer with my Triumph Speedmaster back and forth and want to make a side trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I would like some suggestions as to what part(s) of the Parkway would make some good day trips of maybe 100-150 miles out and back from whatever motel I may be staying at. I would love to take my 2008 RSV but the Yamaha is not the best bike for my area of Florida - so I travel by car and pull an enclosed trailer with the Triumph. I know November is a little late for best fall color but it should still be warm enough for riding on the Parkway (I hope). Anyone here have some tips for the Blue Ridge Parkway?

I have a Gen 2 2008 RSV. I see a lot of members have Gen 1 RSVs. I am very curious - for those of you who have owned both a Gen 1 and Gen 2, what are your likes and dislikes when comparing the two bikes? I only know the Gen 2 RSV.

I see you are using an Apache server. You can block entire countries fairly easily. See the link below: https://www.sitepoint.com/how-to-block-entire-countries-from-accessing-website/

I switched to a plug-and-play LED bulb for the headlight: BEAMTECH H4 LED Headlight Bulb - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHD78DQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The BeamTech H4 actually comes as a pair of LED bulbs for $38.99 - hard to see that on the web page. Both high and low beam focus on the same areas as the stock bulb but many levels of greater brighness. And I replaced my PAR36 driving lights with LED, also plug-and-play: Pair 4.5 Inch Fog Light Passing Lamps - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BF5KFMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The passing lamps fit the OEM driving light housings perfectly - you only need to splice the hookup wires as the wires are molded to the LED bulbs, not screwed on like the OEM bulbs. The end results are amazingly bright. Well worth the minor expense.

I want to service the cooling system on my 2008 RSV - I bought it last fall with about 21k miles on it and I have put about 1600 miles on it since. I do not know what previous maintenance was done on it and I figure the cooling system should be at least flushed after 12 years. I have the factory service manual but from what I have seen there might be easier ways to do things than the manual suggests. Questions: 1. how often to do a flush? what number of miles or what length of time? 2. what to flush with? 3. should I replace the radiator cap? 4. should I replace the thermostat? 5. recommended coolant? 6. anything I am missing? The bike runs fine and does not overheat but I want to keep ahead of the game.

The only time I dropped a bike, I wasn't even on it. I was doing a Lake Superior circle tour in 1980 and was in a small town in Ontario on the north side of the lake. My touring partner and I stopped at a Candian liqour store to get some beer for the evening. We were camping at Neys Provincial Park. In the liquor store parking lot I got off my bike and walked away - I heard a crash and turned around. I forgot to put the kickstand down on my 1979 Kawasaki LTD-1000. To say I was embarassed would be a massize understatement. To this day, when I get off a bike, I look down to the left to make sure the kickstand is down. To all my Candadian counterparts, your government makes it way more difficult than necessary to buy a sixpack of beer - I felt like I was going into a pharmacy and needed a prescription from a doctor - LOL. But I am from Wisconsin and even the bank lobbies have a liqour and wine department (just kidding).

To narrow this down try the following: ascertain the local IP address of your server, i.e. 192.168.1.xx or whatever it might be. Then open Windows Explorer on any computer on the network, other than the server. In the location bar in Windows Explorer at the top, enter \\192.168.1.xx (your server's IP address). If you can see the folder structure of the server then we know the server is actually visible over the network to the computer you are on then the problem is within the Windows settings itself. You also might want to temporarily turn off Windows Firewall on both the server and the work computer while you are trying to connect to the server. Be sure to turn the firewall back on before you connect to the outside world. You cannot really turn off Windows updates in Windows 10 - sooner or later the updates will install whether you want them or not.

So is the consensus here that both the speedometer and odometer are off until a compensator is installed? Or is only the speedometer off and the odometer is okay without a compensator? I would not want to fix the speedometer at the expense of the odometer then being inaccurate - I would rather have the speedometer read low and the odometer read correctly.

So then this is confusing - you said your odometer was accurate but the speedometer was off. If the speedo and odo are directly related I would think that if the speedo is off by 5-10% then the odometer would have to be off by the same 5-10%. I am not being snarky here, just want to be sure.

So if I understand you, if you correct the speedometer with an adjuster then the odometer will be off - so we can't have both an accurate speedometer and an accurate odometer at the same time?

So if the speedometer is 10% slow then the odometer would be 10% low and calculated MPG would also be off - is that correct?

The LED board you are referring to has not been available from Custom Dynamics for quite some time. I just want LED bulbs to replace the existing bulbs in the turn signals and brake-tail light. I can find plenty of substitutes online but would like to hear from someone who has already done this.

I don't want to replace the entire light assemblies - I just want to replace the incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs (with built-in resistor).

Hi, I want to make my rear turn signals on my 2008 RSV brighter. Is there an exact socket match with an LED light that is available? With built-in resister if necessary? Also, an exact socket match for the rear brake light? Thanks.

I just installed a light bar on my 2008 RSV and want to upgrade the PAR36 4.5" passing lamps to LED. I want a very tight angle beam and an LED lamp designed for motorcycles. There are hundreds of choices out there but I would like to hear from someone who has upgraded to LED passing lights - I don't want to use an LED lamp designed for landscaping but more for motorcycles. I also want to upgrade the headlight to an H4 LED bulb and need suggestions for that. I am looking for something with a beam pattern that closely matches the OEM headlight - preferrably an LED with static cooling fins rather than a fan. For the passing lights, I am planning on running a 12v line directly off the battery to a relay under the cowling. The relay will be triggered by a double-throw single-pole switch where I can select from running lights or high-beam - so I can choose to have the passing lights come on with the running lights or only come on when I have the headlight high-beams on. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I am overhauling the brakes on my 2008 RSV - rebuilding calipers (done), replacing brake lines with stainless steel lines from Earl Harrell and rebuilding rear brake master cylinder. 1. I have run into a bit of a roadblock - there is a clamp holding the rear brake line that is screwed into the pivot for the rear swing arm (my terminology). The screw for this clamp is virtually unreachable - I can probably get the clamp screw out but getting it back in place will be a bear - anyone done this before and if so, are there any tricks to getting this clamp off and then back on? 2. is it necessary to remove the exhaust pipe to get to the rear brake master cylinder? I have a rebuild kit for the rear master cylinder and as long as I have rebuilt the rear calipers and am replacing the brake line, I want to also rebuild the master cylinder. Thanks

You guys are absolutely right - no power washer. I will use mild soap and a soft-bristle scrub brush on the normally-hidden parts of the bike and just rinse off with a garden hose. Thanks for all the pointers.

My thoughts are that when you are riding in a driving rain every nook and cranny of the bike gets wet so a little running water, via a hose, is not going to cause problems. With the bike dismantled, I want to clean the frame areas under the tank and other places. Does the washing with WD40 leave any film afterwards? My main concern is to not force any water into the myriad of electrical plugs.