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MiCarl

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Everything posted by MiCarl

  1. I think you can only ride it if you're a woman or the boys never descended properly. Looks hard on the neck too.
  2. I made one similar to the one in THIS ARTICLE. I did two things differently: 1) Instead of putting tape on the wheel rim I split a piece of fuel hose and pushed it on, 2) I used a long rod so I could put an extra nut and a length of 2x2 on. That piece of 2x2 is real handy to tuck the handle of an iron under giving a "3rd" hand to hold the bead down while you work around the wheel. The whole deal ended up costing me about $20. Frankly, I preferred the home made rig to the HF one the Mrs. got me when I opened the shop (I've since gone to an automatic tire changer). I only keep the HF one around to use on the odd small rim that won't go in my automatic machine. The homemade rig also takes up much less storage space.
  3. I currently drive a 97 Yukon with about 195,000 miles on it. Bought it in 99 with 19K miles on it. It had 120K miles on it before I had all the poor initial quality fixed (AC, Transmission, Intake gaskets, Radio, Rear End, sway bar links, dog bone mounts for frame cross member under transmission, etc.). Last 75K it's been pretty good. I can say this about it, it is still showing relatively little rust compared to most competitive products. My understanding is that GMC has dealt with the quality problems that were so prevalent in the late 90s. About 8 years ago I sold Toyotas for a few months. It was very rare to sell to a returning Toyota customer - almost always people coming out of domestic models. When we did run into a returning customer it was almost impossible to pry them out of the old Toyota's, they loved them that much. I did upgrade a guy out of an old Tercel with 250K miles on it because his wife demanded that after 15 years he deserved a new car..... The Tercel was pretty ratty but it still ran like new. Thursday my wife totaled her Mountaineer, so we've been shopping. It appears there are almost no Toyotas on the used market, I suspect people hang onto them forever. For what it's worth that 98 Mountaineer that I bought used with 75K miles on it was the best value I've ever had. In six years and another 80K miles it's had less than routine maintenance and a ball joint. Was still going strong when the Mrs. decided to run over an Xterra with it. Turns out replacement air bags are more than a 98 Mountaineer is worth......
  4. I sell new shims (without the VentureRider discount) for $7.34. I can't imagine you could turn out remanufactured shims and be competitive. The reason shims are only available on .05 increments is because the range on the spec is .04 so you can always be in spec with a standard shim.
  5. MiCarl

    E-85 gas

    To top it all off, this week even Green Al Gore (Nobel Laureate) admitted that ethanol doesn't make environmental sense either.
  6. Your service manual does not have it labeled. It screws into the part labeled #14 in the pic from your manual page. You can also see the hose nipple on part #14. Service manuals are rarely as complete as the parts fiche, which is where Skydoc's picture came from. Your service manual quite likely does show the hose. It'll be in the section where it show cable and hose routing.
  7. MiCarl

    Web Host

    I just got the following from Arvixe today. If you're still looking for web hosting this could save you some bucks:
  8. Sometimes you can do the following to flush crud out of the float needle: Turn the fuel valve (on the tank) to "OFF". Ride around the block and turn back on. Ride again. If there is crud hung up in the seat drawing the fuel down then filling back up as described above sometimes washes it free.
  9. Normally when the speed indicator breaks it thrashes around instead of just laying there. Since the odometers are down stream from the speed indicator their working tells you all the drive gears are ok. I'm willing to bet that the needle is stuck because it's been a bit gummed up and the cooler temps locked it or something decided to spend the winter in there. So, it's probably just cleaning and a bit of light lube on the gems in the movement. You'll have to pull the cluster to get to it: - Remove the CMS box from the back of the cluster - it's got a light pipe on it that requires you to rotate it out. - Remove the brightness control knob (there is a philips screw down in the hole holding it to the shaft). - There are about eight phillips screws in the back of the cluster that hold the bezel on. Remove them and pull off the bezel. - Remove the temp gauge from the cluster. This is the worst part because it has 3 little nuts, washers and wires holding it in. The back of the case is marked with the wire colors so you don't have to worry about forgetting where they go. - Now you can remove the two Philips screws that hold the speedometer in the cluster. Now you can see the workings of the speedometer. At the back is a worm gear that drives the odometers. On the front of that gear is a bar that spins inside an aluminum cup. The aluminum cup is attached to the same shaft as the speedometer needle. There is also a spring to return the needle to 0. Looking at the speedometer from the back, the metal cup should turn freely counter clockwise, with light resistance from the spring. It should snap back when released so the needle rests on the stop. I bet it either has some resistance or a nest built on it. If you decide to remove the needle you need to make some witness marks so you don't loose your calibration. With the needle resting on the 0 stop mark a line on the cup and speedometer frame adjacent to it. Now you know where the cup is positioned at 0 MPH. By holding the cup so it doesn't turn you can gently twist the needle and pull it off the shaft. When you put it back together twist the needle until the witness marks line up with the needle resting on the stop. This might all sound scary or confusing, but it's all pretty obvious when you see it.
  10. On a 1st gen they don't have that goofy can around them so you can inspect them before install. I don't understand all the disdain for the paper end caps. Is a metal end really any benefit for what is essentially a paper filter? Again though, the Fram filter for 1st gens has metal end caps. Yeah, the seam on the filter in the video should not have been open. It could be a 1 in a million thing, and most of the oil still passes through the element anyhow. Now, I do have one very good reason not to buy Fram spin on filters: When they added that black coating on the end they did not offset by decreasing the size of the can. You can't get a socket type filter wrench on them because they are just a hair too big. That's a big problem pulling them off a couple of my vehicles.
  11. I do pretty much what painter says. I also use some nylon web slings around the attachment points then hook into the web so the hooks can't damage anything. They're similar to THIS. I've found them at the local motorcycle accessory shop and at the trailer supply store. I've also heard they are available in the sporting goods sections of the big box stores.
  12. I have one in stock and can ship tomorrow if you want to own the tool. LINK. Remember to use the coupon code "VentureRider" at check out to get 15% off.
  13. It's a sport tourer and has less trail than your cruisers so it'll be more nimble. It should be predictable though. What tires are on it?
  14. The Avon rep here claims they aren't marked because Avon wants to force the installer to balance them (rather than aligning the mark with the valve stem and calling it good enough). When I mount tubeless tires I find the heavy spot on the wheel rather than assuming the valve stem is the heavy spot (half the time it isn't) and align the tire mark with the heavy point on the wheel. Usually the heavy spot is the same after mounting the tire. This tells me that in general the tires are more uniformly made than a cast wheel. The Avons seem to be no better or worse than most tires. If the heavy spot swings 180 and needs 2 oz. to balance you can bet it's a Dunlop. BTW, the Avon rep here made the statement that Avon tires, like all premium tires (he listed Metzeler and Pirelli by name) should be run at higher pressure than the stock tire. He said to go with the tire manufacturers recommendation rather than the motorcycle manufacturers recommendation.
  15. The problem with balancing Avon tires is that they do not mark the light spot. It becomes a crap shoot if the tire ends up on the wheel in a good position. If it ends up needing too much weight (Avon says 2 1/2 oz.) then the tire needs to be dismounted and remounted in a different position. I'm seriously considering increasing what I charge to mount tires (Avon, Pirelli etc.) that aren't marked for balance.
  16. Welcome to the site! What you have is a MKI Venture. New replacement slides for them are quite pricey. IMHO, the one in your picture needs to be replaced. I sell an aftermarket slide and diaphragm assembly for your carburetors Thunder Valley Powersports. They're $101.35 each, which is way less than the Yamaha price. If your status changes from "Trial Member" to "Supporting Member" I'll give you a coupon code for 15% off - your membership will pay for itself if you purchase just one slide. Oh - the diaphragm looks to be in good shape. If you replace the slide seal the diaphragm in a zip-loc bag and store in a cool, dark place. It might come in real handy in the future. (I wonder if the PO replaced the diaphragms and damaged the slides in the process.)
  17. MiCarl

    Web Host

    I have my business with Arvixe. It's $4/month (2 year prepay commitment required -$96). It includes registration of one domain, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts and unlimited subdomains. You can add up to four additional domains for the registration fee ($7 or so per year I think). I also have our STAR Touring chapter on the same account. So it runs about $55/year for hosting both domains, their subdomains and email accounts. They have a whole suit of applications available to handle forums, photo albums, blogs, shopping carts etc. There also is a site builder toolkit, which I find a bit lacking. I host the two web sites, an online store/shopping cart, a photo album and a forum. I've been extremely happy with them. I moved from Go Daddy and find the Arvixe hosting a much better value.
  18. That sounds like a good ride. I'll be trying to make it. Need to make sure Tahquamenon Falls is on the itinerary.
  19. Mikuni BDS 34
  20. SCAM. I never heard of a PayPal payment being on "hold". You might ask them about that, but it's still a scam.
  21. 1000 is normal RPM. Sync is done at normal idle speed. As you sync it the idle may change and you'll have to adjust it up/down to keep it at the proper speed. Ideally you attach a tachometer, but you can do it by "ear" too.
  22. That's pretty much my understanding too. The courts believe that it is worse for the kids to move than almost anything that can be done to them. I've been in your shoes. At least you know you tried to do the right thing.
  23. It was wired to a cheap aluminum pole like would be used with a wall mount. The stars are printed on the field of blue, not embroidered. It was wrapped around the pole and laying across the joists against the cold air return duct, near the access stairway. All in all it looks a lot like the cheap set up Dad used to put on the porch for holidays (minus 2 stars) The original part of the house (where I was insulating) was built in 1953. I suspect when the flag got 50 stars in 1959 that one was crammed into the attic and forgotten. The holes appear to be from wear, moths and/or mice. They're irregular so my guess is not bullets. There are some spots that are worn thin. It wasn't stored like it had any particular meaning to anyone. I was planning to burn it when I noticed that the field of stars didn't look right and counted them. If it had 50 it'd already be gone. All in all it just doesn't have the quality to be any kind of a display piece. I think I'll probably just retire it properly. Thanks everyone for all your feedback.
  24. While adding insulation to my attic I found an old U.S. flag (48 stars). It's filthy and has many holes in it. While I'd like to keep it (it looks pretty interesting) it'd definitely have to be washed. Is it permissible to wash it (by hand, the machine would undoubtedly finish it off) or should I just burn it? Thanks for your input.
  25. Liberals vote November 4. The rest vote November 2.
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