Jump to content

Mordalo

Expired Membership
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    59

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Mordalo

  1. Mordalo
    It's all good. I appreciate the dialog. I also found a couple of references to an anti-dive component when reading disassembly instructions, apparently towards the bottom of the shock. But nothing on what it does exactly or how to troubleshoot it.
  2. Mordalo
    unfortunately, this bike hasn't been under warranty for about a decade. I'll look in to the anti-dive thing though. I'm a drive-train wrench monkey. I'm not too up on suspension-related stuff. Thanks!
  3. Mordalo
    did you get the emulators online, or from the shop? I'm just curious. I'm not at all familiar with suspension mods.
  4. Mordalo
    Greetings! I've noticed in the past few months that the front end of my '99 RSV has started dipping really far in the front whenever I stop. When I sit on the bike and push down on the handlebars I get almost no resistance and a lot more travel than it seem I should on the front shocks. I put 7lbs of air in the front shocks over 9 months ago, and just checked the pressure... still 7lbs. So, I assume by that there are no leaks. I did put on 15lbs of weight, but I hope I don't have to get on the treadmill to keep the front end from diving every time I stop. Any ideas?
  5. Mordalo
    Agreed. I was really looking forward to the Voyager. Got to the showroom and felt truly let-down. It's almost like Kawasaki didn't actually expect anyone to buy them, so they didn't put their whole heart in to the effort. As far as a 3rd gen. RSV goes, while I love my 99 RSV, I think there's a lot of room for modernization. My fear is that any redesign would lead to a bike that more closely resembles a sport-touring frame than a touring-cruiser/bagger frame. I mean, right now in the luxury cruiser market you have: 1. Harley ultra classic. Nice bike, but I think the frame is a bit small in the frame - and it's a v-twin 2. Kawasaki Voyager. Cheezy body for the price (maybe if it were cheaper I could look past those lower fairings) - and it's a v-twin 3. Victory Vision. Which is a big ol' bike, but the additional body parts doesn't provide much more comfort or storage, just more weight and stuff to clean. and it's expensive - and it's a v-twin 4. Goldwing. What can anyone say about the goldwing. It's HUUUUGE. And that's just the sticker price. Either you love the GW or you hate it. Great for road trips, but sucks in parking lots. There's really no in-between - but at least it's not a v-twin 5. RSV. In my honest opinion, the perfectly sized bike. Not too big to be cumbersome in parking lots or as a daily rider, but big enough to hold my wife's crap on a week-long trip. Horribly outdated technology. but it's not a v-twin. I don't have a brand-loyalty when it comes to bikes, so for me, I'm torn between a v-twin (which I can almost afford) or keeping my RSV alive until I die and never getting a different bike. If Yamaha came out with a redesigned RSV 3rd Gen that at least maintained the basic physical dimensions (seat height, leg room and luggage capacity) and got rid of that damn clutch whine, I'd sell one of my kidneys on e-bay right now for one. I'm not a big fan of v-twins just because they don't move my fat butt around those tractors on the highway with the same confidence as a 4+ cylinder engine. I know, nobody cares.
  6. Mordalo
    I'm about 330LBS and my wife is about 275. When we do road trips she packs half the house so we usually fill every box on the bike plus stack crap higher than the windscreen on the trunk. I have the luggage rails on the side bags so we can stack crap there too. Is it safe? No. Is it recommended? Not a chance. Can it take it? Heeeeaall yeah! We ride like that all the time on week-long runs. I've run 90MPH on a 10deg grade uphill all day loaded up like that and my '99 RSV doesn't break a sweat. I still have horsepower for passing when I need it. Parking-lot navigating gets a little tricky and when we're parking loaded up like that in sand I usually ask my wife to step off "so she can guide me...." I'm on Dunlop 404's and I make sure I'm between 37 and 40 PSI when I load up. I sprung a slow leak once (bad bead on a new tire) and dang-near dropped the bike flipping a U-turn when I discovered it, so you want to be aware of your bike's condition before you try to carry a heavy load. Just like any vehicle, you can usually go way over-load if you keep in mind a few rules: 1. You can't stop NEARLY as quickly. Leave lots of room in front of you, moreso than usual. 2. You can't pass as fast, so accept that sometimes you're going to be stuck behind slowpokes; especially on 2-lane roads. 3. You can't turn as sharp, so slow waaaay down on those turns until you get a good feel for how much lean you (and your bike) can handle. Your frame will be under more stress on the turns and you don't want to bend the frame. When you're over-weight there's no grey area between when you're not stressing the frame and when you are. When you've crossed that line POOF! You're toast. 4. You're going to put more stress on your engine, drivetrain, frame and brakes. Be prepared to reduce the longevity of your sled when repeatedly carrying a heavier load. More frequent maintenance will counteract the wear so you don't shorten the life of the bike or yourself. 5. Your fuel mileage is going to suck. Plan on stopping for fuel every 75-100 miles on a 6gal tank, especially if you're riding in to a strong head-wind. 6. If it's raining, pull over. It's generally accepted that you lose 20% of traction on a wet road with highway tires (unless you're on brickstones, then it's 40% hehe) but when you're overloaded it's more pronounced; especially on turns. your rear-end will have a tendancy to drift or even jump out from under you under a heavy load on a wet road. Though upright or on decently-paved interstate roads I haven't seen any big difference under a load. It's those poorly maintained county and forest roads that get ya. That's just my opinion and my observation. No warranty is expressed or implied. Please don't sue me for trying this. Always follow your manufacturer's specs. If you don't, your deviation from the recommended specs are at your own risk (did I sufficiently defend myself against liability there?)!!
  7. Mordalo
    Thanks again for all the advice! As usual the community of friendly people on this site has been a tremendous help. Based on everyone's input it became apparent that the ground fault was (as a few people pointed out) at the point where the burn marks occured. That makes total sense. Since the burn markes occured at the R/R itself, that's where I started. I pulled the pin out of what was left of the connector. By the way, if anyone knows where I can get a new connector without having to buy a whole wiring harness I'd love to know! I got all the damaged plastic out of both the male and female sides. I used a file to get both ends of the connection shiny again. I used some electrical contact cleaner to finish the job, then I used pliers to tweak the female end to make sure it would get a good grip. I then fed the wire through the connector, which was easy to do since the connector had started to disintegrate from the heat, and connected it to the R/R. Then I slid the rest of the connector in to place. I slid the rubber grommet back over the black cable to fill the hole in the connector, and finished it off with high-heat silicone sealent to make sure no water gets in there. I re-wrapped the wiring using insulating rubber wire-wrap and good ol' electrictal tape and put the bike back together . Everything seems to be working now. I'm getting 13.8 to 14V when I run the bike at 4000RPM. I'm not real happy with the current state of the connector and I'd love to replace it at some point. For now, I'll keep pulling the R/R coupler and re-doing what I just described every weekend (this bike is my only source of transportation so I ride it daily) until I'm confident that there is no further sign of a continued ground fault. Thanks again for all your help!!
  8. Mordalo
    Wow George, you've just blown my entire weekend... I've just printed out this entire thread and I'm heading down to the garage with my multi-tester and a case of soda (beer would be counter-productive). I'll let everyone know what I find.
  9. Mordalo
    Thanks Goose. I think I understand what you're saying. When I took the bike in to the shop the first time I actually didn't troubleshoot it first. I know it can be frustrating for mechanics to have their customers trying to tell them what's wrong. I've seen that cause mechanics to go on wild goose chases (no pun intended Goose). I enjoy working on my bike, but I'm DEFINITELY not a mechanic. I have to remind myself that troubleshooting electrical problems is as much an art as a science. So here's what I think I'm going to do now, and please let me know if you see a flaw in the plan: 1. Trace the ground wire off the R/R back to the frame, and ensure it's good all the way. If I'm getting that much burning on JUST the ground wire, there almost has to be an intermittent ground fault somewhere right? 2a. If I find a ground fault, fix it and put everything (except the body trim) back together and test charging again. If I'm getting a good charge, I'm probably done, but I should check the R/R regularly for further signs of damage. 2b. If I find a ground fault, fix it, test it and I'm still not getting a change in voltage at high RPM, I'll replace the R/R FIRST because it's showing obvious signs of being suspect (and it's cheaper than the stator). If after replacing that I'm STILL having a problem, I'll put the replacement stator on. If I'm STILL having a problem, I'll put the bike up for sale and buy one of those little skateboards with those little motors on them and just give up on fixing motorcycles. 2c. If I don't find a ground fault, I'll replace the stator and see if I get a charge. If that doesn't work, I'll order a replacement R/R and keep a close eye on everything. If it still gives me trouble, I trade the bike for a little VW Bug and start making dune-buggies instead. Thanks again everyone for all your help. I'm not very good with electrical stuff, probably because it requires patience, which I've not been gifted with.
  10. Mordalo
    Thanks for the charging 101 lesson. It helps me understand what's going on with the system. It's unfortunate that I already have a stator on order (it's a used one from a salvage bike, only $40), but I'm sure if I hang on to it it'll come in handy eventually. I paid a local Yamaha dealership to replace the regulator because I was going out of town and wanted it running when I got back. That was my bad. They called me and said that there was significant heat damage to the wiring and they had to replace quite a bit of wire. In looking at the wiring harness last night, I realized that the electrical wrapping is new for about 8 inches then it looks like the factory wrapping. I haven't cut it open yet (needed to sleep) but I assume that all they did was splice in a some fresh wiring. It stands to reason then that if the ground-point (or a coupler between the ground point and the rectifier) is not making a good connection, then the problem would stll exist. They replaced the rectifier back in December, so I think it's too late for me to get the shop to accept any liability. At this point I think it's still a bit too early to be mad at them anyway. I think I still have some investigating to do. Thanks again!
  11. Mordalo
    Thanks GeorgeS, you nailed it. Now I'm even more confused. I replaced the rectifier about six months ago. The wiring harness at that time was pretty burnt so I had to replace that part of the harness. Now, the only connector that's bad is the black wire. everything else looks good. But that black connector is burnt at both the harness and the rectifier itself. luckilly the wire itself looks okay this time so I don't think I need to replace the wiriing again. So, what could be causing the black lead on the rectifier to chronically burn up? I got a more sensitive multimeter and checked resistance on the 3 white wires coming off the stator again and they are at .302 which is within tolerance. So could it be that the stator is causing the rectifier to burn out? Also, is there a way to bench-test the rectifier before I go out and buy another one?
  12. Mordalo
    Well, yes I am talking about the trigger/pickup coil, and yeah I do want to test the stator. I thought that checking the pickup coil seemed kind of odd since it doesn't seem in my small thick head to have anything to do with charging the system but that's the order of testing the service manual recommended and last time I failed to follow the service manual it cost me 2 months and $200 more than it should have to fix what turned out to be a bad side-stand switch. Thanks for confirming that for me. I thought I was missing some basic understanding of how the whole system works...
  13. Mordalo
    Almost forgot to mention what symptoms started this whole thing... I was riding home from work and going going 60MPH the battery went dead. Speedo went nuts, stereo cut out, then POOF! no power. Got a jump-start and made it home. It took 3 days on a slow-charger to get it full again (btw, battery is 6 months old). A few days later, the same thing happened. Charged it up again, and started putting it on the slow charger every night. After riding it 1 day, the slow-charger had not finished charging it the next morning (13 hrs on the charger). Decided to stop riding it 'til I get this fixed so I don't toast the battery.
  14. Mordalo
    Greetings! I'm trying to diagnose my charging system on a 99 RSV. I check the battery off the bike, and it reads 12.9V. I connect it to the bike with ignition of, it reads 12.9V. I turn on the ignition switch without starting the engine, it reads 12.3-12.4V. When I start the engine, it holds at 12.3V. When I take her to 5KRPM it hold at 12.3V which according to the ever knowledgeable service manual (I've learned my lesson about not reading the manual when troubleshooting...) is bad. It's supposed to be at or around 14V at that RPM range. So... I now know from that series of tests that my charging system isn't working. I've tested the resistance on my pickup coil, which reads .4 Ohm on both negative leads. The service manual says that it should be between .279 and .34. My Ohm meter is not that sensitive, and doesn't show me 1000ths; it only goes to 10ths. Is .4 significantly out of spec with the .274 to .34 range? I haven't tested the stator yet because I'm waiting for the gasket to come in so I can put it back together again the same day I take it apart. But given the cost of a new pickup coil (I'm looking at about $120USD from my local parts store) I'd hate to replace it only to find out that .06 Ohms is a nominal delta. Thanks!
  15. Mordalo
    I hadn't even thought about checking a cage-parts store! I don't go there very often. Thanks!! The cutoff switches are next on my list of things to troubleshoot. I'm hoping I don't have to go down that road. I pretty much suck at troubleshooting electrical switches (see http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=31382&highlight=spark) so I'm hoping it's mechanical. Thanks again!
  16. Mordalo
    Yeah... I've heard that somewhere...
  17. Mordalo
    Greetings! So, I'm thinkin' I need to lube my throttle cables to see if that keeps my Cruise Control from disengaging right as I start to scratch that itch on my... face. Please allow me to 'splain: No, I don't have fringe on my clutch/brake levers. I've owned this 99RSV since early 2007(ish) and as long as I've owned it, the Cruise Control will randomly disenguage on me. ususally within seconds, but sometimes as much as a several minutes after I enguage it. Originally I just assumed it was my... generous surface area adding wind resistance causing the CC to quit. Then I started testing it more sceintifically. It doesn't appear to be wind drag on my beer gut. I proved this by going 55MPH with a 45MPH tail-wind, giving me much less wind drag (going on a diet would take too long). I next thought that maybe one of the cancel switches was just reacting to a bump in the road. Soo.... I picked a nice, level, recently paved stretch of road (which is VERY hard to find in this town) with no bumps or asphalt-snakes. The CC disenguaged at seemingly randomly intervals. I did however notice that my throttle does tend to drag just the tinyiest little bit. Okay... now that I've gone through all that, my ACTUAL question is, what kind of lube should I use on throttle cables. Sorry all, but my wife already beat all of you to the smartarse "throttle cable lube" response. Since tomorrow is Sunday and the scoot-store is closed on Sundays here and I'm entirely too impatient to wait until Monday, I was wondering if there were any good/bad substitutes for throttle cable lube. Discuss...
  18. Mordalo
    Yeah, like those of us over 165cm. Wings are purdy and I'm sure they ride well on the highway, but I can't see having my feet directly below my arse for 600km. Can't feel my feet by the time I leave the parking lot, and can feel nothing but my hips by the time I have to pull over and... you know... evacuate my innards. I understand they're putting a toilet and microwave oven in the next Wing though. As for the 3rd gen RSV, there's no marketable reason to make one. Yamaha built the V-Max becasue they wanted vindication. The same passion doesn't exist (talking about Yama engineers, not RSV owners) with the RSV. If you don't own one, you're response is usually "that's a Yamaha?" I think a few of you on this thread hit the nail on the head. With new EPA (U.S., Canadian and international) guidelines requiring all combustion engines to produce only butterfly farts for exhaust and only use fuel at the same rate Britney Spears demonstrates talent, if I were a manufacturer I'd probably just wait until the competition spends their money fighting the legal battles to prove that the EPA is smoking crack. double-check my count, I think that's only 3 tangents... I'm getting better!!
  19. Mordalo
    Currently, the fix is to get on the ground, jiggle the wire while pushing the starter switch (I'm about 186cm - or about 6'1") until she kicks over. That usually only takes a few seconds. It looks like the switch completely disassembles so I'm assuming I can service it. As with every stinkin' Yama fastener, the damn screws stripped out on me trying to get them out. I understand that soft metal bolts form a tighter fit over time so they don't walk out but it sux for getting them out when you want to. Soo..... short story long I'll be rebuilding the switch if I can this weekend when I can run to the BGP (Bolt Gettin' Place) and get some new screws for it. If it's not rebuildable, Pinwall has a used one for $5 + S&H. My local Yama dealer has a gold-plated one with titanium leads if I have to go new (at least I assume that's what it's made of if I'm going to pay $40USD) but it'll be another month of no bike if I go that route. They only order when they feel like it. And they don't feel like it very often. I'd rather not bypass the switch simply because I'll forget. I know I'll forget. There is no doubt in my mind, that if I make it possible to embarass the crap out of myself in a parking lot full of my peers I will most definately sieze the opportunity. Cheers!
  20. Mordalo
    Well, I admitted my stupidity for two reasons:' 1. I didn't want to leave the forum hanging and couldn't come up with anything better. 2. I would hope that by sharing my mistakes I can help someone else to avoid making the same one. Thereby cleansing my Karma. I also enjoy making other people laugh, even at my expense.
  21. Mordalo
    Pickup coil $80 Gaskets $20 Listening to my wife say "I told you not to skip troubleshooting and jump straight to buying parts..." Priceless. So... I started poking around the switches and discovered that there was NO slack in the wire running to the kickstand switch. So I jiggled it and POOF!!! the bike started. Can you say "DOH!!"never ever ever skimp on troubleshooting by thinking "nah, that can't be it.":doh:
  22. Mordalo
    Please oh great and wise ones... I'm going nuts here. About two months ago now I got stranded at work on my 99RSV. Rode to work just fine. When I went out to start it to go home, the starter turned and turned but she wouldn't start. I pulled the two back plug wires (cuz I could reach 'em) and stuck a screwdriver in there. No spark. I got the bike towed home and checked the other two plug wires. No spark there either. Checked resistance to the coils, and I'm easily within specs. Same on the batt'ry voltage. I then skipped all the other smart things to do and ordered a new pick-up coil and gaskets. After installing the pickup coil, the bike started!! Unfortunately after I shut it off, I could not replicate the victory and it hasn't started since. Well... I'm too much of an idiot to admit to my co-workers that I don't want to ride cuz it's just too darn cold, so I've been using the excuse that the bike ain't runnin' as my out. I'm now starting to get that twitch in my eyelid from driving the cage to work for two months and have decided to re-enguage. Any ideas? I'm gonna try to bypass the Kickstand and kill switches tonight (there's no need for anyone to remind me that I should've checked that before buying a pickup coil... my wife has that covered) but I'm not hopeful. any suggestions? thx!
  23. Mordalo
    I also have Baron Slip-ons. And The Permatex copper worked fine for me. The burning smell is normal. They coat the pipes with a lubricant to keep it from scratching, and if I remember correctly, that stuff was on the inside as well. Not sure how you're going to scratch the inside... but then again if there's a way to scratch chrome, I've found it.
  24. Mordalo
    But if your welding skill is anything like mine, the slag will work about as well as JBWeld does.
  25. Mordalo
    I'm just settling in to do a valve adjustment on my 2Gen RSV and was looking through Clymer's (for the part number to the Valve Cover Gasket) when I noticed that the picture shows a pretty tight space to get on the CAM to turn it. The books call for a Yamaha Valve tappet. Now on my cars, I've always just used channellocks. Since I'm ordering the gasket now, I can probably add the tool to the order if necessary. Any opinions as to the necessity of this tool?
×
×
  • Create New...