uncledj

I've been around a while myself....ya missed a lot over the years, but very pleased that you've come home.

Wasn't on either of my Ventures, but I DID coat the inside of the fuel tank on my 85 Honda CB700sc (Nighthawk S) with POR tank sealer, so I can finally get it back on the road...just in time to go for a quick ride or two before putting it away again. Non ethanol fuel and Seafoam.....I'll run the carbs dry.

Changed spark plugs, put new air filters in, changed the oil and repaired the two little bottom tabs that hold the bottom of the fairing halves in place. All that's left is a good cleanup to make her shine and I"m ready for the annual ride up to the cabin with friends.

My brawlin' days are long gone. Now, if confronted by someone who intends violence, I start crying and pee myself. They generally leave me alone after that.

I'd have to agree. Steering head is too loose. I've an 06 and it practically drives itself. You'll always have a lot of turbulence behind a semi, but I can't say it affects the ride much....I don't like hangin' out behind semis anyway...Don't want a tire coming apart and doing a number on me.

Got a new set I've never installed....still in the box. Might have to revisit the armrest install idea.

Understood and agreed, but my big ham hands have trouble getting into small spaces, and time to work on it is limited, so I figured if I could just get the float unstuck, then I could see if ethanol free gas and a heavy dose of Seafoam will do the trick. If it gets much more involved than that, it'll have to wait for mild weather (when I'm not so busy) or I'll take it to a local mechanic who I trust.

Hot and humid today. Came home and started working on the bike. Drenched with sweat and swatting mosquitoes as I worked..... Drained the gas from the tank, (Didn't look or smell bad). Tucked a couple of rags on top of the crankcase, under the carbs and drained the gas out of the bowls. Took some carb cleaner and blew it back through the overflow ? into the bowls? and gave each carb a gentle tap on the bottom. I figgered that since the floats weren't being held up by fuel, maybe such a tap would break the floats free. Since I had the tank off, I pulled and checked the spark plugs. All looked good, all were consistent with each other. Probably 5k miles on the plugs. No... I didn't replace them.... Put the tank back on. Filled the tank with 5 gallons of ethanol free gas...$4.49 a gallon...and one can of Seafoam. Fired it up and no more leaks. It does sound like one of the cylinders on the right side where the leak was has an intermittent miss. Goose the gas and let it off and there's a bit of a pop from that exhaust pipe. Maybe the carbs need synced..dunno... New air filters will be here Friday, so I'll put them in and ride it a bit. If the miss doesn't clear up I may need to take it to "My Guy". I think this old gal sits more than she should, but, being an HVAC service tech, I don't have the time I'd like to in the warm months to ride much. Hopin' that will change when I retire. Still 7 years or so from that though. Thanks everyone, as always, for the advice.

Was just reading thru some old threads. I'll drain the gas and carbs and refill with ethanol free gas with a half can of Seafoam and take her for a ride and see if that clears it up. Frickin' ethanol.

So...other than noticing the oil level rising, how do I know if that's happening. I would think that could only happen while it's running...electric fuel pump and all. If that is happening, wouldn't it run noticeably rich?

Oil was at half sight glass when I changed it. Didn't think I'd have an issue so I drained it into my oil change tank I use for the truck. Why would I have gas in the oil anyway?....Washing down through the cylinders? It seems to run ok.

Had the bike out only once briefly earlier this year. 2006 RSV. I'll be taking it on a 1,000 mile trip next month with my friends so I figured I'd better go over it...change oil...clean air filters and such. Started it up and have a pretty steady leak out of the overflow tube, behind the right lower fairing. I can see the carbs on the left side of the bike have some wet spots on them as well. I put it away last Fall with 3/4 tank of gas....(ethanol)....and I can't imagine I'd have let it set without a good dose of Seafoam...but it's possible. I dosed it up pretty good with Seafoam and let it run for about a half hour with no effect. I will say I had a similar issue a few years ago, although not as bad, so I took it to "My Guy" who works on these old bikes and by the time I rode it to his shop, about a half hour away, it cleared itself up. I'll see if I can get it back to him, but I'm wondering if it's just ethanol gunking up the carbs, and if it'll clear itself up again. That's the last time I'm putting the old gal away without first filling up with ethanol free gas. Anyhoo, I gotta get this cleared up before I head out with the guys. Any thoughts?

Can't say I remember anything I could say you were wrong about, but I hope you're wrong about that.

Thanks for your generous offer....I already have a bell and a flag, so best to let it go to someone not so fortunate.

There's a couple of different ways Ford does it. One is a cover over the hole in the bumper where you insert the rod to lower the spare. The cover has a key slot in it, and the key is hidden in the vehicle key-fob. The one I was talking about is on the end of the rod that you insert and turn to lower the spare. It's like a mini lug nut style wheel lock. Youtube says a 12 point 14 mm socket can be driven over the special protruding stub that the special rod fits over. Might be able to do it with a cheap socket, but we had good ones and we couldn't drive it over the stub. I get the feeling the cheap sockets will stretch.

Buddy has a leaking tire on a 2011 Ford F250, so last weekend, while out at the farm with the motorhome for the holiday weekend, he decided he wanted to put the spare on. He didn't have the factory tire change kit, and lemme tell ya,....without the proper key, that tire ain't coming off without destroying some structure under the truck. Youtube showed how easy it is to remove the tire using a 14mm socket, but it wouldn't work for us. After a half hour or so he decided to drive it to a dealer to see if they could do anything with it. Another one of Fords great ideas.

I wonder if we could incorporate some sort of a ride to / thru / along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

You may want to consider doubling up the clutch spring. It's a wave style, and makes a major performance difference. Obviously, you'll want to check or replace the clutch discs, but do the spring as well. Some folks think it makes the clutch a bit stiff, but I can't say that I've even noticed much of a difference on mine. I hate it when you want power and roll the throttle on only to rev the engine while the clutch slips. Welcome back to the fold !!!

Tuff thing about my trade is that when it gets warm, we get very busy. Don't have the time to ride like I'd like to.

Agreed....And I've learned the hard way that making eye contact with a driver doesn't mean it's actually registered in their brain that you're there. Looked a fella eye to eye and had him pull out in front of me. He had a stop sign and I was on a thoroughfare....slowed down when I saw him there...made eye contact...figured I was good...then he pulls out. Lesson learned....

Haven't put the anchor points on yet. Waiting on the bolts...decided to go with 5/16. I don't know that I'd feel comfortable using the factory tie down points for a heavy bike. I do know that I'll feel comfortable with the anchor points I'll install.

Ya don't need a bike to be an important part of this family. I'll look forward to hearin' from you in the days to come.

I'll check the spokes on my old TT600 next time I set my eyes on it. Thanks for the info.

Good to know. I use a LOT of stainless bolts/nuts/washers. Where I live, EVERYTHING rusts, and I hate dealing with rusted bolts. Did the math and it still comes out to 2200 pounds per bolt. I typically tie the front down at 2 different points for each side, just as a safety measure. I'm usually more concerned about the failure of a strap than failure of the attach point. I don't know how that works, because I'm sure a 1/4" bolt won't support 2200 lbs. I'd imagine it'd depend on the amount of thread surface between the nut / bolt. I've wondered about the strength of the aluminum tie down points that came with the trailer.