Brenda H

Speaking of hot, this part of Texas in August?? Make sure all forms of AC are in working order!! Cannot wait to see you!

OK more info for Mike Didn't read everything, did you big guy? The bike was running just fine back in Nov. when I took it to the paint shop to get some body work done. That was Thanksgiving week. I picked it up 2 months later and this problem showed up while it was at the shop. It will not turn over. Turn it on and it clicks, nothing else. I figured starter or part of that system from the getgo. As for the carbs being screwed, not likely. I keep Seafoam in that bike darn near 100% of the time with 3 oz. going into every tank unless I know I'm going thru that tank usually that day. I've two other bikes sitting here thanks to screwed up carbs so I don't take chances with the trike. The chrome plate you're talking about cannot, at present, be removed. We've tried. The bolt holding it in place just turns. It feels like the nut holding it on the back side of that plate is countersunk just like the bolt head is. We can't get a good enough grip on it to stop it turning. GRRRR I pulled the battery compartment and now have access to the solenoid and it's fuse. In fact the solenoid is currently sitting in the basket on my Honda Rancher. I tested that fuse and it's ok. I hit the local WM today picking up dialectric grease, some mini file tools, wire brushes, etc., and will start cleaning all the connectors. Just hope I remember how to put them all back together! My biggest concern is all the wiring in the battery area. I don't know which is the bike's and which is all the aux stuff Don put on it. Unless it wires into the two battery cables, I'm just going to leave that alone until Kreg's MD. More info & pics later, providing I can get the darn things to load!

I'm feeling a bit pissed at the moment. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the size of the pics I "posted" so that they'd be big enough to see without being so darn big, it took an entire "page" to see them. I did a "preview post" to make sure everything was kosher. The pics were there. So I posted my reply to the thread without checking the actual post. Apparently, something decided they should not get posted. Can anyone see them? My ISP is a major pain in the a** and at times so slow that I usually set up a game to play while I'm waiting! I'm going to try one more time at the end of this post and hope for the best. Back to the bike. I've pulled the solenoid and checked the 30a fuse in it. Both it and the spare check out fine. The clips/connectors/whatever on it look ok. No signs of any rust/whatever on them. I'm making a run into town tomorrow to pick up some stuff for the work and run some errands. As for Ace Hardware here, I'm well aware of the local store and plan to take one of the passenger footrest bolts with me. Those two are noticeably heavier and longer than any others I have run across on the bike so far. Ace is where I get the elongated nuts I use to hold the seat on. They make getting that munster on and off a lot easier. OK here goes try #2 on the pics. More later!

Apologies to everyone for taking so long to get back to you on this but the trike isn't the only "iron in the fire" I have going on around here. Add in, the hubby actually decided to help and that in itself took time along with my reminding him about it every three days or so. Here's where we are. For starters, I think I've got the starter located. Thanks Jeff for the pic. If I'm not mistaken, the little bolt I've got circled in the first pic is the starter. But that's as far as I've gotten with it. I was in the chat one evening and ended up talking to Greg, aka snyper316. He pulled up the Venturers website which had pics showing where the bike's three fuse holders are located, one of which includes the solenoid. That's the second pic. Only problem there is that with the trike kit, the panel it hides behind isn't there! What I've got is the third pic. What has taken so long is my/his multiple attempts to get the passenger footrest pulled so we could get the chrome panel I have off. The footrests are what I'm assuming are Kury. highway pegs attached to the footrest which combination has two bolts in it. Somebody got real energetic and "Loctited" the heck out of them. I couldn't get them loose so this is where the hubby stepped in. His first attempt was using a cordless drill on one and he stripped the head out. So I've been waiting on him getting them out. Greg suggested heating them up first but that was something of a problem as we also had to protect the paint on the trike kit which is very close to the darn bolts. We finally did it!! End result is we find another bolt in the panel that has a countersunk head on it and the nut holding it in place also appears to be the same way on the back of the panel making it almost impossible to get off! However, I can move the panel around to see behind it. No main fuse/solenoid in that location. Oh Fun! So I start digging. I pulled the battery holder out and guess what's mounted to a little rubber bracket underneath it? GRRRRR Ok NOW I've got it located!! I'm checking the cables and it looks like I'm going to have to do a little jury rigging to get the battery hooked back up so I can test it. The main battery cable to it is so short that to get power to it, I'd have to put the battery back where it belongs which would block my access to the darn thing. There's not enough give in the two cables to hook it up outside the bike so I'm going to have to find a pair of baby jumper cables and do it that way. I'm debating going ahead and replacing the solenoid and the two main fuses just for the heck of it. $10 is not going to break the bank. Besides it will make sure that those connectors are clean. The fun will be getting the lil monster back in it's bracket when I put the battery compartment back together. Another problem is replacing the two bolts. While they are standard hex head bolts, I have been unable [so far] to find bolts that length or thickness. And so it goes!! I'll keep in touch and let you know how this mess is going. Again as usual, all help gratefully appreciated!! [ATTACH=CONFIG]108746[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]108747[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]108748[/ATTACH]

I'll take two. With the luck I'm having, both [or should I say all three] bikes down, I need all the help I can get!

Here we go again. I still have not located the starter. The trike is currently sitting on my flatbed trailer which isn't much bigger than the trike. Getting to the front underside is a major headache as the trike kit effectively covers whatever the stock bike does not in that area. Add in the radiator cover on the front and it's pretty much enclosed. There is a rubber guard around something directly below that but I'm not sure what it's covering. The only way to get under there would be to unload the bike to jack it up and that's not something I'm in favor of as two 60 somethings trying to reload it [providing of course that I can get the hubby to help] could get interesting. I used my usb camera on it this afternoon and still can't be sure of what I was looking at. GRRRRR I have no problem spotting the oil filter so if someone can give me directions from there I'll try again tomorrow . FYI guys, the hubby is no help. The bikes, among other things, are "my thing" not his. He won't touch them. It's why I've had a bike [my RSTC] sitting for the last 3 years. I'm still kinda surprised the trike was running as I had to spend several months in 2015 up in Illinois on family business and he actually went out and started it for me. Otherwise it would be in the same shape as the RSTC. Add in the fact that a mechanic I am not. Doing this stuff "cold turkey" is scary . I'm concerned I'm going to screw something up. The starter should not be that much of a problem once I figure out where the darn thing is! The bike needs to go back to the paint shop which is one reason why I haven't unloaded it. If I do, that trailer is for sale and I'm getting a bigger one. I'm having to pad the back edge of the trike to prevent the tailgate/loading ramp on the trailer from chipping the paint. It's a snug enough fit that I had to pull the hitch bar out of the receiver to get the ramp up. As to why it needs to go back? I had a lil fender bender on it back in November. Between the holidays and the paint shop owner spending most of January in the hospital, I didn't get the bike picked up until a few weeks ago. Somewhere on the road home, the bike shifted over enough that the right rear wheel cover ended up against the right side rail [angle iron] and did a nice job of scraping my new paint job up. [i told you it was a snug fit!] As always, all help gratefully appreciated.

I was looking at your pic and that is a weird looking trailer. It has be by far the longest tongue I've ever seen and thanks to the hitch bar you've got in the truck's receiver, it looks like it's sitting at a downward angle. That alone might be part of what's causing it to wiggle around at speed. It's one reason why I have an adjustable height hitch on my F350. My truck sits so high that while some of my trailers sit level and others don't, I can change the hitch to where the trailer sits level. I haul my bikes on a 6x10 flatbed and I don't have the fish-tailing problem you mentioned. When your bike/trailer comes out of hibernation, let us know what you get figured out.

Reminds me of the Piaggio MP3 500. Same or very similar set up and I can buy a MP3 500 for just about what they want for their trike kit!

I have an '08 with the Han. kit. I love it. Mine was triked in '09 before reverse was available so mine doesn't have it. As long as I'm careful, it's not a problem. As for the aux. gas tank, mine has Carbon One's [aka larry] and it is a definite must have. Hannigan's version is quite different and from what I've heard about it, I much prefer Larry's. His has a separate control system and is operated from a switch mounted on the handlebars. There is plenty of info available on the site on both versions and I'm sure Larry would send you all the tech info on his. On the guys in Gladewater, if I'm not mistaken, I met them at the Lone Star Rally back in November. They are also dealers on some of the camping trailers and seem to know what they were talking about regarding the trailers and my trike. I'm planning a visit to them myself later in the year. If you'd like to get together and compare notes, I can give you a closeup look at just what your bike would look like triked, keeping in mind mine is a full out conversion and not the base trike kit.

Another update. I pulled the battery and put it on the charger. After it showed a full charge, I put it in the bike and got the same readings on the bike's voltmeter and the same reaction - lights, clicks and nothing else. I have another battery, one I bought for my 650 Custom last year but never installed it. Hubby put it on the charger to make sure it had a full charge. I mounted it in the bike this afternoon and got the same meter reading and the same clicks. As for using a handheld meter, I'm going to have to go buy one. Hubby says he probably has several lying around here but has no idea as to where it/they are [and he wonders why I want my own set of tools!]. All hook ups were done with the bike only, nothing else. Don had the bike lit up like a Xmas tree and there is wiring all over the battery compartment. I'm also trying to figure out where I can put an aux. fuse box on it so I can wire the lights back into that. Oh Fun! PS. This is going to sound crazy but can someone tell me just where the starter is located on that bike? Thanks to the trike kit, it looks like I'll be doing some partial dismantling. Anything from the battery compartment back is covered by the kit. I have Ponch's collection of manuals for the RSV and would you believe that while it shows diagrams of the starter, it's parts, etc., there is no diagram showing where the darn thing is. I'm assuming it's behind the battery compartment. With the trike kit in the way, getting to it could be fun. Does anyone think it would be worth trying a third battery? I'll make a trip into town tomorrow for the handheld and will see what shows up on that. As always, all help gratefully appreciated.

Without having gone out to the bike, the battery on it is about 18 months old, one of the Yuasa High Performance. I have a battery meter on the bike and it is reading 11+ with the bike on. The kill switch, as I said before, is working. If it's on, no noise, turned off, I get the clicks. Battery connections should be tight as this problem was noticed while the bike was in the paint shop getting some work done. I will double check the connections when I go outside later today. I'll post more later when I've had a chance to check things. This is definitely something I'll have to drag the hubby into. BTW I check the kill switch quite often after having spent 20 minutes in a parking lot one day trying to start my old Aprilia Atlantic maxi scooter [my first bike when I started back riding over 10 yrs ago.] because the dummy that I was hadn't realized that I had hit the darn thing. The guys at the paint shop thought I had a secondary kill switch on it as they couldn't get it to start with the bike's switch turned off. They had checked the battery and it's connections when they couldn't get it to start themselves. The bike was fine when I took it there as I had it running while I was unloading it and driving it into the shop.

I've got a problem with the trike. I'm fairly certain I know what it is but I'm just checking to make sure and to find out what I'm going to need to do to fix the darn thing. The bike is stone dead. Put the key in, turn it on, and everything lights up and works. Hit the start button and nothing. When I pull the clutch in and hit the start button, I hear a clicking from under the seat. It is not the kill switch. That is working like it is supposed to. Activate it and I get no sound at all. I'm assuming my starter has gone out. Question is which part of it has failed? Do I need to replace the whole thing? Any recommendations on doing an upgrade, if there is one, while I'm at it? Recommendations on staying with stock unit or going aftermarket and who to get it from? Oh fun!! As usual, all help gratefully appreciated!!

OK GANG!! I need something like final numbers for the Meet & Eat. Los Cabos is a busy place [especially on weekends] and I need a good idea how many are coming. Post your intentions on the VRO Get Together page on Facebook or here on the Calendar. Again restaurant is located in front of the Brenham Lowes store which is just south of the US 290/Tx 36 intersection. If you're riding your bike, I'd suggest parking in the Lowes lot. Restaurant parking is tight and your wheels should be safer there.

We are planning a M&E at the Los Cabos Mexican Grill & Steakhouse in Brenham Texas http://loscabosbrenham.com/index.html on February 11, 2017 at 1 PM. This is a great restaurant with good food on both sides of the menu. If we can get a RSVP of 25+, we'll have our own dining area! The restaurant is located on TX 36 directly in front of the Brenham Lowe's store which is just south of the US 290/Tx 36 intersection. EVERYBODY COME! Please RSVP on the Calendar!!

I appreciate the answers guys but I'm still kinda in the same boat. All of my helmets, with one exception, have Edsets installed. For me to do bluetooth, I either buy one of the CycleGear Bilt helmets or the Leather Up HJC Hawk combo, or buy another helmet and one of the aftermarket headsets like the Sena SMH10s. The HJC with the Hawk set up is $240. For me to buy the same helmet and add the Sena SMH10 system to it brings the cost up to $370! I find it interesting that LeatherUp is selling the HJC combo so cheap considering the base price of the helmet but that's what got my attention in the first place. I don't know of anyone with the pre-installed headsets and I'd like to know if/how they work, mostly due to the cost factor. BTW, the reason for NOT installing the Sena in the one headset-less helmet I have [and buying the HJC!] is that I'd like to have at least one helmet that matches the trike and a neon HJC SyMaxIII doesn't quite do that .

:crackup::crackup:

Ok Here's the situation. I have the usual stock set up on my RSV but there is nothing on the RSTC. I got a flyer awhile back from CycleGear promoting a sale on their store brand Built helmets with the bluetooth already installed. No idea who's unit they are using but one of the newer models is being promoted as being a Sena system. It got me curious so I started looking around. I posted in another thread about finding the HawkX1 system installed in a HJC Modular. I thought at the time that the listing I had seen online was from Motorcycle Superstore but it turned out it was from Leatherup. The Hawk bluetooth is their store brand and they have it built into several of their Hawk helmets but also into the HJC. Again, I have no idea who builds the Hawk units but what I find is interesting is the price on the HJC is only about $10 higher than the helmet normally retails for. I'm looking at the bluetooth helmets primarily for the RSTC as it has no radio set up. I also spend most of my time driving listening to audiobooks thru the BT link with my phone and the car. Ditto on the RSV using a set of earbuds and the phone. A helmet with the Bluetooth already installed seems to be a win win situation for me. Lord knows I have enough helmets [5 if you count the one I bought for my mum to use]. I could buy one of the "to be installed" BT units but I've priced some of those at higher than the price of the HJC with the Hawk unit already installed! Does anyone have one of these BT installed helmets, either the Built or the Hawk? The onsite reviews on the Built helmets were something of a mixed bag depending on which one you were looking at. I couldn't find anything on the Hawks. If I went with the Hawk, it would be the HJC helmet as it is the IS model with the built in sun shield, something I won't buy a helmet without. And I can get it in red!

I've been looking at that freewire set up as well. I've also been looking at helmets with the bluetooth already installed. CycleGear is promoting their Bilt line with at least one that is supposed to be a Sena set up. Prices are such that buying one them is in some cases a better buy than buying a separate headset. Motorcycle Superstore is listing the HJC IS modular helmet with the Hawk headset installed for only about $30 more than the helmet without! Does anyone have any of these?? I would much prefer the HJC as my go to helmet is a SyMax II. With the exception of the JM set up on the RSV, almost everything else I use is Bluetooth enabled. I'm looking at a Bluetooth helmet for those times when I'm not riding with the group which is most if not nearly all of the time. FYI if anyone is interested, If [more likely when!] I buy a bluetooth helmet, I will have a Neon SyMax III for sale, size XL, NEVER WORN, still in the box.. I bought it for long distance trips but I certainly don't need the collection of helmets I seem to be acquiring these days, 6 at last count.

Sounds like the sets I have, big rounded rectangles. I've put them on both my 650 Custom and on the RSTC. I didn't have to put them on the trike as Don had beaten me to it! They won't win any beauty contests but I love being able to really see what's behind me.

Rats!! I've got another trip planned for Wisconsin but I won't be up there until a full month later!

I have one of Larry's tanks on my '08 Hannigan trike. Very easy set up tank filler is built into left rear wheel cover with the control switch on the left handlebar. Switch has a light which indicates whether the reserve tank is in use. No worrying about fuel transfer with this system.

No date set for hubby's reunion that I'm aware of but I will probably be up here still so I just might take a day off and come up there for a quick visit. I've pulled the bonehead move and lost my glasses which are of course required by my driver's license so I'm getting that taken care of tomorrow. I'll post here if anything changes.

Well, I'm back in Illinois yet again and am currently residing at my uncle's place in Rock Island. Going home date is most definitely up in the air at the moment and I'd love to take advantage of my stay and meet some of the Ill/Iowa/Wis crowd for munchies and whatever else comes up. I'm caging it as I also have my Mum and her walker along so no bike rides until later this year when I just might be able to bring the trike along on the Hubby's trip to his 50th HS reunion in Prairie du Chien, Wis. If anyone would like to get together. just let me know and we'll see what we can set up.

That's where the problem is. We found out almost the same way. Tried to use a RSV stand on my bike only to find that the rear suspension between the two is different. Get the correct stand and it will all become MUCH easier! I'm waiting to see just how much "fun" using the one he built for my RSV trike is going to be!!

I got my tires. Decided to go WW on the bike which ought to be quite interesting since it will definitely go with the blue/white paint job. Smaller size on the front, 130/90, so I'll also get to see how that set up works out. Tires are Shinkos, bought from Jake Wilson. I'm very pleased with their service and I made a point of checking the dates since Santa Hal ended up with a set of 3 yr old{!} "new" tires at the spring MD. Dates on these guys are both less than a year old if I'm reading the dates correctly! New spark plugs ordered, DPR7EIX-9, iridiums of course. what next????