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iridedou

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    Concord

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  • Bike Year and Model
    '84 Venture XVZ12
  1. iridedou
    Here's everything I need to change my tires in the pic. Dilute a couple of capfuls Murphy's oil soap in a quart of water for bead lube. Didn't cost me anything...had the bicycle tire irons already. Shorter, sturdy old 3 gal chlorine bucket works better than a taller 5 gal drywall bucket. I can break the bead in less than a minute by going around the tire at 12, 3, 6, and 9 oclock spots. No struggling with clamps or pounding on the tire risking rim damage. And you can be sure to clean up your rims, something the garage won't do.http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm262/lurch12_2000/100_1506.jpg
  2. iridedou
    I think I found my problem....bad connection from the ground wire from the fan's on/off toggle switch to a frame bolt down under the radiator's right hand sidecover. I will be making the 270 mile ride home in a few days to road test.
  3. iridedou
    I've put 1300 miles on my '84 Venture in the last 2 months. The previous owner had put a toggle switch on the dash for manually turning the radiator fan on/off. As the air temp is now gotten up over 60 degrees with warmer weather, I've had to switch the fan on more, as I expected. Well the original toggle switch froze up and stopped working, so I replaced it with a spare accessory toggle switch I had from my car. It worked at first but now seems to stop working intermittently. When caught in traffic a few times, the gauge will push just into the red, but no signs of boilover or overheating, but with the intermittent on/off problem I can't kick my fan on. Then I'll get moving and it drops down into the green. Do I need a special heavy duty toggle switch or something for this? Why does it work sometimes? What readings do most of you have in warmer weather and when stuck in traffic?
  4. iridedou
    I agree that I would not buy anything over $1k without a test ride. Possibly a 300-500 deposit as a hedge to make someone think twice about abusing your bike and risk losing that amount. But a MC license is no guarentee that someone who's used to a 400lb bike can handle a large CC bike or one that weighs in a 600-800 lb range. Other options are to have the seller take the bike out and follow them in your car to verify they would put their life on the line to put it thorugh it's paces(vice versa if you're the seller). Also, this may clue you in on if they know how to ride or not. Using the centerstand, starting the bike and shifting through the gears will give some comfort level of tranny function, rear wheel problems, or chain and shaft issues. But obviously this would be without any load on the engine. If you want roadworthy, then I would look at only registered and inspected vehicles that the owner is presently using for commuting or has done recent 100 mile weekend trips. If you want to know about the sitting and riding feel for you, then a test ride of at least 10 miles including highway is necessary....but I rarely let anyone test ride a bike I'm selling. I usually give them comfort level by offering to ride the bike up to 50 miles for delivery after they pay for it. Again, this means roadworthyness and does nothing for whether they like the feel of the bike.
  5. iridedou
    It was the springs for me. I got an aftermarket spring kit (6 of them), rated 20% stiffer than stock, through the local dealer (Freedom Cycle) in Concord, NH for $14 and no shipping charges. Got the OEM cover gasket for $7 too. These guys are very helpful and had my stuff in 5 days from when I called it in and put it on the Visa card. I've dealt with them for 3 yrs with my old Suzuki stuff and more than half the time they're cheaper and much more helpful than going online! It helps that they are right on my way home from work, too. BTW, the clutch is not slipping anymore (just changing the oil did not help) and the lever pull is definitely stiffer compared to the mush feel before. The 25 year old original springs were all 3-4mm under acceptable specs(40mm).
  6. iridedou
    Good point...and making sure the o-ring doesn't flop out of place too!! I usually use a touch of grease to hold it in the cover's groove while carefully lining the cover, filter and spring up while using the socket to start the bolt....it takes "3" hands and laying on my stomach looking at it with a droplight to see if it's going in right!!!!!
  7. iridedou
    I got the new aftermarket clutch springs and new gasket today. After getting it all back together tonight and taking it for a test ride, I'm happy to report that it is much better! With 20% stronger springs, I now have a "MAN's" clutch instead of a WIMPY clutch. It has a noticably stronger effort to pull in the clutch now, but hey, the slip is gone, and I can scoot by semis on the highway with no fear!
  8. iridedou
    I stand corrected...the 83-85 1st gen don't have that chin piece, right?
  9. iridedou
    You must have the 2nd gen, as the 1st gen have nothing protecting the filter cover. I agree that since I change my oil and filter every 2k miles then why get the spendy$$ brands. I am using Fram, BTW. Just have read a few vocalizing their displeasure with them.
  10. iridedou
    Any concern about a thin metal spin-on oil filter being right out front exposed to rocks and other debris that may puncture it from direct hits? The $4 Fram filter catridges for the Yammie are stocked by most car parts places around here. That's if you're not dead set against using Fram filters!
  11. iridedou
    Just to follow up: I removed the clutch cover for inspection and found that all the springs measured about 36-37mm in free spring length which is well below the shop manual stating 40mm as the minimum. I am waiting for a new set (six) that I ordered through the local dealer for $14. I also removed and cleaned all the plates to make sure that any previous incorrect type oil was cleaned off after changing my oil back to Rotella 15w-40 250 miles ago. And I gently scuffed them up with a fine sandpaper. The wire removal took a little effort in order to remove the final pressure and 1/2 friction plates. My wife's old dental tool worked great for extracting the plates. I used 2 long small flathead screwdrivers to guide the wire to snap back in place before putting all the other plates back in the order they came out. I also lightly coated each plate w/the proper 15w-40 as they were reinstalled. Now, I just need to wait for the springs to arrive and then I'll put it all together and give you a road test report. At least I have my other bike to ride in the interim!!
  12. iridedou
    After changing the engine oil to Rotella 15w-40, I still had the clutch slip a few times in 5th gear on hard acceleration at 4-5k rpm during my 120 mile commute to work to today. I see a lot of posts referring to replacing the springs for only $10, but I checked both BikeBandit and Chapparal and they both listed them for $7.97/ea. Since there are 6 of them, that would be around $48 total plus shipping and I still have to locate a new clutch cover gasket too. Any ideas or suppliers? Will a proper sized washer placed behind each spring upon reassembly accomplish the same thing? I haven't taken it apart yet to see if they are out of spec, but I'd like to be prepared to do the job once and not leave my bike unusable for a week waiting for parts.
  13. iridedou
    I realized my mistake in using the last 2 qts of 10w-40 oil I had , and then the remaining 1 1/2 qts added were a 10w-30 that I now realize had an energy conserving stamp on it. I will change out this week with Rotella 15w-40 oil, drain off the filter since it's new and see if I notice a difference. If I pull the clutch plates out and clean up and change the springs at a later time, is there any thing else that needs to be done since the hydraulic clutch lever has no adjustment? The fluid is already cleaned and bled. Any suggestions on where to order the new clutch springs and cover gasket? thanks
  14. iridedou
    Only 48k miles on it and in 300 miles of cold weather riding I only noticed it once at 5k rpm in 5th gear when I accelerated hard while passing a semi on the highway. I changed the oil and filter when I 1st got it and put in an AutoParts store brand 10w-40 dino oil that didn't say anything about "energy conserving" on the jug.
  15. iridedou
    I've searched the forum and see many references to using the wrong engine oil (energy conserving type) which may cause clutch slipping. If this is the case, are you saying that just changing the oil (and filter) to the correct type will clear up the problem? Is the slip something you would notice at the higher rpms(5k+) in higher gears?
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