bongobobny

Puc, for the cost of a good lithium I could probably buy two or three regular batteries...

OK Lenny!! The bottom line is cold temperatures kill batteries!! Up north here some of us will ride in November until it snows, but a lot of bikes get put into storage late October, not to be brought out until May! There are some rare people that will actually ride their bike in the winter especially in January when we have a "January thaw" but with the amount of salt poured on our roads they must not respect their bikes to get them full of salt powder from the roads! Anyway, we go for months of below freezing weather both day and night! There are times when we go for weeks with a high of single digit temperatures and lows in the minus double digits, other times we are below freezing in double digits during the day and single digits during the night. Float chargers help, but even with a constant full charge they are still coooooold!! In my case, I take my battery out when I store my trike in my neighbor's uninsulated unheated garage and store the battery in my fully insulated sometimes heated garage. It never freezes in my garage, which is attached to the house and gets heat through absorption mostly or when I heat it to work out there. even so, I am lucky to get more than 4 years out of a battery. The exception to this is my Odessey battery in my 1st gen which has been in my garage since '09, the battery was purchased in '06, and is still good!! Yes, 9 years for any lead acid battery is exceptional!! I would say that anything over 7 years out of a lead acid is doing good, car or motorcycle! Up north here our batteries don't last as long...

Hmmmm, I did not discuss the coil's function, just the capacitor's function across the points. A capacitor resists a CHANGE in EMF (Electro Motive Force) or Voltage across it. Once again, as I stated, and so does your quoted article, that when the points open, ground is lifted and 12 volts appears on the one side of the points (The other side being permanently grounded). The capacitor, as your quote points out, has been discharged by the points being closed, which is the case as the points are closed more than they are open for 1 cycle of operation. When the points open the Capacitor "Condenses" the change in EMF, thus retarding what the author refers to as "Sparkies" a term I cannot ever remember ever being taught, heard of in all my years in the electronic industry, or ever hearing an automotive technician use! The end result, the arcing across the points is retarded, and the surface of the points survive to live another cycle. Notice the key word "retarded, the spark is not completely eliminated, if it was the points would last forever and ever when in reality they do eventually become pitted from low level sparking. In our conversation Puc and I were talking specifically about the Condenser, not the ignition circuit. What your quoted article is discussing is more so how the coil works in the ignition circuit. Soooo, in light of what Puc and I were talking about, JUST the Capacitor/Condenser and not the coil, how am I off the mark?? In my original post the paragraph after the one you quoted I stated "When the points open the capacitor resists the change in voltage, or "condenses" that momentary 12 volts" and your quoted article states "When the points close, the points actually short-out the 2-foils and DISCHARGE the condenser so there is a place ready the next time to absorb the extra electrons when the points OPEN." Isn't that saying the same thing??

The big problem selling an engine on Ebay is nobody wants to pay the shipping on something heavy like an engine! That and most people are afraid of buying a used engine off Ebay and rightfully so because there are sooooo many dishonest people out to make a buck...

Got tired of life in the city, eh Mike??

Does Arkansas even see weather too cold to drive in for months?? Of course, Fuzzy, you have a longer riding season than we do in NY...

They just need to be charged at a lower rate, best charged with an old fashioned simple battery charger. They don't seem to like some of the fancy "Sensor" type chargers or float chargers. My battery charger has a specific setting for AGM...

Lookin' good so far!! I have seen 6 1/2" speakers mounted on the dash before, can't remember who did it though...

RE: Figure E. And THAT, sir, is EXACTLY why Yamaha put the bleeder on the line going from the rear to the front at the steering neck on the MK2...

No they won't Dan...

Hmmm, don't recall the throttle cables being tied to anything there! Yah, to get the TCI out you need to remove both fairings, the airbox, the coil pack, and then the plate the TCI and vacuum advance unit are mounted on (or are they mounted on the bottom of the coil pack, I forgot!). Oh yes, and the battery! Like Dan says, if you ALREADY have the TCI unplugged, just hook up the test one and see if the bike starts!! If you are looking at voltage on the pins, then of course the battery has to be connected. If you are looking at RESISTANCE, then the battery should absolutely be disconnected!! BTW 1.5 ohms between the battery ground and the frame sounds like you may have a slight amount of corrosion where the battery cable connects to ground but not necessarily. I would expect to see less than 1.0, but that will depend on the meter. Touch both probes of the meter together and see what it reads. Theoretically you should see Zero, but in reality you should see 1 or 2 tenths of an ohm. You subtract that reading from the reading you get when you repeat your battery ground continuity reading to get the TRUE reading...

Well, if it worked for you... Myself I would invest the few extra dollars into an AGM battery such as the DEKA which Skydoc_17 sells. AGM's have more reserve power (CCA's). However, I am not sure you will get the longevity you got out of your original battery, you may! Actually I am somewhat surprised yours lasted as long as it did, a lot of people are hard pressed to get 4 years out of a battery! However, you are not the first time I've heard of that long, but I have only heard of a couple...

Worn out springs are worn out springs period! You can "tune" the Progressive or any brand spring to be softer or stiffer by the thickness of the spacer. When the spring rate goes bad on any spring it looses it's spring action somewhat. You state you think the Progressives might be too stiff, and you want to try spacers to make your worn out springs stiffer?? There are other brands of springs you could buy that may not be as stiff (to me effective is a better word)... That being said, I guess the best answer is to try it and find out what happens!

OK!! I can see where that could help too!!

Cool story!!!

Yah!! There is a big difference, isn't there?? Springs go bad with age when they are partially compressed such as with the weight of the bike anyway...

OK how hot out is it out, and WHEN does the fan turn on, at a stop or while riding?? Heavier oil is probably NOT your answer, replacing your tired out old springs is the answer! Springs just get worn out with age, and you probably still have the original springs in there! A pair of new Progressive springs only runs a tad over $75 and are better than stock!! There is no "setting" for anti dive! That switch is for dampening or response on the REAR shock only. Anti dive is front shocks only. When you brake the natural tendency of a bike is to "Dive" down in the front, as does a car when you slam on the brakes. The anti dive system on the front shocks energizes a solenoid which restricts the displacement of oil from the bottom of the shock making it much stiffer. On the First Generation Mark 1 which is '83, '84' and '85, the anti dive solenoids are a hydraulic solenoid that are hydraulically connected to the front brake calipers and are actuated when you apply the brakes. By now you should have noticed that the braking system on the MK1's are a little anemic and so Yahama replaced the hydraulic power robbing solenoids with electric solenoids operated by the brake lights on the Mark 2 Venture, '86 to '93. They also replaced the 2 piston calipers with more efficient 4 piston calipers on the MK2 for better braking power. Anyway, with new progressive springs, and new bushings and seals while you have them apart, you probably will notice you don't even need any air pressure at all, or only a couple of psi if you really like a stiff firm harsh ride. The slightly heavier oil, and/or extra oil in the shocks just makes the hydraulic response even slower making for a stiff shock. Also just recently someone noted what he called "pogo'ing" effect while riding at lower speeds and the thicker oil corrected this...

Yup!! Ain't it crazy?!!?

Came by about 15 min ago and nobody home...

Buy a DEKA AGM!!! Earl, Skydoc_17 is a dealer and will give you a good price shipped to your door!! Or, go to your local Auto Zone and buy "Their" brand AGM battery and peal off the label and find it is really a DEKA...

Yup!! I don't necessarily dislike Harleys, it is more so the Harley "Mystique" that bugs the $hit out of me...

Yup! Loosen the pinch bolt a whole bunch more then pry the gap open more...

Not real sure of this at the moment, but can't you just take the switch off of the old MC and install on the new one?? I THINK the extra contacts are for cruise control but don't quote me..

Really not sure Wayne, I'll have to stare at the schematic for a while when I make some time... BTW your package came in the mail today.

Yah! Using my "Friends" folder I found him but could not send him a PM, no button for it. It did, however allow me to send email which I did! Haven't heard back from him yet...