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LilBeaver

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Everything posted by LilBeaver

  1. LilBeaver
    +1 to trying the regulator. I think that you can be pretty sure you have a problem with it based on the fact that you had an issue with the electronics on your bike, (and you have said that you checked the grounds and they seemed okay), and you have pretty much ruled out the stator since you get ~14V at a higher rpm. It still could be a short somewhere, BUT, replacing the regulator/rectifier seems like a surefire bet.
  2. LilBeaver
    Maybe you got your shield mixed up with one of the shields that are made by the same people that make the trick birthday candles that relight themselves
  3. LilBeaver
    While installing my new radio today I get everything hooked up and decide to do a little investigation. I have had my passing lamp relay grounded on the bolt at the headlight surrounds - that is the switching portion of the relay. Current through that wire with lamps on is only 0.1A. Voltage between the ground point of the radio and that point on the headlamp surrounds is 30 mV with the radio off and ~24 mV with the radio on. I am quite confident that this should not have an adverse affect on the radio or the other electrical components on the bike. Other opinions are certainly welcome though; let me know if you disagree
  4. LilBeaver
    Definitely do the higher RPM test to see if that is what is happening. A few months ago I DID blow up my battery as well as all of the lights and my radio (I think) thanks to my rectifier putting out 17+ volts at higher RPM but still doing a good 12-13 at idle. Bench Test the Rectifier: I have seen a few places where people have explained how to do it and each explanation was different and when I tried each on my bad rectifier/regulator none of them were conclusive for me. I have yet to hook it up to an oscilloscope or take it apart and look to see if I could come up with a better way to do it. Another thing to check is to see if there is any AC voltage at the battery. If any at all is there it would show the rectifier is bad. Other things to check are your grounds. Make sure that the main ground (down by the horn) as well as any other grounding points you can find are CLEAN and TIGHT. As goofy grounds can cause all sorts of problems. Take a real close look at the rectifier/regulator unit to make sure that none of the pins look burnt. Also make sure that the connectors are making a firm connection with the harness as that will also produce behavior that looks like the rectifier/regulator is bad. I absolutely hate electrical problems because sometimes it is cut and dry and sometimes the symptoms may seem to be totally unrelated to the actual source of the problem. Hope this is some help, Good luck. Keep us posted.
  5. LilBeaver
    Hopefully KiteSquid will weigh in on this again to give us some more insight...
  6. LilBeaver
    Haha, well... Quantum Mechanics actually is not all that difficult... String theory is another story. The fact that the theory is structured in such a way to suggest that it is impossible to actually test (based on the theory itself) allows it to get poo pooed by most REAL scientists... But, I get the humor in your statement but maintain that I'd be happy to talk Physics with you if you'd like. :-D
  7. LilBeaver
    I am not sure as this is a problem on the bike. If there is negligible resistance on the frame then anywhere along the conducting surface of the frame ought to have the same potential which would cause this to be a non-issue. Running a wire from the negative terminal on the battery, or from the main ground point on the bike up front to the lug that you have stuff grounded to under the fairing would work to alleviate this 'problem' (if it truly is a problem). My objection to the validity of this being an issue at all is that the bike is 'grounded' by the frame and that is all. So being that the bike has a (nominally) 12V electrical system, one could actually have a bike that functioned perfectly fine if the frame had managed to have an electrical charge relative to a 'true' ground (ie. earthed ground) as long as there was a 12V difference between anything that is supposed to have 12V across it. For example if the frame had a potential (with respect to earth ground) of 5V, so long as the 'negative' terminal on the battery also had a +5V difference and positive terminal had a +17V difference with respect to earth ground. Note that there is still a 12V terminal voltage across the battery and this would only work if the rest of the charging system was designed to deal with this - I used this as an example to simply display the principle so lets leave it at that. That being said, the frame is taken to be ground, or 0V, since that is where the 'negative' battery terminal is connected to, etc. So, going back to my original statement that would assume negligable resistance throughout the frame, and assuming the frame is a reasonable conductor (which it obviously IS); conductors, by properties of basic electromagnetism, are equipotential surfaces with all charge being stored on the surface thereby suggesting that if you 'ground' an electrical component ANYWHERE on the frame it should suffice as an appropriate ground with no other complications. I know for sure ground loop issues can appear in an electric circuit that is connected to an earthed ground. In a case of audio/visual equipment where electronics are connected to a power supply (that have a ground plug on them which ground the power supply, and anything else on that circuit to earth ground and any other ground plug on that circuit) and are also connected with another cable (coaxial, or whatever) where if the coaxial cable connects you to an anntena, the antenna may be grounded too. In this kindof setup ground loops will show up as 'noise' in the visual signal (or sometimes auditory depending on what it is that is going on) but this also is a different animal because this involves AC circuitry as well. I don't know that this helps at all, but hopefully it provides a little more insight, at least from a theoretical prospective... Hopefully someone with practical experience with this can chime back in and set us straight.
  8. LilBeaver
    This is what I was worried about... A ground loop occurs when there are multiple paths to ground before a true ground and one of the points has a different potential than another. For example, one point would have 0.0V and another point may have 0.2V. This potential difference (difference in voltage) will give rise to a current.
  9. LilBeaver
    You say you pulled ALL of the fuses; did that include the main 30A fuse (behind the left passenger peg). If that is the case then that should definitely help narrow down your search.
  10. LilBeaver
    Rick: Thanks. I was pretty sure that was the case. I suppose I should have been a little more specific, but I was curious about both the grounds for each lamp as well as the relay that provides power to the lamps. I was not real happy with the way I had things put together under my fairing and was curious if others had a better way to run that wire. But also: With my latest electrical woes with my bike I had recalled an experiment I worked on a few years ago where someone in my group, when wiring up an RF amplifier for a resonance experiment, had grounded the unit in one place and effectively another part of the circuit in a second place. These multiple paths to ground caused all sorts of crazy behavior. It was a bit more complex than the bike and I didn't think that grounding stuff to the frame in different places was going to yield the same issue but I just needed some confirmation on that. I don't know why, but often times I really manage to over-think the simple things like this . It has been a heck of a few weeks here and the few problems I have had with my bike certainly have not been helping... Anyways, I'm done yammering about my problems. Thanks again.
  11. LilBeaver
    You can always have a chat with a rep from the insurance company to see what other types of coverage (or options you have) they offer, explaining your situation and whatnot - you never know, they may be able to work with you on it and make adjustments as necessary.
  12. LilBeaver
    Bump...
  13. LilBeaver
    I'm surprised there isn't a provision that specifies that they must be able to reach the pegs... That would make more sense than an age thing. So, next time my neice and nephews come down I can take them for a ride as long as they are old enough to purger them selves to law enforcement, check. Thanks for the heads up!
  14. LilBeaver
    I've seen quite a few within a few hundred miles of me too... Wish I had some more dough, I wouldn't mind another toy or two (since I would need a parts bike if I got a 1st gen )
  15. LilBeaver
    Just in case anyone is interested... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAHA-VENTURE_W0QQitemZ270453458919QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_motorcycles?hash=item3ef84847e7&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245 I've been seeing a lot of these new old stock ones come and go for reasonable prices and it sure has me thinking about it... Just need to come up with the $$$
  16. LilBeaver
    Your wreck could be a blessing in disguise if those turn out to be malignant - as catching that stuff as early as possible is usually the best way to do it. Glad you came out as well as you did though! My thoughts and prayers for you and your family. Hope it all turns out to be nothing or if it is something that it can get taken care of quickly and as painless as possible. Gdspeed. Rick
  17. LilBeaver
    I wonder if doing this shim would affect braking power - as maybe it would apply brakes more evenly to both sides of the rotor... Some folks complain of the rear wheel locking up rather suddenly, it is a little curious to me as maybe the locking up has to do with the inner one pushing on the rotor and at a certain point the outer one makes contact and the sudden change in brake pad surface area contacting the rotor thereby increasing the drag on the rotor causing the seemingly irratic braking behavior. Just a thought... I'm due to check my brakes anyways, so I think I'll pop 'em off and take a look.
  18. LilBeaver
    Hey, some parts of Texas gets colder than that... This morning I thought about dusting off the 'ol jacket liner... It was actually 60 when I left!
  19. LilBeaver
    I know I have seen a lot of discussion on this in the past and it seems that some are fine with running a patched tire and some won't. I am not comfortable running on a patched tire. At least not longer than I would have to. It may be low risk but it is certainly high impact. I think that I would be more comfortable if I didn't ride 2-up so much; not because of the extra weight but because of the fact that if something were to happen and my passenger gets injured I would feel 110% responsible especially if it was related to that particular tire. Again, that is just me; you and anyone else can do whatever you want it is your decision, not mine.
  20. LilBeaver
    I like to keep things neat, especially wiring; my question for others is: Where do you have your passing lamp circuit grounded? All the way back to the fuse block? battery? headlight surrounds? Thanks for the input (just curious here).
  21. LilBeaver
    Quick thought here... If you plan on running a healthy dose of sea foam I would wait to change the plugs for a few reasons. 1) I have read that sea foam (in large quantities) can cause the plugs to foul... I don't know how valid this is, but it is a thought. 2) If it smooths out after you change the plugs and run the sea foam you will not know for sure what caused the rough running. (unless you can visually see something wrong with the plugs) BUT, plugs and sea foam sounds like a winner in terms of a place to start. I would make a note of which one came out of which cylinder too when you take them out for comparative purposes. The other thing that comes to mind is a coil issue... But I would stick with your plan and see if it smooths out. Good luck.
  22. LilBeaver
    Hmm interesting. I sure would like to find a place by me that stocks it locally... Not that I need it that often, but it would be nice to not have to pay S&H for it...
  23. LilBeaver
    In the picture above I only see 1 antenna...
  24. LilBeaver
    You've got a reverse on your bike!?! How did I miss that option?
  25. LilBeaver
    I do and it is FILTHY! (But I like it a lot)
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