Beau Geste

Howdy, Anybody happen to know whether the Bakup backrest is compatible with the Corbin-made-but-Yamaha-branded Comfort Cruise Solo and Tour rider/passenger combination? I use the Bakup now with the OEM saddle and love it..but am not really happy with the stock saddles themselves. Thanks!

Related to anothe post I made intehforum recently: I've (just) started running some Mobil-1 5W-30 Extended Service oil in my '08 RSTD and it seems to have had a significant effect in reducing chirp/whine. Have been thinking about installing a Barnett SR-2 clutch spring upgrade to minimize the chance of any clutch slip from the slipperier-than-approved lube attitives that are used in this 'eco-friendly' synthetic. How common is it that the clutch hydraulics will need to be bled after replacement of the diaphragm springs with the new spring plate? Should I just go ahead and buy a speed bleeder before I even crack the case?

Thanks, Skydoc, I was thinking about making a Barnett SR-2 clutch spring upgrade a part of this winter's wrenching (motto : if you can't ride it, at least you can tweak it). If the lubrication cuts the whine, and the increased engagement pressure backs me away from the edge of a clutch-slp issue, I'll be a happy ambler. Of course,I guess I could just swap the clutch basket, but I hear that's not a necessarily sure-fire fix to the chirp...and anyway, why not try something a bit different? Of course, this may just be a retread of an approach that a lot of other folks have already taken...and if so, I'd really appreciate any guidance from the wise ones.

All the conventional wisdom says DON'T use so-called 'energy conserving' synthetics in motorcycles, because they contain additives that increae lubricity (love that word!) so much that wet clutches can slip Well, I decided to ignore that bit of wisdom, and exchanged the bike's Yamalube for 3.7 US quarts of Mobil-1 Extended Service 5W-30. Here's what I've got so far... My bike, with original clutch basket, had always been a pretty loud chirper in 3rd and 4th gear, right in the seet spot of the torque curve on both ratios, and I was trying to get reconciled to dealing with it. Figured I'd try this experiment, though, before putting her to bed for the winter. After the oil change, the chirp/'cricket"/whine has been reduced dramatically, almost to the point that I can only hear it if I reaaaaaly listen for it. Shifting effort has reduced as well, very light touch on the heel/toe to notch the ratios up or down. Absolutely no transition clunk now. And for the life of me I can't discern any weirdness that might indicate the dreaded 'clutch slip' associated with using an energy-conserving oil...but here's the rub. Is ther any chance that there's some kind of undetectable-in-normal-crusing degradation taking place in the tranny? I've put about 500mi on the RSDT since the change two weeks ago, and I sure like the way she's sounding and shifting now...would hate to give that up, es[peciially no longer having to grit my teeh to consciously ignore the bloody straight-cut gear while in around-town prowling. Any thoughts/advice appreciated. I guess the bottom line here is if I can't *feel* any clutch slip, is there anything really to worry about anyway? Now that the autumn weather here in New England is starting to get a bit chancy, I may not be able to give my next experiment a try until spring, but was planning to make the next lube change to Mobil1 5W-40 Turbo Diesel lube that supposedly doens't include any of the extrea-slippery agents... just to see if my crickets/howling monkeys come back.

V&H decided to move the mount locations on the mufflers forward (toward the center of the mufflers, away from the endcaps) by about 3" on the MOs. to effectively hide them under the saddlebags when installed on a HD. Does the same thing on the Venture/RSDT, but means that the mount points on the cans are no longer adjacent to the saddlebag subframe members. The other change is that the two mount bolts on these are now 2" center-to-center rather than the somewhat larger separation on all other HD touring mufflers (I forget exactly, but I seem to remember something closer to ~ 3" c-to-c). Bottom line is that I kind of doubt your neat mount-up trick will work quite the same with the MOs. V&H includes an adapter with the mufflers that mates up to the standard HD subframe mount plate. Didn't do me any good, but as I mentioned getting a couple of brackets fabricated from 1/4" SS was no big deal. One effect of the MO mount pos'n change is that the overall length of the brackets are shorter than the ones I bought for the RK's, and a bunch stiffer...which is good, considering that the MO's weigh signficantly more, and I don't want all that mass bouncing around out back.

Nah, just rented the chillens out as galley slaves. Yer right, tho, not cheap. The modified RK's weren't bad at all, so I'm not 100% sure that these V&H cans are justifiable on a bang-for-the-buck basis. Dropped about $650 into the muffs, baffles, and the bits 'n pieces (not counting the VTwin clamps, since I had those already). But it's kind of a kick putting a personal twist on the Star...I haven't heard of anybody running this particular config before. 'Course, that woudn't matter much iif the looks and sound disappointed...but no worries on that score. Very nice tailpipe tunes now.

Here ya be.

Well, I've put a couple thousand miles on the modified RK mufflers, and finally decided that I had to follow my urge to purchase a set of the V&H MOs. First unexpected quirk upon unboxing was the discovery that V&H chose a nonstandard mount hole configuration...the brackets I'd used to fit up the RK muffs weren't dimensioned properly. A few quick measurements and a trip to the local metal shop had that hurdle behind me. The MO cans slip right on to the RSTD headpipes with the same fitment as the RKs, and a clean-looking install can be had using the same wide, chrome VTwin clamps that have been recommended in many posts in this forum. Fair bit of twiddling to get the pipes leveled...these mothers are wiiiide, almost 3/4 the width of the saddlebag bases and the slightest yaw is glaringly apparent. Once ther're squared up to the bags and the widthwise axes on the two pipes are aligned, they look awesome. Even better, in my opinion, if you take the time to reverse the endcaps to a 'slash-up' config, as they then continue the lines of the 'bags and, if installed, the bag rails. OK, next unexpected discovery. These things are LOUD. The tone itself is great, a deep, deep rumble with no hint of tinnyness or waterbarrel plonkiness...but whoa Nellie the overall sound pressure at anything over idle is much higher than the V&H marketing would lead you to believe. "3dB over stock" my sweet tukas. More like 10-12dB when you get on the throttle, or even just power up an incline. I went on a ~ 600mi ride through centreal Maine, across NH and into Vermont a couple of weeks ago, and one thing I noticed is that NOBODY would follow me at a distance of nearer than ~ 200 yards. Which was kind of nice, actually...but after a while I started to feel a little more obnoxious than makes me happy. Not to mention that I finally had to stop at a pharmacy for some heavy-duty earplugs just to keep my own sanity. With ~ 80% of the noise abated, though, the damn things sure did sound sweet. So, when i got home I pulled the MOs back off the RSTD, reinstalled the RKs, and began to seriously think about putting the ovals and brackets up for sale. Afer procrastinating for a couple of weeks, though, I decided see what I could do to tone down the racket while keeping the tone. Contacted V&H, who told me that their supplement 'quiet baffles' wouldn't fit, and couldn't be modified to work (which I kind of expected). Looked at the offerings from Big City Thunder, but none of their various aftermarket baffles appeared to be dimensioned to be an easy retool for the MOs. But a little more googling finally got me linked into Smartpartz, the makers of a wide range of 'Hard Kore' baffles. These high-quality, nickel-plated inserts claim to work with a muffler's stock baffles (they are supplements, not replacements) and reduce the sound levels by 6-12 dB across the rev range. Though they do not make a version specifically for the MOs, a few quick measurements suggested that part number SPZHK250ST designed to insert into the end of Hard Krome 2.5" OD Stripper mufflers, might do the trick (website : http://www.smartpartz.com/SPZHK250ST.html). The baffles arrived in MA from CA three days after ordering. They slipped right into the MOs like they were precision-fit for the pipe exist, and bolted in rock solid with a single set screw. And aural happiness ensued. Exactly what I'd hoped for. At idle, at cruising speeds, in fact any anything other that WFO throttle, the pipes are now no louder than the RKs, but with a deep, basso profundo rumble. When you really goose the throttle, the beasts will bark, but the effect is pretty much at the pilot's discretion. And it's fun to be a hooligan for 10 seconds at a time, now and then. But at least now I don't have to limp through the neighborhood to keep the noise nuisance factor under control. If anybody else on the forum decides to flirt with the Monsters, I'd be happy to post a couple of pics, and a pdf of the design for the brackets.

Completed install of a set of SN XXX-98a pipes this evening, all the while still lusting in my heart for the V&H MOs during all the wrenching...which came to a cold halt the moment I thumbed the starter. Whoo Japser, this is exaaaactly what I had been hoping for, sonically and otherwise. Mind, you, I put my own spin on the pipe mod instructions I'd found from Pudge and others. I guess I'd call this a "Stage 1.75" mod, and the paint on the interior of the cans helps the aesthetic as welll...but the whole story to follow.... First, upon arrival, I found both the left and right cans of the vintage 2003 '100th Anniversary' RK exhausts identical in terms of baffling config, no complexities associated with catalytic inserts etc. Hadn'st known this for certain prior to actual inspection. Chose to drill out the pre-existing holes in the front baffle plate to 3/8" diamter and add two more holes of the same diamater to make the distribution symmetrical around the perimeter (one hole at 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees) with a 12" long bit. Used the same bit to perforate the rear baffle plug in the position defined by the pre-existing small (3/16"?) hole and one additional hole directly opposite. leaving the remainder in place. Note that no hole saw (or rebar) was used in any of the mods described above. Took all of maybe 5 mintues per pipe. After masikng the ends of the up-slash cans with tape (all the way back to the mounding bolts), I used a metallic gray hi-temp automotive spray paint to color the inside of the pipes all the way to the interior baffle plug (now ventilated as described above). Natural ambient lighting makes this a perfect match for the color/tonality of my '08 RSTS/S's paint scheme of charcoal/liquid silver. In fact, the interior weld line on the RK slash-cut muffs makes it look like I've applied an interior pinstripe, and gone to superhuman effort to match both the charcoal and silver paint. It's freaking gorgeous. Qnd as other posters have mentioned. the angle of the pipe exit matches the bags' (actually, the add-on bag rails') lines exactly. Better, far far better, than stock. FYI, I did use the VTwin clamps for the install, mallet+wood block persuasion to get everyting cinched up in proper position, and a set of mounting brackets I'd purchased(from Hillis, on this site) to get the RK cans fixed, rock solid and looking fine, on the Star exhaust headers. And lo. brothers and sisters, it sounds as good as it looks, and vice versa. At speeds above 40mph in 4th the motor still is still louder than the pipes from both the rider's and pillions' positions, so no need for ear plugs. At idle, at a stop light, running down a series of twisties...it sounds like a very, very large, confident and contented cat. And I mean a cat at the pinnacle of the food chain. Purr and growl, ladies and gentlemen. Hard to explain, but the exhauset 'burble' (acutally a series of small afterfire detonations) on abrubt throttle-off deceleration is now gone completely, without need to plug/disable the AIS. Checked on a 50-mile, varied-speed ride this evening, from interstate to backroads. And to top it all off, my favorite co-pilot told me how good it sounded pulling in the driveway when I returned... So I'm going to set aside any uninformed lust I'd had for other aftermarket piples, including the V&H Monster Ovals. How could they *possibly* improve on what I've got installed today...this RK exhaust mod is EXACTLY what I'd been hoping for. And all in, I spent less that $100 for a brand new NOS set of pipes. clamps, adapters, drill hardware, etc. Sweeeeeet.

Much appreciate the responses so far. But now the question I didn't ask the first time around, while drooling over the V&H MOs: I understand that the serial 95/98 RK mufflers differ between the RHS and LHS cans, apparently something to do with balancing exhaust flow between the two when used on the '95-'04 RKs and related tourers with their stock header setup (?). My semi-question about removing or modifying the plug/baffles is more to do with making the two identical in terms of backpressure when re-purposed for the RSTD/Venture. (For reference, the one's I've got coming are SN 65547-98A and 65546-98A ). Are two two mufflers actually different in terms of internals? Guess I'll be able to tell by looking when I get them, but want to get my mind around any likely mods before they arrive, and make a quick trip down to the hardware store for any necessary hardware.

Howdy all: I'm a whiz at putting 2 and 2 together and getting 22. So please confirm for me what seems obvious and I'm likely getting hysterically wrong. Want to replace the stock exhaust on an '08 RSTD...and after much research had just about concluded to do this with a set of RK muffs. Acquired the necessary brackets and VTwin clamp, and have a set of '03 vintage RK pipes on the way. Still a little confused about half-specific comments about punching out a plug on one of the two pipes (which one? what plug? does 'punch out' mean knock out completely or just radicaly perforate? etc). But that's not actually my main question. Have to admit that the pipes I REALLY would like to mount are a pricey bit of kit...the Vance and Hines Monster Ovals that are made for the HD Touring bikes, including the Road King. Given that these have a street price north of $550 a set, I'm reconciled to waiting a bit to fluff the bank account a bit before pursuing. Help me out here: If the stock RK pipes will fit on the RSTD... And the V&H pipes are a slip-on fitment for the RK... Does this mean that I will be able to mount these muffs on the RSTD, using the same brackets/clamps as for the OEM Harley muffs? Any special considerations (as apparently arise for mounting Screeming Chicken cans)? By the way, yes I've considered just mounting aftermarket slip-ons already configured for the Venture/RSTD, but have to say that I'm just not that jazzed about any of the makes available (Bubs, KW, 4-2-4s, etc)....But the MO's have tickled the lust button. Muchas Gracias, amigos