Great White

Dude, what was that all about? I was commenting on the surveys, not what a guy choses to ride.

Al those ratings are to be taken with a grain of salt IMHO. Their reliability survey pretty much inverts the satisfaction one: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/04/who-makes-the-most-reliable-motorcycle/index.htm So, are owners more concerned with using them.....or looking good on them? Pass the salt please.

Pretty much the finished product, just a little tweaking left: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/03C52F6F-51DE-4D0A-BDBF-FB2176188C20_zps1nkemrqs.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/C1C3EDEE-43EF-48E6-9B04-CE5D72731BFE_zpsedsmalxo.jpg Betcha didn't know I was building a hover bike didja?

I have no problem buying "made in China" stuff. But I've always taken it as a "kit" rather than a finished piece. Basically, you're buying the basic tool but you will need to clean it up or modify it a bit to work properly. For example: I bought an x/y vice for my drill press. Upon getting it home I tore it down and had to rebuild the gibs and clean up the screw bearings. I also tear down any air tools I buy there before even running air through them. I've found everything from cast flashing to sand in them. Once cleaned up and dialed in, they work as good as any other name brand. China stuff is cheap, but it's kinda like "some assembly required".

I've recently modified my bike to make rear tire removal less painful. It can be done on the centre stand and without removing the front wheel. My bike is pretty stripped right now, but good enough for you to get the idea. I'm also waiting for some penetrating fluid to do its thing so I figured I'd make this post while wasting the time away. http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh203/OverByteSales/ImpaitentlyWaitingTappingFootWatchingClock.gif First, remove the rear bumper, reflector and license plate holder: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/8346DC50-5691-4232-824E-A360D4E489E7_zpswlqmu6hp.jpg With the plate holder removed, you can see the 10mm bolt I installed on the rh side of the rack. This is the secret to being able to just roll the rear tire out and where you will need to modify the racks: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/B21E5DAA-7E15-44F8-B4A9-1914E34FF1B1_zpsfwngo9p3.jpg Take out the 3 bolt in the rack and remove the modified center bar: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/776E2EA4-707A-4874-8F37-3DEF095106E8_zpsmkg4lwdq.jpg All it is is a piece of round stock turned to fit the ID of the rack tubing. It's plug welded on one end and the other is drilled and tapped for the 10 mm bolt. Now you need clearance to remove the axle. Normally you'd be pulling at least the RH muffler, but there's another way to do it. You have to reverse the two linkage bolts at the swingarm in order to get them out without removing the mufflers. Unfortunately, you have to remove the mufflers to do this. Yamaha installed them with the bolt heads out and there's no clearance to pull them with the mufflers in place. But it's a one time removal. You won't have to remove them again once the bolts are reversed as they will pull out if installed from the wheel side. So, remove the 2 shock linkage bolts: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/594703D2-4A65-489F-BADB-6C969CAA7D1E_zps3irjnuqd.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/A55EE711-FF7A-402D-910F-050A0F51FC01_zpsam4s6vs4.jpg The swingarm will drop low enough to clear the mufflers ( even the stock ones) and you can remove the axle: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/A4BEA56F-C477-411B-B651-ADFCA5FF952F_zpsj8qwp9fv.jpg[ And just roll out the wheel after pulling it out of the differential: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/1A12BE36-B0D2-4C32-A23A-30D094431F5B_zps5pce9irb.jpg Easy peasy! Now that's not a perfect guide on removing the tire and the modifications needed to do it this way. Things like the brake caliper also need to be dealt with, you may have to ull the rear part of the inner fender and my bike is in a serious tear down and modification stage so it's not the perfect example. But you get the idea if you want to modify your bike to be able to remove the tire the same way. Coles notes: make the center bar on the racks removable and reverse the two swingarm bolts. Then there's no muffler removal or side boxes the need to be removed. Just pull the bumper, reflector and license plate holder and you're good to go.

I was looking at it and I couldn't bring myself to hard mount the muffler and risk undue vibration through the chassis. So I popped out and bought some 3/4" pipe. Cut it the width and mig-ed it in. In went a rubber bush and a steel sleeve from some muffler mounts I had in the scrap bin. Now it's mounted in a nice rubber isolator to reduce vibes and allow for some expansion of the pipes as they heat. I pulled the mufflers in to the center a little more by trading off having a little bit more sticking out the back. They were just out too far for my liking. Don't want to drag 'em in the corners. Now to mount the other side. A nice surprise is that after I sliced the R1 end off the pipe (Ti cut easy, but dressing it out is a biotch as it work hardens as it cuts), it measured out at 1.75". the collector out measures 1.75 at the gasket. Should just be a simple matter of bending up a pipe and a couple pipe flares.

That is what I actually ended up doing. Not so much by choice, but the space limitations demanded it. It was a compromise between clearing the axle, clearing the luggage rack and fitting the pipe so it would clear to the swingarm. I had started with a rubber bushing mount to take up some of the pipe expansion and keep vibration down. But it quickly became obvious that was not going to fit in the space available. I ended up having to drill a hole in the lower bar of the side box brace and welding in a steel sleeve to give it strength back and to install the bolt. Looks like so: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/43DC3C0F-A714-4600-9B3E-C8A055166598_zpsp2z3dqgx.jpg http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/AB0131B2-348D-4970-BC61-DAB1A8A1A81F_zpsjrh7vkut.jpg It's out a little further to the side than I wanted and I'll have to ditch the black heat shields and cut their brackets off. I'll have to leave the bottom screws out of hte "bumper" since they're right over the muffler. If I put them in then I'd have to remove the mufflers every time I did a tire change and I just finished modifying the bike so a tire change can be done on the center stand and rolling the rear tire right out the back. What I might do is cut the heads of a couple screws and install them in the clip nuts like studs. The way I can just slip the lower bumper holes over them to keep it in place and the upper screws and the reflector screws will secure it. Overall I'm ok with where it ended up. Hopefully it's high enough that I don't touch muff down in corners. I'm thinking it's good and I'll end up dragging the crash bars before the muff. I did loose and inch in the 17" wheel conversion, but I'm going to claim that back when I make the ZG1400 shock mounts.

The "bumper" is going to be painted black I think. But good point! muff out is sounding better the more I think about it...

Getting ready to weld up the muffler mounts but I can't decide between having them stick out the back or tuck in under the side boxes. Muff in: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/1778CDF1-C787-4C5D-A35F-B7D99EB9E298_zpslcpwkgqr.jpg Muff out: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/B80B50D6-F3AF-4401-8612-B4C9369526C5_zpsxp4nbulu.jpg Muff in: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/06404828-5B99-41C5-8237-3E94D7968A2D_zpseu0j7xed.jpg Muff out: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/71680BCB-2A28-44EB-91B2-50BB6B26805B_zps3rwyyjgs.jpg Muff in: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/410F5D56-CE8B-4C49-A256-280F2126A42C_zpsjnymzbun.jpg Muff out: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/546E519F-E245-4363-A44F-F29E611E559C_zpstwdenolq.jpg But it's not as simple as just looks. If I do Muff in, I have to push it further out towards the outer edge of the side box due to muffler and swingarm clearance. Pushing them out means the R1 black shield doesn't look right and I'll have to do some cutting/cleaning brackets on the muffler (IE: you'll see the ugly bracket). Further out also means I could run into ground clearance issues when cornering hard. If I do Muff out, I can tuck the muffler in behind the swingarm and all the above issues disappear. But then I have the muffler tip sticking out the back and I just can't decide if I like that look. Functionally, muff out makes sense. Aesthetically, I think I lean towards Muff in. So, whatcha think? Please refrain from saying things like I wouldn't put them on or they look gross. It's my bike built to my tastes and they're going on.

Its a biotch no matter how you go at it. Getting access to the upper shock bolt is very difficult due to it being buried in the center of the bike. I was taking the rear frame off, so the tank wasn't in the way. If I had to try and get the top shock bolt with the bike together, I would probably go at it from the rear with the tire removed and the inner fender pulled. You may be able to get to it with just the plastic inner fender pulled. My bike is stripped apart right now so I can't confirm that. I wish I could say the lower bolt was easier, but I can't. Unless your lower linkage bushings are a bit worn, the linkage will have a "death grip" on the shock. I also couldn't get the center bolt (goes through the shock) until I at least got the RH muffler loose enough to push it up a couple inches. The shock bolt won't clear the muffler when you pull it out. To long.You might be able to just pull the bolt back enough that it will clear the lower shock mount with the muffler in place.Again, my bike is stripped so I can't confirm that. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to pull the shock out the top because of the fuel tank, so you'll likely have to drop the lower linkage. That's a pita also. The two bolts at the swingarm won't come out unless you pull both mufflers. Yamaha put the bolts in with the heads on the outside, and the bloody mufflers hang right in front of them. If you get these bolts out, the linkage will swing down out of the way enough that you should be able to pull the shock down and out. The linkage bolt at the frame is usually just a dirty, greasy mess (and a pita). My bike is stripped and I still haven't felt the urge to mess with it.... It would be nice if pulling the lower shock bolt would allow the linkage to swing open and you could pull the shock out. But with the bolt out, my linkage wasn't moving for love or money. I haven't look too closely yet, but I suspect the bushing goes through both linkages on each side of the shock. It's a job that can go half decently well if you're not pressured and you don't mind taking things off that are in the way of your access. But I wouldn't call it simple. It could be a couple hours or (depending on how easily you get frustrated) a couple days.

Having flown with a hud, i say the sooner the better in my motorcycle helmet. Everyone seems to think its a distraction, but its not. It actually allows you to pay more attention to the path (road if you prefer) It also increases your SA. SA is key to surviving anything. Riding included. We mainly experience the world through sight, you can process an incredible amount of information through sight. Having your speed displayed off center of veiw is not an issue. All you do is change focus of your eyes vice looking down to see the speedo. Same could be said for rpm. It equates to your eyes spending more time looking down the road. You're also still seeing the road when focused on the hud, its just blurry. Not enough to see fine detaill, but you can sure see something pull out in front of you. Its motion based at that point and will grab your focus back whether you want it to or not. Its pretty much a survival reflex left over from when movement meant something was going to eat you. Seeing the view behind you would take practice to be able to have in line of sight somewhere. Its difficult to process contradicting views, nature didnt set us up for that. ie: motion forward and rearward simultaneously It all has to properly designed though, you cant just throw a bunch of info in front of your face. It just doesn't work that way. And frankly, i doubt helmet manuf. are going to put the amount of r&d that will require. R&d is expensive. People only seem to be willing to spend so much on a helmet. Not everyone, but the majority and thats where thier profit laus: in the majority market. But properly designed and/or user configurable? Bring it on! just dont try to market it for 3 grand or something. That just wont sell enough to be profitable. Of course, if you dont like/want it, just turn it off. Or just buy one without it.

Almost every house we looked at was on dirt or skim coat crawlspace when we moved out there. There were some full basements, but very very few. This was in the comox/campbell river areas, Sannichton (which IIRC is down by Vic) may be different but it seemed logical to me that construction would be similar as the underlying structure is similar across the island. I had often wondered if it had anything to do with being so close to the fault line on the Juan de fuca plate (right up the straights) and possible foundation cracking in and earthquake event...... Hydrostatic pressure is even more a factor in a basement vice crawl space do to the depth into the ground water table.

Since youre in BC (and in the island if I remember the place), I'm assuming your house is on crawlspace. Is this pump in your crawlspace? Does your crawlspace have a skim coat? If yes, I'd just let it run. Allowing the water to reach a deeper level in a catch basin under the skim coat increases the hydrostatic pressure under it and you can end up with dampness on the concrete skim or possibly water intrusion. Same goes for a basement slab. The real purpose of a sump pump is to reduce that hydrostatic pressure under the foundation. Or in some cases, it deals with roof drains. If any of this is true, I'd personally just live with it until next summer when you can do more about it. When we were in comox, we were on crawlspace and had the dampness and leaking issue. Had a company come in and install a pump system that looked like it would suck a Destroyer dry in 10 seconds. It would come on, run for a minute or two and shut off when it was "wet season". Because the hydrostatic pressure under the skim was kept low, the dampness issue was never a problem again. Slab foundation is a little different story as its not down low enough to worry about water.

If you look at the pic of the zg1400 shock that I'll likely be using, the preload is a simple remote hand knob. Just as easy (or easier) than air. I've never liked air as suspension on a bike that I ride aggressively. It's worse than a progressive spring so even harder to damp properly (read: not possible since it's not linear) across the entire suspension travel. I'm a little pickier than the average touring rider when it comes to suspension action. I want more than just "plush". Ironically though, some of the "plushest" bikes I've ever ridden were sport bikes that had their suspension properly sorted. No shock on road irregularities, no pogo-ing or packing down on mid corner bumps. No head shake or chassis wobble. Just a smooth and confidence inspiring ride. The body position was a different story: monkey humping a football doesn't work for me......anymore. The thing is, most people don't realize it but from cruisers to sport bikes we're all chasing the same thing without knowing it: control. A well controlled suspension keeps the rubber on the pavement at all times for maximum control. It can't do that if its harsh on the bumps or pogos in the corners. Once it's all sorted and locked down, the end result is a smooth ride. What touring riders would call plush and what sport bike riders would call fast.

I used a Tahoe dash wiper switch (pops right into my GMC's dash) and a Tahoe rear wiper assembly. I had to take the wiper gear apart and limit it's travel. I then made a pantograph wiper arm in order to pivot the wiper blade itself during the arms travel in order to get a full window sweep from seal to seal. This is an old and crappy pic, but all I have of it: http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e235/gr8twhite/lockeddownalbum/1998%20GMC%20private/Truck%20Cap/CFBF2B09-B969-498C-BF62-9C4438F5D76E_zpszflhogxq.jpg Don't have any video of it running, but this is a quick clip i did up for someone when I was building it. Shows how it moves: [video=youtube;k1LJ5gKeT-8] Sprayer is just a nozzle and a pump.

Ya know, the more I think about it, the more I lean towards tossing the xvz shock and just going with the zg1400 shock plus the F3 remote reservoir with compression damping adapted on. And maybe a higher rate spring. The V is on a bit of a diet, but my 215 lbs of lard on top of a 700-odd pound bike is probably going to lead to more than 35mm of sag with a 750lb linear spring....I'm thinking around 1000-1100lb linear spring should be just about right. I think I'll call "Parts For Trucks" tomorrow and see if they can do a custom wind for me......

I must have missed something here.....is there something going down on the forum somewhere? Who's telling you what to ride and who to ride with? Who wants you out of here? Why? Very confused......

May I ask what brand/type you used? I put a Clear view kit on mine and it worked piss-poor from day one. Then it just became all together useless. They didn't answer any of my emails for help nor return any of my calls. I steer everyone I can away from those Charlton's. I'm considering just scraping the useless thing off and using a 12v heater to duct some warm air on it. I get more window frost clearing from the rear wiper/washer I built.

The venture is a good ride as it is. No complaints this season riding it. I just want a little......well, more. With my back messed up, I might not be on the FJ next summer (can't crunch my back in a forward curve because of herniated disc) and that's my go fast/cornering fix. So the V will be pressed into that duty also. Parking the FJ is not all bad, gives me time to do the 17" radial swap and some much needed restoration work. In order to make the V all it can be, it needs some radical steps. Even if I do manage to get it up to around 100 RWHP (VMax bits and assorted whatnots), it's still going to have cornering limitations and a "flexi-flyer" frame. Well, maybe. Or maybe not if some of my plans work out. Riding position is still going to be all wrong for serious cornering work, but some concessions for the old bod need to be made. But the problem with being on the edge is it's very easy to go too far and fall right off.....

Nah, I could care less about "credit". It the end result that metters to me and how well it works. Taking shocks apart isn't that difficult. I've done it before. Even so called "non-rebuildable". They went together, they come apart. It's just a question of where to put the recharge valve for the nitrogen (or if there is enough room on the body at all). If the Venture shock is indeed an emulsion shock (what it looks like), it's easy peasy to do. problem with a recharge valve on the venture shock is there's precious little body showing outside the spring. Parts are also often a bit difficult to find, as often no one makes the seals you need. At least, not listed as so. I've made seals work before by matching the ram size and then machining a spacer to fit the OD of the seal. You always want a smaller OD seal than the shock body opening. Most shocks don't have enough "meat" in the end caps to machine them larger. Once you're inside, manipulating the compression and rebound damping is easy. It's just tedious to get it right as the install/ride/remove/re-valve/install/ride/remove/re-valve/etc process is a PITA. The question with the 1st gen is that air bladder on top of the shock and how primitive the rebound valve is. I wanted to know if anyone had taken one apart before to find out if tearing the bladder in the removal process is a concern. That's why I bought the scrap shock to take apart first when no one replied to the thread with pics or experience. If can avoid wrecking parts of these old shock with a simple pic, it's worth asking. I've been down this road before. If the Venture shock turns out to be a dud (IE: not worth it due to too primitive internals), I'll just slave an external reservoir from a CBR/F4 on to the ZG1400 shock I have on the way: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFg5MDA=/z/ncYAAOSwcwhVQBBw/$_57.JPG It looks to have a perfect surface for installing a CBR600 reservoir: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/rDgAAOSwgQ9VqSNb/$_57.JPG Looks ready made for it, or just an easy point for a recharge valve. Thread, braze or weld it on. The CBR reservoir will give me a compression damping valve and an external recharge point. Then just machine up an adapter to go from the clevis mount to the through mount and call it a day. Easy peasy to change the shock oil after those modifications. The ZG shock has the advantage of being from this decade (IE: modern internals), a 750 lb spring stock, a selection of aftermarket springs, available seals, a remote pre-load adjuster and a great deal more rebound damping adjustment than the older Venture shock.

What a thoughtful and insightful comment. thanks.

Thanks, but I'm not looking for an aftermarket replacement. Looking to make my own. No fun for me in just buying it and bolting it on. Don't learn anything either. So I'm guessing no one has ever taken a 1st gen shock apart?

Dropping by for a quick question as per the title. Pictures maybe? Now that I have emulators in the front forks, I'm looking at ditching the air suspension completely. I'm kicking myself for getting all that air suspension stuff figured out/bought and up to snuff, but air adjust is a pretty poor way to deal with the suspension dynamics (more air means more stiction as the seals get a death grip on the rod/body). Or it might just be a bladder on top of a very short (and fat) shock. I'd rather do it with spring rates and damping all the same. So I'm looking at rebuilding the rear shock (yes, I know it's got all kinds of "do not disassemble" warnings) and adding an external reservoir to add compression damping as well as what the damping shim stack already looks like in there. Contrary to popular belief, it's not as hard to do as one would think with most "non rebuild-able" shocks. I've ordered a junk one off ebay to tear apart to investigate. I also have a couple CBR600F shocks that have both compression and rebound damping. Had them on my 750 interceptor and worked very well. Can be made to work with higher rate spring and re-valving. Lots of aftermarket support for this one too. Lastly, I've got a ZG1400 Concourse shock on the way. Has remote preload adjuster and rebound damping already. May look at adding an external res and compression damping. Spring rate is already in the ball park (750 Lb spring rate) for the Venture. Not sure on length. Clevis mount on the bottom that is easy enough to make and adapter for. But before all that swapping/fabbing is tried, Has anyone opened a 1st gen shock? Got some pics?

Since it didn't do it before the tire change, I'd lean to looking at anything touched during the tire change, the tire itself and also at tire pressures....

Ever driven/ridden anything electric? Maximum torque right at "throttle" opening. Designed right, it's a rush like no other. Rubber roasting at will. Not quite ready for mainstream yet though. I've seen those things posted above before. German designer IIRC and wanted to distance himself from current motorcycles. He did well if that was his intent. Looks kind of like riding a ladybug. No thank you. These are more my style of electric bikes: http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2014/09/brammo-electric-motorcycle-0000001.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg http://wordlesstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/ZecOO-electric-motorbike-2.jpg http://gearmoose.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2013-zero-ds-electric-motorcycle.jpg http://www.yankodesign.com/images/design_news/2011/07/21/shavit_01.jpg http://blog.caranddriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Harkey-Davidson-Electric-Motorcycle-INLINE-626x382.jpg Yes, that's a Harley Davidson electric bike concept. Your eyes aren't deceiving you....they built it, it's ridable, it's called project livewire. That's a Harley I would actually consider buying! Electric bikes are coming gents. Once they get the battery technology limitations solved, there'll be mor ethan you can shake a stick at on the road. Especially in cities and towns. They just won't look like that Andy Warhol wanna be thing (IE: lady bug).