atlm
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Everything posted by atlm
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I was being facetious, and agree with what you wrote completely. I bought my first streetbike on my 16th birthday, brand new, from a dealership, with cash. I had worked and saved for over 2 years. I also have paid cash for every bike I have ever owned. I also cannot justify financing anything that is not a necessity. I also financed my first 3 cars/trucks and my homes, but never a toy, vacation or any entertainment. The banks and credit card companies hate us, as all the money they spend in the media trying to convince us to spend spend spend isn't working.
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For cars and trucks that run at normal temperatures and loads, I'd agree for the most part. For motorcycles with wet clutches, there are huge differences. On most bikes with wet clutches, lower quality (motorcycle) oils result in clunky shifting while in motion, and extreme difficultly shifting into neutral at a stop. (we all know about the energy conserving non-motorcycle oils, so I'm not talking about those)
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In the instructions for the Stebel, it talks about mounting it at a certain angle, to prevent water from going in and staying in. The horns are also able to be separated into 2 pieces (with a hose between them), so that the compressor part can be somewhere warm and dry and the horn part is out where it can be heard. Depending on where or how yours was mounted, it could have taken in moisture that damaged it. Mounted vertically, like with Carbon One's bracket, is the recommended position by Stebel. If yours was mounted that way and still had a problem, I'd guess it was a manufacturing defect and recommend contacting Wolo to see if they'll replace it. Never hurts to try.
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That's just plain un-American! Buy now, pay later! (or try to, anyway) You're not getting any younger! (just poorer) You deserve it! (why is that, exactly?) Look at the tiny payment! (just ignore the interest rate and total cost) Take out a home equity loan! (and stay in debt forever) Looooook, shiiiiiiinnyyyyy! (ummmm... can't argue with that)
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Of all the motorcycles I've owned, the one I got rid of the quickest because of dissatisfaction was a Harley. When I bought it, it shook and leaked oil. It had about 4000 miles on it. I was working part time as a Honda motorcycle mechanic, and was able to get the gaskets and new bolts for cheap, and borrow the factory service manual from a Harley dealership close by (through a phone call and a favor.) While regasketing the engine and torquing everything to spec, I found an engine mount broken, which I had welded and fixed. All my previous bikes were Japanese, so I was used to high quality. I figured (even though the mechanic at the Harley dealership told me otherwise) that the bike would be great after that. The bike still shook and vibrated, but was running well and leak free. Less than a week and a few hundred miles after the repairs and rebuild, it was leaking oil again. It was also extremely underpowered compared to the Honda SuperSports I had owned. So I sold it. Total ownership time: about 3 weeks. To keep this in perspective, though, that was in 1985, and the bike was from the AMF years. Harleys have come a loooooong way since then, starting with the Evo bikes in the late 80's. Every few years, there seem to be big improvements, and I have friends who own late model Classics and Ultra Classics (a 2008 and a 2009) that are very happy with them.
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Just a caveat about Henckels and a few other knife brands: they make both cheap and good knives. Henckels has a few different knife lines, some much better than others. The cheaper ones are no better than any other cheap knife. The more expensive ones are great. Also, the best prices I found were on eBay. The knife set we have was about $400 at local stores and Amazon. We got the same set (new) for just under $200 from a high-volume eBay seller. Because I'm paranoid, I compared the box and the knives I got to the same set at a local store (Bed Bath & Beyond) and confirmed that they're identical.
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Are all heights RSV the same?
atlm replied to Seaking's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
I have a 2006 and a 30" inseam, also. I was just barely flatfooted with the bike stock, so I think your bike's height sounds the same as mine, since raising the back with leveling links and adding 40psi to the shock would surely put me up on the balls of my feet. I also test rode a 2005 and a 2009, and those were the same stock height, as I was just flatfooted on them, also. Since leveling links are the only home made item that could vary significantly, I'd echo the recommendation to measure the links. If someone accidentally made the leveling links longer (rather than shorter), thinking (backwards) that longer would raise the rear, that would account exactly for the 2" difference. Just a guess. -
If the top of your fork tubes are flush with the top of the triple clamp, that's stock. If the top of the fork tubes are higher than the top of the triple clamp, the front end has been lowered.
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At first, it seemed like a too-tight issue. After the initial rerouting inside the inner front fairing support, the cables no longer feel overly tight when turned to the right. So, I don't think it's a tightness issue anymore. I think the cables are being bent too much. The front of my RSV is also lowered, an inch. With the cables run vertically, in front of the triple clamps, do they run between the 2 rubber fairing bumpers, or to the right of the right fairing bumper? Those big rubber blocks.
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They're the standard 1.5" risers. I fiddled with the adjuster first, to no avail. I got more throttle play with the handlebars straight and turned left, but the throttle still stuck when turned to the right. That's when I started trying the re-routing.
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I just noticed that I never posted an update to this thread, so I thought maybe I should. After lowering the front 1", the difference in handling was amazing. I could see why so many people here recommended leveling the bike. The bike felt about 300lb lighter, and much more nimble. It also gave me more sure-footedness in stop and go situations, a lot more than I expected for a 1/2" change (in the middle of the bike). Since I was scraping floorboards in the twisties before the change, I decided not to go any further by lowering the rear. So, the 2 sets of rear lowering links that I bought a drill press for, and spent all the time making, never got used.
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After installing risers, I've now rerouted the throttle cables 3 times, and they're still sticking when turned to the right. I also lubed them and it didn't seem to make any difference. For those of you who have been successful in getting the throttle not to stick at all via rerouting, exactly what route do your cables take? They originally went (starting from the left) around the steering neck, inside the front brake line, outside the right vertical bar of the inner fairing frame, and around the outside of the right side of the fork. That's the route shown in the service manual. I tried bringing them inside the inner fairing frame, no luck. I then tried outside the front brake line, still inside the inner fairing frame, and up, coming out by the top right of the triple tree, by the pinch bolts, no luck. So what route works? And for those of you who have purchased longer cables, where did you get them and how much did they cost?
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Hi Mark, If you're seriously interested in a Goldwing, they're not as expensive as you are thinking. Low-miles late model GWs can be had for less than $10k. You just have to do a bit of searching, and you might have to drive a bit to get it. I close friend of mine and his wife both ride GWs. He has the 1800 and she had the 1500. One day she ended up on his, and didn't like hers anymore. They did a search and found a yellow 2003 (my favorite color GW) with 15k miles for $9k, so now they both have 1800s. His wife is 5'5", and I was shocked that she rode one. They highly recommended one to me, so I looked at them and was amazed at how low the seats are. I just couldn't get over the sea of plastic, though, and the huge dash full of buttons and knobs. To me, it just felt all wrong. But, knowing how much better the GW handles than the other bikes I was considering, I kept trying to like them. Two dealers I visited had both GWs and RSVs, so I got to do side by side tests. For me, the GW seat and leg position were not as comfortable as the RSV. For me and my wife, the RSV was the most comfortable bike we'd ever been on. If you're not really satisfied with your RSTD, it wouldn't cost much to swap bikes. If I found a bike I liked better than my RSV, I'd swap.
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You are correct that the fuse should be sized by the smallest wires in the circuit. However, the wires that come with the Gen2 Yamaha passing lights are tiny. They appear to be 18 gauge. With the 35W passing light bulbs pulling about 3A each, that would be appropriate. The kit includes a 7.5A fuse, which is enough for both lamps, and also appropriate for a problem without risking wire damage. If there's a problem on one side, the fuse blows at 4.5A, since the other side is already drawing 3A. So, a 10A blade type fuse is actually on the high side. Anything larger risks melting wires.
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dilbert
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:rotf: priceless
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I think the crash bars are 1", since that's the size of the clamps used to reinforce them. The Yamaha passing lamps come with a push button switch that gets installed next to the cigarette ligher adapter. That switch can be used to turn on and off the relay. If you're buying some other type of lights, you'll probably want to buy a small waterproof switch, also. A couple of people have posted some really fancy handlebar-mounted switch setups for lights and heated gear and other accessories. Nice, but a bit pricey. The (30A) relays are available at most auto part stores for about $7.
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1 1/2 hr to sync carbs?
atlm replied to Oldslow's topic in Royal Star and Royal Star Tour Deluxe Tech Talk
There are numerous threads here about all the carb sync tools. You can get really good ones for as little as ~$45. It's a 15 minute job that involves taking off 4 tiny hose clamps and turning 3 screws. That's all there is to it. -
the Geezer Glide Was originally said as a joke when we switched from sportbikes, but it stuck.
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:rotf: You're gonna need a lot of socks. Thanks for the laugh!
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OMG !
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Wow, that seems really high! When my wife and I were looking at HD Classics and Ultras last summer and fall, we were quoted around $22K for a brand new '09 out the door. They had a used 2009 Ultra with 4k miles for $20k out the door. I think HD was having some sort of special at the time, though, like no setup fee or somethingorother.
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I believe the little round fuse that is installed in the fairing if the passing lamps are installed per Yamaha's instructions (no relay) is 7.5A. If you're using a relay and/or have a blade-type inline fuse, I'd recommend 10A.
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I use a 10mm socket on a 1/4" drive ratchet with no extensions. Since you're admittedly mechanically challenged, I will offer these words of caution: You're taking off the nuts downward. That means the ratchet or wrench, as viewed from the top, will be going in the tightening direction (clockwise) to loosen the nuts. Second, and most important!: the nuts are on very small studs that are attached to the seat pan. Do not overtighten them. When you put the seat back on, when you tighten the nuts, wiggle the seat up and down. As soon as the seat stops wiggling, stop tightening. If you overtighten the nuts, you'll snap off the studs in the seats, creating a major headache for repair. The number of Venture seats I've seen for sale with snapped off studs is amazing, or sad depending on how you look at it. In layman's terms, the nuts have plastic built into them to prevent them from coming loose. They should be just snug, not tight, and will not come loose.
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I'm a couple of miles Northeast of spaghetti junction, just south of you. I'd be glad to help you out on a weekend or during an evening. I just did mine a couple of weeks ago. It's quick and simple, and only takes about 15 or 20 minutes, including coffee breaks.