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MikeWa

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Everything posted by MikeWa

  1. MikeWa
    My thoughts on this incident. The bikers pulling those stunts need to have their licenses revoked. But you can't pull someone over just to seize personal property. A concealed license plate is cause to be pulled over though. To bad but this deputy needs some additional training. Mike
  2. MikeWa
    Yea. My experience with the original factory Exedra was similar. The new Exedra Max on the other hand seems to be a very good tire. Be fat city if they would make it in a white wall. Mike
  3. MikeWa
    Many cast iron cylinder heads had the valve seats ground directly into the head. The lead in the fuel acted as a lubricant between the valve face and the seat. When the lead was removed the valve face being harder than the cast iron began to eat into the seat (head). Especially on exhaust valves with positive rotaters. This was called valve recession as the valve worked it's way up into the head. The cure was to replace the valve seats with stellite steel inserts. Aluminum heads being soft always had steel valve seat inserts so the change from lead posed little or no problems for them. Hope this helps. Mike
  4. MikeWa
    Ok. Calm down. Take a deep breath. Carbs can be a little bit complicated but not to the extent you are having problems. They have provided reliable fuel metering for over 100 years. The problem is finding someone who understands and knows how to work on them. Experienced motorcycle techs who know what they are doing are hard to find. The service writers act like their techs know everything but they don't. Part of it is a pay issue. Motorcycle mechanics are not that well paid. So by the time someone gets really good they move on. Sometimes they start their own shops. Yes you replaced the parts with quality stuff. My guess is that some little gasket or something was misplaced or installed wrong. A mechanic who is very familiar with your carburetors will see it chuckle and fix it. A tech who isn't familiar with your carbs will probably never see it. And in fact may repeat the mistake because that is the way he took them apart. So your problem is how to find a good carb tech. 1) Do you have a technical college or trade school in your area that teaches motorcycle mechanics? If so drop by and talk to the instructor. He may be able to point you toward a shop that regularly does this kind of work. Or better yet he may want to look at it himself. 2) Scan the phone book for non dealer shops that work on older bikes. Drop in and talk to a few. You should be able to discover who knows about carburetors and who doesn't. ASK something like " do you repair a lot of carburetors?" Then calmly explain your problem and the steps you have taken to this point. Calm calm calm. Best of Luck Mike
  5. MikeWa
    If it really bothers you fill the scratches with body filler or plastic putty. If you are careful you can use a credit card or something to get the surface even. Then touch up with matching paint from Color Rite. Rub it out and buff. It will probably still be visable just not as much. Mike
  6. MikeWa
    The mechanic has had it for a week and he called me yesterday and said that they had the carb bank on the test bench and hit it with a heat gun and the gas was boiling at 104 degrees, making the floats drop, and pissing gas again. He does not have any solutions. Get a new mechanic. Gasoline in your carbs does not behave any differently than in any one elses. Mike
  7. MikeWa

    CB Tuning/SWR

    MikeWa replied to TheKid's topic in Watering Hole

    Body mass is important as is ground plain. Some manufacturers (HD) use a metal plate under the trunk. They attach a ground to the transmitter and to the antenna. Some day I will have to experiment and see how much this helps. I know for the vhf radio on marine applications, wood and fiberglass, we used to use a fairly sizable ground plate. For automobiles and trucks this obviously isn't needed. It probably wouldn't be needed on motorcycles either if there wasn't so much plastic used now days. Might just be worth looking into. Mike
  8. MikeWa
    Are you refering to the original Exedra or the new Max? Mike
  9. MikeWa
    Take a look at the new Bridgestone Exedra MAX tires. You can get the rear in a bias belted and it has a very deep tread depth. They are dual compound tires. I recently put a set on my Venture and so far I am extremely happy with them. So far they stick like glue and are very quiet. Mike
  10. MikeWa

    CB Tuning/SWR

    MikeWa replied to TheKid's topic in Watering Hole

    Most motorcycle shops have no idea how to adjust SWR. Try this first. Take the wind screen off your mic. Cup a hand over the mic and your mouth while transmitting. Sometimes moving the mic closer to your mouth helps a lot. If that doesn't do it by all means check and adjust the SWR. CB SWR meters are inexpensive off e-bay. Under $25. But you will need a Motorola to RCA plug adapter to work on our motorcycles. Most of the meters come with easy to follow instructions. You are really just micro adjusting the length of the antenna at the loading coil to get the best meter reading. Setting the SWR with the stock antenna is fairly easy since it is adjustable at the loading coil. But that may or may not get you any more power, volume, output. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the gain, power output and modulation from inside the transceiver. The procedure is in the CB service manual. When doing this it will be necessary to open the CB unit and split the circuit boards. You will then need to make some jumper wires to connect the two circuit boards while they are separated. It is more involved but doable. If you decide to go this route I can send you a PDF of the CB service manual. Good Luck Mike
  11. MikeWa
    Here is the thing. A) With the wires from #30 and 87 jumped together the relay is out of the circut and the lights should come on. If they don't there is either a problem with the power from the fuse or in the wireing through the lightbar. B) Next hearing the relay click should connect pin 30 to 87. So power at pin 30 should be transfered to pin 87 and 87a. If the power is at 30 but does not transfer to 87 when the relay clicks that would usualy indicate a burned out contact inside the relay. So either you have two problems or I am missing something. Mike
  12. MikeWa
    It doesn't look like a relay problem. Make sure the power feed going to pin 30 is good. Double check the connections etc. Reconnect the wire to pin 30 but not 87. Connect one end of your test light to pin 87 the other end to ground. With the ignition key on turning your passing light switch on and off should cause your test light to cycle. Mike
  13. MikeWa
    Disconnect the wires at 30 and 87. There are two tests here. First put an ohm meter on pins 30 and 87. Grounding 85 (relay clicks) should cause the ohm meter to show continuity. If so the relay is ok. Second test jump or connect the wires from pins 30 and 87 together. The lights should come on. If not or if they bolw the fuse look for a problem in the lights. Mike
  14. MikeWa
    Oops I missed the background info. If the brake is dragging you will get that burned asbestos smell after riding. Also it will be very difficult to push the bike in neutral. And of course letting off the throttle the bike won't coast but instead will quickly slow to a stop. Should be pretty obvious. If the tank was off the vent hose could be blocked. Running with the gas cap off is the easest way to diagnose this. The petcock could have been damaged or garbage stired uo and blocking the screen. Remove the fuel outlet hose at the petcock (with the engine off) to see if you get a good fuel flow. If these are ok then it is back to check spark, check fuel filter, check fuel pump, check carbs. Be patient. Mike
  15. MikeWa
    If you have power at 30 and 86, ground 85 with a jumper. You should hear and feel the relay click. Mike
  16. MikeWa
    Sounds like a fuel problem. How is the idle? If rough or very smelly maybe a stuck float. If the idle is ok check the fuel filter and pump. Mike Hahaha no shortage of opinions here. best of luck
  17. MikeWa
    Sometimes new stuff goes bad. That's why they come with a warranty. Glad you found it before your trip. Mike
  18. MikeWa
    I think your mechanic needs to go back and reevaluate what happened. Plugs that were bad enough to cause a problem would have set off the misfire monitor and turned on the check engine light long before any other damage occurred. The next most likely thing would be catalytic converter and O2 sensor problems from the excess fuel in the exhaust. Also illuminating the check engine light. You may have had some stray electrical surge that damaged some components but the scenario you describe is highly unlikely and probably would have already resulted in several class action law suits. Mike PS. Find a new dealer
  19. MikeWa
    Test ride the bike before you buy it to make sure you can handle the weight. Which ever you decide on. Mike
  20. MikeWa
    Before the surgery find a therapist that has the proper machine to work your knee on. If they do not work the range of motion during therapy you will never have it. Yes it will be painful. There are two main areas you will need to work on. Leg extended and flat, you want 0 degrees. You may have to put your foot on a coffee table and hang weights from the knee. But do it. You really want 0 degrees. Push for it. With your knee bent you want 130 degrees or more. That's hard to get. At 90 sitting is hard. At 100 you can sit but getting up is still a problem. At 110 (the goal of many therapists) sitting and walking are ok but kneeling or squatting may not be possible. At 120 most activities are possible. At over 130 you will seldom be limited by your knee. So push for 0 to 130 range of motion. It's all a matter of how much pain can you tolerate. Best of Luck Mike
  21. MikeWa
    More air = stiffer ride Less air = softer ride Air may also change the riding height slightly. Mike
  22. MikeWa
    Congratulations George. Enjoy your new bike. Mike
  23. MikeWa
    The D404's I had on my bike were ok. I liked the whitewalls really well. I kept 40 psi in them and they delivered over 12,000 miles. Maybe closer to 14k if I recall correctly. They handled the water well. It was a tough decision not to get another set when I replaced them this time around. The required tire load rating is in your owners manual. Follow that and you should be alright. Motorcycle engineers have a pretty good understanding of the g-forces created by these bikes. My only complaint with the D404s was sometimes the rear end felt a little like it was floating around corners. Not bad and maybe appreciated by others but I just didn't care for the feeling. Also I am always looking for a little better mileage. I think all of the touring bike tires, except the ones you just mounted, get some bad press on this forum. Some crack, some shred, some chunk and many get poor mileage. Some don't even come in the right sizes. There doesn't seem to be any consensus on which tire is the best except new tires are better than old tires. I mounted the new Exedra MAX this time around. So far I am happy with them. But I would feel perfectly safe with another set of D404s. Mike
  24. MikeWa
    I use a ball head allen wrench for these. Available from Harbor Freight and other fine tool dealers everywhere. Mike
  25. MikeWa
    I am VERY ENVIOUS. Mike :sick: :sick:
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