V7Goose

This statement seems to be completely accurate to me - without knowing the sample rate (how frequently does the unit store a new site fix from the satellites), I don't have any idea how to calculate the potential error, but it seems to match my experience. I just got back from a 4,000 mile loop up through Ontario, Canada and back, and I took comparison GPS readings for almost every tank of gas. What I found supports the statements above - the error was different for each tank, but consistent between 3% and 4%, averaging about 3.75% more on my stock bike odometer than on my GPS. I did not really try to correlate the different errors with the specific types of roads I had been on. Furthermore, while at the rally in Kitchener, Freebird and I did a little comparison between his bike (99 RSV with Vmax rear gears and speedohealer) and mine (05 RSV with completely stock drive train and speedo). Using my GPS for a 100 mile ride, his odometer read 4 miles low from GPS "actual," and mine read 4 miles high from GPS "actual." His indicated speed was dead on, showing that the Speedohealer correction was just right. My indicated speed was approximately 8% high, which is about how much he had to correct his with the Speedohealer. Note that the fact that he had different rear-end gearing is completely immaterial to this comparison, since he had CORRECTED his speedometer error with the Speedohealer. So what does all this mean? It is probable that the majority of 2nd Gens are reading about 8% high for indicated speed, and about 4% high for indicated distance. If you correct your speedometer with an external device like the Speedohealer or Yellowbox, your indicated distance will then be approximately 4% lower than actual (4 miles less for every 100 miles traveled). I base my statement that this is "probable" on the same error rates I have measured on at least 5 different RSVs. Goose

Simply read the similar threads listed right at the bottom of this page - you will find out all you want to know about your options. Goose

OK, as promised, I am at end-of-life on the rear MT66 tire, so here is my final report: 9,600 miles and it is toast, just about like I predicted 4,000 miles ago. This is only about 2/3 of the typical mileage I get from an Avon Venom on the rear, so it completely wipes out any benefit of the cheaper price up front. The tires handled well throughout their life. Even on wet roads where the rain had just started (not enough to wash all the oil snot off yet), and when the Frog Stranglers were so heavy even the cars were pulling off, I never had any problem just riding in the thick of it. But they never did feel as good as my Avon Venoms. The MT66 tires make more noise than the Venom style tread pattern, even when new. And when they got well into their wear, they began to howl when leaning. Not really bad - never even close to the miserable howl of the stock Brickstones. But my Venoms NEVER howled. The MT66 always showed good traction - I don't think I ever had the tire break loose even one time, even under heavy acceleration and hard shifting in lower gears. When worn out, the rear tire is still showing some rounding in the profile - not worn completely flat like the Brickstones do. This is true even though the majority of my riding over the last 9,000 miles has been high-speed Interstate highway riding (not that common for me). I am sure this is why their handling did not deteriorate a lot near the end like some other tires do. The bottom line for me is that I stick by my earlier predictions and evaluation - these tires are just OK. If I had to buy new tires just to sell a bike, I'd go with the Pirelli MT66 because it is considerably cheaper and will do OK for the new owner. But if I am planning to keep the bike for at least the next 10,000 miles, I'll be sticking with Avon Venoms!

I thought I'd post a couple of thoughts here just for general discussion. We will NEVER be able to satisfy everyone with any selection of location. Now that is not to say we should not try to satisfy as many as we can, within reason, but just understand that there is no answer that will please all. For some of us, 2,000 or 3,000 miles is not a deterrent at all, and for others, even 500 miles is too far. If all we want is the most central location, then we should simply gather somewhere in Kansas every year. Won't be many people that attend, but it will be central. And of course there will be personal reasons that some of us will choose not to attend any particular location. For example, I personally will never go back to New Orleans again after the way their politicians and police raped their citizens during the disaster. But that is just my choice; it probably is not yours. Nothing wrong with that, but not a valid reason to rule a location out for all the other members. I personally think the rally should move around a fair amount every year to get it closer to different groups of members and provide a broad variety of experiences. I think that it is good to hear reasons for and against the various suggestions - that way we can make the best informed decision. However, I think that distance and central location are the two weakest arguments against any option. Not that we shouldn't consider them, just that they shouldn't carry as much weight as things like good riding, accommodations options, and willing volunteers! Just my two cents... Goose

Here's a suggestion - why don't those of you who want to use newer RK mufflers just get together ans swap one - that way you will either have both cats or both non-cat? Goose

Anywhere within a two hundred miles or so of the Four Corners area. This part of the country has some of the most unbelievable geography and phenomenal riding anywhere. Everything from high dessert to huge Ponderosa Pine forests that will take your breath away. And the national parks within riding distance would keep us busy for two weeks if we wanted to! And it does take us to a new part of the continent. I don't live out that way now, but I'd certainly love to take an active part in helping plan a rally there with someone who does. I know Arizona and New Mexico intimately, and I'm pretty fair with Utah and western Colorado. I absolutely love Arkansas too, but we already do a kind of annual rally there every year (see y'all there in September). And if we don't want to go out there, here's an off-the-wall idea: how about real rural West Virginia - maybe deep in the mountains in the central or southwest part of the state? I know that is not centrally located at all, but it would sure be different, and the country is a blast! Goose

We rolled in to Colleyville (Fort Worth, Texas) at 5:00 pm on Sunday afternoon - covered just over 2,000 miles after leaving Kitchener - New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas. That was just the return trip - we hit Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan on the way up there. And let's not forget Ontario, Canada while there! 3,939 miles for the whole trip. The secondary roads through Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania were particularly miserable, but all-in-all it was a great ride, and a great trip. Wonderful to see old friends and meet new. Wife was a real trooper - I was beat to death a couple of times after long runs and rough conditions, but she never uttered a word of complaint! Looking forward to seeing y'all again at the next get-together. Ride Safe, Goose

Well, I ain't home yet! Burned just over 1,000 miles getting down to Chattanooga, and we still have about another 1,000 to home. What good is going to an international rally if you don't burn a few tanks of gas going and coming? Goose

Run away from that dealer FAST! Look at your owners manual - it shows the Yamaha defined method of checking the steering head bearings - Raise the front wheel off the ground and push/pull on the forks. 3 Hours? I don't think so! And why would you even consider ever going back to a dealer that wants to charge you to check out a problem with a bike under warranty??? Goose

I'd be happy to ride your bike anywhere you need it - the only thing I would ask is that you cover my transportation to the bike and from the destination back to DFW. I know that probably won't help you much, but I thought I would offer it anyway.

Larry, if you are running a trike, I am going to suggest a different approach that will sound VERY sacrilegious to anyone who has followed my views on our Brickstone tires. I think you should go back to running the stock Brickstone up front! And I have plenty of reasons. With a trike, you don't lean the bike, so the horrible tendency for that fat Brickstone to try and force the forks into a full-lock position on slow turns will never apply. More importantly, however, is the dual compound construction of the Brickstone front tire. The center part of the tire is much harder than the sides. On a normal RSV, if this tire is run to end-of-life, the middle will have plenty of tread left while the sides begin to go bald. On a trike, you will never wear out the sides, and the hard center compound will be very good for longer life. Lastly, you should be able to buy all the take-off Brickstones you want for fairly small bucks if you actively look for them on this site. Many people consider just throwing away their Brickstones after changing to a better tire. What is bad for a normal RSV could be just the ticket for you! Good luck, Goose

I don't baby it at all,and I get 14,000 - 16,000 out of a Venom on the rear. I do a lot of local riding and long distance touring, both. I run the rear between 46 and 48 - anything over 48 produces very poor handling on the RSV. You can find in-depth discussions of my thoughts on this in older threads. Front is around 42. I'd suggest you start with 46 rear, 40 front and see how that feels. Goose

Actually, I think that Squeeze's description is quite accurate - it just deals more with the physics of how the carb works instead of the more simplistic description of only the vacuum affect on the fuel flow that I used. The fact is, changing the float level in a carburetor WILL affect the fuel mixture. I just did not know how much it would change on our bike until I tried it and measured the results. I don't know if mine is right yet, but I have absolutely PROVED that it changed - both by the color of the exhaust deposits inside the chrome tips of my pipes, and by the calculation of fuel consumption before and after the change. I also agree with anyone who says that someone should be cautious before jumping into a mechanical job that is a bit beyond their skill level. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't either try it or ask someone else to do it if they suspect a problem. Everyone has to try something the first time before they can learn how to do it - book learning only goes so far! Just because an engine seems to be running OK is NOT an acceptable reason to leave it alone for me if I evidence that it may not be running CORRECTLY. Once we can validate what fuel mileage you can realistically expect out of this machine, then any bike that is turning in significantly lower numbers is NOT running correctly in my opinion. Goose BTW - here is a link to a page I found on the web that describes setting the float level in motorcycle carbs. It is not specifically for the RSV, but the concepts are the same. This, along with several other references I found support the method I used in my original post. http://771doug.netfirms.com/float.html And just for grins, here is a quote copied from a Webber carb manual. Even though this isn't even a motorcycle carb, it still covers the same points about why and how to set the float level: "The float level is a critical part of carburetor calibration. Changing the fuel level in the bowl will change the point that the main circuit starts to feed, alter the characteristics of an emulsion tube, and affect drivability and fuel consumption. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Float level, in mm, typically refers to the distance from the face of the carburetor top cover to the float. With the top cover held vertically (float pivot at the top) and the float tab (Lc) resting against, but not depressing the spring loaded ball in the needle valve, measure between the face of the carburetor top cover to the top or bottom of the float."

Yes, it could be either. In general, the 2nd gen RSV does not have any "known" issues with front end wobble, such as the 1800 Honda Refrigerator. so you should not have to just "learn to live with it." That means that there are specific causes that you should be able to pinpoint and fix when you have the problem you describe. The only time I have experienced a front end shake on either of my RSVs in 60,000 miles is once when I had a front tire reaching the end of its life,and then only at about 35 MPH under no acceleration. Typical causes can be tire pressure, tire wear, uneven fork pressure, and loose steering head bearings. Goose

I am going to make a lot of very generalized statements here to describe a carburetor and how it operates, so please nobody jump down my throat for detailed inaccuracies! If you think I am just dead wrong, then by all means jump in and correct it, but do understand that I am trying to convey concepts for the average reader, not exact technical details. Also understand that there is a big difference between a needle valve and a float valve, but our shop manual calls the float valve a needle valve. A needle valve usually sticks into the main jet and meters the fuel flow through the jet by how much the carb slide opens. A float valve just closes the fuel flow into the float bowl. For the discussion below, just know that all of it is focused on the float valve, no mater what the manual calls it! Why does the float level affect fuel mileage (and how rich or lean the mixture is)? It is because a carburetor operates on a vacuum. As the intake air rushes through the throat of the carb and into the cylinder, the effect of the air rushing by the fuel ports creates a vacuum that pulls the raw gas out of the float bowls, through the main jets, and into the throat of the carburetor. This is called the "venturi affect". The size of the main jet primarily controls how much gas can be sucked out into the intake by this vacuum, but the level of the fuel in the float bowl also has a big impact. The closer the fuel is to the main jets (the higher the floats are set), the easier it is for a slight vacuum to suck the gas up through the jets; therefore, high floats do cause a rich mixture. The other comments above about possible fuel starvation if the floats are set too low are also accurate, but only come into play if the float level is WAY too low. Now, I cannot speak so adamantly about the meaning of the words in the manual to not have the float "depress" the needle valve. Many needle valves have both a neoprene or nitrile rubber tip to ensure they close completely (older designs just use a smooth metal cone on the end of the valve), and a spring loaded plunger that rests on the float tang, so that the rising float first pushes the valve into the seat very gently. As soon as the valve closes completely, the pressure stops pushing any harder against the valve. If the valve is slightly damaged for any reason, the rising fuel level causes the float to push harder against the plunger, eventually overcoming all of the spring pressure to push directly against the valve, forcing the rubber tip into the valve seat until it completely shuts off the flow of gas into the float bowl. All of that is a factual discussion of how the floats and float valve work. But I cannot swear that my method to adjust them without the spring plunger being depressed is correct. BUT, here is the kicker: If you decide to adjust the float while the carburetor is completely upside down and the valve spring is fully depressed, then setting it to the specs in the manual will set the fuel level MUCH LOWER than the way I did it! If anything is going to starve the engine for fuel under hard acceleration, this will do it (but it probably will increase fuel mileage even more than my adjustment did). Here is why - with my setting, I assume the valve will completely close as soon as the float tang begins to push against the valve spring. If I were to set it with the spring fully depressed, it assumes the valve will completely close only after the float rises high enough to fully depress the spring and then push directly against the valve. If it closes with less pressure (before the spring is fully compressed), then the fuel level will be much lower because the valve will close sooner. I am going to have to do a lot more research (and possibly testing on my own bike) before I can definitively state which method is absolutely correct. In the mean time, I chose the intermediate method that left the float level possibly a bit higher only because I could not believe that it would be right to make such a MAJOR change in the float levels from the way it came from factory to the way it would be set if the floats depressed the plunger springs. I hope that helps some, Goose

This bike normally runs very smooth (as long as you don't lug the engine by trying a hard roll-on below 65 in 5th gear). If you think you have significant vibration at all, it probably needs to be synced. I find that most dealers do a very poor job of synchronizing the carbs, but no way of really knowing until you see it done yourself. Only after you have ridden the bike after you KNOW it was synced correctly will you have the necessary baseline to compare and know if it needs it or not. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Naw, I'm still in the Frozen North, but after seeing the ridiculous prices for beer up here, I won't be hanging around too long! The possibilities for comments about passing gas and sniffing are just tooo many, so I'll leave that lay for now! Looking forward to seeing ya eventually! Goose

Just bring it over some time - I'm sure we can find the problem. I don't charge more than a 6-pack for the work! Goose

I have some information on home plating squirreled away somewhere - I don't really remember details, but I didn't think it was all that difficult OR expensive. I plan on trying it sometime later this year. I'll let you know more if I ever do. Goose

These are all classic signs of a vacuum leak on the intake - could be either cracked vacuum port caps or torn vacuum hoses to the AIS valve from careless maintenance while syncing the carbs. Popping on up shift is the same as popping on decel - chopping the throttle creates high vacuum and excess hydrocarbons in the exhaust track. ANY exhaust leak, such as the common problem with leaking Y joints, will exacerbate the problem. Since several of you mention you have an 05 model, I can say from personal experience that the vacuum port caps are almost certainly leaking if you have not replaced them. My 05 developed popping related to these caps last summer (2 1/2 years old). Check out the numerous other older threads on this subject for much more in-depth discussion of these causes and the fixes. Goose

For anyone following this thread, I updated the original article in the tech library with the results from this float adjustment. I won't put all the details here, but suffice it to say that it made a very significant improvement in the fuel mileage on my 05 RSV! If you are one of the owners who can't understand why their miles per gallon don't measure up to what others claim, I would strongly suggest you check your float levels. Goose

I've got my gauges withme - won't take more than 15 minutes to sync those carbs. Look for the tall dude with the beard and a limp! Goose

It all depends on how you ride it. If you have not hit the rev limiter yet, you are not even close to tapping what is there. Punch it hand hold until you feel it in 2nd and 3rd on an on-ramp somewhere to see what it does (you'll be doing about 96MPH in 3rd by the time you get to 6,500 RPM). I ride with wings a fair amount and Never have any trouble - sometimes even the Valks have more trouble keeping up with me. Not in a drag race, of course, just normal spirited riding. Yes, an 1800 refrigerator does have more power, but nothing that is significantly usable as far as I am concerned. Goose

What time is breakfast in the morning? And WHERE is it? Goose

I know it is way to warm to be thinking about the juice the carb heaters pull if they EVER come on again, but what better time to prepare for the coming cold weather? In case you don't know, the carb heaters on the RSV pull a total of 60 watts of power, and that is an awful lot when you are riding in cold weather and want to use other stuff like extra lights or heated clothing. Here is a very simple mod you can do that will let you turn off the carb heaters any time you like - typically this would only be in very cold weather after the bike has finished warming up. the carb heater thermo switch is under the right battery cover, right next to the radiator overflow tank. In this picture it is the nondescript item in the rubber cover on the right side: [ATTACH]19342[/ATTACH] The blue item on the left side in that picture is the carb heater relay. This is a "normally closed" relay which is activated by the neutral switch. When this relay comes on in neutral, it cuts the power to the carb heaters. The two black wires coming out of the thermo switch connect through bullet connections to a black/white and a black/yellow wire. It really makes no difference which one you chose, but I unplugged the black/yellow wire (it is the wire running directly to the carb heaters). You can see the new blue wires I used to connect a small toggle switch in -line. The toggle switch is mounted in the black plastic cover behind the battery on the right side, near the rear shock air valve. [ATTACH]19340[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]19341[/ATTACH] That is all there is to it! Just make sure that the switch you buy can handle 10 amps at 12 volts DC (if you can only find a switch rated at 125VAC and 250VAC, you are generally safe with a 10A @ 125VAC rating). By using bullet connectors on the new wires you can just insert the switch in the circuit without cutting any wires or making any permanent change to the bike wiring. Goose