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V7Goose

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Everything posted by V7Goose

  1. V7Goose
    This has been discussed in several other fairly recent threads - I'd put a decent sized bet that your problem is the floats set way too high. I find it interesting that they would make a modification to the bike (extending the vent hose) instead of actually caring to find and cure the problem. But I guess the easy way out is the common solution these days. The bottom line is that every single one of these bikes comes with the carb floats set WAY above the spec, and that causes some gas fumes or liquid overflow in the front vent hoses. It will not be fixed unless they have the basic mechanical understanding to actually set the floats correctly. It should be covered under warranty, but I personally would have ZERO trust in a shop that would try to hide the problem instead of fix it in the first place. Good luck, Goose
  2. V7Goose
    I repainted the front half of the right saddlebag lid with all ColorRite paint a few years back. Silver is very hard to properly match, but the initial results were darned near perfect. Unfortunately, within a year the repaired section started taking on a distinctive gold tint, and two years later it is disgustingly and horribly yellow - almost like an old wicker chair. Anybody who looked at my Silver 05 sitting up near the porch at Don's MD should have immediately seen that horrible color on the right bag top. I'd fix it, but I take a perverse pleasure leaving it there so I can show it to everyone as a caution on how bad ColorRite paint is! My advice is to pay whatever it takes to have a good body shop do the paint matching and DO NOT waste your money on ColorRite!!! Goose
  3. V7Goose
    I gotta slightly disagree with a few points here. First, I have never found any need to sand the steel disks. Won't hurt none if you want to, but just make sure you properly clean them. And don't forget to remove that thin steel disc under the wave washer that sits against the bottom of the clutch basket - not needed with the full size friction disc. Second, I would NEVER do this job without an inch-lb torque wrench to properly torque the spring bolts. Guessing with a calibrated wrist is just begging for trouble, especially with bolts that are torqued to only 5.8 ft. lbs. Third is the amount of time it takes - you would have to stop every 5 minutes to call your mom for advice for this job to take a couple of hours! Other than scraping the old gasket off, the rest of the job generally only takes 10-20 minutes! My final comments are just a couple of cautions - DO NOT touch your clutch lever while the bolts are out! But DO test the operation of the clutch after you torque the bolts and before you put the cover back on. When putting the pressure plate on, be sure to align the punch mark with the one outside one of the bolt holes, and wiggle the plate to ensure the splines mesh together. This is really the only place you can get surprised; if the pressure plate isn't actually seated down in the splines, the clutch will not operate when you bolt it all together. If all is done right, you will see the pressure plate pull back when you test the clutch lever just before you bolt the cover back on. It is actually a VERY easy job - just follow the one sheet of instructions included with the PCW kit. Goose
  4. V7Goose
    ALL engines come from the factory adjusted on the ragged lean edge these days, including this one. Factory settings on the mixture screws are around 2-2 1/2, and proper CO spec is achieved around 3 1/4 on the rear cylinders and 5 on the front cylinders. And yes, a richer idle setting will make the bike less sensitive to other problems that can cause an afterfire. But I still want to stress that this bike, in box stock trim with the anti-tamper caps still in place on the carbs will NOT have an afterfire if something else is not wrong. Goose
  5. V7Goose
    Ordinarily I would say the type of riding would make a big difference, but not in this case. Not that you couldn't trash the clutch if you were particularly bad with it. But since every one that I have fixed showed absolutely no detectable wear on the friction plates (they all still measured right in the original spec), the problem seems to be a poor stock spring that just looses some of its temper with age. And by age, I do not mean years, but miles of hot running. I do think you would run into the problem much sooner if you tend to run fast and do a lot of high-speed passing where you quickly hit the throttle in top gear around 70 MPH or like to accelerate through the gears quickly. Not that either of those will weaken the spring sooner, just that those are the conditions where the clutch slip first shows up. Of course, oil is another big variable - even if one never used an oil with friction modifiers, there are so many different oils out there that it is almost certain that some will be a bit more conducive to clutch slip than others. I will repeat my recommendation from above - I strongly recommend that EVERYONE who expects to put more than 30,000 miles on one of these bikes put in a PCW spring kit before then. You are gonna need it eventually anyway, and that will simply prevent any problem from starting. Goose
  6. V7Goose
    I think the pickup coil for the ignitor is right in there, so that would be primary suspect. I don't know where the plug is for it, bit I'd guess it is close to where the stator plug was. Check the resistance on the pickup coil against the manual, then if it is good, check and make sure it is still where it should be. As for checking spark, just pull one of the plug wires, clip it on a spare plug, and use a short jumper wire to ground the plug to the frame (if you don't care to simply hold it and test for spark with your skin!). Cranking the engine over should produce a very healthy spark. Goose
  7. V7Goose
    You might want to just take a look at this post in the tech library - you can simply tin the ends of the wire and use the cap on that plug like the plug you are looking for: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38187 Goose
  8. V7Goose
    I personally do NOT recommend the Bestem bags, not for the liners or the trunk rack. Although they are made reasonably well, the zippers are really chintzy. The teeth are really small and mismatch often, but the worst part is the zipper pulls are tiny and made of very thin pot metal. I have had several sets, and at least half the zippers are broken (bought first set and got another with a used bike). Just had another one snap off on my way to Ohio last week, and that zipper was one I almost never open. I HAVE used them a lot, but just about any other brand would be a much better value! Goose
  9. V7Goose
    Well Blow Me Down - Cupcake on my side in something????? Whoda thunk it could ever happen? Goose
  10. V7Goose
    You are at it. Some people get a bit more, some less, but it is quite common for the stock clutch to begin slipping around 40,000 miles. If you are not pulling a trailer, it probably won't be a big issue for you on the trip, even if it does start slipping; you will just have to be a bit careful about top gear roll-ons for passing. But all the same, I recommend that everyone put in the PCW upgrade kit BEFORE it starts slipping. Your friction plates will be just fine (even after it starts slipping a bit), so no need to replace anything but that half plate at the bottom of the stack. The PCW kit consists of a heavier spring, one full plate and a gasket, costs about $80, and is well worth it. Goose
  11. V7Goose
    You should NEVER connect more than one device at a time to those audio jacks unless you have a load isolation device on at least one of them! Headset and audio output jacks on portable devices are never designed to protect against cross-wire issues with other devices, so by plugging multiple devices into the same jack you can experience many problems, ranging from reduced volume, audio interference, burned out speakers (or preamps), and complete destruction of a connected device. Here is a little background on why those bad things happen. Speakers require two wires to complete the audio circuit, and usually one of those wires is just a ground; this is especially common in vehicle radios. It makes no difference at all to the speaker OR to the device which wire is grounded (ignoring the phase issue for stereo), since a speaker is simply a completely isolated coil. But as soon as you connect another electronic device to the same jack, you create a different path back to ground. Even if both devices are wired identically, the impedance (load) on the audio output circuits of each device is massively changed, causing potential damage. That is why you almost always get a big drop in volume. And if that second device has the audio output wires reversed internally, you have created a direct short of your audio out from device #1 to the negative power grid on device #2. This is never good, even if both devices are powered by their own batteries, but if both devices are actively powered by the vehicle's electrical system, that is where you can quickly destroy either or both of the connected devices. Sometimes is can be immediate, and some times they will seem to work until the overload causes damage somewhere down the road. Goose
  12. V7Goose
    Bobby, you didn't offend anyone with your tape (or at least not me), it is just that some of us have seen such horrible things come from that cruddy tape as it breaks down we wanted to advise people to avoid it for anything but temporary needs. But I DO take exception (not offense) at your comparison of the AIS system to an appendix - that is not even close. I was calling your decision to disable the AIS misguided, not how you did it. It is absolutely true that the AIS does absolutely nothing to change your bikes performance, but it does have one very important purpose and the huge accidental benefit that I described above. A functioning AIS system reduces air pollution from your engine at absolutely ZERO cost or impact to you! So if it provides a benefit at absolutely NO impact on your performance or economy, what possible value could you find in disabling it? That is like pouring a cup of pee into your pool just because you can. So lets briefly re-visit the reason I assume you chose to make this misguided decision - because your bike was popping and banging on deceleration. And this is where you as the owner of that machine should have really appreciated the accidental value of the AIS; even if you don't remotely care at all about air pollution, your bike has something wrong with it, and the AIS was telling you that. But instead of caring about that problem with your bike and fixing it, you just wanted the bike to quite telling you it had a problem. THAT, my friend, is misguided in my book. Ride safe, Goose
  13. V7Goose
    Are you really sure about how to say that? Shouldn't it really be "ey"? I mean, come on, "eh" sounds like "eh", and "ey" sounds like "ey". But then again, there is always "ay", which of course sounds just like "ay". You need to get your facts straight before you go posting touching things like that! Goose
  14. V7Goose
    The RSTD lights will not normally fit on an RSV, but with a spacer anything is possible. It certainly is easy enough to look on the lower back part of the lights for a small metal toggle switch. In the end, splitting the fairing and tracing the wires is the fool-proof solution. Goose
  15. V7Goose
    The switch you are looking for is a black push button switch with a rubber cover. It is usually mounted to the left side of the power outlet. but I'd look carefully all over the inside of the fairing, including the underside above the handlebars. Goose
  16. V7Goose
    Replacing normal signal bulbs with LEDs will almost always screw up either the blink rate or self canceling feature due to the difference in current draw. All you should have to do is put normal bulbs back in. I think your bike uses 1157 bulbs in front and 1156 in the rear. Goose
  17. V7Goose
    Well, I HAVE written about this issue in exhaustive and minute detail in many older threads - so much so that many of the long-time members here are sick of hearing about it. I actually try real hard to not get involved in new threads about the AIS, but sometimes I just can't help myself. Like this one - I wasn't going to respond at all because I was certain the OP didn't give a #$%@ about what I thought on his misguided decision, but then I got suckered in to adding a smart-assed comment on the value of Duct Tape, and it just grew from there. Anyway, since you requested it, I'll try and cover the basic points, and if you want more you'll just have to search for older threads (look for "induction", "afterfire", "after fire" or "popping", but not "AIS" - 3 letters are too short for the search engine). Or you can always call me, and I'll be happy to talk about it. First of all, even though most folks use the term backfire, that is not what is happening. A backfire is an explosion back through the carburetor. Our problem is popping or banging in the exhaust, which is properly termed an afterfire or afterburn. The ONLY reason you get an afterfire is that too much unburned fuel gets blown through into the exhaust system, then it either mixes with fresh air and spontaneously ignites, or if it is really concentrated in the header, it can be ignited by the next opening of the exhaust valve. The AIS valve actually STOPS afterfire by shutting off the air induction into the header when conditions for an afterfire are prime, such as chopping the throttle. There are really only two things that can cause too much unburned fuel in the exhaust: One is killing the ignition while the bike is rolling in gear, such as briefly hitting the kill switch. That is pretty rare and is not something in which we are interested. The real cause in day-to-day running is anything that upsets the normal combustion cycle, such as an overly lean mixture or poor spark. Note that this is NOT the same as having a completely dead cylinder. To get an afterfire you have to have incomplete or poor combustion, but it must be firing enough to get the header temperatures over 600 degrees. The most common problem is a vacuum leak - this could be anything at all that allows air to be sucked in between the carburetor and the intake valve, and the primary problems on our bikes are the rubber caps and vacuum hoses on the nipples used to sync the carbs. Those rubber caps only last about two years. Pull them off and bend them, looking closely for any signs of cracking. Even if the cracks do not extend all the way through, my experience shows that this is the point when the caps leak enough around the nipple during the high-vacuum points to cause the problem. The two vacuum hoses actually close the AIS valves during high vacuum, so if they are cut or nicked with pliers when taking them off for a sync (very common problem) you have a double whammy - both a vacuum leak AND an inoperative AIS valve. If you do not have a vacuum leak, then check for anything that can affect a strong and steady spark. Most common is old spark plugs, but the metal parts inside the spark plug caps can corrode and affect that too. I have published info here on how to check that and clean the parts to restore them. Finally, even if you do not have any vacuum leaks or spark problems, a leak in the exhaust system can defeat the purpose of the AIS valves. The most common problem on our bikes is a bad crimp at the Y joint, but it can also be caused by loose header bolts or missing bolts in the ports for an exhaust gas analyzer. Note that if there is an exhaust leak, plugging the AIS system will not stop the popping, since the air that is causing the problem is coming from the leak. Goose
  18. V7Goose
    Just an FYI - the company called Powersport Superstore seems to be a very risky vendor. If you order something from them that that has some function and needs to be installed to see if it actually works, they will flatly refuse to authorize a return for anything that has been installed, even when they sold you a defective item. I personally find that business practice dishonest and will not deal with them again. Goose (Note that this is NOT the same company as Motorcycle Superstore. I have had many perfectly fine transactions with Motorcycle Superstore and will continue to use them.)
  19. V7Goose
    Hey dogman, are you the guy that had the fuel mileage drop WAY off and we couldn't figure out a reason why? Not being able to point to a probable cause and solution has been really bothering me, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. One new thing has come to mind - it is a long shot, but not hard to check if the problem is still going on. If the throttle position sensor (TPS) has gone bad, the engine timing will be off, probably overly retarded at normal running speeds, and that would certainly cause your problem. You cannot remove or adjust the TPS without pulling the carbs loose, but you can check it by just taking the tank off. All you need is an ohmmeter. There are two wires coming off the carburetors on the left front, one is for the carb heaters (a square white plug), and the other is the TPS (a triangular black plug). Both of these plugs are stuck down between the wire bundles and the frame backbone under the tank on the left side. They are not real easy to get to, but once you unplug that black wire, you can pull the end connected to the carbs out the bottom so you have a little room to work. First measure the resistance between the black and blue wires - that should be anywhere between 4-6 Kohms. Now measure the resistance between the black and yellow wires. In general, that resistance should be somewhere between 600 and 800 ohms, but you have to calculate the exact range for your own bike by multiplying the maximum resistance you got on the black and blue wires by .13 and then by .15; the actual resistance setting between the black and yellow wires should be somewhere between the results of those two calculations. Do not get too concerned if the setting is just 50-100 ohms above the maximum - it is very common on these bikes for the TPS to not be able to get low enough. But if you do find that, since your bike is still in warranty, you might want to try to get your shop to replace the TPS under warranty. The final check is to keep the meter on the black and yellow wires and slowly turn the throttle - just watch and make sure the resistance smoothly rises through the range from the low setting at idle to the maximum at WOT. I have never found a bad TPS, but that doesn't mean it cannot happen. If yours checks out OK, let me know and I'll keep noodling on the problem to see if I can come up with any further ideas. Goose
  20. V7Goose
    Now ya see, that's not too bad for a three line summation, but not completely accurate. The reality is that carb tuning is not very critical to this bike in preventing afterfire. Carb SYNC is fairly important, but carb sync is also very important to a smooth running engine with appropriate power and lack of vibration. But the carb sync hasta be pretty bad before it will cause afterfire unless it is coupled with another problem. In preventing the popping/banging on deceleration, things that cause an afterfire are much more often vacuum leaks, old plugs, bad connection in the plug caps (high resistance), and exhaust leaks. None of those are good things, and I just take the minority opinion that I actually want to KNOW if one of them is wrong on my bike and FIX it. These bikes do not have afterfire if there is not something wrong. Ya know, I never thought about it like that, but that might be a very good reason to plug the AIS! Now if we could just figure out a way to piss off Al Gore without unnecessarily adding to our air pollution, I'd be on that in a second! Goose
  21. V7Goose
    Well, I'll tell you why one person would put something else on besides an E3. Mind you, I'm not bad mouthing the E3; in fact, I'm running them myself right now. But IMHO the Avon Venom is a better tire for two reasons - the Venoms handle better than the E3s, and they are quieter. In addition, the front Venom (which is an AM41, not a 42) lasts longer than the E3. The E3 gets the nod because the rear tire lasts longer (I get 14K out of a Venom and 17K out of an E3), and it is cheaper. Although it has a lower load rating than the 80H AM42 Venom, it is still higher than the load rating for the stock tires, so I don't think that makes a bit of difference; the bike would have to be way past its GVW before you could overload the tire. The handling difference between the Venom and E3 is not huge, but it is enough that I definitely prefer to ride on the Venom. But even with that said, I still classify the E3 as an excellently handling tire for the RSV. If the Avon and the E3 were the same price, I'd put Venoms on instead. But I just can't wrap my head around the double whammy of having to pay more AND getting shorter tire life when the E3 is almost as good in the handling. That's why I have the E3 skins on right now. I think I am going to try the E3 rear and a Venom AM41 front combo - these tires are very similar design and profile, so maybe the Venom front will give me back that extra handling edge as well as the longer front tire life - no way to know without testing it!
  22. V7Goose
    Don's bike had only about 30,000 miles on it, so it was basically just due for the first valve check. All valves were within spec, with one MINOR exception (and not truly an exception). A single exhaust valve was right at max clearance. We did have a shim that would pull that clearance into the middle of the spec so we changed it, but technically, it was OK just as it was. Goose
  23. V7Goose
    Unfortunately, I have never tested any rear tires on this bike except stock sizes. I do know that Metzeler does publish an optional wider tire for this bike, but many who have tried it with Metzeler's own tire have reported damage from that wider tire rubbing on the drive shaft housing. I can tell you emphatically that the actual width of one brand/model of tire in a particular size is NOT the same to any other brand/model of tire in the same size, so the only likely way to determine if your idea will work is to purchase the tire and try it. Although I have not done actual width comparisons on rear tires for the RSV, I have done that for the front 150/80-15; for a while I was walking round at rallies with calipers measuring each different brand of tire I could fine. The differences between some tires was nothing short of dramatic. I published all these comparisons in a thread here several years ago, but it may be hard to find due to the age. The other thing I have not done is actually compare the manufacturer's published width spec to the actual tire width when mounted, although that would be very helpful in this case. I'll see if I can remember to start doing that on the new tires I mount. The best I can suggest is to physically measure the gap on both sides of a tire in stock size on a Royal Star and see if the existing clearance is enough to support the spec for the new tire you are considering. Goose
  24. V7Goose
    We can only guess what the real issue was, but since the messenger just got shot, we'll probably never know. The AIS is kinda like a wife who works hard at cleaning the bathroom, but when she notices the toilet leaking, she constantly tells you it needs to be fixed. Some guys just don't care that there is something broke, they just want the wife to shut up! By killing the wife, they never have to be bothered again by a reminder that it is broken, but the cleaning stops too. Goose
  25. V7Goose
    Larry, I COMPLETELY agree with you - everything you said is so absolutely true. Oh, well, not everything - Duct tape is the absolutely worst thing to ever use on duct work! But ya know, some jobs just DESERVE duct tape and all the bad things that come from it. And this job was one of them. Goose
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