.jpg.e818e18bd49ab07b632efe4e592fa8af.jpg){kind=avatar}
V7Goose
-
Posts
3,588 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Store
Everything posted by V7Goose
-
First thing I would do is go to manufacturer's web site for whatever brand of HDD is in there and download their free diagnostic utility. Get the version that will run from a CD at boot, burn a new CD with it, and check for physical disk errors. If that passes, then I'd go to one of the AV sites, like Symantec or McAffee, and download a free version of their virus checker to run the same way. Goose
-
There are many of us who believe that you should never mount a car tire on a 2-wheeled motorcycle. Some claim it is unsafe, and some (like me) simply believe that they provide very nasty handling due to the flat profile and sharp edges, just like a worn out rear motorcycle tire (which I guess you could assume is unsafe). I'm a firm believer that if you want this bike to handle properly, like a good motorcycle should, you should put good motorcycle tires on it. If you are of the opinion that you prefer a car tire, then you just need to tell yourself that you like, or are at least willing to accept, the way the bike handles with the wrong tire. It is all a matter of personal choice, but opinions do run kinda hot on both sides of the argument. Goose
-
Frankly, this comment just floors me - I cannot imagine ANY shop, ANYWHERE, that would do that work for less than $200 - there are just too many hours involved in taking it all apart (and putting it together again). Checking/adjusting the valves themselves is not all that involved, but it's all the other work needed to get to them on the RSV that makes the difference. I've been thinking of offering to do this job for members (instead of just helping them for free), but I wouldn't dream of doing it myself for less than $250, and I'm not even a shop with overhead costs! If you can get them to do it for that price, and you honestly believe they really do the work, then jump at it!!! As an alternative, just ride down here to North Texas and we'll get 'er done right. The job takes a full day, but you'll know it's right 'cause you will be doing most of the work yourself. But "a lot of noise coming from top of engine and a vibration in the bike" is definitely not normal, so I'd suggest you do keep checking things out until you get it solved. Goose
-
Just about any name brand hard drive comes with a disc that includes a utility to do exactly what you asked. And those utilities are available for download from the manufacturer's sites, too. The process is pretty easy, but you shouldn't have had any problems with the new drive set up as you described, either, so I can't guarantee anything. One caution - even though these things aren't too terribly difficult, they generally aren't for a novice, either. I'd find a friend who knows a thing or two to sit with you and try to do it together. Just talking about each step will help! And one other comment, that kinda goes with the caution - you mention the new drive was set up as E: - that almost certainly means the stock drive as a D: partition on it, probably a special recovery partition from Dell. When you do copy over the stock drive to the new one, you need to make sure to copy the WHOLE DRIVE, Not just the C: partition. Goose
-
.thumb.jpg.4e1b3809c4633f365ba67afc212f21df.jpg)
2009 RSV Top Heavy Question
V7Goose replied to DonWood's topic in Royal Star and Royal Star Tour Deluxe Tech Talk
All stock RSVs with stock tires have a heavy feel at low speed and some tendency to fall into slow turns by exhibiting very progressive steering (that is the tendency to force the forks to full-lock that I originally described), but only that horrible Brickstone front tire is REALLY REALLY REALLY bad for that. Any narrower front tire improves that, and ALL brands of tires I have found in stock 150/80-16 size are materially more narrow than that terrible Brickstone. [ATTACH]38285[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]38286[/ATTACH] Just to illustrate my point, the top five tires in the attached pix are all 150/80-16 front tires taken off RSVs - from top down: Metzeler, Dunlop 404, Brickstone, Brickstone, Pirelli. Notice the huge difference in width, diameter, and shape (some much more rounded) for these different tires! That alone accounts for much of the very different handling that they each exhibit on the same bike. If you look for my old posts on tires, you will find this information is much detail. On the 2nd question - yes, raising the rear or lowering the front by equal amounts does provide the same change to rake and trail, so the handling changes will be the same. Raising the rear is preferred when the rider is tall enough because it increases cornering clearance and maintains easy access to the front fork air valves. In addition, it is easy to get the actual position of the forks slightly different in the triple trees when they are not simply positioned flush with the top bracket, and that would make a NASTY change in handling. Goose -
Glad to see you here! You certainly are in the minority, buying a touring bike so early, but I think it is a great choice. I bought my first touring bike, a fully dressed Moto Guzzi Ambassador when I was 16 also - that was way back in 1971, and I've never had any use for other types of bikes since then! If ya like to ride, then there is just nothing better than a touring bike. Stay safe and keep in touch. That bike you bought is a good one, but you'll probably need the help of the good folks here to maintain one that old. Goose
-
Well, since you said you already KNOW that your bike is in good shape, including the tires, shock and steering head are all in good shape, then nothing could cause it (assuming you meant to include the forks in the general "shock" category). So something you "know" ain't known right. Most likely cause is the front tire. Check concentric bead seating and trueness. Next, check the aire in your front forks - MUST be absolutely equal - when in doubt, let all the air out. Now re-check the steering head bearings. Just because they are tight, doesn't mean they are good. Perform the test shown in the owner's manual, where you raise the front wheel off the ground, grab the bottom of the forks, and push/pull to see if you can detect any slop or movement. In every bike I have tested with shot bearings, they still had this slop even when tight. The last thing I would include in likely candidates for this problem is the swing arm bearings. Of course, frame damage would also cause something like this, but I asume you'd think of that if your bike had ever been hit or dumped. Goose
-
That does sound strange - can't think of anything that would have caused that. Surging is a very common problem with fuel injection, but rare with carbs. Maybe the corrosion on the battery terminal was enough to reduce the voltage to a level that was driving the electronic ignition module a bit crazy? Just a WAG . . . Or maybe you rode next to somebody with a CT on a motorcycle? Those are the root of all evil, ya know, so maybe it just took a few months for that "evil" that seeped into the cracks and crevices of your bike to get blown away! Heck, one friend of mine even had the seat blow off his bike after he made the mistake of letting one of our members with a CT share a cabin up at Vogel this year and park next to his bike! Them things are just bad stuff - never know what kind of problems you'll get. Goose
-
Don't got no Windoze7, don't want no Windoze7. Same for Vista crud, only I'd say that all in caps! Got XP running on lotsa different computers, and it does just fine, so why would I even consider changing? I'd probably go back to Linux before I spent any money on new Windoze licenses and associated M$ software. The only thing worse is Mac idiocy. I've been forced to use those toys many times in my career, and I've hated them every time. The Mac was even the standard computer when we started Perot Systems - that lasted a few years before we all decided we really needed to do some actual work! The PC and M$ Windoze is a long shot from the perfect combination, but at least they don't treat the user as some sort of idiot who is too stupid to know what they really want to do with the software. Oh well, youse pays your money and takes your chances . . . Computers are like motorcycles - everyone has their own likes and dislikes, and there is no reason we all need to like the same thing. My only recommendation is that that you don't upgrade unless there is some specific benefit you know you want (and will get!) from the new software.
-
OBD = On Board Diagnostics. Federal law requires all cars and light trucks manufactured after 1996 to have a system that meets OBD II specs so that anyone can access the diagnostic information from the standard OBD II data port instead of being forced to throw away good (or bad) money at the over priced dealer's repair department. Unfortunately, this law does not apply to motorcycles. And no, the RSV ain't got no OBD port of any type, as far as I know. The built-in diagnostics that it does have are read through flashes in the check engine light and the fuel gauge. Goose
-
Glad you figured out what caused the thread deformation - I couldn't come up with any idea of what might have caused it - certainly not the threads inside the bike. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner - I was thinking on it last night, but had to head out early this morning for an all-day PGR mission to receive the body for one of those soldiers who died in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan last week. I don't think you need to replace the plug at all. Even with the tops of the threads flattened a bit, I'm sure there is plenty of thread left to grip. The easy test is to screw the plug about 1/2 way in and see if it wiggles when you try to rock it. If it does, I'd replace it. Don't know why it leaked on you - I prefer to use either a copper washer or a fiber washer (that always comes with the plugs I buy), but I would have thought the nylon would have worked too. I'd just pick up a new fiber washer at the auto parts store and try it again. Goose
-
Just about any modern auto parts store can properly load test the battery - nothing special about that test or the equipment needed. Just make sure you know the specific amp-hour rating of the battery when you take it in (look it up on Yuasa's web site). - that is needed for the test, and they won't have a clue. Goose
-
Steering Problem
V7Goose replied to crockettrider's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
96.72462% chance your steering head bearings are shot. Goose -
This is absolutely the WORST thing you can do to ANY engine! DO NOT DO IT! Running the bike cold creates a LOT of condensation (that is why water drips from your tail pipe for a while after starting). Even the little amount that blows by the rings instantly condenses on the cold metal of the engine and stays inside - the more worn your engine is, the greater this problem becomes. This moisture combines with combustion byproducts to create acids and other nasty things that eat away at your engine. Once an engine reaches full operating temperature (and it takes a lot longer for the oil to get there than the coolant), most of that moisture is driven out by the heat and gets sucked through the carbs through the crankcase vent hose., but it is gonna take actual riding for 20 minutes or more to warm up the engine even close to what it needs - just idling ain't gonna do it. Other suggestions made in this thread are good - any fuel stabilizer is probably fine - and Seafoam is a stabilizer (read the can), so no need to use it AND another product. Do treat the tank and then run it for 10 miles or so to completely replace the fuel in the float bowls with treated fuel. Fogging the engine is always a good idea for extended storage, though few people seem to do it. It is a good idea to take the weight off the tires; although, that is not always practical for a motorcycle. Absolutely put a battery charger on the battery (a real charger, not a tender) when you first park it to get the battery up to full charge, then either use a tender while it sits or re-charge it at least once a month. Running the bike after the oil change is an important step, but go back to the first subject - do NOT just run it for a minute or two - VERY VERY important for that last engine run before storage to get the bike all the way up to full temperature, INLUDING the oil. Those of you with an oil pressure gauge can tell when the oil is up to full temperature by when the idle pressure falls below 10 lbs, and that is a long time after the engine coolant reaches normal operating temp of about 210 degrees F. Goose
-
The TI99/4A was the first true 16 bit computer - WAY ahead of all other machines out there, especially when compared to the TRaSh-80. If TI had marketed it as a real computer instead of a game machine, it would have locked the market and put Radio Shack, Commodore, Sinclair, and the others in the "also-ran" category much sooner than they got there on their own. I had the big expansion box for my TI99 that allowed me to add a hard drive and other advanced computer cards (getting out of the "game" category), and I even picked up a pair of defunct DEC Rainbow (DEC's failed attempt at an early PC) floppy drives and married them to the system so I could get rid of the danged cassette storage! Ahhhh, those were the days . . . Goose
-
There are devices that strip the copy protection signal off the video stream, but most are not sold in US - have to order off the Internet. The one I use is Dimax, from a company in Isreal (Xdimax.com). Those devices will not work with a combo unit like yours - you will need a separate DVD recorder. That is because the video signal must be passed out of one unit to be cleaned and then fed back into the recorder. Goose
-
Suspension / handling questions
V7Goose replied to yamadawg's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
Put the front back to normal and add DiamondR Leveling Links to raise the rear by 1". The bike will handle great and you will have much more cornering clearance on the pipes. Goose -
Another slight possibility would be that your TV only has stereo speakers and you are trying to send dolby encoded multi-channel sound where the voice and the majority of the other sounds on the disc are aimed for the non-existent center speaker! You can send me the model numbers of your player and whatever it is connected to and I'll try to research it and let you know exactly how it should be set up. Goose
-
Your DVD player probably has a volume adjustment in the setup screens. Also, make sure it is set to output PCM audio unless you are sure that your TV (or whatever device to which you have the player connected) can use a pure digital audio stream. When in doubt, PCM will always work. Goose
-
I just bought two 1.5TB drives for about $60 each - Running them in RAID config so I can store all my media files without having to worry about backing them up (or loosing them)! I have been putting the source wave files on a 1TB external drive, but that leaves them at risk of a disk failure. At that price it is ridiculous not to upgrade the storage. Goose
-
Yes, I can do all that, with a couple of obvious limitations - since CDs are so much smaller, a DVD usually will not fit unless the format is changed to greatly reduce the bit rate (and quality). So the details depend on the format of the source (audio, video, bit rate, etc.), how much of it there is, and what format you want for the output. I can also burn DVDs, either for large audio collections or copying video from multiple sources (including VHS tapes). You can give me a call and we can talk about it, or just mail me the disk and I'll take a look. If you are going to mail any media, make sure to ask for the "book rate" at the post office - they won't (can't) offer it to you unless you ask, but it is WAY cheaper! Goose
-
If you have a collection of old vinyl or tapes that you really wish you had available on CD, MP3, etc., I might be able to help. I started converting all my old stuff several years ago, but gave it up because it is just so danged time consuming! After all, you have to play every album in real time and capture the wave file, then take the time to clean it up and label tracks before finally saving the new files or burning a CD. But the cost of replacing hundreds and hundreds of albums is pretty daunting too! Anyway, I'm finally back at that project now that I have more time available, and I have picked up some new software that makes the job a bit easier. So I thought I'd make this offer to anyone out there that might not have the time or inclination to tackle it themselves. I'll convert LPs, cassettes, or 7" open reels to CD and/or any other format for about a buck an album. That would include the labeled CD, jewel case with front and back covers and album art where available. I'll do any genre of music, with ONE exception - I will NOT be within hearing range of rap/hip-hop "stuff", so none of that can be played in this house!!!! I have dolby available for my open reel deck, and I can expand the dynamic range on any format to more closely approach the 90db typical of live music and digital recordings (tapes and LP are often constrained around 60 or 70db due to limitations of the technology). I can clean up pops and crackle in vinyl albums, but there is a limit to what can be done. If the albums are in really rough shape, the sound quality may suffer, or I might have to ask for a little more - that work is REALLY time consuming unless I just let the software do what it wants and accept the results as-is. If I already have a copy of any particular album, you'll get the best copy available, even if it is not from your source. Let me know if you are interested. Goose BTW - this is NOT a money-maker for me, since it takes a minimum of an hour to do one album, and usually 2 - 3 hours each! I'm only offering this to my friends here, and all I want to do is cover my cost of blank discs, jewel cases, printing labels, and stuff like that.
-
Even if your MB doesn't have an IDE controller, IDE Controller add-on cards are cheap (or at least they were - don't even know if they are easy to find now). Not sure if it would be worth buying one tho, unless you have some old large IDE drives that you just gotta use. When new SATA 300 drives at 1TB and even 1.5TB are regularly being sold for well under $100 each now, it's hard to see why you'd want to slap in an old slow IDE drive. Goose
-
Not a problem my friend. I bought my bike new and thought the same thing about the trunk until I had a chance to look at a bike fresh out of the crate! That is the beauty of this site - many of us have already been through the routine, and we have learned a lot. No need for a new owner to learn the same things the long way. Just ask (and listen to the responses!). Glad you got it sorted out. Goose
-
All I can do is shake my head and wonder . . . We all know it is your bike, and you can put any tire on it that you want. But you just spent your money on the absolute WORST tire possible to put on the Venture, and you compound the problem even more by leaving that horrible stock front tire on there. That may be an opinion, but I say it as a fact based on my extensive tire testing with this bike AND that I do not know of anyone who has ever said they think the stock Brickstones are decent tires after they have tried any other brand. I know they are the only tire you have tried, and you must feel they are OK, but MANY members here, in direct reply to your own questions and in lots of other threads, have clearly stated the problems with these terrible tires. There really are a few of us here that know a thing or two about these bikes! I don't have any personal stake in your decision, but it still makes me sad to think you will continue to be completely in the dark about how well this bike can handle. Goose