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MikeZ06Allen

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Everything posted by MikeZ06Allen

  1. MikeZ06Allen
    The canister is for California emission equipped bikes and is only there to absorb gas vapors and recirc vapors when running. At least that is my understanding of its function. Mike Allen (Bikeless in SA)
  2. MikeZ06Allen
    Actually the correct term is air speed indicator for the 1st Gens and speedometer for 2nd Gens.
  3. MikeZ06Allen
    Brad I have Internet America and it works fine out here in La Vernia. I went with the highest plan as I work from home and need the bandwidth but I think they offer an affordable plan for your needs.
  4. MikeZ06Allen
    Well my VR is gone . Went home with a very nice guy from Corpus last Friday night. I put alot of work into her and throughly enjoyed riding but the time has come to find something a little different. Not better just different. A special thanks goes out to Lonestarmedic (JB to his friends) for showing the bike and handling the logistics as I am on travel. I am sure Captain Chuck (yep he is a true bona fide Captain) left with more knowledge than he could handle. Thanks again JB. So with that I am in the hunt amazed at the plethora of available options. Everything from the FZ1 to a Goldwing has caught my eye for one reason or another. I think I have boiled my choices down to the Yamaha FJR or an Honda Goldwing 1800. My inclinations are for the FJR but man the Wing is NICE!
  5. MikeZ06Allen
    Took me awhile to work up the courage to sell my 89 VR. This was my first true touring bike and I have throughly enjoyed it. I am looking for something a little smaller, possibly a FJR so I can do some canyon carving here in the Texas Hill Country. If interested in my VR check out the classifieds and inputs on what my next bike should be are welcome as well.
  6. MikeZ06Allen
    Glad everything turned out with you two still with us. I hope and pray for a speedy recovery and completely understand and support whatever you decide to do regarding Roxie. Sometimes you just gotta walk away.
  7. MikeZ06Allen
    Below is a link to what I did to replace the stock system. Probably not for everyone but this thing rocks!!! http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=67851
  8. MikeZ06Allen
    Hey some of us ride what we ride because we love the bike and couldn't care less if we are impressing anyone. Sounds like someone is compensating Oh and let's see how that Hardly Davidson is fairing in twenty plus years.
  9. MikeZ06Allen
    And I had folding chairs acting as "air foils"...no wait that was on the way out. Note to all that haul chairs and such, putting them crossways on the luggage rack is "not" a good idea. Flyinfool, The shims do not require any extra gaskets or "magic" as I like to call it. Simply remove your carb diaphragm covers, then the slider assembly. Earl provides very good instructions with the kit. Heck they were so good even I could do the mod!!!! All in all it will take about thirty minutes to do the mod. So yes a very easy MD task.
  10. MikeZ06Allen
    We have an 06 Commander with the 5.7L Hemi. Great vehicle; only thing we have had to do is minor repairs and regular maintenance. Although, I do have one complaint; too small of a gas tank
  11. MikeZ06Allen
    Learned a long time ago not to argue with a 2nd Gen owner. Cause all they do is drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
  12. MikeZ06Allen
    Yep I was referring to the SE Texas M&E and Maint Day; it is the last weekend of the month.
  13. MikeZ06Allen
    Actually you are about three miles from me; I live in Legacy Ranch. Need to get together sometime I could always use a second opinion on my crazy ideas. Just looked in my spare parts and I do not have any spare reflectors but I do have other stuff if needed.
  14. MikeZ06Allen
    Hey are you going to the Maint day?
  15. MikeZ06Allen
    Not me... I was being extricated from a mass of wiring and flex loom from my over ambitious radio, amp, gps and speaker install. Although my 1st Gen is Gray and blue although not too fast these days (dang carbs)
  16. MikeZ06Allen
    OK the project is done and the new system sounds great. The process took a little longer because I changed my mind on mounting methods at least three time and in all fairness mounting was the most time intensive as the wiring was straight forward. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00807.jpg Man what a mess of wires and stuff. I promise this will go back together; hopefully. It is worth noting that I rerouted the antenna cable as it originally went to the CB and then had a short antenna cable to the left faring. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00808.jpg This shows where I mounted the Satellite Radio interface module. This is the module that the satellite radio antenna plugs into and then into the radio. In the previous picture it is the L-shaped DIN-looking plug http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00809.jpg This where all the sound signals get a little boost. I think I am pushing about 100W to each speaker at full tilt; good thing they are rated for 120W peak. Actually for confortable cruising listening I will probably only be pushing 10 - 20W max. I am still fitting the amp cover; what do you mean the trunk isn't a square box. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00812.jpg I had these nifty little distro blocks lying around (that and I could not put anything else on the battery screws) so I decided to put them to use. The sides correspond with the positive and negative of the battery. The main feed and all connections made to the postive distro block are fused. Additionally, I fabricated a plastic cover for the positive distro block to keep them stray Boomer Pygmies in check. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00815.jpg Finally settled on using the thickest Plexigalss I could find to mount the radio to and used the stock frame as a template for the holes. Essentially the Plexiglass was sandwiched between the black upper radio fairing and the locking frame. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00819.jpg Completed a side view of the fairing, plexiglass, frame and cover. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/DSC00817.jpg Top view of the mounting arrangement. Below is the a schematic I worked up to depict the wiring involved. Please note all power and grounds are routed on the leftside of the bike and signal wires are routed on the right side of the bike. This is to reduce interference and allows for a smaller bundle of wires to tuck up out of the way. Also, the amp is grounded to the frame of the bike and not the negative terminal of the battery. This keeps the ground path for the amp short and reduces the liklihood of engine whine. http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p583/mikez06allen/Schematic.jpg
  17. MikeZ06Allen
    Lonestar you live right down the road from me. What part of Floresville? I am off FM 775 halfway between 181 and 87.
  18. MikeZ06Allen
    I have had the Mark's Collector on my bike for about a year and absolutely love it. The sound alone is worth the cost
  19. MikeZ06Allen
    Working on getting pictures and diagrams before I get it all buttoned up.
  20. MikeZ06Allen
    You are welcome to everything I have; just come pick it up... oh wait that might be a heck of a ride two up or otherwise. If I ever go back to needing an intercom/cb I will install a newer one. Just let me know what you want.
  21. MikeZ06Allen
    No the speakers are not waterproof but the cost point was such that I can replace if they get damaged from water. I do not make a habit of riding in the rain (anymore) and the bike is garaged when I am not on it riding. The short answer is, yes an amp can be added to any system. Now the caveat, as long as the amp accepts speaker level inputs. However, on most amps, the quality of output is only as good as its inputs. Basically the amp boosts whatever it gets in; with some noise filtering which usually means sound attentuation and the expense of music fidelity as clipping of the upper and lower frequencies as a result of the noise filtering. I came to the realization I needed a new head unit because the stock one was putting out a very "dirty" signal therefore no speaker or amp combo alone would overcome that deficit. Much like computer programming "Garbage In Garbage Out" You will find most quality radio head units have the capacity to route the signal to the amp via RCA outputs and can have 2, 4 or 6 channels of output. Correspondingly amps can have multiple channels of inputs that accept the RCA inputs from the head unit. So for my application I have a head unit with 4 channels but two are reserved for subwoofer frequency so I am only using the front two channels coupled to the two channel amp. This is what I know regarding car audio (which I adapted for motorcycle use). Others can chime in on motorcycle specific amps and such.
  22. MikeZ06Allen
    I got a wild idea with all this talk of amps and radios to change out the radio head unit. I had one with a AM/FM, CD player, Sirius Satellite radio and Aux input. So I carefully removed all the stock stuff and commenced to installing and rewiring for a modern head unit. While I had everything strewn all over the garage I decided to install an amp as well and the requisite control modules for the Sirius Sat radio and what the heck might as well get new speakers too. So here I sit, tired but happy to report the sound system is wired. Now all I need to do is mount the head unit and button everything up. It should be illegal to have this much fun on a weekday System now consists of: Kenwood Head Unit AM/FM/CD/SAT/AUX Kenwood Amp 2 Channel 350W Pioneer Speakers 2-Way 120W
  23. MikeZ06Allen
    I had a spare airbox ( No holes) lying around so I put it on the bike and took another 50 mile run after I set idle screws at two turns out. Runs a little better but still getting popping under accel and while at steady throttle. Majority of the noise seems to be on the low end; however it is struggling a bit to get up to redline (just not as peppy). Going out to change the plugs and give it the Spring oil change. Don't think this will change anything but just want to make sure in the off chance I have a fouled plug or two.
  24. MikeZ06Allen
    Sign me up for a carb tune. Just got back from an 50 mile ride and the bike runs fine above 4k RPM, with choke the bottom end it is fine until it hits 4k rpm. I would say my backfire seems to be from a lean condition below 4K rpm. Would the idle air screws help with richening up the bottom end? I think I am sitting at about three turns out due to a rich start smell but I believe I have solved that problem. Keep in mind I am running the Mark's Pipe collector and a holey airbox, plus now the emmision hoses are pulling in fresh filtered air. I am thinking of turning the screws down to about 1.5 - 2 turns out. Oh great Gurus of the Black Art of Carbs I beseech your wisdom.
  25. MikeZ06Allen
    Securing people's personal information has been a facet of my career going on 18 years. Believe me when I say the Federal Government takes it very seriously but crooks are getting better and better at attaining personal information. So I have to constantly attend training to try and stay ahead of the curve. The easiest method most use is something called social engineering; simply put the crooks prey on people's basic desire to be helpful. It is easy to avoid if one just pauses a second and thinks before handing out information over the phone or online. Just remember when in doubt hang up or delete. Just my opinion.
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