saddlebum

Tequila ???? and here I thought you were more the Schnapps or Korn type

Thank you so much. I must admit.I could not have done it alone. Having you, who has been going through this for much longer, mentoring me through this does make it a lot easier. I think Now I am getting confused again

Yes but sounds like more from a point of confusion than admiration

A point well worth considering. May have to borrow an idea from the trucking industry.

If it is still there.

I have seen it done as well and had thought for years I might give it a shot as well but never got around to it.

Actually that discussion you are referring to, was well before the picture was taken and what they were trying to figure out was " what kind of trike has two wheels in front and one in the rear instead of the other way around and were the heck was the side car " I am not sure colour actually entered conversation since they lost all interest once the good looking lady with the good looking female dog walked by which was when I took the shot.

In case anyone is wondering what @stickhandle2 and Baloo were looking at if memory serves my right (which can be hit and miss for me at times) it was a good looking lady and her good looking female dog passing by. I thought I would take the pic catching them in the act in case I needed some hush money.

Ignition switch is a very common issue with these 2nd gens. It appears the load put upon them is higher than the switch can handle. Sometimes the switch can be taken apart and cleaned up (as in the link provided by Freebird ). An alternative is to replace the switch. In either case the next step I would take, is to remove or cut any wires supporting a heavy load (or entire load if you wish) and transfer them to a relay switch (terminal 87), You can even use two relays one for the accessory side and one for the run or ignition side. Next run a wire from terminal(s) 86 of the relay back to were you removed/cut the wire(s) to the ignition switch. Run a wire from terminal 85 to ground or Bat neg- . Finally run a wire from Bat pos+ to terminal(30) recommend this wire be 12 gauge. This will take the load off the ignition switch while still leaving the Ign switch in control. I would also do the following: Load test your battery depending on its age it may be breaking down. Check charging system performance same as you would on a car (results should be no different than a car). At least 13.9 preferably 14.2 as measured at the battery engine at about 1500 rpm. The second gens are also notorious for intermittent issues with the rectifier/regulator it is mounted at the lower front of the bike. Check your wiring connections including grounds. Connections from stater and rectifier are notorious for corrosion.

Prayers will be said on your behalf when I turn in tonight Don. I sure hope this delay does not create problems worse than you already have Don.

nice job

You can run recaps on the drives but not on the steer axle. Another interesting point is that not all road gaters come from recaps even original tires can loose rubber if they are run on low air pressure. Also recaps like anything else depends on the quality. Bandag and Michilin for example make very reliable recaps as reluable as a new tire, but there are some recapers that are not so trust worthy.

There are about four methods I like to use for bleeding depending on the situation. Here are three of them. The 1st method I wrote up for another member sometime ago. It is the method I use for bleeding the clutch most times. The 2nd method involves using a large syringe and third a mighty vac or similar device and an air tight catch container. 1st Method 1st you will not feel the same resistance with a clutch, as you do with brakes. So do not let that difference deceive you. These are the steps I recommend to bleed a clutch, If I don't have a vacuum tool on hand. 1. Crack the line loose at the master. Before you bottom out snug the line up as you continue to squeeze the handle. Release the handle and continue until you see signs of fluid. ( Sometimes if the master was completely dry such as a new one or after rebuilding, you may have to prime it. You can do this by removing the line completely. cover the hole lightly with you finger and squeeze the handle allowing air and/or brake fluid to escape from under you finger. Before releasing the handle clamp your finger tight and slowly release the handle. repeat until most fluid comes out. At this stage it does not need to be completely air free., your just priming the master ). Once you have done this reconnect the line to the master and perform the procedure at the beginning of this step. 2. Connect a clear line to the bleeder screw, after braking it loose and making sure it moves freely, and run it to the bottom of a catch container with a bit of fluid in it. This helps prevent sucking air back into the system and makes it easy to observe for air in the fluid. 3. Crack the bleeder open at the slave and slowly squeeze the handle. when it bottoms out snug up the bleeder and release the handle. Continue until fluid starts to come out of the bleeder ( it does not need to be air free at this point ). 4. As you begin to squeeze the handle crack the bleeder open and then quickly close just before the handle bottoms out while fluid is still coming out (Do not pump the handle). Continue until the exiting fluid is air free. 5. Next squeeze the handle but this time leave the bleeder closed until the handle comes to a stop. Pause and hold for a few seconds, (this allows air to come to the top near the bleeder screw) then quickly open the bleeder and then quickly close it again while a bit of fluid is still coming out just before the handle bottoms out. Again continue until the exiting fluid is air free. 6. Finally return to the master. Squeeze the handle until it bottoms out. Pause and hold for a several seconds ( again this allows for any air in the line to rise to the top of the line at the fitting), then quickly loosen bolt just enough to allow some fluid to escape but then quickly snug up the bolt before the handle bottoms out and while some fluid is still escaping. Repeat until no air spits out. 7. When done fully tighten the bleeder and line retaining bolt. PRECAUTIONS: A)-During the process keep an eye on the fluid in the master and keep it topped up. I recommend not letting it go any lower than 1/3 full because if the master goes dry your back to square one. B)- Cover everything well with rags to protect bike from brake fluid and when bleeding the master at the line use a rag to keep fluid from spraying every where allowing just enough of an opening to allow you to observe the fluid for air. With experience you don't need to look you can hear the difference between when the escaping fluid is air free or if there is air in it. C)- NOTE: during the process you will not note a mention snug the bleeder and banjo bolt. this is because during the process it is not necessary to fully reef them tight. Just be sure to properly tighten them when you are completely done. Finally there are other methods that work well such as using a vacuum tool at the bleeder or pressure bleeding, some even recommend speed bleeders, all of which make the job However, assuming you are only working with basic tools, these are the steps I recommend I have used this method on the side of the road and never ever had to re-bleed the system afterwards. 2nd Method In this method you are back bleeding. Using a a large syringe fill it with brake fluid and force the fluid in through the open bleeder screw until fluid starts filling the master. (be careful not to over flow the master). Then before removing the syringe, draw back on the syringe just slightly to eliminate any air trapped around the bleeder within the slave and close the bleeder before removing the syringe. Finally while squeezing the clutch lever carefully crack the banjo bolt holding the line to the master to allow air to escape. Tighten the bolt before the lever bottoms out. Repeat until you can no longer hear or see air escaping. 3rd method This method involves using a mighty vac. or similar vacuum device. 1st you need an air tight catch container with two hose connections. One connection should have a hose going to the bottom of the container. This is the one that connects to the bleeder screw. The second connection goes to the vacuum tool and opens just below the top of the container. build and maintain vacuum in the container as you crack open the bleeder screw. Be sure to maintain fluid in the master while doing this. When no more air is drawn out of the slave close the bleeder. Finish by bleeding the line at the master.

What is important is that you lived to talk about it. It doesn't matter if anyone believes you or not because You were there and they were not and I imagine your underwear is still deeply stained. I know mine would be.

something like this maybe

I have an update protocol. I change nothing until I am left with no choice. I HATE changes. Nothing worse than finally getting comfortable with something and than some geek has to go change everything just to frustrate guys like me. I bet they all get a big laugh at our expense

Ignition switch is a very common issue with these 2nd gens. It appears the load put upon them is higher than the switch can handle. Sometimes the switch can be taken apart and cleaned up alternative is to replace the switch. In either case the next step is to remove or cut any wires supporting a heavy load (or entire load if you wish) and transferring them to a relay switch (terminal 87), You can even use two relays one for the accessory side and one for the run or ignition side. Next run a wire from terminal(s) 86 0f the relay back to were you removed/cut the wire(s) to the ignition switch. Run a wire from terminal 85 to ground or Bat neg- . Finally run a wire from Bat pos+ to terminal(30) recommend this wire be 12 gauge. This will take the load off the ignition switch while still leaving the Ign switch in control. Load test your battery depending on its age it may be breaking down. As suggested earlier check charging system performance same as you would on a car (results should be no different than a car). At least 13.9 preferably 14.2 as measured at the battery engine at about 1500 rpm. The second gens are also notorious for intermittent issues with the rectifier/regulator it is mounted at the lower front of the bike. Check your wiring connections including grounds. Connections from stater and rectifier are notorious for corrosion.

Normally that only happens if the fuel mixture is so lean that the cylinder will not fire at all the plugs come out wet but clean and is very rare. In most cases a too lean a mixture causes valves to burn and the plugs will be very white. No the feeling. Run into it all the time when customers come in with complaints sometimes more than once and we can't find a single thing wrong. Best one was a customer who claimed his starter was faulty and sometimes the truck would not start usually when he shut down at a border crossing. we went through that truck with a fine tooth comb and found nothing. He had the starter replace in the states 4 times finally he said don't diagnose it just replace everthing, Ign switch, relays, all four batteries and get a new starter not a rebuilt. We even ran a ground from the battaries directly to the starter. He still had the problem. He got so fed up he dealt the truck on a brand new one. On his third border crossing the brand new truck refused to start. You can only imagine his frustration. I actually gave serious thought to gifting the guy with a couple gremlin bells. Then covid happened and my doctor due to my medical history (pneumonia 3 times in a 40 year span for one) called me told me to stop going to work.

Also check your enrichment valves. Make sure they are not stuck open. There is one on each carb. These are controlled by your choke lever.

I once had a carb mounting/induction tube split on my 1975 canam, while riding. When I came off the highway and backed off the throttle the darn bike just kept on rolling. Did not want to hit the kill button and coast around the bend at high speed so I ended using the brakes very carefully to control the bike through the turn while still allowing the rear wheel some thrust to control the bike in the turn. Still I was leaning at a very steep angle hoping the tires would not break loose.

Make sure your oil level is not to high or that the crankcase venting is not plugged before you pull the heads. Most universal compression testers with different spark plug hole adapters will work.

Just don't do it in the kitchen. Don't ask how I know

You got it right. and #85 you simply run to ground or neg side of Battery. #30 is fused power supply from the Battery POS+ and 87 goes to what ever it is you want to power up. Some relays have a fifth terminal marked 87a you can just ignore that one. On those relay's that terminal works opposite 87, in other words one is in the off/NO position when the other is in the on/NC position. When you power up the relay anything connected to 87 will switch on while any thing connected to 87a will switch off. On some rare occasions you will see one with 87b instead of 87a this means that it is normally off/NO same as 87 and both terminals can be used for example one for a right side light and one for a left side light.

I really like that Idea and it looks simple to build. Its much along the lines of something I was thinking about as an alternative to the mini horse trailer idea I was think of a while back with my 1st Airedale Jake before he past away, though the idea I had in mind was not as nice looking as this one. Some tubing a bender a welder and some material to upholster it with and the job is a s good as done. The way the trunk mounts on the first gen it would be easy to make it a convertible set up so you can switch back and forth. Rio is good in a canoe so I have no concerns about his behavior. I must admit going down would be a concern for his safety so that part I would have to think long and hard about.