darthandy
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Everything posted by darthandy
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Thanks Eck, but I found an even closer source - the partially disassembled Royale at the front of the garage has the same set of lights and since it won't be going anywhere for a while, I "borrowed" one of them. Say Grisolm1, I found a set of H3 halogens on the JP Cycle site that are listed as Harley fitment. They don't give a name, only a part number (3100456) but I'm assuming those are the ones since they are the only ones I could find on the site. They are $39.99 a pair or $35.99 for members of the Gold Club. Was there much to do to adapt the wire connectors to your bike?
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Thanks for the info. I bought some 1157 replacements for my Triumph from Superbright. Fast delivery, but I got the wrong style - about 12 LEDS per lamp instead of 49. The LEDS were dimmer than the 1157 bulbs, but that was my mistake - soon to be rectified. Let me know how those work out as I am now planning to go the same route with my passing lights and I'm looking at the HID headlight replacement as well. Andy
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Thanks guys. Upgrading sounds like a good idea, so I think I'll take that route. Whatever makes us more visible can only be good!
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...on one side. As far as I can tell, these are the original Yamaha passing lamps. Is there another sealed beam that will work or must I buy the original Yamaha lamp?
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Three cheers for surviving that one!! Hope you did scare her enough that she'll pay closer attention in the future...and maybe even stay off the cell phone while driving...but I wouldn't bet on it. A young girl in an SUV ran into the back of my car 2 years ago while I was stopped at a red light. Said she didn't see my Buick Regal with the wall to wall tail lights! I noticed her cell phone on the seat of her car. Three guesses where it was before that!
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They have something similar in the London, England area using Triumph Rocket III's. Gives new meaning to the expression "Hauling out"! Andy
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I was knocked off my RZ350 at Shannonville racetrack in 1990 while doing between 90 and 100 miles (not kilometers) per hour. I got up and walked away with a very ugly looking leather suit, a small chunk taken out of my helmet and a bit of a headache. I prefer not to think about what I would have looked like had I not been wearing full coverage gear. This young lady was extremely lucky. I have heard of riders dying from infections due to losing too much skin in a motorcycle accident at no more than 30 m.p.h. I prefer to let the cowhide and helmet material take the beating so that I can live to ride another day.
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Based on the Dunlop website, it looks like the date code for the first picture is the 5107 after the four letters to the right of the DOT code. In other words, the 51st week of 2007 ... unless I'm reading their example incorrectly.
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High Beam Indicator not working
darthandy replied to rstacy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
If he gets "Hi", won't he see lights everywhere? -
The problem with old tires isn't so much the possibility of rot as it is the possibility of hardening of the rubber compound. When left unused (Un-flexed as it were), particularly if exposed to UV rays and good old fashioned oxygen, the rubber compound can become "hardened". That loss of flexibility can reduce the tires ability to "stick" to the road in turns and during stops. This is especially true on wet surfaces. By the way, even a regularly used tire can, and in fact will, harden over time. It may look fine but a hard turn or sudden stop can show a dramatic (And possibly painful) difference with a newer tire. I am aware of a number of instances over the years of people who performed normal stops and found the front and/or rear tire locking up on dry pavement due to the aged condition of the tire. In some cases this led to an accident. Now, this doesn't happen overnight, but beyond a certain length of time, there will begin a slow hardening process that will rob the tire of its traction. As I mentioned before, the two biggest culprits are UV rays and the oxygen in the air. I first ran across this when I got into road racing (A long time ago, but this effect doesn't change) and dealt with tire experts. Also, you would get the occasional low buck road racer who would get a "great deal" on some old, high performance rubber, only to wipe out on the first practice lap. A three year old tire that has been properly stored indoors, off the concrete and ideally kept wrapped up, should not present any problems unless you are running all out on a hyperbike at the race track. For the kind of riding we touring types do, any potential loss of traction would be too minimal to have any noticeable effect. Of course, the question is...was it properly stored all that time? That's where the fun begins! Andy
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+1 on the polishing. Did a "quick" wash and wax on it Wednesday to clean the grime from the PA trip. Yikes! Half an afternoon gone and I couldn't come close to saying it was all done. I agree that the frame mount fairing gives better protection and has less effect on steering, but I prefer the lower c.g. on the RSV and the floor boards, and...well...oh alright...I admit it...I love the red paint and all the shiny chrome bits. And as well, I rather like the cruiser look...I can afford give up some speed and handling since I can just haul out the Triumph when I want to, well...haul out! And, although I know I'm giving up some acceleration, I can still outrun most of the cages, so I'm OK there. By the way, I have magazines with road tests of the 1st gen (Mk. I and Mk. II) and the 2nd Gen (1999) version as well. It's been interesting seeing what they had to say then and what we are saying now. It's also helped me relax regarding the groaning and squealing of the front brakes on the RSV. One of the magazine tests mentioned that their test RSV started doing that after a few hundred miles. Must be something with the pad material Yamaha was using. At the end of the day, what's most important to me, is seeing people out there on two wheels enjoying life rather than just watching it pass by. Andy
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Thanks...I've already had the "pleasure" of dealing with the UPS "brokerage fee" and now make every effort to use the USPS when ordering from the U.S. Thanks for the info on Pioneer as well. I checked out the catalog and may now be looking at a talking to from my wife when she finds out what I'm planning. They do have some neat stuff don't they? Andy
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Thanks all for the replies. Right now the Bestem's seem to be the best deal but first I'll check out the dimensions more closely. I want something that will fill the saddlebags and trunk as much as possible. Looks like I'll have to check out the shipping costs as well since sometimes that can make a big price difference.Then it's off to the RAM mount site for something to hold my GPS. I'm glad the PO added the extra chrome as that has left me a few more bucks for this stuff!
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On our recent trip to PA, we left for home on Sunday morning and used the two lane roads through the mountains (scenic route) till we gassed up in NY prior to hitting the superslab for the last bit home. With two up, the bags and trunk loaded and a bag on the rack, and running at or slightly over the speed limits, we averaged 52 mpg Canadian or about 43 mpg U.S. Given the terrain and how loaded up the bike was, I was quite impressed. Of course, a run at interstate speeds would probably drop that, but it's still pretty good for a loaded up, big bike. I'm happy!
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Got back Sunday evening from a long weekend in Wellsboro, PA with my riding group, using my new (to me) 2000 RSV. I only managed to get the bike on Thursday afternoon and we were leaving Friday morning, so I didn't have much time to get acquainted, as it were. I was impressed by the looks and finish, especially in that gorgeous red paint with the extra chrome accents the previous owner had added. First impressions? The Royale has better weather protection but the RSV has a much more solid feeling front end. The fork may be flexing but I don't feel it whereas there was a looser feel to the Royale fork even with the Progressive springs. The RSV is heavier, but thanks to a lower cg, it feels lighter at parking lot speeds and while maneuvering around using leg power (Important to us 98 pound weaklings, you know!). The fork on the RSV does , of course, have a tendency to want to "flop" at low speeds due to the weight of the fairing but I'm getting used to that. I did appreciate the auxiliary plug in the tape deck so that we could use our MP3 player. My wife thoroughly enjoyed the trip and found the RSV to be quite comfortable, so it looks like we get to do more touring. Once I've got the Royale put back together, it will be going up for sale. It's a nice bike, but after sampling both, I definitely prefer the RSV (Oh God, here come the howls of outrage from the first gen camp!). One thing I did miss was the lack of bag liners for the RSV (The Royale didn't have any either.). While we did get everything packed away, getting it all into the motel room was a bit annoying. I found three companies advertising liners for the RSV...Star Yamaha Accessories ($79.99 for three pieces), Bestem USA ($65.95 for three pieces) and TLC Products ($89.99 for three pieces). I checked out J.C. Whitney and noted a review mentioning a problem with the suggested bag liners being a bit short in height (Hopnel liners) which left an empty space at the top of the saddlebags ($40.00 for 2 saddlebag liners and $34.99 for a Harley Tour Pak trunk liner (As suggested by someone on this site)). Has anyone had experience with any of these liners? I really would like to use something other than the assortment of bags we used this time. Anything that makes life easier for my honey means more touring time! Andy
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Be sure to check out the comedy festival that's on till July 31. The buskers are incredible. As for the people, Montreal is a very cosmopolitan city with people of many nationalities. It is, as mentioned in an earlier post, the smaller towns that have a problem with not getting their own way. In Quebec city, the "intellectuals" look down on everyone, so unless you were born in the city, they'll just pop up their noses and walk away...unless it's in a tourist area, of course. Money always does talk!
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...guys. It will be getting its "trial by fire" this coming Friday when my riding club heads out to Wellsboro,PA for the weekend. We plan on taking the 2 lanes for as much of the trip out as possible, then get in some touring when we get there. Hope the weather cooperates but we've got our rain suits along anyway. Well Beav, I'm glad to hear you're the responsible sort who doesn't resort to sarcasm, ribbing or any of those other methods of "obtaining someone's goat". I, too, would never dream of being so immature and silly...even if they're bragging wildly about their, uh, "swine" and assuring one and all that nothing can outrun or out handle it. And they'll prove it too, as soon as it cools down enough so that they can start it up again! Oops...did I say that out loud? Andy
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Well, after falling in love with the original movie in '77, I found something about Darth Vader that was compelling ... there seemed to be something "deeper" to the character which was born out by the 2nd movie and made obvious in the third. I guess I fixated on the really cool uniform and fighter (Oh God, here comes the buried nerd!) and his overwhelming confidence. I guess you could say I identified with some parts of him and the promise of more character development made him seem more interesting as a character than Luke or Han (at least to me.) I realized that I had perhaps "over defended" him when my youngest daughter tried to get me to get a tattoo and jumped at the idea of my getting a Darth Vader tattoo. Haven't done it , but she still occasionally mentions it. So, to try and shorten along and boring story, although he (And his friends) were rather evil, the character was interesting so I drifted to the, well..."gray" side ... I'm just too honest to go full "dark". By the by, the owner of the bike called me and said that the intercom now works. He had been fiddling with the wrong volume controls which I had sort of suspected, but I didn't want to embarrass him right then and there. So all seems to be good other than it will need a new front tire soon...this looks like a job for the Motorcycle Superstore! Got a set of Michelin Road Pilot II tires for my Triumph last year for about the same price the dealers here wanted for a rear tire alone. And there's no duty on motorcycle parts coming into Canada! Thanks for the interesting story about your handle, by the way. I'm a bit of a trivia nut and things like that always make me curious. Like finding out why the 1963 Corvette was the only version of that generation that had a split rear window. Who knew? Andy
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I'm curious...how did you come by the handle LilBeaver. In your profile picture you look neither little nor like a beaver. Then again, I don't look like a Sith Lord at all.
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Just got off the phone with the owner (He lives about 60 miles away - all small two lane roads to get there so it's an hour and a half drive...calling was easier). We've agreed on a price and I should have the bike by Tuesday a.m. Then I get to do a bit of checking for the intercom problem and figure out how to stuff it into one side of the garage since I have my Triumph in there with the old VR hanging from my hoist while I work on it. Once I'm done with the VR I'll be putting it up for sale. I also get to go to the luggage store to see what I can find that will work as a liner in the bags and trunk. We have a trip to Pennsylvania coming up next Friday with my riding club...we're Chapter 2 of a U.S. club, which is Chapter 1. An international riding club as it were! That's why I wanted a newer bike with lower miles (Or kilometers in my case). Having three old bikes to work on is getting to be too much...especially with that '87 VR which was not going to be ready by then. That fairing may protect well, but it makes working on the front of the bike a living hell...at least for me. The only fairings I've dealt with till now were small "empty" ones. As an aside (I do talk a lot, don't I?) the other 2000 RSV I went to see was nice but had more miles, less chrome and obviously had not been as well cared for. It had some odd scratches and paint chips on the top of the fairing! And the owner said that since he and his wife didn't use the intercom, he had disconnected it and rolled up the wiring under the fairing and trunk!?! Why not just leave off the headsets? Especially since we're not allowed to listen to music on helmet mounted headsets in this province...although people do any way. Still, the whole thing seemed a bit odd. And the bike had a set of BUB slip-on's which weren't too terribly loud, but I want my wife to enjoy the ride and being closer to the business end of louder mufflers didn't seem like the best way to keep her riding! In the end, I probably paid $1,000 to $1,400 more for this one, but considering the miles and condition, it was worth it...to me anyway. And of course, had my wife complained about the noise, the cost of replacement mufflers would have quickly reduced that difference! Plus, in my mind anyway, those little touches of chrome on the bike I'm getting, make it that much prettier (Is that too girlish a thing to say?) to look at. I've included the picture from the ad. Note the chrome trim around the trunk and bags and gas tank. I really like the way it looks. I'll update the goings-on later. Andy
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Will do! The one I saw today was almost as clean on the bottom as on the top. How do I know? Well the neighbors are probably still wondering what the old guy was doing in a push up position next to the bike! I plan on giving the other one the same kind of inspection. Hopefully, I won't miss anything.
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No, no...it's that you don't spend enough time in Canada! You'll find that after a while you really speed up! Or then again, it may be that things keep slowing down and you only seem to be speeding up while actually going slower...or something...ummm. Anyway, it's a really nice bike and I enjoyed riding it...with or without the intercom. There's another one nearby with about 20,000 more KM (About 12,500 mi) but asking $1,000 less, that I hope to see tomorrow...then I get to choose...assuming the other one is still available. I wonder if his intercom is working?
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Thanks for the tips. In fact, we did make sure the intercom volume was all the way up to 20 and that the passenger volume was all the way up as well. As I mentioned in the original post, both the radio and the CB were playing through both the headsets but there was no intercom. I don't suppose the amp from my old '87 VR would fit , would it? Just a thought! And the bike is really nice, although not inexpensive. But compared to prices of other RSV's around here it is reasonable, given the age and mileage and it's quite a bit less than a comparable Goldwing. And I wouldn't have to spend the first two hours of maintenance removing plastic to get at anything...just saying!
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Went to look at a 2000 RSV today...only has 71,000 km on it ( about 44,000 mi.). It looks and runs like new, but there was a problem. The intercom didn't work. The radio plays through both headsets as did the CB when someone started using channel 6 nearby, but the intercom just wouldn't work. Switched headsets front to back and the same problem. I thought the radio and intercom shared an amp and therefore if one didn't work, the other one didn't either. Anyone have any ideas? The bike is gorgeous but my wife really wants the intercom...so she can make useful suggestions as we ride along!
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Fork work
darthandy replied to darthandy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
No I hadn't since I had nothing to compare to. However, if you have the measurements, here are mine - for the springs I mean! The springs are 20 3/4 inches or 525 mm long.