TearlessTom
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Everything posted by TearlessTom
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Thanks for the info guys. You gotta love this site! I was thinking it was kinda normal as the HD Street Glide that I owned for a few months (couldn't get used to that shake) the shocks on it did the same thing. The bike is back in the shop again for the over-heating issue and coolant leak again. They found a problem after a month and a call to Ma Yamaha last time which could have caused the over heating but it was not the true issue. Still blowing coolant out the exhaust. They finally agreed to what we told them three months ago that it was probable a head gasket problem so after three weeks in the shop now they were suppose to start tearing it down last Thursday. So I will add this to the list of things for them to check while as I am sure they will have to wait on parts. Folks at dealership are very nice but service is lousy at best. but that's another rant. I am seriously thinking about asking them to take over my notes since it is in their shop more than my garage. Thanks again!
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Just out of curiosity, How often do you need to air up your shocks. Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Never. Mine seem to leak down in about 2 weeks or less, I was wondering if leaking is normal or should I have it checked. Bike is still under warranty.
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I bought that kit and it solved all my clutch problems.
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Similar thing happened to me, My Honda wouldn't start while I was at the HD dealer to pick up some parts I had ordered. Had to leave it and come back later to pick it up. Fortunately I knew what the problem was . It was that starter switch had gotten some moisture in it when I had washed it and it was grounding out. Shot some WD 40(that was all I had with me) in it to displace the water and it fired right up. Still very embarrassing!
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Here is a good review about the bike. http://www.beginnermotorcyclereviews.com/kawasaki-ninja-650r/ """...Let us be clear: this 650cc bike is not faster than the Ninja ZX6R (Kawasaki’s 600cc super-sport), despite having 50 more cc’s. However, a quarter mile time of 12.1 seconds and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds is hardly something to scoff at- all but the fastest supercars will be left in your dust..."""
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Yep.
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I must admit that I may have gotten a dud on my Street Glide because I have had zero problems with the wife's Fatboy ('04) other than the rear tire wearing prematurely. I was told that the original owner was a big man so that I am sure played into it. However when I bought the Street Glide I was in a bind as we were going on Vacation in a week to ride in Arkansas. My bike was down and I couldn't figure out the problem (turned or the battery had an internal ground, It was a relatively new battery so I didn't check it thinking the problem was elsewhere) Anyway, the guy I bought from had it at a good price well below market so I knew I could turn around and at very least get my money back. I fixed the above listed problems, road it for about 2 months then sold it to the HD dealer for $2500. more than I paid for it. All in all I still cleared $1800. on the bike.
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Congratulations!!! Go with the E3's they do not have the cracking issue like the Avons. Mine have about 12000 on them and look almost new.
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Well I didn't have an Ultra but had a 06 Street Glide. Same basic design as engine, drive train, etc. I only had it a few months. Highway speeds it was very comfortable, low speed handling was awesome, Great brakes too but driving around town I did not enjoy it quite so much. At least not for me after being used to a smooth running Valkyrie. (This was before buying the RSTD.) Problems I had were these. The internal brackets for the fairing have a tendency to break. You can replace them for about $100 and a hours labor your self. Not much to it really. Just the constant vibration of the rubber mounted engine would literally vibrate it till it broke. I guess since the newer motors IE 96CI and 103 CI and 110 CI tend to shake even more forcible. The newer brackets are made stronger I am told. Obviously this is a defect that HD is well aware of. If you can shake or move the fairing independently of the bike you have a broken mount. The radio's are not as water tight as they should be so you had to be very careful not to get it wet and especially don't hit it with a direct spray of water when washing the bike. Typically the LCD would go out. The rest of the electronics would work you just couldn't read the display. I found a place that repairs them for $250. Apparently it is a very common problem and well documented. Engine Vibration: (Yes I know it is suppose to vibrate) but at around 1800 rpm it vibrates very badly. hence the broken fairing mounts. To me the vibration was more than I could tolerate as most of my driving was around that rpm range. Once gotten above that speed it was as smooth as silk on the highway at cruising speeds but around town it as a bit much. The motor mounts front is about $45. if you change it back to a previous mount which is a bit softer and give less transference to the frame. You have to do this about every 1-2 years according to how much you ride. There are also some after market mounts that are suppose to almost eliminate the vibration for the tune of about $300+. Bags are a bit on the smallish side after being use to the TD or Venture. Paint and chrome are second to none. The bikes are fairly easy to work on if you like to turn your own wrenches. After market support is awesome. At least I have had nothing but good experiences with my dealer. HD tires in my opinion are the worst. Dunlops that get about 8000 or less on a rear tire for a bike with that low of weight and HP rating is disgraceful in my opinion. Insurance rates are a bit higher too. All in all would I own another HD. Yes but it would be thoroughly checked out before purchase and all the above would have to be addressed and repaired. I am looking at a 05 Road Glide as we speak. I just like the look more than anything. It is not a very popular model around here so the dealer has a good price on it. Hope this helps. PS: Personally if HD would take there balanced engine from the soft tails and put it in their rubber mounted frame I think it would be a win win situation and would buy one in a New York minute.
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Like maybe a Goldwing or Venture maybe? Seriously though she is on the smallish side, I have had to mod the Fatboy with Heritage bars, a pull back, and a low rider seat so she can now touch the ground when stopped. I just put a new rear tire on her's and took it out yesterday to scrub the tire in. I felt like a monkey on a football when riding her bike.
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Well it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. We are staying at our timeshares which have laundry in each unit. We could ship our things ahead. The real problem would be getting her to take a 4000 - 5000 mile, trip on her HD Fatboy. Its a great riding bike but not something I would want to spend that much time in the saddle on. She has done a few 700 mile days on the back of my ST 1300 when I had it and was fine but not back to back to back. It had a very room back seat she could move around on and a nice back rest.
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Interested in the same thing. Planning a trip from Alabama to Az in spring then Alabama to Mass. in the fall. I figure the difference in fuel cost for me to trailer the bikes with my truck vs driving my wife's car is about $820 for the trip out west and $650 for the trip to Mass. figured at $4.00 per gallon. Doubt that would cover cost of shipping but something to think about. Of course if I could convince the better half not to tow but to ride the bikes out I could reduce the cost about $600. Just don't think she could pack 3 weeks worth on a bike. Any other shippers we might look at?
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Shouldn't this be posted in the Jokes and Humor Forum? Seriously though there is NO CONTEST between the two bikes. My son recently had a Yamaha R6 or one of the variations of it. I, at the time had a Honda ST1300. The Honda has a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds which I exercised often and could easily wheelie the bike at will. The road I commute from work I exit a tunnel, make a right hand turn onto a flat merge lane then there is 1/4 mile to an overpass. If I nailed it at about 30mph from the merge lane to the overpass I would easily be doing 120+ at the end of the 1/4 mile. On my son's 600cc bike I ran out of nerve long before reaching the overpass. That thing was SCARY FAST.
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I have a 6x10 open trailer w/ a tall tailgate that drops down for a ramp. I can fit two bikes staggered. My Valkyrie which with the fairing I believe is as large if not larger than the Venture, and a HD Fatboy which is shorter and narrower. I have wheel chocks staggered to equalize the weight over the axle, and made slots for the rear tire to rest in so that it doesn't move side to side and guarantee that they are lined up correctly. So the Valk's front is about 1 foot from the front of the trailer and the Fatboy is 2 feet back. The mirrors almost touch with this configuration. Actually I have to turn the Valks Right side mirror vertically so the don't touch. Length wise there is plenty of room but side to side it is very tight. That being said I think you will need at least 8 feet wide so either an 8x10 if an open trailer or better yet an 8x12. so you can move around to tie everything down. I would think 8x12 would be the minimum size for an enclosed trailer. Road withs are usually a minimum of 10 feet with average of 12 feet per lane. Below is a photo for reference.http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/IMG00116.jpg
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When I advertise with Craigs list I am BOMBARDED with spam. I am sure they are too; so' to make yourself look more like a real person ie name, phone # , use written # s as well as numerical #'s ie two 5 one, Also tell them how far away your are from them and ask for a time to call or meet. I got to where I would just scan the replies and if it seemed like the same old spam/scam ...."I have money and want to buy your item and will pay you much more than it is worth if you will send me xxx#$ to cover shipping to me etc... I would just delete the email. After a while thought I collected all the spam emails and made a mailing list of them so anytime I got spammed I forwarded it out to everyone of them on the list. May not have helped but made me feel much better.
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I was thinking the same when I read that. I pay $1200. per year for all three bikes with full coverage, roadside, and even coverage on my trailer when towing.
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The RSTD is my little bike! My GIRLFRN as noted on the tag is a 97 Valkyrie. My wife drives a 05 HD Fatboy that is dressed out like a Heritage. I had a '03 Honda ST1300. Sold it due to not getting to make as many long distance trips as I wanted and a tightening of the financial belt . Not a day goes by I don't kick myself for letting that one go. Presently I am looking hard at a '05 HD VRSCA (V-Rod) I have had as many as 5 bikes in the garage at one time while making the transition of buying and selling. Others have been: '07 Street Glide '03 Honda VTX 1300 '03 Honda ACE 750 '05 Honda Aero 750 '84 Yamaha 400 http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010307AE.jpg http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010301AE.jpg http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010309AE.jpg
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Tease!
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Not sure about your model but should be the same as my 07. The compression is to be tested with the throttle wide open. It does make a difference. Mine runs like yours around 120 with the throttle closed and 210 with it open. I learned this when I thought I had a bad cylinder too. Fortunately I did not. -
All the above!!
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I think that is backwards, but math and logic has never been my strong point. If you got a 42 lb cap, and you ran your tires at 35 lbs the cap would go off at 20% low so: 42-20%=33.6 lbs so you would only be 1.4 lbs low. Is that right?
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Thanks for the info, I corrected the original post just in case someone doesn't read any further. Funny Thing is I was at my local Harley Davidson dealer today. I spend a lot of time there for some reason. Anyway I was on my Honda and several people were in the parking lot admiring my ride. I talked to a few for a while and when I went to go start my bike....NOTHING HAPPENED! Had to get Ma-in-law to pick me up and take me home. I returned with can of WD40 sprayed the starter switch and it fired right up. I had washed it the day before and I guess I got water in the switch. Few things are more embarassing than your Honda breaking down in the Harley Davidson parking lot.
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Wouldn't that be a reason to use it? When it makes contact it conducts the electricity.
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usually it is the push button starter switch. A little WD40 sprayed into it around the switch may get it clean enough to start without pulling it apart. If that works Take the housing apart and clean the contacts and re-lubricate with some di-electric grease ( not graphite) EDIT: Thanks for the correction, DO NOT USE GRAPHITE.
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I bought something similar at wally-world. They seem to work okay. I don't rely on them absolutely. If anything other than completely green I recheck with a gauge. They are good for a quick check at a glance and seem to be pretty accurate.