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endo

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Everything posted by endo

  1. endo
    Ditto for the Arai approval - my head is oval and xxl, very comfy in an Arai, often suffering in others, especially after long-hauls. Andy
  2. endo
    Don't buy the valve - it is just a real PITA to bleed. On my '84 I used a new trigger-pump oil can to fill the rear master. Bleed at the union (no bleeder) at the steering stem, the high point in the system. Cover everything and be prepared to clean up any spills right away. Once a little juice flows out of that union, apply pressure to the brake pedal and crack open the rear brake line where the valve attaches to the master cylinder. You'll get air. Keep cracking it until the spitting (air) stops. Then work your way back to the rear caliper until it is flowing out without any air. Keep pumping in the brake fluid. If it goes dry you have to start over! Go back to the steering stem and crack that open with pressure on the pedal until the air stops. Then move to the left front caliper, and bleed there. Then bleed the left anti-dive if you have it. You might do it at the steering-head union and all bleeders once more to be sure all the air is out. This takes forever, you go through a lot of fluid, so be patient and have a helper handy. Maybe beer. Keep filling the reservoir. I surround the unions and line junctions with paper towels to catch the juice, as it will destroy paint. I immediately hose and rub off any spills. I use a couple of feet of clear tubing fitting tightly over the nipples to divert the fluid into a pan. You will get the pedal back, probably better than it was before. This is my least-favorite Venture task, but when you're done, you'll be happy. Endo
  3. endo
    If you can pull the hard drive from your old notebook, put it in a case like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145368 Then you have an external hard disk for cheap, to put pictures, music, and backups on. Once you have all your files back, you can format it to start fresh. You'll find it indisposable. The little box will get power off the usb cable, plugs into just about anything. I've done this for a number of people and they've been really pleased with them. You can buy a 2.5" hard drive and one of those case and have a nice portable disk. It's almost a freebie when you're getting rid of an old notebook. It's like four screws to put together, nothing techie about it. I've had a number of people switch to Macs successfully and happily. All they're doing is word processing, email, internet, etc. Mac is easy on the eyes and brain, and usually rock solid reliable hardware. Unless you have a special windows application (which you could still run on the Mac with a little overhead), it's a great alternative.
  4. endo
    I lived in Connecticut back in the '70s, and I've decided I'm never going back. Taxes, old girlfriend, and a few other good reasons. (I couldn't help )
  5. endo
    On my 1st gen the clutch lever didn't always return fully, causing the system to not want to engage. There is a spring in there that can be stretched out to better force the full lever return. There are also small parts that can drop and roll away if you're not carefull in disassembly. Andy
  6. endo
    Ooops double-click double-post
  7. endo
    bikeboneyard.com lists a couple different cb400s with motors $175-200. Sometimes what he lists isn't there anymore. He's OK, have bought a couple of things.
  8. endo
    Even if the overflow tube were blocked it would be a trick to have it all dump into the crankcase. It would be smelling real gassy at any stop, and running poorly, besides. That cylinder certainly wouldn't fire. it would pour out all over the V between the cylinders, splash in the airbox, too. The gauges are known to act up if a spot on the fuel-level float metering potentiometer is worn. It would drop to zippo and bounce back up in another quart of usage. You can't dipstick the tank too easily...
  9. endo
    I believe there's an air gap between the two sides of the pump, and that is where the weep hole drains from. It could leak oil or coolant, but it would be difficult for one pass into the other. If it's leaking out the weep hole underneath the pump, it's time to rebuild. Coolant can make for a slippery tire-contact surface if it leaks too much. If you think there's oil in the coolant, you would see coolant in the oil, too. This is a noticeable by a white-ish accumulation in the crankcase. Look at the inside of the filler plug, for example. Also, pull the air cleaner and see if there's any goop accumulating in the air box. These are head gasket leakage indicators, generally. I hope not. It's hard to say about what was in the overflow. My tank is not the cleanest thing in the world. My pump was original and the plastic pump vane was cracked near the spindle. The new ones are cast aluminum. Rick at Buckeye Performance helped me organize all the parts so it was a straightforward job to overhaul the pump. Good luck, Andy
  10. endo
    Here's what mine look like front/back: http://www.seawall.com/sync-front.jpghttp://www.seawall.com/sync-back.jpg This example could use a little more fluid. It works just fine. The hoses loop through the backboard creating a reservoir loop in the back, then loop through the back again, with little clamps holding the hose in place at strategic points. Crude but effective.
  11. endo
    Had a cage pull out in front of me today, a right-through-red turn, but I saw it developing, got on the horn and brakes, she shrunk in her seat at least, hope she remembers. Her daughter in the back seat might, who turned around as I followed them on my way, shaking my head at them. The State of Maine put a shock ad together that I see often on TV in the past couple of weeks. The link is here, but don't watch it if you might be sensitive to a bike crash. If the shock value works, I'm OK with it - it was effective in making me sit up straight when I first saw it on TV. More like jump straight up. The message you don't here in the ad, is "What will it take to make you look twice?" Shock video: http://www.wlbz2.com/video/news/player.aspx?aid=20045&bw= You may have to click a link "Click here to launch the stand-alone player" in the left, and it will come up larger that way in Windows Media Player, for example. A little ad precedes it. I guess I have to thank the Mainers, it's effective... shocking at least. It's a good step in the right direction to promote awareness.
  12. endo
    I bought the Dunlop Elite II for my 1st Gen a couple of years ago. I have been perfectly happy with them. I think I bought them from Ron Ayers: http://www.ronayers.com/catalogs/tires/parts.cfm?secid=2&type=1 or MAW http://www.mawonline.com/DUNLOP2.HTM#491%20ELITE%20II I bought a bunch of stuff around the same time as I was going through the bike. Other folks will suggest Avons and Elite III, but if you read discussions from over the years, no one has said anything bad about the Elite IIs. I run the pressure a couple of pounds higher on my '84 Royale, maybe 35 front and 36 or 37 rear. I run the suspension soft when I'm solo, and there's no nagging roughness, and no cupping, and no real sign of wear, although I've only put a little over 4K on them. I think she handles predictably and great. No problems, tires were fresh, and I did the mount and balance myself. I bought this rig for balancing with some stick-on weights: http://www.derbycycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi?pid=3488 Andy
  13. endo
    I used tranny fluid, continuous loop 3/8 ID or so clear vinyl hose, then a coupler between the clear vinyl and vacuum hose of more appropriate diameter and less temperature sensitivity. I think the coupler helps buffer the pulses and while they are still visible, the gauge gets a very fine and sensitive adjustment in. If you toch the vinyl to anything hot it quickly melts. This is simply a balancer between two cylinders, which works perfectly on my 1st Gen and my BMW. I compared with dial gauges of a friend's at a nearby shop, and it's right on the money.
  14. endo
    Congratulations! It's a little unusual to have hesitation at higher rpms, they usually scream. You could pour half a can of Sea Foam (I found it at my local NAPA) with the next fill-up and ride it out. This is what everyone's found to be the remedy for most minor carb problems. Good for a spring clean out if it had to sit all winter, for example. There's always the possibility the dcarb iaphragms are weak, but that should be noticeable at other RPMs. There's also an electronic vacuum advance with a hose from below the left-front carburettor, at least that's how it is on my '84. They can leak vacuum or not function, but again, you'd probably notice at other RPMs. Check out the air filter when you get a chance. If it idles and pulls out nicely I suspect it just needs some exercise otherwise! And that's what I'd do before spending too much time troubleshooting. Good luck, keep up with recommended maintenance items you'll find around here and you'll be pleased for years to come. Andy
  15. endo
    The pedal has a stop bolt with a lock nut which can make the adjustment you're looking for. When changing this position you'll need to adjust the throw of the master cylinder rod, adjustable from behind the pedal on the linkage. There should be a slight gap before the pushrod begins to compress the master cylinder, not riding directly on the master cylinder piston. Lastly, check the brake light adjustment and make sure that it comes on when the pedal is pushed, allowing for some freeplay before the light turns on, but prior to making much pressure on the master cylinder. All three bits work in unison. Double check everything... this is how my '84 is setup anyway. There should be enough adjustment there to meet your requirements. If you're thinking of adjusting the footpegs, do that first and make sure they're right where you like 'em. Andy
  16. endo
    How loud vs. stock? I have downpipe tips on my stock exhaust, anyone know if they'd still fit? They attach with spring hooks only, so the length and diameter of tailpipe compared to stock would be required to keep them. Thanks for any feedback...
  17. endo
    I use a belkin tunecast II transmitter - it can run off 12v or 2 AAA batteries. We have tried a bunch of different transmitters and these work and hold up the best for me. My kids are pretty hard on them. I just put the player and transmitter in the trunk. For a player I use a PDA with a 2GB flash card. The PDA is useful for other things, a very small portable computer.
  18. endo
    Ohhhhh Joe - what'r'ya doin' there? Glad you are home safe, and Kevin is a good man for helping you out - a new ride home, storage, very nice. It's kind of a single bald spot - what's up with that? New version of the term flat-spotted! Andy
  19. endo
    Yup, I have the same problem. I always provide advice that I can't heed myself. I try but I can't help "what's that noise?" etc. Always tinkering. Made me yearn for a new bike with warranty this spring, but I don't think that would even cure the worries. Then I'd miss the garage time, being one with the machine inside and out. 70 degrees? Glad you're getting out on the road. Have a ride for me.
  20. endo
    Congrats Bigin! Sounds like it's sorting out. Now just ride her - and enjoy. You're damn lucky you can - rides are pretty few and far between in New England. You can waste a whole lot of energy with worry. And not be enjoying the ride. Toss it aside for a while!
  21. endo
    Hi Bigin, You need to identify the fluid spotting the floor, whether it is oil or simply condensation (as I suspect, just moisture). Someone else mentioned pilot jets as a cause of roughness, and I agree. The main jets don't really come on strong (in relation to fuel/air mix) until above 3K rpm. The pilots do pretty much all the work up until then - so their cleanliness is critical. My 1st gen suffered that problem because it sat around a lot before I took ownership. Let's see how she does over time with the sea foam. Have you put in a strong mix of seafoam? You could try doubling the ratio when low on gas, burn through it, then fill her up. When going through the sea foam, keep the rpms low so it all passes through the pilot jets, vs. just gobbled up by the mains. That'll help put it where you probably need it the most. Good luck! endo
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