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spitfire9

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Everything posted by spitfire9

  1. spitfire9
    Ooh good advise. Hadn't thought of that.
  2. spitfire9
    Thank you so much. You are both correct! I prefer starbucks Sumatra or Komodo Dragon beans fresh ground myself, but redbull will do in a pinch. Sending address.
  3. spitfire9
    Thanks, freisman and KIC. The only damage was to the left (as you sit on it) fairing. Didn't feel lucky at the time, but it was pretty minimal considering 2 bikes were involved with me in between them.
  4. spitfire9
    Anyone have an extra? When I dropped my VR in the garage it went scurrying somewhere, oonly to be found when I purchase a replacement. So if you have one to sell, the other one will probably show up and I can pay it forward.
  5. spitfire9
    I got it all glued back together as best as I could. Had fun being creative with screwing everything back together with many various sizes of washers, screws, nuts, etc. Unless you know it's there and squat down to see under the top of the fairing, you'd never know. I just wish my wrist would heal. i strained the crap out of it trying to stop the fall- may have to park the VR for a week and let the wrist get better. Oh hell with that, let's ride... Looking for a left fairing, inner and outer. I have a body/paint friend that could do some pretty nice custom work if it take the bike apart and give him all the parts. Any RED 85 VR's out there? i think deep maroon red would be awesome. Faster, too.
  6. spitfire9
    If they ALL come on as soon as you start the bike, that is the important clue. LED's have a resistor in series in the assembly, often 1Kohm. It could be that at the 12.36V, you are not getting enough current through the resistor to light the LED. (assuming they are 1Kohm). V=Ir, so 12.36=I x 1000ohm, and I=v/r or I= 12.36/1000, or .0124A. A RED LED typically requires somewhere near .02A to light. Probably the resistor is less than 1Kohm, but it may be too high to let enough current through at 12.36V, but come on, and possibly flicker, at 14+V when the engine is running. Lets try another way to look at it. R= (Vs-Vl)/I VS = supply voltage VL = LED voltage (usually 2V, but 4V for blue and white LEDs) I = LED current I will assume red for the exercise. (.02A) R= (12.36-2)/.02 gives R= 10.36/.02 = 518ohms So in order to get the required .02mA to a red LED at 12.36V, the resistor is series should be 518ohms. Thats not a standard amount, but 540ohm is. It has a green, yellow, red stripe. Of course these resisitors may be built into a package with the light, and be unchangable. See if there are specs listed in any literature. White and blue would need 270ohm or similar. If you are reading near 1Kohm, they will probably never be completely reliable at 12V. Hope this helps. FWIW I am an Industrial Electrician by trade.
  7. spitfire9
    On his brand new Ninja 650R. He took the msf course and bought that bike, and I thought; hmmmm. He had 574 miles exactly of experience. We were 3 in a line, and he was leading and I was last. Following a car too close going about 25, the driver slammed her brakes (because she was also following too close), he panicked and locked up the fr wheel, and zip- he was over the top in an instant. He got lucky- scraped the heck out of some skin, and bike is probably totaled, but no major injury. Hopefully the next bike won't be a ZX-14!
  8. spitfire9
    Never, ever, ever forget to put your kickstand down, especially when you're parking your 800lb Venture next to your other motorcycle! I got lucky there, at least. I heard plastic cracking and freaked out that both bikes were screwed. The fairing hit the lower fork of the Vulcan and just put some paint on it. Didn't even knock it over. Cracked the fairing pretty good, popped the radio console out, tore loose the screws on left side and f-ed up the left airvent in the fairing. So the glue is drying now, and the bike will look just a little more worse for wear when I get it back together. Anybody have a spare 2-tone brown 85 fairing they want to sell? What a freaking brain cramp. At least I wasn't moving when it struck.
  9. spitfire9
    Sweet scoot!
  10. spitfire9
    My wife and I are 50ish, and she was always terrified of bikes. Well, 2 yrs ago I talked her into riding with me on the Vulcan 900, and although a little scared at first, she thought it was ok. Problem was the small seat for her, and feeling of being maxed out on load for me. I bought the '85 a month or so ago, and was instructed to "practice" a lot before we went 2 up. Good advise, actually. I put about 500mi and new tires on it and she decided she felt safe enough. Let me tell you, after pulling almost 400lbs of us around on a 900cc cruiser, that VR is like a jet airplane for 2 in comparison. She said she was real comfortable, loved the stereo and smoother ride. Only thing that made her paranoid was being able to see the mirrors and cars in them, lol. Power wise, I couldn't really tell she was there. I think she'll be ready for more regular riding in the future. Another happy 1st gen owner here.
  11. spitfire9
    I think you may be correct. Today I started it up and the tach worked perfectly, so I'm thinking intermittant electrical connection.
  12. spitfire9
    I've never actually had a flat in over 50,000 biking miles, but I have found a big screw in a tire twice. It does pay to inspect those tires before you ride! Thanks for the great advice and ideas, everyone. I feel naked now until I get some "flat insurance" to carry on the bike.
  13. spitfire9
    I was thinking it would be nice to be able to plug it and somehow tap that air compressor just sitting there under the back seat of my 85 to refill it. Wonder if there is a way to put a 2way valve on the output of it, and have a removeable hose long enough to reach the front wheel, with a tire stem adaptor on it? Then store the plug kit and hose in a saddlebag. Other than that I'm clueless. I have wondered what to do also. Right now I figure I'm calling a tow service and I'm just stranded if it happens. Just read your post, Carbon- well DOH! Never even thought of using a 12V portable compressor. I need to sleep now... is there a blush smiley? :-D
  14. spitfire9
    Had it done to my Vulcan Wheels at Chromeprosplating.com located in TX. It was $625 plus I had to pay shipping 2 ways. 5 step process guaranteed 5yrs. They did a beautiful job, but It was big $. Between buying a spare set of wheels, the shipping, the plating, the mechanic that a)stripped the wheels and b)reinstalled bearings, tires, balancing I spent over $1100. Still have a 2nd set of wheels, though. http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj290/cyprinut/IMG_0169.jpg
  15. spitfire9
    From the shop manual. Pinch bolts- 14ft-lbs Steering stem Nut- 78 ft-lbs Handle securing nuts- 90 ft-lbs
  16. spitfire9
    They will pry my cassette/Iphone adaptor from my cold, dead hands.
  17. spitfire9
    I keep about 4oz per tank of gas in bike during the winter, a few oz in the lawn tractor and any 4 cycle motors and in the 5gal gas can, if I have leftover in the fall. Been running half a can per tank in my "new" 85 venture which hasn't had much tlc in awhile, and after 2 tanks it's running noticeably smoother. I bought 2 cans of "Berryman B-12 Chemtool" for 3.18 a can at Walmart. Anybody have a can of seafoam handy to compare ingredients? This has the same claims. Cleans fuel system, removes water, etc etc. Contains, Toluene, Methanol, Acetone, MEK, Butoxyethanol, and Isopropanol (IPA).
  18. spitfire9
    I kind of wanted to stay away from this thread cause it looked like an argument waiting to happen, Just to throw my 2 cents in as a new old VR rider- my Vulcan 900 custom's seat is so low I can put both feet flat and my knees are bent. The VR seems so tall and heavy compared to it. I've had sloppy stops at stoplights where I'm flopping over a little to get my foot down. I've also ridden it at 1mph perfectly. The floorboards make it a little harder to reach the ground. I'm 6'2" and I can't imagine being 5'8" and handling it. If you are and you do I am impressed that you don't dump it. You have to be strong. I admit I'm a bit out of shape, and the first week I had the VR I was sore in the hips, back, everywhere from muscling that thing around the garage, and riding it. I think it will help get me into shape, which makes me like it even more.
  19. spitfire9
    I also use, the mobil racing 4t 10w-40 in both the kawasaki 900 v-twin (water cooled), and.first change on my "new" 85 VR. The 900 has 20k miles with no valve shim adjustment needed upon inspection. I like how the clutch and transmission feel with this oil also. FWIW, JMHO, YMMV. :-)
  20. spitfire9
    Really. Hmm interesting. thx so much you guys for all the ideas and help.
  21. spitfire9
    Check that ebay store i posted. Pinwall cycles I thought i saw some there.
  22. spitfire9
    Thx, Brian. May look for one on that ebay store i posted the other day. Will also now consider wiring, which i really hadn't because it does work, just laggy.
  23. spitfire9
    Interesting. When I have time I will take the headlight and windshield out and investigate. I am learning fast that these bikes are very complicated! 07 Vulcan has F/I, electric speedo, no tach so I'm spoiled on maintenance. At least I am used to driving by "ear" so to speak re: engine speed. I see I have a LOT to learn. Thx for the replies.
  24. spitfire9
    My tach works, but it's "slow" to respond, for lack of a better term. It doesn't respond to quick rpm changes, and once I get cruising in 5th gear it finally catches up to the engine after a couple minutes. Kinda weird symptoms. Anybody ever see this? I did try to search threads but didn't see anything similar.
  25. spitfire9
    Being in the watering hole, when I read the title the first thought I had was the cat's water bowl. I would guess "months" for the carbs to dry out, but I'm not a chemist nor a mechanic. Sounds like a candidate for another seafoam article.
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