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James Ardrey

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Everything posted by James Ardrey

  1. James Ardrey
    Is it possible goose that that little bit of flex you spoke of be more pronounced with a 4'' wider and 1" taller shield and with a vent hole. There is considerably more pressure than the stock shield. I certainly haven't drawn any definite conclusions just trying to figure out how my shield failed. i would have probably been right there with you before this experience. Now I am not going to leave anything to chance or make any assumptions. Like I said in the beginning what you do with this info. is up to you. This is not a debate.Just like most mc rallies, they say to leave your attitude at the entrance.
  2. James Ardrey
    I think you need to reread this post from front to back. All areas of concern have been discussed. There is a lot of grey area between the fairing and a HumV. I have been riding for a long time also. Please don't let your ego get in the way and cloud your judgement. It is also not about assigning blame as finding solutions. Too important to get wrong. Besides you just posed many of the same questions that have already been posed by me and others on this post.
  3. James Ardrey
    I wonder where they found the big Japanese men to test ride the original prototypes. Sumo wrestlers probably were the first to request a RSV. Now those are big men! With that Sumo stance I bet they designed the RSV so they could straddle one flatfooted in the Sumo position.:rotf:
  4. James Ardrey
    it is my understanding that the other plant is in Brazil. Maybe Mexico also. I don't know about that.
  5. James Ardrey
    I had the problem with chunks coming out of my metzlers and now run Avon's and love them. I know several others with roadstars and vstars with the same problem. I don't think it is just the 2nd Gen's with the problem. I can't understand why with at least 3 yrs that I know of with these reports that they don't take heed and fix the problem or get out of the tire business. They are playing with peoples lives.
  6. James Ardrey
    I just had a phone conversation with Craig of Clearview. He states this is a first for one of their shields breaking apart. I am requested to send my shield to clearview for further inspection. Maybe they can resolve this mystery and or improve the attachment issues already discussed. Thanks again for the responses to this post. If and whe I find out anything notable I will relay it here.
  7. James Ardrey
    Mine was doing the same thing. They replaced the main brain 3 times. It would work well for a short time and then do the same thing. It did the same thing again the other day after I washed the bike. I think the control may get a little wet or the connection between the control and the brain. What they finally came up with that fixed it at least until the glitch I spoke of recently is that my stator was over charging and overriding the regulator and putting a power surge through the audio system causing the symptoms you have described. The stator was bad as the windings were melted together. I saw it with my own eyes. They said it was putting out twice as much charge as normal. They put another voltage regulator on to see if it was the voltage regulator and got the same over charging problem leading them to believe that it was overriding the regulator and overriding the system. The audio has worked flawlessly since except that one day that I washed the bike. I think that must be a connection problem or the control got wet from my bike being washed. I hope it is not the control itself as my bike is now out of warranty. I also did all the things described on this site like dialectic grease and tightening connections prior to taking it to the dealer just like you did to no avail. You might have them check the voltage through the system as it might be the same issue of stator over charging. I was really surprised as you mostly hear complaints that the system doesn't provide enough charge and is weak. I'm still not convinced that this was the problem with the audio but the symptoms stopped and the audio works well now. I have put probably 4-5000 miles on her since they fixed it. Good luck! I hope this helps.
  8. James Ardrey
    I may have misunderstood Stardog but, I think he said he had broken tabs that hold the shield on and that the shield itself didn't break but came loose and flew over his head. I am curious how that happened without some windshield damage now that you mention it due to the one screw that goes through the shield and isn't a slot. Maybe Stardog will clarify my quandery.
  9. James Ardrey
    The teletubbies all ride First gens anyway. That is not a G rated sight:rotf: to behold.
  10. James Ardrey
    I sent an e-mail to clearview on 09-03 to John Lauk the salesman from Clearview with pics and a description of what happened. Mr. Lauk sent me an e-mail on 9-4 expressing concerns and gratitude that I was able to stop without losing control of my bike. He also stated that he had never had a failure of these shields before. He stated that Craig the owner would probably contact me tomorrow (9-5). He also left the 800 #,regular#, and Fax#. I tried to call on 3 seperate occasions and got a recording on two that they had too many incoming calls to answer and on one occasion it stated to call during regular business hrs. and it was still regular business hrs. I have not received a call from any authority from Clearview on this matter. I will keep everyone posted on any new information that I become aware of. Starting monday I will leave a message for returned call If I don't hear from Clearview.
  11. James Ardrey
    Maybe you need to name your new bike Barrack!
  12. James Ardrey
    Glad your son is Ok. Kind of frustrating when there is no obvious reason for a crash. The milkcarton material could be it. It only takes a small loss of traction in a curve to send it to the pavement. It could happen to anyone. That is the reason I don't push it too aggressively in great twisties even though I would like to. Just never know what is awaiting in the next curve. Not to say that I have never dragged a peg in a curve. The Elite 3 is a great tire especially for longevity and heavy meat side wall. They are all I used to run on the back. With that said I switched to Avon's a softer compound tire because the elite3 seemed to get a little squirrely especially on wet pavement because of the harder compound rubber. I don't know if that had anything to do with your circumstance though.
  13. James Ardrey
    Thanks Rick! I think I will definitely take these modifications into account when I get my new parts in. I didn't know that you could dictate to Clearview holes vs slots and until my mishap I wouldn't have thought I needed to. sounds like you were way ahead of the game. Did Clearview ask you why you requested holes vs slots and or I wonder why they didn't take heed at that time. I guess they probably took the lead that if it was good enough for OEM it was good enough.
  14. James Ardrey
    I am not a lawyer and this is not a jury and you made my point for me. I also wasn't trying to assign blame. I think you made the point with human error and the weakened shield and little room for error in the design of the shield support. A whole lot is riding on everything being done in perfect order to be safe. I am also not an engineer, but it is a piss poor design in my opinion that in order to be safe you inspect everytime you ride. Not practical for the masses that ride and not acceptable to me. I think I stated that I had the shield off approx. 2-3000 miles ago and tightened everything myself. Little margin in error between screws being tight enough and stripping the threads on the petite metal support. I have ridden approx. 70000 miles on this bike without incident. It took this incident to wake me up. I have always been skeptical to the design of the shield support and having one hole through the shield and the other 5 slots. I don't think I'm willing to stake my life on all the screws remaining in place and not loosening just enough to release the shield from the fairing. If your Harley just has 3 slots and no holes in shield if it is as large as the large clearview you are flirting with disaster. If one screw backed off or failed it would put an unnatural torque on the shield either causing it to break loose or come out of the fairing. There is a great deal of flexing in those flimsy fairings and relys on the whole system to remain in tact. At least if most or all screws went through holes and something backed off or failed you would probably be able to recognize a problem before complete failure like I experienced. Maybe not but I want as many back up safety design included as possible. As it is there is nothing but questionable pressure from the remaining screws that may or may not do it's job. I wouldn't bet on it.
  15. James Ardrey
    Exactly the kind of response I am hoping for in starting this thread. If it saves one person from the experience I had it will be worth it. I am hoping mine is a fairly rare occurence. I and you people on this site have always been dedicated to solutions and that is just one of the things I appreciate about VR. Thank you for your post.
  16. James Ardrey
    That may be part of the fix I put on mine. I am also going to attempt to find a backup steel support to add rigidity to the candy ass support bar that is currently there that also is threaded to allow for more thread depth. an 8th of an inch just doesn't cut it. That is why the margin of error between being tight enough and stripping the screw is so little. Very little thread to bite on.
  17. James Ardrey
    At least with two if any of the other screws fail or loosen there won't be an unnatural twist or torque on the shield that I believe can and did happen with my shield. I had it off to put a new headlight bulb about a month ago and have ridden no more than 3,000 miles since. I know everything was tightened at that time. Under these conditions I would have to stop every 5oo miles and or every time I decided to ride to have caught any potential problems and maybe not even then under certain circumstances. That is not acceptable in my estimation. There must be some kind of back up support to allow for some failure without the whole system failing. Current design appears to be adequate only when every piece is working in concert and that just doesn't cut it on such an important part of these motorcycles.
  18. James Ardrey
    I have sent Clearview my pics and described what happened in an e-mail and with my phone #. It was this afternoon and I probably won't hear from them until tomorrow. I will make that suggestion when I talk with them. The only downside I see to 6 holed shield would be getting them aligned, but it certainly would be worth any inconvenience to have at least a 2nd line of defense against human or equipment failure. Remember Murphys law. If anything can go wrong it will. Thanks for your concern and suggestions.
  19. James Ardrey
    I alway wear my speedo while riding. The only requirement is that they be black leather in keeping with the macho biker image. I also have a venture rider patch and website address on the right cheek to promote our site. If they inquire I give them Freebirds(Don's) phone # and address and talk about what a wonderful guy he is and the people on this site.:rotf:I also let them know that most if not all venture riders wear speedo's and are issued as a free gift at purchase of a new RSV sponsored by Yamaha.:cool10:You don't have to thank me now!
  20. James Ardrey
    I recommend the leveling links over all the other adjustments for one reason. Leaning the bike in a sharp curve the pipes tend to drag before the running boards make contact with the road and could lead to loosing traction on back tire when you need it the most. Also I had the tail pipe drag coming out of gas stations etc. when two up and pulling a trailor. My wife complains when I put over 30# in rear shock due to stiffer ride over bumps. The leveling links cured the pipe clearance and low speed handling problem. If vertically challenged lowering the front and increased air in rear shock may be the best adjustment, or putting on the narrower front tire has worked well for some.
  21. James Ardrey
    I was mistaken. There is only one screw hole in this shield just like the stock one. That portion of the shield is missing and I forgot that only one screw actually holds the shield in place. Even scarrier than I thought!
  22. James Ardrey
    Thank you all for your concerns and all responses. After further investigation the 2nd from the right screw is missing. Don't know if it fell out or vibrated out after the shield failed. The outside support tabs are cracked loose. Due to the flimsy nature of the design by Yamaha and the constant flexing on the faring there is very little room for error and high potential for screws to work their way out. The only metal support in the system is very thin and narrow offering little support and little thread area for the screws. After this experience I am shocked this hasn't happened a lot to others. I have ordered all new seals, metal support,screws, beauty ring. If I can't find a way to strengthen the windshield support to my satisfaction I will have to sell my RSV cheap and let any future owner aware of this design flaw. It is exacerbated by a large and wide shield with the vent. I definitely don't think the fairing system was designed for that much more stress on the supports from wind pressure. There is very little room for human error via screw tightness, only one screw that actually holds shield in place, threads stripping or screw breaking without warning going down the highway and no way to be sure it is all fastened correctly at the beginning of any ride makes my head want to explode. Way too many possibilities for disaster. I am going to go back to the stock windshield or buy a shorty because there is just too much riding on the windshield protecting you from the elements or in this case almost killing my wife and myself. I have put 50,000 miles on the stock shield without incident and approx. 20,000 with the clearview to date. It only takes one time to ruin your day. I felt obligated to this community to share this experience. What you do with it is up to you. If there is anyone that can add to this dilemma I encourage you to do so. I don't want to over dramatize this but you may just save a life or serious injury. /thanks again for all your support and comments.
  23. James Ardrey
    Thanks for your concern. I have had mine for approx. 2 yrs. and have gone faster and under similar conditions as you have described without incident also until yesterday. I will send pics probably tomorrow. I haven't downloaded from my camera to my computer yet and it is getting late.
  24. James Ardrey
    Yes you are correct that there are 6 screws but all but two directly below the vent area have slots in the windshield instead of holes. That means if for whatever reason the two screws fail or the windshield breaks in the location of the two with holes instead of slots then the windshield can slip out of position and fly off just like mine did. I would post pics but I don't know how from my kodak program. I can send emails w\ pics if I have an email address to send them to. I am not all that handy with computers.
  25. James Ardrey
    I agree with the lack of marketing. It is the same with the 1st and 2nd gen. I fail to understand why they never market either one especially after their experience with being smoked by Honda in the marketing dept. 1st and 2nd gens are both great bikes and they deserve at least some attempt to promote them by Yamaha, but it just has never happened and it is just a mystery to me.
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