SilvrT Posted April 20, 2011 #1 Posted April 20, 2011 Following is a "very condensed" version of my experience with Earl (skydoc_17) and his 2nd gen clutch upgrade kit. After installing the kit, I was not happy with a specific aspect of the results. Sorry, I hesitate to go into details at this time other than to say the kit does work. In any event, Earl has provided me with an acceptable workaround that should solve my specific issue. By this I just wanted everyone to know how very helpful Earl has been, and willing to ensure my full satisfaction, even though I really wasn't asking anything specific from him. I explained the issue, told him what I did to correct it and he went the extra mile (actually more) and offered a better solution. Thank you so much Earl, there are so many who could learn what the meaning of Customer Service is from you. Also I want to thank Squeeze for his input and expertise in this matter. What an amazing group of people we have here. :thumbsup2: :thumbsup2:
oldgoat Posted April 20, 2011 #3 Posted April 20, 2011 earl skydock17 is a great person. so far i have done his fuse box upgrade and the battery shut off that was getting anoying. he went so far as to give detail instructions. and some with pics that make it so easy even i can do it.. and all this info and great pepoles advice for $12 how can you go wrong?
StarFan Posted April 20, 2011 #4 Posted April 20, 2011 I have to admit that Earl is a true friend. :bighug:He even vouched for me on this site and told everybody that I was practically housetrained after spending two nights at his house in 2009 I am still working on it and getting there little by little !
naturbar Posted April 20, 2011 #7 Posted April 20, 2011 my personal experience dealing with Earl was exceptional....what a great guy !!
Hulk Posted April 21, 2011 #8 Posted April 21, 2011 Just bought a battery off of Earl, professional 110% throughout!:thumbsup2:
Flyinfool Posted April 21, 2011 #9 Posted April 21, 2011 Yup, nuttin but trouble with him. First he comes of with these great ideas that I just have to have, then he goes and prices them reasonably, and then to make it worse he supports the hell out of it. How am I ever gonna be able to quit upgrading stuff. Yup, nuttin but trouble with that one............
Snaggletooth Posted April 21, 2011 #10 Posted April 21, 2011 Earl is a standup guy to deal with for sure. The items he has produced have been the the solutions to so many common problems. His advice and help has always been offered freely and without exception. Hell, when I was doing my clutch upgrade I ran into a small issue (of my own creation) and he even offered to send his wife, Jean to my place to finish it up for me to make sure it was done right. Now that is customer support!!! Mike
exrsa1 Posted April 21, 2011 #13 Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) SilvrT, I have no doubt that Skydoc stepped up and did what he does well, and supported his product, which BTW, I will also have to use in near future, but what was it that caused this post? This is something that was big enough to cause you to post on this issue. Can you share any more? This could help a fellow Venturer down the line. Thanks Brian Following is a "very condensed" version of my experience with Earl (skydoc_17) and his 2nd gen clutch upgrade kit. After installing the kit, I was not happy with a specific aspect of the results. Sorry, I hesitate to go into details at this time other than to say the kit does work. In any event, Earl has provided me with an acceptable workaround that should solve my specific issue. By this I just wanted everyone to know how very helpful Earl has been, and willing to ensure my full satisfaction, even though I really wasn't asking anything specific from him. I explained the issue, told him what I did to correct it and he went the extra mile (actually more) and offered a better solution. Thank you so much Earl, there are so many who could learn what the meaning of Customer Service is from you. Also I want to thank Squeeze for his input and expertise in this matter. What an amazing group of people we have here. :thumbsup2: :thumbsup2: Edited April 21, 2011 by exrsa1
SilvrT Posted April 21, 2011 Author #14 Posted April 21, 2011 SilvrT, I have no doubt that Skydoc stepped up and did what he does well, and supported his product, which BTW, I will also have to use in near future, but what was it that caused this post? This is something that was big enough to cause you to post on this issue. Can you share any more? This could help a fellow Venturer down the line. Thanks Brian I don't know that it has anything specifically to do with the product, per se`. What I can say is the product worked as intended. In my case, I found that the clutch lever would be almost fully released before the clutch would fully engage. This was not "normal" to me as, since new, and with any other bike I've owned, the clutch would be fully engaged appx 2/3 of the way of releasing it. By that, I mean from fully clenched to the handlegrip to the fully released stop, I expected that full engagement would occur appx 2/3 of the way. It wasn't. Further, while rolling and applying throttle, I could disengage the clutch with very little movement of the lever. Perhaps it is associated to other things, such as.... Squeeze suggested I ensure that all the steel discs were installed with the "sharp edge" facing out, towards the outside of the clutch... so I did that. He also suggested I double-up on the spring, so I did that... using the PCW spring that skydoc supplied, plus my stock spring. Now I don't know which of these two things affected the outcome or if both of them did but now, the clutch is fully engaged at appx 1/2 - 2/3 release of the lever. On the downside, the force needed to pull on the clutch lever is now such that in a short time, I will be able to crack walnuts with my left hand, no problem LMAO!! Skydoc is helping to resolve that by swapping the PCW spring with 2 stock springs. Unfortunately, I am running out of usefulness of the gasket as I am now on the second one and around here, they are not cheap, otherwise I would test one more time with just the PCW spring. All other components of the Upgrade kit are still in place in the clutch basket, with the stock components removed and everything is installed as per spec. The end result I am trying to achieve is a stronger spring with no slippage under heavy load and an acceptable engage/disengage lever position without having to be able to crack walnuts. I hope this answers your Q and is useful to others.
Caveman Posted April 21, 2011 #15 Posted April 21, 2011 I just did the same clutch upgrade from Skydoc_17 as well. My new clutch does exactly the same as your's did SilvrT; engages at the end of the release. I have adjusted to it and actually like it that way now and I can say it is not slipping anymore that's for darn sure. I hope this doesn't cause an issue however. If not, I'm leaving it just as is.
exrsa1 Posted April 21, 2011 #16 Posted April 21, 2011 I hope this answers your Q and is useful to others. It sure does answer my question. That's great info! Thanks Brian
Yeah, Just Dale Posted April 21, 2011 #17 Posted April 21, 2011 my personal experience dealing with Earl was exceptional....what a great guy !! Just bought some brake pads and he's been great. Even offered to have me call him if I run into trouble changing out the pads.
Squeeze Posted April 21, 2011 #18 Posted April 21, 2011 I want to add that it's allways a good Idea to cover the Engine Side with a Gasket Sealer Product, like RTV (for instance. i use Wurth DP300 on that) on a freshly mounted Gasket. I even openend up all relevant Covers on my brand new '09 Max just to do that. I saved all of them for a long Time. The new Gasket will stick to the Cover and the Sealer allows the Gasket to get away unharmed from the Engine Casing under normal Circumstances. I saved probably some 20 Clutch Cover Gaskets on my 1Gen Max in doing so.... Now SilvrT ... a bit of Body Workout is allways a good Thing !!! :crackup: P.S. You couldn't crack a Walnut by Hand before ?? Twas about Time time to train the Muscles !!!!
SilvrT Posted April 21, 2011 Author #19 Posted April 21, 2011 Now SilvrT ... a bit of Body Workout is allways a good Thing !!! :crackup: P.S. You couldn't crack a Walnut by Hand before ?? Twas about Time time to train the Muscles !!!! Cracking walnuts has nothing to do with my kinda "body workout" :D
LilBeaver Posted April 21, 2011 #20 Posted April 21, 2011 I just did the same clutch upgrade from Skydoc_17 as well. My new clutch does exactly the same as your's did SilvrT; engages at the end of the release. I have adjusted to it and actually like it that way now and I can say it is not slipping anymore that's for darn sure. I hope this doesn't cause an issue however. If not, I'm leaving it just as is. Exactly the same here except that contrary to you I still cannot stand how it releases now... Not to mention I want my friction zone back. I have been allowing myself some time to get used to it (replaced ~Sept/2010) but I am still actively searching for a resolution and it sounds like this may be it. Well, short of replacing the unit with a barnet setup or whatever.
SilvrT Posted April 21, 2011 Author #21 Posted April 21, 2011 I just did the same clutch upgrade from Skydoc_17 as well. My new clutch does exactly the same as your's did SilvrT; engages at the end of the release. I have adjusted to it and actually like it that way now and I can say it is not slipping anymore that's for darn sure. I hope this doesn't cause an issue however. If not, I'm leaving it just as is. Exactly the same here except that contrary to you I still cannot stand how it releases now... Not to mention I want my friction zone back. I have been allowing myself some time to get used to it (replaced ~Sept/2010) but I am still actively searching for a resolution and it sounds like this may be it. Well, short of replacing the unit with a barnet setup or whatever. It's pretty apparent that the position of the clutch lever when the clutch engages/disengages is a personal thing and has NOTHING to do with the actual workings of the clutch and the effectiveness of the upgrade kit. In my case, I have relatively small hands (albeit my grip strength for my size would surprise many) and "working" the clutch with my fingertips just didn't make me feel "safe" .... like I wasn't totally in control. I found I had to "stretch" my hand in order to get a proper grip on the lever as if I didn't, it felt as though it would be too easy for the lever to slip off the end of my fingers .... which could prove dangerous.
BoomerCPO Posted April 21, 2011 #22 Posted April 21, 2011 Not to mention I want my friction zone back. I practice the Ride Like a Pro exercises with the scoot and I have found that with my Venture it is difficult at best to maintain the friction zone due to the wet clutch. Now I just keep the scoot in 1st gear and do the routines with much more ease....and I have SkyDoc's clutch upgrade as well. Boomer....who sez yer performance/mileage will vary dependent upon yer proximity to Dairy Queen and de number of pygmies yer packing.
Squeeze Posted April 21, 2011 #23 Posted April 21, 2011 Cracking walnuts has nothing to do with my kinda "body workout" :D Are you already in training Mode for MD or Cody? BS'ing needs to be trained very well, before People gonna buy your Story ... I'm not believing one Word which you try to imply here :crackup:
Jrichard Posted April 21, 2011 #24 Posted April 21, 2011 Earl is a pretty good white feller!!:usa:------he b know'in a thing or two 'bout them ther 1st gens.--------carry-on!!
royalstar09 Posted April 21, 2011 #25 Posted April 21, 2011 I had been thinking about ding something with my stock clutch, only in that I cannot stand that I have to relaease it nearly all the way before the bike moves. It only has 4,000 miles so I cannot imagine it to be wore out. I am going to follow this because if a cure is found I WILL do it. All my other bikes relaesed as the origional poster stated, and the RSV releasing so "late" is something I do not like at all.
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