BratmanXj

When I bought the bike you could ROCK the clamps in the bearings they were that loose. I accidentally over-tightened them when doing my 1st round of maintenance after purchase but slightly notchy was better than ridiculously loose. I finally did the bearing this spring after 3-yrs of having the all-ballz in the tool box. Its all better now but I still need to do the 1,000 mile "check" on the stem torque. Book calls for 37 ft-lb initial seating torque, back off, then 2.2 or 2.4 ft-lb final torque. By reference is "a bit more than book" 4 ft-lb, 8 ft-lb, 12 ft-lb?

Similar luck with Dekka even though everyone swears by them. 2-ish years while using a tender and then just dead over a weekend. Yuasa have always given me 5+ yrs.

Thank you. This is the only RSV (or TD) I've ever been on and don't know anyone else locally with one who I could "check their bike" against mine. As I stated it was better with my Stratoliner 130-r18 front wheel but didn't go away. I threw the stock 150-r16 back on the bike and I forgot just how sluggish and rubbery the steering feel is. I've gone through everything logical on the bike both front & rear and nothing seems out of sorts. I don't have issues with the bike at speed but just vague at around-town speeds.

Swing arm was cleaned and greases 2 1/2 yrs ago, re-torqued over the winter while doing the front end. I don't have any oscillations at-speed, the bike rides straight and true. My issue is the front end feels "loose" like the forks are rubber and allow side play at a stand still when you jostle the bars; it makes tip-in for turns feel very vague. I guess it's time to take down the front faring and double check the whole front end again.

When the head bearings were replaced the whole front end went back together with torque wrench in hand... This problem existed before the work and after the work, just feels worse with the extra weight of the 150 front tire vs the Strat 130 front tire. I do need to double check everything thing again now that I've got a few miles on her.

I've never had the front forks apart on this bike, and only opened up 1 set in my past (dirt bike). So can you please elaborate further? P.S. This sensation is when sitting on the bike at-rest. Push hard one way on the bars and stop abruptly and you'll feel the oscillation.

New bearings in the stock wheel 3 yrs ago when I bought it and did the 1st tire change, for ease of swap I put new bearings in the Strat when I purchased that rim & tire. I did not think of air pressure when I put up the post, thank you. I did do head bearings over the winter and probably should double check them for torque now that I have a few miles on the bike. This is something I always noticed with the bike but forgot just how much worse it is with that big tire out front.

I've owned my '99 RSV for 3 years now and the front end has always seemed very "loose" in terms of fork flex. I recently put the stock 150-R16 wheel and tire back on the front after having a Stratoliner 130-R18 wheel on and it it seems to have made the front end even worse. The easiest way to explain what I'm feeling is if you give the handlebars a quick shake left-right-left you can feel the oscillations continue for 2-3 more times after you hold the bars still, like playing with jello. Is there something I should be looking at that could be wrong with the front end? I put new head bearings in over the winter and torqued everything to spec. Is there a fork brace for the 2nd gen?

Agreed, LOCTite will eat the ABS plastic, I use blue RTV lightly on the threads to keep the windshield screws in place. What height are people running for the Clearview? I like to look OVER the shield an was shopping the 19.5" GT Medium seems the same as my current 13" SlipStreamer.

Indiana (and I believe IL) requires "drivers licensed age" to operate power-craft on the water, i.e. a PWC or Boat. You can operate a fishing-craft under 10 (or 15 hp) with a boater safety class at 12. I've never had an issue putting my 3 yr old in front of me on the Jet Ski technically in the drivers seat or sitting on my lap with the pontoon, but I don't go out and act stupid on the lake. I know people on the same lake who have been ticketed for similar instances of "minor at the wheel" so it all depends on the day of the week.

Female friend had just bought a Jeep YJ Wrangler and I installed a new radio for her. She could drive stick with out a problem but wanted me to show her some pointers on driving a Jeep, so I pull the the doors off and hop in the drivers seat. I didn't touch the clutch for about 5 miles of suburban traffic after we pulled out of the driveway, had my foot hanging out the door the whole time. Spent the next hour teaching her how to power shift.

Drove past their Northlake home office daily for 12 years and that was enough to get the phone number jingle stuck!

I just did head-bearings this winter; I'm sure shop prices would be just the same for my '99 RSV as any Full Dresser HD since both bikes require you to strip the fairing completely off.

Few years back we're out for a long weekend with some friends, first time he took his new GF (now wife) for more than a poker run. He's got a '06 S.E. Ultra which is a similar gold/champagne as my '99 RSV so she never noticed much difference in the bikes. Sitting at a light she looks over and says "Wow, that thing is huge" Without missing a beat I respond, "Well thank you, I know that's not something you get to say often." Light changes, I pull away, buddy is giving me the dirty eye and my wife smacks me upside the head.

So you completely abandoned the stock bucket & height adjuster?

Everything I've seen for a "sealed" 7" LED headlight would require cutting & gutting the stock headlamp bucket and gluing the light into place. I did see one where they bolted the HD Trim Ring Adapter through onto the RSV backing plate but didn't see much detail on how that worked out.

For the same reason they owned MV Agusta a few years back? The Duc partnership makes more sense though as they have the same "religious" following, marketing & merchandise scheme going as The Motor Company.

http://www.rammount.com/

I get the usual "When are you going to buy a real bike?" both from riders & retailers. My usual response is: "When you realize I want to ride, not wrench and pay."

When out touring I use a tank bag for easy access to certain things (wallet, food). I have RAM mounts on the clutch & brake levers where I run the GPS & Phones but you can just as easily add a cup holder to the ram mounts.

I've rewired a few cars with solder & shrink-wrap with no problems 10yrs later....but my boats I use crimped weather-tight connections as I've had problems with moisture and vibration wearing out the soldered connections.

Having spent many years commuting around a major metro area (Chicago) this has crossed my mind many times; but as the video shows it can end very badly. Normal "remedy" is a dirty look, a hand gesture and GTFO of there before the other driver wants to take you out. No reason to risk your life AGAIN because of someone aloof on the road.

Same here, local HD shop was having a swap meet and found a set of OEM S.E. touring pipes for $30 in very good shape. They were factory installed on a SE Street Glide and the guy went to itty-bitty short shots (why you'd go drag pipes on a Touring rig I'll never know) but it worked out well for me. And again, at 80mph they drone but are sweet at the 40-65 mph backroads roll on.

Like needing a 19mm / 3/4" hex head for the RS Warrior front axle.

I agree to a certain degree. With my Jeeps I went back to paper elements from K&N and have had less problems with sticking Idle Air Control valves. The K&N was allowing some fine dust into the intake track along with the oil from the filter and was gumming up... BUT this was in a very dusty environment. In a street driven vehicle I did not have these issues when using a K&N.