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Gearhead

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  1. Gearhead
    Plugs alone can be replaced just removing side covers. Oh, and probably the radiator side trim as well. Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    Yeah, what Muffin said. Wayne, did you get the rider and passenger control boxes as well? For the rider, it's mounted on the LH bar in a little box. The passenger's is on the LH side of the trunk; the passenger's remote controls, individual headset attenuator and headset plug-in are all in the same place. If you don't have the boxes or don't want to mount them, don't worry, you don't really need them. As I said before, with the attenuation knobs unplugged it just goes to max headset volume, still controlled by the master volume of course. Both boxes have buttons for channel changine, mute, and a couple other things, but those controls are available on the main radio (except for mute). Pass. PTT (for CB only) is also in this box, but the rider's is on the signal switch pod. Normally, the pass. remote box plugs into the DIN cable from the amp, underneath the pass. seat, and the headset plugs into the box. If you don't have the box, the headset can plug directly into the cable. The noise filter assy is actually dual noise filters. There are 5 wires - two hot in, two hot out, one to ground. The radio and CB both get main power only when the key is on, but get battery power all the time to maintain their memory settings. Both power sources go thru the filter assy. The schematic helped me make sense of it. I have improved, but not solved, my noise problem. I have some alternator noise and some ignition noise, and it is not always the same which I don't understand. I've checked and cleaned all my connections and added equipment grounds, which didn't really help. Optimizing the relationship between the headset attenuation knobs and the master volume can help, although the optimal setting changes depending on which noise source is dominant at the time. The thing that helped the noise was this: I ran an additional 12 gage ground wire from the voltage regulator right to the battery neg in an effort to improve charging voltage. It did - I now get ~14.5V. It also reduced the headset noise quite a bit - bonus! I still need to check the spark plug wire connections on both ends (trim a little from the wire as recommended here), replace the plugs, and I'm going to try lining the inner fairing underneath the radio with foil. Finally, I'm told that the capacitors in the noise filter can dry out and be ineffective. That functionality can be added back by buying appropriate caps from Radio Shack and wiring them in between the hot from the filter and ground. Problem is, I dunno what "appropriate" caps are. This equipment all shows up in schematic form in the 86+ service manual available here online. It's on the very last page. There's more detail in the electrical chapter. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    You may have already arrived at this conclusion, but...the LED replacement fixtures are nice. You can hook extras up with no problem to the bike due to low current draw. However...the replacement 1157 bulbs, IMHO, suck. I read essentially that in reviews on WebBikeWorld.com (and input I received here). They did test a 48 LED, 2" diameter, $50 monster that worked pretty well in a taillight, but anything smaller was not much good. I found some at http://www.customdynamics.com/motorcycle_led_bulbs.htm#32_LED_Replacement_Bulb called Street Magic (which it appears they are no longer carrying, imagine that) for much less money. They were 1" diameter like an 1157 but had something like 32 LED's - 20 in-axis and 12 around facing radially outward for a multi-directional effect. They were around 10 bucks, and I convinced myself I could beat the odds. I did not. They sucked. I bought two ambers for my front running/signal lights and one red to replace only one brake bulb. This way, my flashers would still work (incandecent bulbs in rear flashers) and the bulb indicator on the dash would not light (one incandecent still in the brake fixture), but I would save some current draw. Problems were: In-axis, running-light (dim) mode was best, but they looked like a 1" dot of light in the fixture rather than making the whole lens glow. Off axis, despite the radial LED's, was horrible. This meant visibility of the front running lights (bulbs face outward) was only halfway decent directly from the side, horrible anywhere else. Bright mode (brake or signal) was not enough brighter than dim mode, so brakes and blinkers don't jump out at you. In general, these bulbs were totally washed out in the sun. In the brake, since visibility is in-axis anyway, it was a little better, but still significantly dimmer. The side of the lens with the LED had a 1" dot of red light, while the entire side with the incandecent bulb glowed. LED's are so directional that they need to be installed in a unit with a lens designed for them, and even then they tend to be pretty directional. OEM lights are designed for the bright, 360 degree pattern of an incandecent, with the reflector bouncing much of that light back to make the whole lens glow. LED's, even with the radial-facing LED's, just don't do that so the reflector is ineffective. There are some nice taillight units available for certain bikes that work well, but they are big replacement arrays that really fill the whole light with LED's (essentially replacing the reflector) and cost a bunch of bucks, like $100-200. So, if you're adding clearance light fixtures, LED is the only way to go. As a drop-in bulb replacement, they are no good. Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    If the cracks don't go thru, no need to worry. If necessary, I've read that Seal-All works well to fill them. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    It's a 120 width tire - that's mm, by the way. Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    Wayne, The plug you refer to is not a DIN, right? Is it a small, electrical (rather than audio) looking plug? It's the place that the rider's headset attenuation knob (on the LH handlebar control pod) plugs in. You don't really need it. I've unplugged mine before when chasing headset noise, and when it's unplugged it acts like the knob is turned to max volume (no attenuation). If you have the pod, it should have in its harness the matching plug. Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    I have 18k on the E3 on the back of my VR. It's still got a fair bit of life in it. It should approach the 23K I've got from E2's on my Virago. I've ridden in the rain and not noticed any problem. Never had to do an emergency stop in the rain, but frankly I'm not sure I'd expect great results from any tire under those conditions. Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    Jimbob, You did it right. The manuals for every bike I've had say to do it the same way, with the bike idling, which always leaves your question - what if I have to change it? The bench procedure is certainly faster, then all you have to do is take the bowl off to readjust. Squeeze's way doesn't require the fuel bowl installed for measurement. If I interpret him correctly, he's saying this: Blow thru fuel line, perhaps with mouth. That is your indicator. When the float closes, you can't blow thru the line anymore. Set the carb with float and needle installed but no fuel bowl level in a dish big enough to hold it. Pour fuel slowly into the dish while blowing thru the fuel line. As soon as you can't blow, stop pouring. Mark the fuel level on the side of the carb where the diaphragm goes and measure the distance from there to the center of the diaphragm; there's your fuel level. I've had some success in estimating the amount to bend the float tab using calipers. I measured the ratio of distances from the pivot to the center of the float body vs. the pivot to the needle tab. For example, lets say it's 1" from the float pivot to the center of the body, and .25" from the pivot to the needle tab. The ratio is 4:1. Now let's say I want to lower the fuel level by 4mm. For the fuel to change 4mm, the center of the float body must also change by about the same. Divide the 4mm by the ratio, that means I need to move the needle tab by 1mm. Figure out which way to bend the tab to lower the level, figure out a place to repeatably measure from the needle tab to the float arm, then bend until I change the distance by 1mm. Does that make sense? I've been able to get closer with fewer iterations that way. Did you consider the meniscus in the measurement tube? It makes a 1mm difference depending on where on the meniscus you measure. Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    I was just looking at your pics again. Look in the second one. There are two 6mm (10mm head) bolts showing - one right behind the cruise control throttle thingy (tech term) and one above it and behind a cable. The ground point I'm thinking of is one of those. Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    Yeah, that's how I end up feeling about a bunch of the stuff I do...hmm... What do you mean, you used a roiund bubble level? And did you use Squeeze's bowl method? Jeremy
  11. Gearhead
    Yeah, if you pull the clutch cover off you will be able to see if anything moves when you pull the lever. Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    Both black wire connectors are harness grounds. I think the one with two small wires is specifically for the radio. And I think they both go under the same bolt, as described. It goes in from the left side, below, in front of and to the left of the battery. Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    So you lowered your fuel level by 3or 4mm? That's quite a bit. Let us know if you see it in your gas mileage. Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    The hub is supported by its own bearing on the axle, is it not? If so, then I would not think the rubber dampers would affect runout. Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Furthermore, I think whatever zinc that does end up in the cat neutralizes the active stuff in the cat that makes it work. If your engine literally burns no oil, it's not a problem, but all engines wear eventually... Are you sure zinc or ZDTP (the abbreviation for the long chemical compound that includes the zinc) is sill the main stuff in STP? I thought it had been reformulated to remove most of the zinc, just like oil. I wouldn't be surprised if there's just a little zinc in there now, so they can still claim that it will add back the "missing zinc":rotf:, when really it's just a trace of zinc. I know that a GM product called EOS (engine oil supplement) used to be mostly zinc but now is something else. Aren't they finding new anti-wear agents to replace the zinc? Are they ineffective? Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    You're welcome, Squeeze. You oughta here me describe hydrostatic pressure in German! (NOT) Hehehe... Goose, that's cool, keep us updated as you put on the miles, if that changes. Kinda makes me want to lower all my floats by 1/8"! Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    I just read this whole thread for the first time and have a couple comments. For some reason, floats on cars were almost always measured the way Goose did it, with the carb top inverted and measuring the physical distance. Bike carbs almost always have their primary measurement stated as "fuel level", done with the bike idling and a clear tube next to the carb body. I dunno why the difference, but the latter seems more "to the point" to me, since fuel level is really what we are interested in. You have to be sure to "burp" the measurement tube of air bubbles to get an accurate measurement. That being said, it is interesting, Goose, that you got your mileage up. I didn't look at the other post; can you give a round number something like, you used to avereage, this, now you average this? Any float I remember measuring that had a spring plunger in the needle said the same thing in the manual - float arm contacting needle but not compressing spring. However, I seem to remember that the spring is usually stout enough to hold the float up. To weigh in on the "fuel level affecting mileage" argument: Are you familiar with the term "hydrostatic pressure"? It's the pressure at the bottom (or at any point, actually) of a body of liquid caused by the weight of the liquid above it. The deeper the liquid, the higher the pressure. It's the reason divers can only go so deep in the ocean, and deep sea subs have super-stout hulls. The higher the fuel level above the main jet, the higher the hydrostatic pressure at the main jet. Fuel flow in a carb is caused by a pressure difference. Airflow through the venturi (throat) decreases the pressure on top of the jet outlet (we call it a vacuum), while atmospheric pressure and hydrostatic pressure together push on the main jet inlet. This pressure difference causes the airflow to "suck" the fuel out. The bigger the pressure difference, the more fuel flows. Higher fuel level causes more hydrostatic pressure on the jet inlet, thus increasing the pressure difference, thus increasing fuel flow for a given amount of airflow in the throat. There's my 2 cents. I feel better now. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    Cool, congrats. FWIW, I maxed my preload out per the supplied minimum distance between spring seats. At this setting it sits a little high with just me on it but a little low 2-up - so a nice compromise. I don't find the ride in the rear to be stiff at all riding single, so I'm not worried about it riding a little high. FWIW, I performed static sag measurements to determine this, with 1/3 static sag defined as optimal. If it were still easily adjustable with the CLASS, I might find optimal settings for single and 2-up. However, since it's NOT easily adjustable as you noted, I set it at the max and forgot it. Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    Larry, Unless I'm mistaken, the car tire that some 1st genners are running on the REAR of thier bikes is a BF Goodrich 155/80-16. Would that fit the front of your trike? Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    "I've never had a rear tire last 10,000 miles on any bike. I'll be lucky to get 15,000 on the CT right now. I don't know how folks are getting almost 20,000 out of a tire. They gotta be drivin' Miss Daisy or something" Have you ever run a Dunlop Elite 2 or E3? They routinely get 20k on the rear. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    --OOPS, SUBJECT LINE SUPPOSED TO SAY "E3"-- Ron Ayers, always a good place for tires, sent me this today: I just ordered one - they're 95 plus 12 S&H. I looked around and that's at least 10-15 bucks better than you're gonna do anywhere else. Go to: http://www.ronayers.com/browseparts.cfm?searchstring=0306-0039&kw=july4th2008&adv=4 Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    I haven't run a CT and am not criticizing, just thinking, this makes sense. As you lean into the corner and roll up on to the edge of the CT tread you go from a big contact patch to a small one. Back in the day before big custom MC tires were available, the ol' Boss Hoss V8 motorcycle ran a CT on the back, maybe a 215 width. I spoke with a dealer and he said they ran low pressure, like maybe 24 psi. The reason was this. Even though the BH is a big cow of a bike, it's still only 1200 lb. Let's say the rear tire with rider is carrying 800 lb. That 215 CT is probably rated to carry 1500 lb at 35 psi. One of the big things that proper tire inflation depends on is load. As you get away from the max load, you can and usually should decrease the pressure in the tire. If you have a 3/4T or 1 ton truck with load range E tires, you learn that you don't have to run around all the time with the max 80psi in them - it just gives a stiffer ride and wears out the middle of the tread. So, on the Boss Hoss, the reduced pressure, sufficient to carry the load, would allow the tire to flex and deform more in the corners, so it didn't roll up hard on the edge. Have you guys with CTs tried low pressures? Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    This is what I find strange. How does blowing the signal fuse kill the engine? And are you saying you've had problems with the kick stand switch before? That WILL kill the engine and is fairly common, but shouldn't be related to the signal fuse. How did you fix that situation? I recently had the Virago blow the signal AND tail light fuse at the same time. Weird, thinks I. It ended up being one of the tail/brake bulbs. The glass part had come completely loose from the base, leaving behind the internal wires that connect the base to the filiments. They are uninsulated and were intermittently contacting the grounded base, causing both fuses to blow. Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    I've run some more miles and I do not think my mileage is improved due to the Water Wetter as I suggested above. With the limited resolution of the stock gage, I can't tell that it's running any cooler than BWW (Before Water Wetter). And as I said there is still light pinging under low RPM heavy load. I'm going to run a few tanks with Premium and see how that does - it could reduce pinging which could affect mileage. BUT - one thing I have noticed: BWW, I had it happen that the coolant overflow tank would fill up to the top, which is a good 2.5" above the FULL line. This happened when riding home on a hot afternoon, some Interstate riding, finishing with my dirt road where the radiator doesn't get much airflow. I thought that seemed like an awful lot of coolant expansion. Since changing the coolant as described above, that has not happened. The level when hot only rises maybe 3/8" in the overflow tank. So either this coolant mix expands less than 50/50 with no WW, or the localized boiling was causing excessive overflow, or something. Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    I put my first E3 on the rear of my 87 VR almost 20K miles ago. I, too, was suspicious that it would not last as long as the iron E2 that I have been running on the Virago, on which I've gotte 23K miles front and rear. That fear was put to rest. It will definitely go over 20K miles on the 800 lb Venture, so I'm properly impressed. I now have an E3 in the garage waiting to go on the back of the Virago. Since the front E3 is not available, I installed a Pirelli MT66 which I've liked in the past. It handles nice, cost something like 60 bucks, and will last over 12K miles. Jeremy
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