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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    Hey Shorty, do you remember how much you lowered the needles with your adjustment? Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    Hey Golf&Venture, are you saying you did or did not like the handling of the '80 Wing? My 87 VR is the only touring bike I've owned, and I like it quite a bit! I really only bought it because it was available and the price was right. I did take a short ride on an 1800 Wing - holy cow, what a nice ride. Fast, handles nice, and did I say FAST? My wife was with me and she thought the VR was more comfy for her, which is good 'cause I really don't want to spend the money on a Wing. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    You've tried different choke settings? Almost sounds like plugged pilot circuits.
  4. Gearhead
    I put those same vents in my 87 VR. They are pretty close together in the lower-middle of the shield and they open and close fine. They don't flow a tremendous amount of air but add a little more freshness behind the shield. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    Progressive springs, installed (from my experience anyway) with about 3/16-1/4" more preload than Progressive calls out. With the Progressives and about 1/8" less preload than recommended I was still getting the occasional bottom-out. Those fine-tuning adjustments to preload really do make a difference. I had installed Progressives in my Virago with the stock spacers which were recommended for that application. I always thought the ride was a bit harsh in front. Thus, I reduced the preload slightly as mentioned when I first put Progressives in the Venture, which led to the bottom-out problem. I recently worked on the front end of both bikes, reducing the preload on the Virago by ~5/16 and increasing it on the Venture by about the same amount, and both are riding better! Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    Yup, agreed. Many internet forums are just ridiculous. You can't hardly find the good info after wading through all the bull. This place is great!
  7. Gearhead
    I just had a PM conversation with Skydoc about this. This is what he sent me: I'll let you ask him for the price. Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    Yup, that's my 87 VR, too. Very definite link between mileage and speed. My Virago is similar. One of these days, maybe I'll get one of these 50mpg bikes I keep hearing about. Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    I'm having a similar problem on my 87, pretty sure it's the rear MC. I'm gonna order a rebuild kit from Skydoc. Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    No, only flushed and bled. No external leakage.
  11. Gearhead
    IMHO, the Ikea skins aren't dense enough for full benefit, but they're OK. The better ones have fur that's more dense, thick and curly. They are SOOO nice for temp and for comfort. I have a black one, and somehow it's still not hot to sit on, even in full sun. Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    Anybody?
  13. Gearhead
    Hi. My linked brakes have been weird for a while. I posted how I found the rear caliper worn and grooved which hung up one end of the pads, and I figured I had found it. I fixed that (write-up to come) and the linked brakes are better, but... When I first push the pedal, the brakes work pretty well and the pedal is pretty firm. But if I let up a little (maybe 1/8"?) and push again, as sometimes happens when you stop gradually, the pedal drops considerably, sometimes all the way down and I get very little braking until I let the pedal all the way up and push it again. This "resets" them and they work fine again. I don't think this sounds like air in the system as that should always cause a squishy pedal that gets a little firmer with pumping. That's not what's happening. I'm thinking a bad master cylinder - do you agree? I don't understand the metering and proportioning valves very well, so I dunno if one of those could be the culprit. FYI, I thoroughly bled the system with a Mity Vac at the rear, front and metering valve locations. Help! Thanks, Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    Yeah, that! Wow, that is a lot for insurance. I have liability on 2 bikes (one Venture, one Virago) for about $180 a year total. Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    '87 - pushing 100k
  16. Gearhead
    I'm so sorry to hear it. Prayers for God's comfort and peace for you and yours. Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    That sure is a nice color combo indeed!
  18. Gearhead
    For the small torque value for preload I use a short ratchet (4") and a fish scale. 3 ft-lb is 9 lb on the scale. Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    Ah, so there ARE times you cannot work on your bike! :D Good job!
  20. Gearhead
    When somebody here actually gets 50,000 km (31,000 mi) out of one, let us know! I did just get 25,000 mi (40,000 km) out of an E3 rear on my VR. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    Hey Earl, what is your clutch kit? Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    I seriously doubt you'll get that much performance gain from an ignition upgrade. JMHO. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    I think I'd be more inclined to find one at Ace or Home Depot. The steel in HF stuff is...well...a little yuggidy. I use it sometimes, but not inside the engine. I'd wonder if it is heat treated properly. Dude, do you have a job? Just askin... Seems like you're always workin on that bike!
  24. Gearhead
    Another perspective. On both my Virago and Venture the clutches started slipping around the 50k mark, which wasn't too long after I bought each bike. In both cases I replaced the friction disks. Steel plates and spring measured fine, so I left them. Actually, the friction disks measured like new for that matter, but I replaced them with EBC disks in the Virago and factory Yammy disks in the Venture. In both cases it fixed the problem. Venture is now pushing 100k and the Virago has 140k miles. Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    Yammy used the rubber-washer design in many bikes, and Goose has described it's design intent to a tee! There has long been sentiment among Vmax and Venture owners, that the rubber washer somehow made the bike more susceptible to front-end wobble, the kind that first appears on decel from about 40 mph. Supposedly replacing it with a metal washer so everything could be tightened down against everything else improved the situation. I don't believe it. There is also a popular sentiment here that the bearing preload actually needs to be much higher in order to prevent this same wobble. With all due respect, I don't believe that either, as I have tried it without success. A bearing is not a damping device. I digress a little, but I have concluded that full-dress machines are prone to this wobble phenomenon, and it is related to front tire wear. My dad and I have both had the same experience, he with his Voyager and me with my Venture. Overtightening the bearings did not reduce the wobble that was present on my Venture at that time, but a new front tire kills it, for a while. All that to say, use the factory procedure, as Goose said. And as Saddlebum said, rotate the bars back and forth. Then reapply the 37 ft-lb in case something moved, and turn the bars again. Then back off and apply final torque. Jeremy
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