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Carbon_One

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Everything posted by Carbon_One

  1. Carbon_One
    Interesting. I measured mine and they are at about 13" from the ground. Would an out of state rider still receive a ticket for having mounted lights less than these states minimum height? Whether they are turned on/off? I think the newer Gold Wings have their driving lights mounted low on the fairings as well. Don't know what the height of those are? If lower then 16" and a factory item what would state laws do in regarding to this? Of course if GW lights are 16" + from the ground this is a mote question. Larry
  2. Carbon_One
    Ya we know Al but gotta admit it's looking pretty good so far. Here's this mornings latest report - http://www.accuweather.com/us/mi/manistee/49660/forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=1&metric=0 Anyhow I'm being optimistic here as I really want to do this ride with everyone. So keeping a positive spin on it. See ya Fri morning at Mickey D's. Larry
  3. Carbon_One
    Boomer if you're talking about small driving lights I have to agree with Bummer on the air deflector brackets being a poor location. They do well enough as it is just for the air deflectors let alone adding more weight like driving lights. I and some others have mounted driving lights to the front fender mounting bolt on the forks. However I have a spot light extender and my air deflectors would hit occassionaly under hard braking so I moved them to the front crash bars. After getting them there I find I like that location much better. Here's a link to my post on this -- http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27986 Larry
  4. Carbon_One
    I have a pair of them on my bike. 10k on them and they look good as new. Mine are BF Goodrich G-Force Sport 215-55-16 sized. Larry
  5. Carbon_One
    Looking really good there saddlebum. Larry
  6. Carbon_One
    That's pretty good thinking nkbjones. If I didn't already have a cooler rack I'd be checking this option out myself. Larry
  7. Carbon_One
    Forget waiting for Al's Wed weather report. From what I see it's a go and I'm going and that's that. Larry
  8. Carbon_One
    Yes as that's exactly what I did when I converted my bike to a trike. After getting it on the road I noticed that I could feel some clutch slippage when getting on the throttle hard. With the bike now being an extra 400 lbs I figured it'd only be a matter of time before I was replacing everything. So I made the decision to put in the PCW kit upgrade. At the time I put the kit in my bike had about 20k on the odometer. I've added another 10k + so far this year and haven't had any problems since. All of my steel and friction discs were in excellent shape at the time. It really only needed that little extra stiffness the stronger pressure plate added. Larry
  9. Carbon_One
    Saw one of theit ticars last summer at a trikers rally. Pretty neat machine you won't see often. They cost 16k for the basic side car and then add in any extras and the bike. Well you're now talikng some serious coin. I'll add a pic of one later. Larry
  10. Carbon_One
    Go ahead and get the PCW kit. It's not a hard thing to change. You'll save money going with this one over the Barrett too. You'll get a pressure plate, gasket, a half plate, and if I recall perhaps a retaining clip. In all likelyhood you won't need to replace any discs. Having changed a couple kits so far I haven't seen any friction discs that needed changing yet as they were still in specs. Others can attest to this as well. Larry
  11. Carbon_One
    New Enough will be sending Don some green too since I was shoping there yesterday. Larry
  12. Carbon_One
    Looks like a lot of them should be wearing protective gear as well. As much as I have to admit some of those guys can do some amazing stuff on those bikes. On Ventures ?? I think not. Hate to see the squids acting out on the roads thou. On a course or closed road is one thing and if they want to be a donor there then fine with me. Larry
  13. Carbon_One
    Looks like a lot of car for that bike but kind of hard to tell what make it is. BUT check out that CT on back. Hehe Larry
  14. Carbon_One
    Which just plain tells ya that these tires aren't being designed for the loads required of them. I know of many lighter weight bikes which have the Metzelers on em without a hint of any problems. Larry
  15. Carbon_One
    OK I really don't know how warranties are effected. I would think that any part of the trike conversion would be covered by the trike company and the rest of the bike by the mc company. haven't crossed that bridge yet. I do know of another triker who had a Suzuki Lehman trike. Had a u-joint failure at both ends. Lehman covered the one on the differential and Suzuki covered the one at the engine. As to your plans of getting a completed trike that's the best way to go if you're not able to do the work yourself. Good luck if/whenever you do this. Larry
  16. Carbon_One
    As of now I think there's only 3 companies that are doing trike conversion for the RSV's. Hannigan, Champion, and Tri-Wing. Hannigan and Champion are strictly a factory or authorized dealer option, unless they changed since I did mine last winter. Tri-Wing will sell a complete kit for the do it yourselfers or you can have it done at a dealer who does trike conversions. Being as I'm a retired wrench I went with the Tri-Wing kit. Saved a bit on labor as well as incorporated some things of my own into the bike. From looking at the trikes I saw at that trike rally this last summer I saw 5 other RSV's besides my own. The Hannigan and Champion trikes were nicely done and had some features I liked . Thou all who looked mine over were saying the same thing about my ride. Like you say you'll have some home work to got thru and decide for yourself which company and model you like as well as whether you'll be doing the conversion or letting someone else do it for ya. If there's anything specific you'd like to know concerning the Tri-Wing company or about my bike feel free to ask. Be happy to help out if I can. Larry
  17. Carbon_One
    "So, another option might be to keep my current scoot, and go with a GoldWing Trike or an RSV Trike. (Frankly, all the goodies plus reverse give the GW the lead in my thinking.) The question I have is: What is touring like on a Trike? Is it as enjoyable/comfortable as on a 2-wheel RSV or GW? I know it is different and certainly not the ‘rush’ one gets from leaning through the twisties. But will I find it fun and at the end of a day of riding will I be as comfortable as I would be on an RSV or will I be wondering why I am not in a cage? I really want to ride, but I want it to be fun and enjoyable at the end of the day. Am I asking too much?" Oldsalt Ok since having my 05 converted this last winter and riding it since April of this year with over 10 k I'll try to give you my insite here thou I'm no expert. About half of that was on 3 seperate week long trips of between 1500 and 2000 miles total. Touring on the trike to me is just as much fun as when I rode on two wheels. You're still out in the elements be it sun or rain, heat or cold. Yea there are pros and cons when comparing the two types of rides. Stability is a big plus. Riding in rain is much better and you won't be fighting cross winds or from semi's as the trike seems to just stay put. I would say actual ride comfort is the same too. While the RSV doesn't have a reverse if you watch where you park and how you park there won't be an issuse. I can think of only about a couple of times I got myself into a spot that required the Mrs helping me get out. On level ground I can back up the trike with both of us on it. You're only concerning yourself with rolling the bike and not balancing it too. Condor said it pretty well on parking there. Yep you're right about the GW's there. I went to a trike rally last June and that bike was the bike of choice it seemed when concerning owning a trike. A few Harleys which also have an optional reverse and the rest made up of various bike companies and car conversions. As to stopping I do allow myself a bit more room, not due to lack of braking power but more for the additional weight of the bike. My RSV weighs in at 1260 lbs. with a full tank of gas and the normal stuff I carry. More weight just means a longer stopping distance is all. Steering at first takes a bit of getting used to and I highly recommend a raked front as well. I can keep up with most riders in twisties thou it can be a bit more tiring at days end. Going thru curves and twisties I can now go thru most at 5 and most times 10 over those yellow posted speed signs. So you're really not giving up much there. Even when I've been with other riders and they've gotten ahead I catch up on the straights or further down the road. Beside at our ages most of us aren't into speed so much anyhow. Out and about on the bikes and just enjoying the experinces is what I find best now. Sharing the road with folks here from the site is a plus. Bottom line I think for anyone is whether they enjoy bike riding, be it on 2 or 3 wheels. What I've said above also pertains to those who use a sidecar rig as well. Those riders do have some different handling quirks compared to trikes. Not bad or better, just different IMO. Larry PS: too bad you aren't closer to me or I'd let you take mine for a ride.
  18. Carbon_One
    On my bike I have 4 relays. One is between the frame rails just in front of the battery for the Stebel horn system I added. The other 3 are located under the front fairing. I used the lower screw that holds the front air deflectors in place for 2 of them and the other is secured by the ground bolt by the radio box. Larry
  19. Carbon_One
    It's unfortunate that you're experiencing such bad weather as the northern areas there have so much to offer. Try to plan something next year during the summer and you'll be able to really enjoy yourselves. We were up there 2 weeks ago and while we only got caught in rain once for about 20 minutes it was already turning quite chilly. Sure hoping the weatherman is favorable for us when we head to Mainistee in a week. Larry
  20. Carbon_One
    Not really. I had dropped my bike a couple of times since owning it and never did anything to them. And last year laid it down at about 40-45 mph and still nothing happened to them except some scruffing on a bottom screw head. The crash bar and lower cowling took a beating and had to be replaced but not the air deflectors. Larry
  21. Carbon_One
    He should of used Yamaha's V-4 engine. Larry
  22. Carbon_One
    I saw this info on another bike site I frequent and thought it was too good not to share with everyone here. The link below will take you to a page to request a free brochure on Scenic Highways & Byways. The site is a little misleading though. http://www.volusiariders.com/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif The "brochure" is actually a 464 page guide published by National Geographic (cover price is $25.00). The guide gives a brief overview & map of the top 275 drives in the US. Not quick, but no cost, so the price is right and you'll have it all winter to browse through and plan next summer's rides. Have mine on order now, Larry http://www.byways.org/map_request.html http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/jmaxwell99/Posted%20pictures/IMG_0022.jpg
  23. Carbon_One
    Ok I can't lay the bike over as Buddy suggests. Kind of hard to do with a trike. But I did go out and eyeball them again and I think they'll clear. It'll be pretty close but if the bike gets that far over you may have other worries. Depending where you mount footrests or lack of them there should be plenty of room to put the clamp on the straight section of the bar. And then be able to mount them higher up if desired. Don't know if there'll be "shadow" issues or not as I haven't ridden the bike at night yet, but they sure do a job of lighting up the driveway. As a side note here you still get full adjustment range of the lights - left or right & up & down so you can play with that for whatever suits you. Larry
  24. Carbon_One
    I, as some of the others here, have bought and mounted the Wal-Mart Optronics driving lights on their bike. And like everyone else mounted them in the front fender bolt area. However with the air deflectors hitting on the back of the lights I added some extenders in stainless. While it worked to a degree I still hit occasionally when hard braking so today I moved em once again. This time I bought a set of the Kuryakyn "P" clamps in 1" size #4018. Mounted them just below the footrests on the front crash bars. Really lights up the road surface now. Only real drawback here was cost of the "P" clamps. At $20 each they sure aren't cheap but look great and fit perfect for the job at hand. I must make one other note here in that one reason why my air deflectors were hitting is due to me having the light bar extension which of course moves them right near the Optronics lights. If it wasn't for that then the fork light location works very well indeed. Larry
  25. Carbon_One
    He's still around. Maybe not here much thou since he's driving a Miata convertible now. I'll get a hold of him for ya JT and let him know about this post. Or just send him a pm or e-mail. Larry
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