MiCarl

You've got to pull the top bridge off anyhow. I suppose you could get the rest off as a unit but probably not on the center stand. I think you'll find that the extra work to remove the forks from the lower tree is much, much less than the hassle of messing with it as an assembly. You also might find you need to get the lower tree on the work bench to get the bearing off, you don't need fork oil running everywhere while you do that. Getting everything back in and started together is a little bit of a juggling act - you won't miss the extra weight when doing that either. But yes, you can do steering bearings on center stand. Get everything off the forks (calipers, wheel, fender, brace etc.) and pull the fork tubes. Since you're going to pull the fork caps don't forget to break them loose while still clamped in the lower tree. From here getting the top bridge off and lower tree out is pretty straight forward. I've found that an air chisel is an excellent tool to drive the inner race off the lower tree. The outer races will require some force to remove from the head stock. Make sure the bike is well secured. Forget what Yamaha says for bearing grease. Use the same moly grease you use on the drive splines. That stuff will stay in there so you can skip the zerk fitting. If you do opt for the zerk fitting make sure the head tube isn't open to the frame (some bikes are), you don't want to fill your whole frame with grease.

Yes, some of that is normal. There is some drag in the clutch so parts in the transmission will be moving when you're in neutral. When the gears come together that motion causes a bit of a clunk (click is shifter mechanism locking into place) and the bike will jump a little. What you are describing is typical for a motorcycle that is not running. When the engine is running the motion I mentioned in #1 should let the gear dogs align and pull together. I can think of some reasons the transmission parts might not be moving but your first question makes it sound like they are. It's under the false fuel tank. If you open the fuel fill door you will see a screw. Remove that screw, slide the cover forward a bit to disengage the tab at front and the cover will lift off. The air box is behind the battery - 4 screws hold the lid on. The filter is under there.

You've got some cleaning to do before you have a hope of tracing it. Get all that oily grime off the top of the engine and in the area of the clutch slave. Looks like the cylinders might be coated too. It could be leaking at the stator cover (wires won't necessarily look wet). It's also possible (likely even) that the rear valve cover is leaking and running down the heads and cylinder then finding its way around to the bottom of the engine.

In addition to what Bob said: I have had good luck with seals from K&L Supply. But no problem going with OEM. If the fork tube is not in good condition the new seal won't last. It must have no rust, nicks, scratches and be straight. You need to also replace the dust seal and bushings. The dust seal protects the oil seal from dirt and debris. If the bushings are worn the seal ends up carrying the load and wears. Of course the seal needs to be right side up and not damaged on the install. You need to protect it from sharp edges as you slide it onto the tube. I wrap the top of the tube, the air hole and the circlip ring with electrical tape when installing.

Electrically it's not hard to do. You can get a base for the 1157 lamp (flasher + run/tail) for a few dollars. More expensive than the @cowpuc option but faster install. You're supposed to change the lens though. Tail lights are required to be red, not amber. There are companies that make kits that come with red lenses, LED lamps and a control module that plugs into the harness. No wiring required, just plug and play. Not sure if they make them for your V-Star or not.

I couldn't help but notice there are no pictures.......

Database somewhere was wrong and they're either all using it or got their information from the same wrong source. But you could just tell the buyer it's a rare 1600cc and raise the price......

[quote=Trader;961603 a lot of shops won't install a tire they didn't sell...saying for liability reasons Which is BS. They're trying to make money on the tire sale and turn their inventory. They are correct, the rear is a lot of work. In my shop we'd get $95(US) for the rear and $65 for the front. $160 to install the pair.

I know this is a bit late for you, but for the next guy: I believe on a 2nd gen you can hook the fuel line from the tank to the carbs and they'll get fuel so long as the tank is at least 1/2 full.

You will literally have to remove everything that is attached to the forks or steering head.

I have the same affliction. That's why I'm currently in the market for another safe.......

Avon doesn't have that light spot mark. Using the valve stem assumes that the wheel is heaviest at the valve. Anytime we're doing a tubeless installation of a marked tire we find the heavy spot on the wheel first, rather than assuming it's at the valve. About half the time the heavy spot on the wheel is not near the valve. Avon tires aren't better balanced than any other brand. When I was in school the Avon rep told us that they don't mark their tires because they want installers to be forced to balance them. Personally I think they don't mark them because it saves them an operation and can create the illusion that their tires are somehow superior to others. The rep told us that Avon recommends if you need more than 3oz. to balance a tire that you rotate the tire 180 degrees and try again. If you're always aligning the mark on the tire with your valve stem the weights should end up pretty much the same place every time. But I will agree, we've found that the wheels are usually more out of balance than the tire.

The problem is that Avon doesn't mark the light spot on the tire. If you get the heavy side of the tire on the heavy side of the wheel you can need a lot of weight. You're at 2.75 oz., not unreasonable. What I don't understand is adding six to the five already on there. They should have stripped off the old weights before balancing. Are all the weights together, or spread around the wheel?

Pirelli has $40 Visa gift card with a set of street tires through May. REBATE FORM

I don't think you have to go far North-West from Sharonville to get into some nice riding. Great stuff East but a bit farther. One of the nice things there is you're right on the 275 loop which can quickly get you out of the city. While you're there don't miss Skyline Chili and Graeters Ice Cream. Those alone are worth the trip!

Our engines are not closed containers. They have vents and as they warm and cool the air gets changed over. Condensation will interact with combustion byproducts and form acids. The real question is how much condensation got in - if it was a heated space or even attached garage there probably isn't much. I'd replace the oil just to be safe. Filters are pretty inexpensive, I sure wouldn't mess around draining and reinstalling one.

When I was a young man I bumped the back of my hand against a hot 120 wire. My arm was sore for days. I was always really careful to never do that again. Now they have those electronic squealers that will let you know if a wire is hot. I prefer them to the touch method.

Do you have a reason for using both? If your primary modem/router is centrally located you probably don't need an additional one. I've never done a multiple access point system but did find THIS description on the web.

The springs weren't great shakes the day the bike rolled off the line. The air didn't leak out because of springs though. Aside from miles those fork seals are likely 25 years old. Rubber doesn't last forever.....

An S corp is a legitimate way to organize a business. It's often used to form businesses that have a small number of owners. Many of the small businesses you interact with will be organized as S corporations. Its advantages are that it's simple and inexpensive to set up, has a simple governance structure and avoids double taxation of business earnings. I'm not a tax guy but I suspect the key standard the IRS looks for is that the corporation is engaged in business. Businesses have customers (generally more than one customer), buy and sell goods and services, buy or rent facilities and equipment, hire and pay employees etc. If the IRS were to look at your corporation (S or otherwise) and it appeared to be a wrapper around what otherwise would be considered a job you could be in a world of hurt. By the way, all those taxes you're required to pay yourself are due in the quarter the money is earned. Put off paying it until your annual tax filing and you will likely get hit with interest and penalties.

No motorcycle will go faster than the operator twists the throttle. A 650 will go plenty fast enough to get killed on. The way I see it, the only advantage to a smaller motorcycle is it's generally easier to pick up than a large one.

With an S-corp you could potentially treat some of the income as profit rather than wages. The part that was profit wouldn't be subject to approximately 15% payroll tax. Of course doing that could reduce your Social Security income in the future. If all you were doing with the S-corp was splitting off earned income as profit I think the IRS would take a dim view of that. You'd definitely want some input from a tax professional before doing anything that even looked like that. Also, there are some costs in setting up the S-corp. There might be an advantage to the 1099 route. As a 1099 employee you might not have to pay unemployment tax, as an S-corp you definitely would.

They aren't rocket science. They need to fit the needle snugly without being too big to fit the bore. Take one of your mixture screws and washers to the auto parts store. Pick out an o-ring that is snug on the screw but not bigger OD than the washer. Make sure you fish the old o-rings out before reassembly.

I've got mine in a durable cover that protects from bangs, scrapes and most drops. I stick it in a zip-loc bag when it's somewhere it might get wet.